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SCHOOL ECONOMY. 

A TREATISE 



ON THE 



PREPARATION, ORGANIZATION, EMPLOYMENTS, GOVERN- 
MENT, AND AUTHORITIES OF SCHOOLS. 



BY 



JAMES PYLE WICKERSHAM, A.M. 

PRINCIPAL OF THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, MILLERSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA. 



" Doce ut discas." — Schoolmen. 

"All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind, have been convinced 
that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth."— Aristotle. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. 

1865. 



\> 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1864, by 

JAMES PYLE WICKERSHAM, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern 

District of Pennsylvania. 



far tht iutrifei, 

who have so eagerly treasured up his words in the 
lecture-room, and so faithfully followed his precepts 
in the practice of their profession; whose 
gratitude has been his richest reward 
in the past, and whose hind re- 
membrance he is most anxious 
to secure for the future; 

M%$ W Blunt, 

in which they will not fail to find much that 
will remind them of old classmates and 
by-gone times, is respectfully dedi- 
cated by their teacher 
and friend, 

THE AUTHOR. 



PREFACE. 



All that relates to the Theory of Teaching or to its Prac- 
tice may be embraced under the four following heads : — 

1. School Economy. 

2. Methods of Instruction. 

3. Methods of Culture. 

4. The History of Education. 

Under the head of School Economy could be considered 
the preparation for, and the organization of, the school, and 
the conditions of its efficient working ; under that of Methods 
of Instruction, an investigation could be made into the nature 
of knowledge and the methods of imparting it ; under that of 
Methods of Culture, the physical and mental constitution of 
man could be examined, and an effort could be made to arrive 
at the best means of developing and strengthening it ; and 
under that of the History of Education, there could be related 
the success or the failure, the causes and effects, of the various 
educational systems and efforts which have characterized the 
past. 

The preceding classification of the object-matter of Teach- 
ing was made after several years of careful study, and an 
experience in teaching of almost a quarter of a century. 

In the summer of 1855, about one hundred and fifty teachers, 
of the county of Lancaster, in the State of Pennsylvania, assem- 
bled to receive professional instruction, during three months, 
at the little town of Millersville. The author was then Super- 

1* v 



VI PREFACE. 

intendent of Common Schools for the county, and became ex 
officio Principal of the school thus established. In the discharge 
of his duty as Professor of the Theory and Practice of Teaching, 
he delivered a series of lectures ; and these form the nucleus 
about which he has continued to collect additional matter, as 
diligently as his other duties would permit, until the present 
time. Elected Principal of the Normal School in 1856, he has 
delivered twice a year, in the form of lectures to his classes in 
Teaching, the matter thus collected ; and he has allowed no 
such opportunities to pass without turning them to advantage 
by reviewing opinions and testing theories. That his views 
now aj)proximate the truth appears from the skilful school- 
work of several thousand of his pupils who have become 
teachers. 

When the idea of publishing a book was first entertained, 
only one volume was contemplated ; afterwards, two ; then, 
three ; and now the material on hand has taken shape as 
indicated on the preceding page. The printing of this volume 
will be ventured upon as an experiment, and its reception by 
the Profession may determine the fate of the rest. At the 
best, some years must elapse before all of them can be pre- 
pared. The matter intended for the volume on "Methods of 
Instruction" is now almost ready for the press ; but that in- 
tended for the volume on "Methods of Culture" exists only 
in the form of outlines of lectures, and that intended for the 
volume on the "History of Education" lies scattered about in 
notes, references, and fragmentary remarks. 

In preparing the lectures which constitute the ground-work 
of the present volume, use was made of all the books relating 
to Education and Teaching that could be procured in this coun- 
try, and numerous English, French, and German works were 
consulted. The names of very few authors, however, will be 
found in this volume ; and it is much regretted that the credit 
due him cannot now be given to each. The lectures were at 
first arranged without any reference to their publication ; they 
were delivered many times, with additions and amendments, 
until the whole became so connected together that it has been 
found impossible to unravel the web thus woven and point out 
the place whence each thread was taken. But, though many 



PREFACE. Vll 

marks of quotation are not used, it mu&t not be supposed 
that the author desires to erect a superstructure for himself 
by taking forcible possession of the materials prepared by 
others ; and, in order to avoid all controversy, if indeed any 
one should care to dispute about the matter, he is willing that 
every thing contained in this book which was published prior 
to its date may be considered as borrowed ; but to claimants 
is left the difficult task of dividing the allotment for them- 
selves. This is the more readily done, because little is cared 
as to who first stated an isolated fact or discovered a discon- 
nected principle. This work aims to embody what is known 
in the department of education of which it treats, into a 
system ; it professes to be a practical treatise based on scien- 
tific principles ; and as such its merit must be judged. It 
would have been easy to fill the book with accounts of par- 
ticular methods and special cases, — with descriptions of funny 
school-scenes and relations of amusing anecdotes ; but it is 
thought that the time has gone by when it was proper to in- 
troduce such things into our graver professional literature. 
No work upon Teaching can now be welcomed by the think- 
ing teacher whose methods of treating the subject are not 
scientific in their nature. So much that is superficial has 
been spoken and written upon Education, that it has almost 
come to be doubted by some, whether there can be found 
concerning it any broad, general principles that may be used 
to unite its facts into a coherent whole. As treated of in the 
present volume, Teaching is more an art than a science ; but 
it is an art based either upon the observation of facts or the 
apprehension of principles. The second and third volumes 
of the series will treat more strictly of Teaching as a science. 
Eeaders of this book, it is hoped, will be found not only 
among teachers and school-officers, but among the unpro- 
fessional friends of education. Every parent will find matter 
in it with which he ought to acquaint himself. But the author 
has no disposition to conceal the fact that he has written 
mainly for teachers. His own class of student-teachers has 
been constantly before his mind, and he has earnestly endea- 
vored to supply their wants and the wants of others situated 
like them. It is thought that the matter of the book is so 



Vlll PREFACE. 

arranged that it may be profitably used in the regular recita- 
tions of the Normal School and the Teachers' Institute. 

Finally, if his book fail to accomplish its purpose, the 
author will not consider his time misspent if what he has 
written shall aid in opening the way for another to perfect 
the work he has labored to begin. Education has its prin- 
ciples, and is a science. These principles can be arranged 
into a system. Teaching will be recognized as a learned pro- 
fession, and Teacher will become an honored title among men : 
to wish to be remembered as one who contributed to these 
ends is, surely, not an unworthy ambition. 

J. P. W. 
State Normal School, October, 1863. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

PAGE 

I. School-Sites.... '■' 1 

1. Convenience of Access 2 

2. Suitability of Grounds and Sueeoundings 3 

3. Healthiness of the Neighboehood 4 

4. Beauty of Location 4 

II. School-Grounds 5 

1. The Aeeangement of School-Geounds 6 

1st. Size 6 

2d. Shape.. 6 

3d. Plan 7 

4th. Apparatus 8 

5th. Care-taking 9 

2. The Advantages of School-Geounds 9 

1st. The Invigoration of the Health of the Pupils 10 

2d. The Removal of particular Causes of Disorder 

.from the School 10 

3d. The Promotion of Study 12 

4th. The Cultivation of Taste 13 

5th. The Furnishing of Occasions for imparting certain 

Kinds of Instruction 13 

6th. The Presentation of Opportunities for studying the 

Disposition of Pupils 15 

ix 



X CONTENTS. 

PAOB 

III. School-Grades 15 

1. The Plans of Graded Schools 15 

1st. The Number of Grades 16 

2d. The Manner of Grading 19 

2. The Objects of Graded Schools 24* 

1st. They economize the Labor of Instruction 24 

2d. They lessen the Cost of Teaching 24 

3d. They make Teaching more effective 24 

4th. They promote good Order in School 25 

6th. They prompt the Ambition of Pupils 25 

6th. They provide Instruction in the higher Branches 

of Learning 26 

7th. They remove the Necessity of Children's leaving 

Home to obtain a good Education 26 

IV. School-Studies 27 

1. Studies for Primary Schools 27 

2. Studies for Grammar-Schools 29 

3. Studies for High Schools 30 

4. Studies for Colleges 31 

V. School-Houses 33 

1. Size 33 

2. Form 34 

3. Internal Arrangement 34 

4. Recitation-Rooms 38 

5. The Cellar 39 

6. Lighting 39 

7. Heating 40 

8. Ventilation 41 

VI. School-Furniture 42 

1. Desks and Seats v 42 

2. Platform 43 

3. Blackboard 43 

4. Miscellaneous Articles of Furniture 46 

VII. School- Apparatus 46 

VIII. School-Eecords 48 

1. The Forms of School-Records 48 



CONTENTS. XI 

PAGE 

1st. A Register of Admission and Withdrawal 60 

2d. A Register of Attendance and Deportment 61 

3d. A Class-Register 64 

4th. A Summary Register 66 

2. The Objects of School-Records 65 

1st. To aid the Teacher in his Work 57 

2d. To give Information to Parents and School-Officers 57 

3d. To furnish educational Statistics , 67 

4th. To exert a beneficial Influence upon the Pupils ... 58 



CHAPTER II. 

THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

I. The Temporary Organization of the School 60 

1. The Seating 66 

2. The Times of Opening and Closing the School 66 

3. The Hours of Recesses and Intermissions 66 

4. Leaving Seats and asking Questions 66 

6. Whispering 66 

6. General Deportment 67 

7. Work 68 

II, The Permanent Organization of the School 70 

1. Provisions Relating to Study 70 

1st. The Branches to be taught in the School 71 

2d. The Branches to be studied by each Pupil 73 

3d. The Text-Books to be used 76 

4th. The Formation of the Pupils into Classes 83 

5th. The Distribution of the Classes among the Teachers 92 
6th. The Arrangement of Times for Study and Recita- 
tion 94 

2. Provisions relating to Order 99 

1st. The Conditions upon which Pupils may be admitted 

into the School 100 

2d. The School-Limits 101 

3d. The Length of the School-Day 102 

4th. The Time and Length of Intermissions 106 

6th. The Opening and Closing Exercises of the School 10C 
6th. The Calling out and Dismissing of Classes 109 



Xll CONTENTS. 

PAGB 

7th. The granting of Special Privileges 110 

8th. The Transaction of General Business 114 

9th. The Administration of Discipline 115 



CHAPTER III. 

THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

t. Study US 

1. The Objects or Study 119 

1st. Knowledge 120 

2d. Discipline 121 

3d. Aspiration 123 

4th. Efficiency 124 

2. The Incentives to Study 125 

1st. Incentives of doubtful Propriety 127 

Prizes 127 

Merit-Marks ,.... 135 

Emulation 138 

Fear of Punishment..... 145 

Shame 147 

Ridicule 148 

2d. Proper Incentives to Study 149 

The Approbation of the Teacher 150 

The Approbation of the Parents and Friends of the 

Pupil 151 

The Approbation of Society 152 

The Attainment of an honorable Position in the School 153 

The Pleasure of overcoming Difficulties 153 

The Gratification of Curiosity 155 

The Desire of Knowledge 156 

The Hope of Success in Life 157 

The Enjoyment of purer ideal Creations 159 

The Duty of Self- Perfection 161 

The Satisfaction of doing Right 161 

The Prospect of Heavenly Reward 162 

8. The Modes of Study 162 

1st. Modes of Study in the Attainment of original Know- 
ledge 164 

Empirical Knowledge 164 



CONTENTS. xiii 

PAGE 

Pure Knowledge 166 

2d. Modes of Study in the Attainment of scholastic Know- 
ledge 167 

4. The Characteristics of the Student 167 

1st. Health , 170 

2d. Natural Ability 170 

3d. Love of Learning 171 

4th. An elevated Ideal 171 

6th. Self-Reliance 172 

6th. Perseverance 172 

7th. The Power of Concentration 173 

8th. Enthusiasm 173 

9th. Patience 174 

10th. Humility 175 

II. Recitation 175 

1. The Objects op the Recitation 176 

1st. To enable the Teacher to estimate the daily Progress 

of his Pupils 176 

2d. To enable the Pupils to tell what they know 177 

3d. To enable the Pupils to acquire well-founded Self- 

Confidence „ 178 

4th. To enable the Pupils to fix in their Minds what they 

learn 178 

5th. To enable the Teacher to explain and illustrate the 

Lesson and add new Matter to it 179 

6th. To enable the Teacher to keep before his Pupils 

proper Incentives to Study 179 

7th. To enable the Teacher to impart Moral Instruction 

to his Pupils 180 

2. The Requisites of the Recitation 181 

1st. A proper Place 181 

2d. Suitable Apparatus 182 

3d. Quiet , 183 

4th. Sufficient Time 183 

8. The Methods of Conducting the Recitation 184 

1st. Imparting Knowledge 184 

Lectures 184 

Text-Books 186 

Dialogues 187 

Catechization 188 

2 



XIV CONTENTS. 

PA09 

2d. Testing Knowledge..... 189 

The Matter of the Questions 190 

The Form of the Questions 191 

The Mode of Questioning 193 

The Teacher in Questioning 196 

3d. Proving Knoxoledge 198 

The Matter of the Answers 198 

The. Form of the Answers 200 

The Mode of Answering 201 

The Pupil in Answering 208 

4th. Correcting Errors 209 

The Correction of Errors by the Pupils 209 

The Correction of Errors by the Teacher.... 210 

4. The Preparation for the Recitation 211 

1st. The Preparation the Pupil needs for the Recitation 211 
2d. The Preparation the Teacher needs for the Re- 
citation 214 

III. Exercise 216 

1. Unregulated Exercise 218 

1st. The Place for Play 219 

2d. The Times for Play 219 

3d. The Manner of Play 220 

4th. The Teacher at Play-Time 221 

2. Regulated Exercise 222 

1st. The Place for Exercising 223 

2d. The Times for Exercising 225 

3d. The Manner of Exercising 225 

4th. The Teacher at the Exercises 227 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

I. School-Ethics 231 

The Classification of Persons engaged in the School... 231 

The Duties of Pupils 233 

The Offences of Pupils 235 



CONTENTS. XV 

PAOB 

II. School-Betributions 237 

1. Rewards for Good Conduct 238 

2. Punishments for Bad Conduct 241 

III. School-Legislation • 245 

1. Means of preventing Disorder 246 

1st. Accommodations 246 

2d. Teachers .' 247 

3d. Management 249 

2. Means of Correcting Disorder 250 

1st. The Punishment of those who offend. 251 

The Principles according to whieh all Punishments 

should take place 253 

Punishments for Offences against Themselves 264 

Punishments for Offences against One Another 266 

Punishments for Offences against the School-Property 269 
Punishments for Offences against the Teacher and 

School-Officers 269 

Punishments for Offences against the School as a 

Whole 272 

Punishments for Offences against Visitors at the 

School. 275 

Punishments for Offences against Society 276 

Punishments for Offences against God 278 

2d. The Pardon of those who repent 279 

The Conditions on which Pardon may be granted 281 

3. Means of inducing Pupils to discharge their Du- 

ties of their own Accord 283 

1st. Moral Knowing 284 

2d. Moral Feeling 285 

3d. Moral Willing 289 

IV. School-Administration 290 

1. The Detection of Offenders 291 

2. The Selection of the Punishment for Offenders.. 298 

3. The Manner of inflicting Punishment upon Of- 

fenders 300 



XVI . CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER V. 

THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

PACK 

I. The Teacher 305 

1. The Teacher's Motives 306 

2. The Teacher's Qualifications 309 

1st. Physical Qualifications 309 

2d. Intellectual Qualifications 312 

3d. Moral Qualifications 314 

4th. Professional Qualifications 322 

3. The Teacher's Duties to his Pupils 326 

1st. To supply their physical "Wants 327 

2d. To supply their intellectual Wants 328 

3d. To supply their aesthetic Wants 329 

4th. To supply their moral Wants 329 

4. The Teacher's Duties to his Profession 331 

1st. To adorn it by his Skill and Scholarship 333 

2d. To dignify it by his personal Worth 334 

3d. To elevate it, by encouraging all Means of profes- 
sional Improvement 335 

4th. To render it more united, by showing Respect to his 

Fellow-Teachers 338 

5. A Teacher's Life., 339 

1st. Disadvantages 339 

2d. Advantages 345 

II. The General School-Officers 351 

III. The People in Eespect to Schools 355 

1. The Relations of Education in Society 356 

1st. The Relations of Education to Labor 356 

2d. The Relations of Education to Wealth 360 

3d. The Relations of Education to Crime 301 

4th. The Relation of Education to Happiness 364 

5th. The Relations of Education to Government 369 



CONTENTS. XVli 

The Agencies by which an Education can be ob- 
tained > 371 

1st. The Family School 371 

2d. The Church School 373 

3d. The Private School 374 

4th. The State School 375 

5th. The People's School 377 



SCHOOL ECONOMY. 

By School Economy are meant all those arrange- 
ments that tend to make the school a fit place in 
which to impart instruction, and all those conditions 
that render teaching effective. That schools may 
be badly arranged, and that certain conditions may 
exist which are unfavorable to success in teaching, 
are unquestionable facts ; and hence the teacher 
should understand School Economy. Without this 
knowledge, his labors must be ill directed and may 
be fruitless. 

The whole subject will be divided into five chap- 
ters, as follows: — 

Chapter I. — The Preparation for the School. 
Chapter II. — The Organization of the School. 
Chapter III. — The Employments of the School. 
Chapter IV. — The Government of the School. 
Chapter V. — The Authorities of the School. 

This classification explaios itself, and is wellnigh 
exhaustive. 



IV1U 



SCHOOL ECONOMY. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

Preparation is required for every important un- 
dertaking. Preparation niust be made for building 
a bouse, for constructing a railroad, for taking a 
journey, for painting pictures, for growing fruit, 
for rearing animals ; and so for tbe Scbool. Tbe 
nature of tbis preparation will depend, in eacb par- 
ticular case, upon tbe end intended to be accom- 
plished, and tbe means wbicb can be used in its 
accomplisbment. In making preparation for tbe 
School, tbe following particulars must be regarded : 

I. School-Sites. 
II. School-Grounds. 

III. School-Grades. 

IV. School- Studies. 
V. School-Houses. 

VI. School-Furniture. 
VII. School-Apparatus. 
VIII. School-Records. 

I. School-Sites. — Too little attention has been 
paid to the location of school-houses. Not unfre- 



Z THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

quently a school-house is located along some dark 
alley or noisy street, half in a road and half in an 
adjacent field, at an angle of a cross-road, or upon a 
narrow strip of land where two roads fork. All 
have seen it placed upon ground low and marshy ; 
on a common, rocky and exposed ; or high up on 
a bank by the roadside. In such locations, — dis- 
turbed by noises ; attracted by passing vehicles ; 
suffering from heat, cold, dampness, want of light, 
or miasmatic exhalations ; blunted in taste and, 
perhaps, corrupted in morals, — pupils cannot pur- 
sue the work of education with full profit to them- 
selves or full satisfaction to their teachers. 

Several things must be taken into consideration 
in selecting a site for a school-house. The most 
important of them are : — 

1. Convenience of Access. 

2. Suitability of the Grounds and Surround- 

ings. 

3. Healthiness of the Neighborhood. 

4. Beauty of the Location. 

1. Convenience of Access. — Each Common School 
house is designed to accommodate with school fa- 
cilities the people who inhabit a certain district of 
territory, and should therefore be so located as to 
furnish the best accommodations to the greatest 
number without doing injustice to any. Theoreti- 
cally, taking distance alone into consideration, the 
place for the location of the school-house is that to 
reach which the least possible distance must be 
travelled by all the children who attend the school. 
This will not often be the centre of the district; for 



SCHOOL-SITES. 6 

the distribution of the population, the direction of 
the roads, and the intervention of obstacles, as moun- 
tains and streams, will nearly always render it best 
to choose a different location. All that is insisted 
upon here is that those whose duty it may be to 
locate school-houses should do it with reference to 
their convenience of access, but by no means with 
reference to this consideration alone. In towns, 
especially, it is often best to increase the distance 
of the school-house from the population to be ac- 
commodated, for the purpose of securing a more 
eligible location. for it. 

2. Suitability of the Grounds and Surround- 
ings. — ~No school-house should have attached to it 
less than a half an acre of ground ; and a lot larger in 
extent should be procured whenever possible. The 
best shape for a school-yard is rectangular, the length 
extending north and south, and bearing the ratio 
to the breadth of about three to two. The ground 
selected for a school-yard should be level or slope 
gently toward the south ; it should be dry, free from 
obstacles that would interfere with the children's 
play, and susceptible of a reasonable degree of or- 
nament. The air ought to be allowed to circulate 
freely about the school-house and the school-grounds, 
and the sunlight to baptize them with its health- 
giving beams. 

The surroundings of a school are to be considered 
of almost as much importance in locating it as its 
grounds. The work of the school cannot be well 
done amidst noise and confusion. The clatter of a 
mill or a factory, the sounds which come from a 
smith or a carpenter shop, the noises of the busy 



4 THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

street or the thronged highway, — all are apt to divert 
the mind from study. Still worse is the near prox- 
imity to the school of a store, a railroad station, a 
butcher shop, or a tavern ; as occurrences at such 
places are sometimes calculated not only to distract 
the attention of pupils, but to vitiate their taste or 
corrupt their morals. It is best to locate a school- 
house a little distance from the street or the public 
road, and away from other buildings. It may be 
sheltered on the north side by a wood, but the other 
sides should present an unobstructed view in all 
directions. 

3. Healthiness of the I^EiGHBORHOOD.^-This point 
needs only to be stated to secure assent ; and yet it 
is not uncommon to find school-houses located amid 
the dense population of a city, where children are 
compelled to breathe the impure exhalations arising 
from streets, stables, sewers, and thousands of lungs; 
near marshes, stagnant bodies of water, or rivers 
whose subsiding waters leave vast accumulations 
of vegetable matter to decay in the autumn sun ; 
or in low, damp situations, where heavy vapors 
hang about them in the morning long after the glad 
sunshine has begun to play all over the neighboring 
hill-sides, or the chill night-dews fall before the 
day's work is done. Of doubtful benefit is that 
benevolence which provides for the education of the 
mind at the sacrifice of the health of the body. 

4. Beauty of Location. — Very seldom in the past 
have those who selected sites for our school-houses 
allowed themselves to be influenced by beauty of 
location ; and yet it is a very important considera- 
tion. A school-house so situated that the children 



SCHOOL-GROUNDS. 5 

who frequent it can look out in all directions upon 
scenes of romantic wildness or quiet beauty will 
teach, many lessons better than they can be learned 
from books. We are taught unconsciously by the 
objects that surround us; and towering mountains 
and peaceful valleys, golden grain and shaded forests, 
rough wild rocks and pleasant gardens, villages 
dotting the neighboring plains, and vessels gliding 
along the distant river, — all have truth for the in- 
tellect and beauty for the heart. Scenes like these 
leave upon the susceptible mind of a child a deep 
impression. Accustomed to look upon the beautiful 
in nature, he will learn to appreciate the beautiful 
in life. Thus instructed, he will be more apt to 
shun the low and the grovelling, the profane and 
the vulgar, and to exemplify the sentiment, "How 
near to what is good is what is fair !" 

H. School -Grounds. — It is not less important 
that a school should have connected with it appro- 
priate grounds than that the school-house itself 
should be well built or properly furnished. But to 
such an extent have those whose duty it is to pro- 
vide these grounds neglected it, that in many cases 
schools have no grounds at all, and in others they 
are much too small to subserve the purposes for 
which they should be designed. "Where they do 
exist, they are often found uncared for, and without 
good fences, shade -trees, walks, or flowers, and, 
not unfrequently, covered with heaps of stone and 
rubbish, overgrown with briers and brushwood, or 
made unhealthy by stagnant pools of water, and 



b THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

useless for the purposes of play by rocks and stumps 
and the unevenness of the ground. 

Upon this subject it is proposed to consider — 

1. The Arrangements of School-Grounds. 

2. The Advantages of School-Grounds. 

1. The Arrangements- of School-Grounds. — 
The principal arrangements necessary to be made 
respecting school-grounds will have reference to 
their size, shape, plan, apparatus, and care-taking. 

Size. — In cities and towns where ground cannot 
conveniently be procured, or where the means of 
a district will not justify the outlay, the school- 
authorities must be content with small play-grounds 
well used. A play-ground of a half an acre in ex- 
tent may be made to subserve many of the purposes 
of an ungraded school in a rural district, provided 
that but a small part of it be appropriated to orna- 
ment, and that the children be restricted to certain 
kinds of games, plays, and gymnastic exercises. It 
is far better, however, wherever suitable ground 
can be obtained at any thing like a reasonable cost, 
to procure a whole acre, or even two or three acres. 

Academies, Normal Schools, and Colleges, espe- 
cially such as furnish boarding accommodations to 
their students, should have, according to their cir- 
cumstances, from five to fifty acres attached to them 
and properly laid out in botanic gardens and play 
and pleasure grounds. 

Shape. — The shape of school-grounds containing 
a half an acre or an acre should be rectangular, as 
before stated. The length should extend north and 
south, and the school-house should front toward the 



SCHOOL-GROUNDS. 7 

south. With larger grounds the shape is not so im- 
portant; but they should always form a compact 
body. 

Plan. — Supposing that the front of the grounds 
will border on a street or a highway, it is best, when 
the grounds are not more than an acre in extent, to 
place the school-house at about the distance of one- 
third their length from the front, and on a line ex- 
tending lengthwise through the middle of the 
grounds. A neat and strong fence should enclose 
the grounds. A walk should extend from the front 
entrance to the house, and walks should also ex- 
tend to both sides on a line with the front of the 
house. A close and high board fence should ex- 
tend from the centre of the house behind to the 
centre of the fence at the back end of the grounds. 
This arrangement will divide the grounds into three 
divisions. The two spaces behind the house should 
be used for play-grounds, in mixed schools, one for 
each sex. A shed placed immediately behind the 
house and extending into both play-grounds would 
furnish shelter in wet weather. The space in front 
should be laid out in grass-plots with shrubbery and 
beds for flowers, and a few rustic seats for the stu- 
dious or those seeking rest from play might be placed 
under its shade-trees. The engraving of a school- 
house, designed for a common, ungraded school, 
which is inserted as a frontispiece to this work, will 
convey a better idea of what is meant than a de- 
scription. 

Plans for designing extensive school-grounds must 
be left to the taste of school-authorities, or to be 
determined by their means of gratifying it. They 



8 THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

may embrace only the grading of a place for play, 
the planting of a few trees, the laying out of a few 
walks, and the arranging of a few beds of flowers ; 
or they may comprehend all the arts known to the 
landscape gardener. No place can be named where* 
these arts could be turned to better account. Bless- 
ings upon the benefactors who shall connect with 
our higher institutions of learning, grounds diver- 
sified by hill and valley, by grove and copse and 
cluster, by lawn and nook and glen ; who shall make 
walks and drives wind about them; build here and 
there arbors, retreats, and summer-houses ; cause 
streams to meander through them, and, now and 
then, swell into little, lakes; place fishes in* their 
ponds, waterfowl upon their lakes, and fawn in 
their groves; erect fountains where best the leap- 
ing of their diamond jets could charm the eye; 
and set up statues of the good and great whose 
mute but eloquent voices might speak to the 
young of learning and of virtue. 

Apparatus. — Such apparatus for play as is used 
in the games of ball, foot-ball, base-ball, cricket, 
marbles, &c, the pupils will furnish for themselves: 
they will also procure stones, and sticks, and sand, 
and clay, and find use for them ; but there are other 
kinds of apparatus for the play-ground which the 
school-authorities should furnish. Among the most 
useful of these, for boys, are a ball-alley, a rotary 
swing, a climbing-stand, a balancing-bar, and a 
vaulting-horse. Girls will use swings, jumping- 
ropes, .brick-blocks, and bows and arrows. Such 
apparatus as that now mentioned will answer the 
purposes of play and exercise in a day-school ; but 



SCHOOL-GROUNDS. 9 

all boarding-schools should have a room set apart 
for gymnastics and supplied with the. most approved 
apparatus. Here the pupils should receive regular 
and systematic training from a competent teacher. 

Care-taking. — School -Directors or School -Com- 
mittees should first put the school-grounds in order; 
but, after he comes into possession, the teacher ought 
to be held responsible for their care-taking. It is 
his duty to keep a clean and tidy school-room, and 
it is equally his duty to keep the grounds in good 
condition. It is true that the destructive propen- 
sities of children, uncontrolled, often lead them to 
do mischief, — to throw down fences, to cut and bark 
trees, to cover doors and furniture with uncouth and 
obscene figures ; but it is emphatically the teacher's 
duty to prevent these acts, and no better proof of a 
teacher's want of qualifications need be asked than 
his inability to do so. This propensity of the young 
to cut, scratch, deface, and destroy school-property 
should be corrected. They do not thus misuse the 
property of their parents; and good management in 
school will prevent it there. Teachers may create 
such a spirit among their pupils as not only to pre- 
vent them from doing harm to the school-property, 
but to render them willing and ready to assist in 
protecting it from the trespasses of others. They 
can be taught to love neatness and order, to guard 
affectionately the trees and flowers about the school- 
grounds, and to take pride in protecting and pre- 
serving then 

2. The Advantages oe School-Grounds. — The 
following advantages maybe expected to result from 
school-grounds well arranged and well provided with 



10 THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

apparatus: the invigoration of the health of the pupils; 
the removal of particular causes of disorder from the 
school; the promotion of study; the caltivation of taste; 
the furnishing of occasions for imparting certain kinds 
of instruction ; and the presentation of opportunities for 
studying the disposition of pupils. 

The Invigoration of the Health of the Pupils. — Chil- 
dren require free, exciting bodily exercise. They 
cannot be healthy without it. When confined for a 
long time, they become restless and unable to study. 
They need pure, fresh air, which is seldom found 
except out-of-doors. Nature thus indicates that 
periods of exercise should alternate with periods 
of study. The bones must be strengthened, the 
muscles toughened, the blood made to circulate 
briskly, and the whole organism of the body made 
to perform its functions healthfully, in order that a 
sure basis be had upon which to erect the super- 
structure of mental education. There must be a 
healthy bodily organization to insure a healthy 
mental organization ; and, while a school-room is 
necessary to induce the latter, a well-arranged play- 
ground is the best means of promoting the former. 
]STo gymnastic exercises can be contrived equal in 
value to jumping-the-rope, rolling hoops, ball, or 
cricket. 

The Bemoval of particular Causes of Disorder from 
the School. — The exercises of a school situated upon 
a street or by the side of a highway must suffer 
great interruption from noise, and be considerably 
disturbed by the curiosity pupils evince to see every 
passing object. At play, in such circumstances, 
without a play-ground, the pupils are themselves in 



SCHOOL-GROUNDS. 11 

constant danger from horses and passing vehicles, 
and sometimes give much annoyance to travellers. 
In situations removed from such thoroughfares, but 
in which no school-grounds are attached to the 
school, pupils are apt to trespass upon the neigh- 
boring fields, sometimes to the damage of fences 
and growing crops ; or to play in the house, thereby 
injuring the furniture, and producing scenes of 
uproar and confusion. 

Play, fun, and frolic, most children will have. It 
is natural to them ; and I have no feeling in common 
with that pedagogical asceticism which laments this 
disposition in the young, or chides children for its 
reasonable indulgence. An active, wide-awake child 
is less likely to throw his life away to no purpose, 
than a moping, dull one. School-children should 
neither sit listlessly about the school-house during 
intermission and noon-time, nor should they be 
allowed to run up and down the highway, to the 
neighboring creek or wood, through the village, 
over the adjoining fields,— anywhere and every- 
where their fickle fancies may prompt. Both are 
extremes, and both are wrong. Praise given to the 
hard-working student who does not rise from his 
desk at play-time, is injudicious praise; and the 
teacher whose care does not follow his pupils while 
engaged in play, neglects a very important part of 
his duty. 

To avoid these causes of disorder in the school- 
house and out of the school-house, a good play- 
ground well provided with appropriate apparatus is 
absolutely indispensable. Here, within the hearing 
of the teacher and under his eve, with no danger 

3* 



12 THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

to themselves and little opportunity of disturbing 
others or trespassing upon their rights, pupils could 
take the liveliest exercise and enjoy the merriest 
games unmolesting and unmolested. Quarrels would 
be few where the teacher's eye might witness them, 
and vulgar or profane language would be seldom 
heard where the teacher's ear might catch the un- 
pleasant sound. The hour of play over, the pupils 
would return to the duties of the school-room, fresh, 
vigorous, and ready for work. The propensity for 
fun and mischief would have exhausted itself, and 
most, if not all, would be willing to submit quietly 
to the necessary restraints of study-hours. 

The Promotion of Study. — It cannot be doubted, 
from what has already been said, that children would 
attend school more regularly, be more attentive to 
their studies, learn more and learn it better, if 
school -houses were pleasantly situated, school- 
grounds properly arranged, and school-plays pro- 
perly conducted. 

Our ability to study is greatly influenced by sur- 
rounding circumstances. ~No one can sit down in a 
cold, dark, gloomy, uninviting room and study well ; 
at least persons whose interest has not become 
completely absorbed in study cannot do so ; and this 
fact has as much significance in reference to school- 
grounds as to school-houses. 

Let children have suitable opportunities for play, 
for working off their animal energy, and their pro- 
gress in study will be greatly accelerated. If this 
be done, they will work more industriously, and be 
able to endure, without loss of health, much more 
mental labor. 



SCHOOL-GROUNDS. 13 

17ie Cultivation of the Taste. — We have around us 
silent teachers. Mountains and valleys, lakes and 
rivers, green fields and clustering villages, the set- 
ting sun, the clouds of heaven, the grand old ocean, 
— all that is beautiful or sublime in the works of 
nature and art, elevates the mind and cultivates the 
taste ; while, on the other hand, disproportioned, 
inharmonious, deformed, or neglected objects excite 
no train of pleasurable emotions, and familiarity 
with such tends to lower the standard by which we 
judge of the beautiful. The youthful mind is pecu- 
liarly susceptible to influences of this kind, and it 
cannot be doubted that the unimproved and unin- 
viting grounds about our school-houses tend to 
deaden the natural sense of beauty and refinement 
instead of quickening it. If school-grounds were as 
we have shown they should be, their silent teachings 
would ever tend to the culture of the noblest feel- 
ings of the human heart ; and, instead of that ruth- 
less disposition to destroy, that rough, rude conduct, 
and those careless habits, which so often characterize 
the pupils of our schools, all might have their taste 
elevated, refined, and purified. 

The Furnishing of Occasions for imparting certain 
Kinds of Instruction. — The most prominent use of a 
play-ground is to enable the pupils to obtain con- 
veniently relaxation and exercise. When systematic 
gymnastic training is required, the teacher must 
conduct the exercises. The games and plays of 
children must be allowed to proceed without unne- 
cessary interference on the part of the teacher; but 
he can sometimes, if in sympathy with children, 
make suggestions respecting old plays, or propose 



14 THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

new ones, that will much increase the interest taken 
in them. Children may be taught how to play. 

Occasions will present themselves, too, when the 
teacher can find in the play-ground attentive lis- 
teners to the relation of an anecdote or story, or the 
reading of some interesting book. If a teacher will 
take a seat under a shade-tree near the school, and 
offer to tell his pupils their names and something 
concerning all the flowers, minerals, fossils, shells, 
or insects they will bring to him, he will need con- 
siderable knowledge of Natural History if he is able 
to keep his bargain. Let it be remembered that the 
greatest of the ancient philosophers taught in groves 
and gardens. 

The circumstances of the play-ground may be 
used to impart important moral lessons. On the 
play-ground the real character of pupils shows 
itself; and the quick judgment of the true teacher 
will tell him when he may give a hint that will 
awaken attention to the right and the wrong, or 
plant the seed of a moral truth that will grow up 
in the heart, and produce fruit a hundredfold. 
Even the presence of the teacher on the play-ground, 
while it need detract nothing from the fun or frolic, 
will be beneficial in elevating the general tone of 
enjoyment. Unkind words will not be spoken, nor 
selfish deeds be done, when he is by ; and good 
qualities soon grow habitual. Instances, indeed, are 
not wanting in which, when rebellious natures had 
stirred up discontent among the pupils, and appear- 
ances indicated the subversion of the teacher's au- 
thority, he was able, by judicious management on 



SCHOOL-GRADES. 15 

the play-ground, to arrest the rising tumult and win 
all back to obedience and respect. 

The Presentation of Opportunities for studying the 
Disposition of Pupils. — The success of school-govern- 
ment, and even of teaching, depends very much 
upon the knowledge the teacher possesses of his 
pupils' dispositions. It is on the play-ground that 
pupils first encounter opposing desires and clashing 
wills, and the teacher can see manifested there, 
much better than in the school-room, all that play 
of passion and all those springs of action and diver- 
sities of character incident to social life. Each in- 
dividual is himself on the play-ground ; and the 
teacher, if he freely mingles with his pupils while 
at play, can scarcely fail to gather information that 
will aid him in his school-room duties and prove 
beneficial to the school. 

III. School -Grades. — Pupils can be classed ac- 
cording to the studies which it is thought best they 
should pursue. A system of graded schools pro- 
vides a separate school or a separate room for each 
class, or for as many classes with slightly different 
attainments as can be conveniently accommodated 
in the same room. Without some system of this 
kind, the education that could be furnished by a 
Common School system would be very imperfect. 

What is designed to be said on the subject of 
school-grades will have reference — 

1. To the Plans of Graded Schools. 

2. To the Objects of Graded Schools. 

1. Plans of Graded Schools. — Plans of graded 



16 THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

scliools involve considerations respecting, first, the 
number of grades, and, second, the manner of grading. 

The Number of Grades. — No principle can be found 
that may be used to determine the number of grades 
in a system of graded schools. Pupils cannot be 
classed according to age, and studies admit divisions 
in a hundred places as well as in ten. The grada- 
tion of schools is, therefore, a matter of convenience, 
and its nature must be determined by circumstances. 
Custom, however, seems to have fixed three general 
grades, called, respectively, Primary Schools, Gram- 
mar Schools, and High Schools. The rudiments of 
an education are imparted in the Primary School, 
the Grammar School carries on the work, and the 
High School completes it. Where no Grammar 
Schools or High Schools exist, or where it is incon- 
venient to patronize them, the Academy and the 
Seminary take their place ; and those who wish to 
pursue their studies beyond the course contemplated 
by these classes of institutions resort to the College 
or the University. 

In large cities or towns, Primary Schools are 
divided into several grades, very frequently into six 
or eight, and Grammar Schools are likewise divided 
into several grades, mostly into three or four. It is 
very evident that, in fixing the number of grades for 
a particular locality, certain knowledge may be 
agreed upon as proper to be imparted in the Pri- 
mary Schools, certain other knowledge as proper 
to be imparted in the Grammar Schools, and the 
remaining branches of the course may be reserved 
to be taught in the High School ; but in this divi- 
sion of a course of study, as well as in all subdivi- 



SCHOOL-GRADES 17 

sions of it, the arrangement must be arbitrary. 
The grades of the schools might be used to deter- 
mine the studies, just as well as the studies to deter- 
mine the grades. Both studies and grades must be 
adjusted to one another and to the circumstances 
of the locality. 

Some help to those needing it, however, may be 
rendered by the following statements, which are in- 
ferences drawn from the results of the systems of 
grading schools, adopted in many places. They are 
intended to apply only to our present social con- 
dition. 

There ought to be a school for every fifty pupils 
who are accustomed to attend school in a district. 
In thinly populated neighborhoods there may be a 
school for a less number. One teacher is wanted 
for such a school ; and he must classify his pupils 
as best he can. 

Wherever from fifty to eighty pupils can con- 
veniently attend a school, it should have a recitation- 
room attached to the school-room, and an assistant 
teacher should be employed. Such a school can be 
divided into two divisions, a Primary division and 
a Grammar division, although both divisions would 
occupy the same room except when reciting. 

When the number of pupils attending one school 
is increased to from eighty to one hundred and 
twenty, there should be a school-room and two 
recitation -rooms, a Principal and two assistant 
teachers. Such an arrangement will be open to the 
objection that it brings older and younger pupils 
together and subjects them in some respects to the 
same discipline ; but on the whole it will be found 



IS THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

the cheapest and best mode of grading — if grading 
it can be called — for the stated number of pupils. 

In a rural neighborhood or a village where from 
one hundred and twenty to one hundred and fifty 
pupils can be conveniently collected into one place, • 
the school-house should have three apartments, two 
for Primary Schools and one for a Grammar School; 
or, if preferred, there can be three houses, two for 
the Primary Schools and one for the Grammar 
School. The pupils in the Grammar School will be 
to those in the Primary Schools in about the ratio 
of one to three. Provision must be made for pupils 
in Grammar and Primary Schools in about the same 
ratio until their number reaches six hundred, when 
— and not safely before — a High School can be 
established. "With High, Grammar, and Primary 
Schools the ratios of pupils in the different grades 
respectively, will stand about one, three, and eight; 
and, consequently, of the six hundred pupils fifty 
will be found in the High School, one hundred and 
fifty in the Grammar School or Schools, and four 
hundred in the Primary Schools. If but one Gram- 
mar School be provided, there should be three dis- 
tinct classes, with three teachers ; if three such 
schools be provided, each school can be occupied by 
pupils of one grade. The pupils attending the Pri- 
mary Schools can be divided into eight grades, if 
so many be desirable, and they can either be accom- 
modated in one large school-building or in separate 
schools. 

From six hundred up to any higher number, the 
relative number of pupils attending each grade of 
schools will not be much changed, and schoo\-ac- 



SCHOOL-GRADES. 19 

conimodations can be made accordingly. It ought 
to be remarked, however, that it has been found 
best in large cities to raise the grade of a High 
School somewhat above that now contemplated, 
thus necessitating a rise in the grades of the schools 
below it. 

The Marnier of Grading. — Incidentally, in speak- 
ing of the number of grades, something has been 
said in regard to manner of grading; bat it is 
deemed best to make the subject as clear as possi- 
ble by presenting it under a distinct head.' 

The first system of graded schools that will be 
noticed may be called the Union Graded System. 
This system consists in bringing all the pupils of 
the several grades to one building designed for the 
purpose, and uniting them under one Principal or 
Superintendent. Of course, separate apartments 
are appropriated to the Primary, Grammar, and 
High Schools, and to as many subdivisions of these 
as may be deemed expedient. A Union School with 
an attendance of six hundred, pupils would require 
about twelve teachers and a general Superintendent. 
Eight teachers should be employed in the Primary 
department, three in the Grammar department, and 
one, with such help as could be rendered in this de- 
partment by the Superintendent, would be sufficient 
for the High School. If the grades of pupils be 
made to correspond with the number of teachers, — 
ixs they should be, — it becomes an interesting 
question as to whether it is best to assign a separate 
loom to each grade and each teacher and let each 
teacher hear his pupils in all their studies, or whether 
it is best to provide rooms large enough to seat the 



20 THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

pupils belonging to several grades, have recitation- 
rooms, a Principal, and the needed number of as- 
sistants. My own well-matured conviction is that 
in a Union School having an attendance of six 
hundred pupils, which we are taking as the type of 
this class of schools, the best manner .of grading is 
to provide four apartments, — the first two each large 
enough to seat two hundred Primary pupils, the 
second designed to accommodate the one hundred 
and fifty pupils who would attend the Grammar 
School, and the third arranged for the pupils of the 
Hio'h School. Each of the first should have con- 
nected with it three recitation-rooms ; the second, 
two ; and the third, one. One Principal and three 
assistants should be employed in each of the Pri- 
mary Schools, one Principal and two assistants in 
the Grammar School, and one teacher and the 
general Superintendent could do the work of the 
High School. I cannot give at length here my 
reasons for this opinion ; but it will be found to 
secure better system in the general working of the 
school, better discipline among the pupils, and more 
effective teaching, — better system and discipline 
because the Principals would be chosen with refer- 
ence to their executive abilities and disciplinary 
qualifications, and more effective teaching because 
each teacher could be engaged in teaching those 
branches in which he took most delight or was most 
successful. The time the pupils spend in passing 
in good order from one class-room to another, or 
from study-hall to class-room, need occupy but a few 
moments, and the movement will relieve them from 
the weariness of sitting. All the teachers in such a 



SCHOOL-GRADES. 21 

school must, of course, unite their efforts in caring 
for the moral and spiritual welfare of the pupils 
under their charge, who, it seems to me, must he 
greatly "benefited by the varied instruction of this 
kind which they would then receive. 

Separate Graded Schools differ from Union Graded 
Schools in this : in Union Schools, the pupils are all 
brought to one school-house and graded there ; while 
in separate schools, a school-house is provided for 
each grade of pupils, and a teacher employed to take 
charge of them. The school-houses designed to 
accommodate the Primary pupils may he placed in 
different parts of the district ; hut the location of 
Grammar and High Schools must be more central. 

A system of Graded Schools for a city or town may 
consist partly of Union Schools and partly of Separate 
Schools. Local circumstances sometimes render ii 
inconvenient for young children to walk the distance 
necessary to reach a Union School ; and in such cases 
it is wise to provide separate Primary Schools for 
them. 

In regard to the relative advantages of the Union 
and Separate Graded Systems, it might be remarked 
that the Separate Graded System places the schools 
at a less distance from the pupils, avoids sudden 
dangers as from fright or fire, and lessens the evils 
of noise, confusion, and evil association, which, 
unless the school-grounds be very commodious and 
the school-discipline very exact, will prevail where 
hundreds of children are brought promiscuously 
together. On the other. hand, it should be stated 
that Union Schools can be managed more cheaply, 
they admit better gradation, and can be subjected 



22 THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

to a much more complete supervision. In good 
hands, as a working machine, Union Schools have 
decided advantage over any other system. 

What has heen said has reference to schools in 
cities and towns. Something must be added concern- 
ing the manner of grading schools in the country. 
Of course, grading schools in country districts is only 
practicable in thickly settled neighborhoods. Here 
it is practicable ; and the schools will never produce 
their full fruits without it. 

If the old school-houses were out of the way, the 
best manner of grading schools in rural districts 
would perhaps be to divide a township into districts 
containing each a school-going population of from 
one hundred and twenty to two hundred, and then 
build two or three Primary Schools at convenient 
places, and locate a Grammar School somewhere 
near the centre of the district. The younger pupils 
would thus enjoy school privileges by walking a 
short distance, and the older pupils could obtain a 
better education by going a little longer distance. 
If people really felt the value of a graded school, a 
near approximation to this result could often be 
obtained without much change in existing arrange- 
ments as to school-houses. 

Another mode of securing the advantages of 
graded schools in rural districts will be named, — not 
so complete as the preceding, perhaps, but against 
which much less opposition would be made. This 
plan consists in bringing together wherever practi- 
cable — and it is practicable in every thickly settled 
rural district — from fifty to eighty pupils of all 
grades, and providing seats for them in the same 



SCHOOL-GRADES. 23 

school-room, but to which a recitation -room should 
be attached. The teachers should consist of a Prin- 
cipal and one assistant, and the pupils should be 
divided into two grades and subdivided into classes. 
One of the teachers should remain in the school- 
room all the time, while the other could hear classes, 
uninterrupted, in the recitation-room. Some classes 
that could best be heard in the school-room, might 
be; though this would not very often be necessary. 
Where from eighty to one hundred and twenty pupils 
could conveniently assemble at one house, there 
should be two recitation-rooms and two teachers. 

The advantages of such a system are very great. 
It enables the older children in a family to lend 
their protection to the younger ones in going to and 
coming from school. It enables the school-authori- 
ties to accommodate the increasing number of school- 
children without building new school-houses. All 
that is necessary is to enlarge the old ones, where 
they are sufficiently good to warrant it. It enables 
these same authorities to procure the services of the 
very best teachers as Principals, since they could 
pay them good salaries. The assistants could in 
many cases be chosen from among the oldest and 
best-qualified pupils; they might not be needed all 
the time, and would not expect large compensation. 
Cinder the direction of a competent Principal, they 
would do their work well. If selected because they 
desired to become teachers, the system might do 
much to provide its own teachers. With such a 
large number of children from whom to gather 
pupils, the Principal of each of the schools graded 
upon this plan could find employment for ten 

4* 



24 THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

months in the year; for should the public schools 
be open a less length of time, a private school would 
be well patronized. In this way, teaching would 
become a permanent business, and a long step 
would be taken towards constituting it a profession. 

2. The Objects of Graded Schools. — Some of 
the most prominent objects the friends of education 
have had in view, in advocating a system of graded 
schools, are the following : they economize the labor of 
instruction; lessen its cost; make teaching more effect- 
ive ; promote good order in school ; prompt the ambition 
of pupils ; provide instruction in the higher branches of 
learning ; and, remove the necessity of children's leaving 
home to obtain a good education. 

They economize the Labor of Instruction. — In un- 
graded schools there is much unnecessary expendi- 
ture of time and labor. Several teachers may each 
have a small class in a branch of learning, whose 
recitations require about as much time as if all the 
classes were combined. Less interest, too, is always 
taken, both by pupils and teachers, in small classes 
than in those which are larger. Graded schools 
diminish the number of classes, and thus economize 
the labor of instruction. 

They lessen the Cost of Teaching. — If graded schools 
decrease the number of classes, they likewise de- 
crease the number of teachers required to conduct 
them, and in this way lessen the cost of teaching. 

They make Teaching more effective. — As has already 
been said, ten or fifteen pupils will make more rapid 
progress in a class than two or three. But the chief 
reason why teaching is more effective in graded than 
in ungraded schools is because in the former no 



SCHOOL-GRADES. 25 

advantage can be taken of the teacher's special tastes 
or special talents. "When a teacher is compelled to 
teach ten or a dozen different branches, as mnst be 
the case not unfrequently in ungraded schools, he 
can make but little special preparation for teaching 
any of them ; and if he is more fond of some 
branches than of others, has a better knowledge 
of them, or succeeds better in teaching them, — and 
this will always be the fact, — he has no alternative 
but to do his best in the unfavorable circumstances 
in which he finds himself. A well-managed graded 
school has its teaching-forces so distributed as to do 
the most effective work. 

They promote good Order. — Graded schools admit, 
from the very nature of their organization, better 
system and better discipline than would be possible 
if the same number of pupils were distributed in 
ungraded schools. The government of a school is 
not so easy where large and small pupils prepare 
and recite their lessons in the same apartment, as 
many sources of disturbance arise which their sepa- 
ration would remove. The easiest school to govern, 
other things being equal, is one in which all the 
pupils in the school-room prepare their lessons at 
the same time and recite them at the same time. 

They prompt the Ambition of Pupils.-^-A pupil who 
enters a graded school has something in addition to 
the usual motives to prompt his ambition. He 
knows that there are higher schools, he sees his 
companions transferred to them, and he naturally 
works harder to hasten his own going. If judi- 
ciously managed, the constant spur of such a motive 
may be made to do much good. 



26 THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

They provide Instruction in the higher Branches of 
Learning. — Respecting the value of what are called 
the higher branches of an education, there is but 
one opinion among those who are competent to 
judge; and that is, that no one can be able to appre- 
ciate the true worth of knowledge who neglects the 
study of them. To avoid distinctions in society, to 
bring out all the talent a people may possess, as well 
as to allow the privileges of liberal learning to be 
enjoyed, wherever possible, by the poor and the rich 
alike, the course of study in our Common Schools 
ought to be so extended as to embrace a number 
of the higher branches of learning. 

For .one teacher to give instruction in an ungraded 
school, in more branches than Reading, Writing, 
Arithmetic, Geography, and Grammar, is wellnigh 
an impossibility. Either our schools must be graded, 
or the education of the great majority of our people 
must stop at this point. 

They remove the Necessity of leaving Home to obtain a 
good Education, — It has been shown that the schools 
even in most of our rural districts can be graded, 
and, when graded, that the higher branches of 
learning can be taught in them ; and this removes 
all necessity of leaving home to obtain a good edu- 
cation. Some writer upon the subject of education 
says, " All schools are a necessary evil." What he 
means is that, if education could be obtained in the 
family, it would be much better than in a school of 
any kind. Whether this is true or not, it is cer- 
tainly true that the dangers of school-life — and they 
are neither few nor trifling — increase in proportion 
to the distance the child is removed from the family. 



SCHOOL-STUDIES. 27 

When children can be with their parents all tho 
time except the six or eight hours they spend at the 
District School in company with other children of 
the neighborhood, they are comparatively safe ; but 
the moral danger becomes very great when young 
persons are placed at even the best-regulated board- 
ing-schools, where the watchful eyes and constant 
promptings of loving parents cannot follow to shield 
them from harm. If parents rightly appreciated 
this one view of the matter, the earnest educator 
would not have long to wait for the establishment 
of graded schools. 

IV. School-Studies. — The thoughtful educator 
finds no more difficult problem than that which is 
to determine the branches of knowledge which 
should be embraced in a course of school-studies, and 
arrange the order in which they should be pursued. 
The performance of this task will not be attempted 
in this volume, as the discussion of the subject 
would involve principles which do not come within 
its scope. But, in order to render as much help as 
possible to the teacher, some practical suggestions 
will be made in regard to studies for Primary Schools, 
Grammar Schools, High Schools and Academies, and Col- 
leges. Details must be left to those who write spe- 
cially upon this subject. 

1. Studies for Primary Schools. — Children 
enter our Primary Schools at the age of -Q.ve or 
six years. They already possess considerable know- 
ledge, and the teacher should begin his instruction 
where that knowledge ends, and follow as closely as 



2S THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

possible the methods — nature's methods — by which 
it was acquired. 

The most prominent kind of instruction that 
should be imparted in our Primary Schools is Les- 
sons on Objects. A better name would perhaps be 
Intuitive Exercises. These lessons are adapted to 
the mental condition of young children, and in- 
tended to gratify their curiosity, discipline their 
senses and their powers of observation, develop 
their thinking faculties, and improve their language. 
The matter of such lessons consists of the most 
important qualities and phenomena of objects; and, 
to make the instruction effective, each class should 
receive two lessons daily. Some well-arranged sys- 
tem should be followed in selecting objects for 
lessons, and in conducting the recitations. Suitable 
apparatus is an indispensable auxiliary to success in 
Object Teaching. Books treating of this subject 
must be referred to for further information. 

Children in Primary Schools ought to be taught 
the names and the sounds of the letters of the Al- 
phabet; and they ought also to receive careful 
instruction in Pronouncing, Spelling, Defining, Ele- 
mentary Reading, and Oral Composition. They may 
write, as soon as they are able, accounts of things 
seen or heard of by them. The committing and 
speaking of pieces is an old exercise, but by no 
means a useless one. Appropriate narratives, de- 
scriptions, and stories may be read to such children 
with great profit to them. 

The studies of Drawing and Writing must claim 
a large share of attention in the Primary School. 

Pupils in Primary Schools will take great delight 



SCHOOL-STUDIES. 20 

in performing elementary Arithmetical Exercises, 
and may be shown some of the simplest Geomet- 
rical truths. 

Little songs and hymns should be committed and 
sung. Both teacher and pupils will be the better 
for it. 

2. Studies for Grammar Schools. — Object Les- 
sons must be continued in the Grammar Schools, 
the objects chosen for lessons and the manner of 
imparting the instruction concerning them being 
adapted to the age and acquirements of the pupils. 
In this manner, much knowledge of such sciences 
as Botany, Mineralogy, Geology, Chemistry, Natural 
Philosophy, and Physiology can be profitably im- 
parted. ~No instruction that could possibly be given 
in a Grammar School can exceed this in value. 

A list of Grammar School studies must embrace 
Spelling, Defining, Reading, Composition, and the 
Elements of Grammar. One year is quite long 
enough for pupils to spend in the study of Grammar 
before entering the High School. They can gene- 
rally learn all of it they can comprehend in that 
time, and the remaining time usually wasted upon 
this study can be much better employed in studying 
the Elements of the JSTatural Sciences, as before sug- 
gested. 

Geography may be studied from a text-book, and 
likewise the History of the United States. 

Instruction in Drawing and Writing must con- 
tinue in all the grades. 

Elementary Arithmetic, both Written and Oral, 
can be completed in the Grammar School. If de- 
sirable, considerable progress might be made in the 



30 THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

studies of Elementary Geometry and Elementary 
Algebra. Better these than Higher Arithmetic. 

Pupils in Grammar Schools should be taught to 
sing by note. Vocal Music is very appropriate, both 
at the opening and the closing of the school. 

3. Studies for High Schools. — The principal 
studies embraced in a High School Course are in- 
cluded in the following classification: — Language, 
Inductive Sciences, Deductive Sciences, and His- 
tory; and the teacher will not make any great 
mistake if he require his pupils to devote about an 
equal length of time to each class. 

In Language, Grammar, Rhetoric, Composition, 
Elocution, and English Literature must be carefully 
studied ; and if the stud}? of any of the modern or 
ancient languages be contemplated, and no progress 
have been previously made in them, it must be now 
commenced, and pushed forward as far as time and 
other circumstances will admit. 

From the many Inductive Sciences, it may be a 
somewhat difficult task for the High School autho- 
rities to select such as should be embraced in the 
High School curriculum. The following branches, 
however, cannot well be omitted : — Geography, Bo- 
tany, Zoology, Geology, Astronomy, Natural Phi- 
losophy, Chemistry, Physiology, and Psychology. 

The most prominent place among the Deductive 
Sciences is generally given to Mathematics. Of 
Mathematical branches, there should be studied in 
the High School, Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, 
Trigonometry, and their various applications. The 
elements of Logic, Ethics, ^Esthetics, and Political 
Science, or Metaphysics generally, may be studied 



SCHOOL-STUDIES. 31 

with great profit by those whose minds are suffi- 
ciently matured. 

History, as studied in a High School, should con- 
sist of a Compend of Universal History, together 
with Detailed Histories of the most noted nations 
of ancient and modern times. The history of the 
several sciences and arts should be included in this 
course. 

What has now been said in reference to a course 
of study for High Schools, it is conceived, will 
apply, with slight modifications, to the courses of 
study designed for Academies and Seminaries. 

4. Studies for Colleges. — Language, Inductive 
Science, Deductive Science, and History, constitute 
the chief studies of Colleges, as of High Schools 
and Academies. The relative values of these several 
classes of studies are differently estimated in dif- 
ferent institutions ; but the application of a true 
standard would probably reveal the fact that no one 
class, either on account of the truths it embodies or 
on account of the discipline it furnishes, can esta- 
blish any stronger claims upon the pupil's time than 
the others. Too much time, probably, is now devoted 
in our colleges to the study of Language, and, it may 
be, to Mathematics, in proportion to the time devoted 
to other studies. If students in college can make 
four recitations daily, I would have them recite once 
in a branch of study belonging respectively to each 
of the classes above named. This conclusion is not 
stated hastily, but only after mature deliberation. 

Language, as studied in a College, should embrace 
English Literature, Composition, and Elocution. 
The classic languages of Greece and Rome should 



32 THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

be thoroughly mastered. If the student has time, 
he should add to his other acquirements a knowledge 
of French and German, or other modern languages. 
Some investigation into the science of language 
itself may crown the work of this department. 

The popular knowledge of the Inductive Sciences 
which students may have obtained in High Schools 
and Academies must be made precise and systematic 
in the College. Students must be taught to look 
deeper down into nature, and to take broader views 
of the facts and laws which they witness. It is un- 
necessary to name particular studies, for all seem 
equally valuable ; and fresh truths may still be 
gathered from the great store-house in which they 
were placed by God himself. 

The Deductive Sciences start out with universal 
principles which are revealed by the reason, and are 
completed by the addition of the new truths which 
are found contained in these principles, by a process 
of logical evolution. It is in this field that nearly 
all the great philosophers have labored, and the 
results of these labors constitute the proudest monu- 
ments of the human intellect. In this department, 
the students in our Colleges should study the Higher 
Mathematics, Rational Physics, and several branches 
of Metaphysics, as Rational Psychology, Logic, 
Ethics, and ^Esthetics. 

The course of reading in History maybe extended 
in the College to embrace the History of Science, 
the History of Art, the History of God's dealings 
with men, the Bible, and the most difficult of all 
studies, the Philosophy of History. 

Professors in a College are supposed to be ac- 



SCHOOL-HOUSES. 83 

quainted with all that is known respecting the 
branches they teach, and to be able to conduct the 
student in making original investigations. Teaching 
in the lower schools must consist, in good measure, 
in making pupils acquainted with text-books ; but 
in College they should be taken beyond text-books 
and made to gather the fruit of knowledge fresh 
from the garden of nature. 

V. School -Houses. — It is not within the design 
of this volume to treat at length of the construction 
and arrangement of school-houses. To practice 
teaching successfully requires a suitable place and 
proper means to carry on the work. It is for this 
reason that any thing is now said in reference to the 
subject, and most that will be said will be confined 
to suggestions in regard to Common School houses 
in rural districts, where such information is so much 
needed. 

The particulars respecting school-houses which 
require notice are — 

1. Size. — The size of a school -house should 
depend mainly upon the number of pupils it is in- 
tended to accommodate. A house designed for an 
ungraded school to be taught by a single teacher 
should not contain less than nine hundred square feet. 
Such a house will furnish room for vestibules, 
closets, platform, &c, and leave sufficient to seat 
about fifty pupils and to hear their recitations.* A 
house built to accommodate from fifty to eighty 
pupils, and provide them with a recitation-room, 
should contain not less than fifteen hundred square 
feet ; and one to accommodate from eighty to one 



34 THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

hundred and twenty pupils, with two recitation- 
rooms, should have an area of something like two 
thousand square feet. 

2. Form. — The best form ior school-houses in 
rural districts is rectangular, the door entering at 
the south end, and the north end being without 
windows. The dimensions of the three kinds 
of school-houses contemplated in the preceding 
paragraph may be, respectively, the first thirty-eight 
feet by twenty-five, the second fifty-two feet by 
thirty, and the third fifty-six feet by thirty-two. The 
ceiliug in all cases must be from twelve to sixteen 
feet high, as it will add to the beauty of the room 
and to the health and comfort of its occupants. 

3. Internal Arrangements. — All school-houses 
should possess rooms for hats, bonnets, shawls, over- 
coats, umbrellas, dinner-baskets, &c. ; recitation- 
rooms, or convenient spaces for pupils during reci- 
tation ; a large platform for the teacher, and for use 
at examinations and exhibitions ; places for book- 
cases and apparatus- closets; a large surface of blank 
wall for blackboards ; and seats for all the pupils, 
with aisles between them for ingress and egress. The 
diagram on page 35 will indicate better than any 
description the manner of making provisions for all 
these desiderata in an ungraded Common School. 



SCHOOL-HOUSES. 



35 




E 



E 



• 



A- Clothes-room for boys, 8 ft. by 9. 

E. Clothes-room for girls, 8 ft. by 9. 

W AV W W. Windows. 

DDDD. Doors. 

E E. Portico. 6 ft. wide, columns sanded. 

P F. Platform, 15 in. high, in two risers. 

L. Passage. 6 ft. wide, lighted by a window 

placed above the door. 
S. Heat Register : if a stove is used, it 

must be placed near the centre of the 

room. 
X Y X Y. Smoke-flue and ventiduct the 

latter in front. 
G. Teacher's desk or table. 



H H. Cases for books and apparatus. 

KKKK. Blackboard-surface. 

1 1 1 1. Recitation -benches, those back, 

when not in use, to be placed on the 

platform, and those in front against the 

partitions. 
C C C C. Desks, 4 ft. long, li ft. wide, and 

from 25 to 29 in. high. 
M M M M. Scats, from 12 in. to 16 in. high. 
N N N N. Aisles, 1£ ft- wide. 
0. Main aisle, 3 ft. wide. 
Q Q Q Q. Space back of seats, 3 ft. wide. 
P P. Space front of platform, 3 ft. wide. 



5 * 



36 THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

In connection with the foregoing plan of an un- 
graded Common School, it may be useful also to 
present the design of one with a recitation-room at- 
tached to the school-room and calculated to accom- 
modate pupils sufficient to employ two teachers. 

It is not deemed necessary to explain the several 
parts of this design, as the letters are used in the 
same way as in the preceding diagram. The re- 
citation-room is made ten feet wide, and supplied 
with seats and plenty of blackboard-surface. The 
book and apparatus cases are placed in the recita- 
tion-room, as more convenient. One good furnace 
will heat both rooms. The school-room has been 
furnished with seats for eighty pupils : by making 
it somewhat larger, it would seat one hundred and 
twenty pupils, in which case the recitation-room 
could be enlarged and divided, and two assistant 
teachers should be employed, as elsewhere stated. 

Space is economized by having double desks; but 
single desks are better than double ones in several 
respects. Each pupil likes to have his own desk; 
and he will take more care of it than if he possesses 
it in partnership with another. It promotes order, 
too, by separating the pupils. 

The aisles between the desks ought, if practicable, 
to be wider than one and a half feet, as this width 
will scarcely admit of quick passage between them, 
and entirely precludes certain gymnastic movements 
which are quite essential to the health of pupils 
and ought not to be overlooked. The partitions 
between the school-room and the clothes-rooms 
should be made movable. The walls of a school- 
house should be painted stone-color, or a lightish 



SCHOOL-HOUSES. 
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$8 THE PEEPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

brown ; and cherry or walnut is the best color for 
school-furniture. For plans of larger school-bouses 
than these, as well as for full details in reference to 
the subject, the inquirer must resort to some work 
on School Architecture. 

4. Recitation-Rooms. — The shape generally most 
convenient for a recitation-room is rectangular; and 
one in which the work of the recitation is mostly writ- 
ten out upon blackboards should be about twice as 
long as wide. Schools requiring several recitation- 
rooms may appropriate one to the hearing of classes 
in each study or each class of studies taught in the 
institution, and adapt the room, its furniture and 
apparatus, to the end it is intended to subserve. For 
example, one room might be appropriated to Mathe- 
matics, and be supplied with tables, blocks, models, 
diagrams, mathematical instruments, and books for 
reference ; another, to Geography and History, and 
be supplied with Tellurians, globes, maps, charts, 
gazetteers, stereoscopes, pictures, antiquities ; an- 
other, to Natural Science, whose cases should contain 
a full supply of apparatus, and whose shelves should 
be filled with choice specimens from every depart- 
ment of nature ; and still another, to Art, around 
whose walls should hang specimens of writing and 
drawing, engravings, paintings, and in whose niches 
might be placed a few pieces of statuary. A hint 
is all that is here intended; and school-authorities 
must make the application for themselves. That 
something of the kind might be done in every Union 
School, Academy, or College, does not admit of a 
doubt, and, if done, there is just as little doubt of its 
benefits. A recitation-room, arranged with taste in 



SCHOOL-HOUSES. 89 

the spirit of these suggestions, would of itself be a 
silent but most effectual teacher, and pleasant asso- 
ciations would ever cluster about it. 

5. The Cellar. — The uses of a school-house 
cellar are, to keep the floor dry, to store away fuel, 
and to furnish a suitable place for locating the stove 
or furnace. The cellar can also be used, when pro- 
perly lighted and ventilated, as a place for play in 
unpleasant weather ; and it ought to be constructed 
with reference to that end. When thus used, the 
ceiling should not be less than eight feet in height, 
and extend at least two feet above the surface of the 
ground. The inside walls should be roughly plas- 
tered. An entrance must be provided, at some con- 
venient place, from the school-room to the cellar. 

6. Lighting. — Light is necessary to health. Facts 
show that people who live in well-lighted houses 
suffer less from disease than those who are sur- 
rounded by circumstances which either in whole or 
in part exclude the light. Plenty of light, too, 
renders a room more cheerful and inviting. 

The best place, probably, of admitting the light 
is from the roof by a sky-light. In that case it 
would be steady, equally distributed about the room, 
and free from shadow. As such an arrangement is 
not often practicable, the next best mode of admit- 
ting light is from rows of windows placed on each 
side of the school-house. Light coming from behind 
casts shadows in front, which render the light un- 
equal, and when it comes towards the eyes it is 
apt to injure them by its glare. All school-house- 
windows ought to be provided with shutters, but 
curtains at least are indispensable. 



40 THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

7. Heating. — The common mode in which our 
school-houses are heated is very objectionable. A 
stove is generally placed near the centre of the room, 
and in cold weather those pupils who sit close to it 
often suffer from the heat, while those who sit at 
some distance from it as frequently suffer from the 
cold. The temperature of the several parts of a 
school -room heated in this manner differs many 
degrees. The locality of the stove, too, is generally 
covered with dust and dirt, or cumbered with fuel; 
and sometimes it becomes the point where the idle 
gather to put in their time and the mischievous col- 
lect to carry on their tricks. The noise made in 
keeping up fires, and the smoke arising from them, 
are sources of annoyance. 

To avoid these disagreeable effects, the heating 
apparatus should be located in the cellar. A small 
part of the cellar would answer for heater and fuel. 
Only a small heater would be needed to heat a single 
room, and such can be had at a price little above 
that of a large stove; or a stove may be used, if 
surrounded with a tin casing so as to force all the 
heat through the register into the room above, in- 
stead of distributing it about the cellar. If only so 
much cellar be excavated as to allow space for the 
location of a heater and for the storing of fuel, en- 
trance may be had to it from the school-room by 
means of a trap-door placed where it will be least 
in the way. Care must be taken that the air which 
feeds the heater be pure and fresh. Heated air 
thrown into a room at any point will diffuse itself 
quite equally throughout the room. 

If a stove must be placed in the room, it should 



SCHOOL-HOUSES. 41 

be surrounded with a tin casing made to extend 
from the floor to about one foot above the top of the 
stove. There should be a door in the casing for 
putting in fuel; and a trunk for the conveyance of 
fresh air should start outside of the building, run 
under the floor, and communicate directly with the 
stove. This arrangement will distribute the heat 
much better about the room, and avoid those cold 
currents of air which always, in a room heated by 
an ordinary stove, sweep along the floor from the 
bottom of doors and windows, and openings in the 
floor or walls. 

Large school-buildings are generally kept warm by 
furnaces which heat the air, or an apparatus which 
generates steam ; but no description of these can be 
given here. 

8. Ventilation. — All the windows of a school- 
room should be hung with pulleys, in order that they 
may be easily raised or lowered. If windows and 
doors are skilfully used, a tolerably good degree of 
ventilation can be secured. The ventilation will be 
much more perfect if the arrangement be adopted 
which is indicated in the designs representing the 
internal arrangements of a school-house. In this 
arrangement, the smoke-flue starts from the cellar 
and runs out at the roof; and, starting at the floor 
of the school-room, a ventiduct is carried up in 
front of it, and separated from it by a sheet-iron 
partition. In this way the smoke in the flue will 
heat, and of course expand, the air in the ventiduct, 
and make it rise in a strong current, while the air in 
the ventiduct will not interfere with the draft in the 
flue. The smoke-flue should be about twenty-four 



42 THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

inches by nine inches, and the ventiduct the same. 
The stove or furnace may have two pipes, one run- 
ning to each smoke-flue. The ventiduct should have 
two registers, one at the ceiling and the other at the 
floor, though during the school sessions — unless the 
room be too warm — the upper one should be 
closed. Impure air is heavier than other air, and 
will generally find egress from near the floor. 

[Nothing can be said in a work like this of the 
complicated arrangements necessary for ventilating 
large buildings; and those who want information 
must seek for it elsewhere. 

VI. School-Furniture. — Some suggestions are 
deemed appropriate in respect to school-furniture. 
They will be made under the following heads. 

1. Desks and Seats. — Pupils in a school-room 
should sit facing the teacher, and all should have 
assigned them seats and desks adapted to their 
height, neatly constructed, and so designed as to 
place the occupants in comfortable positions. The 
seats may be from twelve inches to sixteen inches 
in height, and the desks, if intended for two pupils 
each, may be from twenty-five inches to twenty-nine 
inches in height, eighteen inches wide, and four feet 
long; and if for one, two feet long, the other 
dimensions remaining the same. A desk and seat 
will occupy a space upon the floor of nearly or quite 
three feet in length. If seats could be so contrived 
as to remain firm when placed horizontally to allow 
the pupil to lean forward easily to write upon his 
desk, and then could be made to have an inclination 
backwards when the pupil desires to read or study, 



SCHOOL-FURNITURE. 43 

it would add much to his comfort in sitting, and 
something, perhaps, to the comeliness of his figure. 
Both desks and seats should be firmly fastened to 
the floor. Inkstands should never be set in the 
desks, because their lids are apt to be left open or 
broken off, and the desks around them are almost 
always stained with ink. 

The teacher will find a table placed near the 
centre of the platform more convenient than a desk, 
especially if there be cases for books and apparatus; 
and these seem indispensable. The teacher's table 
should not be stationary. 

Backs ought to be provided for the recitation-seats, 
and these seats should generally be movable. A 
seat might be placed in front of each of the desks 
next to the platform, and others, attached to these 
with hinges, might, when needed, make the con- 
nections across the aisles, and, when not needed, 
rest upon the top of those in front of the desks. 

2. Platform. — A platform a few feet square might 
be sufficiently large for the teacher's table ; but there 
are numerous occasions in every school when the 
pupils are required to recite before spectators, and 
at such times classes appear to much better advantage 
on a platform facing the audience. For this reason, 
the platform should extend the whole width of the 
school-room, and be at least six feet wide. Its height 
ought to be about fifteen inches, with two risers. 
The proper place in ungraded schools for book and 
apparatus cases is at the ends of the platform. 

3. Blackboard. — The blackboard is an indispen- 
sable article of school-furniture ; as much so as the 
plough to the farmer, the plane to the carpenter, or 

6 



44 THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

the scalpel to the surgeon. It can be used to ad- 
vantage in all recitations in all studies. 

A blackboard should be placed immediately be- 
nind the platform and extend its whole length, and 
elsewhere all around the school-room wherever suit- 
able blank wall can be taken advantage of. I never 
heard a good teacher complain that he had more 
blackboard-surface than he could use. The teacher 
will want blackboards for his classes while engaged 
in reciting, and also for others who are preparing 
to recite. Young pupils can be profitably employed 
in drawing or writing on blackboards while the 
teacher is hearing the lessons of older pupils. 

The blackboard may be five feet wide, and' extend 
to within two feet of the floor. 

The best kind of blackboards are made of slate. 
They can be had four or live feet square; but they 
are too costly for general use. If wood is used, it 
must be well-seasoned pine or poplar, of fine quality, 
and the blackboards must be well made and care- 
fully painted. 

A cheap and serviceable black-surface for walls 
may be made by the following recipe : — 

4 pecks of white finish, or white coating. 

4 pecks of beach or other fine sharp sand. 

4 pecks of ground plaster. 

4 pounds of lampblack. 

4 gallons of alcohol or good whiskey. 

This quantity will make a mixture sufficient to 
cover twenty square yards of surface. A little 
flour of emery will prevent the mixture from "set- 
ting" immediately, thus giving time to put it on the 
wall with the necessary care. If emery be not used, 



SCHOOL-FURNITURE. 45 

only a small quantity of the mixture can be put on 
at a time; and this is perhaps, on the whole, the best 
plan. 

The wall which is intended to be covered with 
the black-surface should be plastered like the rest 
of the room, with the exception that the black mix- 
ture takes the place of the white coating and is put 
on in the same manner. After the black-surface 
is on the wall, it must be carefully dampened and 
rubbed, in order to fill up all the pores and make 
the surface hard and smooth. If the old surface be 
well moistened, a new surface, composed of the same 
mixture, can be applied. The slate-surface now 
prepared by manufacturers in Philadelphia, New 
York, Boston, and other places, is in some respects 
superior to any blackboard-surface known, except 
the real slate. The Report of the Board of Educa- 
tion of Chicago for 1862 contains the following re- 
cipe for making blackboard-paint: To make one 
gallon of the paint, take 10 oz. pulverized pumice 
stone, 6 oz. pulverized rotten-stone, j lb. of lamp- 
black, and mix them with alcohol enough to make 
a thick paste. Grind the mixture very thoroughly 
in a paint-mill, and then dissolve about 14 oz. of 
shellac in the remainder of the gallon of alcohol. 
Stir the whole together, and the paint is ready for 
use. This paint, if well applied, will make a good 
surface. 

A frame should be placed around all blackboards, 
with a trough at the under side to catch the dust. 
Hooks should be attached to them on which to hang 
pointers and rubbers. Prepared chalk and talc are 
used for blackboard-pencils. 



46 THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

4. Miscellaneous Articles op Furniture. — The 
operations of the school can hardly proceed with the 
necessary regularity and system without a clock. It 
is a silent monitor, ever reminding both pupils and 
teacher that time is passing. The constant lesson 
it teaches is, "Be ready." 

A little sweet-toned bell, to be used in calling out 
and dismissing classes, and, now and then, to arrest 
the attention of those who are disturbing the order 
of the school, must be found among the articles of 
school-furniture. If the school-house have no belfry, 
the teacher must have a large hand-bell to call the 
pupils from the play-ground. 

A couple of settees or a few chairs, for visitors, 
cannot well be dispensed with. 

Pointers, rubbers, brooms, mats, scrapers, wash- 
basins, buckets, umbrella-stands, &c. need be no 
more than named. 

VII. School-Apparatus. — It has not always nor 
everywhere been considered necessary for the school 
to be furnished with apparatus of any kind. This 
was a mistake. The teacher can be greatly aided 
in his work by having at his command appropriate 
apparatus. The eye seems to be the most open inlet 
to the mind; and when a child sees a thing, it is 
more effectually impressed upon his memory than 
if it had been described to him many times. 

Among the articles of apparatus which should be 
found in all schools are the following : — a set of 
cards for teaching the Alphabet, Pronunciation, 
Spelling, and Elementary Heading, with a stand to 
hang them upon ; several sets of Letter-Blocks, 



SCHOOL-APPARATUS. 47 

and a chart of Elementary Sounds ; Writin g- Charts ; 
cards for Drawing, both large and small, to suit 
classes or individuals, and a set of objects for 
Drawing; a Numeral Frame, and sets of Square and 
Cube Root Blocks ; a Globe, a set of Outline Maps, 
and a Tellurian ; charts of History ; a case of min- 
erals and curiosities, a large collection of objects 
for Object Lessons, some pictures and engravings 
intended for the same purpose ; a Thermometer ; a 
Dictionary, a Gazetteer, and a few other well-selected 
books for reference in the several studies. All these 
articles of apparatus can be obtained or made with- 
out much difficulty or expense. No Common School 
should be without them. 

High Schools, Academies, and Colleges should be 
well provided with Philosophical apparatus, and be 
made rich in cabinets, libraries, collections of maps 
and charts; and even paintings and statuary are not 
out of place. 

School-apparatus, if well cared for, will last a long 
time ; but if roughly handled, it may be destroyed 
almost as soon as procured. To keep it safe, it must 
be used carefully and skilfully, and, when not in use, 
every article should have its place in the proper case 
or closet, where close doors, well locked, will keep 
dust, insects, and rude hands away from it. 

In our Common Schools the teacher should be 
held responsible for the safe-keeping of the school- 
apparatus, as well as for the taking care of the 
school-grounds, school-house, and school-furniture. 
The defacement and destruction of school-property 
by the hands of pupils will not occur under the 
superintendence of a well-qualified teacher; and one 

6* 



48 THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

who neglects his duty in this respect should be held 
to a strict account by his employers. For nie, it is 
a sad sight to see the enclosure of a school-ground 
broken down, the grounds themselves filled with 
rubbish, the walls of the school-house, both inside 
and outside, covered with uncouth figures, the doors 
and furniture cut almost to pieces by generation 
after generation of ruthless whittlers, the apparatus 
lost or out of order; and in seeing such sights I 
have almost ceased to wonder at the hesitation of 
School-Directors and School-Committees to improve 
the school-property. It is for teachers to apply the 
remedy. 

In rural districts, when the school is not in ses- 
sion, the apparatus should be removed to some 
private dwelling where it will be cared for, and the 
house itself should be placed in charge of the 
nearest neighbor who will guard the property from 
abuse. 

VHI. School-Records. — In discussing the subject 
of School-Records, it will be convenient to speak — 

1. Of the Forms of School-Records. 

2. Of the Objects of School-Records. 

1. The Forms of School -Records. — School-re- 
cords, to be most useful, must be adapted to different 
kinds of schools, and to schools under different cir- 
cumstances; and for this reason I have doubted 
whether it was best to present any forms of them 
in this book. The importance of the subject to 
teachers and school-officers decided the question 
m the affirmative; and it is hoped the forms pre- 



SCHOOL-RECORDS. 49 

sen ted will be valuable to some for what they are, 
and to others for what they suggest. I do not see 
how the work of registration can be simplified and 
made complete in any school without using the 
whole set, or others which answer the same ends. 
Four forms will be presented, — viz. : A Register of 
Admission and Withdrawal, a Register of At- 
tendance and Deportment, a Class Register, and 
a Summary Register. Of course, any of the forms 
can be dispensed with if it is desirable, or a blank 
book can be readily ruled for the forms "A" and 
"D." Books for the forms "B" and " C" should be 
printed, as they require considerable ruling, &c. 

The form of Register on page 50 explains itself. 
It may not always be necessary to make a record 
of all the items indicated in it, and, if not, any of 
them can be omitted. Such a Register will be more 
convenient if accompanied with an Alphabetical 
Index. The Index can be made by numbering the 
names in the Register, 1, 2, 3, &c, and attaching the 
same numbers to the names arranged alphabetically. 

The names in the Register on page 51 constitute 
the roll of the school which should be called imme- 
diately after the opening exercises in the morning, 
and again just before dismissing in the afternoon. 
All pupils answering to their names at the morning 
roll-call may be marked /, those answering to their 
names at the evening roll-call may be marked \, 
and those present at both roll-calls A- Any one 
who is absent at the calling of the roll in the 
morning should have a . placed opposite his name, 
which, if he be present in the evening, and be able 
to give a satisfactory explanation of his tardiness, 



50 



THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 



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52 THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

the teacher can change into a figure denoting his 
partial presence. If no such explanation be given, 
the teacher must, in addition, express the fact by 
giving him a low mark in the deportment column. 
If the pupil be absent altogether, he should receive 
a in the attendance column, and the space oppo- 
site his name in the deportment column be left 
blank, until it is seen whether he will bring a satis- 
factory excuse for his absence ; when, if so, he 
should receive the same number as if present, and 
if not, a 0. The deportment should be marked at 
the evening roll-call. When several teachers are 
engaged in the same school, it is their duty to report 
promptly to the Principal all improper conduct 
which they may have noticed, in order that it may 
be noted at the proper time in the Register. Ha- 
bitual tardiness, repeated truancy, and incorrigible 
bad conduct, should be punished by dismission from 
school. 

The most convenient scale of marks which I have 
been able to find is the following : — 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, 
meaning, respectively, very good, good, middling, rather 
bad, bad, and very bad; or, as applied to attendance 
and study, the last three degrees should read, rather 
poor, poor, and very poor. By very good attendance, 
very good deportment, and very good study, a pupil 
should receive the number 5 for each, daily; which, 
for a week, would be 25 for each, and for a month, 
100 for each. This is the highest number attain- 
able. As regards attendance, tardiness, whether 
excused or not, necessitates a deduction from the 
full number accorded to punctual presence ; and no 
credit can be given, in the attendance column, for 



SCHOOL-RECORDS. 53 

absence, no matter from what cause it occurs. As 
regards deportment, unexcused tardiness should he 
marked as low as 2 or 3, unexcused absence can right- 
fully claim nothing more than a 0, and all other 
conduct and deportment must be estimated fairly 
by the teacher and marked accordingly. The sum 
of the numbers attained by each pupil for the month 
is designed to be placed in the last column of the 
Register of Attendance and Deportment, for easy 
transfer to the Summary Register. 

The Class-Register is designed to record the names 
of the pupils in the several classes of a school, and 
to mark the degrees of excellence in their recita- 
tions. As many Class-Registers will be needed as 
there are teachers in a school. The same figures 
are used as in the Register of Attendance and Deport- 
ment, and with the same significance. The space 
opposite the name of a pupil who is absent from any 
cause is left blank, as the question of the absence 
itself is to be settled under the head of deportment ; 
and all others are to be carefully marked according 
to the knowledge of the lesson which they evince. 
The sum of the numbers received for all the clays 
of a week will give the number for that week, and 
the sum of the numbers received for four weeks 
will give the number for a month. The highest 
number for a month, as in attendance and deport- 
ment, is 100. 

In the column designated Relative Standing, it is in- 
tended to mark the members of the class, first, second, 
third, fourth, fifth, &c, according to their relative 
scholarship. 

The column headed Marks of Transfer is designed 



54 



THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL, 



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SCHOOL-RECORDS. 55 

to aid the school-authorities, especially when the 
schools are graded, in making promotions from a 
lower class to a higher one, or from one grade to 
another. If, in the opinion of the teacher of a class, 
a pupil should remain where he is, the space in this 
column opposite his name should remain a blank ; 
but if he thinks he should be advanced, he fills it 
with a -(-, or if placed in a lower class, with a — . 

At the end of every month, the teacher should 
add together the numbers each pupil has received 
in his different studies, and divide their sum by the 
number of studies: the quotient will be his general 
number for study, which should be transferred, to the 
Summary Register. Where several teachers are 
engaged in the same school, each teacher monthly 
should arrange the members of -his several classes 
alphabetically, place opposite each name the proper 
number, so far as attainable from the data in his 
possession, and hand his report to the Principal, to 
be modified by the reports of the other teachers and 
then transferred to the Summary Register. 

In this Register the names of the pupils ought to 
be arranged alphabetically. The Summary Register 
itself, when carefully filled up, will be a synopsis of 
all that is done in the school. 

The numbers for the term are obtained by 
adding together the several numbers for the differ- 
ent months contained in it. He who has the high- 
est number for attendance will stand first in this 
respect; and so in regard to deportment and 
study. 

2. The Objects of School-Records. — Some of 
the objects of school-records might be inferred from 

7 



56 



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SCHOOL-RECORDS. 57 

the forms already presented ; but it will be proper 
to make a more definite statement of them. 

To aid the Teacher in his Work. — The great economist 
of time and labor is system. A loose organization 
is never an effective one, in a factory, in an army, 
or in a school. With such a set of school-records 
as has just been described, the little trouble it takes 
to keep them will be ten times more than compen- 
sated for by the increased efficiency of the school, and 
the pleasure that arises from contemplating the 
results of nicely adjusted machinery. Without 
them, the teacher's rewards and punishments, praises 
and rebukes, promotions and degradations, must 
necessarily be ofttimes inconsiderately made. He 
will have no substantial foundation upon which to 
base his administration of the affairs of the school. 

To give Information to Parents and School-Officers. — 
The Registers, if carefully kept, will contain an 
abstract of the history of the school, and of each 
pupil in it. It can there be learned when every 
pupil entered school, how long he continued his 
attendance, and why he withdrew ; how many days 
he was absent or tardy, how well he conducted him- 
self, what branches he studied, and what progress 
he made in them ; and these and other things 
recorded in the Registers are just the information 
parents and school-officers desire most to obtain. 
Besides, the Registers furnish the means of com- 
paring one school with another, in the same district, 
and the schools of one year with those of preceding 
years. 

To furnish Educational Statistics. — Our educational 
statistics are extremely unreliable, and inferences 



53 THE PREPARATION FOR THE SCHOOL. 

based upon them are, therefore, apt to be fallacious. 
This arises from imperfect school-records or an 
imperfect manner of keeping them. Our State au- 
thorities whose duty it is to make school-laws and 
administer them need accurate information con- 
cerning the condition of the schools ; and to furnish 
such information is one of the objects of school- 
records. They ought to furnish particularly, every 
year, the whole number of children of school-age 
in each school-district, the whole number that 
attended each school, the average number that 
attended each school, the expense per scholar, the 
number of grades into which the schools are divided 
and the number of pupils in each grade, and what 
branches are studied in each school and each grade ; 
and, although all of these statistics cannot be gathered 
wholly from the school-records, they cannot be ob- 
tained without these records. 

Questions relating to the higher interests of edu- 
cation, too, can only be determined at last by a 
resort to the unequivocal truths unfolded by sta- 
tistics : I mean questions concerning the relations 
of education to the value of property, to labor, to 
crime, to government, and to religion. The simple 
facts recorded by careful teachers may one day solve 
the great problem of human civilization. 

To exert a beneficial Influence upon the Pupils. — I 
speak from a large experience when I say that 
school-records judiciously used are among the most 
potent means open to the teacher of securing re- 
gular attendance, correct deportment, and attention 
to study among the pupils in a school. Many do 
not regard a rebuke that passes away with the 



SCHOOL-RECORDS. 59 

utterance of it, or a punishment that will he soon 
forgotten, who will be averse to seeing their dere- 
lictions of duty placed permanently upon a record. 
In the system of school-records previously explained, 
it will he observed that care is taken to sum up the 
numbers obtained by each pupil for each week, each 
month, and each term, that every pupil may observe 
what kind of a history of himself there is being 
recorded. The teacher will do well sometimes to 
read the numbers for a month, or the relative stand- 
ing of the members in a class ; or he may send 
abstracts of each pupil's record in attendance, de- 
portment, scholarship, and average standing, to his 
parents. 

"While school-records may exert all the beneficial 
influence upon the pupils in a school that is claimed 
in the preceding paragraphs, an injudicious teacher 
may do his school more harm than good by using 
them in the way suggested ; and even in the hands 
of one who is most careful, there is danger that the 
nobler motives to study, such as the love of truth 
and the conviction of duty, will be subordinated to 
a desire, for honor, or be lost sight of in the struggle 
for success. If properly used, however, school- 
records will always prove a valuable auxiliary in 
the management of a school. 



9* 



CHAPTER n. 

THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

The organization of the school is the part of 
school-economy which treats of the adjustment of 
the school-machinery, the assignment of positions 
and duties to pupils, and the adoption of regulations 
necessary to control the school-ojDerations. A good 
school-organization enables the teacher to do the 
greatest amount of work in the least amount of time, 
and to do it most efficiently; it makes the govern- 
ment of the school more easy and more effectual ; 
and it places pupils in circumstances most favorable 
to their advancement in learning. 

In the discussion that is to follow, chief reference 
will be had to the organization of Common un- 
graded schools ; but, as occasion offers, hints will 
be given as to the manner of organizing other kinds 
of schools. 

The subject can be more conveniently treated of 
in two sections, as follows : — 

I. The Temporary Organization of the School. 
II. The Permanent Organization of the School. 

I. The Temporary Organization of the School. 

— The most skilful teacher, in taking charge of a new 
school, will be unable to foresee all the circum- 
stances that may tend to modify the arrangements 

60 



THE TEMPORARY ORGANIZATION. 61 

I 

which ought to be made for its well-working; and 
this creates a necessity of a temporary organization, 
to last until experience furnishes data for making 
it permanent. As the success of such an organiza- 
tion will depend upon the principles involved in its 
formation, some suggestions respecting them are 
deemed appropriate. 

It is important to make a good beginning in teach- 
ing. If the teacher exhibit want of skill the first 
day in school, it may create a prejudice against him 
in the minds of his pupils that cannot for a long 
time be removed. A teacher can hardly be placed 
in a more awkward position than to have many in- 
quisitive, sharp-eyed children gazing at him, and 
not know what to do with them. Many children 
are good judges of character. Their quick instincts 
soon inform them whether their teachers possess 
the necessary qualifications for their position. They 
hasten to school the first day, watch eagerly every 
word and motion of the new teacher, form an esti- 
mate of his character and ability, and hurry home 
to relate their impressions of him. They are good 
critics, too ; and that teacher will be fortunate with 
respect to whom, on this first day of school, their 
criticisms are favorable. 

System in any kind of business is necessary to 
success. A captain could not command a vessel, 
a superintendent manage a factory, or a general 
marshal an army, without a systematic plan of 
operations. The same truth applies to the organi- 
zation of a school. Teachers have commenced the 
work of teaching without knowing what to do or 
how to do it; but, although practice made some 



62 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

skilful, it was always at the expense of the best 
interests of their pupils, while others met with such 
poor success, and were so conscious of it, that they 
took the earliest opportunity to escape from a posi- 
tion which, with more preparation, they might have 
adorned. 

It is generally a good plan for a teacher to visit a 
neighborhood in which he is unacquainted before 
taking charge of a school in it. No necessity will 
exist for visiting all the patrons of the school, as the 
most essential information can be had from such 
school-officers as may live in the district, or from 
those citizens who take the deepest interest in the 
school. 

The information most necessary to the teacher in 
organizing his school will relate — 

First, to the views of the neighborhood respecting 
schools. — The people of different neighborhoods 
differ in their views of education and the methods 
of obtaining it, as they do with respect to other 
things ; and, whether these views be enlightened and 
liberal or otherwise, it is very important that the 
teacher should be acquainted with them. It is not 
meant that a teacher should always conform to the 
wishes of his patrons in adjusting the affairs of his 
school, for by pursuing a different course he can 
frequently convince them of their error; but he 
should always treat these views with becoming 
deference, and to do so he must know what they are. 
Young teachers often lose much by their injudicious 
disregard of public opinion. Reforms in school 
affairs, as well as in all else, can only become per- 
manently established by being made gradually. 



THE TEMPORARY ORGANIZATION. 63 

Second, to the methods of managing the school and im- 
parting instruction pursued by his predecessor. — Not that 
these should be closely imitated on the one hand, 
or severely criticized on the other ; but the teacher 
should acquaint himself with them as thoroughly as 
his opportunities will permit, for the purpose of 
making a safe connection between the instruction 
the pupils have received and that which he intends 
to impart to them, and to avoid a violent transition 
from one mode of governing to another. This in- 
formation can perhaps be better obtained from some 
intelligent friend of education in the neighborhood 
than from any other source, though many facts can 
be gathered from the pupils. A conversation with 
his predecessor would enable a teacher to learn 
much, both with respect to the school and its 
patrons. 

The great object of the teacher's first day's work 
in school is to make a favorable impression upon 
the pupils by winning their confidence and respect. 
To this end, the teacher should be at the school- 
house early the first morning. The house itself 
should be pleasantly arranged, and the teacher 
should await the new-comers. Busy hands in cot- 
tage, farm-house, and mansion, soon make ready 
the children of the neighborhood, and, almost wit 
out breakfast, they hurry away to school, for the 
news has spread that they are to have a new teacher. 
They come ! The teacher need have no fear for the 
first comers ; they will give him little trouble. But 
by ones, twos, and threes the children flock towards 
the school, and among them it is not difficult to point 
out some who are rude and rough ; others, polished 




64 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

and polite; some, gay and lively; others, shy and re- 
served; some, bold and mischievous; others, modest 
and respectful : — in short, the teacher has about him 
a miniature world. He will act wisely if he meet 
them as they come, talk with them, ask their opinions 
respecting the arrangement of the furniture, and 
inquire of them concerning the previous manage- 
ment of the school. Dr. Franklin said, "It is a 
good way to make your enemy your friend to ask 
him to do you a favor." The teacher will find that 
even bad boys, bent upon mischief, will be made 
better by consulting them or asking their help. 
Besides, something may be done in this way to 
awaken a feeling of school-patriotism. If parents 
come to the school with their children, they should 
be welcomed and consulted. 

It may be well to state to some of the pupils in- 
formally at what time school will open : they will 
spread the information ; and precisely at the hour 
named, order may be readily secured by ringing a 
small bell. The pupils will be likely to take the 
seats they formerly occupied ; near friends will seat 
themselves together; or, if the desks are of different 
heights, they may arrange themselves somewhat 
according to size or age. The selection of seats 
will have been generally made before the opening 
of the school. The teacher may watch the choosers, 
and learn the reasons for their choices ; but he 
should not authoritatively interfere. If asked, he 
may point out suitable seats, but should make no 
permanent arrangements. 

As soon as the pupils have taken their seats, a 
teacher who understands the nature of his work 



THE TEMPORARY ORGANIZATION. 65 

will commence the organization of the school, 
knowing what to do and how to do it. No position, 
however, can be more embarrassing to one who has 
made no preparation for teaching, who has provided 
no plan of operations, than to have a houseful of 
children before him, looking at him, criticizing every 
movement he makes, and not know how to proceed 
with his work. What seems most necessary to be 
done first, is to make some needful general regula- 
tions. This course is best, because it will be calcu- 
lated to prevent the formation of bad habits which 
subsequent effort may not easily correct, and also 
habituate the pupils at the start to conform to a 
system. Loose arrangement in the beginning will 
eventually prove a fruitful source of trouble. 

The regulations thus instituted should be tem- 
porary, and the pupils should so understand them. 
Many of them, doubtless, will become permanent, — 
the more of them the better; but, since some of them 
may be changed, it is the best policy to consider all 
of them as in force only for the present. Frequent 
changes in laws beget a want of confidence in the 
lawmaker ; and school-regulations are not an excep- 
tion to the general rule. I do not know which plan 
would be productive of the most evil, — to adopt at 
first a permanent set of rules for the management of 
the school, or to allow the pupils to do as they please 
without any rules at all ; but I am certain that both 
will prove, in a very large majority of cases, un- 
satisfactory. v Of course, this,, does not apply to 
schools whose objects are fixed, or whose teachers 
do not change. 



66 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

The most important of these regulations will con- 
cern — 

1. The Seating. — It will often be well for the 
teacher to state that the pupils may occupy the seats 
they have chosen, or which have been assigned to 
them, for the present, but that they are not yet 
theirs permanently, and, if good order requires it, 
changes will be made. It may be well for him to 
remark, further, that in some schools pupils desire to 
sit near together for the purpose of talking or play- 
ing, and that, though he hopes such may not be the 
case with them, he thinks it best to be prepared to 
protect those who wish to study from disturbance by 
making arrangements, without seeming to trespass 
upon the rights of any, to prevent it. 

2. The Times of Opening and Closing the 
School. — This information is necessary both to the 
pupils and their parents. Punctuality can be best 
secured by being exact in the beginning. 

3. The Hours of Recesses or Intermissions. — 
These, will depend upon the circumstances of the 
school ; but some hours should be temporarily fixed 
upon at once. They can be easily changed if it 
become necessary. 

4. Leaving Seats and asking Questions of the 
Teacher. — The best temporary arrangement, pro- 
bably, that can be made in these respects, is to require 
every one who wishes to leave his seat or ask a 
question of his teacher to hold up his hand, and the 
teacher, noticing it, wall grant or withhold liberty to 
do so, as he deems best. 

5. Whispering. — Whispering is a very difficult 
thing to control, either under a temporary or a per- 



THE TEMPORARY ORGANIZATION. 67 

manent school-organization. The practice I recom- 
mend is for the teacher to say to the pupils that the 
school-room must be still in order to study and recite 
well, that low talking is apt to become loud, and 
that those who talk much will most likely waste 
time by it ; but for him then to add that, since it 
happens sometimes that one pupil may have a proper 
communication to make to another, or a proper 
question to ask him, the privilege of whispering will 
be allowed, provided it be done in such a way as to 
disturb no one. Such a regulation will be satisfac- 
tory to pupils, and no opposition will be manifested 
to the additional provision that, in case whispering 
become a source of disturbance in the school, it 
will be prohibited. This plan will enable the teacher 
when he comes to prohibit whispering entirely — 
and this will be found in most schools to be the best 
policy — to throw the responsibility upon the pupils, 
where it justly belongs, instead of seeming to act in 
an arbitrary manner. I know no better plan than 
this ; and some plan should be adopted the first day. 
6. General Deportment. — A detailed system of 
school-rules enforced the first clay will not affect 
pupils favorably. They may not be well adapted to 
the circumstances of the school, and thus may seem 
to imply a want of skill on the part of the teacher, and 
the pupils, unable to appreciate their necessity, will 
consider them arbitrary. The most effective rules 
relating to deportment are those which are forced 
upon the teacher by the circumstances of the school 
and in full view of the pupils. Such rules can be 
justified by what has happened, not by what might 
happen On the first day, therefore, I recommend 



68 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

the making of but one rule in reference to deport- 
ment, — "Do right.'" This rule embraces all cases, and 
the appeal for its justice is made directly to con- 
science. 

7. "Work. — It will be well to assign work at once, 
more for the sake of giving the pupils something to 
do, than for the sake of what will be done by them. 
In graded schools, when teachers know what studies 
are to be pursued, and where the lessons are to be 
commenced, no delay for the purpose of ascertain- 
ing these things will be necessary ; but it will fre- 
quently happen that a teacher cannot know how to 
form his classes, what branches are to be studied, 
nor at what points the several studies should be 
commenced, without special inquiry and examina- 
tion. Such inquiries and examinations require some 
time; and, while the teacher is engaged with them, 
how are the pupils to be employed ? f Miscellaneous 
lessons, which are reviews of what they have pre- 
viously studied or which furnish good tests of their 
present knowledge, may be assigned ; but perhaps 
it is just as well to ask all to prepare the next 
lessons in their several studies to those they pre- 
viously studied when last at school. All these 
arrangements need require but a few moments of 
time ; and while the pupils commence their work, 
knowing what is expected of them, the teacher can 
take pencil and paper, and pass around among 
them, taking down their names, ascertaining whether 
they have complied with the conditions of admission, 
and, if so, the kind of books they have, the branches 
they have pursued in the past, and those they desire 
to engage in at the present. This done, a short 



THE TEMPORARY ORGANIZATION. 69 

time will suffice to make a temporary arrangement 
of classes, and to commence recitations. The even- 
ing of his first day in school the teacher can most 
profitably spend in registering the names of his 
pupils, and adapting his regulations to the circum- 
stances of his school as ascertained from the expe- 
rience of the day. 

The pupils must recite the first day more in groups 
than in classes ; and the recitations must be general 
in their character, and conducted in reference to the 
end of obtaining exact information in regard to the 
attainments the pupils have made in the several 
branches they have previously studied. Several 
days must sometimes be spent in these experimental 
recitations or examinations, before the teacher can 
bring order out of the confusion, by forming classes 
and commencing the new instruction at the point 
where the knowledge of his pupils ends. 

In managing the school and conducting the recita- 
tions under his temporary organization, the teacher 
will need to call into requisition all his tact and 
talent. Many can keep machinery in operation- 
which they could not contrive ; and young teachers 
will find it more difficult to organize a school than 
to manage it when organized. Several days, and 
in some cases a week, may be>U6wed to elapse before 
the teacher should venture to give his pupils per- 
manent seats, make permanent regulations for the 
school, or arrange a permanent programme of study 
and recitation. Some approach, however, may be 
made daily to this desirable end. 



70 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

II. The Permanent Organization of the School. 

— No organization of a school, however well con- 
sidered, can be permanent in the common accepta- 
tion of the word. A teacher can never foresee all 
the elements which should enter into the calculation 
in the arrangement of his plans. The word permanent, 
then, as used here, must not be understood to mean 
unalterably fixed, but only that degree of perma- 
nency possible under the circumstances. 

As no professional skill can devise plans that will 
be adapted to all kinds and grades of schools, what 
is intended to be said will have reference to the 
leading principles which must be observed in per- 
manently organizing a school ; and each teacher is 
expected to possess the ingenuity necessary to apply 
them so as to meet the peculiar requirements of the 
state of things by which he is surrounded. 

In organizing a school permanently, the teacher 
must make — 

■1. General Provisions in Regard to Study. 

2. General Provisions in Eegard to Order. 

1. Provisions relating to Study. — Provisions 
relating to study must be made with reference to 
the following circumstances : — 

1st. The Branches to be taught in the School. 

2d. The Branches to be studied by each Pupil. 

3d. The Text-Books to be used. 

4th. The Formation of the Pupils into Classes. 

5th. The Distribution of the Classes among the 
Teachers. 

6th. The Arrangement of Times for Study and Reci- 
tation. 



THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. 71 

1st. Tlxe Branches to be taught in the School. — In a pre- 
ceding section, some remarks were made with respect 
to a general course of study for schools ; here it is 
proposed to make some suggestions concerning the 
selection of branches of learning to be taught in a 
particular school. In making such a selection, the 
teacher must regard the object of the school, its 
grade, the requirements of school-officers, and his 
own time and ability. 

If the object of the school be a special one, its 
course of study must be arranged with reference to 
a special end. Some schools aim to prepare pupils 
for higher schools, and others have in view prepara- 
tion for a particular kind, of business : all such must 
so direct the studies of their pupils as to secure most 
effectually their special object. If a general educa- 
tion is contemplated, such an arrangement of studies 
must be made as will be best calculated to attain it. 
A general education has four objects: to obtain 
truth, to promote discipline, to elevate ideas, and- to 
impart skill. Truth is desirable for its own sake ; 
and education strengthens the body and the mind, 
expands our aspirations, and renders men more fit to 
perform the work of life. All of these objects must 
be considered in arranging a course of study; and, 
when well understood, there is no antagonism in the 
efforts necessary to be made for their attainment. A 
teacher may be making his pupils active business- 
men and good citizens at the same time that he is 
enriching their minds with stores of the noblest 
truth, holding up for their contemplation the purest 
ideals of perfection, and enlarging their powers by 
free, strength-giving exercise. With these objects 

8* 



72 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

in view, the teacher must select such studies, subject 
to other conditions, as will be best calculated to 
promote them. What it is thought these should be 
under the most favorable circumstances, has already- 
been stated; what they must be under particular 
circumstances, can only be left to the teacher's judg- 
ment. 

In an ungraded school, the course of study is 
completed within itself; but in a system of graded 
schools, each school or grade has its particular stu- 
dies, the general course of study extending through 
all the grades of the system. The studies of a par- 
ticular school in such a system, depending upon its 
grade, can only be determined in connection with 
the studies of the other schools of the system of 
which it is a part. 

Sometimes school-officers, Directors or Control- 
lers, assume the duty of arranging courses of study 
for the schools under their charge ; but, if so, they 
must do it subject to the general principles already 
indicated for the guidance of the teacher. Such 
arrangements are binding upon teachers who remain 
in the employ of those who make them 

It is not to be expected that a teacher can find 
time, or that he will possess the ability, to teach every 
thing ; and this may have something to do in fixing 
upon the studies for a school. It is the teacher's 
duty to spend his school-time most profitably for the 
whole school. If he has a large school and devotes 
much time to a few pupils who are engaged in the 
study of some special branch of learning, he may do 
injustice to other members of the school. It is not 
meant by this that he ought not to devote more time 



THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. 78 

to pupils in the higher classes than to those in the 

lower classes, for he may do this without encroach- 
ing upon the rights of any, since the members of 
the lower classes will soon enter the higher ones; 
but it is meant that the teacher's time during school- 
hours is not his own, and each pupil is entitled to a 
proper share of attention; and no studies should 
be introduced into a school that will necessitate a 
violation of this principle. It seems scarcely worth 
while to add that a teacher ought not to undertake 
to teach to others what he does not know him self. 
By hard study a teacher may prepare lessons in 
advance of a class; but the experiment is a dan- 
gerous one. 

2d. The Branches to be studied by each Pupil. — Two 
modes of fixing the number and kind of studies to 
be pursued by each pupil in a school are practised 
in institutions of learning. By the first, a general 
course and a general order of studies are prearranged, 
each pupil is examined upon entering, and such stu- 
dies are assigned him as it is deemed best he should 
acquaint himself with in the beginning, and such 
an order is followed in his course as his progress 
may justify. By the second, the course and order 
of studies are determined by the teacher's judgment 
formed from the circumstances that surround him, 
the interests of the school, the wishes of parents, 
and the tastes or talents of pupils. These modes 
differ in this : in the former, the controlling con- 
sideration is the nature of the branches to be taught, 
and the general ends of study; while in the latter, 
more influence is allowed to particular circum- 
stances. When pupils enjoy the liberty of either 



74 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

attending a school or not, the school-authorities 
have an undoubted right to adopt a course of study 
and compel all members of the school to pursue it ; 
and this plan is more sj^stematic, and probably, on 
the whole, in institutions designed to impart a gene- 
ral education, is productive of more good than any 
other. JSTo complete gradation of schools or arrange- 
ment of classes would be possible without it. Many 
schools have been crippled in their working by an 
effort to conform to individual wants. Still, the 
particular interests of a school, the wishes of 
parents, and the tastes or talents of pupils, cannot 
be wholly overlooked; and the question becomes an 
important one as to the influence which ought to 
be allowed to them. 

It can easily be conceived that a school with a 
fixed course of study may find that its interest de- 
mands at times a departure from it. It may be done 
to take advantage of some unforeseen circumstance 
or to accomplish some special end, to accommodate 
the course of study to the length of time pupils can 
attend school, or to the nature or amount of their 
home-work; but in so doing the teacher must be 
careful that the school as a whole suffers no detriment. 

Parents have a deep interest in their children, and 
some deference should be paid to their wishes re- 
specting the branches of study which they are 
made to pursue. A school should remove children 
as little as possible from the influences of home, 
and, as school-authorities derive all their powers 
primarily from parents, their wishes should never be 
disregarded unless the general good demands it. 
JSTo parent, however, can reasonably expect that his 



THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. 75 

child should receive more than a just proportion of 
the teacher's attention, or that the general interest 
of the school should be sacrificed to secure for him 
some special favor. If a parent insist that his child 
should study some branch of learning for which he 
is found not to be prepared, his demand ought to be 
kindly but firmly refused ; but if he is prepared, 
and the general good of the school suffer no detri- 
ment from it, the parent's wish should be complied 
with, though the teacher may think some other 
branch more suitable. 

Tastes in regard to- particular studies are often 
the effect of habit. Most pupils may be brought to 
like any branch of learning; and there are branches 
upon the study of which it is worth while for the 
teacher to insist, even against his pupil's antipathies. 
But pupils study more devotedly, make better pro- 
gress, are more contented, when engaged in learning 
those branches for which they have a taste. Talents 
are not alike in kind or quality as exhibited by the 
human family. All persons cannot succeed in all 
things equally well ; and it is right that each should 
have a chance to succeed in that in which he may 
succeed the best. The teacher may, therefore, when 
the general good of the school permits it, allow in- 
dividual pupils to exercise their peculiar tastes in 
the selection of studies, or to use their peculiar 
talents in the acquirement of some special science 
or art. Not that he can heed every individual whim 
with regard to study; !>ut he may watch the deve- 
lopment of real tastes and real talents for particular 
lines of pursuit, and' give them such encouragement 
as circumstances permit. In the economy of mind, 



76 THE ORGANIZATION OP THE SCHOOL. 

something is lost to the world by a fixed routine of 
study. 

In arranging studies for individuals, care must be 
taken to fix upon a proper number. It is easy to 
induce pupils to undertake too much, and it engen- 
ders bad habits to allow them to undertake too little. 
They should engage in the study of just as many 
branches as they can study well, and no more. 
Pupils now generally engage in too many studies 
at a time. It not unfrequently happens that pupils 
have on hand ten or fifteen branches in which they 
are required to recite daily lessons. This practice 
defeats the end of study, and should be everywhere 
abandoned. 

It does not seem best to confine a pupil to one 
kind of studies. A proper variety imparts more 
general culture, and gives more zest to study. The 
mind, too, becomes less easily fatigued when it can 
change from one study to another than if it is 
engaged all the time in the same kind of work, as 
weights can be carried farthest by changing hands. 

Not only is it important to assign proper studies 
to each pupil, but to select for hirn the right place 
to commence his work. In finding this, the teacher 
should carefully inquire as to what knowledge the 
pupil already possesses concerning the subject, and 
begin his instruction where that knowledge ends. 
No one caii ever thoroughly master a subject who 
does not first study its elements, and afterwards 
ascend to its more difficult principles. 

3d. The Text-Books to be used. — Text-books are 
used in all kinds of schools, and some arrangement 
must be made respecting them before classification 



THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. 77 

can take place or recitations commence. Some sug- 
gestions will be made with respect to the use of text- 
books, directions for selecting them, and the import- 
ance of their being uniform in the same school. 

Text-books cannot well be dispensed with. They 
aid both the teacher and pupil. It is freely ad- 
mitted, however, that a school might be taught 
without the use of text-books. Teachers in ancient 
times taught almost altogether by conversations and 
lectures ; but this mode of teaching was, before the 
invention of the art of printing, in great part a 
matter of necessity. At the present day, in our 
higher institutions of learning, lectures are delivered 
to the several classes ; but in such institutions stu- 
dents are expected to understand the subject-matte i 
of the text-books and to be prepared for original 
investigations. It is admitted, likewise, that know- 
ledge communicated from the lips of a living teacher 
has a freshness and a vitality that no dead text-book 
can give it. But, while all this is true, it is still 
maintained that good text-books may be used with 
great advantage to a school. They present the ob- 
j ect-matter of a branch of knowledge in a proper form 
for study. If no text-books are used, the teacher 
must communicate orally all the facts and prin- 
ciples of a subject, and afterwards the pupils must 
write them out, study and recite them ; and in doing 
this some discipline may be gained, but much time 
is lost. The worst result I have known arise from 
it is, the misconceptions to which pupils are liable 
from the necessary rapidity of oral expression. An 
exception must be made in favor of young pupils : 
with them oral instruction is much more effective 



78 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

than the more formal mode with text-books. Still, 
even in their case text-books cannot be wholly dis- 
pensed with. If the object-matter of a study be 
furnished in a text-book, pupils can carefully pre- 
pare it, and the time of the recitation can be occu- 
pied in reciting what they know, and in hearing 
what additional matter the teacher may have to pre- 
sent. A well- written text-book has the subject of 
which it treats arranged in a proper order; and this 
is a very important consideration in teaching. Some 
teachers who dispense with a text-book merely pre- 
sent a mass of fragments, a rude conglomeration 
of facts and principles. It is better to have a bad 
system in teaching than no system at all, — better, 
even, to have the questions put and answered in the 
language of the text-book, bad as that is, than to 
have the memory clogged with disconnected frag- 
ments of knowledge without language to make it 
known or power to use it for the accomplishment 
of any important practical end. Text-books, how- 
ever, must be used, not abused. A teacher should 
know all that is contained in the text-book, and 
more. While he may exact a close study of it, re- 
quiring his pupils to commit its definitions and 
rules, he should merely make it serve the purpose 
of a text to his own instruction, and be able at any 
time to lay it down and proceed with the recitation 
without it. In this manner the object-matter of a 
study can be concisely and systematically presented; 
the pupil may have before him, for careful investi- 
gation, correct definitions, well-expressed rules, exact 
arguments, apt illustrations, and appropriate exam- 
ples, and the teacher can have a text for such fur- 



THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. 79 

ther comment as he may deem necessary. These 
advantages are as effectually lost without the use of 
a text-book as by a slavish dependence upon one. 

Some directions may aid in the selection of text- 
books. A text-book should exhaust the subject of 
which it treats, or present a complete outline of it 
from the point of view from which it is considered. 
Wot that any one book can contain all that is known 
concerning a branch of knowledge ; but, without at- 
tempting this, a text-book may present all its leading 
facts and principles arranged into a system. A book 
of science may be a statement of facts, an enume- 
ration of experiments, a series of speculations, an 
exposition of theories ; but a text-book is unlike 
such a work, and contains a systematic arrangement 
of the known definitions, axioms, facts, and truths 
of a science, with such a number of examples as 
may be deemed necessary to impress them upon the 
mind of the learner. Wo man can write a good 
text-book upon a subject until he has looked all 
through it and about it and has a clear knowledge 
of the whole. A text-book is rather the history of 
a science than an exposition of a science. Writers 
of text-books should leave much for the teacher to 
add and for the pupil to find out. They should 
present an exhaustive series of texts, and leave the 
details to be mainly supplied by teachers and books 
of reference. Our text-books have converted a 
large number of teachers into mere machines ; and 
it is time it was understood that they are not in- 
tended to relieve teachers from the trouble of think- 
ing. When a branch of study is treated of in a 
series of books, what is here said applies to the 



80 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL, 

whole series, and not to any one of the books of 
which the series is composed. 

Text-books ought to present a logical arrange- 
ment of the several divisions of the subject upon 
which they treat. This truth has already been 
stated, but its importance demands a stronger pre- 
sentation of it. Some of our popular text-books 
are very much at fault in their arrangement. Their 
authors seem to have thrown the different parts to- 
gether disjointed and disconnected, and filled up the 
interstices with such loose details as first presented 
themselves. A proper arrangement would furnish 
a reason for the place of each division, chapter, sec- 
tion, and paragraph. A text-book, in fact, ought to 
be a rigid piece of practical logic. 

Text-books should be interesting in matter. The 
authors of text-books should incorporate into them 
the most important principles, the most suggestive 
facts, the most striking phenomena, that belong to 
the subject written upon. They should have in 
mind before them the class of pupils for whom they 
are writing, and write as they would talk to them. 
With the whole material of the subject before them, 
they should select only that which is most valuable 
and most interesting. No temptation to appear 
learned, to dwell upon favorite theories, to use fine 
language, should divert them from the purpose of 
presenting the most important truths in the most 
agreeable manner. Nor is it necessary, to make a 
text-book interesting, that every thing in it should be 
explained or simplified. A healthy mind always 
feels the deepest interest in that which it has 
worked hardest to obtain. Idle students may be 



THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. 81 

found in great numbers ; but an author of a text- 
book should not presuppose them, lest he encourage 
habits which he should strive to prevent. 

Text-books should be appropriate in style. Avoid- 
ing the extremes of the dry style on the one hand, 
and the florid style on the other, text-books that are 
not simply formal — as works on Mathematics or 
Grammar — should be written in a style plain and 
simple. An apt figure introduced now and then 
may reveal some hidden beauty, or a single glance 
of the imagination may open up to the astonished 
student the glories of the ideal world ; but a text- 
book full of fancy-flights, however it might intoxi- 
cate its readers, could scarcely serve to instruct 
them. Students may read, in connection with the 
study of text-books, works beautified with all the 
refinements of thought and language, may follow 
the imagination of some Milton or Goethe, some 
Hugh Miller or Louis Agassiz, in its sublimest 
flights, and be the better for it; but the works of 
such writers are seldom well suited for text-books. 
We want clearness, precision, and strength in a 
text-book, and all ornament should be a subordinate 
consideration. Firm foundations and substantial 
walls are wanted for a building, before carving, 
gilding, or fresco-work can adorn it, or painting or 
statuary find a place within its halls. 

Text-books should be adapted to the capacity of 
the class for which they are intended. In many 
schools the text-books are too difficult for the pupils 
who use them. Parents are many times ambitious 
to have their children study branches of learning 
with high-sounding names and use books with 



82 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

high-sounding titles, and teachers sometimes, at 
least, do little to check this dangerous ambition. 
No plan could be better calculated than this to 
destroy all interest in study. It imprisons thought; 
and the blank, impenetrable darkness, into which 
the pupil is compelled always to look, soon creates 
despair in seeking light. A child may learn what- 
ever he can learn ; but it is worse than folly to 
attempt to teach him what he cannot understand. 
Hence text-books should be written and used 
adapted to his capacity. One of the most serious 
errors in text-books is the placing of the higher and 
more difficult parts of branches of learning in such 
close proximity to the elementary parts. Quite 
young pupils can learn the elements of Grammar or 
Arithmetic ; but when advanced beyond them they 
soon begin to lose interest in study, and conse- 
quently make little progress. The fault is in the 
text-book, or the teacher who follows it, and not in 
the children. They cannot be expected to take 
much interest in what they are unable to under- 
stand. An immense amount of time is squan- 
dered every year in this fruitless labor, and tens 
of thousands of promising children are made to 
contract thereby habits of idleness, if not of vice. 
Text-books for Primary Schools should contain the 
elements of' several branches of learning, instead 
of both the elements and higher parts of one branch, 
and text-books for advanced pupils might then omit 
the elements altogether. 

A series of text-books ought to be adopted in 
every school, and the use of all other kinds should 
be prohibited. In favor of such a uniformity of 



THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. 83 

text-books it needs not that a long argument be 
presented. If not absolutely necessary to classifi- 
cation, it aids very greatly that work; it makes 
teaching more effective, and avoids that confusion 
of definitions and rules which must arise in a school 
where the books of several authors upon the same 
subject are in use. The cost of text-books is a 
small loss, compared with the gain of having them 
uniform, 

4th. The Formation of the Pupils into Classes. — Two 
principles are recognized in the formation of classes 
in our American schools. The first requires all the 
members of a class to study the same branches; the 
second permits pupils to recite different studies in 
different classes. The classification of a school ac- 
cording to the first principle can be made much 
more complete than when done according to the 
second, aud the stimulus to exertion is much greater 
in a fixed class than it can be when pupils recite 
one subject in one class and another subject in 
another. A teacher who adopts the second prin- 
ciple, however, can better accommodate his classes 
to the unequal attainments of his pupils, and, 
probably, better satisfy the wishes of pupils and 
parents. On the whole, I prefer a classification 
based upon the first principle — a close classifica- 
tion — to one based upon the second, a loose classifi- 
cation ; and if pupils are better versed in some stu- 
dies, and less advanced in others, they can equalize 
their attainments by devoting more attention to the 
latter, and, if circumstances render it necessary, 
some special classes can be formed to meet the 

views of parents or the tastes of pupils. I recom- 

9* 



84 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

mend in our Common Schools, therefore, a close 
classification, with such departures from it as over- 
ruling circumstances may make expedient. 

Data for the formation of classes must be obtained 
by a formal examination or by experimental recita- 
tions, as previously described. With accurate data, 
the work of classification will present little diffi- 
culty in a school where the number of classes is 
fixed, and where such pupils only are admitted as 
can enter the classes ; but in schools where the 
classes must be formed to suit the multifarious at- 
tainments of the pupils, this work requires careful 
management. It seems appropriate to speak of the 
advantages of classification, the impediments in the 
way of classification, and the manner of forming 
classes. 

Classification economizes time. The teacher can 
do much more work when he need only listen to 
the recitations of whole classes, instead of the reci- 
tations of individuals ; when he need not repeat to 
each pupil explanations or illustrations of the lesson 
or additions to it. The time thus saved by the 
teacher can be used greatly to the profit of the 
pupils. 

Classification enables the teacher to make special 
preparation for hearing the recitations of his classes. 
If a teacher has pupils engaged in many different 
studies and in all parts of the same study, it is ob- 
viously impossible for him to make the necessary 
special preparation for his work; and his teaching 
is, consequently, less effective than it would other- 
wise be. 

Classification stimulates pupils to more diligent 



THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. S5 

study. The common experience of teachers reveals 
the fact that pupils will study more diligently to 
make preparation for a class-recitation than for a 
recitation by themselves. The presence of numbers 
in the class-room, and the competition of classmates, 
will sometimes prompt even dull minds to activity. 
There is such a thing, too, as a class esprit du corps, 
the advantage of which is lost when each pupil 
recites by himself or in a small class. 

Classification tends to increase the teacher's in- 
terest in the instruction he imparts. Animation on 
the part of a teacher is essential to good teaching. 
A dull teacher will make a dull class. A clergy- 
man would hardly take a very warm interest in 
preaching if he had but a single listener. The 
delivery of the best oration would be spoiled with- 
out an audience. The same principle is applicable 
to teaching. A teacher is roused up to earnest 
effort when a large class awaits his instruction. 

Classification enables pupils to help one another. 
The members of a class help one another by their 
silent presence, but still more by proper criticism. 
If the teacher is compelled to correct all mistakes, 
the recitation is apt to grow monotonous ; while 
class-criticism renders it lively, and is advantageous 
both for the critics and the criticized. 

Certain impediments lie in the way of securing a 
complete classification in schools; and these must 
now be considered. 

Diversity of text-books is such an impediment. 
When the pupils in a school, of equal attainments, 
have been furnished with the same kind of books, 
their formation into classes is comparatively easy. 



SQ THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

If there is a want of uniformity in the text-books 
of a school, the teacher should apply for a remedy 
to the proper school-officers ; or, failing here, he may 
apply to parents, either directly or through their 
children. If this application is made in a proper 
manner, in most cases it will result favorably to the 
teacher's wishes. Should it not, the case is still 
not a hopeless one, for the teacher can form his 
classes just as if the books were uniform, and modify 
his teaching to suit the circumstances. Nearly the 
same subjects are treated of in all text-books; and 
the teacher can assign some topic for a lesson, and 
the pupils can each use his own book in preparing 
for the recitation. A recitation can take place with 
respect to a rule in Arithmetic, a part of speech in 
Grammar, a country in Geography, a division in 
Natural Science, a period in History, even if the 
subject-matter be learned from different books. It 
is acknowledged that such a mode of reciting would 
add very much to the teacher's labor, confuse the 
pupils, and clog the recitation ; but it is thought 
to be a less evil than an excessive multiplication of 
classes ; and sometimes even good may result from it. 
Irregular attendance of pupils is such an impedi- 
ment. Public school-authorities everywhere com- 
plain that pupils attend school irregularly. Private 
schools are patronized by classes of people who, as 
a general thing, more highly appreciate education, 
whose circumstances enable them better to dispense 
with the services of their children at home, or whom, 
perhaps, a pecuniary motive prompts, and hence 
equally loud complaints are not made by them. Ir- 
regularity of attendance, wherever it occurs, inter- 



THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. ST 

feres greatly with the classification of a school; but, 
at the worst, the teacher can classify such pupils as 
do attend regularly, and proceed to instruct them. 
He can permit irregular pupils to enter the classes, 
and perhaps they may be made to feel the want of 
a knowledge of the lessons recited during theii 
absence, and can thus be induced to be more punc- 
tual in their attendance. If pupils attend so irre- 
gularly that they can derive no profit from the in- 
struction given to the classes of which they ought 
to be members, the teacher may devote to them the 
few minutes which would be their share of time in 
an equal division of it among the pupils. They 
can justly claim no more. But, while this would 
probably be the best mode of procedure under the 
most unfavorable circumstances, the teacher may 
many times do something to correct the evil. There 
are numerous instances in which irregular attend- 
ance has been almost wholly corrected under the 
judicious management of a skilful teacher. Irre- 
gular attendance is either the fault of the teacher, 
the parent, or the pupil. If it is the fault of the 
teacher, he should correct it by teaching and man- 
aging better, — by making the school attractive, pre- 
senting strong motives to punctuality, interesting the 
pupils in their studies, and inducing them to love 
school and teacher. To tell how to do this is the 
great purpose of this book. That it may be done, 
is attested by multitudes of facts. If the irregular 
attendance is the fault of the parent, the teacher 
ought to seek an opportunity of pointing out to 
him its disadvantage to the pupil as an individual 
and to the school as a whole. One visit of the 



88 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

teacher to tlie parent or of the parent to the school 
has frequently brought about a right understanding 
of the matter, and secured the application of the 
proper corrective. The pupils may be the most 
blameworthy parties. The parent may send them to 
school, the teacher may be ready to receive and in- 
struct them, but they find attractions by the way, and 
become truants. If parents and teachers co-operate, 
truancy cannot be of frequent occurrence. An 
arrangement may be readily made by which the 
parent can inform the teacher whenever his children 
have been detained at home, and by which the 
teacher can inform the parent whenever they do not 
attend school. As many parents will object to writ- 
ing excuses for the absences of their children, the 
teacher may supply himself with a few hundred 
excuse-cards, upon which is simply printed, "Excuse 
the bearer." These may be distributed to the 
patrons of the school, and one of them should be 
returned to the teacher by each pupil who has been 
necessarily absent. At the end of a term, all the 
cards should be returned to the teacher, preparatory 
to the arrangements for a new term. 

Laws have been made in some foreign countries, 
and in some localities in this country, punishing tru- 
ancy, and punishing parents for not sending their 
children to school. In favor of such laws, it is argued 
that if the state has a riffht to educate the children 
of the state and deem this work to be to its interest, it 
would follow that no parent can deny his child this 
education without violating his duty as a citizen, and 
no child can habitually absent himself without endan- 
gering the state's interests and thus making himself 



THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. 89 

liable to punishment. On the other hand, it is main- 
tained that the legitimate function of the state in 
reference to schools is ended when it generalizes 
into laws the wishes of majorities of citizens and 
aids good citizens in the enforcement of these laws, 
and that it transcends its right when it undertakes 
to force unwilling parents to send their children to 
school, or to punish children for their non-attend- 
ance. In all a state can do respecting the establish- 
ment of systems of education, it must have in view 
the end of public order ; and, while the state may 
be convinced that education tends to promote public 
order, it can in no rightful way punish until some 
overt act of crime or disorder has been committed ; 
and it is evident that the mere refusal of a parent 
to send a child to school, or for a child to refuse to 
attend school, is not such an act. The state may 
adopt systems of education, may hold out induce- 
ments to secure regular attendance ; but, if any do 
not attend, the state must wait, before inflicting 
punishment for non-attendance, until its bad conse- 
quences manifest themselves by open acts of wrong. 
Laws designed to compel the attendance of children 
at school are contrary to the spirit of our American 
institutions ; and, if not, such laws are extremely 
impolitic, owing to the difficulties that must arise in 
enforcing them. Teachers, therefore, should look 
to other means as a remedy for irregular attendance ; 
and if no help come thence, they must philosophically 
do the best they can, consoling themselves with the 
reflection that their successors may be privileged to 
teach among a wiser generation of people. 

Having pointed out the advantages of school- 



90 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

classification, and having shown how impediments 
which lie in the way of such a classification can be 
removed, supposing that the teacher has in his pos- 
session the necessary data concerning his pupils' 
attainments, something must now be said in refer- 
ence to the manner in which classes may be formed. 
K~o two pupils can be found in a school who are 
exactly alike in scholarship ; and if the teacher 
forms his classes by putting only those in one class 
whose attainments are precisely alike, he will have 
each of his classes composed of a single pupil. The 
best he can do is to carefully survey his material, 
calculate the amount of school-time, decide upon 
the number of classes he can hear recite, and then 
classify his pupils by putting those in one class who 
are most nearly alike in scholarship and ability. If 
pupils fall behind their class during a term, or gain 
a position in advance of it, it is the teacher's duty 
to make the proper transfers; and it might be added 
that a faithful discharge of this duty greatly pro- 
motes the good of the school. Large schools can be 
classed much better than small ones, because there 
are in them more pupils of nearly the same qualifi- 
cation. In assigning lessons to classes whose mem- 
bers differ in ability, the teacher must adapt the 
lesson to the pupils who represent the average capa- 
city of the class ; because in this way only can he 
avoid discouraging the poorest scholars in the class 
by assigning lessons that are much too hard, or 
creating habits of idleness on the part of the best by 
giving work which costs them little effort. If the 
lessons are assigned in this way, the teacher can so 
manage the recitation that the honest, hard-working 



THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. 91 

pupils may accomplish something every day and be 
stimulated by success to further exertion, the smart, 
active pupils find something in the lesson worthy of 
study and quite equal to their ability, and the idle 
of both classes incur, by frequent failures, the just 
consequences of their misspent time. By judicious 
management, the members of a class who are quite 
unequal in ability can be gradually brought to work 
more evenly in practice. 

The size of classes must depend upon the age of 
pupils, the kind of study in which they are engaged, 
the form of the recitation, the skill of the teacher, 
and the amount of work the teacher has to do. 
Young pupils recite better in small classes than in 
larger ones. Their attention can be better retained, 
and frequent questions will excite greater interest 
in the lesson. It is possible for a skilful teacher to 
amuse a class of fifty young pupils and to mingle 
some instruction with the amusement; but his 
teaching would be much more effective with a class 
one-fifth as large. Advanced pupils may with less 
loss than beginners be formed into large classes ; 
but, even with such, the class should not be so large 
that the teacher cannot ask at least one leading 
question of each of its members during a recitation. 
Some members of a class may be required to recite 
a greater part of the lesson one day than others ; 
but if many are repeatedly overlooked, and allowed 
to pass away often from the recitation without being 
noticed or called upon, there will soon be some who 
will calculate the chances of escaping the responsi- 
bility of answering any questions at all, and will pre- 
pare themselves accordingly. This result is not un- 

10 



92 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

common even in College classes. It is more con- 
venient to have large classes in some studies than in 
others. Classes in Spelling, Writing, Drawing, Vocal 
Music, &c, may be larger than those in Arithmetic, 
Grammar, &c. ; because in the former class of studies 
all the pupils can recite simultaneously. If a class 
meet a teacher to hear a lecture from him, to receive 
instruction which he is to impart himself without 
asking any or many questions of the pupils, it may 
be much larger than if the purpose of meeting be 
a drill, an examination, or a close and careful in- 
spection of what each pupil has learned and the 
manner in which he has learned it and can repro- 
duce it. In other words, the form of recitation may 
modify the size of a class. A skilful teacher can 
manage a large class without the same disadvantages 
resulting to it as if managed by one who has had little 
experience. This is self-evident. "With a large school, 
and a great variety of studies in which to hear recita- 
tions, a teacher may be compelled, as the choice of 
evils, to form larger classes than he would deem 
politic under more favorable circumstances. 

5th. The Distribution of the Classes among the 
Teachers. — What is said in reference to the distribu- 
tion of the classes of a school among its teachers 
can only be applicable to schools in which more 
than one teacher is employed; but in such schools 
it is a matter deserving consideration. 

The several teachers in a school ought to be em- 
ployed with reference to the qualifications which fit 
them to perform the work desired to be done. ISTo 
teacher can impart instruction in all branches 
equally well; and school-work should be divided 



THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. 98 

into several departments, and each department be 
assigned to the teacher who can perform its duties 
to the best advantage. A wise economy of the 
teaching-force of a school would direct that each 
teacher should teach those branches which he can 
teach best, and undertake to teach no more of them 
than he can teach well. Teachers sometimes at- 
tempt to listen to recitations in twelve or fifteen 
different branches in a day. In such cases they 
must try to teach some branches for which they are 
badly qualified, they can make but little prepara- 
tion for the recitations, and they must be unable 
either to satisfy themselves or do justice to their 
pupils. If due regard be paid to these principles, 
large schools may be organized with an efficiency 
impossible of attainment in any other way. By 
this arrangement, too, each teacher may be made 
responsible for a department of study, and, as he 
feels a special interest in it, he will naturally strive 
to make it successful. It need scarcely be added 
that the work of the school should be equally dis- 
tributed among the teachers, and if one branch of 
instruction does not furnish a sufficient amount 
of work for a teacher, his department may be made 
to include several kindred branches. It must 
be taken into consideration, however, that some 
branches are more difficult to teach, and, conse- 
quently, require more preparation on the part of the 
teacher, than others. 

If the principle, that it is best to assign to each 
teacher those branches which he is best qualified to 
teach, be observed, each class may have a different 
teacher in each different study. This is no small 



94 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

advantage to a pupil. If he recite always to the 
same teacher, he may become familiar with certain 
lines of thought, but he will most likely be confined 
to them. lie might be trained by a more unvaried 
discipline, but it is a discipline in one direction. He 
becomes imbued with his teacher's peculiar opinions, 
acquires his manners, and is apt to create a little 
world in which his teacher is the reigning sove- 
reign and himself the most conspicuous citizen of 
the realm. It is much better for all pupils to have 
different teachers, with different tastes, talents, and 
opinions ; but it is very important that this should 
be the case with advanced pupils. In speaking of 
graded schools, such arrangements of school-build- 
ings were provided for as would admit the carrying 
out in practice of the principles now stated; and I am 
well satisfied that a school so organized will work 
much more efficiently than one in which the pupils of 
each grade recite all their lessons to a single teacher. 
6th. The Arrangement of Times for Study and Reci- 
tation. — Classes should receive general directions as 
to the time of preparing their lessons. It is the 
misfortune of many, that when they have several 
things to do, and have adopted no particular order 
of doing them, in their doubt as to which they 
ought to begin first, they neglect the whole. Sys- 
tem, rigid system, is as valuable in its results, when 
conformed to in preparing lessons, as it is in other 
things. These general directions may have refer- 
ence, first, to the advantage that will arise from 
having times for study, and, afterwards, it may be 
proper to suggest that certain studies might be best 
prepared during school -hours and certain others 



THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. 95 

out of school-hours. A more particular arrange- 
ment of the order to be observed in preparing the 
several studies in which a pupil may be engaged, 
ought to be left mainly to the pupil himself. It is 
perhaps impolitic to insist generally upon the mem- 
bers of a whole class attending to the same studies 
at the same time, though this may be done with 
young pupils and with classes whose members possess 
equal attainments, with good results; but, when 
pupils have made out their own programmes of 
study-time, it will be well for the teacher to make 
himself acquainted with them, because, in calling 
pupils' attention to their work, a command direct- 
ing them to the performance of a particular duty is 
much more effective than one directing them to the 
performance of a general duty. Whenever a teacher 
deems it expedient to assign the same time to all 
the members of a class for the preparation of a 
lesson, it may with propriety be stated in the school- 
programme. 

In institutions where boarding and lodging are 
furnished to pupils, regular times must be appointed 
for retiring, for rising, for devotional exercises, and 
for recreation, as well as for preparing lessons and 
reciting them. 

The following outline of a Student's Programme 
may aid in systematizing the student's work. It 
will only be filled up so far as to illustrate the man- 
ner of doing it. Each student should fill up one 
for himself, and hang it near his desk or study- 
table. Once adopted, he should suffer no ordinary 
circumstance to prevent him from working in exact 

accordance with it. In a short time habit will render 

10* 



96 



THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 



a compliance with its requirements more easy, and 
the good results will soon more than compensate 
for the trifling inconvenience which may at first he 
experienced from the fixed line of duties that it 
enjoins. 



STUDENTS' PROGRAMME. 

(Name of School.) 



(Date.) 



TIME. 


GENERAL DAILY DUTIES. 


SPECIAL DUTIES. 


5 A.M. 


Rise. 


Sabbath. — Read 


6.20 A.M. 


Study Grammar. 


Scriptures from 


6 A.M. 


Take a walk. 


8 to 9 a.m. ; at- 


0.30 A.M. 


Breakfast. 


tend Church at 


7 A.M. 


Study Latin. 


10; and Bible- 


8 A.M. 


Attend Opening Exercises of the 


Class at 2 p.m. 




School. 


Saturday Evening. 


8.30 A.M. 


Recite Arithmetic. 


— Attend Meet- 


9.30 a.m. 


Recite Botany. 


ing of Society at 

7 P.M. 



The time and length of each recitation must be 
fixed. Without this the work of the school would 
go on very irregularly, and with little satisfaction to 
the teacher and little profit to the pupils. The 
principal data for determining the time and length 
of recitations are the length of the school-day, the 
number and kind of recitations to be heard daily, 
and, when several teachers are employed in the 
same school, the number of teachers and the 
amount of work to be performed by them, and the 
rooms in which the recitations are heard. These 
differ in different schools; and the only comprehen- 
sive principle that can be stated concerning the 
matter is, that the time and length of recitations in 



THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. 97 

all schools should be such as to insure justice to all 
classes and all individuals, and to secure the greatest 
possible efficiency in the school. A few particular 
suggestions, however, may be of service to young 
teachers. 

With advanced pupils, one recitation daily in 
each regular branch studied will be sufficient. Re- 
citations may take place on alternate days, or less 
frequently; but it will be found everywhere that, 
while pupils can study more branches at a time in 
this way, their interest in study will not be so great, 
nor will their work be so thoroughly done. The 
best plan is to assign a daily lesson in each branch 
studied, and make it of such a length that it can be 
well prepared, and have a daily recitation in it. 
This is not intended to discourage teachers from 
having special exercises on miscellaneous subjects 
at any time they may deem them advantageous to 
the interests of the school. 

With young pupils in ungraded or Primary 
schools, the recitations should be frequent and 
short. Children of six or eight years of age have 
difficulty in attending closely to a recitation for a 
long time, and yet they will be pleased with the 
variety of exercises brought about by frequent reci- 
tations. Besides, they cannot be expected to study 
much apart from the recitation. 

Theory would demand the hearing daily of all the 
lessons that the pupils in a school can prepare, and 
the setting apart of a sufficient time to attend to all 
the requirements of the recitation. Theory would 
also demand the recitations to take place at hours 
when the pupils are best prepared to recite, or at 



98 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

which the teacher can best impart his instruction or 
they can best profit by it. Practice must conform to 
the theory as nearly as circumstances will admit. 

In ungraded schools, the younger pupils might 
recite first after the opening of the school, both in 
the morning and the afternoon. They are supposed 
to be ready at any time, inasmuch as they have little 
preparation to make. 

Older pupils may recite, first, those lessons which it 
was found most convenient to prepare out of school. 

The most severe studies should not be recited 
near the close of the school day. Recitations in 
Reading, Writing, Spelling, or Yocal Music, would 
be best calculated for the last hour of the day. 
Writing and Drawing Lessons should not imme- 
diately follow active physical exercise. 

In all schools there are certain general exercises 
that cannot well be dispensed with. Of this cha- 
racter are moral lessons, lectures upon subjects not 
regularly studied, or special instruction in certain 
branches which an economy of time will demand 
should be given to the whole school. 

Frequent reviews of the subjects studied will 
tend to deepen the impression upon the minds of 
pupils, promote a clearer understanding of what is 
studied, and do much to connect the fragmentary 
daily lessons into a connected whole. For these 
reasons they are valuable, and a place must be pro- 
vided for them in making general arrangements in 
regard to study. 

A programme of the operations of a school will 
be presented on a subsequent page ; and all that is 
intended here is to inform the teacher as fully as 



THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. 99 

possible "in regard to the principles which concern 
its construction, so far as that is related to times 
and lengths of recitations. It needs only to be re- 
marked, further, that Superintendents or Principals 
of schools with a number of teachers working 
under their direction, should frequently visit all the 
classes while reciting, should require at least weekly 
reports from all the teachers as to their condition; 
and when they find that some change in their Pro- 
gramme will make their schools work more effi- 
ciently, and only then, they should change it. 

2. Provisions relating to Order. — Provisions 
relating to order must embrace the following par- 
ticulars : — 

1st. The Conditions upon which Pupils may be ad- 
mitted into the School. 

2d. The School-Limits. 

3d. The Length of the School-Day. 

4th. The Time and Length of Intermissions. 

5th. The Opening and Closing Exercises of the 

School. 

6th. The Calling out and Dismissing of Classes. 

a. Leaving Seats. 

b. Speaking to one another. 

c. Asking Questions of the 
7th. The Granting of ) Teacher. 

Special Privileges. ) d. Making Complaints to the 

Teacher. 
e. Receiving Help from the 
Teacher. 
8th. The Transaction of General Business. 
9th. The Administration of Discipline. 



100 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

1st. TJie Conditions upon which Pupils may be ad- 
mitted into the School. — These conditions generally 
have respect to locality, age, and scholarship. In 
the case of our Common Schools, the State laws, 
and the authorities properly authorized by them, 
impose the conditions. Each town or township is 
divided into convenient school-districts, which are 
about equal in population, and the children of such 
districts are required to attend their proper school. 
This arrangement causes all the schools to be 
nearly equal in size, and, when fully carried out, 
effectually prevents the evil of having some schools 
too large, while others are too small. The age at 
which pupils may attend school depends wholly 
upon circumstances. Schools have been so con- 
ducted as to be proper places for children three or 
four years old, although our school-laws do not 
often admit them before the age of five or six; and, 
if a person has been deprived of the opportunity of 
learning previously, it is praiseworthy for him to 
make the effort at twenty-one, or beyond, that age. 
It is not unusual to see in the Night Schools of our 
cities, men who have reached the age of fifty years. 
The qualifications necessary to admit a pupil into a 
particular school depend upon the grade of school 
and the course of study adopted in the system of 
schools of which it is a part. 

In schools managed by individuals or corpora- 
tions, the locality from which pupils must come, 
the age, and the degree of scholarship required for 
entering, are determined by private considerations. 
The ends for which schools are established are so 
various, and the circumstances that surround them 



THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. 101 

so unlike, that even with those that are called by 
the same name there is little uniformity in any 
thing. 

2d. The School- Limits. — By school-limits are meant 
the grounds connected with the school-house, upon 
which the pupils have a right to play, and to the 
extent of which they have a right to go without 
obtaining the special consent of the teacher. 
Teachers of schools with play-grounds attached to 
them sufficiently large, need have little trouble in 
fixing the school-limits, as the boundaries of the 
grounds themselves should limit the distance the 
pupils may go away from the school-house during 
intermissions. More difficulty, however, will be 
experienced in keeping pupils within proper bounds 
when the place for play must be the highway, a 
neighboring wood, a wide-extended common, or 
when the privilege of play in some adjoining field 
is granted by its owner. In such cases the distance 
from the school-house the pupils may be allowed to 
go may be made to depend upon the teacher's 
means of communicating with them, and the time 
that might be lost in collecting them from play. 

In no case should pupils be suffered to trespass 
on the neighboring property without the owner's 
consent. It looks badly for the teacher, and pro- 
mises unfavorably for his pupils, when the trees 
near a school are stripped of their bark or their 
foliage, when fences are thrown down or destroyed, 
or when growing crops are injured, or fruit stolen. 
A distinct understanding should be had between 
teacher and pupils as to the school-limits and tres- 
passes upon surrounding property. 



102 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

3d. TJie Length of the School-Day. — It is quite easy 
to adopt extreme views in regard to the proper 
length, of the school-day. The sight of feeble chil- 
dren, who are confined seven or eight hours a day 
in school, who recite one or two lessons every hour, 
which have to be prepared out of school-hours, who 
have no time to play, and soon lose all taste for it, 
is enough to warrant the conclusion that less study 
and more exercise would be beneficial. A few 
sights of this kind, accompanied with rumors that 
death or insanity has somewhere occurred from too 
hard study, are sufficient to excite public attention 
and to set the newspapers to talking about the 
matter. The cry is, " The Innocents are murdered !" 
and excitable school-authorities hasten to forbid 
study out of school-hours, restrict the number of 
studies in the schools, and reduce to three hours the 
length of the school-day. This is one extreme. 

A teacher takes charge of a school in a neighbor- 
hood in which the people work hard but do not 
think much. He finds his pupils strong, but dull. 
They can lift, and run, and labor, but can scarcely 
be induced to study. He calls into requisition all 
the motives that can arouse their mental energies. 
The ordinary school-days are too short for his work. 
He meets his pupils in the morning, in the evening, 
during noontime, on Saturdays, and visits them at 
their homes ; and, with all this exertion, they do not 
make very rapid progress. Under these circum- 
stances, it is not to be wondered at that the conclu- 
sion is reached, that ten hours are not too long a 
period for the length of a school-day. This is the 
other extreme. 



THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. 103 

It is true that some pupils study too much and 
are confined too closely; and it is equally true that 
others study too little, and work until their brain 
seems hardened into muscle. It is clear, therefore, 
that the induction of a general rule from one class 
of circumstances would lead to error. The age of 
pupils, their occupation, the locality in which they 
live, the constancy of their attendance at school, 
their state of health, their temperament, must all 
be considered in determining the length of the 
school-day. 

In a Primary or Infant School, the children ought 
not to be confined in the school-room more than a 
half or three-quarters of an hour at a time. The 
length of the school-day may be five or six hours, 
but periods of study should alternate very fre- 
quently with periods of play. In an ungraded 
school in which there are young pupils, they must 
be allowed to spend much of their time upon the 
play-ground. They can be taught to go out and 
come in at stated periods without troubling any one 
or interrupting in any way the rest of the school. 
I think this arrangement is better than that which 
permits young pupils to attend a school in the 
morning and older ones in the afternoon, or opens 
a summer school for one class and a winter school 
for the other. 

A farmer's son, who works hard for eight months 

in the year, and who walks a mile to school after 

having spent an hour or two in cutting wood or 

foddering cattle, and returns home again at the 

close of the school-day to engage in similar tasks, 

will not suffer from close confinement in school for 

11 



104 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

a length of time that might endanger the health of 
a delicate city gkl, who rides to school, never works, 
seldom breathes fresh air, and whose diet is often 
highly stimulating. The length of the school-day 
in the country may generally be longer than in 
cities; and two sessions a day are better everywhere 
than one. Those who attend school constantly 
require more exercise daily while at school than 
others who attend school but a few months in the 
year. 

Parents must take proper care of their children 
who are delicate. School is not the place to nurse 
sick people. They require special attention, which 
no teacher who does his duty to his whole school 
can render. Precocious children, or those whose 
temperament leads them to study too closely, must 
be watched and warned. If no injustice be done 
to others, some special privileges may be allowed 
them, which may be calculated to restore to their 
mental nature its equilibrium. 

Weighing: all the circumstances as best I can, I 
give it as my opinion that in country schools a ses- 
sion of three or three and a half hours in the fore- 
noon, and one of the same length in the afternoon, 
for five days in the week, with proper intermissions 
and proper attention to exceptional cases, will not 
injure any one or prove too long for the work to be 
done. In city schools, two hours and a half or three 
hours for each of . the two daily sessions will be 
quite long enough. 

In all these estimates it is understood that proper 
attention is paid to ventilation and to certain simple 
hygienic rules in regard to sitting and standing. 



THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. 105 

The singing of a song at intervals will quicken the 
life of the school-room, and tend to promote health. 
Short gymnastic exercises, too, may be given, either 
with some simple apparatus, as dumb-bells, wands, 
or rings, or without it. 

Hard and prolonged study is not injurious to 
health, if proper exercise is regularly taken and 
proper attention is paid to diet. On the contrary, 
it is only in this way that good scholars can be 
made. Those who expect to become good scholars 
by attending school three hours a day and pre- 
paring no lessons out of school-hours will, most 
likely, be disappointed. Ripe culture and rich 
scholarship are attained only by long and hard work. 
If evils have arisen from too much study, — and no 
doubt such is the fact, — it is more owing to the weak, 
sickly bodies children bring with them to school, 
and to the unnatural mode of life which so many 
lead, than to any injury the work of the school is 
calculated in itself to produce. The evils have a 
seat nearer the heart of society, and the school 
merely manifests them. Let children have a strong 
natural constitution, be trained to work, eat proper 
food, dress in a healthy manner, sleep well, breathe 
pure air, shun all luxuries, and, my word for it, 
neither six nor ten hours a day of hard study will 
do them injury. But if they are permitted, from 
the age of live upwards, to attend parties at night, 
sip wine, smoke cigars, indulge in confections, make 
love to babies like themselves, eat what they please, 
sleep when they please, and go where they please, 
all expense for true educational purposes might 
as well be saved; for under such management the 



100 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

shattered constitution cannot endure study for three 
hours a day, even if the race itself does not become 
extinct or helpless. 

4th. The Time and Length of Intermissions. — No 
intermissions are needed in schools where the pupils 
are required to be present only at recitation-time. 
They can take exercise during the intervals between 
the recitations. In other schools the number of 
intermissions will depend upon the age of the pupils 
and the length of the school-day. Primary Schools 
ought to have an intermission at least every hour. 
Children in such schools may very profitably spend 
one-half of their time on the play-ground. Schools 
composed of pupils over fourteen years of age should 
have an intermission of an hour or an hour and a 
half at noon, and one of fifteen or twenty minutes 
in the middle of both the forenoon and the afternoon 
sessions. The intermission at noon is designed for 
a dining-hour and for relaxation, and the others 
may be used for the purposes of play, gymnastic 
exercises, or conversation. 

5th. The Opening and Closing of the School. — It will 
promote general good order, as well as be beneficial 
in itself, to have a proper mode of opening and 
closing schools. To commence a day's work in school 
abruptly, or to close it in confusion, is neither in 
accordance with good taste or good judgment. 

An appropriate way of opening a school is as 
follows. A few minutes — always a fixed time — after 
the pupils have been called to assemble, may be 
allowed them to get seated ; and then the roll may 
be called. If all are not present, the exercises 
should proceed without them, during which no one 



THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. 107 

should be permitted to enter the school -room. 
When all are quietly seated, the teacher may read 
a hymn, and invite the pupils to join him in singing 
it. He may then read a selected chapter from the 
Bible, or have the pupils all engage in reading a 
Bible-lesson. When agreeable to the patrons of 
the school, a few brief comments upon the text may 
convey valuable information, as well as direct the 
spirit of inquiry towards the investigation of religious 
subjects. A short, simple prayer may follow, the 
pupils bending forward their heads in token of 
humility, and the teacher, returning for himself and 
for them thanks to the Good Giver for all blessings 
received, and petitioning Him for blessings coveted. 
If the form of oral prayer should be objectionable, 
especially with pupils old enough to appreciate it, 
silent prayer may be adopted. In this mode of 
prayer, both teacher and pupils bow their heads and 
for a few minutes hold silent communion with their 
Maker. The ceremony is very impressive. Each 
one is taught to turn his own heart to God, and thus 
devotional feeling is cultivated in a way with which 
the strictest sectarian can find no objection. 

The Bible should be used as a text-book on reli- 
gion in all schools. It is considered as the word 
of God by all denominations. There are serious 
objections to its use as a textbook in Reading; but 
the reading of it at a special time by teacher or 
pupils, as previously indicated, both creates respect 
for the Book and love for the truth it inculcates. 

The afternoon session may be opened with a 

cheerful song. If deemed expedient, the roll may 

be called, as at the opening of the morning session. 

11* 



108 



THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 



To save the time required to call the roll twice 
every day, an arrangement may be made by which 
pupils can report their own attendance. For this 
purpose let a board of suitable size be procured, 
and prepared as described in the following dia- 
gram : — 

THE REPORTER. 



NAMES. 


ATTENDANCE. 




A 


FORENOON. 


AFTERNOON. 


A 


Present. 


Tardy. 


Present. 


Tardy. 




• B 


• B 


• B 


• B 




• 


• 




• 




• 


• 




• 




• 


• 




• 




• 


• 




• 




• 


• 




• 




• 


• 




• 




• 


• 


_ 


• 




• 


• 




• 




• 


• 




• 


The board nu 


ty be painted black, the cross li 


ties white 


Small i 


>ins or pe, 


js should 



be made to fit the holes B B B B, and painted green. Boxes to hold them should be 
placed at the bottom of the board. The words used at the heads of the columns 
may be written on paper and pasted upon the board. The names of the pupils, 
plainly written, are intended to be kept in their places by the little morocco slips 
A A. Thus ready for use, this article of apparatus, which we have called a Reporter, 
is hung against the wall at some convenient place, and each pupil, at the opening of 
the school, morning and afternoon, goes to it, takes a pin from the box, and puts it 
in the designated hole opposite his name. If tardy, he places the pin in the Tardy 
column ; and, if absent, the holes opposite his name remain vacant. A little care on 
the part of the teacher will cause the whole to be done quietly, quickly, and accu- 
rately, and the result will be to secure more regularity of attendance. Where the 
school is a mixed one, there ought to be two boards : — one for the girls, and one for 
the boys. After school, the teacher may transfer the report to his Register, and 
place the pins again in the box for use next morning. 



THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. 109 

A school may be nicely closed in the following 
manner. The school-work and school-business for 
the day are supposed to be completed. The pupils 
are ready to depart. All are quiet. The teacher 
starts an appropriate hymn or song, and all sing it 
together. I have marked the effect of this parting 
music hundreds of times, and hundreds of times 
have my own burdens been made lighter and my 
own heart been gladdened by it. 

At the tap of a little bell, one section of pupils 
rise ; at another, they pass out, and a second rise ; 
at a third, the second section pass out, and the third 
rise ; and so on until all are gone. The whole ar- 
rangement is very simple, and is carried out with 
little noise or confusion. 

6th. The Calling out and Dismissing of Classes— -It is 
the practice of some teachers to announce the reci- 
tation of a certain class, and allow its members to 
take their places with little regard to order, and at 
the end of the recitation permit them to return to 
their seats in the same confused manner. Such a 
practice is apt to create much disturbance in the 
school-room, and sometimes shakes the desks and 
diverts the attention of those not members of the 
class called out. 

Other teachers call out and dismiss their classes 
by mentioning the name or number of each member 
of the class desired ; but this plan, while it avoids 
the disorder occasioned by the preceding one, gene- 
rally requires too much time. 

The method of calling out and dismissing classes 
with a little bell is probably the best that can be 
adopted. A single tap of the bell may be used to 



110 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

call the attention of the class, a second may indi- 
cate that its members shall rise at their seats, and 
a third that they shall take their places upon the 
recitation-seats or repair to the recitation-room. 
If a class is large or there is any danger of confu- 
sion, it may be divided into sections, or all those 
occupying one seat or one row of seats can come 
and go together. 

7th. The Granting of Special Privileges. — Under the 
head of Special Privileges are classed leaving seats, 
speaking to one another, asking questions of the 
teacher, making complaints to the teacher, and re- 
ceiving help from the teacher. All these things are 
sometimes necessary to be done ; and, if no time 
be provided when they maybe done lawfully, some 
of them will be done unlawfully and thus interrupt 
the regular exercises of the school. 

In small schools with considerate pupils, these 
privileges need not be special, but pupils may be 
permitted to enjoy them whenever they see fit to 
do so, and the school will be but slightly disturbed 
thereby. Pupils may not desire to leave their seats 
or to speak to one another ; or, if they do, they may 
carry out their desire in such a manner as to disturb 
no one. They may have no questions to ask of the 
teacher, no complaints to make to him ; or, if they 
have, they may seize those opportunities at which 
he is at liberty to attend to them. But more fre- 
quently it will be found, if no special arrangement 
be made concerning such things, trifling as they 
may seem, that the teacher will be continually inter- 
rupted by requests to do several things at once, and 
disorder will arise in the school. 



THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. Ill 

The best arrangement I have been able to dis- 
cover by which to dispose of the granting of these 
special privileges, is to provide suitable times at 
which general liberty may be given to enjoy them. 
At these times the regulations of a school in session 
need not be suspended, but merely relaxed so far 
as may be necessary to accomplish the end in 
view. No loud talking or noise can be permitted ; 
but a few minutes — not more than five — may be 
granted during which pupils are allowed to leave 
their seats, talk together, ask questions of the 
teacher, or receive help from him. If the first 
intermission be fixed about the middle of the fore- 
noon session, one of these periods of suspended busi- 
ness may come about the middle of the time between 
the opening of the school and the first intermission, 
another, between the first intermission and the in- 
termission at noon-time ; and the afternoon session 
may be divided in the same way. If this arrange- 
ment be adopted, the school-day will be divided 
into eight periods of recitation, three of inter- 
mission, and four of suspension of the regular 
work. 

Some additional su Questions are deemed essential 

CO 

to enable the young teacher to operate his school 
upon the plan now proposed. 

The granting of these special privileges should be 
refused, unless under extraordinary circumstances, 
at all times except during the periods set apart for 
it. Neither should the granting of them at these 
periods be a matter of course : the pupil must always 
indicate his want by holding up his hand, and the 
teacher must judge whether it is proper to grant it. 



112 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

Pupils should not be suffered to leave their seats 
when it is possible for the teacher to wait upon them 
at their seats. It is better, generally, for the teacher 
to go to them than for them to come to him. 

The most difficult thing to regulate among pupils 
according to the plan now proposed, or, indeed, ac- 
cording to any other, is their speaking to one an- 
other, or whispering. The difficulty will be greater 
if the school-room is not well seated. If the pupils 
are crowded together on long benches, they will be 
much more liable to talk than if placed on single 
seats some distance apart. Loud talking in a school- 
room during school-hours interrupts the school-work. 
Low talking is apt to become loud, and, if not, it will 
most probably lead to a waste of time. It is some- 
times necessary, however, for pupils to speak to one 
another ; and the plan just explained seems to afford 
ample privileges to the pupils and yet protect the 
interests of the school. If the teacher has reason 
to think that his pupils do not waste time in talking, 
or if they do not trespass upon the rights of others 
in so doing, he need make no regulation concerning 
the matter. He may even allow whispering at all 
times if he can succeed in securing less interruption 
to the school and less trouble to himself by regu- 
lating it than by totally prohibiting it except at 
certain stated times. But it is presumed that neither 
of these contingencies will often happen, and that 
the wisest plan is to make the provision already in- 
dicated. I know it is said that, if the teacher allow 
whispering whenever it is necessary, he will not be 
bound to notice every supposed violation of the rule ; 
but if he prohibit it wholly, he must inflict some 



THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. 113 

punishment for every violation noticed, and among 
talkative children this punishment has to be inflicted 
so often that the task becomes a very unpleasant one 
for the teacher and produces little good effect upon 
the pupil. This difficulty is acknowledged, and is 
best met by inflicting upon offenders those mild 
punishments which are the simple consequences of 
their conduct, as the forfeiture of seats, or seats 
upon a bench provided for the purpose, where they 
can talk to no one. The difficulty will grow less 
as good habits are formed. On the other hand, the 
objection loses much of its force when it is seen 
that ill consequences of greater magnitude will arise 
from attempting to regulate whispering, for the 
teacher is not often able to tell for himself when 
his rules are violated. He must depend mainly 
upon the pupil's own confession, and thus may hold 
out a temptation to falsehood in the first place, and, 
in the second, risks the danger of punishing only 
those who are honest, while those who are willing to 
speak falsely may readily escape. It is not supposed 
that all whispering can be prevented by any plan ; 
but that which is here suggested, if carefully fol- 
lowed, will, it is hoped, prove to be generally a 
satisfactory mode of disposing of this troublesome 
subject. 

Pupils should not be encouraged to make com- 
plaints against one another ; but still there will be 
occasions when such complaints ought to be made, 
and when great injustice would be done were the 
teacher not to hear them. Pupils, too, have other 
grievances than those which come from wrongs 
done to them by their school-fellows. They may 



114 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

be unwell, their books may be lost or torn, the 
apparatus they are required to use may be out of 
repair, their seats may be uncomfortable from heat, 
or cold, or want of light, and for the removal of 
these and other like causes of complaint, the pupils 
ought to be allowed at some time to apply to the 
teacher. 

This is not the place to discuss the amount of help 
a teacher should render his pupils in preparing their 
lessons. It will be admitted upon all hands that 
he may render some help ; and, if he occupy all the 
time during which, four times a day, the regular 
business of the school is suspended, in doing it, he 
can hardly exceed in this respect the safe limits of 
sound policy. 

8th. The Transaction of General Business. — More 
or less general business must be transacted in all 
schools. Notices must be given, appointments must 
be made, regulations must be introduced and ex- 
plained, classes must be arranged, and various items 
of miscellaneous business must be attended to, and 
the question is whether the teacher will have a 
stated time for doing such work, or whether he will 
do it whenever it occurs to him, or whenever cir- 
cumstances suggest it. To have a stated time for 
doing it is much the best plan, because in that way 
no class need be disturbed, no pupil need be inter- 
rupted in his studies, and both teacher and pupils 
will be more at liberty to attend to the matter in 
hand. 

The most appropriate time for transacting general 
business is immediately preceding the closing of 
the school. The day's work is then done, all the 



THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. 115 

business of the day can then be settled up, the 
necessary arrangements for the morrow can then be 
made, and the teacher can rest with no unfinished 
business on his mind to distract his attention or to 
absorb his time. 

The teacher will find it convenient to note during 
the day such items of business as he desires to bring 
before the school, and at the appointed time he can 
attend to the whole at once. 

9th. The Administration of Discipline— Elsewhere, 
under the head of School-Government, will be dis- 
cussed the subject of School-Offences and their 
punishment. Here it must be taken for granted 
that there will be offences and that there must be 
punishments ; and the question to be determined is 
when the administration of discipline shall take 
place. 

Individuals offending against the rules of the 
school may be corrected either privately or publicly. 
Private correction is very much the best in a vast 
majority of cases ; but very rarely, and with peculiar 
offences, the correction must be made before the 
whole school. 

If the correction is to be made publicly and the 
offence be a trifling one, it may be done during the 
time appropriated for general business ; but if the 
offence be a very grave one, a more suitable time 
could not be selected than immediately after the 
completion of the whole day's work. In anticipa- 
tion of the time that will be taken up in administer- 
ing the contemplated discipline, the afternoon exer- 
cises may be somewhat shortened. The reason this 
hour should be fixed upon is because it is unlikely 

12 



116 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

that after the infliction of punishment or the arous- 
ing of strong feeling either teacher or pupils will 
be fit for their usual duties. Some teachers dis- 
pense with one of the intermissions and occupy 
the time in the administration of the needed dis- 
cipline ; but the fact that a privilege is thus taken 
away from the pupils, may create prejudice against 
the teacher or his mode of punishment. 

It is very seldom that a teacher should interrupt 
his work to correct an offence. An uplifted finger, 
a shake of the head, a tap of the bell, the quiet re- 
moval of a pupil to a place where he has less 
opportunity to do mischief, may indicate to the 
offender that the teacher notices him; but the dis- 
cussion of the nature of the offence, and the appli- 
cation of the punishment for it, should be delayed 
until an appropriate time is found for attending to 
the matter. There may occur an open outbreak in 
the school, as when two pupils quarrel, or some 
public opposition to the teacher, as when a pupil 
refuses to obey him ;' but even in such cases, while 
the disturbance must be immediately quieted, and 
obedience at once enforced, the final settlement of the 
difficulty should be postponed until all parties have 
had time for reflection, when it can be made with 
much more satisfactory results. 

When discipline is administered privately, it 
may be done whenever the teacher has leisure, or 
whenever there is least danger of being interrupted. 
It may be done at one of the intermissions, before 
or after school, in the pupil's room, or at his home 
in the presence of his parents, or in the office of 
the teacher. 



THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. 117 

It seems proper to conclude this chapter* with the 
presentation of a form for a School-Programme. 
This form is more simple and more complete than 
any other with which I am acquainted, and readily 
admits modification to suit circumstances. 

After what has been said in the preceding pages, 
this Programme will not require much further ex- 
planation. A few observations, however, must still 
be made. When there are but one room and one 
teacher, of course the last two columns will be un- 
necessary. They are intended to exhibit the form 
of a Programme for a graded school in which 
several teachers are employed. The selecting of 
the classes which should recite during each Recita- 
tion-Period, and the fixing of the length of each 
recitation, are left to the teacher, who must be 
governed by the circumstances of his school. Seve- 
ral classes may be heard by the teacher during each 
Period; or, if there are more teachers than one, by 
each of them. If teachers hear different classes on 
different days, it can readily be so stated in the Pro- 
gramme. Special arrangements must be made for 
such general exercises as reviews, lectures, &c. 



118 



THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 



PROGRAMME. 



TIME. 


EXERCISE. 


BOOM. 


TEACHER. 




Opening Exercise. 








First Recitation-Period. 








Regular Business Suspended. 








Second Recitation-Period. 








Forenoon Intermission. 








Third Recitation-Period. 








Regular Business Suspended. 








Fourth Recitation-Period. 








Noon Intermission. 








Fifth Recitation-Period. 








Regular Business Suspended. 








Sixth Recitation-Period. 








Afternoon Intermission. 








Seventh Recitation-Period. 








Regular Business Suspended. 








Eighth Recitation-Period. 








General Business. 








Closing Exercises. 







CHAPTER m. 

THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

In order to secure an economical expenditure of 
strength and effort, it is necessary for the teacher to 
understand what constitute the legitimate employ- 
ments of his pupils while in school, and in what 
consists the nature of these employments. To the 
presentation of this important information this 
chapter will be devoted. 

The employments of the school may readily be 
arranged into three classes, and the subject-matter 
before us will therefore be treated of in three 
sections, as follows : — 



'J 



I Study. 
II. Recitation. 
III. Exercise. 

I. Study. — Study is the most important employ- 
ment of the school. Without it there can be but 
little progress in learning. The objects of study 
and the means of securing them must therefore be 
carefully investigated by the teacher. The follow- 
ing arrangement of topics will give method to the 
discussion : — 



12* 



119 



120 the employments of the school. 

1. The Objects of Study. 

2. The Incentives to Study. 

3. The Modes of Study. 

4. The Characteristics of the Student. 

1. The Objects of Study. — The ultimate object 
of all education is the attainment of the highest 
possible worth; or, as Kant expressed it, "to 
develop in each individual all the perfection of 
which he is susceptible." When God created man 
in His own image, and gave him powers and capa- 
bilities but little lower than the angels, He intended 
that he should live worthy of his high estate; and 
the great central end of all education is the attain- 
ment of that manhood which God designed for man, 
and which was the ideal prototype after which He 
created him. 

More particularly, the following may be named 
as the ends of study : — 

1st. Knowledge. 
2d. Discipline. 
3d. Aspiration. 
4th. Efficiency. 

The Accumulation of Knowledge is an End of Study. 
—Knowledge may be desired for discipline or for the 
purposes of life; but it should be desired also for its 
cwn sake. Each individual is conscious of a desire 
to know ; and the mere fact of possessing knowledge, 
considered independently of any use to which it 
may be put, furnishes the highest pleasure to the 
possessor. Nature has everywhere truth for the 
intellect and beauty for the heart. The Naturalist 
iinds them in rocks, and plants, and insects, and 



STUDY. 121 

animals ; the Linguist finds them in the wondrous 
powers and wondrous forms of human speech ; the 
Mathematician finds them in the mystic properties 
of numbers and of forms ; the Metaphysician finds 
them in those higher laws, pure as they came from 
the God-mind, which condition all things ; the His- 
torian finds them in watching the great drama 
which men are playing upon the world's stage; and 
all are made nobler and better in their contempla- 
tion. A true lover of knowledge seeks it for itself, 
seeks it because God made his soul crave it, seeks 
it to embalm it in his heart forever. The love of 
truth, whether found in nature or in the Bible, is a 
holy love ; and happy the teacher who can implant 
it in the minds of his pupils. 

Discipline is an End of Study. — The human body 
in infancy is weak, it needs to be invigorated and 
toughened; the human intellect is feeble, it needs 
to be developed and strengthened; the human pas- 
sions are wild and rash, they need to be restrained 
and guided; the human will is fitful and perverse, 
it needs to be trained to docility and educated to 
husband and direct its power. This invigorating 
and toughening of the body, developing and 
strengthening of the intellect, restraining and 
guiding the passions, training and educating the 
will, is discipline; and it is one of the highest aims 
of study to secure it. 

The circumstances that surround the race seem 
wisely designed to promote the ends both of physi- 
cal and mental discipline. The earth yields her 
fruits only after hard culture; and her untamed 
forests, her barren wastes, her high mountains, her 



122 THE EMPLOYMENTS OP THE SCHOOL. 

rapid rivers, her stormy seas, and her rocky shores, 
present such obstacles to the progress of human 
civilization, that the hand of man is trained to 
cunning and his head schooled to reflection in the 
effort to overcome them. What powerful influences 
prompt the agriculturist to sow and reap; the 
manufacturer to fashion the raw materials of nature 
into forms useful and beautiful; the mechanic to 
invent things new and strange, and to make them ; 
the merchant to send his ships forth upon the path- 
less ocean on the mission of commerce! — and all 
these influences are educational, toughening muscle 
and awakening mind. 

Besides, impelled by curiosity, man looks up to 
the heavens, down into the earth, within himself, and 
everywhere he finds his eye dazzled with the grandeur 
of creation, his head puzzled with the riddles he is 
asked to read, and his heart warmed with the wisdom 
and goodness which are displayed in all things, — the 
little as well as the great. The mother places before 
her infant child a glittering toy, and her mother's 
heart is gladdened when he takes his first step 
towards it. This first step a child takes in learning 
to walk, exemplifies nature's method of discipline. 
God has adapted the creation to man, — the objective 
and the subjective correlate, — outer attractions an- 
swer to inner impulses, — that the end of discipline 
might be attained. 

It is for teachers to aid nature's efforts. Human 
nature must be made as nearly perfect as possible. 
"Be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven is 
perfect," says Christ; and all created things respond, 
"Be perfect." Education is desirable to fit us for 



STUDY. 123 

the ordinary business of life; but its aim is higher 
when it imparts a broad, generous culture to all our 
powers. We want first to be strong men, and after- 
wards good citizens. 

Aspiration is an End of Study. — Nothing tends more 
to insure the young against the temptations of a low 
sensualism, to lead them away from an indulgence 
in debasing pleasures, than an elevated ideal of the 
purpose of life and of the worth of the human 
soul. The young should be taught to aim high, to 
desire to accomplish something noble, to appreciate 
truly the dignity of the position and the nature 
of man. The formation of an ideal conception of 
human perfection, and an earnest longing to realize 
that conception in life, is what I mean by aspiration ; 
and surely study is worth much even if it only 
enable us to triumph over the difficulties of a long 
journey through this wilderness world, and see the 
Promised Land from afar off. 

A person who does not realize the value of a 
thing will not make the most earnest efforts to ob- 
tain it; neither will a coveted prize, if considered 
beyond his reach, call forth his best exertions. 
Aspiration must pioneer all noble effort; and study 
lifts men up to higher, broader views of life, and 
duty, and God. The scholar may indulge in hopes 
and anticipations wholly unknown to the ignorant. 
The tentacula of his mind reach far out and up. 
His feet may rest upon the earth like those of 
other men; but his head is up among the clouds, 
with an ever-widening prospect around him. His 
ideals lend a charm to life in this world, and light 
up his bright pathway to another. It is an object 



124 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

of study, therefore, to elevate these ideals, and to 
stir up in the soul higher hopes and nobler aspira- 
tions. 

Efficiency is an End of Study. — We study to obtain 
knowledge, to discipline our powers, to elevate our 
aspirations; but we can accomplish little for our 
fellow-men unless we can thereby make ourselves 
more efficient in the performance of duty. Know- 
ledge latent in the mind can benefit only the pos- 
sessor; strong muscles unused will do no work; 
beautiful ideals un pictured will attract no worship- 
pers. Study, then, should aim to make all the 
forces of our nature available for the interests of 
society. The talent of acquired lore, of muscular 
or mental discipline, of divine imagination, must 
not be hidden in a napkin and buried in the earth. 
The man of science has no right to conceal the' 
truth he knows ; no Hercules can allow himself rest 
while labors remain to be performed ; no artist can 
refuse to express in stone or on canvas the ideal 
image born in his own breast; and the world is 
entitled to all the poetry and music inspired by 
genius, and to all the revelations from G-od to man 
which the holy prophets have ever uttered. Each 
man, in his sphere, is bound to do what he can. It 
requires the economical expenditure of all the world's 
forces to do the world's work. All must hitch 
themselves to the great car and give their pull, or 
put their shoulder to the great wheel and give their 
push. 

It is one of the objects of study to make us more 
efficient, — efficient in all we undertake to do. Know- 
ledge gained should be distributed, the force ac- 



STUDY. 125 

quired by discipline should be judiciously expended, 
and the ideal pictures of the imagination should be 
displayed, that all may profit by them. Knowledge 
should not only be distributed, but used. It may be 
made to aid in all kinds of business, to prevent the 
impositions practised upon the ignorant by the un- 
principled, to correct the fears and the follies of the 
superstitious, to assist in the work of morality and 
religion, to ennoble the pleasures of mankind: these 
and other such uses has knowledge, and the scholar 
must so use it, or he fails to appreciate the gift, and 
wrongs the Giver. 

While it is maintained that efficiency is one of 
the objects of study, it will be noticed that by this 
is not meant mere efficiency in buying, selling, and 
managing affairs ; but any efficiency is meant which 
performs labor, either with head or hand, adds new 
facts or principles to science, or presents purer ideals 
for the admiration of mankind, — any efficiency, 
indeed, which tends to make society better, wiser, 
or more happy. 

It must be added that the object of study is some- 
times an improper one. If an education is sought 
for the gratification of pride, or with the predomi- 
nant desire of gaining popularity, reputation, power, 
or position, it both degrades the seeker and the 
thing sought. 

2. The Incentives to Study. — Taking it for 
granted that pupils are surrounded with circum- 
stances favorable to study, such as a convenient 
time, a proper place, and a suitable opportunity, — 
taking it for granted, too, that the teacher fully 
understands what are the objects of study, — an in- 



126 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

quiry is now in place as to the incentives that are 
best calculated to induce pupils to perform their 
school-work. We do not exert ourselves without a 
motive; and just in proportion to the strength of the 
motive will be the force of the executive effort. A 
miller might as well expect his mill to run without 
water or steam, or a sailor his ship to move with- 
out wind or current, as a teacher to look for his 
pupils to accomplish any worthy thing in study 
without being actuated by motives. The teacher 
who induces his pupils to work diligently must 
understand human nature, — must be able to analyze 
the motives that impel mankind to exertion, and 
call into requisition those which are proper to be 
employed in the work of education ; and to do this 
skilfully, no small degree of well-applied effort is 
necessary. 

Before proceeding to name the different incentives 
to study which have been made use of in school, 
and to criticize them, it is deemed well to state the 
most important principles by which it is intended 
to test them. 

Incentives to study ought to be continuous in 
their influences. They ought not merely to spur 
pupils on to the attainment of an object and then 
lose their potency. 

Incentives to study ought to arise from the nature 
of the subject, and the circumstances connected 
with learning it. They should be natural, not arti- 
ficial ; real, not fictitious. 

Incentives to study are best when they are founded 
upon the positive qualities of each pupil, and are not 
the result of a comparison of one pupil with another. 



STUDY. 127 

It is unwise to encourage a disposition in pupils 
which may lead them to rejoice in the ill success 
of their classmates. 

All rewards when presented as incentives to study 
should be given with reference to effort, and not 
with reference to natural ability. 

•All rewards when given as incentives to study 
should be calculated to promote the greatest good 
of the largest number. 

The great end of all study is human perfection ; 
and none but noble motives can lead to the attain- 
ment of so noble an end. 

In the discussion of Incentives to Study, we will 
consider — 

1st. Incentives of doubtful Propriety. 
2d. Proper Incentives. 

1st. Incentives of doubtful Propriety. — The principal 
incentives to study about the use of which a differ- 
rence of opinion exists are — Prizes ; Merit-Marks ; 
JEmidation; Fear of Punishment; Shame; and Hidi- 
cule. 

Prizes. — Under the general head of Prizes it is 
intended to include all those material things which 
are presented in institutions of learning to such 
students as are supposed to have made more pro- 
gress in their studies, or are thought to be more 
deserving, than their fellow-students. In some 
schools, medals are used for this purpose; in others, 
scholarships, books, pictures, money, and privileges 
of different kinds. Upon the question as to whether 
prizes should be used as incentives to study in schools, 

a warm controversy has been carried on among 

n 



128 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

teachers and others interested in education ; and it 
is presumed to be best to state here the chief argu- 
ments on both sides, as a basis for the conclusion 
which will be announced. 

The arguments in favor of prizes are— 
That long -continued experiment has shown that prizes 
are useful. — Giving prizes to successful students is a 
custom which has prevailed in schools and colleges 
for centuries, and in all parts of the civilized world. 
It prevails now in a vast number of institutions of 
learning of different kinds and grades. The argu- 
ment is that a custom so long-continued and so 
wide-spread must have some advantages, or it 
would have been long since abandoned. Franklin 
approved of prizes ; and the Franklin Medals are 
still given in the public schools of Boston. Sir 
"William Hamilton recently advocated the introduc- 
tion of a system of prizes into the University of 
Edinburgh, in the expectation that it would revive 
therein the languishing interest in certain depart- 
ments of learning. 

That the expectation of gaining a prize increases the 
interest in study. — It is admitted by all that the stu- 
dent who works merely to gain a prize is not actu- 
ated by the highest motive ; but a prize is something 
tangible, — something that his friends and the public 
can see ; and he is accordingly stimulated to exertion. 
Besides, the teacher can make it understood that the 
prize is representative in its character, — that it 
represents correct deportment, hard study, or his 
own or the giver's approbation of it. There are 
natural differences in mental capacity. Some pupils 
surpass others in study, just as some gain the prizes 



STUDY. 129 

of life while others lose them. Teachers and class- 
mates will select the most deserving scholars, and 
bestow upon them in some form their congratula- 
tions. The bestowment of a prize is, in such cases, 
merely a public attestation of their good opinion, 
and it will be preserved as a happy memorial of 
their approbation. JSTo one will maintain that a 
pupil may not strive to obtain the good opinion of 
teacher, fellow-students, or the public; and can 
there be any serious objection to the expression of 
that approbation in the form of a prize ? To secure 
this good will and this public testimonial of it, 
pupils will study diligently, and with more interest 
than they would be likely otherwise to evince. 
Offered prizes have a very marked influence upon 
the studies of the younger classes of pupils, since 
they are incapable of appreciating the highest mo- 
tives. 

That the prospect of obtaining a prize promotes profit- 
able competition. — The pupils composing a class com- 
pete for a prize. Their relative merits must be 
judged, and the prize be awarded to the most 
worthy. In order to attain the highest position in 
the class, there must be effort made ; and, as this 
effort gives strength, the competition, it is main- 
tained, is profitable. The management of a class 
under such circumstances may be a delicate matter ; 
great danger may exist that feelings of envy or jea- 
lousy will be engendered in the contest; but it cannot 
be doubted that a teacher who can so manage his 
class as to avoid this danger, and make the compe- 
tition fair and honorable and comprehensive enough 
to embrace the whole class, may secure a rapid ad- 



130 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

vancement in study. The actuating incentive may 
be the prize ; but, in the struggle to obtain it, know- 
ledge is acquired and strength developed ; and these 
are among the most important objects of education. 

The following arguments may be advanced against 
the use of prizes in schools: — 

That the pursuit of the prize causes pupils to overlook 
higher motives to study.— That there are higher motives 
which may be used as incentives to study than the 
desire to obtain a medal or a sum of money, every- 
body admits. Does the pursuit of a prize cause 
pupils to overlook them ? It must be confessed that 
such an effect is frequently produced. A prize is 
something that can be seen ; it can be held up before 
the gaze of an admiring public; and it is well cal- 
culated, therefore, to obscure the more substantial 
good which it is supposed to represent. A pupil 
who is striving for a prize talks about it in the day- 
time and dreams of it at night. He forgets all about 
the worth of knowledge and the duty of self-per- 
fection, sees nothing but the prize, and hears nothing 
but the plaudits that will- greet its happy recipient. 

This transfer of incentives to study from higher 
to lower, from real and permanent to fictitious and 
transitory, has a tendency to degrade the student. 
Nothing adds so much dignity of character to the 
seeker after knowledge as the consciousness that his 
object is a noble one. Full of this thought, all his 
actions are high-toned and manly ; and as he triumphs 
over difficulties, and obtains the rich fruit of his toil, 
he feels that high pleasure which comes from know- 
ing that he has fought a brave battle and won a 
proud victory without doing harm to any one. 



STUDY. 131 

It quite often happens, too, that the pupils who 
win prizes, having accomplished what they had 
striven for, cease their efforts and abandon hard 
study. Stimulated by the hope of gaining the prize 
they may have worked diligently ; but, that stimulus 
removed, their interest in study decreases, and they 
soon become indifferent to it. This is an unfor- 
tunate condition in which to leave pupils. It 
promises little for the future; and it seems better to 
rely most upon those natural rewards which repay 
the labor of the student, and which, though con- 
stantly used, are always increasing in value. 

Careful teaching may induce pupils to think of 
prizes as the tangible representatives of the real 
rewards which they hope to gain ; and, if so, they 
can be used with little danger. Few teachers, how- 
ever, can hope to possess such skill, and, if they do 
possess it, they will scarcely need the help of prizes 
to induce their pupils to study. 

That the benefits to be derived from, the giving of prizes 
are confined to a few. — If each pupil in a class could 
receive some testimonial fairly proportioned to his 
effort and success in study and his deportment as a 
student, there could be little objection to such a 
system. It would conform to nature's plan in prin- 
ciple, and, being more tangible, might exert a bene- 
ficial influence, especially with pupils in Primary 
schools. But the system of giving prizes as generally 
practised is something wholly different. The prizes 
for which a class or school competes are not often 
very numerous, — sometimes three or four, but more 
frequently, perhaps, a single one. They are be- 
stowed, not with regard to positive attainments, but 

13* 



132 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

with regard to relative position. There may be a 
very slight difference between two competitors; both 
may be almost equally deserving; and yet one may 
obtain the prize, while the other is rewarded per- 
haps by pity for his ill success. By the wonderful 
principle of compensation, the apparent loser may 
be the real gainer ; but this does not save the dis- 
tinction made from the accusation of being arbi- 
trary and invidious. 

Suppose a class competing for a prize, and observe 
the result. At first the attention of the whole class 
may be directed to the prize, and a few good recita- 
tions may be the consequence ; but very soon some 
will come to the conclusion that the prize cannot be 
obtained by them, then others will arrive at the 
same conclusion, and afterwards still more, until the 
contest is narrowed down to a very few who strive 
on to the end. The effect is that those who lose the 
hope of obtaining the prize can with great difficulty 
be induced to study at all, and seem to think that, 
having abandoned the race themselves, their only 
duty is to watch the runners until they reach the 
goal and the winner receive the prize. Besides, 
those who continue the contest are generally such 
pupils as need no stimulus to exertion. They are 
more likely to over-work themselves than to work 
too little. The treatment they need in such circum- 
stances is rather sedative than stimulating. Thus 
the competition excited by the offer of a prize is 
apt to injure both the quick and the dull, the in- 
dustrious and the lazy, one class being induced to 
work too much and the other being left with little 
inducement to work at all. 



STUDY. 133 

That there is great difficulty in awarding prizes justly. 
— If a prize be awarded unjustly, it will do harm to 
all concerned, — to him who receives it, to him to 
whom it rightfully belonged, and to the school- 
authorities who committed the error. The danger 
of doing some injustice in awarding prizes is very 
great. Data furnished by recitations and examina- 
tions are subject to many errors; and when the 
amount of effort made, the facilities of study en- 
joyed, and the difficulties encountered by the pupils, 
are taken into the account, there are so many un- 
known quantities involved in the problem that the 
shrewdest moral algebraist could scarcely solve it. 
Those who make the best recitations or appear to 
the most advantage at examinations are not always 
the finest scholars or the most deserving students. 
Some pupils have superior natural ability, which 
enables them to do with ease what others can ac- 
complish only by hard work; some receive private 
help, have access to libraries, enjoy ample time for 
study, and are allowed a pleasant place to study in, 
while others must help themselves, and study at 
hours stolen from sleep. The prize should be given 
to the most worthy. Teachers may be able to make 
the right selection, but all must admit the liability 
and the danger of mistakes. True, all praise and 
censure involve the same liability to mistakes. A 
teacher may commend the bad and censure the good ; 
but, while this should teach him to be careful as to 
whom he praises and with whom he finds fault, yet 
in so doing he generally commits no public wrong, 
and he can oftentimes repair the private one he has 
inadvertently done. 



134 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

That unkind and jealous feelings are apt to arise 
among those who contend for a prize. — It is not uncom- 
mon, when the contest for a prize becomes close 
and confined to a few, that the other members of 
the class drop study, divide into parties, and attach 
themselves to the fortunes of one of the competi- 
tors. In such unfortunate circumstances, there are 
apt to be exhibited the feelings usual at wrestling- 
matches and horse-races, — there are apt to be those 
who rejoice equally at the success of their hero and 
the failure of his adversary ; and if the participants 
themselves do not sympathize with such feelings, 
they have more control over their passions than most 
students possess. 

That a prize is a fictitious and arbitrary reward for 
diligence in study or propriety in conduct. — In nature's 
system all honest effort is properly rewarded. Ma- 
ture is a prompt paymaster, and she rewards men 
liberally for every good thought they think and for 
every good deed they do. As the sower prepares 
his field, scatters his seed, and expects his crop, so 
all good thoughts and good words bring forth a 
natural fruitage of reward. 

The system of giving prizes operates upon a 
principle quite different from this natural system of 
rewards. The prize is not bestowed for positive 
merit, but because the merit of the recipient is 
supposed to be of a higher order than that of others 
who may have been his competitors. The prize- 
system virtually supersedes the system of nature, 
and then suffers a large number of deserving pupils 
to remain without any recognition of their worth in 
the standard of value adopted. But, at best, a prize 



STUDY. 135 

is not a natural reward for hard study or good con- 
duct, and when not used directly as the representa- 
tive of that reward, its value must be wholly ficti- 
tious. The bestowmeDt of it is controlled by no 
natural law, as such laws require each one to be 
rewarded according to his merits, and it is therefore 
an arbitrary reward. 

Having now stated the principal arguments for 
and against the giving of prizes in school, it is 
proper to conclude the matter with an expression 
of my own opinion. It is briefly this: that in the 
hands of most teachers, and as generally practised, 
systems of offering prizes in schools do much more 
harm than good. If, however, pupils can be made 
to understand that prizes are merely the tangible 
representation of the real reward, and to value 
them accordingly ; if the prizes can be made so nu- 
merous that the merits of all can be thus rewarded, 
and the requisite care be taken that the value of 
each prize be in proportion to the positive merit of 
the one who receives it, nearly all the objections to 
their use would be removed, and they might become 
an auxiliary in the work of inciting pupils to study. 
The principle of giving prizes as rewards is not 
wrong, but it has been wrongly applied. With 
judicious application its use is safe. 

Merit-Marks. — Teachers of Common Schools fre- 
quently arrange their classes so that the position of 
a pupil in the class determines his merit, or at least 
marks his relative scholarship. The practice of 
changing places in a class according to an assumed 
standard of merit, is not subject to many of the 
objections which can be made against the giving of 



136 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

prizes. Eacli pupil in the class can be made to 
occupy the position to which his actual merit at the 
recitation entitles him; he competes not only with 
the best scholars in the class, but with those of 
similar ability to himself, and his place in class is 
a standard by which his friends and himself can 
compare his proficiency and progress with others. 
For young pupils, especially, " place-taking" may 
be employed with good effect. 

In nearly all well-managed schools, a record is 
kept by which the scholarship and deportment of 
each pupil are exhibited. The marks used for this 
purpose are called Merit or Demerit Marks, and 
they are used as an incentive to study. So far as 
relates to study, these marks should be recorded 
duriug the recitation or immediately after it, and are 
intended to indicate the degree of proficiency in each 
lesson. At the end of a week, a month, or a year, 
these marks may be summed up and read to the 
pupils themselves, forwarded to their friends, or 
published to the world. Classes graduating at 
many of our higher institutions of learning are 
honored by positions determined by marks made 
up from those received during their courses of 
study. 

Are such Merit -Marks productive of good? 
Against their use it may be urged that the keeping 
of them requires considerable time. This is true, 
unless the teacher attends to it during the recitation 
or immediately after it; then the deserts of each 
member of the class are fresh in his mind, and he 
has nothing to do but to write opposite each name, 
in his class-book, the figure denoting them. 



STUDY. 137 

Against their use, it may also be urged that 
nothing but the merit of the recitations can be 
marked, and that no account can be taken of differ- 
ences in natural talents, and opportunities for prepa- 
ration. Merit-Marks for study ought not to pretend 
to indicate any thing else than proficiency in reciting 
the lessons. The teacher should make this under- 
stood by his pupils. He should also be careful in 
giving Merit-Marks for deportment to give credit to 
those who improve their opportunities of study to 
the best advantage, as well as for propriety in their 
general conduct. If this be done, no one can rea- 
sonably complain of unjust treatment. 

Against their use, a more serious objection may 
be urged, that the attention of pupils is apt to be 
diverted by them from the high objects for which 
study should be pursued to the low one of obtain- 
ing good marks. To this objection it may be 
replied, that the great majority of students in all 
kinds of schools have not formed any high ideals 
of human perfection, and cannot, therefore, be 
actuated by motives prompting to their attainment. 
Teachers must first appeal to such motives as can 
be made effective, and, afterwards, gradually substi- 
tute nobler ones. Merit-Marks, too, like all kinds 
of reward, should be considered as the symbols of 
something higher and better. They are, indeed, 
among the safest of representative rewards, as all 
pupils may be marked according to their merit, and 
the record, made daily, is a safeguard against serious 
mistakes. 

In favor of Merit-Marks it may be said that they 
aid in giving system to the working of a school;- 



138 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

they are a convenient medium of conveying a 
truthful account of progress in study made by 
pupils, and their conduct, to their friends; in 
schools where several teachers are engaged, they 
furnish to the Principal much needed information ; 
they are almost indispensable in making transfers 
from one class, or one school, to another; and they 
can be made, when judiciously used, a safe and 
powerful incentive to study and good conduct. 

That system, however, by which marks for merit 
are allowed to cancel marks for demerit, I do not 
approve. There is no warrant for the principle 
upon which it is based in the moral government of 
the world. God forgives offences, but he never 
effaces the recollection of them from the memory 
of the wrong-doer. Works of supererogation are 
an impossibility. It is best to let the daily marks 
received by pupils stand, and make their sum total 
constitute the record for a week, a month, or a 
term. 

Emulation. — We have no right to seek after that 
which is unworthy of pursuit. To do otherwise 
would be to spend time and effort in a bad cause, 
and to weaken the moral sense. On this point, 
however, there need be no question here, as all the 
objects of study are noble objects and well worthy 
our desires. 

Emulation is an effort to equal or surpass another 
in the pursuit of an object. There may be emula- 
tion in school in the struggle to gain a prize, a 
position, or to obtain good Merit-Marks; but the 
kind of emulation now referred to, is simply a desire 
on the part of some pupils to equal or surp>ass others in the 



STUDY. 139 

pursuit of knowledge. The question now to be deter- 
mined is as to whether a teacher should present this 
kind of emulation to his pupils as an incentive to 
study. Respecting this question, like that respect- 
ing prizes, considerable difference of opinion exists 
among educators; and, hence, it deserves careful 
consideration at our hands. 

It will be acknowledged by all, that the obtaining 
of a prize, a position, or a high mark of merit 
ought not to be the end of study. The same is 
mainly true of those trials of mental strength which 
spring from emulation; and yet such trials may 
have something noble and manly about them. A 
base mind may be made to work for money or for 
place, but there have been natures so generous as to 
discard such ignoble motives, and yet be ever will- 
ing to test their strength with "foemen worthy of 
their steel." A prize, in particular, when valued 
for itself, is an artificial reward; while the com- 
placency which arises from the consciousness of 
strength and excellence in comparison with others, 
is a natural reward. In competing for a prize, the 
contest must be between persons whose relations are 
intimate, and therefore will be apt to produce ill 
feelings ; while a pupil may emulate the excellences 
of a member of his class, those of a person who 
attends another school, those of the good and great 
whose virtues adorned the age in which they 
hved, or even those of a personage purely ideal. 
An offered prize is within the reach of only a small 
number; but the teacher can always find some one 
with whom to match even his dullest pupils. Some 
authority must decide, after a contest for it, to 

14 



140 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

whom a prize belongs, and there is great danger of 
deciding unjustly ; but when emulation simply is the 
actuating motive, the pupils can mostly decide for 
themselves. A prize won loses all power as an in- 
centive to study ; but a pupil can never long want 
worthy rivals. 

From what has just been said, it appears that 
emulation is a much safer motive to be used as an 
incentive to study than the desire to gain a prize; 
and yet there are some objections to its use, which 
must be considered. 

It is said that pupils are apt to overlook the true end 
of study in the heat of rivals hip. I do not object to a 
trial of strength or skill, either physical or mental, 
for itself. I believe that such trials, when well 
managed, have much in them that is good in its 
results. But the true end of study is not to equal 
or surpass another; and whenever it is lost sight of 
in a contest for victory, the consequences must 
necessarily be unfortunate, both intellectually and 
morally. That the true end of study is sometimes 
overlooked, when one pupil becomes the rival of 
another, cannot be doubted; but there is just as 
little doubt that a judicious teacher can prevent 
such a mistake. It is the abuse of a good thing ; 
and what good thing may not be abused? Two 
boys sent upon an errand need not forget to do it 
because they run a race on the way. 

It is said that emulation tends to produce bad feelings 
between the contending parties. This result, it is alleged, 
may not appear at first, but it grows as a contest 
becomes more close. That a generous spirit may be 
made selfish from this cause, that even jealousy and 



STUDY. 141 

hatred may be engendered, I think, cannot be 
doubted; and if such is the legitimate result of the 
employment of emulation as an incentive to study, 
resort should be had to some less dangerous mo- 
tive. 

A teacher, however, can make use of emulation 
without incurring such ill consequences. He can 
terminate a rivalship whenever he deems it best, 
and he can always avoid such as are close and per- 
sonal. Standards of comparison may be chosen 
from without the school as well as from within it. 

And, besides, I do not believe that the legitimate 
effect of a trial of mental or physical strength is to 
produce bad feelings. It may do this with low and 
narrow minds ; but with the brave and generous, if 
properly conducted, it never does. The most skil- 
ful players in games of ball or cricket, the fastest 
skaters, and the truest marksmen, are nearly always 
the best of friends. Their trials of skill teach them 
to respect one another. Such, too, might be the 
effect of the rivalship of the school-room. True, 
now and then unsuspected selfishness will come to 
the surface ; but, in morals as in medicine, the open 
manifestation of a disease presents the best oppor- 
tunities for administering the appropriate remedies. 

It is said that the effect of the use of emulation in 
school is to make ambitious men. — Ambition may be 
either good or bad. That unscrupulous ambition 
which seeks place and power regardless of all other 
interests, which has drenched the world with blood 
and filled it with misery and woe, is to be deprecated 
every where. Rather than that schools should be- 
come the nurseries of such ambition, let the schools 



142 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

themselves be closed. But no sentiment can be 
nobler than that ambition which prompts men to do 
great deeds for themselves and for the race, which 
has pioneered civilization, marched at the head of 
reforms, and given the world its science and its art. 
Ambition is good when directed to good ends, and 
bad when directed to bad ends. Does emulation 
encouraged in school necessarily lead to the in- 
dulgence of an unworthy ambition ? 

The use of emulation in school is calculated to 
make ambitious men ; and without such men the 
whole intellectual and moral world would stand 
still. Whether the working out of their energies 
tends to do good or ill to the human family depends 
upon the manner in which those energies are di- 
rected. It is a matter of great responsibility to 
awaken the ambition of the young, and to count 
upon giving proper direction to it. It may be like 
sowing the wind and reaping the whirlwind ; but 
the teacher has no alternative. He aims to make 
men, and men must have ambition. Indeed, he 
meets with the same difficulty in regard to all the 
power he evokes and to all the skill he imparts. 
Education either unchains a devil or frees a man ; 
but the chance of an escape from the bondage of 
ignorance warrants all risks. These risks, however, 
should be rendered as slight as possible by the con- 
stant vigilance of teachers and parents. 

Several special arguments in favor of an appeal 
to emulation as an incentive to study will be named. 

Emulation is a feeling incident to our nature, and 
therefore has its use. — It is natural to compare our- 
selves with others. To this is owing the powerful 



STUDY. 143 

influence of example. Without it the lives of the 
good and the great would teach us no moral. 

The results of a spirit of emulation appear in all 
nations, and at all times. Nations have competed 
with one another in commerce, manufactures, sci- 
ence, art, and arms. Individuals have measured 
strength in pastimes, in trade, in the forum, in 
peaceful science, and in bloody combat. Children 
emulate one another in early infancy; and many of 
the plays of childhood and the games of school-boy 
days derive all their interest from the efforts of some 
to equal or excel others. Society is kept alive by 
competition. We find it in all the avenues of business, 
in the family, in the State, and in the Church. A 
power so universally active cannot be doomed to 
silence in the school-room. The teacher will find 
it as a part of human nature, and he cannot deny it 
a use unless he question the wisdom of Him who 
made man as he is. !Not that one man was designed 
to enjoy a triumph over another's misfortunes; not 
that some should rise by ruining others; but all 
were intended to journey through life mutually pro- 
tected, encouraged, and strengthened. "Iron sharp- 
eneth iron ; so a man sharpeneth the countenance 
of his friend." 

The desire of emulation is a part of our nature. 
It was designed as an incentive to that which is 
good. The teacher can thus use it. 

Emulation can be made a powerful means of securing 
advancement in learning. — If it. be admitted that one 
person may measure his strength against another's, 
while both are in the pursuit of some object, that 
two pupils while studying their lessons may see 

14* 



144 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

# 

which of them can perform the work most speedily, 
then, free from any moral objection, the teacher will 
have placed in his hands a powerful means of secur- 
ing progress in study. He can stir up by it not only 
individuals, but classes and the whole school. Few 
will be found so indifferent or dull that they cannot 
be made to feel its influence. My own success as a 
school-officer was largely attributable to the effort 
made to induce the teacher and pupils of one school 
to equal those of another and to hold up to the 
people of some districts the bright example of others. 
A teacher may use emulation where higher motives 
would prove unavailing. Many who would not ap- 
preciate the worth of learning can be moved by the 
desire of doing better than those with whom they 
may be matched. 

Emulation can be used to give culture to character. — 
If well guarded, emulation among pupils will make 
them more manly, more generous, and more brave. 
It will teach them to form more just estimates of 
their own powers and the powers of others. It 
often furnishes a cure for selfishness, and gives 
strength to the will. It can be used to give culture 
to that radical disposition of the spirit which is 
termed character. 

I know that the general estimate of the value of 
emulation as an incentive to study differs from that 
just stated ; but, before an objector decide that mine 
is erroneous, I would like to have him join a well- 
regulated cricket or base-ball club composed of 
students, play with them for six months, and closely 
observe the moral effect. There may be games in 
Mathematics, in the Sciences, in Language ; and, 



STUDY. 145 

according to my observation, all may be made highly 
beneficial even in a moral sense. Emulation, how- 
ever, like sharp tools, requires skilful handling. It 
may do much good or great harm. 

Fear of Punishment. — The fear of punishment is 
not anywhere the highest incentive to the perform- 
ance of duty ; but everywhere there seems to be a 
necessity for its use. The Creator in His moral 
government holds out the strongest inducements to 
well-doing ; but, when His laws are broken, He 
strives to bring the offenders back to obedience by 
punishments, mild or severe, according to the nature 
of the offence. The authorities of a State find it 
politic to inflict fines, imprisonment, and death, 
upon criminals. True, an individual who obeys the 
laws of God or the laws of a State merely because 
he fears the punishment that will be inflicted upon 
the disobedient, is not acting in a manner worthy 
of a man or a citizen ; but each one must do his 
duty, — if not from love, then by force. 

These principles apply to the use of the fear of 
punishment as an incentive to study. Pains should 
not be spared, nor should patience be exhausted, in 
the effort to induce pupils to study from higher and 
better motives ; but such motives cannot always be 
made at once effective, and in the mean time lessons 
must be learned. The idle must first be made to 
work from some motive, and afterwards their motives 
can be elevated. Pearls are not appreciated by 
swine now any better than they were when Christ 
preached in Judea, more than eighteen hundred 
years ago. For these reasons, I think, the fear of 



146 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

punishment may sometimes be used as an incentive 
to study. 

Lessons learned, however, because punishment is 
feared, are much less valuable to the learner than 
if he learned them from a better motive, as they do 
not in such cases promote healthy mental growth ; 
but they are better than no lessons, and the teacher 
may choose the least of two necessary evils. The 
mistake which is apt to be made by the teacher is to 
continue the use of the fear of punishment as an 
incentive to study long after he should have dis- 
placed it by bringing into requisition higher motives. 
Moral culture is a growth as well as intellectual ; and 
if the teacher must begin his work with motives 
addressed to the animal nature, he can only safely 
end it when the actuating principles are worthy a 
being created in the image of God. 

The punishments inflicted for badly-prepared les- 
sons, it may be well to add, should not be arbitrary 
in their character. Corporeal punishments of any 
kind should never be used for this purpose. The 
punishment should follow the offence as effect fol- 
lows cause, and be naturally connected with it. It 
is best that the pupil should fear the punishment as 
the result of his own folly, and not as the arbitrary 
infliction of the teacher. For example, badly-pre- 
pared lessons might be relearned at recess or noon- 
time. If this were a general rule, the pupils, fearing 
the loss of the privilege of play, would study more 
diligently, until, perhaps, they might acquire the 
habit or the taste for study, when the influence of 
fear would be no longer needed to secure diligence. 
Besides, the loss of the teacher's approbation, the 



STUDY. 147 

forfeiture of the good opinion of the class, the less- 
ening of their own self-respect, the mortification 
which arises from a failure to perform what others 
accomplish, the rebukes of conscience for neglect 
of duty, are natural punishments which are wisely 
adapted to correct the careless habits of study into 
which pupils may have fallen. 

Shame. — Shame is that feeling which arises from 
a consciousness of having done something wrong 
or degrading. Remorse is the reproach of con- 
science for wrong-doing; shame is the sense of 
personal degradation. All right-meaning persons 
experience shame when they have yielded to temp- 
tation or failed to perform some duty. Little well- 
founded hope can be entertained of one who is 
"dead to shame." There are higher motives by 
which to prompt idle pupils to the performance of 
duty than the sense of shame ; but the uprising of 
this feeling is one of the ways in which our nature 
reacts against a course of conduct that is unworthy 
of us. 

A pupil may feel ashamed when he has suffered 
his time to pass unimproved, when his lessons have 
been badly prepared ; and he may be induced thereby 
to abandon idle habits and engage in a manly per- 
formance of his duty. Operating in this way, the 
sense of shame is a proper incentive to study. The 
teacher may deepen a delinquent pupil's feeling of 
shame by reminding him of his duty, and by making 
him sensible of his abuse of privileges ; but the 
feeling should be suffered to arise of itself. An 
attempt to degrade a pupil in the presence of others 
— to make him feel little and unworthy — is many 



148 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

times to do him more harm than good. It is quite 
easy for a blundering operator to blunt a pupil's 
sense of shame instead of quickening it. 

But few circumstances will justify a teacher in 
making a public exposure of a pupil's delinquencies ; 
and none can ever justify his holding him up to 
public shame. The faults of pupils are seldom so 
grave in their nature as to call for the use of means 
for correcting them that may induce the erring 
ones to shun the teacher's counsel and his presence 
and seek the society of the vicious. The loss of 
self-respect in boys and girls, as well as in men and 
women, renders their reform hopeless. This loss is 
suffered by those whose faults are unduly exposed, 
or whose sense of shame is trifled with. 

Ridicule. — Life has its ludicrous as well as its 
weak side. Men sometimes deserve to be laughed 
at as well as to be pitied. Democritus and Heraclitus 
were both right. Ridicule may be used with good 
effect in rebuking the vices and follies of man- 
kind. 

Doubtless, the mistakes of ignorant pupils are 
often very ridiculous. Shall the teacher ridicule 
them, or permit others to do so, for the purpose of 
inducing the necessary effort to avoid such mistakes ? 
It is impossible at such times always to avoid 
a laugh; but I have never seen any good arise 
from the teacher's attempt to excite one. As with 
respect to the sense of shame; for a teacher to 
expose a pupil to public ridicule — to point the finger 
of scorn at him himself, or to suffer others to do it — 
is, in a vast majority of cases, to injure him rather 
than to correct his faults. Still, in private, and, 



STUDY. 149 

much more seldom, before the school, the lazy and 
the careless may be made more sensible of their 
duties by hearing the faults into which they have 
fallen, or the follies in which they have engaged, 
exposed to ridicule ; and circumstances may even 
justify the application of its lash to the bare back 
of some reckless spendthrift of money, time, talent, 
or privileges. As, however, there are so many 
higher incentives to study than ridicule, my advice 
to teachers is that they be sparing in its use, for it 
ofttimes wounds instead of heals. 

2d. Proper Incentives to Study. — Chief among the 
incentives to study which are always deemed proper, 
are the following : — 

The Approbation of the Teacher. 
The Approbation of the Parents and Friends of the 
Pupil. 

The Approbation of Society. 

The Attainment of an honorable Position in the School, 

The Pleasure of overcoming Difficulties. 

The Gratification of Curiosity. 

The Desire of Knowledge. 

The Hope of Success in Life. 

The Enjoyment of purer ideal Creations. 

The Duty of Self- Perfection. 

The Satisfaction of doing Right. 

The Prospect of Heavenly Reward. 

Some of these incentives may include others; but 
I have thought that the force of the whole is better 
expressed arranged as they stand. A few remarks 
will be made with respect to each. 



150 . THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

The Approbation of the Teacher. — A teacher who 
does not enjoy the respect and love of his pupils 
can never teach them well. He may till the soil of 
the mind skilfully, bat the seed he scatters will have 
no healthy germination. 

The approbation of a teacher who enjoys the 
respect and love of his pupils is a strong incentive 
to them to study. Such pupils will often study day 
and night — sacrifice comfort and health — to please a 
teacher. What teacher has not seen every feature 
of his pupils' countenances marked with pleasure — 
has not known that every fibre of their being vibrated 
with delight — when kind words of approval cheered 
their triumph over some difficulty ? 

What we do is rendered comparatively easy if 
we are sure that it will be appreciated. A farmer 
walked through his field where some laborers were 
mowing. "This is fine mowing," saidhe, — "the best 
I have ever seen." The laborers smiled, looked at 
one another, and worked away with a will that 
seemed to say, "We can do it better still." This 
is human nature ; and the teacher will find human 
nature in the school-room. 

If a teacher desire to have his pupils do much 
work and do it well, he must observe what they 
have done, and let them see that he appreciates 
merit. A teacher who is never pleased with any 
thing, who never gives an approving smile or utters 
an encouraging word, need not expect to have dili- 
gent pupils. Some teachers suffer themselves to 
fall into the habit of finding fault with every thing 
that does not please them, and of seeming scarcely 
satisfied with any thing ; but the inevitable fruit of 



STUDY. 151 

such a course of conduct is unwilling pupils and 
little work. A teacher should commend where he can, 
and find fault only when he must. Honest effort 
should be encouraged. Kind words, smiles, nods of 
approval, attentions shown, and privileges granted, 
should reward the student for work well done. A 
teacher who enjoys the confidence and good will of 
his pupils, and who knows how to bestow com- 
mendation aud when to withhold it, is in the pos- 
session of a power which may be made a strong 
incentive to study. 

It is not meant, of course, that indiscriminate 
praise should be given. The teacher must choose 
a right time, a fit place, and a proper manner for 
performing this delicate duty. No pupil should be 
praised who does not deserve it; nor should a 
teacher praise every deserving act, as if his appro- 
bation was the only reward for it. There is perhaps 
as much danger in praising pupils too much as in 
praising them too little ; but, in practice, every 
teacher must be guided by his own judgment. 

The Ajiprobation of the Parents and Friends of the 
Pupils. — When home and social influences are of 
the right kind, the approbation of the parents and 
friends of the pupils is a very strong incentive to 
study, and the teacher may safely appeal to it. Even 
when parents are indifferent about their own mental 
and moral improvement, they will nearly always 
sanction any judicious measures a teacher may adopt 
for the mental and moral improvement of their 
children. It is many times unsafe for a teacher to 
refer to a parent's example ; but it is hardly ever 
injudicious for him to strengthen his cause by citing 

15 



152 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

a parent's opinion. There are very few parenta 
who do not desire their children to learn when they 
send them to school, and very few children who do 
not have some regard for their parents' wishes; and 
these facts may be taken advantage of in enforcing 
the duty of study. Pupils may be urged to prepare 
for an expected visit of parents and friends, or for 
an examination before them. They will desire their 
teachers and schoolmates to speak well of them before 
these parents and friends, and they will themselves be 
glad to carry home the news of their progress, and 
thus exchange good lessons for encouraging words 
and approving smiles. Happy the circumstances of 
that school where the teacher and the relatives and 
friends of the pupils are equally intelligent, and 
where all co-operate in the work of instruction ! 

The Approbation of Society. — Students have not 
always received the approbation of society. In 
past times, some learned men were thought by their 
cotemporaries to have dealings with the Evil One, 
and others were compelled to suffer imprisonment 
and death, because they cast their pearls of know- 
ledge before swine, who trampled them under their 
feet and turned to rend their best benefactors. 

But at the present time, in every intelligent com- 
munity, the scholar is respected. His advice is 
sought, and his scholarship is a passport to social 
honors. Indeed, the scholar now ennobles the place 
of his birth, the house in which he lived becomes 
almost sacred, and pilgrims from distant lands go 
sadly to gaze upon his grave. 

The hard-working pupils in our Common Schools 
are not unhonored in their neighborhoods. The 



STUDY. 153 

people are proud of them. They mark them out 
for future honors. 

This approbation of society — this reputation for 
scholarship — may be lawfully sought by students ; 
and let no one blame them if sometimes, among 
higher incentives to study, they permit dreams of 
such honors to cheer their rugged pathway. 

The Attainment of an honorable Position in the School. 
— All schools have their positions of honor. These 
may be exhibited by a place in a class, by marks on 
a roll of merit, or by the silent suffrages of school- 
mates ; and their attainment is to the ambitious a 
powerful incentive to study. It is almost worth a 
fortune to a man to enjoy the reputation of having 
been the best scholar in a good school ; and to gra- 
duate with the first honor in a class at college is 
considered one of the greatest triumphs of life. 
xTor are such motives unworthy ones. 

It is true that but few can expect to occupy the 
highest positions in a school ; but all good students 
can reach honorable positions, and these, under the 
judicious management of a skilful teacher, a large 
majority will strive to attain. 

The attainment of an honorable position as an in- 
centive to study is particularly strong in schools 
where both sexes are educated together. The mem- 
bers of one sex always have more regard for the 
opinions of persons of the opposite sex than of 
those belonging to their own. 

The Pleasure of overcoming Difficulties. — There is 
real pleasure arising from the doing of hard things. 
Boys will lift, and jump, and run, and climb, when 
no one sees them, and for no other purpose save 



154 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

that of testing their strength. They will work out 
puzzles, solve problems, and engage in other feats 
of mental gymnastics, merely for the enjoyment 
which comes from difficulties encountered and over- 
come. A vast amount of hard mental and physical 
effort is expended every day with no end in view 
but that of doing difficult things. It is one of the 
ways nature uses to secure that toughening of muscle 
and that discipline of mind which the world needs 
to manage its affairs. 

The biography of Dr. Kane furnishes a good 
example in illustration of the principle just stated. 
Connected with the house of Dr. Kane's father 
there was a chimney of considerable height above 
the roof. The difficulty of ascending it on the out- 
side often formed the subject of the thoughts of 
young Kane as he gazed up at it. It was a temp- 
tation he could not resist, and he resolved to scale 
the chimney. In order to avoid the opposition of 
father and mother, the hour of midnight, when all 
were asleep, was chosen. "With his brother, whose 
sympathy in his undertaking he enjoyed, to assist, 
he mounted the roof, and, after repeated trials, suc- 
ceeded in throwing a stone, with a rope attached, 
into the open top of the chimney. The rope being 
made fast below, and his brother holding on to the 
other end, the fearless boy began the ascent. Hand 
over hand he mounts upwards, reaches the top, and, 
by great exertion, succeeds in seating himself upon 
it; and the future hero who is destined to explore 
the frozen regions of the polar sea and brave all its 
dangers thus triumphs over a difficulty that seemed 
to challenge his youthful powers. The descent was 



STUDY. 155 

quickly performed, the rope was hidden away, and 
the daring boy retired to sleep satisfied. 

Science in all its departments presents hard pro- 
blems and difficult questions. Let the teacher bring 
them to the attention of his pupils in such a way 
as to tempt them to test their strength. Let him 
teach them to make long, hearty efforts, — to pull, 
and tug, and twist, until the work is done. Brave 
students like to do hard things; and, as they find 
hard things in science, they are often induced to 
study in order that they may enjoy the pleasure of 
overcoming difficulties. 

The Gratification of Curiosity. — "Admiratio est semen 
sapiential" says Bacon; and Hamilton has a similar 
sentiment, "Wonder is the mother of Knowledge." 
It cannot be doubted that the impulse that prompts 
the young in their search for information is curiosity. 
Long before they can appreciate the worth of know- 
ledge or desire to seek it for its own sake, their 
curiosity has led them to notice facts and pheno- 
mena and to find out their relations and significance. 
]STor is this feeling confined to children. Men evince 
it in their travels into the unexplored regions of the 
earth, and in their study of the mysteries which are 
found in all departments of nature. 

Knowledge can be so imparted in school as to 

gratif}^ the curiosity of the pupils. Something new 

and novel may be taught them every day. They 

can be constantly delighted with a revelation of the 

wonders of the air, the earth, and the heavens. 

Study thus conducted would be like travelling in an 

unknown land, where every hour brings into view 

scenes new, and strange, and interesting. It is to 

15* 



156 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

be feared, however, that our dull methods of teach- 
ing often tend to repress the curiosity of the young 
instead of seeking to gratify it. Children many 
times find that hook-learning is not the same as 
what they so readily learned in field, wood, and 
stream, — as what nature taught them, — and so be- 
come disgusted with study. 

A teacher should always have in view the gratifi- 
cation of the curiosity of his pupils. Study to the 
younger pupils should be like turning over the 
leaves of a picture-book, like opening drawer after 
drawer of curiosities, like exhibiting ever-changing 
shop-windows, like looking at successive cases of 
objects in a museum, like witnessing the shifting 
scenes of a drama or a panorama. To the older, the 
objects of study may change less frequently, color 
and form may excite less interest ; but there should 
be a continual unfolding of new order, new beauty, 
new laws, and more wonderful facts, to give attrac- 
tion to it. 

The Desire of Knowledge. — The d esire of knowledge 
is one of the noblest incentives to study. In using 
it, no caution is necessary. A pupil who craves 
knowledge for its own sake will find a prize in 
every truth learned. He will not need the spur of 
position or emulation to prompt him to exertion, 
and fear of punishment, shame and ridicule, are 
for influencing other natures than his. Even the 
approbation of teachers, friends, and society is 
enjoyed by him more as the reward of his efforts 
than as the end for which his learning was sought. 

The desire of knowledge is not created by artifi- 
cial means, but is innate. God made the world and 



STUDY. 157 

stored it with things to be known, and implanted 
in the bosom of man, for whom the world was 
designed, the desire to know them. Engaged in 
trade and traffic, many come to set no store upon 
that knowledge which cannot be valued in dollars 
and cents ; but it would be well for such persons 
to remember that things of greatest value cannot 
be bought and sold, and that God would not create 
what is unworthy of our study. 

Simply to possess knowledge gives pleasure. The 
mental appetite is thus satisfied. A true philosopher 
is a lover of wisdom, — not for its practical uses, but 
for its intrinsic worth. The richest fruits of science 
are the results of the desire of knowledge. 

Teachers will find this desire of knowledge among- 
their pupils, — in some, weak, in others, stronger; but 
in the majority, it can be made a powerful incentive 
to study. At first their curiosity must be gratified, 
as previously shown; but, finally, they should be 
made lovers of truth. This done, earth has few em- 
ployments that can furnish the same degree of pure 
happiness as study. 

The Hope of Success in Life. — Men who are rightly 
educated succeed best in business. Education is 
useful even in the common affairs of life. Learn- 
ing — not merely a smattering of Arithmetic, Gram- 
mar, and Book-Keeping, but liberal learning — is an 
advantage to mechanics, farmers, and merchants, as 
well as to lawyers, doctors, and clergymen. If 
making money were the chief end of life, the edu- 
cated man would enjoy many chances not open to 
the ignorant. A teacher will do well to show his 



158 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

pupils the relation of the branches they study to 
the practical affairs of society. 

There is such a thing as true honor. "What is 
called honor may be mere tinsel; but there is real 
respect due to work, and all men may lawfully strive 
to deserve it. An educated man, other things being 
equal, can accomplish more for society, is more de- 
serving of respect, and more likely to be honored, 
than one who has been denied the privileges of an 
education. 

Reputation is not always a bauble. A good name 
is a treasure not to be lightly esteemed. It is better 
than riches. Ignorant men have few opportunities 
to acquire a reputation. Their sphere in life is cir- 
cumscribed. They move on a low plane. ~Not all 
so-called educated men have a desirable reputation ; 
but the names of the great benefactors of mankind 
m the past and in the present are those of educated 
men. 

Men are unworthy of place and power when they 
hold them unworthily ; but society has positions 
which are more responsible and which require 
greater ability in the occupants than others. They 
are found both in Church and State, and in the affairs 
of general society. It is not unworthy any man to 
aspire to fill such positions. They will be filled by 
somebody. "The office should seek the man;" but 
no man will be sought unless he is supposed to be 
qualified, and qualified he can hardly be without an 
education, either obtained by self-exertion or by the 
aid of teachers. 

Thus it appears that success in life, whether it 
consists in doing work for society, or in gaining 



STUDY. 159 

honor, reputation, place, or power, depends very 
much upon education ; and this may be made an 
incentive to study. Educated men must make the 
laws of a State, and govern it ; must study science, 
and apply its principles ; must write hooks, invent 
machinery, command armies, lead reformations, 
head expeditions, and marshal the general affairs of 
society. The ignorant occupy the rear in the on- 
ward march of human progress, and educated men 
lead the van. These facts are so open to observa- 
tion that they can easily be made to exert their due 
influence in inciting pupils to study. Indeed, with 
some pupils such influences have rather to be weak- 
ened than strengthened; for harm may be done by 
inculcating the opinion among them that all are 
one day to become Governors or Presidents, Bacons 
or Humboldts. 

The Enjoyment of purer ideal Creations. — God is 
truth, and He has embodied this attribute of His 
nature in His creation. All science consists of 
truths discovered by men, and arranged into systems. 
Everywhere other truths await their interpreter. 
The sum of all the truths known, and all the truths 
possible, constitutes truth, and above all is the ideal 
standard by which truth is measured, — The True. 

God is beauty, and He has made His creation 
after patterns of the beautiful in His own mind. 
How richly is beauty painted on the leaves of trees, 
on the petals of flowers, on the plumage of birds, 
in the ever- varying tints of water, and upon the blue 
sky ! How .magnificently it is impressed upon 
nature's sculptured forms, from the tiny blade of 
grass up to the grand dome of Heaven ! How 



160 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

sweetly it is sung in rippling waters, in sighing 
winds, in the warbling of birds, and in the infant's 
prattle ! Painter, Sculptor, Poet, catch glimpses of 
this beauty, and would fain express it on canvas, 
chisel it in stone, or hymn it forth in Poetry or 
Music. Higher than all this beauty is the ideal 
conception that comprehends all possible beauty, — 
The Beautiful. 

God is good, and all created things proclaim aloud 
that goodness. It is written upon the dry land, it 
is echoed forth in the voices of the waters, it is 
whispered by the winds, it shines from the heavens, 
the tall forests and the ripening grain nod their 
assent to it, and man finds it revealed in his own 
spirit. "And God saw everything he had made: 
and behold it was very good." Beyond all that is 
good is that noblest ideal creation of the human 
mind, — The Good. 

These pure ideal conceptions, The True, The 
Beautiful, and The Good, cannot be found in a mind 
darkened by ignorance. To fully realize the plea- 
sure which may be derived from contemplating 
them, culture is necessary; and there can be few 
nobler incentives to study. 

The powers in which our purest ideals originate are 
susceptible of improvement. There are those who 
having eyes see not, and having minds know not, the 
truth, beauty, and goodness that exist all about 
them. Ignorance shuts up the senses, and deadens 
the soul to their influence. Let the young mind 
once taste of the pure pleasure whioh ravishes the 
soul while dwelling in this ideal world, let the young 
heart once love The True, The Beautiful, and The 



STUDY. 161 

Good, and all that exemplifies them, and the labor 
of study will become light. 

"Scatter diligently in susceptible minds 
The germs of the good and the beautiful! 
They will develop there to trees, bud, bloom, 
And bear the golden fruits of Paradise." 

The Duty of Self- Perfection. — The highest type of 
a man is one who is educated physically, intellect- 
ually, and morally, — whose whole nature has re- 
ceived due culture. He who possesses all good 
traits of character in the highest perfection, and has 
no bad ones, is a model man. After such a man, 
ideal or real, we may pattern. 

The great purpose of this life is self-perfection. 
Our duty in this respect is written in unmistakable 
characters upon our own constitutions. The Bible 
injunction is, "Be ye perfect." And for this end 
we have constantly before us an example in the 
beautiful life of Christ. 

Pupils should be made to feel the duty of self- 
perfection. They should be taught the high pur- 
pose of life, the dignity of the human character, the 
worth of the soul ; and they will learn to appreciate 
the value of growth in knowledge and virtue, and 
to make the necessary efforts to attain it for them- 
selves. 

The Satisfaction of doing Right. — To become more 
excellent is to exercise the highest prerogative of 
our nature; and none can doubt that man rises 
in the scale of being in proportion as he increases 
-his knowledge of God and the works of His hand. 
The man of science knows that he is making a 
proper use of his talents when he studies plants and 



162 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

animals, the constitution of air and water, the struc- 
ture of the earth, the places of the stars, and the 
mysteries of his own body and mind. For such 
purposes his powers of intellect were given, and he 
feels that God will smile upon such a use of them. 

It is right to study, because many things surround 
us that are worthy of it; because "Wisdom is more 
precious than rabies;" because the acquisition of 
knowledge ennobles and elevates the mind; because 
our mental faculties can only be strengthened by 
exercising them, and we would be false to ourselves, 
to our fellow-men, and to God, who intrusted their 
care to us, if we neglect their culture ; and because 
knowledge is profitable in the affairs of life and 
profitable in fitting us for the enjoyments of Heaven. 

~No effort is too great on the teacher's part to 
make his pupils feel that theirs is not a work that 
can be neglected, but that, on the contrary, it is 
their sacred duty to become educated. There is 
wanted sadly more religion in education, and, per- 
haps, more of the philosophy of education applied 
in religious teaching. Both education and religion 
are developing processes, both find something in- 
nate in the human soul which can be cultured, and 
both by different means attempt to impart that cul- 
ture. It is man's duty to be religious, it is his duty 
to educate himself; and to be rightly engaged in the 
pursuit of either, brings with it a complacent spirit 
and a satisfied conscience. 

The Prospect of Heavenly Reward. — If all know- 
ledge perished with the grave, if no hope could be 
entertained that strength of mind gained here will 
be strength gained permanently, one of the principal 



STUDY. 163 

incentives to study would be taken away. This is 
not the proper place to present the reasons upon which 
rest our hopes of retaining our mental strength 
and much of our knowledge in that state of immor- 
tality upon which we enter after death ; hut it may 
be said that if there were no other reason we would 
require all that strength and that knowledge simply 
to understand the justice of our reward or punish- 
ment; for "Here we see through a glass darkly, but 
there face to face." 

But, whether the proposition that we retain the 
knowledge acquired here in the world beyond the 
grave is capable of demonstration or otherwise, we 
believe it ; and could that faith be stricken from the 
human heart, it would palsy all educational effort, 
and eclipse the brightest hopes of the Christian 
student. 

3. The Modes of Study. — Something must be 
said in this connection upon modes of study ; but 
the design of the present book precludes a full dis- 
cussion of the subject. 

We may study to find out. something new, and 
we may study to acquaint ourselves with what is 
already known. The product attained by the first 
kind of study may be called original knowledge; and 
that by the second, scholastic knowledge; and, as the 
processes of attaining these two kinds of knowledge 
are somewhat different, we may consider — 

1st. Modes of Study in the Attainment of Original 
Knowledge. 

2d. Modes of Study in the Attainment of Scholastic 
Knowledge. 

15 



164 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL 

1st. Modes of Study in the Attainment of Original 
Knowledge. — Original knowledge is of two kinds, — 
empirical and pure. It is empirical when derived 
from experience, and pure when it results from 
intuitions of the reason. Some rules will be given 
to guide the student in his search for each kind 
of knowledge. 

With regard to the attainment of empirical know- 
ledge, the following rules are proposed to the stu- 
dent : — 

He should set before himself a definite object. — Nothing 
in nature is devoid of interest; but if one under- 
take to study every thing he comes in contact with, 
he can never make much progress, and the know- 
ledge he does obtain can never be arranged into a 
compact system. A student who would make suc- 
cessful original investigations must select a definite 
object of pursuit and pursue it indefatigably. 

He must carefully observe facts. — This is the great 
rule to which is owing the rapid growth of modern 
science. All safe theories must rest upon the basis 
of ascertained facts ; and these facts must be ob- 
served carefully, patiently, and with an unbiassed 
judgment. ISTo other key will unlock the secret 
treasures of nature. 

His observations must be correctly recorded. — An ob- 
served fact may not be used for a scientific purpose 
until years after the observation was made, or by 
the one who made it ; and hence the necessity for 
a correct record. Much has been lost to science by 
a neglect of this rule, and many a man has found 
the labor of years thrown away by failing to make 
a record of his observations sufficiently exact. 



STUDY. 165 

Each fact must be closely examined and critically dis- 
criminated from other facts. — Without an observance 
of this rule, the essential and inherent properties of 
things cannot be ascertained, nor can the first step 
be taken towards making a systematic arrangement 
of them. 

All facts must be accurately classified. — Classification 
is the handmaid of Science in all her departments. 
Facts isolated and scattered have comparatively little 
scientific value ; but accurate classification helps the 
memory to retain a knowledge of them, and leads 
the way to the induction of the laws by which they 
are bound together. 

Generalizations must be faithfully made. — Generaliza- 
tion is the crowning work of empirical science. It 
should never be done in haste, nor until sufficient 
data are at command to warrant it. Inconsiderate 
generalizations have been the bane of science. 
Hidden errors are prone to mislead at every step, 
and constant vigilance is required to guard against 
them. 

Anticipations of nature's truths should be cautiously 
indulged in. — By the anticipations of nature's truths 
is meant the forming of theories before ascertaining 
the facts for which they are designed to account, — 
speculation. A philosopher who has carefully studied 
the' economy of nature, who has patiently made his 
way up from facts to principles, whose mind has 
caught glimpses of God's plan in His creation, may, 
from his stand-point, directly discern a truth or a 
law from its accordance with the general plan ; but- 
one of the great lessons of history is to teach caution 
in this respect. 



166 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

With regard to the attainment of pure knowledge, 
a few rules will also be stated, as follows : — 

Learn to distinguish necessary and universal truths 
from those which are contingent — When deeply in- 
vestigated, it will be found that even the Inductive 
Sciences rest upon a basis — below their basis of 
facts — of necessary and universal truths. If this be 
doubted, it is certain that such truths underlie all 
the Mathematical and Metaphysical Sciences. As 
a first step, then, in the attainment of pure know- 
ledge, the truths of which it is composed, or from 
which it is deduced, must be distinguished from 
other truths. The question, What is an axiom ? 
precedes that as to whether a particular proposi- 
tion is an axiom, and, indeed, must be answered 
before any sure progress can be made in the attain- 
ment of original knowledge with respect to the 
pure sciences. 

Find the necessary and universal truths upon which is 
founded the particular subject wider consideration. — A 
definite object is as necessary to success in the ac- 
quisition of pure as of empirical knowledge. Having 
chosen a subject for investigation, the axioms must 
be found out of which the particular truths sought 
for can be evolved. For example, the science of 
^Esthetics is founded upon the idea of the beauti- 
ful ; and if any one desires to add to what is known 
on this subject, he must commence by acquainting 
himself with all the axioms which relate to the 
beautiful. 

Demonstrate the particidar truths which are contained 
in axioms. — This is the principal field in which those 
labor who seek pure knowledge. Having found 



STUDY. 167 

the axioms which relate to such ideas as those of 
lime, space, truth, beauty, and right, they proceed 
to evolve from them, or find by their means, thp 
particular truths of which the noblest of human 
sciences are made up. 

2d. Modes of Study in the Attainment of Scholastic 
Knowledge, — The object-matter of scholastic know- 
Ledge, as the student finds it, is contained in text- 
hooks and oral discourses. Here, known facts and 
principles relating to particular sciences are sepa- 
rated from fche connections in which they were ori- 
ginally found, and presented in a form convenient 
for study. The method of studying what is already 
known may or may not bo the sumo, as that by 
whicji original investigations are made. A text- 
book on an empirical science, instead of proceeding 
from facts to principles, may commence with prin- 
ciples and then prove or illustrate them by a state- 
ment of facts, and a text-book on ;i pure science 
may take, certain truths for granted and treat only 
of their applications; both of which methods arc 
impossible, in the study of what is unknown. 

Assuming the possession of properly arranged 

text-books, a tew directions for the study of them 

will be given to the student. 

Begin at the •proper place. — A student studies a text- 
book- \'<>\- (he purpose of adding the knowledge it 
may contain to that which he already possesses. 
To do this effectually, he must begin at that pine*; 
in the book at which his own knowledge ends. As 
a general rule, it is best to commence at the begin- 
ning, and then any thing unknown can be in vesti- 
ng 



168 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

gated, and all that is known can be rapidly passed 
over. 

Take up one thing at a time. — Several studies of 
different kinds may be profitably pursued at the 
same time; but in the preparation of a particular 
lesson it is best to take up one thing at a time. 
The whole lesson may be at first read over to as- 
certain its general scope ; but afterwards all the 
powers of the mind should be concentrated upon 
each part in succession. I am satisfied that many 
students fail from want of attention to this point. 
Hurried, desultory study never yet made a scholar. 

Pursue a logical order. — Even children exhibit a 
taste for related facts. Connected narratives are most 
pleasing to the young mind. And all sciences have 
a logical order. If such an order be followed in 
study, progress will be more rapid, the subject will 
be better understood, and the knowledge acquired 
will be longer retained. The rule is a very im- 
portant one. 

Comprehend every thing thoroughly. — What is half 
understood is worth little, either for discipline or for 
use. A student should be consent with nothing less 
than the complete mastery in all its parts of every 
subject he undertakes to study. Thoroughness in 
study requires close attention to be paid, not only 
to the thought, but to the language in which it is 
expressed. Great caution should be observed in 
coming to fixed conclusions upon controverted 
points. Prejudices should be guarded against, while 
the severest tests of truth should be applied. 

Fix what is learned in the mind. — What is well 
understood is not apt to be forgotten ; still, means 



STUDY. 169 

should be taken to prevent the loss of the fruit of 
hard study. Knowledge is fixed in the mind by 
repetition and reviews, by connecting its parts 
together by natural associations, and by making 
frequent applications of it. 

Acquire the power of giving fit expression to what is 
learned. — Light hid under a bushel is of little benefit; 
and, if otherwise, we are never quite sure we know 
a thing ourselves until we can explain it to an- 
other. 

4. The Characteristics of the Student. — Study 
has its objects to be attained, its incentives to prompt 
to their attainment, and its modes of attaining them ; 
but the student must possess certain personal cha- 
racteristics, or the worth of these objects will not 
be properly appreciated, the force of these incen- 
tives will not awaken the requisite energy to attain 
them, these modes of procedure will not be the 
most judicious. 

Some of the most important of these characteris- 
tics are the following : — 

1st. Health. 
2d. Natural Ability. 
3d. Love of Learning. 
4th. An elevated Ideal. 
5th. Self-Peliance. 
6th. Perseverance. 
7th. The Power of Concentration. 
8th. Enthusiasm. 
9th. Patience. 
10th. Humility. 



170 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

Health. — Such is the intimate connection between 
body and mind, that the healthy condition of the 
former is necessary to the healthy activity of the 
latter. A sound mind can hardly exist in an un- 
sound body. Health, therefore, is necessary to the 
student; and he should be temperate in diet and 
free from bad habits ; he should enjoy the amount 
of sleep nature requires, breathe pure air, and take 
ample exercise. An erroneous Mysticism taught 
that the good of the soul is consulted by the morti- 
fication of the body ; the Epicureans, equally mis- 
taken, held that the highest good consists in sensual 
pleasures ; but a better-founded philosophy incul- 
cates the doctrine that the body and soul belong to 
one being and are mutually dependent, and that the 
highest good of either can be attained only through 
the healthy condition of the other. 

Bodily health and bodily comfort are necessary 
to the successful student, and he should be carefully 
guarded from all influences that are calculated to 
interfere with them. 

Natural Ability. — There may be persons whom no 
effort could make scholars ; but their numbers are 
not so great as is generally estimated. The public 
have not yet fully realized what may be accom- 
plished educationally by a determined purpose and 
skilfully applied labor ; but, when they do, it will be 
found that light may be made to find its way into 
understandings whose darkness has seemed irreme- 
diable. Our institutions for feeble-minded children 
have shown that even idiots are capable of receiving 
much instruction. 

But, while all minds admit some degree of edu- 



STUDY. 171 

cation, it is not to be expected that those who have 
received one talent can so improve it as to be able 
to place themselves on an intellectual equality with 
those who have improved their ten talents. At 
least fair natural ability is necessary to one who can 
reasonably hope to attain eminence as a scholar. 

Love of Learning. — Natural talents will not alone 
suffice to make a scholar. These must be well 
used; and no other impulse is strong enough to 
prompt that use but a love of learning. Isocrates 
had written in golden letters over the entrance to 
his school this sentence: "If thou love learning, 
thou shalt attain to much learning." "Without it, 
no earnest, persistent, mind-invigorating efforts will 
be made to obtain knowledge. "Without it, we may 
build up in the mind a kind of educational super- 
structure ; but it is only a piece of mechanism, not 
a healthy growth. Without it, indeed, what know- 
ledge may be acquired lies cold in the understand- 
ing, and furnishes no nourishment to the soul. 

An elevated Ideal. — The ideal of an artist must be 
elevated in order to paint forms of beauty upon 
canvas or chisel them from marble ; so a student's 
ideal of the worth of knowledge and the dignity of 
cultured human character must be elevated before 
he can do any thing effectually to attain that ideal 
in himself. People become like the gods they 
worship. If our ideals be pure, we will be pure. 
Our thoughts lead captive our wills. With a low 
ideal of the purpose of life, a young man will read 
bad books and seek bad society, and even tinge the 
purest truth with the dark colors of his unchaste 
imagination. With such an ideal, no man ever ac- 



172 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

complished any thing noble. ]^o such man ever left 
behind him a history that finds admirers among the 
good. Let all effort be made, then, to have students 
aim high, and pioneer their course through life with 
a lofty ideal of its true end. Set before their ima- 
ginations a model scholar, and it will be a constant 
incentive to them to imitate his virtues. 

Self-reliance. — A scholar was never made by de- 
pending upon others. Self-work is the necessary 
condition of self-advancement. Every time a pupil 
receives assistance which by his own exertions he 
could have dispensed with, he loses an opportunity 
of strengthening himself: he does worse, for he 
will thus learn to depend upon others. One person 
might as well expect another to appease his hunger 
by eating for him, as to enable him to think by 
doing his thinking. The tendency of our teaching 
at this time is to explain, illustrate, and simplify too 
much ; and thus we fail to inure our pupils to that 
sturdy self-reliance which loves to test its strength 
by striving to do hard things. 

Teachers give too much help to their pupils ; but 
probably more harm is done by the help some pupils 
give to others. It is not uncommon to meet with 
schools in which one-half of the pupils do nearly 
all the thinking for the other half; and this is an 
evil that requires great vigilance on the part of the 
teacher to remedy. Keys to works on Mathema- 
tics, and text-books in which the questions are all 
answered, are a nuisance in a school-room. 

Perseverance. — A student must not only rely upon 
himself to do his own work, but he must persevere 
in the doing of it. Eo great undertaking can be 



STUDY. 173 

accomplished without perseverance ; but all great 
undertakings can be accomplished with it. All 
history illustrates this truth. 

It is not an easy task to become learned. !N"o 
scholar was ever made except by long-continued and 
earnest effort. Some may be endowed with natural 
talents superior to others, but still the maxim is true, 
"No excellence without labor." 

The Power of Concentration. — A general perseve- 
rance in study even is not sufficient to make scholars. 
The student must have the power of mental concen- 
tration. It is not uncommon to find men who study, 
for themselves, and study diligently, and yet who 
never attain a high position as scholars, for the 
reason that they study every thing a little and nothing 
much. The rays of the sun scattered all about the 
surface of an object will produce no marked effect; 
but bring them to a focus, and they may fuse or 
burn it. It is so in study. A student to be suc- 
cessful must have command of his powers. He 
must be able to concentrate them upon the subject 
before t im > and suffer nothing to divert his atten- 
tion. 

Too much value cannot be attached to system in 
study: — system in husbanding the mind's forces for 
the work; system in preparing the subject-matter 
to be studied; system in arranging the circum- 
stances under which the task is to be performed; 
system in bringing to bear upon it the power of a 
concentrated mental energy. 

Enthusiasm. — The word student is derived from a 
Latin root signifying zeal, earnestness. 

All great men are in their way enthusiasts. 



174 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

Without it there would not be full devotion to a 
work. Columbus, Luther, Washington, would have 
accomplished little without enthusiasm. 

Enthusiasm is warmth of interest in an under- 
taking, and earnest desire to accomplish some 
object; and a student who is fired by enthusiasm 
finds his task easy and pleasant. He does not study 
because he must. His recitations are not cold and 
formal. Time never seems to hang heavy upon his 
hands. Melancholy never broods over him, noi 
does discontent disturb his meditations. He loves 
his work, and willingly devotes his time and strength 
to its performance. Unexpected pleasures meet him 
at every step. Paths that others have found toil- 
some, he pursues with delight. Everywhere he 
finds beautiful scenery, flowers to pluck, and birds 
to cheer him with their music. 

Patience. — How few have schooled themselves to 
be patient when difficulties are encountered ! How 
few do their best, and are then content with the 
fruit vouchsafed by Heaven ! How few have learned 
"to labor and to wait" ! 

Self-reliance sometimes brings burdens that de- 
pendent shoulders will not bear; perseverance 
pledges the whole soul to the performance of a task 
whose difficulties will scarcely yield to the most 
persistent efforts ; enthusiasm sends all the forces 
of our nature out to the accomplishment of a work 
which cannot be performed, and the heart is sad- 
dened : these are all occasions for the exercise of 
patience. The student will need it every day. A 
want of success may disappoint, it must not dis- 
courage, him. 



RECITATION. 175 

Humility. — Scholars have been accused of pride. 
Learning is supposed by some to foster conceit and 
haughtiness. With respect to the truly learned, 
these opinions are always false. A proud and 
haughty spirit would never have patience to do the 
work of a student. He would try to reach the goal 
of learning by some grand leap, and disdain the 
slow and toilsome way by which alone it can be 
approached. It follows that the true effect of 
learning is humility. "With the lowly is wisdom." 

Nature never defers to her investigators. She never 
waits upon men and proffers her truths. They must 
knock humbly at her door before she will open it 
and reveal her secrets. She turns away her face 
from those who deem themselves already wise. 

No one can be a student without comparing the 
little that is known with the immensity of that which 
is unknown. "We are surrounded with mysteries. 
By the light of science we can travel a few steps in 
all directions ; but beyond this all is profound dark- 
ness ; and, seeing it, we realize our own littleness, 
and the greatness of the Infinite : like Newton, we 
become as children picking up pebbles along the 
shore of an unexplored ocean. 

H. Recitation. — The recitation is the most deli- 
cate part of the school-machinery. All else is but 
a preparation for it. A failure here is a failure 
everywhere. The gift of governing well is an en- 
viable one, but good order in a school is an end 
secondary to that of securing good recitations. No 
teacher can make good scholars who does not 
manage the recitation skilfully. It is in this he will 

17 



176 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

need his greatest tact; for lie has much to lose or 
much to gain. If he fail, he will have taught his 
pupils to hate school and study, will have paralyzed 
their efforts to learn, and will have created habits 
that must continue to cripple their energies through 
life. If he succeed, he will have the proud satis- 
faction of seeing the budding faculties of the human 
soul bloom under the culture of his hands ; and 
happy hearts, made wiser and better, will thank him 
for his kindness and care. 

What it is desirable to say concerning the recita- 
tion may be embraced under the following heads : — 

1. The Objects of the Recitation. 

2. The Requisites of the Recitation. 

3. The Methods of conducting the Recitation. 

4. The Preparation for the Recitation. 

1. The Objects of the Recitation. — Little is ever 
accomplished by persons who have no definite aim. 
One meets with poor success in attempting to catch 
objects in the dark. Hence it is well to determine 
at once the chief objects of the recitation. 

1st. It is an object of the recitation to enable the teacher 
to estimate the daily progress of his pupils. — If a lesson 
be assigned to a class of pupils, many of them will 
work hard to prepare it, and it is just that they 
should have credit for it from teacher and class- 
mates ; some, it may be, will idle away their time, 
and it is entirely proper that a public failure and 
consequent shame should follow. The prospect of 
the coming responsibilities of the recitation will tend 
to induce pupils to make the necessary preparation 



RECITATION. 177 

to meet them. At the recitation the teacher can 
estimate the daily progress of his pupils ; and a 
knowledge of this fact on the part of the pupils 
makes that daily progress more rapid. 

Besides, the recitation enables the teacher to in- 
spect his own and his pupils' work, to measure the 
intellectual growth of his pupils, to correct the 
errors into which they may have fallen, and to 
present judiciously matter for future lessons. The 
master-workman frequently examines every part 
of an edifice which he is engaged in erecting. The 
horticulturist watches daily the plants in his garden, 
lest some thievish weed may rob them of nourish- 
ment or some hungry worm destroy their promised 
fruitage. It is thus the teacher meets his class and 
cares for it. 

2d. It is an object of the recitation to enable the pupils 
to tell ivhat tliey-know. — All admit that it is an im- 
portant thing to speak well, — to possess the power 
of making what we know available in words. It is 
even doubtful whether we can be said fully to know 
a thing, until we can embody our thoughts of it in 
the form of words. Students in reciting frequently 
rise, confident of their ability to answer a question, 
but find, when they come to state their knowledge 
of it, that they cannot set forth their dim ideas in 
the clear light of words, and then realize that the 
language of a lesson must be studied, as well as the 
matter. 

The constant training of the recitation is neces- 
sary to make clear, precise, strong speakers, — speak- 
ers that exhaust a subject and reason logically about 
it. Next to good thinkers, we want good talkers ; 



178 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

and the recitation furnishes one of the best oppor- 
tunities of making them, — opportunities that teachers 
who are awake to the best interests of their classes 
will not overlook. It is not enough for a pupil to 
blunder out the answer to a question among many 
things that have no bearing upon the subject, and 
some that have no bearing on any subject; it is not 
enough for the teacher to perceive, through the fog 
of words, that the pupil has the right idea ; but the 
thought should be stated in appropriate language. 

He who studies by himself may become a good 
scholar, but his progress will be less rapid, his 
knowledge less general and thorough, and much 
less available, than that of one who enjoys the 
advantages of attending well-conducted recitations. 
One of the principal reasons is that studying with- 
out a teacher does not furnish a pupil with an op- 
portunity of telling what he learns., 

3d. It is an object of the recitation to enable the pupils 
to acquire well-founded self-confidence. — Many persons 
may be found who are too timid to give an opinion 
in public. They may feel that they know as well as 
others, but they do not like to say. Reciting before 
a teacher in a class will tend to overcome this 
excessive timidity. 

There are persons, too, in every community who 
speak without thinking, who rashly venture an 
opinion on every subject, whether they have inves- 
tigated it or not. The close criticism of teacher and 
classmates surely is needed to protect the public 
from the infliction of mere babbling, and to induce 
in the young a well-founded self-confidence. 

4th. It is an object of the recitation to enable the pu- 



RECITATION. 179 

pits to fix in their minds what they learn. — The prin- 
ciple is an obvious one, that the more a subject is 
thought about, the better it will be understood and 
the longer it will be remembered. The recitation 
induces additional thought. It keeps the subject 
longer before the mind. 

But this is not the only advantage of the same 
kind gained by the recitation. All persons have 
experienced the fact that their newly acquired 
knowledge seems more clear and is more deeply 
impressed upon the mind after a conversation with 
a friend respecting it. Public speakers understand 
a subject after having spoken upon it, better than 
before. The effect of the recitation is similar. 

5th. It is an object of the recitation to enable the teacher 
to explain and illustrate the lesson, and add new matter to 
it. — A teacher ought to know all that the text-book 
used says upon the subject of a lesson, and ought 
to be able to ascertain whether the pupils know it ; 
but the recitation furnishes him an opportunity to 
do more than this. He must be able to explain and 
illustrate the lesson, and add new matter to it. He 
must make his pupils feel that he knows more than 
is contained in the text-book. He should answer 
questions, elucidate hard points, multiply facts, 
describe additional phenomena, give the opinions 
of other authors, and suggest new arguments and 
new trains of thought. Text-books should pur- 
posely leave much unsaid, for knowledge fresh 
from the lips of a teacher has great attractions for 
the young, and leaves lasting impressions upon 
them. 

6th. It is an object of the recitation to enable the teacher 

17* 



180 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

to keep before the minds of his pupils proper incentives to 
study. — Nowhere else does the teacher come so close 
to his pupils as in the recitation. Nowhere else is 
there such an intimate sympathy between him and 
them. Their minds are then open to receive in- 
struction, their hearts ready to be impressed. Here, 
if anywhere, a love of learning can be created, and 
the mind's whole energies summoned to the noble 
work of obtaining an education. 

There are certain moral qualities necessary to 
success in study. These the recitation furnishes 
a fit opportunity of strengthening. Industry, per- 
severance, self-reliance, are virtues with respect to 
which the teacher in the class-room should manifest 
a just appreciation. The character can then be 
cultured. 

7th. It is an object of the recitation to enable the teacher 
to impart moral instruction. — When moral instruction 
is attempted to be formally given, the heart may 
steel itself against it. Such instruction can be given 
incidentally with more effect, and the recitation 
furnishes the opportunity. A teacher alive to the 
importance of this work will meet occasions, during 
the progress of every lesson, when he can call atten- 
tion to a moral truth or give strength to a moral 
habit. He can scatter, now and then, a good seed 
which will take root in the fruitful soil that the cir- 
cumstances of the class have made follow. A good 
thought or a noble purpose may even find sustenance 
in a hard heart, as a seed lodged on a rock may 
germinate within its rocky crevices and obtain suffi- 
cient nourishment to grow. But to impart moral 
instruction properly requires the most delicate man- 



RECITATION. 181 

agement. No instrument of art is so complex as the 
human mind, — none so nicely attuned as the human 
heart: what skill then, is required to place man in 
harmony with his fellow-men and at peace with 
God! 

2. The Requisites of the Recitation. — The ob- 
jects of the recitation cannot be attained unless 
certain conditions are supplied. Such of these as 
are not more appropriately named elsewhere, are — 

1st. A proper Place. — The place of the recitation 
ought to be a room sufficiently large for the pur- 
pose, suitable as to temperature, well lighted, well 
ventilated, and tastefully furnished. If these con- 
ditions are wanting, the recitation will lack some- 
thing in interest and something in good results. 
Students dislike to be driven to a little, gloomy, 
untidy room, and hurry away from it as soon as 
permitted. Let recitation-rooms be made inviting, 
and each seat and each article of furniture in them 
will awaken pleasant associations; there will come 
to be a genius loci which invokes to study and seems 
to applaud the triumphs of the student. 

With a little care, a teacher can make even an 
indifferent room a pleasant one ; and the gratifj ing 
change which can thus be produced is well worth 
the effort. 

What has been said above has reference to schools 
having rooms specially appropriated for recitations; 
and, where possible, this is much the best arrange- 
ment. A large majority of the Common Schools 
in rural districts, however, are taught by a single 
teacher, and, of course, the recitations must take 
place in the study-room. In this case, there should 



182 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

be sufficient space allowed to enable the class en- 
gaged in reciting, to seat themselves comfortably 
and engage freely in their work ; and this space 
ought to be so located as to prevent, as far as pos- 
sible, the recitation from interrupting those engaged 
in study or from being interrupted by them, and to 
give the teacher the best opportunity of overlook- 
ing the school while he conducts the exercises of a 
class. The best place for the recitation-seats, pro- 
bably, is immediately in front of the teacher's plat- 
form, as shown in the diagrams given in a preceding 
chapter, though, for some reasons, it might be well 
to have such seats placed at the end of the school- 
room opposite this platform. 

2d. Suitable Apparatus. — The teacher needs tools. 
He can work to much better advantage when he 
has blackboards, maps, globes, charts, pictures, 
specimens of objects, and other kinds of apparatus, 
than he can without them. Impressions made 
through the sense of sight are the most easily under- 
stood and the most lasting. It is true that a teacher 
may teach without apparatus ; but so may land be 
cultivated without ploughs, and the habitations of 
men be erected without saws and planes. 

Recitation-rooms may be arranged with reference 
to the kind of studies which are tauerht in them. 
Mathematical recitation-rooms might be provided 
with mathematical apparatus ; rooms for the classics, 
with maps and charts of ancient countries and anti- 
quities ; rooms for natural science, with philosophi- 
cal apparatus and cabinets of specimens; and so of 
those for other departments of study. Rooms thus 
arranged would teach much themselves. 



RECITATION. 18& 

3d. Quiet. — People do things best who do one thing 
at a time. A teacher cannot well afford to risk a 
loss of interest in a recitation in consequence of 
having to attend to other duties while conducting 
it. It is not very uncommon to see teachers inter- 
rupted every moment, while hearing a recitation, 
with requests to mend pens, to answer questions, to 
redress grievances, or by the necessity of preserving 
order. In such circumstances, no teacher can do 
himself or his class justice. The class during a 
recitation must have his undivided attention ; and 
it is almost as great an evil for the attention of the 
class to be distracted. 

If a school is subject to so loose a discipline 
that such interruptions are unavoidable, the teacher 
had better discontinue all recitations until order can 
be restored, or resign his position that it may be 
tilled by some one more competent. Slight inter- 
ruptions, however, will occur under the best man- 
agement, when recitations are heard in school-rooms 
where some pupils study while others recite. It is 
only in recitation-rooms that the teacher and his 
class are wholly free from noise and interruptions, 
and it is only then that the best recitation- work can 
be done. 

4th. Sufficient Time. — Theoretically, the recitation 
should be sufficiently long to enable the pupils to 
tell what they know about the lesson, and to enable 
the teacher to add what further concerning it it is 
well for them to know. Practically, the length of 
recitations will depend upon the amount of work to 
be done in the school where they are conducted, and 
the circumstances which control its distribution. In 



184 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

most schools, practice cannot be made to conform 
to theory ; and if placed in circumstances wherein 
he cannot obtain all the time he desires for his 
recitations, the teacher must obtain all the time he 
can, and then make good use of it. Skill will 
enable a teacher to greatly economize time in con- 
ducting recitations. With suitable blackboards, a 
teacher can have some pupils write out parts of the 
lesson while others recite orally ; and, if the whole 
lesson cannot be recited, the most important parts 
of it should be considered, and the rest omitted. 

3. The Methods of conducting the Recitation. 
— All recitations should be so conducted as to effect 
the object for the attainment of which they are de- 
signed; but as the attaining of some of these objects 
depends upon the personal character, manner, and 
skill of the teacher, we will consider here only those 
methods of conducting recitations which relate to 
the following points : — 

1st. Imparting Knowledge. 
2d. Testing Knowledge. 
3d. Proving Knowledge. 
4th. Correcting Errors. 

It will be seen, however, that these topics embrace 
the chief work of the Recitation. 

1st. Imparting Knowledge. — Four modes of impart- 
ing knowledge will be named, — that by lectures, that 
by text-boohs, that by dialogues, and that by catechi- 
zation. 

Knowledge is imparted by lectures where the 
teacher speaks and the pupils listen in silence. Aa 



RECITATION. 185 

a mode of instruction, the lecture is used in all kinds 
and grades of schools, and it has certain advantages 
over every other mode. 

One of these advantages is that oral instruction 
is more impressive than that of books. "We attend 
to what we hear more closely than to what we read. 
Knowledge communicated orally, too, seems more 
new and fresh than knowledge gained in any other 
manner, and, consequently, is more attractive. Be- 
sides, in the lecture, knowledge is presented with 
all the auxiliaries of voice, gesture, expresssion of 
countenance, and words. These aid the thought in 
making an impression. 

Another advantage is that the knowledge com- 
municated in lectures is more apt to be original than 
that which is found in books. A lecturer cannot 
repeat merely what others have said or written ; he 
must think for himself; and, thinking for himself, 
he will have something original to present to his 
pupils at every recitation. The most eminent 
scholars the world has ever seen were lecturers, and 
their scholarship may, in some measure at least, be 
attributed to the circumstances of the lecture- 
room. 

Young children who cannot read must be taught 
orally. A formal lecture before them would be out 
of place ; but they can be taught much by simply 
talking to them. It is sometimes desirable to im- 
part to pupils a knowledge of subjects upon which 
no proper text-books have been written ; and in such 
cases resort must be had to the lecture-method of 
instruction. The higher classes at our colleges and 
universities are supposed to be familiar with the 



186 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

text-books which treat of the subjects that engage 
their attention ; and the professors in these institu- 
tions use lectures to make them acquainted with 
new matter and to awaken their interest in original 
investigations. In connection with all the methods 
of imparting knowledge, a teacher must give much 
oral instruction, — sometimes make a simple sug- 
gestion, sometimes state a fact, and sometimes dis- 
cuss a principle, as the occasion may demand. 

If a teacher confine himself to lecturing", he will 
not be able to estimate very fairly the progress of 
his pupils, he will furnish them little opportunity 
of telling what they know or of having their mistakes 
corrected, and he will render impossible that repe- 
tition of what is learned which is necessary to fix 
it firmly in the mind ; and these, we have seen, are 
important objects of the recitation. Something can 
be done, however, to obviate these objections, by 
requiring pupils to take notes of the lectures they 
listen to, and undergo periodical examinations with 
respect to their subject-matter. 

Knowledge is gained from text-books when we 
read or study them. The books used for study in 
school-classes are usually outlines of the subjects 
upon which they treat; but it is generally expected 
that students will read, in connection with them, 
other books containing full information. Text- 
books, rightly used, can be made a valuable auxi- 
liary in the work of imparting knowledge. 

The knowledge contained in text-books is gene- 
rally more reliable than that which is communicated 
by lectures. "Writing makes an exact man," says 
Bacon; and all experience shows that men will 



RECITATION. 187 

use hasty expressions in speaking that they would 
discard in writing. Text-books, too, are apt to 
present a subject in a more methodical manner 
than is the case when it is presented orally. 

Text-books enable pupils to prepare their lessons 
at all times. If the instruction in a school is wholly 
oral, pupils must wait until they hear the lecture 
before they can study it; but if they have text- 
books, no time need be lost. This is a great ad- 
vantage in a school composed of several classes. 

"When pupils are compelled to rely for informa- 
tion concerning particular subjects upon the im- 
pressions they receive at a lecture, or the hurried 
notes they may be able to take of it during its 
delivery, their knowledge is apt to be inaccnrate, 
incomplete, and wanting in method. To obviate 
such difficulties, text-books may be made useful to 
students. 

The fixed arrangement and the fixed expressions 
of a text-book enable learners to stop and think ; 
but the "winged words" of oral discourse must be 
caught as they fly ; and thus the connections of the 
subject may be lost or its points be misunderstood. 

Text-books, however, may be used to the great 
detriment of learners; but their general uses and 
abuses are discussed elsewhere in this volume. 

Knowledge may be acquired by means of a con- 
versation or dialogue carried on between two or 
more persons. The dialogue is used for the pur- 
pose of communicating and obtaining information 
in the family, in the social circle, and in scientific 
associations. Its use is more appropriate, doubtless, 
among equals ; but a teacher can greatly benefit his 

18 



188 THE EMPLOYMENTS OP THE SCHOOL. 

pupils by sometimes relaxing the forms of the reci- 
tation, and permitting his pupils to ask him ques- 
tions. He can also take them with him upon ex- 
cursions, and on the way engage in profitable dis- 
course with them. 

It was principally in the form of dialogues that 
the learned men of ancient Greece taught in the 
porches and gardens of Athens. Their disputa- 
tions were not carried on, as is generally supposed, 
for the purpose of concealing the truth, but mostly 
to help one another find it. It was thus Socrates 
conversed with his friends and with the Sophists, 
though his method became sometimes more cate- 
chetical than dialogical. 

Knowledge may be imparted to pupils by cate- 
chizing them, or asking them questions. Questions 
may be asked to enable the teacher to find out what 
his pupils already know, and also to enable him to 
lead them to find out for themselves something that 
they do not know. It is only when the latter of 
these objects is aimed at that the mode of catechiz- 
ing will be noticed here. 

Teaching has no higher art than that of leading 
a pupil to the discovery of a truth by questioning 
him. A truth gained by oneself is of much greater 
value than the same truth gained by the help of 
another. An English author, in speaking of the 
method of Socrates, says, "He found those with 
whom he conversed ignorant of some important 
truth, and, instead of professing to instruct them, he 
sought to know their sentiments upon some other 
truth with which he knew they were acquainted, 
and which he knew was connected with the. one he 



RECITATION. 189 

wanted to lead them to. By famili ar id terrogatories, 
he conducted them, step by step, through the inter- 
mediate principles, till they were at length surprised 
with the perception of what they had never observed 
before. He found them under the influence of 
some dangerous error, and, instead of professing to 
correct them, he led them on, by successive questions, 
to discern an absurdity in which they unexpectedly 
found themselves landed by their own principles. 
And thus he avoided all that resistance to convic- 
tion which often renders the most conclusive demon- 
stration ineffectual to persuade." This extract ex- 
presses the spirit of what is meant by the cate- 
chetical method of imparting knowledge. It simply 
consists in putting questions in such a manner as to 
lead the pupil to answer them for himself. Its great 
advantages are that it makes teaching exact, thorough, 
methodical, and animated. Of course, it can be used 
in connection with lectures, text-books, and dia- 
logues. 

2d. Testing Knowledge.— A skilful teacher first en- 
deavors to induce his pupils to tell what they 
know, next to find out what they can, and then 
adds whatever else he may deem proper. In ex- 
amining pupils as to what they know, questions, 
either expressed or implied, are used ; and I have 
called the process of questioning, testing knowledge. 
In teaching pupils to find out what they can by 
catechizing them, questions are also used; and most 
of the principles to be observed in questioning in 
one case are equally applicable to the other. 

What can be said in reference to the questions 
used in testing knowledge will regard the matter of 



190 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

the questions, the form of the questions, the mode of ques- 
tioning, and the teacher in questioning. 
. In matter, — 

The questions should relate to the subject under con- 
sideration. — Pupils will not long continue to make 
careful preparation of lessons they are not required 
to recite. The concentration of the mind of a class 
upon the subject studied is much more profitable 
than a rambling discussion of topics foreign to it. 
It is sometimes very proper, however, for the teacher 
to ask questions which relate to the subject under 
consideration, but which may not be answered in 
the text-book used. The questions asked may relate 
to the facts or the principles of a subject, or to the 
language used to express them. 

They should be well defined. — Nothing tends so 
much to confuse an intelligent pupil as to be asked 
questions which are obscure in language or wanting 
in point. The whole subject-matter of a lesson 
should lie clear in the teacher's mind, and each 
element or part of it be so separated from the rest 
as to admit of definite statement, since otherwise 
no thorough teaching can be done. 

Their degree of difficulty should correspond to the capa- 
city of the pupils for whom they are intended. — If the 
questions put to a class are too hard, it will discou- 
rage its members, and if too easy, it will create habits 
of idleness among them. The former is the more 
common error ; for teachers are apt to think that what 
seems easy to them is easy for their pupils. "Where 
the members of a class are all equally studious, but 
unequal in ability, the teacher may adapt his ques- 
tions to their several capacities, if he do it with an 



RECITATION. 191 

eye single to the interests of the whole. It is well 
that the poorest scholar in a class be assigned ques- 
tions that he can answer ; and it is well that the best 
scholar in a class be sometimes assigned a question 
that he cannot answer. 

They should follow one another in a logical order. — 
Disconnected, fragmentary knowledge is of compa- 
ratively little value, and little discipline can be ob- 
tained from its acquisition. Except to very young 
pupils, knowledge should be imparted as bound to- 
gether by its associations and its laws, and all mental 
development should be made systematic. It follows 
that the questions by which knowledge is tested, or 
by which it is evolved from something already 
known, must follow one another in a logical order, 
— must be like the links of a chain fastened together. 
When the object is to review what has been learned, 
this order need not be so closely observed ; indeed, 
it is sometimes an advantage in reviews to ask 
questions miscellaneously without regard to any 
order. 

They should be exhaustive. — Lessons cannot be con- 
sidered as recited until the pupils have shown their 
ability to answer all the questions that can be put 
with respect to the subject-matter of which they are 
composed. These questions, therefore, should be 
exhaustive. With advanced classes, they should 
exhaust the subject ; with those less advanced, they 
should exhaust the subject so far as the pupils are 
able to comprehend it. 

In form, — 

The questions should be concise. — To answer well, a 
pupil must see clearly the point submitted in the 

18* 



192 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

question ; and this he cannot do, if the question is 
long and complicated. Allusion is here made to 
oral questions; when the questions are written, they 
may be longer, but not less compact. 

They should be clear, precise, and correct. — In addi- 
tion to the task of answering questions, pupils 
should not be troubled to make out their meaning. 
Few students have not found it difficult to under- 
stand certain problems in Mathematics and certain 
rules in Grammar, owing to the faulty language 
employed by the authors of the text-books used ; 
and still fewer have not been puzzled by the 
thoughtless expressions used by careless teachers in 
putting questions. 

They should be varied. — I have heard teachers ask 
questions who always ended them with the word 
what; as, "Geography is, what?" and sometimes 
other forms of framing questions are so strictly 
adhered to as to become exceedingly tiresome. 
Questions at recitation, therefore, should be varied 
as a matter of taste. But there is a better reason. 
The same form of question cannot be used in pre- 
senting facts and principles in all their aspects and 
relations ; and, besides, properly varied, questions 
are necessary to secure properly varied answers. 

They should not contain the answer. — Some teachers 
so far relieve their pupils from the trouble of think- 
ing, as to frame their questions so that they require 
only a Yes or a No for an answer ; and others inti- 
mate the answer less plainly, but always give a pretty 
broad hint as to what it should be. In examining 
a class, such hints are entirely out of place ; but, in 
an effort to lead a pupil to find out for himself some- 



RECITATION. 193 

thing that he does not know, they may be quite 
proper. This distinction the student-teacher will 
do well to bear in mind. 

They should be adapted to the subject under considera- 
tion, and to the circumstances of the class. — Lessons 
consist of letters to be learned; words to be spelled, 
pronounced, and written ; facts to be remembered ; 
rules to be committed; sentences to be analyzed; 
inferences to be drawn ; demonstrations to be made ; 
exercises to be performed; &c.&c: all of which re- 
quire forms of questions adapted to test the know- 
ledge of them which pupils may possess, and these 
necessarily are somewhat different. 

A teacher ought to consider the forms of questions 
best adapted to the subject assigned for a lesson 
before the recitation takes place ; but the varying 
circumstances of the class may necessitate changes 
in these forms. A general shows as much skill in 
providing for the exigencies of a battle during its 
progress as he does in making his arrangements for 
it before it begins. With young pupils especially, 
constant changes are necessary in the forms of the 
questions put to them. 

In mode of putting them, — 

Questions may be elliptical. — This mode of putting 
questions cannot be used at all in many studies, and 
can scarcely ever be made a very efficient way of 
imparting knowledge. When conducting a recita- 
tion according to this mode, the teacher reads the 
text and makes a short pause wherever a word, a 
clause, or a sentence, occurs which he desires the 
pupils to supply. It may be rendered serviceable in 
instructing young children, if used in connection 



194 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

with other modes of questioning ; but by itself it 
can be seldom employed to advantage. It is most 
applicable to lessons containing statements of facts, 
as History, Scripture Lessons, &c. For example, 
the teacher may read, " Columbus discovered — Ame- 
rica — in the year 1492. He was born at the city of 
— Genoa — in — Italy.'" Or, "Now Peter sat without 
in the — palace: and a — damsel — came unto him, say- 
ing, 'Thou also wast with — Jesus — of — Galilee." 
Here the pupils supply the words printed in italics. 
In teaching young pupils to use words properly and 
to construct sentences, the elliptical mode of ques- 
tioning may be made to answer a good purpose. A 
good exercise of this kind consists in assigning to 
pupils a piece of easy composition, omitting certain 
obviously implied words, and requiring the pupils 
to supply them. 

They may be Heuristical. — The word Heuristical is 
derived from a Greek verb, eupcaxco, which means 
"to find out what is sought for." I adopt it from 
Rev. ~W. Ross, an English writer on education. By 
the Heuristical mode of questioning is meant that 
mode by which the object-matter of instruction is 
presented in the form of precomposed questions, 
such as problems to be solved, sentences to be 
parsed, exercises to be written, &c. It is very evi- 
dent that such questions may consist of wholes to find 
parts or of parts to find wholes, and thus may be 
either analytical or synthetical. The parsing of a 
sentence is an example of the former, and the writ- 
ing of a composition is an example of the latter. 

This mode of questioning can be more advanta- 
geously employed with advanced pupils than with 



RECITATION. 195 

beginners, and it is better adapted to some studies 
than to others. Its chief advantages are that it re- 
quires great self-effort on the part of the pupil, that 
knowledge acquired by it is deeply impressed upon 
the mind, and that it allows the student time to put 
forth his whole strength. 

They may be Categorical. — I mean by categorical 
questions such as are direct and positive, or such as 
require direct and positive answers. This mode of 
questioning is applicable to all studies, and is that 
which is most commonly used. It may be em- 
ployed in imparting knowledge, as well as in testing 
what is already known. 'No other mode is so well 
calculated to create life and interest in the recita- 
tion, especially with young pupils. It leaves the 
teacher more at liberty in the selection of ques- 
tions, in varying them, and in distributing them 
among the members of a class. Whatever other 
mode of questioning it is best to adopt in parti- 
cular cases, this one must be used in connection 
with it. 

They may be Topical.— Instead of asking direct 
questions or putting them in the form of problems, 
the subject-matter of instruction may be arranged 
in the form of topics, and these be given to the 
members of a class for discussion. For example, 
in Geography, in referring to a particular country, 
a teacher may say, "Boundaries," "Surface of the 
Country," "Internal Waters," "Soil and Climate," 
&c, instead of asking in particular all the individual 
questions that may be embraced in these topics. 
This method devolves upon the student much of 
the work which by the categorical method is 



196 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

performed by the teacher. He is required to ana- 
lyze his topic into its several parts, place those parts 
in their proper order, and make a connected and 
exhaustive discussion of the whole. For advanced 
pupils, this mode of questioning has advantages 
possessed by no other; and it can be used to some 
extent with the youngest pupils in our schools. It 
is well adapted to reviews. Care must be taken in 
distributing the topics to give all the members of a 
class something to do at each recitation. Necessity 
will generally be found, after the discussion of each 
topic, for asking particular questions, and these 
may be answered by different members of the class, 
thus securing the undivided attention of all ; or all 
the members of a class may be made responsible 
for the mistakes of the one who is speaking, unless 
they correct them. 

The teacher in asking questions, — 

Should make them proper as to matter, form, and mode. 
— How this should be in particular cases will depend 
upon various circumstances, such as the age of pupils, 
their scholarship, the kind of study in which they 
are engaged, whether the study is being first intro- 
duced to them or they are reviewing it, what appa- 
ratus is at command, the length of time Which can 
be devoted to the recitation, &c. The most import- 
ant general principles relating to the matter have 
already been stated, and for the rest the young 
teacher must rely upon himself. 'No two teachers 
can conduct a recitation in the same way; and any 
attempt to learn to teach by merely imitating an- 
other's work will be a failure. Teaching has prin- 
ciples which all must observe, but the application 



KECITATION. 197 

of those principles will be as various as the tastes 
and dispositions of men. 

Should assume a graceful posture, and adopt a becom- 
ing manner. — A standing posture before a class is 
more graceful than any other, and gives the teacher 
a better command of his class. In this posture, he 
can secure better general attention, and, by casting 
his looks about the class, he can better detect the 
careless and idle. Men do not often sit to make 
speeches or to command obedience. A sitting pos- 
ture may imply dignity, it does not denote anima- 
tion or energy. For these reasons, it is considered 
best that a teacher should generally stand while 
hearing a recitation. There may be some necessary 
modifications of this rule. A teacher who is com- 
pelled to hear classes for several hours in succession 
would be likely to grow very much fatigued, and 
should probably sit a part of the time. Small 
classes, too, can be heard as well sitting as stand- 
ing. Besides, whether the teacher sits or stands 
does not make so much difference to' advanced 
pupils as to beginners. Under no circumstances, 
however, should a teacher suffer himself to recline 
on his seat, to place his feet on his desk, or to assume 
any other ungraceful posture which he would not 
like to see his pupils imitate. 

A man possessing a cold, phlegmatic tempera- 
ment, whose imperturbable feelings are never ex- 
cited whether things go well or ill, is not fit to be a 
teacher. Eecitations conducted by such a person 
must always be dull, heavy, dragging. There is an- 
other extreme. The Scotch teachers described by 
Horace Mann seemed to be during the recitation 



198 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

almost incapable of hearing or seeing anything else. 
They walked rapidly in front of their classes, gesti- 
culated violently, and indulged in loud vociferations. 
The recitation thus became a scene of the greatest 
excitement, a perfect hurricane of questions and an- 
swers and words of approbation and reproach, with 
all the accompaniments of din and noise. Both of 
these extremes should be avoided. More teachers, 
however, err on the side of indifference and dul- 
ness than on that of an excess of interest or activity. 

In questioning, the voice should not be too low 
and soft, nor too loud and shrill. Its pitch and 
force should generally be as in ordinary conversa- 
tion. If properly varied in tone, it will do much to 
preserve the attention of the class and add much 
to its life. 

A teacher may use gestures in hearing a recita- 
tion ; but those which are calm, dignitied, and ex- 
pressive seem most appropriate. 

A teacher's manners in the class-room should be 
those of the finished gentleman or lady, — those of 
a model man or model woman. 

3d. Proving Knowledge. — A pupil can only prove 
what he knows by answering the questions put to 
him; and the nature and conditions of those answers 
will constitute the present subject of inquiry. 

As in testing knowledge, what can be said in 
reference to proving knowledge will regard the 
matter of the answers, the form of the answers, the mode 
of answering, and the pupil in answering. 

In matter, — 

Answers should contain nothing not implied in the 
questions. — A proper answer to a question has always 



RECITATION. 199 

a logical relation to it. Systematic mental disci- 
pline and thorough knowledge are impossible acqui- 
sitions to pupils who are habitually suffered to 
wander from the point presented in the question, 
and to introduce extraneous matter which has little 
or no relation to it. 

They should contain all implied in the questions. — 
Partial answers may be better than no answers ; but 
teachers should endeavor to secure those which are 
full and complete. All the great errors of the world 
are the result of the partial answers men have given 
to the problems of life. Children must be trained 
to delight in that which is exhaustive, systematic, 
perfect ; and then, when grown to manhood, they 
will not be apt to be deluded by the baseless 
theories of superficial thinkers. The teacher should 
not forget that the highest aim of education is to 
make men. 

They should be correct and explicit. — Without being 
correct, what is meant for an answer can be no 
answer; and without being explicit, it cannot be 
understood as one. Correctness and clearness are 
the two most essential characteristics of the contents 
of an answer as it lies unexpressed in the mind of 
a pupil. 

They should be logical. — When the answer is com- 
posed of several parts, those parts should be ar- 
ranged in a logical order. The object of a recitation 
is not only to ascertain whether the member^ of a 
class possess a knowledge of individual facts and 
principles, but whether they understand their rela- 
tions. The latter, indeed, is much the surest test 
of scholarship. 

19 



200 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

They should be given under standingly. — A pupil may 
present an answer to a question which is faultless as 
tested by the preceding rules ; and yet it may have 
been merely committed to memory without being 
understood. There are many things that the young 
may be told, the reasons for which they are unable 
to comprehend; but the teacher ought never to 
forget that our noblest mental faculties are judgment 
and reason, and that one of the great purposes of 
education is to develop them. Besides, there are 
wanted independent thinkers, original investigators ; 
and they are not made by simply storing away in 
the memory masses of indigested facts or multi- 
tudes of formal expressions. 

In form, — 

Answers should be made to suit the nature of the ques- 
tions to which they are a response. — Questions may 
relate to facts, to definitions, to words, to principles, 
to methods; and as they cannot be always alike, so 
like answers cannot be given to them. Besides, the 
filling up of an ellipsis, the solving of a problem, 
the answering of a direct question, and the discus- 
sion of a topic, must all necessarily differ. In short, 
the answer should be an appropriate response to 
the question. 

They should be concise. — Most men use more words 
than are necessary to express their ideas ; few have 
the power of crystallizing thought. Pupils should 
be trained to express themselves in sentences which 
are compact and close. I do not object, as some 
have done, to stating the answer in a single word, 
when the sentence of which it is an abridgment is 
sufficiently obvious. 



RECITATION. 201 

They should be correct and clear. — This has already 
been said respecting the matter of questions; it is 
not less true in respect to their form. Ungramma- 
tical or inelegant, obscure or ambiguous language, 
when used to express answers to questions, should 
never be allowed to pass unnoticed. All recitations 
should be considered as in part linguistic exercises. 

They may be original, or derived from authority. — As 
a general rule, pupils should be required to give 
their answers in sentences of their own forming, 
because it is a good discipline in language, and a 
sure test of their knowledge of the subject. This 
course is not always the best one, however, and it 
is very proper for pupils to commit definitions 
and rules in the words of those who have carefully 
considered the forms in which they can be best ex- 
pressed. It does not follow because a thought is 
expressed in the language of another, that it is not 
understood. The young learn to use language skil- 
fully by noticing how others use it 

They should not be monotonous. — It is very unplea- 
sant to hear children drawl out their answers ; it is 
almost as much so to hear them repeat them in the 
same form of words. Both faults are readily cor- 
rected, however, if the teacher attend to the rules 
for putting questions. 

In mode, — 

Answers may be given consecutively. — -This mode re- 
quires the answers to be given by turns. The first 
question is usually put to the pupil who stands at 
the head of the class ; the second, to the next; and 
so on to the foot, when the same order is observed 
with the remaining questions. If an incorrect an- 



202 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

swer is given by any one, the question is passed to 
the next, and if he answers it, he takes the place of 
him who failed to answer. If the question is missed 
by several, he who answers it correctly takes the 
place of the one who first committed the error, the 
others retaining the same relative position. 

Common as is the use of the consecutive mode 
of answering questions, it is open to several objec- 
tions. 

When it is known that a certain order is to be 
followed in assigning the questions, some pupils 
cannot resist the temptation of preparing only those 
parts of the lesson which they expect to be called 
upon to recite. I have known pupils to count the 
number of members in a class and the number of 
questions in a lesson, and shrewdly calculate in the 
revolution of the wheel what questions would come 
to them, and prepare accordingly. When this can 
be done, it need scarcely be added, that the purpose 
of a recitation is in great measure defeated. 

The consecutive mode of answering does not tend 
to secure that close attention to all the questions ad- 
dressed them, on the part of pupils, which is neces- 
sary to insure their rapid progress in study. When 
a pupil has answered a question, he is quite sure he 
will not be called upon to answer another until all 
have answered ; and he may spend the interval in 
idly looking about, in play, or in mischief. A 
Superintendent once corrected this faulty mode of 
conducting a recitation, in the following manner. A 
large class was reciting a lesson in reading. The 
lesson was divided into paragraphs, and each pupil 
read a paragraph, commencing at the head of the 



RECITATION. 203 

class; but having read lie made the necessary calcu- 
lation to enable him to. ascertain the number of the 
paragraph he would be required to read next, and 
then, placing his finger upon it or marking it, he 
occupied the time others were reading in perfect in- 
difference as to what was passing in the class. After 
the recitation had proceeded for some time in this 
way, the Superintendent was permitted to take charge 
of the class. He immediately gave each member of 
the class a number, not knowing the names of the 
pupils, urged attention to the lesson, stating that he 
would consider himself at liberty to call upon any one, 
either to continue the reading, or to answer a question 
concerning the matter or the language of the lesson. 
When all were ready and intent upon the work 
before them, he called upon them promiscuously. 
The change was magical. Life and interest took 
the place of dulness and indifference. After some 
time, one forgot himself and looked aside, but at once 
his number was called, and he found he was caught. 
This illustration exhibits the imperfections of the 
mode of answering now under consideration, and 
suggests a better one. This method, however, may 
be used advantageously in connection with other 
methods, and it is well adapted to small classes. 
The system of "trapping" or place-taking in class 
can be more easily applied when the questions are as- 
signed consecutively ; and it can scarcely be doubted 
that with young pupils some good may result 
from it. 

They may be given simultaneously. — This mode re- 
quires the answers to be given by the whole class 
in concert. 

19* 



204 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

One of the principal objections to this mode of 
answering, is that the answers must be given by all 
the pupils in a set form of words and in a certain 
order, or the concert will be spoiled ; and these 
mechanical conditions are wholly at variance with 
independent thinking. 

A second objection to it is that it lessens indivi- 
dual responsibility among pupils at the recitation. 
The class as a whole is responsible ; but if two or 
three lead the concert, the rest can easily join it in 
such a way as to render it difficult to distinguish him 
who leads from him who follows. Teachers, even, 
are sometimes deceived in regard to the amount of 
knowledge possessed by classes that recite in con- 
cert; but the deception can be readily detected by 
a few well-directed questions put to individuals. It 
may be stated as a general principle that no mode 
of answering will be successful that does not com- 
pel each member of a class to think and speak for 
himself. 

The simultaneous mode of answering, however, has 
its uses. A few questions answered in concert, now 
and then, will enliven a class and tend to increase 
the interest in the recitation. Any lessons or parts 
of lessons that are intended to be committed to 
memory in a certain order, as the Tables, Declen- 
sions, and Conjugations, may be recited in this mode 
with considerable advantage. The same is true to 
even a greater extent with the training exercises in 
Reading and Vocal Music. Still, even in these cases 
the teacher must frequently address questions to 
individuals in order to ascertain that all are making 



RECITATION. 2vj5 

sure progress, and to guard them from the danger 
of forgetting that each is responsible for himself. 

They may be given promiscuously. — When conduct- 
ing a recitation according to this mode, the teacher 
calls upon the different members of his class to 
answer, without regard to any particular order. If 
there is reason for it, he may assign more questions, 
or harder ones, to some pupils than to others ; but 
he must treat all with the most strict impartiality. 

For the ordinary purposes of a recitation, and for 
general reliability, this mode of answering is un- 
doubtedly better than those which have been pre- 
viously named. It concentrates the attention of 
the class upon the work of the recitation, it compels 
pupils to study all parts of the lessons with the same 
care, it makes each one responsible for his own 
work, and enables the teacher to make the n#>st 
advantageous distribution of his questions. If it 
be desirable to have a head and a foot to a class, or 
places of honor, the records of the recitations which 
should be kept by the teacher will enable him to 
assign places to its members according to their rela- 
tive scholarship. 

There are several modifications of the promis- 
cuous mode of answering questions which must be 
noticed. 

The first modification is that in which the ques- 
tion is stated without designating any one to an- 
swer it, but with the expectation that all who think 
they can do so will raise their hands, and then the 
answerer is selected from among them. If pupils 
always would or could report their knowledge cor- 
rectly, this mode might enable a teacher to see at a 



206 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

glance who could answer and who could not ; but, 
in most classes, teachers will find, upon experiment, 
some modest and conscientious pupils who think 
they can answer hut who are afraid they cannot, 
and do not therefore raise their hands ; and others 
who raise their hands without having the most sub- 
stantial data upon which to base the conclusion that 
they are able to give the correct answer. Besides, 
it is not best for a teacher to seem to take it for 
granted that any member of a class is not prepared 
to recite. 

The second modification is one in which a ques- 
tion is put and the answerer selected from among 
all the members of the class. This mode gives the 
teacher more freedom in the distribution of his 
questions, and obviates the objections just named 
a#applicable to the preceding mode. If the first 
one called upon fail to answer, it may be well to 
permit all others who feel prepared to raise their 
hands. 

There is a third modification of the promiscuous 
mode of answering questions. In this, the teacher 
calls upon a member of the class, who responds by 
rising or taking a designated seat, when the teacher 
proceeds to put a series of questions to him, or to 
assign him a topic for discussion, and, being satis- 
fied, calls upon another. This made is thorough 
and searching. It is well adapted to reviews and 
examinations. The objection to it is that it does 
not sufficiently distribute the work of the recitation 
to secure the highest interest in the class. 

Following a fourth modification, the teacher puts 
no direct questions, at least in the beginning, but 



RECITATION. 20? 

calls upon some one to state the subject of the lesson, 
another to commence the recitation, a third to con 
tinue it, a fourth to follow, and so on until the matter 
under consideration has been exhausted, each being 
stopped, criticized, and corrected at any point where 
the teacher deems it expedient. Such a class is 
almost a self-working machine, the teacher merely 
mentioning the names of those who recite and those 
who volunteer comments or criticisms. It is very 
evident, however, that this mode strictly applied 
would prevent a class from receiving any help from 
the teacher during the recitation, and that it is only 
adapted to advanced classes under peculiar circum- 
stances. It answers a very good purpose in reviews. 
They may be given in writing.— In all that has been 
said in regard to modes of answering questions, 
pupils have been supposed to give their answers 
orally. It is proper to add that the answers may be 
written, and given consecutively, simultaneously, or 
promiscuously, with only those changes which are 
necessitated by the difference between writing and 
speaking. For example, in a Mathematical recita- 
tion, each pupil in turn may be assigned a problem 
to solve, all may be required to solve the same pro- 
blem at the same time and to announce the result 
together, or any one may be called upon to solve a 
particular problem. 

"When the principal object is to examine a class, 
the whole subject-matter intended for the examina- 
tion may be submitted to each member, and all be 
assigned the same task with respect to it. The work 
when done should be handed to the teacher. To 
make the result a fair test of knowledge or skill, 



208 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

each member of a class must perform his own work. 
When thus done, there is no other method by which 
a class can be examined with so much accuracy. It 
gives time for thinking, and time to find fit words 
by which to express the thought. 

In ordinary recitations, the "Written mode of an- 
swering questions is open to some objections. It 
requires too much time to write the answers, the 
teacher cannot so readily explain difficult points or 
make suggestions, the pupil loses the opportunity 
of practice in speaking, though he gains in the 
opportunity of practice in writing, and the recita- 
tion itself is necessarily devoid of that interest and 
flow of feeling which go so far to secure its objects. 
These objections only apply to this mode when used 
by itself; for in connection with the oral methods 
of answering, it is highly valuable. There is no 
lesson that does not contain questions the answers 
to which cannot be written on blackboards, and 
many lessons can be most conveniently recited in 
this way. Blackboards can be used in spelling, in 
solving problems, in writing definitions, and in giving 
analyses of subjects, forms of paradigms, and lists 
of examples. Teachers can often economize the 
time of a recitation by having some members of a 
class use the blackboard in answering questions, 
while others recite orally. 

The pupil, in answering questions,— 
Should make them proper as to matter, form, and 
mode. — What is proper in the matter, form, and 
mode of answers has already been indicated, so 
far as it could be done by the statement of the 
general principles relating to the subject. Detailed 



RECITATION. 209 

directions are left to the teacher, as they must be 
varied by the varying circumstances in which reci- 
tations take place. 

Should be attentive, respectful, and adopt a becoming 
position. — ISTo pupil can recite well who does not 
have his mind occupied with the subject. He is in 
danger of misapprehending the questions asked 
him, or of saying things in answer which have no 
bearing upon them. It needs only to be stated, to 
secure universal assent, that a pupil while reciting 
should be respectful towards his teacher and class- 
mates. A pupil in answering questions should 
generally stand. To sit may be proper in some 
cases; but no ungraceful posture should be tole- 
rated. 

4th. Correcting Errors. — Answers to questions may 
be either wholly wrong or partly wrong. In both 
cases they should be corrected. A pupil who com- 
mits an error in reciting may have it corrected by 
his classmates or by the teacher. This necessitates 
a twofold division of the subject: first, the correction 
of errors by the pupils ; second, the correction of errors 
by the teacher. 

If a pupil who is reciting makes a mistake, several 
advantages arise from allowing his classmates to 
correct him if able to do so. It enlists the attention 
of the class more closely. It creates more interest 
in the recitation. It gives opportunity for industry 
to exhibit its fruits, and for ambition to distinguish 
itself. It enables the teacher to distribute more 
equally the matter of the recitation, and to test 
more accurately the power of the class. The teacher 
may hold all the members of a class responsible for 



210 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

the mistakes of any one of them ; that is, he may 
count the question missed by one as missed by all 
unless they volunteer a correction. 

The danger of class-criticism is that it may create 
ill feeling among the members of a class-, but 
against this a judicious teacher can always guard 
by promptly checking any approach to it. 

If his classmates cannot correct a wrong answer 
given by a pupil, the teacher must do so ; and, 
besides, it is his duty to inquire into the causes 
which induced the mistake. It might be remarked, 
however, that it is sometimes useful to refer ques- 
tions, or to postpone an answer to them, until the 
pupils have made some additional investigations. 
Such is particularly the case when the inability to 
answer arises from either a want of time or a want 
of inclination to study. 

When the teacher corrects an answer, he should 
give no more of it than is sufficient to suggest the 
rest to the pupil's mind. His language should be 
plain, and his manner pleasant. A wrong answer 
may result from an improper question, or an im- 
proper manner of putting it ; and, if so, the teacher 
must correct his own fault before he can expect to 
correct the fault of his pupil. It may result from 
timidity ; then the teacher must endeavor to 
strengthen the pupil's confidence in himself. It 
may result from an unwillingness to answer ; and in 
that case, such a course should be pursued as to 
cause the pupil to change his mind. It may result 
from a want of disposition to study; the proper 
remedy then is to apply means to increase that dis- 
position. It may result from inability ; and, if so, 



RECITATION. 211 

the teacher must render judicious help. To know 
exactly when and how to correct the answers of 
pupils at a recitation, requires much judgment. 

4. The Preparation for the Recitation. — With 
a knowledge of the Objects of the Recitation, the 
Requisites of the Recitation, and the Methods of 
conducting a Recitation, we are ready to make in- 
quiry concerning the preparation necessary to effect 
these objects, supply these requisites, and conform 
to these methods. We shall want to know — 

1st. The Preparation the Pupil needs for the Recitation, 
2d. The Preparation the Teacher needs for the Recitation. 

1st. The Preparation the Pupil needs for the Reci- 
tation. — The pupil must study the matter of the lesson. — 
This is the main purpose for which lessons are as- 
signed. It is necessary in order to give correct 
answers to questions concerning it. This matter 
should not always be confined to that which is con- 
tained in the text-book, but may extend to that 
which is to be found in other books, or that which 
may be obtained by original investigations. The 
relations of one lesson to those which have preceded 
it can never be safely overlooked in preparing for a 
recitation. Something may be gained by the pupil 
from suggestions by the teacher in reference to the 
manner of preparing a lesson. I have always suc- 
ceeded best by first securing a general view of a 
subject or a general understanding of it, and then 
a mastery of its details. The subject-matter usually 
assigned as lessons for pupils consists of facts, 
axioms, definitions, or reasonings. Facts can be 
learned best by classifying them according to the 

20 



212 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

laws of association. Axioms and definitions im- 
press themselves more deeply upon the memory 
when applied or illustrated. Processes of reason- 
ing must be understood to be remembered or to 
serve any useful purpose. The statement of facts 
or the evolution of principles should be given in the 
pupil's own language. 

It may be proper to say a word here in regard to 
the propriety of the teacher's giving assistance to a 
pupil in preparing his lessons. More mistakes have 
been made by teachers in giving too much help at 
such times than too little. It economizes time to 
render such help at the recitation ; for in all proba- 
bility the same difficulty will occur to more than one 
member of the class. In this way, too, the class may 
be made to teach itself, — a thing always desirable. 
But pupils sometimes need assistance in preparing 
a lesson. A point in the solution of a problem, a 
word in the construction of a sentence, may effect- 
ually block the pupil's pathway in the preparation 
of his lesson ; and the teacher may remove the dif- 
ficulty, or, what is better, aid the pupil in removing 
it. For this purpose a time should be provided in 
the school-programme. It should be remembered, 
however, that whatever a pupil can do for himself 
in a reasonable amount of time, he should be 
allowed to do. 

The pupil must prepare to place his answers in proper 
form. — Elsewhere the forms of answers have been 
considered, and it is very evident, from what is there 
said, that these forms require study. True, the 
questions are often unknown ; but then they can 
be pretty easily imagined. When topics are assigned 



RECITATION. 213 

for discussion, problems for solution, or definite 
exercises for preparation, the forms of the answers 
can be fully studied. The pupil cannot be too care- 
ful in the work of acquiring the use of good lan- 
guage. 

The pupil must prepare to assume a becoming posi- 
tion, manner, and deportment daring the recitation. — 
What is proper in these respects was mentioned in 
another place. I speak of the matter in this con- 
nection only in order to say that these requirements 
cannot be generally complied with unless some pre- 
paration is made. Gracefulness of person, polite- 
ness of manners, and propriety of deportment, may 
be natural to some; but many, if not all, can acquire 
them. Pupils should avoid rudeness, roughness, 
and awkwardness everywhere; but these faults 
appear to most disadvantage in the recitation, and 
there, at least, all should endeavor to regulate their 
appearance and their conduct according to the prin- 
ciples of good taste. 

The pupil must go to the class-room in a teachable 
spirit — The value of a recitation depends greatly 
upon the spirit with which pupils receive instruction. 
If they attend the recitations reluctantly, listen to 
the teacher impatiently, be restless while classmates 
recite, and reckless as regards the manner in which 
they recite themselves, and, when the recitation- 
hour has expired, hurry away to some scene of plea- 
sure or place of mischief, progress in learning will 
be an impossibility. Pupils' likes and dislikes, in 
the same way as the likes and dislikes of other 
people, are very much under their own control. If 
they do not like study in general, or a study in par- 



214 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

ticular, they can make themselves like it. The 
spirit was intended to control the flesh. What is 
often attributed to a want of ability is a want of 
will. The receptivities of our mental nature, no les3 
than its activities, need culture. Preparation to re- 
ceive a lesson must be made, as well as preparation 
to recite one. 

2d. The Preparation the Teacher needs for the Reci- 
tation, — The teacher must assign proper lessons. — It 
is evident that a lesson ought not to be too difficult 
nor too easy for the pupils who are expected to pre- 
pare it. To assign it properly, the teacher must con- 
sider the capabilities of the class, the nature of the 
subject-matter of the lesson, and the time the pupils 
will have for preparation. A teacher can know the 
capabilities of his class only by close observation at 
the recitation, he can acquaint himself with the 
nature of the subject-matter of the lesson only by an 
examination of it prior to its assignment as a lesson, 
and the time at the disposal of a class for the pre- 
paration of a lesson can only be ascertained when 
estimated in connection with the time which its 
members must devote to other objects. 

The teacher must make himself familiar with the 
subject-matter of the lesson. — Merely to ask questions 
from a book, or to depend upon the help of a book 
to know whether an answer is correct or otherwise, 
is not teaching. No one can teach another what he 
does not know himself. The more familiar a teacher 
is with a subject, other things being equal, the better 
he can communicate a knowledge of it to others. 
This knowledge on the part of the teacher of what 
he attempts to teach should extend as far as possible 



RECITATION. 215 

beyond what is contained in the text-book used. 
Text-books generally present but a mere outline of 
the several branches of instruction. The teacher 
must prepare himself to fill up this outline, — to ex- 
plain, illustrate, and add to the lesson. Mental 
growth depends more upon what is suggested by 
the text-book than what is learned from it. 

The teacher must arrange the subject-matter of the 
lesson into proper questions, both as regards matter and 
form. — From what was previously said, it can readily 
be seen that some preparation is necessary in order 
to frame such questions. A teacher ought not to 
trust to the inspiration of the moment or to his 
general knowledge of the subject he is engaged in 
teaching for the selection of matter for his ques- 
tions or for their expression in verbal forms. Clumsy, 
unmeaning questions confuse the pupils and vitiate 
their taste. The shrewd lawyer prepares himself 
with reference to the points of law and fact involved 
in his client's cause ; the wise clergyman makes 
his sermons bear specially upon the weaknesses, the 
follies, and the sins of his congregation; the skilful 
physician would be ashamed not to study the pecu* 
liar symptoms of a disease submitted to him for 
treatment : so the teacher who is awake to the in- 
terests of his class makes like preparation as regards 
the questions he proposes to ask, and the manner of 
asking them. 

The teacher must choose a mode of reciting, and select 
the necessary apparatus for conducting the recitation. — 
The mode of reciting will depend upon the nature 
cf the lesson; and no teacher can afford to allow 
it to be determined by chance. Apparatus is fre- 

20* 



216 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

quently needed for conducting recitations, — maps, 
charts, models, cards, philosophical and chemical 
apparatus, &c. All this ought to be procured and 
set in order before the recitation begins. 

The teacher must observe the 'proprieties of person 
and manner during the recitation. — "What these pro- 
prieties are has been stated in another place : here 
it is only proper to say that the teacher must make 
preparation % to observe them. Nowhere else does 
the teacher come in such close contact with his 
pupils as at the recitation, and nowhere else can 
his example in dress, in position, in manners, in 
habits, have so great an influence. Let the teacher 
prepare to meet his class like a gentleman, and the 
silent influence of his cultured manners will teach 
lessons as valuable as those gained from books. 

III. Exercise. — In every well-regulated school, 
the pupils are allowed to employ a part of their 
time in taking exercise. No lengthened argument 
will be entered upon here to show the value of such 
a provision ; but it may be stated — 

That exercise is necessary to health. — The results of 
common observation, as well as the investigations 
of physiologists, attest the truth of this proposition. 
Confine a child, forbid him exercise, and sickness 
is almost inevitable. Without exercise, all the 
organic functions of the body are impeded in their 
action. The digestive organs are weakened, the 
circulation goes on slowly, the nervous system be- 
comes deranged, the vital forces are diminished ; 
and, as a consequence, disease may fasten upon the 
body and cause it to sink under its effects. It needs 



EXERCISE. 217 

not that instances be given when all have witnessed 
them. 

That exercise is necessary to strength. — We need 
physical strength to enable us to work efficiently. 
Work must be done ; forests must be cut down, 
roads must be opened, mountains must be tun- 
nelled, canals must be dug, bridges must be erected, 
cities must be built, shelter, food, and clothing 
must be obtained, our country must be defended ; 
and all this requires strong arms. Vigorous, healthy 
men are necessary to make a great nation ; and such 
cannot be had if the young enjoy no opportunity 
of exercising. "Only a whole man is capacitated 
to perform in the best manner the tasks of life." 
Exercise toughens the muscles, hurries the blood 
with its freight of rich nutriment through the 
arteries, enlarges the lungs, and invigorates the 
whole system. What length of hair was to Samson, 
exercise is to common men. 

That exercise is necessary to study. — Good health and 
strength of body are necessary to study; and there- 
fore exercise, which is essential to both, must be so. 
A sound mind can be found only in connection with 
a sound body. Some of the plainest facts of Phy- 
siological Science are those which exhibit the sym- 
pathy between mind and body. A weak or diseased 
body affects the mind, and a weak or diseased mind 
affects the body. It follows that the exercise of the 
body tends to promote success in study. The same 
principle might be proven by other facts. Experience 
has everywhere shown that students who confine 
themselves closely to their rooms, who take no ex- 
ercise, make in a series of years less progress than 



218 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

others who, at proper times, and in a proper manner, 
relieve their minds weary from study, and refresh 
their spirits hy exercising the body. The body does 
not need rest more than the mind, and physical 
exercise renews mental strength. 

Exercise as taken at school consists of two kinds ; 
and the discussion concerning it may be divided 
into two parts : — 

1. Unregulated Exercise. 

2. Regulated Exercise. 

1. Unregulated Exercise. — By Unregulated Ex- 
ercise is meant those games or plays which children 
contrive for themselves, or in which they engage of 
their own accord. Plato said, " The gods are the 
friends of amusement;" and any one who studies 
the nature of children will find that play is almost 
as necessary to them as breathing. The young of 
all animals are fond of play. It is a common in- 
stinct. Through the air, upon the earth, and in the 
waters, they have their sports and gambols, and 
make of the beginning of life its mirth-time. 
Children, at home and at school, must be allowed to 
play. God did not implant within them the strong 
sportive instinct which they manifest, without a 
purpose. Its gratification is necessary to health, 
strength, and intellectual and moral development. 
It is wonderful how much children learn from one 
another in play. An afternoon spent by a child 
with fit companions is worth more to him than 
days passed alone with teachers and books. From 
his playfellows a child takes his manners, acquires 



EXERCISE. 219 

his habits, adopts his opinions, and imbibes his 
principles. Mothers who notice sudden changes in 
the disposition and character of their children will 
probably find this to be the cause. Children must 
play. It is cruel to deprive them of it. Put a 
watchful care must be exercised as to where, when, 
and how they play. What it is desirable to say 
further upon this subject may be embraced under 
the following heads : — 

1st. The Place for Play. 
2d. The Times for Play. 
3d. The Manner of Play. 
4th. The Teacher at Play-time. 

The Place for Play. — Connected with every school, 
there should be places for play. Elsewhere, school- 
grounds adapted to this purpose have been described. 
In good weather, all playing should be done in the 
open air ; but a place for play in bad weather should 
be provided. This provision can be best met by 
having in our country school-houses a basement story 
arranged for the purpose. The grounds connected 
with Boarding-Schools should be sufficiently large 
to admit of games of ball, cricket, sliding, skating, 
swimming, rowing, &c. Pupils will furnish them- 
selves with much of the apparatus needed in play, 
but it is not at all amiss for the school-authorities to 
assist them. 

The 'Times for Play.— In Primary Schools, or Un- 
graded Schools which are attended by pupils under 
the age of ten years, one-third, if not one-half, of 
the school-day should be devoted to play. All 



220 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

schools should devote a considerable time to the 
same purpose. The authorities of Boarding-Schools 
and Colleges sometimes permit certain days to he 
set apart for particular games, or games between 
particular parties ; and it is my opinion that they 
do wisely. I am sure that a well-contested game 
of cricket or base-ball, now and then, does more to 
make men than the few lessons that might be re- 
cited during the playing. The exact hours or days 
that should be devoted to play must be determined 
by each teacher for himself. The only principle 
that need be stated is that periods of work should 
alternate with periods of play. 

The Manner of Play. — The word play is used here 
to denote all kinds of games, sports, and amuse- 
ments in which the young engage; and they con- 
stitute a very great number. It is not necessary to 
distinguish the different kinds, or to describe in 
detail the manner of playing. Play is unrestrained 
activity the end of which is a delight in itself; it 
therefore must be left free. It is best for school- 
children to engage in plays that require physical 
exertion, since after sitting in the school-room the 
body needs exercise. Plays at school should always 
be so conducted as not to annoy those who live 
neighbors to the school, either by unpleasant noises 
or trespasses upon property. Good taste can be 
shown in play ; and this will banish from the school 
play-ground all sports and games that are rude, 
rough, or unchaste. All plays that endanger the 
morals of the young, or that are apt to lead them 
into bad habits, should be prohibited. In this cate- 
gory are found games of chance, such as card-play- 



EXERCISE. 221 

ing, matching or pitching pennies, and even marbles, 
when each party engaged in the game keeps what 
he wins. I am well satisfied that a play-ground 
properly managed may be made an excellent school 
for character. What is wanting in the discipline 
of the school-room may be supplied here. It is 
society in miniature ; and plays can be so directed 
as to make pupils energetic, manly, polite, generous, 
honest, and truthful. Indeed, the weeds that are 
so apt to spring up in the untilled garden of the 
childish heart are here best rooted up, and their 
place supplied with good seed ; but it must also be 
remembered that evil companions, enemies, are ever 
present to sow tares among the wheat. 

The Teacher at Play-time. — I think it is no less a 
teacher's duty to be with, his pupils while at play 
than it is to meet them at the recitation. I know 
that some schools are so organized that the discharge 
of this dutjr is impossible ; but in that case the au- 
thorities who control the organization are respon- 
sible for its non-performance. Whenever a teacher 
cannot be with his pupils at play, he should still 
exercise as much supervision over them while thus 
engaged as may be practicable. 

On the play-ground the teacher should so act as 
to make his presence welcome. He should not be 
a restraint upon the play. The fun should be greater 
because he is by. The merry frolickers should feel 
that they enjoy his hearty sympathy. His presence 
may elevate and chasten; but .stiff dignity and 
crusty criticism are wholly out of place. 

The teacher may take part in the plays of his 
pupils. In no other way can he study their charac- 



222 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

ter so advantageously, and I am led to think that in 
no other way can he do them so much good. There 
is scarcely a better test of a good teacher than that 
his pupils like to play with him. When thus taking 
part, he will naturally make suggestions as to the 
direction of the play, but should never assume pri- 
vileges not accorded to his position as a participant 
in it. 

A teacher will find it bad policy to reprove or 
punish on the play-ground. It may be necessary to 
stop a play, or to deny a pupil the privilege of par- 
ticipating in one ; but this will occur very seldom. 
It is best for the teacher on the play-ground to 
appear in an unofficial capacity. He may direct 
and advise, but should seldom command. He may 
teach there by his presence, by his example ; but 
precepts are generally better suited to the school- 
room. His principal object ought to be to observe, 
to study the character of his pupils, for the purpose 
of turning the information obtained to good account 
elsewhere. If he notice any thing wrong or im- 
proper, the offenders should be treated with pri- 
vately. 

2. Regulated Exercise. — In addition to the exer- 
cise which is voluntarily taken at school in the form 
of play, there is, many times, a necessity for a course 
of systematic physical training. This necessity, 
arises from the fact that many pupils among those 
who most need it will not take exercise of their 
own accord ; and from the fact that regulated ex- 
ercises can be made better to secure an equal and 
harmonious development of the different organs of 
the body. The moral advantages arising from play 



EXERCISE. 223 

are of higher value than any which can be derived 
from systematic gymnastics; but the latter are better 
calculated to give perfection and strength to the 
body and quickness and grace to its movements. 
Both seem indispensable. 

I do not advocate the introduction of physical 
training into our schools for the purpose of develop- 
ing the human body to its greatest strength, for the 
purpose of making men like Dr. Windship, who can 
lift a ton or more, — for the time and trouble re- 
quired to do it might be devoted to a better object, — 
but for the purpose of keeping the body in a healthy 
condition and fitting it for its highest uses. For 
want of such training, a large proportion of the 
human family are weak and sickly, unable to per- 
form the work of life, and subject to an early death. 
Without going into detail, the subject under 
consideration will be treated of in the following 
order : — 

1st. The Place for Exercising. 

2d. The Times for Exercising. 

3d. The Manner of Exercising. 

4th. The Teacher at the Exercises. 

The Place for Exercising. — "When instruction is 
given in skating, swimming, rowing, riding on 
horseback, &c, nothing more definite can be stated 
with reference to the place for exercising than that 
it should be suitable for the purpose. 

In fair weather the school-grounds may be used 

for various gymnastic exercises. Military drills, 

when deemed proper for introduction into schools, 

are best conducted out-of-doors ; and, indeed, most 

21 



224 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

of the apparatus of our gymnasiums can be erected 
and used almost as well in a yard as in a room. 
The difficulty in the way is that it soon decays when 
exposed to the weather ; and rain, snow, and cold 
prevent the use of it in exercising, many times, 
when exercise is most needed. 

The school-room may be used as a place for exer- 
cise, if care be taken to engage only in such exer- 
cises as do not raise the dust from the floor or dis- 
turb the furniture. In most of our ungraded country 
schools, teachers have no other resource ; but, by 
stationing their pupils properly about the room, they 
can have them go through with vocal gymnastic 
exercises, and exercises calculated to expand the 
lungs and strengthen the muscles of the neck, chest, 
back, arms, &c. The employment of such simple 
apparatus as dumb-bells and wands will occasion no 
inconvenience. JSTo one who has not used them can 
estimate fully the value of such exercises, when 
taken at proper intervals during days when pupils 
would otherwise be confined to the school-room. 

A room specially arranged for the purpose and 
supplied with suitable apparatus is, of course, the 
best place in which to conduct the exercises neces- 
sary in systematic physical training. No detailed 
description of such a room can here be given ; but 
it may be said that it should be amply large to ac- 
commodate those who are to practise their exercises in 
it, well lighted, well ventilated, and properly heated. 
Great care should be taken to keep it free from dust. 
Many of the most appropriate exercises for schools 
admit the accompaniment of music ; and a school- 
gymnasium would be very incomplete without a 



EXERCISE. 225 

piano. As to other apparatus, if the gymnasium he 
intended for hoth sexes, the hags, dumb-bells, wands, 
rings, &c, as arranged by Dr. Lewis, are decidedly 
the most appropriate ; but if for boys alone, it may 
be well, in addition, to provide some of the appa- 
ratus used in common gymnasiums, for leaping, 
climbing, lifting, balancing, &c. &c. 

The Times for Exercising. — Every good teacher has 
a fixed time for hearing the recitations of each class ; 
and if he intends to subject his pupils to a system- 
atic course of physical training, he will find it equally 
necessary to appoint regular times for doing it. 
Weak muscles cannot be made strong, stooped 
shoulders cannot be made erect, narrow chests can- 
not be made broad and deep, without going through 
a regular and methodical series of exercises. The 
exact hour of the school-day when such exercises 
should be engaged in must depend upon the cir- 
cumstances of the school. For a day-school, per- 
haps the middle of the forenoon and the middle of 
the afternoon sessions would be the most appro- 
priate times; and for a Boarding-School, in the 
morning before the school regularly opens, and in 
the evening after it regularly closes. It is unwise 
to engage in violent exercises immediately after 
meals; and the exercises ought never to be pro- 
longed beyond a reasonable length. 

The Manner of Exercising. — To describe in full 
del ail the various kinds of exercises practised in 
gymnasiums would require volumes, and, of course, 
iio attempt will be made to do so here. A few 
general remarks only will be made; and those who 
would investigate the matter further must have 



226 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOL. 

recourse to books which treat specially upon this 
subject. 

The principal object of physical training is to 
secure strength of body combined with quickness 
and grace of movement. An increase of mere 
animal strength is not what is wanted : horses, 
oxen, steam-machinery, are designed to do our 
heavy pulling and lifting. Nor is it ability to 
perform wonderful feats: a circus-rider cannot be 
regarded as the highest type of a man. All our 
energy should not be spent in training the body, 
any more than in developing the mind. The body 
must be made strong and tough, but not at the 
expense of beauty of form or of quickness and 
grace of movement; and no corporeal perfection 
ought to be coveted, if its attainment tends to weaken 
the mind. These principles admitted, the manner 
of exercising should be controlled by them. Light 
apparatus that admits of quick handling is more 
appropriate for school-gymnasiums than that which 
is heavy and can be moved only with effort. 

Gymnastic exercises for beginners should be very 
simple, and such as require little exertion to perform 
them. As soon as these can be performed with 
ease, others more difficult may be introduced. A 
series of exercises should be progressive in diffi- 
culty. It should be remembered, also, that over- 
exertion is more hurtful than a neglect of exercise. 

A system of gymnastics should comprehend 
means for the training of all the muscles of the 
body. The most perfect system, probably, is that 
of the Swedish gymnast Ling. Dr. Dio Lewis has 
-done more than any other American to invent appa- 



EXERCISE. 227 

ratas suitable for persons of all ages, and especially 
for pupils of both sexes in our schools. If I were 
selecting apparatus for a school-gymnasium, I would 
procure almost all the articles he has invented, with 
perhaps a few of those used in ordinary gymnasiums. 
By means of such exercises as are described in the 
works of Ling, Lewis, and others, it is practicable 
for a teacher to conduct his pupils through a sys- 
tematic course of physical training; at least, me- 
thods of physical education are not more difficult 
to understand than methods of mental education. 

Exercises in a gymnasium should be taken, as far 
as possible, in the form of games or play. Profit 
may be derived from these exercises when taken 
by oneself, but much more if in company with 
classmates or friends, and accompanied with music, 
conversation, and merriment. Dancing, when pro- 
perly regulated, is no less useful than beautiful as 
a school-exercise. 

The dress worn by persons exercising should be 
such as to permit the free movement of every part 
of the body and the unimpeded handling of the 
apparatus. Good taste would dictate that all the 
members of a class should dress alike ; but, of 
course, this adds nothing to the value of the exer- 
cises. 

The Teacher at the Exercises. — Mere practice in a 
gymnasium without end or method will prove very 
dull and quite unprofitable. In nothing is there 
more need of system than in physical culture ; and 
to have system in a school-gymnasium, the teacher 
must direct the exercises. He must adopt a plan, 
select articles of apparatus, and determine the 

21* 



228 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE SCHOOTi. 

methods of using them. He must make prepara- 
tion as he would do to teach some branch of learn- 
ing, and must require his pupils to attend the class 
as regularly and hold them as well in command as 
at an ordinary recitation. Indeed, the teacher in 
the gymnasium should evince the same qualities 
that give him success in the school-room. 



CHAPTEE IV. 

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

Government is that system of laws or principles 
by which a sovereign controls his subjects; and it 
is founded upon the relation existing between them. 
For the existence of a government of any kind, a 
ruler, those who are ruled, and reciprocal duties 
growing out of these relations, are necessary con- 
ditions. 

In Divine government, the Sovereign is God, and 
the subjects are mankind; in state governments, 
the sovereign is the authority in which are vested 
the Legislative, Judicial, and Executive powers, and 
the subjects are the inhabitants of the state; in 
family government, the sovereigns are the parents, 
and the subjects are the children and servants ; and 
in school-government, the sovereign is the teacher, 
and the subjects are the pupils. 

The end of Divine government is primarily to 
secure to the Sovereign the love and reverence of 
His subjects. "We cannot for a moment suppose 
that God would be satisfied with an outward obe- 
dience to His laws. He desires that we should act 
from pure motives, — should give Him our hearts, — 
should leave all and follow Him. 

The end of state government is to secure public 
order. If a citizen commit no overt act against any 

229 



230 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

other citizen or against the state, no matter how 
bad his thoughts or intentions may be, the state is 
satisfied; for it does not aim to purify men's hearts, 
but only to punish their unlawful deeds. 

The end of parental government is to secure order 
in the family through affection. A good parent 
seeks to be obeyed, but he wants that kind of obe- 
dience which springs from love. The aim of parental 
government combines that of Divine government 
and that of state government. In the family are 
designed to be trained good citizens and good 
men. 

School-government is family government trans- 
ferred to the school. Its end is the same. The 
teacher takes the place of the parents. 

What it is proposed to say on School-Government 
may be embraced under the following heads : — 

I. School-Ethics. 
II. School-Retributions. 

III. School-Legislation. 

IV. School-Administration. 

By a close examination, it will be seen that these 
subjects follow one another in a logical order, and 
that the classification is exhaustive. 

If a teacher is unacquainted with the rights and 
duties of his pupils or his own, he cannot know how 
to adjust the affairs of the school, cannot have a 
basis upon which to establish school-laws or admi- 
nister school-discipline. 

The rights of pupils must be maintained, their 
duties must be discharged ; and to secure these 



SCHOOL-ETHICS. 231 

ends, the teacher will need to know what rewards 
it will be proper for him to bestow, and what 
punishments to inflict; or, in other words, he needs 
to possess a knowledge of School- Retributions. 

Knowing what is right and what is wrong in 
school-affairs, and knowing likewise what rewards 
and what punishments it is proper to use in the 
school, a teacher must be able to adjust rewards to 
duties performed, and punishments to duties neg- 
lected or wrongs done, — must find means for pre- 
venting and correcting disorder, — and thus legislate 
for the school. 

It is one thing to make laws, it is another to 
administer them. The teacher must promulgate 
and defend his school-laws, he must decide what 
constitutes offences under them, and inflict punish- 
ment upon the guilty. In a higher sense, he must 
train his pupils to delight in good order, and to do 
right because it is right. 

"With any part of this work undone or badly 
done, the government of the school will be just so 
far mere guess-work. With all of it well done, 
school-government can be reduced to a system 
which is as complete as it is beautiful. 

I. School-Ethics. — Ethics is the science which 
treats of human rights and duties. School-Ethics 
relates to the rights and duties of persons connected 
with the school. The several classes of persons 
thus engaged may be named as follows: — 

1. The Teacher. 

2. The General School-Officers. 



232 the government of the school. 

3. The Communities that found and support 
Schools. 

4. The Pupils. 

The ethical relations of the teacher, the general 
school-officers, and the communities that found and 
support schools, will be found discussed elsewhere 
in this work; so that it is proper in this connection 
to speak only of the Duties of Pupils. Besides, 
since it is the main object of school-government 
to secure on the part of pupils the performance of 
their duties, the statement and discussion of these 
duties must be made specially prominent. 

The school-duties of pupils may be comprehended 
under the following classification : — 

1st. Duties to Themselves. 

2d. Duties to One Another. 

3d. Duties to the School- Property. 

4th. Duties to the Teacher. 

5th. Duties to the General School- Officers. 

6th. Duties to the School as a Whole. 

7th. Duties to Visitors at the School. 

8th. Duties to Society. 

9th. Duties to God. 

This classification is adopted for the sake of con- 
venience. It might be more or less general. When 
well understood, indeed, a pupil's duties to himself 
include all his other duties ; and a specific enume- 
ration of all these duties would make a very long 
list. 

It ought to be remarked that school-duties have 



SCHOOL-ETHICS. 233 

the same ethical basis as other duties ; but this is 
not the proper place to enter upon an investigation 
as to what is the standard of right. 

Some general remarks will be made upon each 
class of duties, without attempting to find all the 
special duties included in the class. 

Duties to Themselves. — A pupil has duties to him- 
self which the teacher must see that he discharges. 
Generally considered, these have respect to his 
person and his property. Without being fully 
aware of the consequences, the young may do that 
which will impair their health, impede their pro- 
gress in learning, or corrupt their morals. They 
are very apt to injure their books and clothing. .All 
such acts are violations of their duties to them- 
selves. 

Duties to One Another. — Pupils have no right to 
take away, destroy, or injure the property of others; 
nor have they any right to commit with respect to 
them an act of personal wrong. On the contrary, it 
is their duty to respect the rights of others both with 
regard to persons and things. 

Duties to the School-Property. — The pupils of a school 
should feel an interest in protecting and improving 
the school-property. Too often, however, it is pur- 
loined, destroyed, or injured by them. 

Duties to the Teacher. — A pupil owes to his teacher 
the same duties he owes to a fellow-pupil ; and in 
addition he should respect and obey him. "What 
treason is in a state, disrespect and disobedience are 
in a school. 

Duties to the General School- Officers. — The general 
management of schools is mostly intrusted to bodies 



234 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

of men, called School-Directors, School-Trustees, 
School-Committees ; and though their relations to 
the pupils may not he so intimate as those between 
teacher and pupils, yet the duties of pupils towards 
them are the same as to the teacher. 

Duties to the School as a Whole. — It is the duty of 
the pupils of a school to be regular in their attend- 
ance, to observe all its rules, and to honor it abroad 
both by word and deed. 

Duties to Visitors at the School. — Visitors at a school 
may be either friends or strangers ; and, in either 
case, they should be treated with kindness and 
respect. A want of such treatment on the part of 
pupils will always show a want of good breeding, 
for which teachers and parents are most in fault. 

Duties to Society. — All persons have certain social 
duties which they ought not to neglect ; but a more 
perfect discharge of these duties is reasonably ex- 
pected from those who are educated. If scholars 
do not make better citizens than ignorant persons, 
endownents for Colleges and Academies, and taxes 
for Common Schools, are greatly misapplied. Scho- 
lars ought to elevate society by precept and example, 
and be the foremost advocates of social order. 
Pupils should be careful not to commit a wrong 
with reference to the persons or property of those 
who live near the school. 

Duties to God. — The plain interpretation of the 
parable of the talents is that all persons will be 
held accountable for the proper use of their natural 
abilities, and for the opportunities of rendering them 
available in the work of life. Those who enjoy the 
privileges of learning, therefore, owe special thanks 



SCHOOL-ETHICS. 235 

to God for them, and have resting upon them 
Bpeeial duties towards- Him. Education increases 
knowledge, and increased knowledge brings with 
it increased moral responsibility. We should ex- 
pect from scholars more than from others a full 
discharge of their religious obligations. 

This brief summary of the school-duties of pupils 
will be followed by a statement of the offences 
which they are most likely to commit. These will 
be arranged in classes corresponding to the classes 
of school-duties. The use that will be made of 
this classification in the further treatment of the 
subject, renders it expedient to state it conspi- 
cuously. 

Offences against Themselves. 

1. Injuries to their own property. 

2. Injuries to their own persons. 

3. Neglect of opportunities of learning. 

4. Uncouth manners. 

5. Bad habits. 

6. Immoral conduct. 

Offences against One Another. 

1. Theft. 

2. Injury to property. 

3. Trespass upon property. 

4. Personal injury. 

5. False accusation. 

6. Usurpation of rights. 

7. Temptation to wrong-doing. 

8. Defamation. 



22 



236 the government of the school. 

Offences against the School-Property. 

1. Accidental injury or destruction. 

2. Malicious injury or destruction. 

3. Accessory to injury or destruction. 

Offences against the Teacher and School-Offi- 

CERS. 

1. Disobedience. 

2. Disrespect. 

3. Conspiracy. 

4. Injury to property. 

5. Injury to person. 

Offences against the School as a "Whole. 

1. Speaking evil of the school. 

2. A general disregard of the school-regulations 
in respect to order. 

3. A general disregard of the school-regulations 
in respect to study. 

4. Irregular attendance. 

5. Wrong or unworthy conduct. 

Offences against Visitors at the School. 

1. Rude treatment. 

2. Mischievous tricks. 

3. Injury to property. 

4. Injury to person. 

Offences against Society. 

1. Disturbance of the peace. 

2. Injury to property, or trespass upon it. 

3. Uncivil treatment or injury of persons. 



school-retributions. 237 

Offences against God. 

1. Disregard of the religious observances of the 
school. 

2. Creating disrespect for sacred things. 

3. Immoral speaking, profanity, vulgarity. 

4. Immoral conduct. 

It is not claimed that this classification embraces 
all the offences which may occur in school, nor that 
some classes do not include others; but the object 
had in view in making the classification, is to give 
point to the discussion, which is to follow, upon the 
means of preventing and correcting these offences, 
and of training pupils to guard against committing 
them. 

It is not deemed necessary to enumerate each par- 
ticular act of offence, because intelligent teachers 
can readily refer any given act to its own class. 

II. School-Retributions.— A sovereign can only 
make known to his subjects how well it is to obey 
his commands, and how bad it is to violate his laws, 
by a system of rewards and punishments. Laws and 
precepts may of themselves manifest the will of the 
sovereign; but the rewards and penalties attached to 
them are the only means of presenting a tangible ex- 
pression of the strength of that determination. It is 
possible to understand our ethical relations and make 
laws respecting our rights and duties without attach- 
ing retributions to them; but a government that did 
no more than this would not subserve the ends for 
which governments are established, either in state or 
in school. The sovereign authority must everywhere 



238 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

exhibit an unflinching purpose to carry on the work 
of the government by rewarding virtue and punish- 
ing vice. 

It will be convenient to consider — 

1. Rewards for Good Conduct. 

2. Punishments for Bad Conduct. 

1. Rewards for Good Conduct. — Nothing further 
is contemplated in this connection than to name those 
means which may be used in schools as rewards for 
good conduct. The adjustment of particular re- 
wards to particular kinds of good conduct will be 
spoken of elsewhere. 

In the Divine government, every good thought 
and good deed has its appropriate reward. "Be- 
hold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth : 
much more the wicked and the sinner." The state 
seldom directly rewards the citizen for well-doing, 
except for some extraordinary service done it, as well- 
doing is a reward in itself, and the state-machinery 
is too clumsy to do entire justice in the adminis- 
tration of such a system; but it classifies offences 
with great care, and has fixed penalties which it 
imposes upon those who commit them. School-gov- 
ernment partakes of the nature both of Divine and 
state government; and the teacher must have a sys- 
tem of rewards as well as a system of punishments. 

The natural rewards of well-doing in the school, 
as well as elsewhere, are the following: — 

1st. The Approbation of Relatives and Friends, 

2d. The Approbation of Society. 

3d. Success in the Attainment of Life's true Ends. 



SCHOOL-RETRIBUTIONS. 239 

4th. An Approving Conscience. 
5th. The Favor of God. 

The rewards which the teacher may cause to fol- 
low good conduct are — 

1st. Gifts. 

2d. Honorable Position, 

3d. His Approbation. 

With respect to the first class of rewards, it may 
be said that the teacher has no direct control in de- 
termining them. They grow out of relations which 
he has little power to disturb. But, while these re- 
wards are themselves the fixed results of good con- 
duct in all moral and Christian communities, the 
most skilful teacher will need all his ingenuity in 
making them generally operative in the school-room. 
In this, indeed, consists the whole of moral train- 
ing, — the most difficult, the most important, but the 
most neglected, part of education. Something will 
be said of this training in another place. 

In speaking of Incentives to Study, these rewards 
were mentioned, somewhat more in detail, as Proper 
Incentives. As they are proper incentives to study, 
they are so to good conduct; and the reader may un- 
derstand what was then said to be repeated here. 
The reasons for desiring to be good are the same as 
for desiring to be wise ; but the imperatives which 
impel us to seek the former end are stronger than 
those which impel us to seek the latter. The voice 
of conscience approves a pupil's industry in study; 
but its approval is more emphatic when he does his 
duty to his fellows and to God. 

22* 



240 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. * 

"When a teacher desires to reward a pupil for good 
conduct, lie can do so by presenting him a gift, assign- 
ing him an honorable position, or expressing approval 
of what he has done. All of these are merely dif- 
ferent forms of expressing the teacher's approbation. 

I do not mean by gifts, prizes; though prizes may 
be presented as an incentive to good conduct as well 
as an incentive to study, and, under the same cir- 
cumstances and subject to the same conditions, 
they may be as useful in the one case as in the 
other. But I mean by gifts, any object of a mate- 
rial nature, as a book, which a teacher may see 
proper to present to deserving pupils. To such 
gifts there can be no valid objection in principle; 
but they should always be considered not as some- 
thing won, but as something earned. Pupils should 
act well, and afterwards receive their gifts, — not 
merely act well with a view of obtaining them. 

Good conduct in school- should win an honorable 
position. The most honorable place in a school should 
be given to the pupil who stands highest in charac- 
ter and deportment, and not to the one who merely 
stands highest as a scholar. This position may be 
indicated by place in class, merit-marks, grade of 
diploma, or honorable mention in public reports. 
Teachers have power to bestow the honors of a 
school upon the most deserving; and, if this was 
always done, better order would be found in many 
schools than now prevail s. The material value of an 
honorable position in school is chiefly found in the re- 
commendation it furnishes to the public, — a recom- 
mendation which is due from the teacher to all his 
™-ir>ils who deserve it. 



SCHOOL-RETRIBUTIONS. 241 

A word of approbation from a loved teacher sinks 
deep into the heart of a pupil. If a teacher enjoys 
the respect and love of his pupils, and then knows 
when and how to commend them for good conduct, 
he needs little else to enable him to govern his 
school. This commendation may take the form of 
words of approval, a pleased expression of counte- 
nance, or a simple nod of the head or sign of the 
hand. It may be indicated to a pupil by showing 
confidence in him, quoting his example, speaking 
well of him to his friends, or recommending him to 
some responsible position in business. There are, 
indeed, a thousand ways in which a teacher may ex- 
press his approbation. 

2. Punishment for Bad Conduct. — The rewards 
which are given to those pupils who conduct them- 
selves well cannot be accorded to those who conduct 
themselves badly ; and this of itself constitutes one 
part of their punishment. Besides this, however, 
there are certain positive punishments which are 
made use of in school, the most prominent of which 
are the following : — 

1st. Reproof. 

2d. Reparation of Damage done. 

3d. Performance of Duties neglected. 

4th. Deprivation of Privileges. 

5th. Acknowledgment of an Offence before the School. 

6th. Confinement 

7th. Personal Chastisement. 

8th. Suspension from School. 

9th. Dismission from School. 



242 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

A teacher is expected to govern his school, and 
there is vested in him all the authority necessary 
for that purpose. He is in the place of the parent; 
and all that a parent can legally do in the govern- 
ment of his children, a teacher can do in the govern- 
ment of his pupils. Teachers frequently inflict all 
the punishments named in the preceding list, and 
they ought everywhere to have the power to do so. As a 
matter of fact, they generally have the power ; but 
sometimes a provision is made that a pupil shall 
be suspended or dismissed from school only after 
the consent of the General School-Officers shall 
have been obtained. 

A few remarks concerning each form of punish- 
ment will place the subject in a better light. 

Reproof. — This is the most common kind of 
punishment, and many teachers seldom find it 
necessary to inflict any other. It may be mild or 
severe, according to the nature of the ofl'ence. Some- 
times a look of disapproval, a shake of the head, 
or the pointing of a finger, will be sufficient ; and 
sometimes it takes earnest words again and again 
repeated to arouse the offender to a proper sense of 
his duties. Circumstances may render it politic to 
administer reproof publicly ; but, as a general rule, 
private admonition is much more effectual. 

Reparation of Damage done. — When a pupil destroys 
the property of the school or of a fellow-pupil, it is 
his duty to replace it; and when he injures such 
property he ought to repair the damage done. If 
the destruction or injury be wilful, some additional 
punishment should be inflicted. 

Performance of Duties neglected. — Pupils often neg- 



SCHOOL-RETRIBUTIONS. 243 

lect to prepare their lessons or perform their tasks 
when they should do so. In such cases, little just 
complaint can be made if the teacher compel them 
to occupy a part or the whole of their play-time in 
the performance of their neglected duties. 

Deprivation of Privileges. — In state-government, the 
abuse of a privilege is frequently followed by its 
forfeiture. The same principle may be applied with 
good effect in school-government. 

Acknowledgment of an Offence before the School. — 
Such an acknowledgment ought only to be required 
when the offence is a grave one and of a public 
character. When one pupil has wronged a fellow- 
pupil publicly, or wronged a number of his fellow- 
pupils, it is appropriate. A mismanaged case of 
inflicting punishment in this way is calculated to 
do much harm. 

Confinement. — A pupil may very properly, for cer- 
tain offences, be detained in the school after the 
school shall be dismissed, or during recesses 
or intermissions. I have thought that solitary con- 
finement in a small room, suitably prepared, for 
hours or days, during school-time or during play- 
time, might be a more effectual and a less degrading 
punishment for graver offences than that with the 
rod. 

Personal Chastisement. — There are cases in many 
schools in which force must be used to compel 
obedience ; and in these cases it ought to be used. 
It is a means of governing, however, that needs to 
be managed with the utmost care. 

Suspension from School. — When a pupil in a school 
is doing harm to others, and no good for himself, 



244 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

he should be suspended from school until his refor- 
mation shall be effected. 

Dismission from School. — In case no reformation is 
probable, dismission from school may take place. 
Teachers should remember, however, that the con- 
sequences of such a punishment last through life ; 
and it should not, therefore, be inflicted without 
sufficient cause. 

It is maintained that all the kinds of punishment 
named in the preceding list are proper to be used 
by the teacher in the government of the school; 
but some of them may be used in such a way as to 
do great mischief. A few examples will be given. 

Scolding. — A scolding teacher will always have a 
disorderly school. Reproof when constantly given 
loses all its good effect. Let a teacher contract the 
habit of scolding, and he will soon render himself 
and his pupils unhappy, and the work of the school 
unpleasant. 

Expressions of Contempt. — A thoughtless teacher 
may use such expressions in reference to the moral 
condition of the family of a pupil, or in reference 
to some physical defect or mental peculiarity of his 
own ; but they never accomplish any good, and 
mostly do harm. Sarcastic remarks, or such names 
as numskull, blockhead, dunce, &c. &c, do not be- 
come a teacher in speaking either to or of his pupils. 

Personal Indignities. — There are cases in which a 
teacher would be justifiable in using corporal punish- 
ment; but it ought always to" be done in a becoming 
manner. Good never results from the infliction of 
such personal indignities as pulling an ear, twisting 
the hair, snapping the forehead, &c. &c. 



SCHOOL-LEGISLATION. 245 

Prolonged Tortures. — In the dark ages 01 the pro- 
fession, teachers sometimes resorted to punishments 
like the following : holding a book in the hand with 
the arm stretched out horizontally from the body, 
standing on one foot, stooping down or leaning 
forward so as to touch with the finger a nail in the 
floor, &c. &c. ; but these days have almost passed. 

III. School-Legislation. — Having found what 
duties pupils have, and how these duties can be 
violated, what rewards may be conferred upon the 
good, and what penalties may be inflicted upon the 
bad, we are ready to engage in the work of making 
laws for the school. Arbitrary and unjust laws are 
hurtful anywhere, but nowhere more so than when 
used to control the young. For those proposed 
here, an effort will be made to establish a philo- 
sophical basis. 

The ends of School-Legislation may be stated as 
follows : — 

1. To find Means of preventing Disorder in 
School. 

2. To find Means of correcting Disorder in 
School. 

3. To find Means of inducing Pupils to dis- 
charge their Duties of their own Accord. 

Much of the disorder in school may be prevented 
by judicious regulations. The most judicious regu- 
lations will not prevent all disorder; and such as 
cannot be prevented must be corrected. It is not 
enough simply to secure good order in a school, 



246 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

either by preventive or corrective means, or both ; 
the pupils must be induced by the process of train- 
ing to which they are subjected to discharge all their 
duties freely and of their own accord. It is the per- 
fection of good government in a school to make the 
pupils capable of governing themselves. 

1. Means of preventing Disorder. — Disorder in 
a school is owing to certain causes which can often 
be removed before they produce any bad results. 
These causes may be generalized as follows : — 

1st. Unsuitable Accommodations. 
2d. Unqualified Teachers. 
3d. Bad Management. 

So much either has been, or will be, said on each 
of these points in other connections, that no long 
discussion is needed here. 

Unsuitable Accommodations. — These have reference 
to unsuitable school-grounds, school-houses, and 
school-furniture. If play-grounds are too small, 
trespasses will be committed in the neighboring 
fields or on the adjacent highway. It is impossible 
to have good order in a room badly lighted, poorly 
heated, or ill ventilated, or in one into which a 
hundred pupils are crowded that was designed to 
accommodate but fifty. "With seats too close to- 
gether or so arranged that the movement of one 
pupil always disturbs a number of others ; with 
desks too low or too high ; with impure air to 
breathe, limbs shivering with cold or burning with 
heat ; with the glaring sun streaming his dazzling 
rays full in their faces ; with school-room dark, dull, 



SCHOOL-LEGISLATION. 



& 



and dirty, it is no wonder that children are restless. 
The school-authorities ought to provide means of 
removing such causes of disorder. 

Unqualified Teachers. — Some persons seem born to 
command. They naturally take the lead in affairs. 
Napoleon among his schoolmates at Brienne, and 
"Washington with the comrades of his youth in 
Virginia, both exhibited those, traits of character 
which eminently fitted them to lead the armies of 
their respective countries. Let a person who has 
a natural capacity for governing take charge of a 
school, and the pupils at once instinctively under- 
stand that they must obey, and act accordingly ; 
while the commands of another possessing no such 
capacity would be unceremoniously disregarded. 
A school taught by one who has the gift of govern- 
ing seems to govern itself; but in reality it is 
governed by the unconscious working of the pecu- 
liar energies of the teacher. On the contrary, no 
effort can preserve order in a school if such a gift 
be wanting in its head. Between those who can 
govern without effort, and those who cannot govern 
with all the effort they can make, there will be 
found a large number of persons who, if they could 
never learn to manage large bodies of men, can at 
least acquire the power of governing a school suc- 
cessfully. Such persons must cultivate the talent 
for governing. A diaorderly school is prima facie 
evidence of incapacity on the part of the teacher, 
and he must either adopt a rigid course of self-dis- 
cipline, or give place to another better qualified. 
The teacher, who is to a great extent the source of 
law in the school, must be himself subject to law. 



248 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 



It may be proper to name some of the most im- 
portant qualifications which a teacher must possess 
in order to govern well. 

He ought to have polished manners; for, if he is 
rude and noisy, it is not likely his pupils will be 
polite and quiet. He should have no bad habits, 
for the young are both good critics and quick imi- 
tators. He should be a scholar ; for otherwise his 
pretensions will eventually be discovered, and create 
towards him disrespect, if not contempt. He must 
plan judiciously, — wisely adapt means to ends, — or his 
pupils will first be led to question his ability and 
afterwards to disregard his authority. He must 
exhibit self-confidence and self-control ; for these quali- 
ties are necessary to initiate authority, and almost 
equally necessary to maintain it. He must have 
firmness; for a fickle-minded teacher, who does to- 
day what he will undo to-morrow, who makes laws 
and fails to execute them, who prosecutes nothing 
to the end, can never inspire confidence among his 
pupils or command their respect. He must be con- 
sistent, — regulating the affairs of the school upon 
well-settled principles of justice and policy ; for if 
it is suspected that his enactments are arbitrary, 
his rewards and punishments the results of whim, 
caprice, or prejudice, there will be an end to all 
voluntary obedience, and a virtual revolution in the 
school. He must be courageous ; for every school 
has crises which the weak and timid will be unable 
to control. He must be just; for favoritism and 
partiality will do much to undermine his authority. 
He must have sympathy with children, — entering 
easily into their joys and sorrows, loving their com- 



SCHOOL-LEGISLATION. 2^1 

pany, and taking an interest in what interests them; 
for otherwise his government will be cold and for- 
mal, and secure at best but a cold and formal obe- 
dience. He must be tolerant; for party-feelings 
and party-interests will exhibit themselves in the 
school-room, and he must know how to temper all 
without taking sides with any. He must be kind, — 
for kindness is the solvent to which all that is 
wrong in the human bosom yields most readily, — 
and patient ; for patience is necessary to enable him 
to wait while kindness works. 

Bad Management — Bad management is one of the 
most fruitful sources of disorder in a school. If a 
school be well organized, its classes well arranged, 
its work well systematized; if pupils be properly 
employed in study, in recitation, in exercise;, if 
school-government be well understood and wisely 
administered, a large proportion of the offences 
which now occur in school will disappear. 

To give details on these points, however, would 
be to repeat what has already been said; and a few 
remarks only will be added concerning provisions 
which may be made to prevent much disorder, and 
which have not been spoken of elsewhere. 

Rules. — A few plain rules, informing pupils as to 
their duties and obligations, will tend to promote 
good order in a school. There must be rules, either 
written or unwritten; and I think it is decidedly 
better to have the most important of them written, 
— better, because the pupils can frequently read 
them for themselves, and because the teacher in 
enforcing them does not seem to act arbitrarily. 

Plenty of Work for Pupils. — Mischief is mostly 



^0 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 



done by idlers. There should he no unoccupied 
time in school-hours; and even the exercises of the 
play-ground may he to some extent regulated. 

Close Inspection. — A pupil who knows that his 
work will he closely inspected will he more apt to 
take pains in doing it. If he feels that the watch- 
ful eye of the teacher follows him everywhere, he 
will hesitate longer about engaging in what is 
wrong. A military officer is not satisfied with the 
general appearance of his men along the line, but 
he examines the condition of every man and every 
musket. The teacher must be equally close in his 
inspections. He must remember that the good con- 
duct of a school is made up of the good conduct of 
the individuals who are members of it. If a teacher 
cannot make such inspections himself (and this may 
be the case in a large school), he must require very 
strict reports from his assistants. 

Co-education of the Sexes. — The regulated inter- 
course of the two sexes in the school, as in the 
family, tends to the good of both, intellectually and 
morally. It brings the restraints of public opinion 
into the school, and thus prevents disorder. It 
raises the moral standard of the school, and the 
teacher can always be sure of large sympathy among 
the pupils in enforcing necessary discipline. 

2. Means of Correcting Disorder. — It is hardly 
necessary to say that the same means which tend to 
prevent disorder in a school will also tend to cor- 
rect it; but, however skilfully these means may be 
applied, however convenient and pleasant the ac- 
commodations of the school may be, whatever 
qualifications the teacher may possess as a discipli- 



SCHOOL-LEGISLATION. 251 

narian, or whatever judgment lie may show in his 
school-management, there are still pupils in almost 
every school who will neglect their duties or be 
guilty of misconduct. This fact at once brings be- 
fore us one of the most difficult branches of inquiry 
connected with school-government, and it must be 
considered at length. 

The question is, How shall that disorder in the 
school be corrected which the teacher is not able to 
prevent or to overcome by making the circumstances 
of the school-room favorable to good order? 

In answering this question, I propose to consider — 

1st. The punishment of those who offend. 
2d. The pardon of those who repent. 

1st. The punishment of those tvho offend. — It is 
scarcely suspected by many teachers that school- 
punishments can be regulated by any principle. 
Offences occur, the offenders are punished, much 
or little, sometimes in one way and sometimes in 
another, and justice seems satisfied. Very few teach- 
ers trouble themselves to inquire into the reason for 
the mode or degree of punishment which they adopt. 
Even the same teacher punishes similar offences in 
different ways, according to his mood, fancy, or ca- 
price. There seems to be a general conviction that 
wrong-doers should be punished; but, judging from 
the practice in our schools, nothing has been settled 
as to why or how. Sad as is the confusion in me- 
thods of teaching and in plans of managing schools, 
there is no department relating to education in which 
reform is more needed than in that of school-govern- 
ment. 

23* 



252 TIIE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

In the Divine government there is punishment for 
wrong-doing. God has done all that could be done 
to prevent sin. He has given man a habitation every 
way suited to his wants. All the circumstances by 
which he is surrounded are calculated to elevate and 
ennoble him. "Wisely as God could plan it, the uni- 
verse is so ordered as to prevent wrong-doing. 

But the human will was made free, and it was 
foreseen that man would lose sight of his highest 
interests, forget God, and commit sin. To correct 
these evils, to win men back to purity of thought 
and uprightness of life, a system of punishments 
was instituted. ~No one can doubt the existence 
of such a system, for, although he may not have 
studied its philosophy, he has witnessed its opera- 
tion. 

If now the principles that underlie the system 
of punishments in the Divine government can be 
ascertained, among them will be found those which 
should be applied in school-government. The Di- 
vine Mind, indeed, can make a perfect adjustment 
of punishments to offences, which no human skill 
can do ; but all forms of government among men, 
whether in the state, the family, or the school, will 
subserve the ends for which they are established in 
proportion as they pattern after the beautiful system 
of retributive laws by which God governs His moral 
universe. 

Punishments in the Divine government are de- 
signed to accomplish three ends, — viz. : the reforma- 
tion of wrong-doers ; the warning of those who are in 
danger of becoming wrong-doers ; and the manifestation 
of the Divine displeasure with respect to wrong-doing. A 



SCHOOL-LEGISLATION. 253 

man eats too much, and gets the dyspepsia. He 
learns in consequence to eat more moderately; 
others profit in eating by his example; and the 
Creator, in the emphatic language of sickness and 
pain, shows His displeasure at the violation of His 
laws. The upbraiding voice of conscience oft- 
times turns the guilty back in their downward 
course, warns those who have not fallen so far into 
wickedness by example, and expresses God's ex- 
ceeding great hatred of sin. It is believed that 
such instances as these fully exemplify the ends 
for which all punishments of Divine origin were 
established. 

The objects of school-punishments are the same 
as those of Divine punishments. If a pupil commits 
a fault, his punishment should tend to prevent his 
repeating it, serve as a warning to his school-fellows, 
and, at the same time, manifest the teacher's disap- 
probation of the act. I do not hesitate to say that 
all school-punishments that are not calculated to 
effect these objects are either improper in them- 
selves or improperly applied. 

It follows, from what has been said, that school- 
punishments are identical in design with the Divine 
punishments, and, consequently, must be controlled 
by the same principles. The task remains of point- 
ing out and applying these principles. 

From careful observation in respect to the work- 
ings of Providence in the affairs of men, I infer 
that the leading principles according to which God 
regulates the penalties He imposes for wrong-doing 
are the following: — 



254 THE GOVERNMENT OP THE SCHOOL. 

1st. That punishments invariably follow offences. 

2d. That all offences are punished in proportion to 
their magnitude. 

3d. That each class of offences has its own kind of 
'punishments. 

4th. That all punishments are connected to the offences 
as effects to causes. 

Some statement of the grounds upon which these 
principles rest will be given. 

That punishment invariably follows an offence 
appears from history, from observation, and from 
personal experience. In a just government, it could 
not be otherwise. Every page of history tells the 
story of the punishments inflicted upon wicked 
men and wicked nations; and this story, when well 
understood, reveals the fact that no such men or such 
nations escaped it. Common observation teaches 
, the same lesson. The murderer is always wretched, 
and may be imprisoned or hanged. The liar is not 
believed when he tells the truth. The dishonest 
man is not trusted. The drunkard dies in want 
and misery. The miser hardens his heart and is 
despised. The sinner, no matter what may be the 
nature of his sin, is upbraided by his conscience, — a 
fire that is never quenched. Our own hearts reveal 
the same truth. "We are all conscious that if we 
sin we must sutler. No man in his senses ever yet 
thought a bad thought or did a bad deed and re- 
mained unpunished, unless his heart had become 
stone and himself a brute, — which is in itself the 
heaviest punishment God inflicts upon men. Sin 
is moral sickness; and moral sickness must be at- 



SCHOOL-LEGISLATION. Uf>5 

tended with moral pain. Justice demands th<r 
enforcement of .this law, and Gk)d has declared in 
His Word that lie will enforce it. 

In the Divine government all offences arc pun- 
ished in proportion to their magnitude. Fewstripes 
or many are used, according to the nature of the 
offence. This principle necessarily results from 
the Divine perfections; but it is also inferable from 
experience. Every individual is aware that his 
health and strength arc impaired in proportion as he 
violates the laws that regulate bis organic constitu- 
tion; and every individual is no less sensible that 
the moral nature is damaged to the same extent 
that moral laws are violated. ' Each one can settle 
the question for himself by an appeal to his own 
consciousness. 

Each class of offences has its own kind of punish- 
ments. Different classes of offences arise from the 
violation of different kinds of laws, and the nature 
of the punishment has been made to correspond to 
I he nature of the offence. We may obey a law of 

one kind and disobey a I aw of another kind; and 
pleasure will result from our conduct in the former, 
and pain in the latter case. A man may observe 
the laws of economy and beoome rich, and at tho 
same time live in habitual disregard of moral and 

religious duties; and, on the oilier band, good men 
do not always prosper in business. A Leaky ship 
With pioUS, self-sacrificing missionaries on board 
might rounder in a storm, while a strong, slaneb 
vessel manned by a crew of lawless pirates would 

safely outride (be dangers of wave and wind. 
Health and strength may be enjoyed by those who 



256 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

use tliem in injuring their fellow-men, while ill 
health and physical debility are the portion of such 
as go about doing good. 

These seeming contradictions and inconsistencies 
of the Divine government admit an explanation. 
The Divine laws as they operate upon men have been 
divided into three great classes, — viz. : first, physical 
laws, or those which govern the material world; 
second, organic laws, or those which relate to vege- 
table and animal structures ; third, moral laws, or 
those which were designed to control intelligent 
and responsible beings. This classification is suffi- 
ciently correct and exhaustive for my present pur- 
pose ; and little is risked in saying that those who 
obey the laws of one class will be rewarded, and 
those who disobey them will be punished, entirely 
irrespective as to whether they obey or disobey the 
laws which belong to the other classes. 

If a man leap from a house-top, ride upon an 
unsafe railroad, embark in a leaky vessel, expose 
himself to the cold with the thermometer twenty 
degrees below zero, risk his life beyond his depth 
in water when he is unable to swim, he will render 
himself liable to be punished for his temerity; and 
in such cases, without miraculous interference, there 
can be no respect of persons. 

Let any individual disregard the laws that govern 
his corporeal nature; let him neglect to attend to 
the light that was intended to shine about him, the 
heat that was designed to warm him, the air ho 
breathes, the food he eats, the clothing he wears, the 
exercise he takes, and it matters not if in himself 



SCHOOL-LEGISLATION. 257 

be possess the' sum of human virtues, he will be- 
come weak and sickly, and perhaps will die. 

A man may violate all of the ten commandments, 
and it is possible he might still enjoy a good degree 
of health and strength. The wicked may flourish, 
may obtain wealth and houor, but they cannot escape 
punishment. God does not punish moral evil by 
the infliction of bodily pain, unless some physical 
or organic law be broken at the time of the viola- 
tion of the moral law. The penalties imposed in 
this world upon those guilty of wrong-doing are the 
stings of conscience, the sense of unworthiness, the 
loss of the respect of the good, and the conscious 
forfeiture of God's approbation, — penalties incom- 
parably more severe than any other class of punish- 
ments. 

In this independent operation of the physical, 
organic, and moral laws, may be found an explana- 
tion of what is sometimes called the mysterious 
ways of Providence, in giving health and prosperity 
to the bad and afflicting the good with sickness, 
misfortune, and death. There will be punishments 
in the future world, but they are not designed in 
any way to compensate for defects in the provi- 
dential ruling of this one. God is just to all His 
children here; and from this we may conclude He 
will be just hereafter. 

All punishments are connected to offences as 
effects to causes. Nature's discipline is a discipline 
of consequences. If any individual breaks a law, 
he must pay the penalty, and this penalty results 
directly from his conduct. Ignorance does not ex- 
cuse one. A child may not know the effect of heat; 



268 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

but a hot stove will burn its hand nevertheless. A 
mother may with the best intentions administer 
poison to her child instead of medicine; but, while 
her conscience may approve her well-meant kind- 
ness, she is sorely punished for her ignorance in the 
loss of her child. 

If a careless mechanic falls from a building and 
is injured, an ignorant miner is killed by the ex- 
plosion of the gas which sometimes accumulates in 
mines, thoughtless children are drowned while bath- 
ing, does any one fail to see the connection between 
the violation of these physical laws and the punish- 
ments that follow? Are not the laws good, and the 
punishments right ? 

If a man eat too much, he will get the dyspepsia; 
if he take poison, he may lose his health or die ; if 
he overwork or overstudy, expose himself to too 
great a degree of heat or of cold, obstruct the 
growth or the healthy action of any of the vital 
organs, he will experience suffering and pain ; and 
all of these punishments are the just consequences 
of his conduct, known to follow it as effect follows 
cause. 

If moral laws be broken, the consequences will be 
different but no less certain. The murderer, thief, 
liar, slanderer, drunkard, gambler, he who is dis- 
honest, and he who passes by while his brother-man 
suffers for want of help, — all carry in their own bosoms 
the 4 pain consequent upon their wrong-doing. The 
procligal wastes his substance, and must live on 
husks; the sluggard will not work, and in harvest 
he has nothing; the miser gloats over his gold until 
his sou 1 shrivels up; and the hardened sinner con 



SCHOOL-LEGISLATION. 259 

verts his very heart to stone, and dies worse than a 
brute. 

Examples need not be multiplied. In Nature's 
punishments there is nothing arbitrary, nothing 
unjust, nothing unkind, no partiality. Each indi- 
vidual who suffers punishment will know hereafter, 
if he does not here, that it is the just consequence 
of his own wrong-doing or the wrong-doing of those 
for whom he was responsible. 

An application must now be made of the great 
principles just explained, to the punishments of the 
Bchool. 

Punishments in the school must be made invaria- 
bly to follow offences. The teacher may not always 
find it necessary to administer these punishments. 
Real sorrow may follow the commission of a fault, 
and that may be a sufficient punishment. Nature's 
laws are inexorable. Those who break them must 
abide the consequences; and yet these laws are 
entirely compatible with Divine love. So those who 
violate the laws of the school must be punished, and 
proper punishment will be to them the greatest 
kindness. Any escape from the consequences of 
bad actions only tempts to further crime. This is 
emphatically the case with children. A teacher's 
indulgence begets contempt for his authority. A 
timid administration encourages a spirit of rebellion 
among pupils. Let punishments be just but cer- 
tain, and children will show little disposition to 
disturb the order of the school. "A less punish- 
ment," says Beccaria, "which is certain, will do 
more good than a greater which is uncertain." God 
punishes wrong-doing in the school as elsewhere, 

24 



260 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

and it is the teacher's duty only to intensify and 
make manifest the design of those punishments, or 
to adopt and administer others in the same spirit 
and according to the same principles. 

That all offences should be punished in proportion 
to their magnitude in school, as elsewhere, is a princi- 
ple so obvious that little need be said to enforce it. 
Motives must be taken into consideration in deter- 
mining the magnitude of the offence. A pupil may 
do a good act from a bad motive, a bad act from a 
good motive, or the act and the motive may both be 
bad, — all of which a teacher must carefully consider 
before he is prepared to determine the punishment 
that is deserved. 

It hardly seems questionable that each class of 
school-offences should have its own kind of punish- 
ment, but, if true, the practice of man}^ teachers is 
sadly at fault. The treatment of a pupil who injures 
the school-property should be very different from 
that of one who tells a falsehood, or rebels against 
the teacher's authority. A pupil who fails to pre- 
pare his lesson, one who quarrels with his school- 
fellows, and one who plays truant, all ought to be 
punished, but surely not in the same way. 

One of the most important principles which 
should control all school-legislation is that punish- 
ments should be connected to offences as effects to 
causes. It is presumed that all those who inflict pun- 
ishments upon the young, if they think at all, intend 
them to be understood as the effects of misconduct ; 
but almost everywhere, in adjusting punishments to 
offences, wide departures are made from the laws 
that express the relations of causes and effects. 



SCHOOL-LEGISLATION. 261 

Punishments are generally felt by pupils to have no 
firmer basis than the will of the teacher, which they 
have frequent reason to suppose is moved by caprice 
or passion. In place of this arbitrary mode of pun- 
ishment, there is needed a system of discipline in 
schools, founded upon well-established principles, — 
the principles which characterize all natural punish- 
ments. 

I have said that school-punishments are mostly 
arbitrary in their character. The truth of the 
assertion may be shown by facts. It is not uncom- 
mon in school for children to be whipped for breaking 
a pane of glass, making a bad recitation, or being 
tardy in coming to school. Threats, scoldings, 
blows, pulling the hair, snapping the forehead, crack- 
ing the hands, personal indignities, and bodily 
tortures, are used to punish offences without dis- 
crimination and without any regard to principle. 
One pupil does not know his lesson, and his ears 
are boxed; another tears his book, and his hands are 
slapped with a ruler; still another talks too loud, and 
he is made to stand on one foot or learn some diffi- 
cult task. Teachers whip, threaten, scold, almost 
at random. Without the recognition of any prin- 
ciples governing the matter, they choose punish- 
ments and the manner of inflicting them much 
according to the mood they may be in. At any rate, 
the children thus punished cannot see any logical 
connection between the offence and its punishment, 
and all sense of moral distinctions becomes oblite- 
rated in their minds. A child can only be made 
better by punishment when he feels that it is just. 

That school-punishments may be connected to 



262 THE GOVERNMENT OP THE SCHOOL. 

offences as effects to causes — that they may be made 
their natural results — will appear from a statement of 
examples. If a pupil injure some part of the school- 
property, the natural punishment would he that he 
should repair the damage. One who comes to 
school late may be detained just as long as he was 
behind time during recess or noontime. One who 
does not know his lesson should learn it over. One 
who disturbs his neighbor maybe made to sit out of 
his reach. One who throws dirt upon the floor should 
clean it up. One who quarrels on the play-ground 
should be deprived for a time of the privileges of 
play, except by himself. One who tells a falsehood 
may be compelled to feel that he cannot be so im- 
plicitly trusted. One who uses profane or vulgar 
language ought to be kept away from his school- 
mates, lest his example do them harm. One who 
openly disobej^s the teacher or conspires against him 
may be overcome by force or sent away. In all these 
instances, the consequences are plainly the results of 
the offences, and any child will so understand them. 
Other consequences will also follow, — the loss of the 
good opinion of the teacher, the loss of standing in 
the school, the loss of self-respect, &c. ; but the dull 
senses of evil-disposed pupils do not so easily appre- 
ciate them. The teacher should in all cases endea- 
vor to make his pupils feel the wrong they have 
done, and to awaken a desire on their part to avoid 
the committing of like errors in the future ; but of 
this in another connection. 

The advantages of such a discipline of conse- 
quences over a system of punishments which are 
inflicted arbitrarily are very great. As the admini*- 



SCHOOL-LEGISLATION. 263 

trator of such a system, the teacher has no occasion 
to lose his temper. He can be both firm and kind 
His personality is in great measure removed from 
his administration of the school-affairs, and like a 
judge he announces the offender's sentence, who 
feels that it is just. If a pupil is quarrelsome and 
disturbs the enjoyments of the play-ground, the 
teacher may say to him, "I am sorry to deprive you 
«f play, but you annoy others, and must forfeit your 
privileges in this respect." To another, who whis- 
pers much and loud, he may say, " James and you 
are great friends; I would like to have you sit 
together; but you disturb others with your loud 
talking, and spend time in conversation during 
which you ought to be at work; I must separate 
you.". To still another he may say, "I have done 
for you what I could : I have always been ready to 
assist you in your studies, have tried to .treat you 
kindly, and have warned you of your faults; but 
you continue to break the rules of the school, you 
mock at my authority, and must leave school." No 
one can fail to see that a teacher who governs a 
school according to such a system will be able to 
do his pupils much, more good, and do it with much 
more satisfaction to himself, than if he practised 
the method of controlling his school by arbitrarily 
threatening, scolding, and whipping. 

In addition to this, such a system of training is 
well calculated to make good citizens and good men. 
They will become accustomed to trace the conse- 
quences of their acts, and be read} 7 to render full 
obedience to the Divine and civil government, 
seeing that all good laws are designed not for the 

24* 



264 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

pleasure of the sovereign, but for the good of the 
subject. 

The principles now indicated enable us to make 
a general adjustment of punishments to offences. 
For this purpose, use will be made of the list of 
school-offences and school-punishments already pre- 
sented. Details must be left to be arranged by the 
teacher according to the ever- varying circumstances 
of school and pupil. 

Punishments for Offences against Themselves. 

1. Injuries to their own property. — "When a pupil in- 
jures his own property, its loss is the natural punish- 
ment. The teacher does not buy books or clothes 
for his pupils, and if they are injured it is the parents' 
rather than the teacher's place to correct the evil. 
The teacher may, however, reprove the child and 
inform the parent: I think his duty extends no 
further. 

2. Injuries to their own persons. — A pupil may be 
injured at school by eating unripe fruit, by exposing 
himself to cold or wet, and by going into danger 
in many ways. If the teacher has not specially for- 
bidden the act by which a pupil injures himself, 
with appropriate reproof and warning, he may leave 
him to learn wisdom by suffering the natural conse- 
quences of such conduct. If the teacher has pro- 
hibited it, the erring pupil should be punished as 
provided for offences against the teacher. 

3. Neglect of opportunities of learning. — The natural 
punishment for the neglect of opportunities of learn- 
ing is ignorance; and this brings with it many disad- 
vantages. The teacher may do what he can to make 



SCHOOL-LEGISLATION. 2b'5 

his pupils appreciate these disadvantages. For neg- 
lect in preparing his lesson, a pupil may be made to 
learn it over again during play-time. For inatten- 
tion in class, he may be punished with a reproof, the 
loss of position, or dismissal from the class, accord- 
ing to the magnitude of the offence. For the worst 
forms of laziness the school can hardly be made to 
furnish the best remedy. The best remedy is either 
some employment that can be made to interest the 
person under treatment, or some mechanical busi- 
ness that cannot be discontinued without detection. 
If the loss of all that ambitious pupils aspire to 
attain does not arouse a lazy boy to study, he may 
possibly be reached by shame or ridicule. I doubt 
whether corporal punishment in such cases can do 
much permanent good. 

4. Uncouth manners. — Uncouth manners are the 
result of defective home-training, or of the example 
of rude companions. In the presence of the polite 
and refined, children will soon improve in this re- 
spect. The teacher must assist them in the effort 
by watchful care, kind counsel, and gentle reproofs. 

5. Bad habits. — Bad habits, in the sense intended 
here, have reference to such habits as shrugging 
the shoulders, holding the head to one side, fum- 
bling the hands, spitting constantly, walking heavily 
over the floor, &c. &c. In general, nothing more is 
needed than to call the pupils' attention to the habit 
3very time it is noticed, with such a reproof as may 
Se deemed appropriate. If the habit cause the 
abuse of a privilege, the privilege may be withheld 
for a time. I once knew a teacher cure a boy of 
the habit of making a great deal of noise in walking 



266 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

about the school-room, by compelling him, for two 
or three days, to take off his shoes each time he left 
his seat. 

6. Immoral conduct. — That kind of immoral con- 
duct which consists in injuring others is not referred 
to here, but only that which is wrong independently 
of its effect upon others. A pupil may write pro- 
fane or vulgar language which no one reads, he 
may form the habit of drinking liquor by himself, 
he may meditate mischief which he does not exe- 
cute, he may injure himself secretly in many ways 
that are immoral ; any of which acts coming to the 
knowledge of the teacher he should not permit to 
pass in silence. In such cases, however, warning 
and reproof are the only punishments that can safely 
be resorted to, unless the conduct be so grossly im- 
moral as to deserve suspension or expulsion. 

Punishments for Offences against One Another. 

1. Theft. — A child may take the property of an- 
other without being conscious of the crime he com- 
mits. In such a case, the immediate restitution of 
the property taken must be made to the loser, and 
an explanation of the nature of the offence be given 
to the one who took it. Sometimes reproof, more 
or less severe, is appropriate. When children take 
trifling things, not realizing that such pilfering is 
theft, the treatment should be the same as when 
they are entirely unconscious of the wrong done. 
If a pupil with a full sense of the offence steal the 
property of another, he should be made to return it, 
be confined for a proper length of time where he 



SCHOOL-LEGISLATION. 267 

cannot repeat the offence, or be suspended or dis- 
missed from the school. 

2. Injury to property. — A pupil who injures the 
property of another, whether by accident or on pur- 
pose, should be required to repair it immediately. 
If he injure it on purpose, confinement would seem 
to be the proper penalty. 

3. Trespass upon property. — The books and play- 
things of some pupils are often used by others 
without any intention of injuring them. If injury 
should be done to them, restitution must be made; 
but if not, the teacher may demand the discontinu- 
ance of the practice. A few words concerning the 
rights of property will show that no one should use 
the property of another without his consent. 

4. Personal injury. — A slight personal injury may 
be punished by reproof. Graver personal injuries 
ought to be punished by confinement. If a pupil's 
temper be such as to render his presence dangerous 
to his school-fellows, dismission from school is the 
proper remedy. For such an offence, I do not see 
that physical force should in any case be used, ex- 
cept to separate combatants who are engaged in 
fighting. 

5. False accusation. — Children sometimes accuse 
one another falsely. To escape punishment them- 
selves, they accuse others who are innocent. This 
is a mean and cowardly act, and should be severely 
punished. I do not think corporal punishment 
should be resorted to; but the deprivation of all 
the social privileges of the school would seem to be 
the natural consequence of such an abuse of them. 
In addition, the teacher should administer such 



268 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

reproof as the state of the circumstances seems to 
demand. 

6. Usurpation of rights. — Pupils are entitled to the 
positions which they have won, and to the privileges 
which have been granted them; and these rights 
cannot be justly usurped by others. In case of 
usurpation, the mode of punishment should be 
much the same as with respect to injuries to per- 
sons or property. 

7. Temptation to wrong-doing. — One of the most 
potent causes of evil in respect to the young is bad 
company. Children at school are frequently ex- 
posed to very great temptations to wrong-doing 
presented by those older than themselves. It is 
not uncommon for a child pure and innocent to 
contract bad habits, and to become acquainted with 
much that is evil in its character, in the short space 
of a few months. A child may thus learn to use 
profane or vulgar language, to lie, to cheat, and to 
deceive. How shall children be guarded from such 
temptations? "What punishment shall be meted out 
to those who tempt them? The answer is given 
without hesitation. For such conduct in its milder 
forms, the offender should be excluded for a time 
from the society of his school-mates ; but in aggra- 
vated cases, expulsion is the only remedy. Better 
have a mad dog or a viper among children than 
one whose example is poison to the soul and whose 
influence gives it deadly eifect. 

8. Defamation. — Pupils sometimes endeavor to 
injure the good name of their fellow-pupils by 
giving currency to false reports concerning them, 
and in various other ways. A pupil guilty in this 



SCHOOL-LEGISLATION. 269 

respect may be made to acknowledge the oftence 
before the school, as it is a public wrong, and after- 
wards he may be denied for a time the social privi- 
leges of the school. 

Punishments for Offences auainst the School- 
Property. 

1. Accidental injury or destruction. — Pupils may ac- 
cidentally deface walls or furniture, destroy books 
or apparatus, and break windows or doors. In all 
such cases, the reparation of the damage done will 
be the proper punishment. 

2. Malicious injury or destruction. — A pupil who 
maliciously injures or destroys school -property 
should first be compelled to repair all the damage 
done, and afterwards be reproved, denied privileges 
which he has abused, confined, suspended, or dis- 
missed from school, according to the grade of the 
offence. 

3. Accessory to injury or destruction. — Those who 
injure or destroy school-property are often insti- 
gated by others more cautious or more cunning 
than themselves. In such cases both parties should 
be punished according to their degree of guilt, and 
no difference need be made in the mode. 

Punishments for Offences against the Teacher 
and School-Officers. 

1. Disobedience. — There are many grades of this 
offence. Children often disobey the requests of a 
teacher from thoughtlessness. They do not clearly 
apprehend the ground of his requests, and, becoming 
absorbed in present enjoyment, they forget them. 



270 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

The teacher must not form too harsh a judgment in 
such cases, but make large allowance for youthful 
fickleness. A reproof calculated to induce reflec- 
tion is all the punishment demanded. Children 
who disobey, however, must in all circumstances 
suffer the just consequences of their disobedience. 
For example, the teacher may forbid throwing 
snow-balls towards the school-house. A thought- 
less boy disobeys, and breaks a pane of glass. The 
punishment should consist in repairing the dam- 
age, in being reproved for the disobedience, or in 
being detained in the school-house when the pupils 
next engage in the sport of snow-balling. 

Graver acts of disobedience must be punished 
more severely. If the offence be a private one, 
private reproof and a private acknowledgment of 
the wrong, accompanied with a promise to try to 
do better, will be a proper mode of treatment; but 
if the offence be a public one, the circumstances may 
require that the acknowledgment and the promise 
be made before the school. 

An open or premeditated act of disobedience may 
be punished by personal chastisement. A teacher 
may make a request of a pupil which he will openly 
refuse to comply with. Indeed, he may have pub- 
lished the fact among his fellow-pupils that he would 
so refuse. In such a case, the teacher must either 
compel the pupil to obey, or send him away from 
the school. If the teacher possess the necessary 
physical strength, I prefer the former alternative. 
It is one of the few cases in which the use of the 
rod will do good. Of course, if a pupil persists in 
his disobedience, he must be expelled. 



SCHOOL-LEGISLATION. 271 

2. Disrespect — A good teacher will covet the real 

love and respect of his pupils, and these can only 
be obtained by loving and respecting them. But 
bod pupils mayoflfer indignities to the most faithful 
teacher, which Ink position will not allow him to 

suhinil, to in silence. 7\s, however, Hi«' mitum of 

disrespect is similar to that of disohcdicneo, the 
punishments aamed for the Latter offence will be 
appropriate for the former. 

8. Conspiracy, — Treason is the worst offen6e citi- 
zcmh can commit u^ainst a state, because it seeks 
the state's destruction ; and conspiracy in a school 

is analogous lo treason in a state. The State rids 

itself of traitors l>y imprisoning them for life or 
banging them j and so the most severe punishments 
which ;i, teacher is legally authorized to employ 
may bo inflicted upon those pupils who plot (ho 
overthrow of his authority or slir up sedition in 
the school. They must be either conquered or ex- 
pelled. A compromise will only postpone the crisis. 
A rod is for the fool's back, and in such a case I 
would not spare it; but, unless the conquest can he 
made complete, the preservation of order in the 
school will demand the expulsion of the leaders at 
least of a conspiracy against ils authorities. 

■I. Injury to property. Any injury pupils may do 
to the teacher's property should be repaired or com- 
pensated for. Cf the pupils do it maliciously, it is 
disrespect, and should l>c treated accordingly. 

5. Injury to person,— *It is very seldom that :i 
teacher is personally injured by his pupils. In the 
ease of its being done intentionally, severe corporal 
punishment or dismission from school seems fco be 

20 



272 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

the only proper punishments proportionate to the 
ofTence. Where severe bodily injuries have been 
received, the matter should be referred to the court 
of the district for settlement. 

Offences against the general School-Officers should 
be punished in the same manner as those against 
the teacher. 

Punishments for Offences against the School 

as a "Whole. 

1. Speaking evil of the school. — It is at least as wrong 
to slander a school as it is to slander an individual. 
A pupil may speak evil of a school without de- 
signing to do it harm ; and in such a case the cor- 
rection of the wrong done, as far as possible, is the 
obvious penalty. A proper reproof may be admi- 
nistered with good effect. 

With respect to a pupil who deliberately speaks 
evil of a school with which he is connected, or who 
purposely tries to injure it, no other punishment 
will be so befitting the offence as expulsion. 

2. A general disregard of the school-regulations in 
respect to order. — All disorder in a school is an 
offence against the school as a whole. It disturbs 
its work, and lessens its reputation. Most of these 
offences have other 'relations, however, and their 
proper punishment can be found stated elsewhere. 

Among the numerous examples of offences which 
arise from a general disregard of school-regulations 
in regard to order, may be named, loud talking, 
rattling chairs or desks, scraping with the feet, heavy 
walking on the floor, leaving seats without liberty 
to do so, &c. &c. One of the most effectual means 



SCHOOL-LEGISLATION. 273 

of removing such sources of disorder as these is to 
cause the offending pupil to sacrifice the privilege 
he has abused. A pupil who disturbs the school by 
loud talking maybe placed at a distance from others ; 
one who rattles his chair or desk may be made to 
stand; one who scrapes the floor with his feet or 
walks heavily over it ought to be required to pro- 
cure light shoes or wear none at all; and one who 
leaves his seat without liberty may be denied that 
liberty when others enjoy it. The same mode of 
treatment applies generally to this class of offences 
whether committed in the school-room or on the 
play-ground. 

There are graver offences which disturb the order 
of the school, that must be punished in a different 
manner, — among them, quarrelling, stamping on 
the floor, forced coughing, or any noises made to 
attract the attention of the pupils or to annoy the 
teacher. The mildest grade of such offences should 
be punished by severe reproof, and those of graver 
character, first by confinement, and afterwards, if 
necessary, by suspension or dismission. 

3. A general disregard of the scliool-regulations in 
respect to study. — Every good teacher directs his 
pupils what to study, when to study, and how to 
study. His regulations in these respects are as far 
as possible made general, and the disobedience of 
one pupil has a tendency to affect the whole school ; 
and it is thus an offence against it. 

The natural punishments in cases of a general 
disregard of the school-regulations in respect to 
study are, first, reproof, and it may be public, as the 
offence is a public one ; the loss of position, the 



274 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

performance of whatever duty was neglected, and 
the deprivation of such privileges as may be deemed 
necessary to secure that performance ; and when 
these remedies fail, and where the reputation of a 
class or a school is at stake, resort may be had to 
suspension or dismission from school. 

4. Irregular attendance. — Parents may be to blame 
for the irregular attendance of their children at 
school ; and in such cases, though the children 
cannot be shielded from the effects of falling behind 
their classes, occupying a low position in the school, 
and making little progress in study, they should 
receive no further punishment. 

When pupils come late to school in consequence 
of wasting their time on the way, the teacher may 
deprive them of recess or intermission ; and they 
will readily understand that it is just for them to 
work while the other pupils play, inasmuch as they 
enjoyed their play-time in coming to school. 

A truant is one who absents himself from school 
without the consent of his parents or guardians. 
The teacher, of course, knows who are absent, but 
he has no means of knowing directly whether they 
are absent with the leave of responsible parties or 
without their leave. Some means of communicat- 
ing such intelligence ought to exist between teachers 
and their patrons. Supposing such to be the case, 
all instances of truancy should be at once reported 
to the care-takers of the guilty parties at home. A 
little vigilance exercised both at their homes and at 
their school will, in nearly all cases, be sufficient to 
correct the evil. 

If, however, as it sometimes happens, teachers can 



SCHOOL-LEGISLATION. 275 

receive no aid from parents or guardians, confine- 
ment must be resorted to, or the truant must have 
his seat declared vacant for a time or altogether. 
I do not think that personal chastisement is the 
proper remedy for truancy, although doubtless many 
teachers have used it with apparently good effect. 

5. Wrong or unworthy conduct. — The wrong or un- 
worthy conduct of its pupils always injures the 
reputation of a school. This is true even when the 
offence is one against the school-property, against 
one another, or against the teacher ; but the injury 
to the school as a whole is much greater when pupils 
are known to become intoxicated, to gamble, to 
destroy or take away property, to disturb neighbor- 
hoods by unnecessary noises, or to create riots in 
streets or highways. 

The pupils of a school who participate in such 
offences may do so thoughtlessly; and, if this be the 
case, reproof and warning will be sufficient to guard 
them against such participation in the future. If, 
however, the offences be committed deliberately 
and with mal-intent, the teacher who would guard 
other pupils from the influence of bad example, and 
who would keep untarnished the reputation of his 
school, must get rid as speedily as possible of such 
dangerous characters. 

Punishments for Offences against Visitors at 

the School. 

1. Rude treatment. — Rude treatment on the part 
of pupils to visitors at a school is generally owing 
to ignorance ; and reproof and proper instruction 
from the teacher will be the proper correctives. It 

25* 



276 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

pupils treat a visitor at the school rudely, the teacher 
should always insist on their making an apology to 
the person against whom the offence was committed. 
JSTo teacher should allow his pupils to make sport 
even of a beggar. 

2. Mischievous tricks. — Children are fond of fun, 
and they are sometimes disposed to indulge this 
passion at the expense of others. I have often seen 
tricks played by pupils upon strangers who chanced 
to call at the school, for no other motive. In such 
cases, the correctives just mentioned in the case of 
rude treatment should be applied. To compel a pupil 
to confess himself the author of a trick and to apolo- 
gize for it, is generally an effectual means of pre- 
venting its repetition. 

3. Injury to property. — The punishment should be 
the same as that for the injury of property belonging 
to the teacher or school-officers. 

4. Injury to person. — The same principle should 
govern the administration of the punishment here 
as in the cases of "injury to person" already men- 
tioned. If pupils commit such injuries during play- 
time, confinement at that time, in addition to the 
other punishments suggested, will probably cure the 
evil. 

Punishments for Offences against Society. 

I have named as offences against society — (1) Dis- 
turbance of the peace; (2) Injury to property, or 
trespass upon it; (3) Uncivil treatment or injury to 
persons. The punishments for all these classes of 
offences may be considered together. 

School-children may, during play-time, disturb 



SCHOOL-LEGISLATION. 277 

the peace of the neighborhood by loud noises. or 
rough games; they may injure fruit-trees, tear 
down fences, or frighten horses or cattle ; they may 
throw stones or snow-balls at passers-by, or other- 
wise treat them uncivilly or do them injury. In all 
such cases, they should be made to repair, as far as 
possible, the damage they may have done, ask par- 
don of the persons they may have injured, and 
undergo such confinement during play-time as the 
teacher may deem proper under the circumstances. 

These offences, too, may be •committed by pupils 
in coming to and going from school ; and then the 
teacher, in connection with the parent or guardian, 
the duty in this case devolving upon both, should re- 
quire the same kind of restitution for damage done 
to property or disrespect shown to persons as when 
such offences are committed near the school during; 
play-time. If the offending pupils be detained some 
time after school, and compelled to go home alone, 
the punishment will generally be effective. 

The most grave cases of disturbance of the peace 
of society, or injury of the property or persons of 
citizens, on the part of students, are apt to be com- 
mitted by those who board away from home. Stu- 
dents, not so frequently in this country as in Europe, 
escaping the vigilance of teachers, sometimes engage 
in bacchanal revels, in riots, in destroying the pro- 
perty and injuring the persons of those against whom 
they entertain some prejudice or hold some ill will. 
If reproof avail nothing against such practices, the 
authorities of a school must either suspend or expel 
the offenders. Their proper punishment, however, 
belongs to the state. 



278 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 



Punishments for Offences against God. 

1. Disregard of the religious observances of the school. 
— It is not uncommon for pupils to be inattentive 
during prayer or the reading of the Scriptures in 
school; and they sometimes prevent others from 
paying attention. A remedy I have never known 
to fail in such cases, is to place the offender where 
he cannot easily disturb others, and where inatten- 
tion on his part can be readily observed by the 
teacher. A special seat can be provided for the 
purpose. 

If the disregard of such observances be persisted 
in, and come to be an open violation of the teacher's 
commands, the offence must be treated in the same 
way as any other act of disobedience. 

2. Creating disrespect for sacred things. — Prayer 
may be ridiculed in school, the Bible may be con- 
demned, and the conduct of good men may be un- 
justly criticized. Boys in their teens assume to 
doubt 'the truths of religion and make sport of re- 
lijnous ceremonies. All this is bad in itself, and 
bad in its effect upon others. 

For offences of this kind, reproof may first be 
tried; next, the confinement of the offenders, in 
order that the influence of their example may be 
felt as little as possible ; and afterwards, if reform- 
ation be not brought about, suspension or expulsion 
should be resorted to. The rod is altogether out of 
place as a punishment for offences of this kind. No 
one was ever yet whipped into respect for sacred 
things. 

3. Immoral speaking, profanity, vulgarity. — If the 



SCHOOL-LEGISLATION. 27!* 

teacher find among his pupils one who is profane 
or vulgar, lie must first guard the rest from the in- 
fluence of his example by compelling bim to sit 
and play l>y himself. If necessary, confinement 
should be resorted to; for if this kind of punish- 
ment, accompanied by fitting reproof, answer not the 
desired end, no personal chastisement will do it. 

4. Immoral conduct. — All immoral conduct is an 
offence against God; and, though it is wrong for 
other reasons, this consideration ought never to l>e 
lost sight of in the punishment of it. Such im- 
moral conduct as is most likely to be, com milted by 
pupils at school has already been designated, and 
the proper course for the teacher to follow has also 
been indicated: so that nothing remains to be said 

here, except that in all wrong-doing the pupils 

should be impressed with tin; truth that they are 
offending against (j!od as well as against them- 
selves and their fellows. GrOd will punish in His 
own way offences against Himself ; but no teacher 

should suffer a pupil to laugh during a prayer, to 
scoff at a religions ceremony, to utter oaths or blas- 
phemies, to act wickedly, without making him feel, 
by warnings and by punishments, that he has not 
only violated tin; regulations of I he, school, but 
Committed a sin in tin; sight of Gk)d. 

2d. The pardon of those who repent,. — The subject 
now under discussion would be left incomplete if 
nothing was to be said in respect to the pardon 

of those pupils who do wrong, but repeul of their 
misconduct* 
Into all forms of government which relate to 

human beings, there is incorporated some provision 



280 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

for pardoning, under certain circumstances, persons 
who have by their misconduct incurred the penal- 
ties of violated law. This is true in all legitimate 
state governments; the head of every family has 
felt its necessity; and God Himself has sanctioned 
it in the grand scheme through which He offers sal- 
vation to a fallen world. Indeed, the same prin- 
ciple is recognized every day in social life. Men 
constantly do wrong to their fellow-men, and ask 
and receive pardon for their wrong-doing. All 
men are conscious of the necessity of receiving 
pardon from persons whom ' they have wronged, 
and from God whom they have offended. The 
principle of pardon must be allowed to operate 
in the government of the school. There is even 
more necessity for the exercise of the pardoning 
power in the school than in the state ; for children 
are more apt to do wrong thoughtlessly than men. 

Can a teacher grant pardon to an erring pupil ? 
If the State-Executive can do so to a guilty subject, 
or a parent to an offending child, the same right 
undoubtedly is legally vested in the teacher. He is 
a sovereign in his own sphere, and can punish or 
pardon, being always responsible for the abuse of 
his powers. Still, it is evident that the too fre- 
quent or inconsiderate exercise of the pardoning 
power in school, as elsewhere, has a tendency to 
weaken authority. A teacher must be just as well 
as kind, — must punish as well as pardon. The 
pardoning power in school must, therefore, be exer- 
cised under certain conditions, the most important 
of which I name, as follows: — 



SCHOOL-LEGISLATION. 281 

1st. That the guilty party give evidence of sincerity in 
his repentance. 

2d. That he wake good the damage to all property he 
has injured or destroyed. 

3d. That he apologize to all persons whom he has 
wronged. ■ 

4th. That he ask the forgiveness of God when he has 
offended Him. 

The guilty party must give evidence of sincerity 
in his repentance before he can receive pardon. If 
a pupil commit a fault, and exhibit no signs of 
regret or sorrow for it, he must incur the full pen- 
alty attached to the violation of the law he has 
broken. Besides, the teacher must satisfy himself 
that the repentance manifested is not feigned. 
Pupils are sometimes base enough to profess great 
sorrow, which they do not feel, for faults, for the 
purpose of moving the sympathy of teachers and se- 
curing their pardon. If in such cases it be granted 
to one, others will make the same attempt, disci- 
pline will be destroyed in the school, and many of 
the pupils will come to be hypocrites. Let the 
teacher be cautious, therefore, in pardoning the 
guilty. He has his pupils with him all the time, 
and, if he deem it proper, he can readily suspena 
the punishment of an offender until his future life 
prove or disprove his sincerity. If, for example, 
a pupil quarrel with a fellow-pupil during play- 
time, and the teacher consider that he should be 
confined for the offence and deprived of play for a 
time, upon his exhibiting repentance the teacher 
may suspend the penalty until he have an oppor- 



282 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

tuirity of noticing whether the disposition of the 
offender has or has not improved. 

The guilty party must make good the damage to 
all property he has injured or destroyed. If a pupil 
break a window or a chair, no matter how sorry he 
may be for it, while he may receive free pardon for 
the moral part of the offence, he must be required 
in justice to repair the damage done. A third 
party, indeed, may be allowed to do it for him ; but 
the responsibility of doing it belongs only to him 
who committed the injury. 

The guilty party must apologize to all persons 
whom he has wronged. If a pupil has been wanting 
in respect towards, or has injured in any way, a 
fellow-pupil, his teacher, a school-officer, a visitor 
at the school, or any other person, his repentance 
for the act cannot be sincere until he is willing to 
confess his fault and to apologize to the individual 
he has wronged. ~No pardon should be granted him 
until this apology has been given in a manner that 
is satisfactory to the teacher. 

The guilty party must ask the forgiveness of God 
when he has offended Him. All bad conduct is an 
offence against God; but some kinds of conduct of 
which pupils are sometimes guilty have been pointed 
out as being peculiarly so. A pupil who has com- 
mitted an act of this kind must be required by the 
teacher to ask God for forgiveness before he can be 
relieved by the teacher from any penalty which may 
have been attached to his misconduct. Let the pupil 
have time to report that forgiveness, and, when God 
forgives, the teacher may safely do so. God requires 
a reformed life, however; and so may the teacher. 



school-legislation. 283 

3. Means of inducing Pupils to discharge 
their Duties of their own Accord. — The end of 
all government of the young is to make them capa- 
ble of governing themselves. The highest impera- 
tives to duty must come from within. When a 
pupil acts well of his own accord, even under 
unfavorable circumstances, the object of school- 
government has been attained in him. It is well 
for school-authorities to provide means for prevent- 
ing disorder in the school ; but it is better to strive 
to train pupils to be so firm in their character, so 
strict in their integrity, that they will stand erect, 
self-poised, even when temptations are held out by 
false gods to allure them to wickedness. It is well, 
also, for school-authorities to provide means of cor- 
recting such disorder as may occur in the school ; 
but it is better to strive to make the law of con- 
science of such binding force in the school that 
punishments and pardons will become unnecessary. 
Teachers must strive to attain this end, — to induce 
their pupils to discharge their duties of their own 
accord; but they must not expect to reach it. This 
end — the end of human perfection — is the great end 
of the discipline of life, which God is working out 
in the lapse of centuries. 

To discuss this subject fully would be to open up 
the whole field of Moral Culture, than which no 
other educational work could be fraught with more 
interest; but it is not included within the scope of 
this volume. A mere outline of the subject is all 
that will in this place be ventured upon. 

In order that a pupil may discharge his duties of 
his own accord, he must — 

26 



284 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

1st. Know what is right. 

2d. Feel the claims of the right. 

3d. Will to do the right. 
The teacher must, therefore, direct his attention 
to three kinds of moral training, which, if the ex- 
pressions be allowable, may be named as follows: — 
Moral Knowing, Moral Feeling, and Moral 
Willing. 

Pupils must know what is right. — It is obvious that 
right knowing must precede right feeling and right 
doing. A blind man may desire to pursue a certain 
path, yet if he cannot see it he will be apt to take 
one which leads in a different direction. 

The apprehension of the right is intuitive; but 
w T e are not conscious of possessing such a power 
until we notice right and wrong actions. Our idea 
of right is not formed by the generalization of the 
consequences of the acts of responsible beings ; but 
such consequences furnish the occasion of its for- 
mation. In expanding this idea and making it clear, 
the teacher's duly consists in judiciously multiplying these 
occasions. 

Many things are wrong in school which elsewhere 
might be right; as, for example, playing in school- 
hours, talking, going some distance away from the 
school-house, &c. &c. For the purpose of making 
pupils acquainted with their duty in these respects, 
it is best for the teacher to have a system of writ- 
ten school-rules, or school-regulations, covering this 
ground. But, in order that pupils may fully under- 
stand them, the reasons upon which they are based, 
and illustrations of the consequences of disobeying 
them, should be presented. 



SCHOOL-LEGISLATION. 285 

It is not, however, with regard to the acts of pu- 
pils which would be conventionally wrong that the 
teacher should most concern himself, but with re- 
gard to such as are absolutely wrong, — wrong in the 
school and wrong everywhere else. Pupils must be 
taught to know good from evil. How ? When old 
enough, they can learn it from the Bible, from works 
on Ethics, from Nature, and from History: tohen 
young, they can learn it only from specific examples. 
The question, whether an act is right or wrong, 
comes up many times every day in the school-room 
and in social life. Let the teacher constantly call 
upon his pupils to decide such questions. The 
power by which we discriminate right from wrong 
must have exercise. The teacher must furnish it, 
— furnish it in governing his school, — furnish it in 
hearing recitations, — furnish it in commenting upon 
events transpiring in the world, — furnish it in pri- 
vate conversation with his pupils. Pupils must be 
trained to form the habit of appealing to their consciences 
to guide their conduct. 

The form in which moral questions should gene- 
rally be presented to the young for decision is the 
concrete, as examples. Truths presented in a nar- 
rative form, or as a story, secure attention and reach 
the heart. A child cannot discern a truth deep hid- 
den in a proverb or an aphorism. I would prefer 
Rising a work on History to a work on Ethics in im- 
parting moral instruction to the young. 

Pupils must feel the claims of the right. — Wrong 
acts are not often owing to ignorance of what is 
right; they much more frequently arise from the 
fact that men do not feel the strength of the impera- 



28 3 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

tives to duty. The head is oftener right than the 
heart. In moral training, the feelings which impel 
men to the performance of duty must be aroused; 
— there must be heart-culture. This, indeed, is the 
most delicate and difficult work incident to the 
teacher's profession. 

Moral truth must be so presented as to awaken 
moral feeling. To the mature mind nothing can 
be more agreeable than a great principle when ex- 
pressed in the most concise form, — when it is crystal- 
lized in words. I am inclined to think, however, 
that the feeling thus arising is more intellectual than 
moral in its nature. The moral heart throbs only 
in response to principles expressed in life, in tangible 
realities. It is the philanthropist visiting prisoners 
in their cells, the patriot dying for his country, the 
good Samaritan relieving by the wayside the wants 
of the man who had fallen among thieves, the ex- 
piring Saviour praying for his enemies who were 
cruelly crucifying him, — these and other such scenes 
as these, — that most move the better impulses of our 
hearts. "Whether this statement is correct or other- 
wise, I am certain that the concrete is the only 
effective form in which the young can be made to 
feel the claims of the right. A single reading of 
the story of "George Washington and his little 
Hatchet" will do more to make a child honest and 
truthful than the maxim "Honesty is the best 
policy " repeated to him a thousand times. Taking 
advantage of this hint, the teacher can find exam- 
ples of the good, illustrations of noble principles, 
incidents, anecdotes, stories, with which he can ac- 
quaint his pupils and be rewarded by seeing them 



SCHOOL-LEGISLATION. 287 

grow in virtue. Moral acts may be presented in 
pictures, and these, when properly used, can be 
made to exert a very powerful influence upon the 
youthful heart. 

There are times when the heart seems hardened. 
There are times, too, when it seems open to receive 
impressions from good influences. Let the teacher 
seize the fit occasion for giving his moral lessons. 
I have never succeeded well in giving such lessons 
when I appointed a fixed time and place for doing 
it. I have succeeded well when I was all alive to 
the great interests involved, and dropped, now and 
then, into the open hearts of my pupils, seeds of 
truth which I have reason to know have grown up 
producing fruit, some thirty, some sixty, and some 
an hundred fold. The human heart is a fortress 
that can be taken better by indirect than by direct 
approaches. 

The influence of example is very powerful with 
the young. A teacher does his pupil a great ser- 
vice when he induces him to read the biography of 
a good or great man. Such biographies should fill 
the shelves of our school-libraries. Pupils would rise 
from the reading of them with more admiration for 
noble deeds and a greater desire to do them. The 
teacher's own example, if a worthy one, will do 
much to make his pupils love virtue. If they love 
him, they will insensibly make him a model. 

Children learn to love to do what they have 
formed the habit of doing. If a child has been 
taught to give a penny to deserving persons asking 
alms, he will not withhold help from the poor and 
distressed when he becomes a man. Ono who is 

26* 



283 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

accustomed in youth to always ask forgiveness of 
those he may have wronged, will always feel like 
doing it. The habit of prayer formed at our 
mother's knee is apt to ripen into a love for such 
communion with God. A boy who has been made 
to obey parents and teacher will never plot rebel- 
lion in the state. Solomon was wise in saying, 
"Train up a child In the way he should go, and 
when he is old he will not depart from it." Teach- 
ers have abundant opportunities of inculcating vir- 
tuous habits. 

A pure character is exceedingly beautiful. A 
good "man is the noblest work of God." Let the 
teacher inspire his pupils with a high ideal of 
human perfection. Let him spare no pains to make 
moral excellence attractive. Let him ever hold up 
before them a model whose perfections they may 
endeavor to realize in themselves. A high aim anil 
a noble purpose actuating a young man, he can 
hardly sacrifice his manhood so far as to waste his 
time in foolish pleasures or ruin body and soul by 
degrading vices. 

To all this it must be added that mere moral cul- 
ture does not make Christians. The love of God 
must be shed abroad in the heart before men are 
secure from the temptations of life. The great 
truths of our holy religion should be taugl^t in all 
our schools. The Scriptures should be read, hymns 
should be sung, prayers should be offered. Let 
young souls come in contact with the beautiful and 
ennobling truths of the gospel, and they will be 
greatly strengthened for the conflicts of life and 
better prepared for the enjoyments of heaven. 



SCHOOL-LEGISLATION. 289 

Pupils must will to do right. — "We may know what 
is right and feel an interest in doing it, and still fail 
in the resolution to begin the work. How many 
full-grown men there are who lack firmness, deter- 
mination, executive power, will! Any moral cul- 
ture is incomplete that does not give this kind of 
strength to character. 

Pupils should be accustomed to do what they 
undertake. The teacher should carefully measure 
their capacity and induce them to work up to it. 
There is much in trying, and, if we fail once, in try- 
ing and trying again. If a teacher allow his pupils 
to give up their tasks because they cost some labor, 
they will soon be unwilling to do any thing. On the 
contrary, he should spare no pains to inculcate habits 
of perseverance, — no pains to teach them to have 
confidence in their own powers. Thus in general 
must what we call character be formed. Specifically, 
the young must be trained to will to do right. This 
kind of training requires a careful hand; for ten 
thousand foes watch to destroy the first buddings 
that a tender soul sends up to the light. As the 
world stands, there is no harder task than that of 
forsaking sin and death and seeking purity and life. 
For the purpose of aiding them most effectually in 
wil liner right, the teacher must come close to his 
pupils; he must prove himself their friend; he must 
sympathize with them; a common bond of affection 
must link them together. Thus allied by sympathy 
to his pupils, the teacher can prompt good resolves, 
he can foster them, and, Mentor-like, he can proffer 
proper help while their strength is tested by the 
storms of life. Every step taken in the path of 



290 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

virtue must be fought for. Enemies await the ap- 
proach of travellers in it, and attack them on the 
right hand and on the left, in front and rear. None 
but the brave can conquer; but the victory is glorious. 
Let teachers ever keep in view this great battle 
which all must fight, feebly or fearlessly, and nerve 
their pupils to triumph in it. 

Nothing is better calculated to inspire courage 
than examples of it. These examples may be found 
in both profane and sacred history. Amidst many 
moral cowards, the world presents some moral 
heroes. The young will eagerly read or listen to 
accounts of these, and grow like them. 

Both parents and teachers sometimes err in their 
treatment of children who are called stubborn. As 
a general thing, it is most unwise to punish them 
for the purpose of "breaking their wills," as it is 
called. It is better to make them feel the natural 
effects of their stubbornness, to divert them from 
their purpose, or to conquer them with patience. Every 
parent who has a child with a strong will should be 
thankful for it; for the world is now full of tame, 
weak, irresolute, cowardly human beings, and their 
further increase is not at all desirable. A strong 
will in a child may put parents and teachers who do 
not know how to control it to some inconvenience; 
but I look upon it as a nobler gift than the gift of 
genius. The world would stand still but for men of 
strong will; and the highest virtue is unattainable 
without it. 

IV. School- Administration.— Many things have 
already been discussed that would properly come 



SCHOOL-ADMINISTRATION. 291 

under the head of school-administration, were this 
subject to be treated of by itself. All that remains 
to be done now may be stated as follows: — 

1. The Detection of Offenders. 

2. The Selection of the Punishment for Of- 
fenders. 

3. The Manner of Inflicting Punishment upon 
Offenders. 

1. The Detection of Offenders. — The detection 
of offenders in school is often a delicate and difficult 
duty. The difficulty is not so great in schools for 
young pupils, or in those where the teacher has the 
pupils during school-hours under his eye in school- 
room or on play-ground, and whose time out of 
school-hours is spent under the control of parents or 
guardians, as it is in those differently situated. Young 
pupils are more ready to confess their own faults, 
are less skilful in concealing them, and talk much 
more freely about the faults of others, than those 
who are older. When a teacher is with his pupils 
all the time, he will be likely to see by whom wrong 
acts are done; or, if not, he is in much more favor- 
able circumstances for finding out the offender than 
when the offence is committed in secret and plans 
contrived to prevent detection. The position of a 
teacher is far from enviable when he feels that his 
authority has been disregarded, the interests of his 
school jeopardized, and yet that he is unable to 
detect the offender. There is an aversion among 
students in higher institutions of learning against 
informing on a fellow-student, however grave his 



292 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

offence may be ; and this increases the difficulty the 
teacher experiences in tracing mischief back to its 
author. If, however, in any circumstances, misde- 
meanors occur in school which are calculated to 
impair his authority among good pupils and dis- 
grace the school, it is the teacher's duty, if possible, 
to detect and punish the offenders. The duty is 
often unpleasant, and requires much time in its per- 
formance ; but a school without order is like a ship 
in a storm without a helm. When a nation loses 
its power to detect and punish crime, it is a sure 
sign of its downfall; when a similar want is felt in 
school, all school-government will be a failure. 

It is unnecessary here to say any thing of those 
offences of which the teacher is an eye-witness, or 
of those — a numerous class — which it is best for him 
to allow to pass in silence ; and we proceed to con- 
sider the remaining class of offences, with respect 
to which the good of the school demands that those 
who commit them should be detected and punished. 

Suppose an offence committed in school, and the 
offender unknown: what should be the teacher's 
course ? 

1st. He may state the facts to the whole school, 
say that the matter would be investigated, and 
request the guilty parties to make a private con- 
fession of it. He may even name a time when they 
can meet him for that purpose. If the teacher 
enjoy the respect of the pupils who committed the 
offence, if they have reason to think that he will 
treat them justly and kindly, and if they have been 
taught that self-confession is honorable as well as 
profitable, they will be likely to call upon the teachei 



SCHOOL-ADMINISTRATION. 293 

and make known their connection with the fault. 
Especially will this he the case if the fault occurred 
by accident or without any mal-intent. The success 
of such a method of detecting offences depends, 
however, almost wholly upon the manner of the 
teacher in asking for the self-confession, and the 
confidence reposed in him by his pupils. A pupil 
who under such circumstances freely confesses his 
fault, and shows that he is sorry for it, should not 
be severely punished. The upbraidings of his own 
conscience are already punishing him ; and the 
teacher may generally with safety grant him a con- 
ditional pardon. 

2d. If the preceding method fail, the teacher may 
quietly gather up such facts as he can learn of the 
circumstances connected with the offence. He, in 
all probability, already knows that certain of his 
pupils would not commit such an offence; he will 
find that others were absent; still others could not 
have taken part in it, from various circumstances; 
and some will volunteer such information as will 
clear themselves, and possibly may be led to indi- 
cate at least who are innocent. In this way, the 
circle among whom the offenders must be found is 
very much narrowed, and circumstances more or 
less strong will point to the guilty parties. A pri- 
vate interview may now be had with these, at which 
the suspicious circumstances should be plainly and 
directty stated, and the question asked of each how 
he can explain these circumstances, and whether he 
is guilty of the fault of which they seem to indicate 
his guilt. In nine cases out of ten, if the teacher 
proceed judiciously, a confession will now be made; 



294 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

and the punishment can be adjusted according to 
the nature of the offence. I ought not to omit the 
remark that a teacher should be very careful in 
accusing a pupil even when circumstances seem to 
point clearly to him as the guilty party ; for I have 
known very great harm to result from so doing. 
The principle is a good one, in school as well as in 
courts of justice, to consider all persons innocent 
until proven guilty; but no pupil can object to 
being allowed the privilege of explaining circum- 
stances which seem to indicate his connection with 
bad conduct; or, if he does, the inference is pro- 
bably correct that he is either himself guilty or de- 
sires to conceal the guilt of another. 

3d. If the teacher fail to find circumstances which 
point to particular individuals as the guilty parties, 
he may require each pupil, in the presence of all the 
rest, to answer questions as to whether he was either 
a principal or an accessory in the misconduct. The 
justification for such a course of procedure is that the 
interest of the school demands the detection of the 
offender, and that, as long as no one in particular 
can be accused of the fault, its disgrace attaches 
itself to all. In such circumstances, while many 
well-meaning pupils might be unwilling to implicate 
others, they would not hesitate to exculpate them- 
selves ; and none but the most hardened would dare 
to utter a falsehood in the presence of the teacher, 
and of school-fellows who knew it to be a falsehood. 
This method of detecting an offence should not be 
resorted to unless the offence be a grave one, and 
unless the teacher be sure he will be sustained by the 
public sentiment of the school. He must manage 



SCHOOL-ADMINISTRATION. 295 

the matter very carefully, too, if he expects the 
whole influence to be beneficial upon his pupils. 
All he does should be done calmly and deliberately. 
Noise, hurry, and fuss in such cases always do harm. 
4th. It may happen that all the pupils in a school 
will deny being concerned in the misconduct which 
is charged against them. The guilty may be base 
enough to utter a falsehood, either in public or in 
private. They and their friends may refuse to answer 
at all; they may give a wrong answer with some 
mental reservation or equivocation ; or they may 
deny the right of the teacher to make them convict 
themselves, as they may hold he is endeavoring to 
do when questioning them as described in the pre- 
ceding paragraph. The creed that some students 
hold is as follows: never to confess their own guilt, 
and never to inform teachers with respect to the 
guilt of others. Such a creed is immoral in itself; 
and in whatever institution of learning it is gene- 
rally practised by the students, it will render good 
government impossible. Students, indeed, some- 
times plan the means of escaping detection at the 
same time they concoct the mischief. In circum- 
stances like these, what must a teacher do ? His 
resort must be to students who value the interests 
of the school and who do not sympathize with the 
plans and plots of their reckless school-fellows. 
Unfortunate the school where such cannot be found ! 
In ordinary circumstances, one student ought not to 
be asked to inform upon another; but in cases of 
malicious mischief, wanton destruction of property, 
theft, conspiracy against the school-authorities, and 
offences equally grave, it is the duty of every weJl- 

27 



296 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

meaning student who cares for the reputation of his 
school or teachers, who wishes well to his fellow- 
students, to come forward, either publicly or pri- 
vately, and tell all he knows ahout the matter. 
Seeing the position of affairs, volunteers will often 
bring information that will lead to the detection of 
the offenders; or, if not, a judicious teacher can 
quietly obtain it. 

5th. It might happen that all the circumstances at- 
tending the committing of a misdemeanor at school 
would be unknown to all except the guilty parties, 
and that they would refuse to reveal any thing con- 
cerning it. In such a case, the teacher can do no- 
thing except to use increased vigilance. Special 
guards may be appointed, while all the ordinary 
affairs of the school should go on as if nothing had 
happened. Those who deliberately do mischief 
once, if not detected, will most likely soon repeat 
the offence under circumstances which will render 
their detection more easy. Besides, to-day, as with 
Cain, a mark is set upon a guilty person which a 
keen eye can detect. The teacher must be watch- 
ful. If "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty" 
in a state, it is the price of order in a school. 

It is proper to notice, in concluding this topic, a 
system of self-confession which is practised in some 
schools, and is called the Self-Reporting System. A 
few illustrations will show how it operates. Near 
the close of the school-day, some teachers call upon 
all their pupils who have in any way violated the 
school-rules to raise their hands : if there has been 
one violation, one finger maybe held up; if two, 
two; and so on. The teachers, then, noticing the 



SCHOOL-ADMINISTRATION. 297 

hands, make such inquiries as they deem necessary, 
and assign to each culprit the punishment he seems 
to deserve. Other teachers reduce the offences of 
the school to a few classes, have them printed on 
properly arranged cards, which are given to the 
pupils to be filled out, at the end of a week or some 
other stated time, with a record of the kind and 
number of offences each has committed, and then 
returned to the teachers. 

With all due respect to some excellent teachers 
who adopt the Self-Reporting System, I must be 
allowed to express my doubts both as to its policy 
and the principle upon which it is based. I do not 
object to a pupil's confessing his fault to his teacher, 
— the furthest from it possible ; but a formal, forced, 
and public manner of doing it must deprive the 
confession of much of its good effect. Pupils must 
experience much difficulty in selecting those of their 
shortcomings which ought to be "reported, and in 
representing the exact extent of their offending, even 
when disposed to report correctly; and it must be 
acknowledged on all hands that there would be 
such a strong temptation to report incorrectly that 
many could not resist it. Besides, in many cases 
the teacher would have to make inquiries back of 
the reports : pupils are not always willing to convict 
themselves ; and, when compelled to punish those 
pupils for omissions in their reports, he will find 
his success less than if he had punished them 
directly for the offence itself. In a few schools, 
where all, or nearly all, the pupils are actuated by 
high moral principles, the system may work well; 
but in the majority of our schools it would produce 



298 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

such complications in their government as must 
cause it to end in failure. 

2. The Selection of the Punishment for Of- 
fenders. — The detection of an offence in the work 
of administrating the affairs of the school must be 
followed by the punishment of the offender. The 
kinds of punishment open to the teacher, and the 
principle by which he should be guided in selecting 
them, have already been treated of; and it is only 
necessary to notice here some considerations which 
the teacher must take into account in determining 
the degree of the punishment. 

The degree of the punishment depends upon the 
nature of the offence. If the offence be a grave 
one, greatly destructive of good order, it should be 
punished with more severity than an offence of 
milder form. 

The degree of punishment depends upon the 
character and disposition of the offender. !N"o wise 
teacher will treat all children in the same manner. 
The general principles of school-government must 
be modified in their application to individuals. 
* Practitioners in Law and Medicine recognize like 
modifications in applying the principles of these 
sciences. It would be wrong to punish in precisely 
the same way pupils who have refined feelings, and 
those who are insensible to beauty or propriety; 
pupils who have a high sense of honor, and those 
who scarcely know when they insult another or are 
insulted themselves ; pupils who can hardly bear a 
word of reproach, and those whose hearts are hard- 
ened into stone. The Proverb says, "A reproof 
entereth more into a wise man than a hundred 



SCHOOL-ADMINISTRATION. 299 

stripes into a fool." Girls, too, as a general thing, 
need less severe punishments than boys. 

The degree of punishment depends upon the 
motive which prompted the misdemeanor. It is 
probably true that teachers often attribute worse 
motives to their pupils than those which actuated 
them. They judge them by their own standard of 
right and wrong, when they should be judged by one 
quite different. The young are thoughtless, and, 
in consequence, often do things which are wrong. 
They are fond of fun, and frequently engage in 
tricks, with that end in view, which have bad results. 
The teacher must carefully distinguish such motives 
from those which are really bad, and administer his 
punishments accordingly. "Whenever a teacher is 
compelled to hesitate in deciding whether an act 
was done from a bad motive or not, he should allow 
the erring pupil the benefit of his doubt. 

The degree of punishment depends upon the 
circumstances in which the offence was committed. 
The teacher must discriminate between a wrong 
act done by accident, and one done purposely ; be- 
tween one committed by an unsuspicious, credulous 
boy, and one committed by a bold, cunning fellow 
who plots mischief which he persuades others to 
engage in ; between one done under provocation or 
while angry, and one coolly meditated and delibe- 
rately executed. 

The degree of punishment depends upon the 
difficulty necessarily attending the detection of the 
offence. The state acts upon this principle; and so 
must the school. A pupil who commits a misde- 
meanor openly is not likely to be as bad as one who 

27* 



800 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

does it secretly; and one who deliberately plots mis- 
chief and contrives plans to conceal it is the worst 
of all. Some wrong acts, too, in their nature are 
less easily discovered than others. It is evident 
that punishments must be adjusted with reference 
to these facts. 

The degree of punishment depends upon the 
number of times an offence may have been re- 
peated. For a first offence a pupil ought not to be 
punished as severely as for a second or third. 

Such are the most important principles in the 
light of which school-punishments are to be ad- 
justed. It would be unwise to attempt more than 
this statement of principles. The judges of our 
courts have extensive discretionary powers with 
respect to the infliction of punishment upon those 
who violate the laws of the state ; and these powers 
are necessary, because the degree in which a crimi- 
nal act is wrong can only be determined from a full 
knowledge of all the circumstances which were 
connected with its commission. Teachers, too, must 
have discretionary powers. "While they should care- 
fully study the kind of punishment which naturally 
follows school-offences, and carefully estimate the 
weight of all the considerations upon which the 
degree of punishment in school depends, no theory 
should bind them to a fixed mode of procedure. 
Great general principles must guide the teacher in 
all his practice ; but these principles do not pre- 
suppose uniformity in their application. 

3. The Manner of inflicting Punishment upon 
Offenders. — A list of school-punishments was given 
on a previous page; and with respect to the manner 



SCHOOL-ADMINISTRATION. 301 

of inflicting some of these, nothing need he said, as 
they indicate in themselves what it ought to he. A 
few remarks will he made respecting the manner 
of inflicting three of them, — viz. : reproof, confine- 
ment, and personal chastisement. 

Reproof is the most common mode of school- 
punishment, and, if well administered, it is generally 
sufficient to secure good order. An erring pupil 
should he reproved in as few words as possible, and 
in such a way as to make him feel that the reproof 
is intended for his good. 

Reproof may he administered directly or indi- 
rectly. When the offenders are known, it is gene- 
rally best to speak to them directly. Pupils are not 
very quick to apply to their own conduct general 
remarks directed to the whole school. The manner 
of the prophet Nathan, in his rebuke of David, 
when he said, "Thou art the man," is the best 
method for correcting school-offences. A teacher 
should never shrink from the duty of telling any 
pupil his faults; and pointless reproof directed to 
all the pupils, when particular ones are meant, is 
mostly unproductive of good, and frequently dictated 
by a cowardly spirit. There are times, however, 
when a fault has been committed of which some are 
more and some less guilty, and other participants in 
it are guilty to an extent not known, or when the 
school or class generally has fallen into some habit 
that is leading to unpleasant consequences, at which 
an indirect exposure of the fault, and an indirect re- 
buke of all who may be guilty of it, would be good 
policy. A whole school may sometimes be lifted 
up at once to a higher moral position by having its 



302 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

general faults or shortcomings judiciously reproved, 
even though no names are specially referred to. 

Reproof may be administered privately or pub- 
licly. In a large majority of cases, it is much better 
to reprove a pupil in private. By so doing, the 
teacher will avoid the expression of any sympathy 
for the offender on the part of his schoolmates, 
he will put it out of their power to accuse him of 
weakness in making his acknowledgments, and he 
will enjoy a much better opportunity of leaving 
good impressions upon his mind or prompting good 
resolves in his heart. A teacher can come much 
closer to a pupil when he speaks to him in private. 
The communication is more free when none are 
present to listen or criticize. But there are offences 
which ought to be punished publicly. If a pupil 
publicly disobey a teacher, he should be made to 
submit publicly. Whenever the offence is of such 
a character that it will be condemned by a large 
majority of the school, no harm can arise from 
rebuking publicly the person who committed it. 
Offences against the school as a whole should gene- 
rally be publicly punished, either by reproof or 
otherwise. 

Confinement is a much more natural, and would 
prove, if judiciously used, a much more effectual, 
punishment for many school-offences than personal 
chastisement. 

The confinement may take place in the school- 
room. It is a species of confinement to seat a 
pupil at a distance from others. The confinement 
becomes quite a severe punishment when a pupil 
is detained in the school-room after school has been 



SCHOOL-ADMINISTRATION. 303 

dismissed or during intermissions. A long deten- 
tion after school may be inconvenient on several 
accounts; and in place of it, as a general thing, I 
would recommend detention during intermissions. 

The confinement may take place in a separate 
room connected with the school-room; and this is 
decidedly preferable for such a purpose to the 
school-room itself. Of course, I do not mean a 
cell, but rather a pleasant little room specially 
fitted up for the purpose. A closet, or dark room, 
is very objectionable. I would make it bear some- 
what the same relation to the school that a prison 
does to society; and I am well satisfied that, with 
such a room, the graver offences which occur in 
school could be effectively punished without resort 
to the rod. 

Personal chastisement is considered a necessary 
punishment in school. If home discipline were 
what it should be, I would allow that it could be 
dispensed with altogether. Some forms of apply- 
ing this kind of punishment were referred to on 
another page, under the name of Personal Indigni- 
ties. I speak of the matter here for the purpose of 
saying again that I disapprove of them all. If a pupil 
openly disobey a teacher, just force enough, and of 
a kind best suited to the purpose, may be used to 
secure obedience; but, under any other circum- 
stances, the best mode; of administering personal 
chastisement is with the rod. The Bible seems to 
approve the use of the rod as an instrument for in- 
flicting this kind of punishment; and experien' .<• 
has shown that the Bible is right. No form of 
treatment can be worse for a child than the habit 



304 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 

of slapping his hands, boxing his ears, pulling his 
hair or ears, twisting his nose, &c. &c, for slight 
offences. If he deserve punishment, and personal 
chastisement seem best suited to the case, let him 
be whipped with a suitable rod, and with some se- 
verity; for an offender that deserves whipping at 
all deserves to be well whipped. It is veiy sel- 
dom, indeed, that I would whip a boy before the 
school. I doubt whether the witnessing of such 
punishments is ever beneficial to a school. When- 
ever practicable, personal chastisement should only 
be inflicted after due deliberation. A little delay 
will enable the teacher to administer the punish- 
ment with more effect. If angry, it will allow time 
for his anger to cool; and he will then be more 
likely to make the severity of the punishment pro- 
portionate to the criminality of the offence. A few 
hours of reflection, too, will enable a pupil to see 
an act of wrong in a very different light from that 
in which it appeared at the moment of its commis- 
sion. Let me say very earnestly to all teachers, 
Be in no haste to inflict 'punishments, and especially cor- 
poral punishments. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

In treating of the science of Political Economy, 
the discussion is not considered complete unless it 
includes the producer, as well as the thing pro- 
duced, — those who operate upon a thing, as well as 
the thing upon which the operation is performed; 
so, in unfolding the subject of School Economy, 
our work would be but partly done, if we omitted 
to say any thing concerning the agents who devise, 
direct, and control the whole machinery of schools, 
and the source from which all their power and rigbt 
to do so are derived. 

The matter which it seems desirable to present 
can be most conveniently arranged in three sec- 
tions, as follows : — 

I. The Teacher. 

II. The General School-Officers. 
III. The People in respect to Schools. 

I. The Teacher. — Whatever the topic previously 
under consideration, the teacher has been ever pre- 
sent in our mind. When speaking of the Prepara- 
tion for the School, the teacher was the principal 
agent referred to, whose duty it was to make that 
preparation; and, when treating of the Organiza- 

305 



306 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

tion, Employments, and Government of the School, 
the teacher was constantly before us, — if not in all 
places the principal figure in the picture, yet always 
an indispensable accessory to its proper effect. We 
will now put him altogether in the foreground ; and 
it is our desire to paint him as he should be, — a 
model man. 

The subject will be discussed in the order of the 
following heads : — 

1. The Teacher's Motives. 

2. The Teacher's Qualifications. 

3. The Teacher's Duties to his Pupils. 

4. The Teacher's Duties to his Profession. 

5. A Teacher's Life. 

1. The Teacher's Motives. — God has intrusted 
to our care no duty so responsible as that of the 
culture of our minds. The duties of the farmer, 
the mechanic, the merchant, the lawyer, the doctor, 
are necessary to the welfare of society, but all of 
them relate in practice to what is temporary and 
perishable; while teaching, in its broadest sense, 
includes that preparation which must be made by 
immortal beings to enjoy the highest happiness be- 
yond the grave. If the work of the teacher is so 
noble, he must enter upon it confident of his ability 
to discharge well its responsible duties, and. with 
motives the purest that can actuate human conduct. 
The diverse necessities of society give rise to many 
kinds of business. Men are born peculiarly fitted 
for each. But if there is one office more than 
others divinely appointed, and to which men are 



THE TEACHER. 307 

divinely called, it is that of teacher. Men with 
sensual natures and mercenary aims ought not to 
be found anywhere, but everywhere rather than in 
the school-room, where character is in its formative 
state, and where " every chord that is struck in a 
tender mind vibrates at the throne of God." 

If by any means those who now have charge of 
our schools could be summoned to state the objects 
they have in view or the motives by which they 
are actuated in teaching, it is to be feared that 
many of them would fail to come up to that stand- 
ard of duty which is adopted by every true teacher. 
There may be found, attempting to teach in- our 
schools, young persons who have never made teach- 
ing a study, who have no love for it, but who teach 
merely to put in time until some more congenial 
employment presents itself, or until they accumu- 
late sufficient money to enable them to engage in a 
different kind of business. There may be found, 
attempting to teach, in our schools persons who 
have failed in other avocations, — broken-down doc- 
tors, lawyers, and clergymen, bankrupt merchants, 
farmers, and mechanics, worn-out clerks and editors : 
all these and others become schoolmasters from 
necessity, or because they can conceal more effect- 
ually from the public eye, in the school-room than 
elsewhere, their want of energy or skill. There 
may be found, attempting to teach, in our schools 
persons who merely go through a routine of re- 
citing, whipping, and scolding, most irksome to 
them; who are careful to perform no duty but 
what they must; who are behind time at the open- 
ing of the school, and hurry away as fast as possible 

28 



308 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

after its close ; who dislike school and pupils, and 
are never pleased except when pay-day comes, and 
never seem interested in any thing connected with 
their schools except an increase of salary, shorter 
school-terms, and more numerous holidays. Such 
classes of persons as these still disgrace the profes- 
sion of teaching, and good teachers everywhere are 
growing impatient with the slowness of the process 
by which they are being got rid of. Speed the day 
when better men, with better motives, take their 
place ! 

A teacher may make his comfort and his pecu- 
niary interests an object. Since teachers are gene- 
rally so badly remunerated for their labor, he may 
be even urgent in his claims in these respects, and 
incur no rightful censure. But, still, all such ob- 
jects should be subordinate to the great one of 
doing good to his pupils, and, through them, to the 
cause of humanity. Selfish as the world is, men 
can be found who would a thousand times rather 
labor to spread the glad tidings of the gospel 
among the heathen in the interior of Africa, de- 
prived of almost all the ordinary comforts of life, 
than to engage in many kinds of business which 
custom sanctions, live in a palace, and enjoy an in- 
come of ten thousand dollars a year. Called upon 
to- make fewer sacrifices than a missionary, the 
teacher who does all that he may for the pupils in 
one of our Common Schools must be actuated by 
the missionary spirit. Life, indeed, has other and 
higher ends than that of mere animal happiness; 
and it is possible to live truly, nobly, without 
wealth, unknown to fame, unhonored by the world, 



THE TEACHER. 309 

but with the peaceful consciousness of having been 
faithful to men and to God. 

The grand object that every true teacher has in 
view, is to so instruct and so train his pupils that 
they may become a blessing to the world and to be 
themselves worthy of the blessings of Heaven ; and 
to accomplish this good for humanity is the great 
moving motive that determines his choice of a pro- 
fession, and induces him to labor on in the work 
which he has begun. 

Men are true to themselves when they use all 
their powers in the right way; true to society, 
when they do it all the good they can, — when they 
love their neighbors as themselves ; true to God, 
when they love Him with all their mind and 
strength; and teaching, where it aims to make 
men true to themselves, true to their fellow-men, 
and true to God, is noble, and the teacher who 
faithfully performs his work, must be ranked among 
the best benefactors of his race. 

2. The Teacher's Qualifications. — In addition 
to much that has already been said indirectly else- 
where, in this volume, respecting the teacher's 
qualifications, something more systematic is deemed 
important. The discussion will proceed in the fol- 
lowing order : — 

1st. The Teacher's physical Qualifications. 
2d. The Teacher's intellectual Qualifications. 
3d. The Teacher s moral Qualifications. 
4th. The Teacher s professional Qualifications. 

The Teacher's physical Qualifications. — The position 
of teacher is sometimes sought by persons with weak 



310 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

and sickly constitutions. This is a mistake. A 
teacher should have good health. The mental labor 
required in a school cannot be performed by one 
whose physical system is not strong and vigorous; 
and that kind of cheerful spirit so essential to the 
well-working of a school is not often possessed by 
one whose nerves are racked with pain. Persons 
in ill health, therefore, both for their own and their 
pupil's good, should seek some other occupation 
than teaching. 

Commencing his work with a strong constitution 
and good health, the teacher should try to preserve 
both by a careful attention to hygienic laws. 

He must observe the law in reference to work. 
Hard mental labor is healthful ; but to spend eight 
hours at such labor every day in the school-room, 
and as many more out of the school-room, will, if long 
continued, exhaust the energies and destroy the 
health of any one. Periods of work should be alter- 
nated with periods of active exercise and cheerful 
recreation. 

The teacher must observe the law in reference to 
exercise. Such is the intimate connection between 
the body and the mind that without the clue exer- 
cise of the former the latter will not long discharge 
well its functions. The teacher may join in a game 
of ball or cricket ; he may walk, row, drive, skate, 
swim, ride on horseback, saw wood, work in a garden, 
do any farm or mechanical work that maybe conve- 
nient ; but he must do something. Where all else fails, 
he should resort to the use of gymnastic apparatus ; 
but exercising in this way by oneself is not very in- 
teresting. He should no more think of doing with- 



THE TEACHER. 311 

out exercise than without food ; and one should be 
taken just as regularly as the other. 

The teacher must observe the law in reference to 
air. He ought to have his school-room well venti- 
lated. Open windows and doors, even, are not as 
hurtful as poisoned air. He should study, exercise, 
and sleep, where the air is fresh and pure. 

The teacher must observe the law in reference to 
diet. His food should be nutritive, not much con- 
centrated or highly stimulating, easily digested, 
taken regularly, and in such quantities only as the 
system demands. He should abstain entirely from 
the use of intoxicating liquors and tobacco, both on 
his own account and on the account of his pupils. 

The teacher must observe the law in reference to 
sleep. There is no employment that more exhausts 
the nervous energies than teaching. The constant 
care incident to it will wear out the strongest con- 
stitution, unless that can be shut up in the school- 
house, or at least shut out of the sleeping-chamber. 
With six or eight hours of good sleep, a teacher 
may encounter his school-trials and perform his 
school-work and continue to enjoy good health; 
but without it, such a result is hardly possible. 
True, he may not feel the exhaustive drain upon 
his life-forces for some years ; but at forty he will 
be an old man, and at fifty, most likely, he will 
be in his grave. 

The teacher must observe the law in reference to 
recreation. He should seek the society of cheerful 
company. ISTot that he should throw away his time 
in the frivolous amusements that often characterize 
the social party, and still less that he should be found 

28* 



312 THE AUTHORITIES OP THE SCHOOL. 

among the loungers at stores and in bar-rooms ; but 
no man more needs cheerful conversation and plea- 
sant recreation. Confined all day in his school-room, 
keenly feeling all disappointments, — and disappoint- 
ments there will be, — with all his mental forces en- 
listed in his work, — and no work calls them into 
requisition more actively, — he needs to find, when his 
day's work is done, a home made cheerful by the 
conversation, reading, fun, music, of dear ones there, 
or he needs to seek such health-preserving recrea- 
tions among congenial companions elsewhere. 

The Teacher's intellectual Qualifications. — A teacher 
should have a comprehensive and accurate know- 
ledge of the branches he undertakes to teach. His 
knowledge should not only embrace a subject as 
treated of in the text-books used, but reach its more 
general relations. Any failure in this respect will 
cripple his teaching, and tend to beget among his 
pupils a want of confidence in his ability. A man 
who understands the whole of a subject will teach 
any part of it better than one who merely knows 
that part. 

A teacher should possess a knowledge of other 
branches than those which he teaches. He will 
need to do so in order to make his teaching effective. 
No one can teach Arithmetic well without possessing 
some knowledge of Algebra, nor Geography without 
History, nor Grammar without Rhetoric and Logic. 
No teacher should be intrusted with the management 
of a school who does not understand Physiology; 
and all teaching is little better than guess-work that 
is not based upon the principles of the Philosophy 
of the Mind. All this knowledge, and more, can be 



THE TEACHER. 313 

used by teachers in our lowest grades of Common 
Schools. Teachers cannot know too much. The 
philosopher in his humility becomes as a little child, 
can win the little child's sympathy, and is his best 
teacher. The simplest forms of knowledge always 
proceed from the most learned. The sage becomes 
a child again, and thus the circle of human mental 
life completes itself. 

A teacher should inform himself of current 
events. Monks are no longer the teachers of the 
world. We live in stirring times; and a teacher 
must not be a mere book-worm or a melancholy 
recluse. He must see what passes in the world, 
take an interest in it, even if he quietly look on 
while others play the principal parts in the great 
social drama. If he does not, he cannot adapt 
his teaching to the exigencies of the times, or add 
interest to his instruction by reference to passing 
events. Teachers, too, ought not to forget that 
we live in America, — not in Greece or Rome, — 
live in the midst of a struggle compared with 
which the internal feuds of those countries were 
insignificant. 

A teacher needs thorough mental discipline. 
What teachers know is important ; but how they 
know it, is much more so. They may have obtained 
their knowledge in a loose, illogical manner, and 
it may be stored away in their minds in confused 
heaps or scattered fragments. If so, they can never 
make successful teachers. Only a well-disciplined 
mind can discipline another mind; and mental dis- 
cipline is the highest end of education. 

A teacher ought to be able to make the know- 



314 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

ledge tie possesses available for the purposes of 
instruction. Essential to this end is a clear idea of 
what it is intended to impart. Many think they 
understand a subject when they have but a glimpse 
of it; and, when such assume to be teachers, it is 
the blind leading the blind. Essential to this end, 
also, is the ability to communicate what is known. 
It is possible to possess knowledge and be unable 
to express it. If the teacher is accustomed to make 
use of ill-chosen words, badly-constructed sentences, 
or to indulge in pointless remarks, his pupils will 
never increase their love of learning under his 
management. A teacher ought to be a good talker. 

A teacher must possess ability to manage and 
govern his school. This requires ingenuity, skill 
in adapting means to ends, a knowledge of human 
nature, good common sense. More teachers fail in 
managing and governing their schools than in 
teaching ; which shows that the former kind of 
ability should rank higher than the latter. 

The Teacher's moral Qualifications. — It is an easy 
thing to name certain individual moral qualities 
which a teacher must possess in order to secure 
success in his profession ; but he who attempts to 
make a systematic classification of these qualities 
will find a task most difficult. That the subject may 
present itself prominently before the mind of the 
student-teacher who may inquire into this depart- 
ment of pedagogical science, a kind of representa- 
tive classification will be adopted here, which will 
possess the advantage of suggesting certain import- 
ant moral qualities which should characterize the 
teacher, and at the same time of exemplifying them. 



THE TEACHER. 815 

The teacher must be, morally, — 

A wise Legislator. 
A righteous Judge. 
A prompt Executive. 
An efficient Workman. 
A competent Leader. 
A liberal Partisan. 
A pleasant Companion. 
A warm Friend. 
A good Man. 

A teacher should be a wise legislator. By the 
expression "a wise legislator" is not merely meant 
one who can enact appropriate laws for the manage- 
ment and government of his school. This is an 
intellectual qualification very necessary to the 
teacher; but certain moral qualities are now re- 
ferred to, not less important. The legislation of a 
school should not consist merely in the cold and 
formal enactment of school-laws, in the nice ad- 
justment of school-machinery, but all must be done 
with the view of subserving the great end of moral 
training. School-laws should tend not only to pro- 
mote order, but virtue, in the school. The teacher 
may legislate to secure comfort, order, progress in 
study, but he must never forget the while, that the 
grand end in which all these ends centre is the good 
of his pupils, — the summum. bonum of the school. 

A teacher should be a righteous judge. It is 
considered unsafe in a state to intrust the power 
of expounding laws in the same hands that enact 
them. It has been thought best to remove the 



316 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

judicial as far from the legislative power as pos- 
sible, that it may be exercised without bias. The 
administratiou of justice is considered an interest 
too sacred to be endangered by partialities which 
can be avoided. In a school, this division of the 
functions of government is practically impossible. 
The teacher administers justice according to laws 
of his own enactment. His decision is final. Unless, 
then, he has an eye single to the interests of his 
pupils, unless he is strictly impartial in his judg- 
ments, unless he rewards and punishes fairly, he is 
unfit to be a teacher. The teacher should weigh all 
his decisions in well-balanced scales, blind to all 
motives except those of justice. 

A teacher should be a prompt executive. Laws, 
however wise and just, may be worthless unless 
strictly enforced. Regulations which are found only 
in statute-books restrain no evil-doer. The man- 
agement of a school requires an efficient executive. 
Plans must be carried out, punishments must be 
inflicted, the whole working of the school-machi- 
nery must be controlled; and no other than an active 
head-master can do it. As a ship in a storm needs 
a prompt captain, as an army in time of battle 
needs a prompt general, so a school needs a prompt 
teacher, — one who is bold, firm, self-possessed, con- 
sistent, and ready for all emergencies. 

A teacher should be an efficient workman. The 
teacher has more to do than merely to make, ex- 
pound, and execute school-laws: he has to work 
himself, his position requiring the severest labor. 
The teacher must, therefore, be willing to work 
and able to work efficiently. If a teacher is un- 



THE TEACHER. 317 

willing to work, the school must stop ; if he is un- 
able to work efficiently, the school can only be par- 
tially successful. A slow, plodding, heavy man — one 
who must think long before acting, and who then acts 
slowly — is out of place in the school-room. To teach 
well, requires skill, earnestness, activity, — skill to 
know what to do and how to do it, and earnestness 
and activity to make that skill effective. The teacher 
should be a model workman; for his work is to be 
imitated, and even his manner of working will be 
copied by his pupils. A teacher can impress his 
pupils through his work. If he work skilfully, they, 
too, will learn to do so ; but inefficient teachers 
make worthless pupils. 

A -teacher should be a competent leader. Some 
of the chief characteristic qualities of a competent 
leader are energy, perseverance, fearlessness, hope, 
self-confidence, and enthusiasm ; and all of these 
are found as elements in the character of the true 
teacher. The school-room is no place for a man 
wanting in energy, for its work was never yet per- 
formed without earnest effort ; no place for a man 
wanting in perseverance, for its obstacles were 
never yet overcome by the fickle or the weak ; no 
place for a coward, for it has its tests of courage, 
and cowards must fail when such crises come ; no 
place for the desponding, for despair in a teacher 
deadens the energies of his pupils ; no place for 
such as distrust their own powers, for those who 
have no confidence in themselves cannot secure the 
confidence of others ; no place for the cold and phleg- 
matic, for all true love of knowledge and all earnest 
pursuit of it must be characterized by enthusiasm. 



318 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

Some men seem born to command. There is an 
air of authority about them. Other men at once 
attract the ready sympathy of those with whom 
they come in contact. There is something magnetic 
in their very looks. Both qualities are always com- 
bined in the successful leader, be he politician, war- 
rior, reformer, or teacher. 

A teacher should be a liberal partisan. A school 
is the world in miniature. Modified in intensity, 
all the party contests of society appear in the school- 
room. The school itself has a tendency to break 
up into divisions and parties. From as many of 
these contests as possible the teacher should stand 
entirely aloof; but, when compelled to give his 
opinion or indicate his choice in action, it should 
be done in the spirit of the utmost liberality to the 
opposing party. The teacher may have opinions 
upon questions in politics or religion which he holds 
with firmness ; but in schools where there are pupils 
whose parents or themselves entertain different 
opinions, he must be liberal in the largest sense, or 
decrease his usefulness. Whenever a teacher in a 
Common School considers his duty to a party para- 
mount to his duty to his pupils, he should resign 
his position or be removed from it. Besides, the 
teacher ought not to be a man of extreme views. 
His judgments should not be harsh and hasty. He 
should weigh all sides of questions. He should 
compel all reasonable opponents to acknowledge his 
generosity. When acting as an umpire or settling 
a disputed point among his pupils, he should pa- 
tiently listen to all that can be said, and then give 
an unbiassed decision according to the evidence. 



THE TEACHER. 319 

A teacher should be a pleasant companion. A 
teacher's success in his profession depends very 
greatly upon his social qualities. All incentives to 
study on the part of pupils do not arise from an 
interest in study. There are other influences pro- 
motive of good order in a school than those which 
arise from the enactment of strict regulations. 
Among the most effective of these is regard for 
the teacher; and this regard he can never secure 
unless he prove himself a pleasant companion. 
During intervals of relaxation, the teacher enjoys 
opportunities of conversing with his pupils; and 
these opportunities may be improved in a manner 
highly advantageous to the interests of the school. 
A tsuch times, the teacher can converse without 
reserve, can make his pupils feel at home in his 
company or even to prize highly his society. In 
the presence of his pupils, a teacher should be 
polite, agreeable, kind, communicative, even mirth- 
ful, but never trifling or undignified. A teacher 
may talk freely with his pupils, play and joke with 
them, and yet preserve their highest respect; and 
such a teacher will be able to impart instruction 
much more effectively than another who is distant, 
formal, and unsocial. Even when in the discharge 
of official duties, a teacher should show himself 
genial in disposition, frank in manner, and always 
willing to sacrifice his comfort for his pupils' inte- 
rests. Requests may be refused, and faults punished, 
without leaving an impression of unkindness. 

A teacher should be a warm friend. Between 
sociability and friendship there is a difference. A 
teacher should not only be a pleasant companion, 

29 



320 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

but a warm friend. No one can teach well who 
does not love those whom he instructs. The in- 
stincts of children guide them correctly in choosing 
friends. To some persons they are at once attracted, 
and from others they shrink away. It is by those 
with whom they sympathize that they can be best 
taught. The love of children is easily gained by 
those who love them; but in the school, as every- 
where else, "Love, and love only, is the loan for 
love." A child will not learn much from a teacher 
whom he does not love, and what he does learn is 
of little value. Under such circumstances, intel- 
lectual growth is unhealthy, and moral growth is 
impossible. A friend is one who is devoted to an- 
other, who regards his interests with as much soli- 
citude as his own, who will protect and defend him, 
whose voice cheers him in prosperity and whose 
hand gives him help in adversity. All this a teacher 
should be to his pupils. May the day soon come 
when what was said of a good teacher can be said 
of all teachers, — that 

" He, where'er he taught, 
Put so much of his heart into his act, 

That his example had a magnet's force, 

And all were swift to follow whom all loved." 

A teacher should be a good man. The same obli- 
gation rests upon all men to be good for their own 
sakes; but the position of some renders their ex- 
ample more influential for good or evil than that of 
others. The teacher's example is all-powerful, as he 
is surrounded by the young, who are at once unsus- 
pecting and imitative. "Who deliberately could do 
aught to harm the moral nature of an innocent child? 



THE TEACHER. 321 

The ruined picture of an artist may be repainted, 
a broken statue may be resculptured, subsequent 
legislation may correct the statesman's errors, a su- 
preme court may right the wrong committed in an 
inferior one, the death of the body can but follow 
the worst of a physician's blunders, mature minds 
may counteract the poison of false preaching; but 
what power is there to reproduce purity in a mind 
that bad teaching has corrupted ? What legislation 
can be provided to correct the teacher's mistakes? 
How much more to be lamented is the death of the 
soul than the death of the body! How much worse 
his conduct, even, who leads astray innocent, confi- 
ding children, than his the influence of whose bad 
example and false doctrine can be neutralized by 
the mature intellects and settled convictions of full- 
grown men ! The teacher should be a model man, 
— a model in manners, a model in scholarship, a 
model in virtue. Christianity should find in him 
that union of faith and works which ever character- 
izes its truest followers. Remember, teacher, — 

"Thou must be true thyself, 

If thou the truth wouldst teach; 
Thy soul must overflow, if thou 

Another's soul wouldst reach. 
It needs the overflow of heart 

To give the lips full speech. 

" Think truly, and thy thoughts 
Shall the world's famine feed; 
Speak truly, find each word of thine 

Shall be a fruitful seed ; 
Live truly, and thy life shall be 
A great and noble creed." 



322 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

The Teacher's professional Qualifications. — A teacher 
is born, not made. The principles of teaching are 
as readily reduced to a system, and as susceptible of 
study, as those of Law or Medicine; but still the ele- 
ments of character which make a man a successful 
teacher must be inborn. A professional education 
can only improve, it cannot create, talent. It follows 
that the first professional qualification which it is 
necessary for a teacher to possess is those natural 
qualities of head and heart which constitute " aptness 
to teach." With these qualities, all other profes- 
sional qualifications are readily attainable; without 
them, success in teaching is impossible. 

In addition to this natural aptness to teach, and 
based upon it, there are other professional qualifica- 
tions needed by the teacher, among which are the 
following : — 

A correct Idea of the Teacher's Work. 

A profound Knowledge of the Human Constitution, 
corporeal and mental. 

An intimate Acquaintance with educational Means. 

A full Understanding of Methods of Teaching. 

A great Tact in the Management and Government of 
Schools. 

A thorough Discipline of the Powers used in School- 
work. 

A teacher must have a correct idea of his work. 
This work consists in educating human beings, in 
bringing body and mind to that state of perfection 
of which they are capable: than this, no other task 
which it is our duty to perform can be more import- 
ant or more difficult. Man was the last made of 



THE TEACHER. 323 

created things, the master-piece, the crowning glory 
of the whole, the complement of all the rest. That 
in man which distinguishes him from the brutes that 
perish, is his mind; and it is mostly with this that 
the teacher is concerned. If 

"On earth, there is nothing great but man, 
In man there is nothing great but mind," 

how transcendently great is the teacher's work! 
The education of a human soul! The training of 
an immortal being ! An angel might well tremble 
in undertaking such a task. How, then, can weak 
mortals perform it without at least making an effort 
to learn its nature, its importance, and its magnitude ? 
As well might a rough stone-mason, with no sense of 
beauty in his soul, expect to chisel from marble 
a statue like that of Venus or the Greek Slave, as 
for an illiterate, schoolmaster with no high ideal of 
human worth, human perfection, or human destiny, 
to hope to develop the noble powers with which 
God has endowed mankind. 

A teacher must have a profound knowledge of the 
human constitution, corporeal and mental. A phy- 
sician finds it necessary, in order to attain professional 
skill, to study carefully the human body ; and, for the 
same reason, a teacher must study that upon which he 
is to operate, — the human, mental, and corporeal con- 
stitution. Pope said, " The proper study of mankind 
is man;" and the teacher has much more reason to 
engage in this study than others, because without a 
foundation of principles gained in this way, all teach- 
ing would be mere guess-work. In preparing to 

29* 



324 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

teach, therefore, a teacher should make himself 
familiar with the facts and principles of Physiolo- 
gical, Anthropological, and Psychological Science. 

A teacher must have an intimate acquaintance 
with educational means. Man and nature are cor- 
relatives. The earth yields food fit for the nourish- 
ment of the hody no more freely or abundantly than 
she furnishes means for the culture of the mind. 
But the teacher must know how to search out these 
means, to embody them into systems, and to adapt 
them to the purposes of education. If the memory, 
reason, imagination, conscience, and other mental 
powers need culture, the teacher must be able to 
select appropriate means of imparting it. It is some- 
times thought that a knowledge of a branch of study 
is all that is necessary to enable one to teach it; but 
to show this view to be erroneous, it may be stated 
that a teacher should know whether a particular 
branch of learning is the proper one to teach under 
the circumstances, and in what order its several parts 
should be taught, as well as the methods of teach- 
ing it. In order to select proper studies for a school, 
a teacher must be acquainted with all the means 
used in education; and a thorough knowledge of 
the relations of its several parts is necessary to en- 
able a teacher to discuss a subject in its logical order. 

A teacher must have a full understanding of 
methods of teaching. With a knowledge of the 
nature of man's educational wants on the one hand, 
and of the means of satisfying these wants on the 
other, the teacher must still study the methods of 
making the application. The physician finds it 
necessary to study methods of administering, his 



THE TEACHER. 325 

medicines; the farmer, the methods of fertilizing 
his land; the mechanic, the methods of making 
coats, shoes, and carriages: and so the teacher, in 
like maimer, must prepare himself for his work. 
The science of method is not mastered by easy- 
efforts. The great Bacon left incomplete his Phi- 
losophy of the method of acquiring knowledge; 
and the Philosophy of the method of imparting it 
is not less difficult. Even when the principles upon 
which methods of teaching are based are under- 
stood, much practice is often necessary in attaining 
skill in the use of them. Teaching is not a lifeless 
routine. The teacher, unlike an engineer or a pilot, 
cannot do his work according to mere mechanical 
principles. He must so teach as to induce thought, 
evoke power, develop strength, and inspire activity 
on the part of his pupils. Education is a growth, 
not an aggregation or a concretion. 

A teacher must have great tact in the management 
and government of schools. Schools are not well 
managed or well governed according to arbitrary or 
variable principles. Human nature is the same every- 
where, although it disguises itself in so many forms. 
The kinds of discipline which preserve good order in 
one school will preserve it in another: the methods 
of application only should be different. It follows 
that there is a theory of school-management and 
school-government which can be learned; and a 
teacher can no more dispense with a knowledge of 
it than a captain who manages a ship can dispense 
with a knowledge of jSTavigation, an engineer who 
builds a railroad, with a knowledge of Engineering, 
or a general who commands an army, with a know- 



326 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

ledge of Military Tactics. But theoretical know- 
ledge alone is not sufficient to enable an individual 
to teach successfully : he must possess the tact to 
apply it. There are men who naturally assume the 
direction of affairs, who are abundant in resources, 
fertile in expedients, who seem to peer into futurity 
and foresee contingencies which they skilfully pro- 
vide for. This is what I mean by tact; and no man 
needs it more than the teacher. 

A teacher must secure a thorough discipline of all 
the powers used in his school-work. Teaching is not 
a dumb show ; it is an active life. The teacher is a 
workman, and must make all his talent and skill 
available. He should have the forces he is to em- 
ploy under the best control. He should have a 
quick-moving body, an active intellect, strong but 
well-controlled feelings, a determined will, and 
gifted powers of expression. His stores of intel- 
lectual wealth should be abundant, and ever ready 
for use. His skill should become a habit. His 
eyes should see every thing, his ears hear every 
thing, that transpires in the school-room; and his 
keen discernment of human character should en- 
able him to guard against improper conduct which 
is only contemplated, as well as to detect the 
authors of mischief already committed. Thorough 
discipline of the powers used in school-work is 
needed to accomplish all this. 

3. The Teacher's Duties to his Pupils. — Pupils 
legally bear the same relation to their teachers that 
children do to their parents. The teacher is recog- 
nized as being in loco parentis ; and, occupying this 
position, the law will justify him in any treatment 



THE TEACHER. 327 

of his pupils at school that it will justify in parents 
at home. Parents and teachers thus stand side by 
side in the work of education ; and they should will- 
ingly co-operate in the performance of that work. 
Children are very dear to parents; and teachers 
ought to be most careful not to lessen their respect 
for parental authority, or to adopt plans in violation 
of parental wishes. Admitting that a teacher gene- 
rally knows best what is for the good of his pupils, 
it is not well for him to insist upon his methods or 
plans too strongly against the known wishes of his 
patrons. Means may be taken to convince them of 
their error, or a stubborn few may be disregarded ; 
but the odds of an unwilling many are too great for 
a teacher to expect success from measures of coer- 
cion. A teacher's duties to his pupils may thus be 
modified in practice by his relations to their parents 
and guardians. 

The teacher's duties to his pupils, too, may be 
modified by his relations to the General School- 
Officers. If he is employed to do a certain amount 
and kind of work, he must fulfil the contract or re- 
sign his position, whether he thinks he is doing the 
greatest good to his pupils, or otherwise. 

Subject to these modifications, the teacher's duty 
to his pupils consists in supplying their wants, as 
follows : — 

1st. Their physical Wants. 

2d. Their intellectual Wants. 

3d. Their aesthetic Wants. 

4th. Their moral Wants. 

The physical Wants of Pupils.— -The locating of 



328 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

schools and the building of school-houses do not 
often come within the province of the teacher; and 
it needs only to be said here that both should be 
done with reference to the health and comfort of 
pupils, and wherever he can he should use his in- 
fluence to that end. If a teacher cannot choose the 
location of his school-house or plan its erection, he 
can often remedy its defects by bringing them be- 
fore the proper school-authorities ; he can keep his 
school-house clean and neat; he can have it pro- 
perly heated, lighted, and ventilated; he can give 
his pupils comfortable seats, and he can grant them 
sufficient time for exercise and encourage them to 
take it. 

It is the teacher's duty to notice whether any of 
his pupils are seated in parts of the house which are 
too warm or too cold ; whether any take too little 
exercise or are becoming precociously developed; 
whether any are contracting habits which will prove 
injurious to their health : in short, it is his duty to 
care for his pupils as he would for his own children 
or for himself. It is time teachers should know 
that the physical wants of pupils — their health, 
strength, and comfort — are among the objects of 
education. 

The intellectual Wants of Pupils. — The objects of 
study were stated elsewhere to be Knowledge, Dis- 
cipline, Aspiration, and Efficiency; and these, 
therefore, are the intellectual wants which it is 
the teacher's duty to supply. No argument is 
needed to enforce that duty: all teachers acknow- 
ledge it. It ought to be observed, however, that 
the intellectual want of a child is not satisfied by 






THE TEACHER. 329 

instruction in branches of learning. It includes 
the harmonious culture of all the powers of ,the 
mind, the awakening of ideals of perfection in the 
soul and aspirings towards them, and the evoking 
of that strength of character before which difficul- 
ties disappear, and by which man, rejecting error 
and holding fast to truth, attains the end of his 
being. 

The cesthetic Wants of Pupils. — The American 
people are wanting in good taste. There are ex- 
ceptions ; but how large a proportion of our houses, 
grounds, gardens, — dresses, even, — are arranged 
without any reference to the pleasing effect they may 
produce ! We prefer to fill our pockets with money 
rather than our souls with ideas of the beautiful. 
Something may be done to supply this want in our 
schools. 

Many children in our schools are uncouth in 
their manners and uncivil in their treatment of 
their school-fellows. They are sometimes impolite 
to strangers, wanting in respect to the aged, and 
ready to make sport of the poor or the distressed. 
All this it is the teacher's duty, as far as possible, 
to correct. 

He should do more: he should teach them to 
love the beautiful in nature, in art, and in human 
actions. . 

The moral Wants of Pupils. — It is much more im- 
portant that men should be good than that they 
should be learned. The culture of the heart should 
always accompany the culture of the intellect. In- 
tellectual efforts ill directed are a curse to the world : 
they must be guided by moral principles to be a 



S30 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

blessing. Besides, our intellectual nature is influ- 
enced by our moral nature. We do not think as 
we did before, after Having experienced some great 
grief, having been swayed by some wild passion, 
or having performed some noble deed. The mind 
of a nation is changed by a civil commotion or a 
foreign war. 

The teacher's duty in regard to supplying the 
moral wants of his pupils is plain, and has been 
elsewhere indirectly enforced; but it might be 
added that it is his duty also, wherever so privi- 
leged, to impart religious instruction. Denomina- 
tional differences may make it proper that this 
kind of instruction should be mainly imparted by 
parents, Sabbath-school teachers, or clergymen ; but 
nothing could wrong a child more deeply than to 
deprive him of it. 

If the teacher is precluded from giving direct re- 
ligious instruction, — and he is nowhere entirely pre- 
cluded from it, — his example, if he is a Christian 
man, imbued with a true Christian spirit, will be a 
constant illustration of religious duties well per- 
formed, and must have a marked influence upon 
the susceptible minds of his pupils who love him. 
How dear the Good Father would become to many 
if the teacher loved Him truly! How near would 
seem His protecting arm if the teacher always re- 
lied upon it! Happy the day when our schools 
shall be taught by such teachers ! 

It is a sublime sight to see a little child at prayer. 
What strong faith he has ! How confidently he 
talks in his childish way with God ! How sure he 
is that father, mother, brother, sister, will be safe. 



THE TEACHER. * 331 

because he has asked it ! Parent, teacher mar not 
by your coarse methods this opening bud of religious 
feeling. It is yours to train, to make bloom and 
ripen, but not to blast. There is no treasure on 
earth so precious as a human soul. 

4. The Teacher's Duties to his Profession. — In 
order to examine the question as to whether Teach- 
ing has just claims to the rank of a profession, it 
will be well to state the principal conditions and re- 
quirements of a profession, and then ascertain how 
far teaching answers them. A profession must be 
characterized by the following conditions and re- 
quirements: — 1st, It must have a noble aim ; 2d, Its 
operations must not be merely mechanical, but sci- 
entific in their character; 3d. It must require on 
the part of its members a learned general educa- 
tion ; 4th, Its nature must be such as to render 
special preparation necessary to success; 5th, It 
should have provided an authority competent to 
decide upon the qualifications of those who apply to 
become members; 6th, There must be some com- 
mon bond of union and mutual recognition of claims 
to membership. 

Teaching aims to train, instruct, and develop the 
various powers and faculties of man, to make him 
as perfect as his nature admits, to cause him to fill 
worthily the place God designed for him. Than 
this, earth has no nobler aim. 

A science is a systematic arrangement of prin- 
ciples. A certain work is performed scientifically 
when it is done according to fixed general laws and 
in virtue of them. Fixed general laws govern the 
relations of means to ends in education ; and these 

30 



332 * THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

may be learned and applied. If, therefore, there is 
no science of Teaching, there is no such thing as 
science. Many teachers perform their work me- 
chanically; but no profession can claim exemption 
from quackery. 

No one can teach what he does not know. Empty 
granaries do not furnish food. The teacher must be 
a learned man. He can find use for all kinds of 
learning. It is through him that others obtain 
learning; and a stream is not apt to rise higher than 
its fountain. 

Many pages of this book cannot be read by a 
candid man without his coming to the conclusion 
that teachers need special preparation for their work. 
The education of a human soul is certainly a task 
as difficult as that of making shoes, building houses, 
or farming land. Success may be attained in any 
profession by practice; but in none are blind experi- 
ments so dangerous as in Teaching. 

There is no more intrinsic difficulty in guarding 
Teaching from the intrusion of the unworthy by the 
adoption of a proper standard of qualifications for 
membership, and by providing an authority compe- 
tent to apply that standard, than there is with regard 
to the professions of Law, Medicine, or Theology. 
Knowledge and skill can be as readily estimated in 
Teaching as in any other profession. 

The lines by which Teaching is separated from 
other kinds of business have not been very well 
defined, and, consequently, professional feeling 
among teachers has not been very prominently mani- 
fested. Let teachers once know who are teachers, 
and no other profession will exhibit a better esprit du 



THE TEACHER. 333 

corps. A meeting of intelligent teachers, even now, 
is a model in this respect. 

If Teaching is a profession, as it seems now 
proven to be, the teacher has certain duties towards 
it, which are next to be pointed out. Among them 
are the following: — 

1st. To adorn it by his Skill and Scholarship. 

2d. To dignify it by his personal Worth. 

3d. To elevate it by encouraging all Means of Pro- 
fessional Improvement. 

4th. To render it more united, by shoioing Respect to 
his Fellow- Teachers. 

Every teacher shoidd adorn his profession by his 
skill and scholarship. — In the past, those who have 
been the instructors of youth in the lower grades 
of schools have not, generally, been distinguished as 
learned men. Schoolmasters have been ridiculed 
in various literary works for their ignorance or their 
pedantry ; and these sentiments, if unjust in par- 
ticular instances, expressed doubtless the common 
estimate of their scholarship. A high standard of 
scholarship is not required, even at the present time, 
in one who wishes to enter upon the work of Com- 
mon-School teaching. The vast majority of those 
now engaged in teaching the Common Schools of 
this country are in no way distinguished for learn- 
ing; and it cannot be much wondered at, as long as 
such is the fact, that many will be unwilling to 
recognize Teaching as belonging to the learned 
professions. True, such a conclusion would be un- 
warranted, if teachers in all grades of schools are 



334 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

included in the calculation; for no other profession, 
either in the past or at the present, can present a 
greater array of learned men than Teaching; but it 
shows plainly enough that the ignorance of its mem 
bers tends to degrade a profession. 

A teacher who properly appreciates his work, who 
loves his profession, who desires to see it honored, 
will exert himself to increase his own store of know- 
ledge and to excite a love of learning among his 
brother-teachers. He will constantly strive to at- 
tain skill in teaching, not more for his own honor 
than for the honor of his profession. Even though 
his position be an humble one, he will be ambitious 
to so improve his opportunities of learning and at- 
taining skill in his work, that subsequent generations 
of teachers will speak his name with praise. 

Every teacher should dignify his profession by his per- 
sonal ivorth. — The character of a profession is judged 
by the character of those who practise it. Their 
standing constitutes its standing. A man of emi- 
nent worth dignities, while a bad man disgraces, a 
profession. The members of all professions are 
proud of the wise and good men who have borne 
their professional name ; *a.nd they are ashamed to 
acknowledge as fellow-members those who are weak, 
dishonorable, or selfish. 

"Every man," said Webster, " owes a debt to his 
profession." Upon entering a profession, an indi- 
vidual receives from it position, fellowship, honor, 
means of emolument; and for this service he owes 
it a debt which he cannot pay without leading a life 
of integrity. He is a robber who takes from his 
profession what he does not return to it. 



THE TEACHER. 335 

The standing of the teacher's profession depends, 
perhaps more than some others, upon the personal 
worth of its members; for it is universally felt that 
a bad man should not be a teacher. I have said else- 
where that the teacher should be a model man, — a 
model man in order to be a man, a model man in 
order to present a good example, a model man in 
order to dignify his profession. 

Every teacher should elevate his profession by encou- 
raging all means of professional improvement. — It will 
not be denied by any that improvement in teaching 
can be made, or that it is greatly needed. It will be 
questioned by as few that the members of a profes- 
sion are respected in proportion as the profession to 
which they belong is respected or subserves the in- 
terests of society. Every member of a profession, 
therefore, ought to assist in the work of improving 
it. Besides, a man is judged by the company he 
keeps; and if teachers generally are ignorant and 
inefficient, each particular teacher will suffer from 
their incompetency. 

Teaching is making rapid advances at the present 
time, and it may be expected to advance still more 
rapidly in the future: unless, therefore, a teacher 
be constantly adding to his stock of professional 
knowledge, he cannot keep abreast of the spirit of 
the age, and his method of teaching will become 
stereotyped and unsuited to the condition of things 
around him. In addition to this, such a teacher is 
apt to become captious, and to attribute the causes 
of his failure, which exist in himself, to the bad de- 
signs of cotemporaries or the corruptions of the times. 

The means of professional instruction generally 

30* 



336 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

open to teachers are Normal Schools, Teachers' In- 
stitutes and Associations, School Visitations, books 
on education, and educational journals. 

Normal Schools exist now in many States. They 
have everywhere sustained themselves against all 
opposition; and the theory upon which they were 
established has been proven true by the fruits they 
have produced. Many good teachers have been 
made without the agency of Normal Schools, and 
Normal Schools do not always make good teachers ; 
but these institutions are just as professionally neces- 
sary to teachers as Medical Colleges, Law Schools, 
or Theological Seminaries are to physicians, lawyers, 
or clergymen. Whenever it is possible for teachers 
to enjoy the advantages of Normal instruction, they 
should do so. When properly applied, no other 
means can meet so well the wants of those who 
intend to become teachers. Indeed, no other prac- 
tical agency can be conceived capable of constituting 
Teaching a regular, well-defined profession. 

Teachers' Institutes and Teachers' Associations 
have done a noble work for teachers, socially, intel- 
lectually, morally, and professionally. It was by their 
means that teachers were first brought together and 
made acquainted with one another; it was by their 
means that the desire for professional instruction was 
first created; and they have been found to subserve 
so well the purposes of mutual instruction that their 
number is rather increasing than diminishing. A 
well-conducted teachers' meeting presents opportu- 
nities to teachers of comparing views in regard to 
teaching, of forming plans for improvement, and of 
measuring the worth of new principles. They furnish 



THE TEACHER. 337 

a most agreeable respite from school-duty, break up 
that feeling of exclusiveness and pedantry which 
school-life is so apt to engender, and cause those 
who take part in them to return to their labors with 
freshened spirit, renewed energy, and higher views 
of the work in which they are engaged. 

Teachers can gain much professional information 
by visiting the schools of others. Many of the 
most successful teachers improve every opportunity 
of making such visitations, and their uniform testi- 
mony is that they derive great profit from it. No 
wide-awake teacher could see a school in opera- 
tion without learning something. He might learn 
to avoid errors by seeing their effects in badly- 
managed schools, and he might learn the value of 
new methods of teaching by noticing their opera- 
tion in schools well conducted. "What we see gene- 
rally makes a deeper impression upon us than what 
we hear described ; and in school-visitations the good 
and the bad are both exhibited in the most striking 
form. 

Teaching can no longer be said to have no litera- 
ture. The books of a profession are those which 
discuss its subject-matter or those which relate to 
its practice. The latter class form a very small 
portion of professional works. In its subject-mat- 
ter, Teaching comprehends all works on all subjects. 
The richest libraries can contain no book that a 
teacher may not use. "With respect to works on the 
Practice of Teaching, it is not difficult to collect one 
hundred valuable volumes in the English language; 
and other hundreds have been published in the 
various parts of Continental Europe. To a teacher 



338 THE AUTHORITIES OP THE SCHOOL. 

who is ambitious to succeed, a professional library 
is indispensable. 

To keep himself informed of current educational 
events, every teacher should read educational jour- 
nals. He will obtain from them valuable facts and 
important suggestions ; and they will keep alive 
his professional interest. 

Every teacher should render his profession more 
united, by showing respect to his fellow-teachers. — 
There is much needed among teachers greater pro- 
fessional unity, a better esprit du corps ; and it can 
be brought about only in one way, — tha*t of in- 
creasing the respect which teacher shows to teacher. 
Teachers ought to show a proper respect towards all 
men; but common interests and objects of pursuit 
should create among teachers peculiar feelings of 
sympathy and a peculiarly hearty reciprocation of 
friendly regard. We are all social beings, and find 
strong incentives to action in the approbation of 
others. Left alone to work by himself, cheered by 
no word of approval, encouraged by no friend, 
stimulated by no hope of gaining a higher profes- 
sional position, the best of teachers would find his 
energies weaken and his spirits grow dull. With 
troublesome pupils and unappreciating patrons, with 
much work to do and many cares to weigh down 
his spirit, the teacher more than most men needs 
kindness and sympathy ; and, if he find such feel- 
ings among those engaged in the same profession, 
who have encountered the same difficulties and 
experienced the same discouragements, he takes 
heart again, and with freshened energy endeavors 
to perform his duty. There are pupils who honor 



THE TEACHER. 339 

their teacher, and parents who thank him ; hut he 
needs those with whom he can fraternize. A com- 
mon bond of sympathy is wanting to hind the mem- 
bers of the profession together in fraternal union. 

Teachers are not always even courteous to their 
fellow-teachers. One teacher sometimes endeavors 
to establish a reputation at the expense of another. 
Envy and jealousy now and then find a home in 
the teacher's bosom. If interests seem to clash, 
remember, the world has work enough for all good 
men to do. Let teachers respect one another, and 
they will be respected. 

5. A Teacher's Life. — In order to show what 
inducements there are in this country for young 
men of talents to become teachers, I propose in 
this place to present a statement of the advantages 
and disadvantages of a teacher's life. 

And first with respect to the disadvantages of a 
teacher's life : it is alleged that teaching endangers 
the health; exacts oppressive duties; yields insufficient 
compensation; furnishes unsteady employment ; spoils the 
disposition ; and brings little honor or respect. "While it 
cannot be denied that there is some truth, in these 
allegations, it is my purpose here to learn to what 
extent they are true. 

Teachers have sometimes lost their health and 
been compelled to seek other employment. Close 
study, hard work in-doors, and harassing cares, 
without physical exercise, without social enjoyment 
or relaxation, regardless of plain hygienic laws, will 
inevitably produce ill health. But is this the neces- 
sary result of the practice of teaching? May not 
the teacher regulate his diet, sleep, exercise, and 



340 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

social intercourse in such a manner that his health 
will not suffer from his employment ? Is he com- 
pelled to violate the laws of health ? If not, then 
the teacher, and not teaching, is to blame. 

The labor of teaching, when faithfully performed, 
is very great ; but not more so than that incident to 
many other kinds of business. Teachers have pre- 
paration to make for their school-duties, but very 
few are actually engaged in the discharge of those 
duties more than six hours a day ; while mechanics 
generally work ten hours a day, farmers, twelve 
or fourteen, merchants are confined behind their 
counters or at their desks from ten to fifteen, and 
active physicians and lawyers must be always ready 
to answer their professional calls. Teaching may 
be as arduous as any of these occupations; but it 
requires fewer hours of actual duty per day than 
any of them, and, consequently, allows the teacher 
more time that he can call his own. Nor is teach- 
ing more wanting in that variety of employment 
which relieves the tedium of labor than the other 
kinds of business just named. All of them are in 
a certain sense mechanical; all of them require the 
constant repetition of the same processes as is the 
case in teaching. Besides, the teacher has his holi- 
days and vacations, which come to him as liberty 
to the prisoner, as spring to the birds, as the green 
oasis to weary, thirsty travellers in the desert. 
These are boons enjoyed almost exclusively by 
teachers, and must be allowed to compensate in 
some measure for the care and confinement to 
which their profession at other times subjects 
them. 



THE TEACHER. 341 

Teachers have been, in general, very inadequately 
remunerated. The public have not properly ap- 
preciated education, and, consequently, have been 
unwilling to pay largely for it. In selecting a pro- 
fession, a young man very wisely takes into con- 
sideration the question of compensation. He may 
not make money the only end for which he is 
willing to labor, but he well knows that life has 
many comforts that money alon.e can furnish. Thus 
considering, he who might have become a teacher 
chooses a more lucrative kind of business. It is 
readily admitted that much more money can be made 
in many other callings than in teaching; but it will 
be shown directly that teaching has inducements of 
a different kind, which go far to compensate for its 
pecuniary disadvantages. Even in a moneyed sense, 
however, teaching is more remunerative than many 
suppose. A good teacher, one well qualified to teach 
the branches usually taught in ungraded Common 
Schools, can obtain almost anywhere a salary of 
from $400 to $600 a year; and much higher salaries 
can be obtained for better qualifications. In every 
State there are numerous positions open to teachers 
at from $800 to $1200 a year, and a few at from 
$2000 to $3000. I speak with the very best oppor- 
tunities of knowing, when I say that a graduate of 
one of our Normal Schools, if he distinguish him- 
self as a teacher, need not wait long for a situation 
with a salary of from $600 to $1000 a year. Such a 
one can generally commence teaching at once with 
an annual income of $500. A young man can as 
easily and cheaply become a teacher as he can 
become a mechanic; and very few mechanics can 



342 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

» 

obtain, without the investment of capital, four hun- 
dred dollars a year; and many work for half that 
amount. It is true that the average salaries of 
teachers in our country districts are low, — very low ; 
but it must be remembered that the teachers there 
employed have not generally made any special pre- 
paration for teaching, and do not consider themselves 
permanently engaged in the business. At the worst, 
however, they are as well paid as ordinary mecha- 
nics ; and the times betoken a more enlightened 
liberality towards the deserving. God speed the 
day ! To a young man desirous of becoming a 
teacher, no fortune can be insured ; but all who do 
their duty can secure a safe and comfortable com- 
petency. 

Complaint is made that teaching does not furnish 
constant employment. It is, unfortunately, true that 
the length of time for which our Common Schools 
are open in rural districts does not average more 
than from six to eight months in a year ; but it is 
equally true that competent teachers can almost 
everywhere find employment in teaching private 
schools during the vacations of the public schools. 
Besides, there is such a demand for well-qualified 
teachers in towns, villages, and enlightened popu- 
lous rural districts, — in private schools and acade- 
mies, — that no such teacher need be idle for want of 
work to do. The demand for industrious, energetic, 
thoroughly trained teachers much exceeds the pre- 
sent supply. It ought not to be expected, however, 
that the highest positions in the profession are at 
once attainable. These will be filled, as in all other 
professions, by those who win them by success in 



THE TEACHER. 343 

inferior positions. Aspiring teachers must work 
and wait. 

There is danger, it is said, that the teacher's dis- 
position will be spoiled. Constantly annoyed, he is 
apt to become captious and irritable. Unaccustomed 
to hear his word questioned, he is in danger of be- 
coming dictatorial. Familiar only with those who 
know much less than himself, it is not unlikely he 
will become conceited and pedantic. Monarch in the 
school-room, he is apt to be tyrannical towards 
inferiors, rude in the presence of his equals, and 
rebellious when commanded by his superiors. A 
man's vocation always has a marked influence upon 
his disposition and conduct. Teaching is no excep- 
tion- The danger is a real one; but it may be 
guarded against by mingling in general society, by 
becoming interested in public affairs, and by keeping 
abreast of the times by reading, study, and travel. 
The teacher must not forget that he is a citizen and 
a member of society. Thus guarded against, the 
influences of teaching upon the disposition are not 
more offensive to the general taste than those pro- 
duced by other kinds of business. There are neigh- 
borhoods in which teachers are admitted into the 
most refined society, and in which they are honored 
guests in every family. 

Teaching is not a showy profession. Its work is, 
for the most part, quiet. Its grand effects are the 
results of long-continued effort, not of one master- 
stroke of policy or one electric flash of genius. A 
lawyer may make a name by one able forensic 
effort; a general, by the conduct of a single battle; 
a statesman, by a great oration in the councils of the 

31 



844 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

nation ; a surgeon, by a skilful operation which saves 
the life and brings back the health of some poor vic- 
tim of disease ; but the teacher can win a position 
or a reputation only by long and hard work. The 
fruit of his toil slowly ripens. The faithful teacher 
is not borne about in triumphal chariots, the rap- 
turous huzzas of millions never greet his ears, cities 
do not drape themselves in mourning when he dies, 
nor do proud mausoleums grace his last resting- 
place. For this reason, teaching is less attractive 
to the ambitious than some other kinds of busi- 
ness ; and it is not to be much wondered at that the 
aspiring youth should rather take a chance in the 
great lottery that offers the glittering prizes of place 
and power, though ten thousand blanks be drawn to 
one fortunate venture, than to engage in the quiet 
work of rooting out evil from the human heart and 
training the mind to a just appreciation of the true, 
the beautiful, and the good. But, while the popular 
gaze is turned towards those who occupy the high 
places in the old professions, who stand at the helm 
of our national ship, who lead our armies, the true 
teacher needs not fail in an effort to secure a grati- 
fied ambition. The teacher who nobly performs his 
duty is in this country, by discerning men, not less 
honored than are the members of the other profes- 
sions. Those who a*re accustomed to look beneath 
the surface for the causes which operate in human 
affairs easily recognize the moulding, guiding hand 
of the teacher in much that, with the unthinking, 
passes to the credit of others. The approbation of 
one thoughtful man is worth more than all the sense- 
less plaudits of a crowd; and to such, and to posterity, 



THE TEACHER. 345 

the teacher may look confidently for a full apprecia- 
tion of his deserts. The names of such teachers as 
Pythagoras, Socrates, Seneca, Pestalozzi, Francke, 
De Fellenberg, Arnold, Hamilton, Fenelon, Page, 
and Mann, will not perish, but be preserved among 
the choicest treasures of history. And, to-day, in 
France, in Germany, in England, in America, the 
most profound thinking is done by teachers, and 
nearly all the great works in science and philosophy 
are written by them. They now occupy the van- 
guard in the march of human thought, and the laurel 
waits to deck the brows of the noble and the brave. 

Having seen that the disadvantages of a teacher's 
life are not so great as they seemed, let us examine 
what may be its advantages. It is more pleasant, 
too, to look upon the bright side of a picture ; and 
T gladly turn to it. 

It is claimed that a teacher's life enables him to 
arrange fixed hours for his work ; necessitates no invest- 
ment of capital; gives freedom from the dangers and 
temptations incident to many other kinds of business; 
presents good opportunities for acquiring knowledge; 
and allows great privileges of doing good. 

The teacher has his regular hours for work; and, 
when that work is done, he can generally have the 
balance of his time at his own disposal. The law- 
yer, the physician, the merchant, must always be 
ready when called upon. They may do nothing all 
day long, but they must wait, fearful to engage in 
other serious labor, lest they may be interrupted, or 
lest some client, patient, or customer be disappointed. 
Mechanics, too, often work under the whip of their 
employers. But the teacher can generally devote 



346 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

his time out of school-hours to the quiet prepara- 
tion of his work, to self-improvement, to recreation, 
exercise, or social enjoyments. He has advantages 
of this kind that few other employments admit, and 
social regulations are such that he can enjoy them 
without constraint. 

With comparatively few exceptions, teachers find 
it unnecessary to invest capital in their husiness. 
School-buildings and school-property of all kinds are 
generally owned by communities or by Companies. 
In most cases, teachers receive stated salaries; and 
when their salaries are due, they get their money, 
subject to few contingencies. If they desire to 
change locations, they necessarily sacrifice little 
property ; they are in danger of making no bad bar- 
gains, and safe calculations can always be made with 
reference to the relations between income and ex- 
penditures. Teachers, of course, must expend con- 
siderable money in preparing themselves to teach; 
but they cannot lose their knowledge by ill-advised 
purchases or wild speculations. 

Some kinds of business have certain temptations 
and moral dangers from which teaching is free. No 
one can doubt, who has had opportunities of judg- 
ing, that there is much deceiving, cheating, and 
lying among business-men. They are tempted to 
do it in order to succeed in business. The teacher 
has few such temptations to resist. True, teachers 
sometimes present false statements to parents con- 
cerning the progress of their children, and as often 
attempt to deceive the public by examinations and 
exhibitions contrived for effect; but such conduct is 
so easily exposed that those who resort to it as a 



THE TEACHER. 347 

means of obtaining patronage are not numerous. 
Circumstances constantly tempt the lawyer to under- 
take the justification of wrong, the merchant to over- 
charge his customers, the physician to make unne- 
cessary visits to his patients, and the mechanic to 
promise what he cannot fulfil. It is not claimed that 
teachers are better than other men, or that good 
men are not found in all vocations; but it is claimed 
that teaching harmonizes more nearly with other in- 
terests than most, kinds of business, and that the 
quiet walks of a teacher's life subject him less than 
most men to the temptations arising from clashing 
interests and social wrongs, or the dangers of mone- 
tary panics, the turmoils of active business, or the 
disappointed aspirations and unsubstantial honors 
incident to power and place. 

Teaching presents very favorable opportunities for 
acquiring knowledge, — first, in furnishing leisure 
time and that mental state necessary to study, and, 
second, in being of such a nature that the teacher, 
in communicating knowledge to others, learns him- 
self. There are few teachers whose time is so occu- 
pied with school-duties that they cannot find several 
hours each day to devote to private study; and this 
time, well improved, must make scholars. 

A teacher's professional duties, too, are well cal- 
culated to induce that mental condition which fits 
the mind for successful study. Busy on the farm, 
at the shop, or in the office, most men are so ab- 
sorbed with other cares and duties that few can sit 
down and summon their mental energies to the task 
of systematic thinking. With the teacher, it is so 
directly in the line of professional duty that he gene- 

31* 



348 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

rally finds little difficulty in laying aside his school- 
cares and devoting his leisure hours to communion 
with books, or to meditation. 

The teacher himself learns in communicating 
knowledge. New thoughts are often evolved when 
surrounded by sympathizing or opposing hearers. 
They are struck out, as it were, by the union or 
concussion of mental forces. A large audience is a 
necessary condition for the delivery of a great ora- 
tion. Every teacher feels that the presence of his 
class inspires him, and that he understands the sub- 
ject of a lesson better after the recitation than before 
it. In teaching, he feels the necessity of closer, 
clearer views of a subject, and uses his best efforts 
to obtain them. If our object is merely to know a 
thing, we are satisfied with a much looser knowledge 
of it than if what we know is to be imparted to 
others. Every one has experienced the truth of this 
statement who has selected a familiar theme and sat 
down to prepare an essay or a lecture upon it. His 
first impression will most probably be one of surprise 
that the amount of knowledge respecting it in his 
possession is so limited, and that he has so much 
difficulty in availing himself of that which he does 
possess. To show that our habits of thinking are 
greatly influenced by the necessity of communica- 
ting, I may be allowed to quote the opinion of Sir 
William Hamilton, and a few authorities named by 
him. Sir William Hamilton says, — referring to the 
preparation required to communicate with skill, — 
"In this case, no man will ever fully understand his 
subject who has not studied it with a view of com- 
municating; while the power of communicating a 



THE TEACHER. ."549 

subject is the only competent criterion of his fully 
understanding it." "The one exclusive sign," says 
Aristotle, "that a man is thoroughly cognizant of 
anything, is that he is able to teach it," "To teach," 
says Plato, "is the way for a man to learn most and 
best." "Homines dum docent, discunt" says Seneca. 
"Doce ut discus" was a maxim among the School- 
men; and the celebrated logician, Dr. Sanderson, 
used to say, "I learn much from my master, more 
from my equals, and most of all from my disciples." 
I extract the following from an article in Black- 
wood's Magazine: — "Teaching was formerly a part 
of the education of students at the universities. In 
the olden time it was necessary to the obtaining of a 
degree that the graduate should give evidence of his 
capacity as a teacher; and in the very titles of his 
degree as a Magister and a Doctor, he was designated 
as a teacher." Such authority and such reasons 
cannot be questioned; and nothing more need be 
said to prove the fact, before stated, that teachers 
are and must be the best scholars in the world. 

There are open to all men, who desire to take ad 
vantage of them, opportunities of doing good. The 
greatest good of society can only be attained through 
the united exertions of all its members. Each in 
his sphere must do all he can for the common weal. 
But it is equally true that certain vocations and cer- 
tain positions in society furnish more opportunities 
of doing good than others; and the teacher in this 
respect is peculiarly favored. The most important 
condition necessary to bring about the highest and 
happiest state of society is that its members be good 
men and good women; and if a child trained up in 



350 THE AUTHOEITIES OF THE SCHOOL. t 

the way he should go will not depart from it when he 
is old, — and I heartily endorse the sentiment, — and 
teachers do much of this training, it would seem to 
follow that good teaching lies at the hottom of all 
social reform. The population of the United States 
is not less than thirty-three millions ; and of this num- 
ber at least six millions are attending school. Very 
soon, those who are now engaged in the various occu- 
pations of life will give place to their younger and 
more vigorous successors, now receiving an educa- 
tion in our various institutions of learning. Trained 
here to he intelligent and good, they will discharge 
their duties as citizens and men wisely and well. 
The patriot may find by this that his country's schools 
can be made the best nurseries of patriotism, and 
the philanthropist can discern that his reforms, to 
be most effectual, must be based upon the virtuous 
education of the young. 

The teacher has a wide field in which he may do 
good. He has the care of children. He can mould 
their mental nature almost as he will. They are in 
his hands as clay in the hands of the potter. They 
are his plants to watch and care for, and make 
bloom, and bud, and bear fruit. Let him take care 
that no weeds choke their growth, or no wrong 
culture mar it. Let him remember that as the 
great oak retains the scar which marks the wound 
received centuries ago, when a tender sapling, so 
the youthful soul, hurt by a careless hand in teach- 
ing, may never heal. A teacher whose pupils have 
grown to be men and women and engaged in active 
life, ma}^ have the proud satisfaction of reflecting 
that his was the influence that gave strength to their 



THE GENERAL SCHOOL-OFFICERS. 351 

weak mental activities and guided their tottering 
footsteps along the pathway which conducted them 
to honor and success. The farmer is pleased in 
contemplating his growing crop, or the fruit of his 
industry well harvested ; the mechanic experiences 
a just pride in gazing upon the results of his own 
cunning workmanship ; the artist feels a thrill of 
joy as he communes with the forms of beauty he 
has traced upon the dull canvas, or the heating 
pulse and heaving bosom he has evoked from the 
cold, dead marble ; but none of these can realize 
that high pleasure which the teacher enjoys who 
properly educates men and women and sends them 
out to bless mankind. Harvest-fruits will pass 
away, the most imposing structures of human in- 
genuity will crumble to the dust, forms of beauty 
will die out on the canvas, and the tooth of time 
will eat away the hardest marble ; but the teacher's 
work is for eternity; "every chord he strikes in the 
tender mind vibrates at the throne of God," and 
vibrates ever. 

The faithful teacher, I repeat, enjoys more than 
most others the high privilege of doing good. As 
a rich reward, he will receive the grateful thanks of 
those whom his instruction may have benefited, 
and he surely cannot lose the smiles of approving 
Heaven. 

XL The General School-Gincers.— Under the 
head of General School-Officers it is intended to 
embrace the officers who, by the names of Superin- 
tendents of Schools, School-Trustees, School-Di- 



352 1HE AUTHORITIES OP THE SCHOOL. 

rectors, and School-Committees, exercise general 
care over schools and school-interests. 

In speaking of the duties of these officers, no 
long discussion will be needed here, for the greater 
part of them have already been described ; and the 
task I proposed to myself will have been completed, 
when I point the officers to their work. 

The General School-Officers select school-sites 
and provide school-grounds. Their duty in this 
respect is an important one ; for their choice will 
not only have an influence upon the present, but 
upon future, generations of children. Let no false 
notions of economy prevent the selection of such 
sites and the purchasing and arranging of such 
grounds as evince at once good judgment and taste 
and show a proper regard for the welfare of the 
children who are to use and enjoy them. 

The General School-Officers grade the schools 
and fix their courses of study. The well-working 
of a system of schools depends much upon the 
manner of grading them, and the kind of studies 
that are pursued in the different grades; and no 
man is qualified to make the necessary regulations 
concerning these matters, without giving the sub- 
ject careful consideration. If School-Officers do not 
possess the requisite knowledge and experience, 
they should call to their aid some one who does 
possess them. Nowhere else is guess-work more 
fatal. A very large number of so-called graded 
schools are clogged and crippled in their operation 
by mismanagement. 

The General School-Officers build and furnish 
school-houses. A school-house should be so con- 



THE GENERAL SCHOOL-OFFICERS. 353 

structed and so furnished as to answer in the best 
manner the purpose of its erection, to promote the 
health and comfort of those who occupy it, and to 
be in accordance with the principles of good taste. 
Few of our country school-houses, few school-houses 
anywhere or of any kind, fully meet these conditions. 
School-Architecture is yet in its infancy; and its 
progress will be slow until more liberal opinions 
prevail among the people respecting the kind and 
character of the education needed by the young. 
General School -Officers often have it in their power 
to change this state of things for the better ; and 
whenever they are willing to improve the school- 
buildings and school-furniture intrusted to their 
care, skill can readily be found to do it. 

The General School-Officers provide apparatus for 
the schools. The teacher works at as much dis- 
advantage without tools as the farmer, mechanic, 
or surgeon ; and yet the duty of providing them is 
often neglected. Indeed, the time is not very far 
distant when many teachers themselves considered 
that a penknife, a ruler, and a birch, were about all 
the tools they needed. The articles of school-appa- 
ratus mentioned elsewhere in this book are really 
indispensable to good teaching, and the proper 
authorities ought to procure them. It is always 
bad economy to pay men for working with inferior 
'mplements. 

The General School-Officers desire to preserve the 
statistics of the schools under their charge, and, of 
course, they must furnish suitable school-records for 
that purpose. 

The General School-Officers employ teachers; and 



354 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

this is the most important part of their duty. It is 
the teacher that must give movement to the whole 
school-machinery. As the teacher is, so the school 
will be. ~No school-officers can know without 
danger of mistake whether the persons they em- 
ploy as teachers will prove in every respect qualified 
for the Work, until they are tried ; but every effort 
should be made to obtain this knowledge to the 
greatest extent practicable. The man into whose 
hands the young minds and tender hearts of the 
children of a neighborhood are intrusted, ought to 
be selected with the greatest care. If damage be 
done by an incompetent teacher, the authorities 
that employed him are in great measure respon- 
sible for it. Before employing a teacher, the School- 
Officers should inform themselves, — 

First As to his appearance, manners, tastes, and 
physical constitution. Some questions may be asked 
him concerning some of these points; but safe con- 
clusions can generally be reached by close observa- 
tion while in conference with him. 

Second. As to his intellectual qualifications. The 
intellectual qualifications of a teacher can be ap- 
proximately determined by a well-conducted exa- 
mination. The officer who conducts such an exami- 
nation should be himself a teacher. 

Third. As to his moral character. If the applicant 
for a school be a stranger to the School-Officers, they 
should require him to produce recommendations, 
as to moral character, from responsible parties. A 
teacher ought to be a good man. It is better to 
leave children untaught than to expose them to 



THE PEOPLE IN RESPECT TO SCHOOLS. 355 

the influences of teachers who either entertain bad 
principles or are guilty of bad practices. 

Fourth. As to his professional requirements. A 
teacher's knowledge of the Theory of Teaching can 
be learned by an examination, if it be conducted 
by a competent examiner; but his skill in the prac- 
tice of his profession must be learned from the 
testimony of those who have witnessed the opera- 
tions of his school-room. 

General School-Officers visit schools. The value 
of school-visitation by intelligent School-Officers can 
hardly be over-estimated. Such visitations are ne- 
cessary to secure the care-taking of grounds, build- 
ings, furniture, and apparatus ; necessary to secure 
the most rapid progress in study on the part of the 
pupils ; necessary to encourage competent teachers 
and to detect incompetent ones ; in short, necessary 
to secure the well-working of the whole school- 
machinery. A railroad or a factory does not need 
the watchful care of superintendents more than 
schools- require the frequent visitations of their 
School-Officers. 

III. The People in Respect to Schools.— That 

every child is entitled to an education is a propo- 
sition the truth of which at this time, in this country, 
few will deny. The main facts which prove it are, 
first, that without education the end of our being, 
human ^perfection, could not be attained; second, that 
without it, since God made us capable of being 
educated, His purpose in our creation would be 
defeated ; third, that without it the noblest truth 
.11 science, philosophy, and religion, and the highest 

32 



856 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

beauty in nature and art, could not be appreciated, 
or even conceived ; fourth, that without it the work 
allotted us as individuals, as citizens, or as members 
of society, could not be performed. 

The right of each individual to an education ac- 
knowledged, it seems proper to speak — 

1. Of the Relations of Education in Society. 

2. Of the Agencies by which an Education can 

be obtained. 

1. The Relations of Education in Society. — 
The people who found and support schools ought 
to understand the social influences of education. 
"Without this knowledge, all provision for education 
must be made blindly, and, according to well-known 
principles of human nature in such cases, reluc- 
tantly. I desire to discuss, briefly, — 

1st. The Relations of Education to Labor. 
2d. The Relations of Education to Wealth. 
3d. The Relations of Education to Crime. 
4th. The Relations of Education to Happiness. 
5th. The Relations of Education to Religion. 
6th. The Relations of Education to Government. 

The Relations of Education to Labor. — Education 
renders labor more effective. A man who is intel- 
ligent and skilful can perform more work of any 
kind than one who is ignorant and awkward. This 
fact is made manifest in every shop and on every 
farm. It is shown, too, by the invention of ma- 
chinery. In ancient times, much strength was 
wasted in carrying water from distant springs, 



THE PEOPLE IN RESPECT TO SCHOOLS. 357 

brooks, or rivers; but when wells were dug in con- 
venient places and water drawn from them, one step 
was taken to lessen labor; when pumps were placed 
in these wells and the atmosphere made to do some 
of the lifting, further progress was made in the same 
direction; and when siphons and hydraulic rams 
came into use, water could be procured almost 
without the expenditure of muscular strength. A 
sharpened stick might serve a savage to plant a few 
hills of corn; a spade would enable him to plant 
much more; with a plow and the skill to use horses 
or oxen, one man may do the work of many; and 
when steam can be made to take the place of animal 
strength, a still greater breadth of land can be 
worked with a still less amount of labor. If all the 
grain now raised in the United States could be 
thrashed out only by the simple contrivances of the 
primitive ages and ground by hand in mortars, the 
whole people of the country might engage in the 
work and scarcely accomplish it. But while the 
simplest kinds of labor, such as the cutting down 
of forests, excavating earth, and quarrying stone, 
are rendered more effective by education, the more 
difficult kinds would be impossible without it. This 
fact appears most conspicuously in the arts of manu- 
facturing and mechanics. There must be labor 
directed by intelligence to erect bridges, construct 
railroads, and build steamships; to make watches, 
pianos, and printing-presses ; to manufacture paper, 
cloth, or cannon. As a question of economy in 
money, a state will act wisely in educating its la- 
borers. 

Education dignifies the laborer. In all mon 



358 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

archies, at least, if not in all republics, there are 
two classes of society, the intelligent, ruling class 
and the ignorant, servile class, — the Patricians and 
the Plebeians; but in all countries the fact is ap- 
parent that the latter class are held in low estima- 
tion, not because they work, but because they are 
ignorant. A good education is everywhere a pass- 
port to good society. It everywhere dignifies the 
laborer and makes freemen of slaves. Cincinnatus 
could plow his lands, Franklin could wheel home 
his paper through the streets or set his type, Hugh 
Miller could work in a stone-quarry, and lose no- 
thing in the esteem of any man whose esteem was 
worth possessing. I once met, half a mile under 
ground, in a coal-mine, a Scotch miner. His hands 
were hard with labor, his face was as black as coal 
could make it ; and yet he could talk to me of strata 
and formations, of fossil plants and animals, of 
Locke and Keid and Stewart, of Campbell, Scott, 
and Burns. I realized then, in conversation with 
that sooty miner, that learning may dignify the low- 
liest toil, and that earth has nothing ignoble but 
sin and ignorance. Man working as a man is re- 
spected ; but working as a mere animal he is despised. 
Whenever laborers learn to think, labor will be dig- 
nified. The common feeling seems to be that man 
was intended to work more with the head than 
with the hands, — that, having the power to make 
animals and the inanimate forces of nature do his 
heavy lifting, pulling, and other work requiring 
muscular strength, he is unworthy of himself if he 
does not use it. This feeling is the source of the 
difference in the degree of respect with which the 



THE PEOPLE IN RESPECT TO SCHOOLS. 359 

various employments of men are regarded. Intelli- 
gence commands a higher price in the market than 
mere muscle, or the services of a horse would be 
worth more than the services of a man ; and the 
price, not only in money but in respect, will always 
be in proportion to the degree of intelligence. 

But it is said that education will create a distaste 
for work, and, consequently, diminish the number of 
laborers. I think it is true, as before intimated, that 
education has a tendency to make a man feel that 
his special work is to think, to plan, and to manage. 
It does not make him less industrious, but it dis- 
poses him to use animals, water, wind, steam, elec- 
tricity, to help him work. An educated man may 
not be very willing to pull at a weight with his 
hands ; but he will contrive a capstan and do the 
work of many men. He does not thrash grain with 
a flail, but with a thrashing-machine. He does not 
pick cotton with his fingers, but with a cotton-gin. 
He might grow weary spinning with a distaff or 
weaving with a hand-loom, but he will build great 
factories, and set machinery in motion that will 
make more cloth than the whole world could do if 
all were weavers. Education does not make people 
dislike men's work; it only makes them want to 
work like men. It may diminish the number of 
mere hewers of wood and drawers of water, but it 
provides ample means for hewing all the^wood and 
drawing all the water the world needs. "If all 
persons were educated, who would do the work?" 
asks one. A harder question would be, If there 
were no educated men to economize labor, where 
could a. sufficient number of laborers be obtained? 

32« 



360 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

God, when He made man capable of thinking, did 
not intend that he should starve himself in exer- 
cising this privilege. All needed work will be done, 
and better done than now, when all men shall have 
become educated. Most of it will be done by ma- 
chinery; but no one will object then, more than now, 
to doing necessary hand-work by hand. 

The Relations of Education to Wealth. — Education 
increases the wealth of a nation in several ways. It 
makes labor more effective, as previously shown ; 
with a less expenditure of time and strength, it en- 
ables men to accomplish vastly more work than they 
could do without it, and consequently adds to a 
nation's wealth. 

"Wealth consists," says Henry C. Carey, "in the 
power to command the always gratuitous services 
of nature." If this is true (and it seems to me to 
be in good part true), the wealth of a nation must 
be greatly increased by the education of its citizens ; 
for it is education that gives the power to command 
the services of nature. A rude, uncultivated people 
work almost altogether with their hands and a 
few simple tools or instruments which they acquire 
the skill to make and handle ; later they learn to 
tame the ox, horse, dog, or reindeer, and make use 
of animal strength in their labors; but it is only in 
highly civilized communities that the wind is made 
to grind qorn and propel vessels, that water is used 
to turn mill-wheels and drive the machinery of 
manufactories, that steam is forced to lift heavy 
weights and pull heavy loads, or that electricity is 
sent on our errands through the land. In this sense 
knowledge is truly power, and power is wealth. 



THE PEOPLE IN RESPECT TO SCHOOLS. 361 

The resources of a country could not be developed 
without education. Yast forests of timber would 
decay if they could not be converted into buildings, 
bridges, and ships; the mineral masses of coal, iron- 
ore, limestone, granite, marble, that underlie our 
valleys and form great beds beneath our mountains, 
were of little value to the wild Indian who placed 
his wigwam above them, unconscious of the wealth 
under his feet; vegetable fibres have been found 
and fashioned into fabrics with a skill and a rapidity 
that add immensely to their value; and even the 
earth is made to increase its yield a hundredfold 
under the hand of skilful tillage. It is thus that 
national wealth is developed by education; and fur- 
ther illustrations are deemed unnecessary. 

The Relations of Education to Crime. — It is a ques- 
tion of much interest to a people, before making 
costly provision for education, as to the relation edu- 
cation bears to crime. Does it make society more 
virtuous or less so ? 

We do not find the moral quality of an act in its 
intellectual part. The reason enables us to know 
what is rignt; but virtue does not consist in knowing 
the right, it consists in doing it from a proper mo- 
tive. It is clear, therefore, that if intellectual cul- 
ture promotes virtue in a people, it must do so in- 
directly. But indirectly its influence must be on 
virtue's side. Eight-knowing is a necessary condi- 
tion for right-doing. Besides, crimes are frequently 
committed by persons who do not realize the wrong 
they do ; but this can hardly be the case with the 
educated. Crimes are frequently committed by 
those who are suffering from poverty or for want 



362 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

of employment; but an educated man need not 
often suffer on these accounts, and this lessens his 
temptations to wrong-doing. Crimes are frequently 
committed by the ignorant during the hours when, 
released from work, they seek pleasure in animal 
indulgences; but educated men have tastes and 
sources of amusement that sometimes at least keep 
them from the company of the low and depraved. 
Crimes are frequently committed by those who have 
lost all self-respect; the educated have a better ap- 
preciation than the ignorant of the dignity of the 
human character and what is due to it. All these 
circumstances evidently tend to render indulgence 
in vice and wickedness less common among the edu- 
cated than among the ignorant. Still, it must not 
be claimed that education wholly prevents crime. 
Some men intellectually very great have been mor- 
ally very bad. Education, indeed, has been used 
as an instrument of crime. Facts prove that a 
mere intellectual education is not a sufficient safe- 
guard against the commission of crime : the only 
safeguard is an education broad enough to reach 
the moral nature, — the heart as well as the head. 
But it is claimed that intellectual culture when im- 
parted by itself — if that is possible — tends to dimi- 
nish crime, and that the education imparted in our 
common schools, comprehending as it does both in- 
tellectual and moral instruction, is greatly promotive 
of that end. That this claim is not unwarranted, 
sufficient proof has already been given ; but a few 
facts in the form of statistics will confirm its justice. 
During seven years the criminal statistics of 
Europe show that in France, among the persons ac- 



THE PEOPLE IN RESPECT TO SCHOOLS. 363 

cused or convicted of crime, the proportion of the 
well educated to those imperfectly educated or not 
educated at all was 227 to 9773 ; in Scotland, 188 to 
9812 ; and in England, 91 to 9909. 

Joseph Bently some years since arranged a chart 
showing the moral condition of the different coun- 
ties of England as compared with their means of 
education. From an inspection of this chart, Bishop 
Potter, in the "School and Schoolmaster," draws 
the following conclusion: — "If you take the four 
best-instructed counties in England, as exhibited on 
this chart, and the four worst-instructed, it will be 
found that the average amount of crime is almost 
exactly in the inverse ratio to the average amount 
of instruction." 

Of 9979 criminals committed to the jails and 
houses of correction in Massachusetts in 1850, only 
3175, or less than one-third, could read and write ; 
of 9705 committed in the same State in 1862, 1965 
could neither read nor write. Of 445 convicts in 
the Ohio Penitentiary in 1847, 248 could not read 
and write when they entered. In 1843, of 1778 
convicts in the Eastern Penitentiary of Pennsyl- 
vania, 906 could not read and write ; of the 646 who 
were in the same prison in 1862, 112 were entirely 
illiterate on admission, 106 could spell and read a 
little, 421 could read and write, but only 7 had a 
good English education. 

The number of commitments to the prisons of 
New York City in 1850 was 21,299, of whom 9449 
could not read, 1646 could read only, 7284 could 
read and write, and 2737 were pronounced well 
educated. There were tried in the year 1861 in the 



364 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

principal cities of the State of New York 36,662 
cases, and of these 21,158 could not read and write, 
11,745 could read and write, and the education of 
1156 could not be ascertained. In the California 
State Prison in 1863 there were 589 criminals, of 
whom 375 could read, 341 could read and write, 
and 214 could neither read nor write. The chaplain 
of the Connecticut State Prison says that at one time 
out of 190 prisoners not one was liberally educated. 
Now, when it is remembered that but a very small 
proportion of the population of the States and locali- 
ties referred to cannot at least read and write, these 
facts show with overwhelming force that ignorance 
is one of the most potent causes of crime. 

The statistics above given are quoted because they 
exhibit the influence of education briefly and in the 
most convincing form. Multitudes of the same 
kind of facts are readily accessible ; and a careful 
examination of the inmates of every jail and peni- 
tentiary in the whole country would exhibit the 
same results as those named. Counter-statements, 
indeed, have been made by M. Guerry in France, 
and by Sir Archibald Alison in England ; but their 
statements were afterwards found to be based upon 
a partial knowledge of the facts involved in their 
calculations. 

The Relations of Education to Happiness. — Happi- 
ness is defined by Webster as "the agreeable sen- 
sations which spring from the enjoyment of good ; 
that state of being in which one's desires are grati- 
fied by the enjoyment of pleasure without pain." 
Does education tend to increase or diminish happi- 
ness as thus defined? 



THE PEOPLE IN RESPECT TO SCHOOLS. 365 

That it tends to increase it will appear from the 
following reasons : — 

Education multiplies the sources of enjoyment. 
The happiness of the ignorant must consist mainly 
in mere animal gratification. They can derive little 
pleasure from the contemplation of the works of 
nature. That pure pleasure which comes from the 
study of the various sciences is wholly unknown to 
them. They do not appreciate works of art, except 
those of the rudest character; and the heauty of 
painting and sculpture and the charms of poetry 
and melody never can arouse to rapturous enjoy- 
ment their dull senses. They do not see the foot- 
prints of the Creator upon the earth, and His handi- 
work in plants and animals and the stars of heaven. 
The mysteries of their own bodies they have never 
essayed to understand, and the whole world of soul 
is to them a terra incognita. The ignorant may be 
contented ; but contentment is not always happiness. 
Brutes are contented with their condition; and 
Shakspeare says, — 

" What is man, 
If his chief good and market of his time 
Be but to sleep and feed? a beast, no more." 

Education increases the power of enjoying. Agree- 
able sensations may arise from the proper exercise 
of the organs of the body; from the lawful gratifi- 
cation of the animal senses, appetites, and passions; 
from the use of the various intellectual powers; from 
the discharge of moral and religious duties. The 
lowest form of happiness arises from the first 
source named, the next lowest from the second, and 
the highest from the exercise of the intellect and 



366 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

the conscience. He is the happiest man who derives 
pleasure from the play of his whole nature, and his 
power of enjoying is much diminished who suffers 
his higher mental faculties to remain unused. Be- 
sides, the pleasures of the educated are not only of 
a higher order than those of the ignorant, hut they 
are more intense. A well-cultured intellect is quick 
to perceive truth and heauty, and well-trained feel- 
ings are quick to respond to such perceptions; while 
the chief care of the ignorant is "to sleep and feed." 
Education removes many causes of unhappiness. 
All the benefits society derives from those who 
train the young, relieve persons afflicted with dis- 
ease, or heal the sin-sick spirit, are attributable in 
great measure to education. Much suffering has 
resulted to humanity from various forms of super- 
stition. Eclipses, comets, meteors, have struck with 
terror whole communities. Witchcraft, like a fell 
spirit, has caused much misery. People have been 
frightened by ghosts and apparitions. Great incon- 
venience has been occasioned by belief in charms, 
spells, and magical cures. Humbugs of all kinds 
have misled the ignorant. Wicked delusions have 
been practiced upon the superstitious, and many 
have been robbed of money and time, and some 
have lost their lives, in consequence of them. Ig- 
norance seems to have been the great hotbed from 
which has sprung, like rank weeds, all that is sinful 
and wicked. Designing men have made use of the 
superstitious fears, fierce passions, and strong preju- 
dices of the ignorant to forward their evil designs 
against social order, religion, and liberty. If it 
were possible to sum up the curses that have bur- 



THE PEOPLE IN RESPECT TO SCHOOLS. 367 

dened mankind with vice, misery, and grief, a large 
proportion would be found to have a common mother, 
— ignorance. 

The Relations of Education to Religion. — The maxim 
that "Ignorance is the mother of devotion," if not 
uttered in irony, must have had its origin when re- 
ligion was little understood. If by devotion is meant 
unquestioning obedience to the authorities of a 
church and a blind compliance with prescribed re- 
ligious forms, ignorance is the mother of devotion ; 
but if devotion means enlightened faith, or free and 
full sacrifice of self to the ends of piety well under- 
stood, the maxim is most erroneous. It is well to 
state here, in view of the great interest the people 
have in the matter, — 

First, the complaints science makes against re- 
ligion. Science complains that religion ignores the 
higher faculties of the mind and requires men to 
believe when they should reason. Science com- 
plains that religion fixes certain doubtful creeds or 
dogmas by authority, and thus blocks up progress. 
Science complains that religion is illiberal and 
persecutes men for honest differences of opinion. 
Science complains that religion too often degenerates 
into superstition and faith too often has no firmer 
basis than fiction. 

Second, the complaints religion makes against 
science. Religion complains that science is proud, 
and claims to reason of things whereof to reason 
is impossible. Religion complains that science 
overlooks certain great truths which God has re- 
vealed, and which must be believed and practiced 
or all progress leads to destruction. Religion com- 

33 



368 THE AUTHOHITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

plains that science in its toleration of error would 
sacrifice the truths of God's word, which must be 
preserved amid all the mutabilities of human affairs. 
Religion complains that science too often leads to 
skepticism and reason too often assumes to occupy 
the place of God. 

History, it is to be feared, might show cause for 
both these classes of complaints ; but to the believer 
in the perfections of God, no antagonism between 
science and religion is possible. God does not con- 
tradict Himself. The truth in His works cannot 
invalidate in the least particular the truth of His 
word. Both coexist in the most beautiful harmony. 
Science has attacked religion because men assumed 
to have wisdom which they did not possess, and re- 
ligion has attacked science because men have con- 
structed creeds which they came to regard as the 
work of God and not of men. Let both "labor 
and wait," and eventually all seeming differences 
will meet their reconciliation. Education has no 
nobler end than that of aiding in bringing about 
this reconciliation ; and happy the teacher who in 
training a scholar makes a Christian! 

Religion, as I understand it, is educational. God 
gave men the capacity to become religious. "That 
was the true light that lighteth every man that 
cometh into the world." Certain conditions must 
be fulfilled, the strivings of the Spirit of God with 
our spirits must be heeded, and the converted soul 
begins its growth in grace, at first like a tender 
plant, afterwards like a great tree that the storms 
of life cannot uproot. 

All true education is religious. Systems of science 



THE PEOPLE IN RESPECT TO SCHOOLS. 369 

are but the thoughts of God. Kepler uttered but 
the sober truth when, enraptured with the discovery 
of his planetary laws, he exclaimed, " Great God, I 
think thy thoughts after thee !" All science, there- 
fore, leads to God. Its laws all converge and unite 
in Him; and the student cannot reach his journey's 
end until he rests safe on the Saviour's bosom. 

The Relations of Education to Government. — The 
first form of government was patriarchal : the father 
ruled his family: there was no state. Next came 
the monarchial form: the patriarch became the 
head of several or many families ; or, in times of 
danger or distress, some one stronger or wiser than 
others was made chief, and in the course of years, 
by conquests or affinities, a number of tribes united 
under one sovereign whose rule was absolute. The 
form that probably followed the monarchial was 
the aristocratic: some of the principal men of a 
nation, great in ability, wealth, or arms, demanded a 
share in the sovereignty and obtained certain con- 
cessions from the monarch, and became a check, 
more or less strong, upon his power. The form that 
was the last to be adopted is the republican, in which 
the people govern themselves by electing their own 
rulers. 

If, then, amidst all the mutations of nations, we 
can see governments ripening into democracies, it 
follows that forms of government are the result of 
education. A republican is the form toward which 
all highly civilized countries gravitate, and which 
the most highly civilized ones adopt; but such kinds 
of government have always failed and will always 
fail where the masses of the people are ignorant 



370 THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 

"Where universal suffrage is enjoyed, there must be 
universal education. 

A republic is endangered by ignorant rulers. It 
requires great wisdom in the men who make the 
laws for a great nation and adapt them to the varied 
circumstances of the people; great wisdom in the 
men who expound these laws and adjust the rights 
and redress the wrongs of individuals and commu- 
nities under them ; great wisdom in the men who 
support the authority of the government by a faith- 
ful execution of the laws thus framed by legislators 
and expounded by judges. 

A republic is endangered by ignorant voters. 
What the Palladium was to ancient Troy, what the 
Ark of the Covenant was to the Jews, the ballot-box 
is to Americans. Whenever it does not express the 
voice of intelligent freemen, republican institutions 
are in danger. Many other things are necessary to 
the well- working of the governmental machinery of 
a republic, but a pure ballot-box is vital. It is the 
nation's heart. But what shall we say of the ballot- 
box that expresses only the voice of unthinking, 
ignorant men ? Does it need a prophet to foretell 
the fate of that republic whose voters are such men ? 
May God put it into the hearts of our American 
people to provide an education — a right education 
— for all, that the republic may not perish ! 

A republic is endangered by unprincipled* dema- 
gogues. It was by the contentions of parties and 
party factions that Rome and Greece lost their liber- 
ties, and these contentions were fomented by 
ambitious men who sought their own interests at 
the expense of the state. The same class of dema- 



THE PEOPLE IN RESPECT TO SCHOOLS. 371 

gogues, not yet grown quite so bold, may be found 
in America. They pretend to be great friends of 
the people, flatter them, excite their prejudices, 
secure their votes, and, when necessary to their pur- 
poses, stir up the spirit among them that leads to 
mobs and violence. Success attends such efforts 
only among the ignorant. The trade of demago- 
guism does not flourish among intelligent men. 
Universal education is the antidote for this evil, 
and will save our country from the fate of the great 
republics of the past. 

2. The Agencies by which an Education can be 
obtained. — Taking the term "school" to signify 
any place where instruction is imparted, the means 
in present use for the purposes of instruction may 
be classified as follows : — 

1st. Family Schools. 
2d. Church Schools. 
3d. Private Schools. 
4th. State Schools. 
5th. People's Schools. 

The Family School. — The work of education is 
first commenced in the family, and parents are the 
first teachers. Some care .must be taken of children 
during infancy, or they would perish, and some in- 
struction must be imparted to them by parents, or 
they will be unfit to become members of even the 
rudest society. The wild savages of Africa and 
America do not wholly neglect this duty ; and as 
civilization advances, more care is taken to instruct 
children in the family, and in some countries, as 
in Judea, education was almost altogether of a 

33* 



372 THE PEOPLE IN RESPECT TO SCHOOLS. 

domestic character. The family indeed is a state 
in miniature, the unit of society ; and both reason 
and revelation devolve upon the heads of a family 
the responsibility of educating its younger members. 
An education received from parents in the bosom 
of a family must have certain advantages over an 
education received from teachers in a school. Pa- 
rents can commence the education of their children 
in their infancy, when they are most susceptible to 
educational influences ; they can continue it with- 
out interruptions in time or change in system ; they 
can adopt studies and regulate their family disci- 
pline with no one to question their authority or to 
interfere with their plans ; they can commingle in 
practical application, and vary when desirable, the 
different kinds of education, physical, intellectual, 
sesthetical, industrial, moral, and religious ; they 
can unite both paternal and maternal influences in 
their modes of instruction ; and they can shield 
their children from the temptations to which they 
would be exposed away from home, even when 
most watchfully cared for. These advantages, how- 
ever, it is evident, can only be attained under the 
most favorable circumstances. In even the most 
enlightened neighborhoods in this country, it would 
be found upon trial that parents are not, except in 
few instances, capable of imparting a complete edu- 
cation to their children, and that, when competent, 
their business interests would prevent it. The cost of 
employing private teachers with the necessary qua- 
lifications can only be paid by the wealthy. These 
causes have operated to remove children from the 
family to receive their education, and if the loss 



THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 373 

has been great, it will be seen in the sequel that the 
gain has also been considerable. 

That parents cannot in the present state of society 
fully instruct their children is a proposition which 
few will doubt ; but it is very certain that they might 
accomplish much more in this direction than they 
now perform. They are apt to shift the responsi- 
bility of the education of their children altogether 
from themselves, and throw it upon private teachers, 
or upon Church or State. This is most sadly wrong. 
Parents can have no higher interest than the edu- 
cation of their offspring, and nothing but the most 
pressing circumstances can excuse them from the 
performance of the duty of teaching these offspring 
so far as they may be able to discharge it. " Schools 
are a necessary evil," says a writer; and there is much 
truth in the sentiment. There can be no question 
that society in all its parts, government in all its 
functions, must feel the evil effects of defective 
home-training. Education is the more potent the 
earlier it is imparted. " Every new educator effects 
less than his predecessor." Parents cheat their 
children of their birthright when they leave their 
whole culture of head and heart to others. 

The Church School. — The Church has done 
much for education in all ages, though its object at 
times may have been more to increase its member- 
ship than to benefit the people. Priests in different 
countries of ancient times were the chief educators. 
This was the case in Egypt, Hindostan, and Judea; 
and during the long night of the Middle Ages, what 
little intellectual light was disseminated came from 
the cold cloister or the dark cell of the monastery. 



374 THE PEOPLE IN KESPECT TO SCHOOLS. 

At the present day the Church has everywhere its 
institutions of learning, and may justly vie with the 
State in the munificence of its contributions to their 
support. 

Knowing the power of early influences, it is not 
unnatural that Church authorities should contend 
for the right of education; nor is it unnatural that 
parents who are members of particular Churches 
and solicitous for the religious interests of their 
children, should desire to place them in circum- 
stances most favorable to the promotion of those 
interests. All the right the Church can have in the 
matter, however, in my opinion, is acquired from 
parents. There is nothing in the constitution of the 
Church itself that gives it this right; but, if parents 
or those having the control of children willingly 
select the Church as an agent to do their work, no 
valid objection can be made to it. God gave chil- 
dren to parents, and they are responsible to Him for 
their training and instruction. The Church may 
advise; but I can find nothing in the Bible nor in 
the nature of the case to warrant its use of force. I 
mean that what I have said shall apply to countries 
in which Church and State are united, or to those in 
which State authority is subordinate to Church au- 
thority; but it is intended to be more directly appli- 
cable to the state of affairs in governments like ours, 
— the only form of government consistent with indi- 
vidual liberty. 

The Private School. — The parents of several 
families have the right to educate their children to- 
gether, and they may freely appoint teachers for that 
purpose. If several, then many may do so, and thus 



THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 375 

Private Schools, larger or smaller, may be established. 
Or a teacher may collect about him as many children 
as choose to attend his instruction, and teach them, 
and, as far as I can see, he commits no offence. If 
the Church maybe selected as an agent in the work 
of education, so may an individual, parents being 
the primary source of educational power in both 
cases. 

The Private School differs from the Church School 
in this: the latter is necessarily denominational, if 
not sectarian, in its character, while the former may 
be composed of children from families belonging 
to different religious denominations, or to none. In 
such a school, religious instruction must consist of 
those broad principles which are recognized as true 
by the patrons of the school, or be entirely left to 
other agencies. It is a curious fact in the history of 
educational progress in America, that these Private 
Schools as organized in villages and rural districts 
suggested the necessity of our general Common 
School systems, and formed the basis, in principle, 
upon which they are founded. 

The State School. — In ancient Sparta the State 
virtually took their children from parents and edu- 
cated them wholly with reference to its own ends. 
It prescribed their clothing and food, as well as ap- 
pointed their teachers and dictated their course of 
study. Nowhere else has the State arrogated to 
itself such absolute power respecting education ; for 
the school systems of modern Europe are State in- 
stitutions in a very different sense from those esta- 
blished by the laws of Lycurgus. These systems, it 
is true, are under the control of State authoritv, but 



376 THE PEOPLE IN RESPECT TO SCHOOLS. 

this authority is exercised with reference to the in- 
terests of individuals and communities, as well as for 
that of the government. The people do not huild 
their own school-houses, provide their own school- 
furniture or text-hooks, or appoint their own teachers 
or pay them ; but the school-authorities commissioned 
by the governments under which they act generally 
show much respect for their circumstances in life, 
their peculiarities of opinion, and their religious be- 
lief. Against the sternest despotism in Europe, the 
people vindicate their right to some show of liberty 
in matters of education. In America there are no 
State schools, properly speaking. Here the State 
merely makes regulations according to which the 
people establish and support schools. 

The question as to the right of the State in the 
matter of education will depend very much upon 
the theory of government which may be adopted. 
If rulers are God-appointed, if the doctrine of the 
"Divine right of kings" can be substantiated, it 
follows that the will of the sovereign must be the 
law of the land, and systems of education may be 
established by the State as well as navies or armies. 
But if, on the other hand, the true theory of govern- 
ment is that which vests all power in the people, — 
makes the people the State, — then, in my judgment, 
the people can only delegate to officers chosen by 
them those powers which cannot be conveniently 
exercised by themselves as individuals. To do other- 
wise would be incompatible with the spirit of demo- 
cratic institutions. As a Democracy, the French 
people had no right to elect Louis Napoleon Empe- 
ror; and, as a Democraey, no American State would 



THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. -377 

have a right to usurp power respecting education 
which could be efficiently used in the hands of the 
people. The best policy in a Republic is for the 
government to encourage the people to do their own 
work as individuals and as communities. Its func- 
tions are more to adjust and regulate. In accordance 
with this policy, our State governments have not 
imitated the school systems of the Monarchies of 
Europe. When the people want school laws, they 
are made by representatives elected by their vote, 
and they are subject to repeal at their will. Good 
care is taken to place the working power of their 
systems of education in the hands of officers chosen 
directly by them, whose interests are identical with 
those whom they serve, and whose official acts are 
open to their criticism and subject to their revision. 
Even the Prussian system of education, the best in 
the Old World, could not be adopted in this country 
without sacrificing the principle which underlies our 
whole form of government. We might have better 
school-houses, better teachers, longer school-terms, 
larger appropriations to schools, if our State authori- 
ties provided them independent of the popular will; 
but such an exercise of power would in so many 
other respects prove hurtful that it can never be 
tolerated while we remain faithful to the principles 
of Republicanism. 

The People's School. — Every child that comes 
into the world has a right to an education. 

Under the most favorable circumstances, an edu- 
cation might be received in a family; but to extend 
the benefits of a good education to all children in 



378 THE PEOPLE IN RESPECT TO SCHOOLS. 

this way, as society is now constituted, is simply 
impossible. 

In some respects the Church could perform the 
work of education better than any other agency ; 
but in this country denominational differences would 
utterly defeat any attempt to organize a general 
system of education embracing the whole people 
subject to its control. If each denomination should 
undertake the work of educating the children of 
those who belong to it, the task would be found 
very difficult and expensive among scattered fa- 
milies ; and immense numbers of children whose 
parents belong to no denomination would be left 
uncared for. Besides, in a larger view, it is not 
desirable, either for the cause of Religion or Re- 
publicanism, that sectarian prejudices should be 
increased ; and this would inevitably be the case if 
each religious denomination should establish schools 
for the exclusive benefit of its own membership. 

Unaided by other agencies, private means would 
probably, in the present condition of society in this 
country, supply, in good measure, higher institu- 
tions of learning, such as Colleges, Academies, and 
Seminaries, and provide schools for young pupils in 
towns and thickly-settled rural districts; but no 
system of charity could be instituted that would 
furnish the advantages of an education to the chil- 
dren who live in sparsely-settled sections of coun- 
try, or to the poor who are found everywhere. It 
might be objected to Private Schools, also, that they 
would be so managed as to subserve more the inte- 
rests of individuals or corporations than the larger 
interests of communities or states. The end of edu- 



THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SCHOOL. 379 

cation cannot be answered in a nation without the 
adoption of a broad, generous system of schools that 
will bless with its advantages all sections of the 
country and all classes of men. 

Great as is the interest of the State in the edu- 
cation of its citizens, insuperable objections exist 
against investing it with plenary educational powers, 
in a Kepublic. As public interests would be over- 
looked by private institutions of learning, so private 
rights would be trampled upon by a system of State 
Schools. Parents have too deep an interest in the 
welfare, especially the moral and religious welfare, 
of their children, to allow the sacred trust of their 
education, for which God will hold them responsible, 
to pass from their hands into those of State authori- 
ties, who are cold and distant, and who, looking only 
at the results of their schemes upon masses of chil- 
dren, are apt to be regardless of their effect upon 
individuals. An educational agency should com- 
mence with individuals and go up to masses, for if it 
commence with masses it will scarcely get down to 
individuals. That cannot be considered a right sys- 
tem of education which provides a great educational 
mill into whose hopper all children are thrown, and, 
when each has been subjected to the same grinding 
process, hands them back again to society. At the 
best, State Schools can only educate the head ; their 
machinery is much too clumsy to reach the heart. 

Avoiding most, if not all, the dangers and diffi- 
culties of other classes of schools, the People's 
School recommends itself as an agency best calcu- 
lated to meet the wants of a free State. This kind 
of school belongs exclusively to America, and is 

34 



380 THE PEOPLE IN RESPECT TO SCHOOLS. 

one of the characteristics of the present age. Sys- 
tems of schools belonging to this class, by a mis- 
nomer sometimes called State Schools, are found, 
somewhat varied in their provisions, in nearly all 
the States of this Union. They furnish, when well 
administered, a good education to all, — free both to 
rich and poor; they encourage home instruction, 
and resemble family schools in bringing together 
the children of neighboring families ; they protect 
the individual interests of parents by placing the 
power of building school-houses, supplying school 
furniture and apparatus, fixing courses of study, 
providing text-books, appointing teachers, levying 
school-taxes, and expending school-moneys, in the 
hands of officers chosen by them from among them- 
selves ; they educate together the children of all 
denominations, but admit any amount and kind of 
moral and religious instruction that their patrons 
may agree to have imparted in them ; they satisfy 
the just demands of the State by providing means 
for the education of all its citizens, and allow its 
authorities just power enough to regulate the work 
by general laws looking to the interests of all con- 
cerned; they compel no child to attend the schools 
established by them, parents being at liberty to 
patronize any other kind of school or to educate 
their children at home, but they tax all persons and 
all property, because there is no other just way of 
obtaining the necessary funds to educate all the 
children in a community or a State, and a body of 
citizens has as much right to tax itself for this 
purpose as for any other. Such are the principal 
excellencies which recommend the People's Schools, 



THE AUTHORITIES OE THE SCHOOL. 381 

and which should attract to their support every 
American citizen. They are a most beautiful ex. 
pression of the spirit of free institutions ; and, when 
well understood, none will oppose them but those 
who are blindly selfish or who hate a democratic 
form of government. 

The People's Schools should be cherished and 
supported by the people. ISTo philanthropy is better 
than that which carries the light of knowledge as 
a free gift to the poor, and no patriotism can be 
higher than that which provides a good education 
for a whole nation. If the educational results of 
such schools bring disappointment, the responsibility 
rests with the people. They provide the machinery, 
and they must watch its working, — must watch it 
even if farm, and desk, and shop, and office, be 
neglected ; for the dearest interest of a nation is the 
education of its children. 

Most solemnly let me say that without a full and 
free education of all our youth, our democratic 
institutions will prove a failure. A Monarchy or 
an Aristocracy is possible anywhere, but a Republic 
can never be long maintained among an ignorant 
people. All the dangers which threaten our govern- 
ment centre in this one. A sovereign, a voter, 
must know how to rule, how to vote, — or, otherwise, 
selfish demagogues may govern by his means, and 
this is death to the Republic. 

If we need any stronger motive to induce us to 
lend our aid to promote the cause of education, we 
have it in this : God demands it of us. The talents 
of our children are ours to care for, and we dare not 
hide them in a napkin and bury them in the earth.