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EXTRACTS 
 
 -^tfi' "-« 
 
 FROM A 
 
 TEACHER'S OBSERVATIONS 
 
 ON 
 
 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT, 
 
 WITH 
 
 INTRODUCTORY AND CONCLUDING REMARKS. 
 
 BY 
 
 A. niNGWALL FOBJyYCB^ 
 
 I.OOAT- BVPERIKTENPEKT. 
 
 ADDRESSED TO THE SCHOOL AUTHORITIES AND SCHOOL POPU- 
 LATION OF THE COUNTY OF WELLINOTON, N.R. 
 
 E L O R A : 
 
 PRINTED AT THE " OBSERVER" NEWSPAPER AND JOB OFFICE. 
 
 1870. 
 
 .•f*»l 
 
77 1**^'^ 
 
 1 
 
INTRODUCTORY, 
 
 ^vv 
 
 '^^^a 
 
 4 
 
 1 liave thought T migh<: do no small service to Teachers 
 and their Scholars, and to the parents of these Scholars, by 
 collecting and arranging for their perusal and reflection, 
 some observations on School Discipline to be found inter- 
 spersed through two works of a recent writer. Compai-atlvelv 
 few of those who i-ead these pages might ever come across 
 them otherwise.* Some well known facts of a natui-e very 
 trying to all Teachers, are adverted to and commented on 
 in such a way as to give them a better chance of being 
 seriously considered by those who have the ability to remedy 
 them, than if they formed part of what might be looked 
 on as an attack against individuals, and which, for that 
 reason would probably be resented and indignantly rejected. 
 Without feeling it necessary to give an opinion on some of 
 the writer's views, or considering myself bound to endorse 
 every one of his remarks, I believe they will in general 
 commend themselves to my readers, as being remarkably 
 judicious and highly practical. The belief that counsel, 
 such as is given, is wanted and will be welcomed by some 
 who have a right to look for advice of the kind at my hands 
 — added to the conviction that it is so much better than any- 
 thing strictly original would have been, is all the apology with 
 which I think it necessary to preface the writer's remarks. 
 It is true that they have a primary reference to private 
 schools, and to schools taught rather by Masters than by 
 Mistresses ; — attended exclusively by hoys ; — and not under 
 the control of a Board of School Trustees ; — but, granting 
 all this, there is, I think, sufficient coram an ground to render 
 what he says, in most respects, suitable for ourselves. 
 
 " The Teacher's work is far from being so common-plac 
 and ignoble as some people think : — on the contrary, it is on 
 which calls into exercise every ru;rve and sinew of ment 
 power, and requires the use ot the peculiar talents of neai ly e> •> 
 ery other hoBorable profession. Fikst: — We must be practio 
 
 Statesmen ; we must be able to organize and legislate » 
 
 must make constitutions for our little empives, and lav 
 which will not only protect the weak against the strong bi.- 
 
 • A Book about Boyii, by A. R. Hope ; (reprint) Bocton, 18£». 
 A Book ftbout Domiales, ditto ditto ditto 
 
win regulate and encourage labor, and punish idleness : tKu* 
 solving the highest problems of poliljical economy. Again, 
 —We must be able to drill and discipline our Lilliputian. 
 Armies, to give the word of command with decision and. 
 promptitude ;-tQ,say " Go," to a boy in such a manner thafr 
 he goes without, further question— we require skill and 
 knowledge to handle our oolumns.—we must take care that 
 our officers obey our orders ; that our divisions move in due 
 regularity— that the works are not assailed before the out- 
 posts are carried. We must be Lawyers too, and possess 
 the judicial faculty in a high degree. V\o ai-e daily called 
 upon to preside at criminal trials in which we conduct the 
 prosecution agree upon the verdict and pronounce the sen- 
 tence. And this we have to do upon evidence which can 
 never be quite relied upon, and often, upon no evidence at 
 all, -tor, except m very heinous cases, the right minded 
 Master will encourage his boys not to allow themselves to 
 be subpamaed against one another, and will, above all, dis- 
 countenance the practice of laying informations. Our 
 conscience would be like flint, if we could use this tremendous, 
 power hastily or unjustly and not feel remorse. It is a 
 good rule for us to cherish a reluctance to condemn, and, 
 to uphold the good old maxim, that an accused person is 
 innocent, till he be proved guilty. But to know proof 
 trom suspicion is sometimes hard. 
 
 "Who can deny however, that it is the faults of parenta 
 rather than of their children, that the conscientious School- 
 master, has, m too many cases, to do battle with ? It ha» 
 been very often my experience, that the father won't take the 
 trouble to manage his boys, and the mother can't ; and so 
 for want of a little wise and wholesome restraint, these boys 
 grow up insubordinate, conceited and selfish, a curse to 
 themselves and to others. The parents refuse to believe 
 that their pets can do wrong ; they uphold this boy's, 
 goodness of heart, and that boy's honesty, with a perti- 
 nacity which astonishes the unprejudiced observers of these 
 young gentlemen's conduct And even, if they are obliged 
 by the stern logic of facts, to recognize that their darlings 
 are not all that they ought to be, they find comfortable 
 phrapes with which to palliate the harsh disclosures, and 
 save their beloved ones from the consequences which ought 
 to attend all deviation from the right path. One, when ill- 
 tempered and selfish is declared to have a « peculiar dis- 
 position," and it is discovered that severity does not answer 
 ■«nth another— if haply he is discovered pilfering. An 
 •ffectionate parent once informed me with regard to a new- 
 Qupil, that I muit not be surprised to find that his boy ha4i 
 
% 
 
 '^" strong imagination." This, T very soon discovered to be 
 His way of putting the unpleasant fact, that the boy was tho 
 most inveteiute liar I ever met with. There is no straw of 
 sentiment so small, that consanguineous affection will not 
 seize hold of it to escape the unpleasant, though sometime, 
 necessary duty of dmggi«g the child out of the way in 
 which he should not go. 
 
 "Some parents have not time to train their own children 
 properly -and evw, if all had time, they have not all ability 
 lor It. ^.ranting the ability to rule, the weakness of human 
 natuTO often |)rev,nit8 them, from being strictly just to their 
 own chihlreu. How many parents have I not seen blind 
 to the faults of bad children ! How difficult to open their 
 eyes I and even when undeceived, the average parent of the 
 present day seldom acts with due severity ,-either because 
 be lias not courage to do so, or because he is imbued with 
 the iiew-fashioued " rule of love" principles. It is certainly 
 Hard tor a parent to punish his own child justly :_but it 
 parents ar£ unable or unwilling to manage their own child- 
 ren, they might do more to countenance and assist the Master 
 upon whom the task falls. There are some who send their 
 sons to school with as little thought a« they send their foals 
 to grass ; and, the thing once done, seem much more con- 
 cerned for the welfare of the latter than the former 
 
 But just as hkely the parents take too much interest in " 
 our work They keep a jealous eye over what we are teach- 
 ing, which they of course, know more about than we do 
 Ihey discover that their boys are not getting on fastennn^h' 
 and remove them to the care of some other Master -m 
 we heaitily wish joy of them. Now we are all bigo;-d ' 
 behevei-Binourselv^s, and have ro faith i« the systems of 
 othei-s ; so it is natural in us to feel some real concern for 
 a boy who IS thus deprived of the enormous advantage of 
 our t^ching, and given over to be ruined, as we think, bv 
 aa inferior workman. So this is one of the chief annoyance 
 ot a Schoolmaster, and in the present state of things I fear 
 xve must just bear it with as little complaint as possible I 
 suppo^ parents must have some interest in the education of 
 their children, and must be allowed to take whatever steoB 
 seem best to them, to secure their being brought up to L 
 wise men :-only one can't help wishing sometimes, that the 
 parents were a little wiser themselves. Of course, this boy's 
 father and mother have a right to take him away from mr 
 school and send him to another Master; but as' I think I 
 am getting the boy's young ideas to shoot in a most satisfao- 
 tory way;— and as T consider the master he is sent to to 
 be Ignorant and conceited and remember the day when h« 
 
Va, himself a pupil of mine, and how he blundered, 1 can't 
 .elp feeling annoyed by the change. Then the parenU 
 
 fatrhl.m"'"^'^'^' and question our infalHbility^ 
 f a boy has told a downright falsehood, and I give him a 
 
 lown on me next day. Her boy never told « lie ; I must 
 1^ raisteken ; he must have been cruelly slandered ;_h, 
 fact, I have been acting like a brute and a tyrant. Thesa 
 
 .octiines find favor with the young gentleman himself, and 
 «.f course my authority over him, is to a great extent, gone. 
 
 amo.fn?%T'^''-°'^'"^^ ''-"'''^^ ^il^J^""* ^ wholesome 
 ZJThf^i^V^^'T^ *"^ correction, but it should be .ur 
 care that this be made as small and as little galling as pos- 
 
 know«K 7^1,^-1^"' '' '* '^^^^y^^ For inftanceri 
 
 ^onZt ^^"l ""^'T *^'' ^^y' "'•" "•^"^^"J by a chronic and 
 constant state of humanitarian punishment. Mostly all 
 of them are kept inwardly groaning from morning to night 
 £don^T '^/«-««"'' i-^Bitions and detenti^x 
 
 intLf^ * '"'^ r *•'« ''^y *^f d*^*«'"»g tl^«>" from 
 
 nischief, but a great deal in the way of spoiling their hand- 
 
 wnting and .souring their te.np<,r. 1 once ventured to hint 
 
 to the mas erofthis school, that it would be a good thing 
 
 hr,r^'^i° r'/'n *'■* ^^''' "" occieional tbuSderbolt £ 
 
 1.^ ?^ •^'*''''t ^''°^"^' ^'""h- i" ""y experience, ha. 
 more mfli^nce on the minds, and less on the spirits of boys 
 than any other knul of puninhn^ont. By puniJhing in thia 
 
 had played m school, might have a fair chance of le^rn- 
 
 hri. ^Vu •''!•• ^^ T^ ''^"■«^' ""•" *^y^ if tl»«y Reserve it, 
 Uways with justice, discretion and sympathy, and they will 
 iiot be much troubled, but will take it all in goo3%art 
 h^rZ'" ^Z ^'"''^ *^' ^« ^° well-but, let us take 
 1^/ r iTt '^ "°.* **" *^«" ^"'"bl^* o^e*- ""ch, by hasty 
 
 unjust actions a,»d unkind .^traints, by over strictne^ 
 and over indulgence— yea, by allowing them to sin and 
 thus causing them to sorrow. 
 
 Tf !!I ^*''® 5°"""^ **"** '^y^ *''® ^^'^ much as they are treated. 
 If you are too easy and indulgent with them they will take 
 
 ifLTl' T^"" ^''" ^*"'*^' *"^ ^«*^ y«" » P'«"y dance 
 atterthem. If you are too strict and exacting they will 
 
 become sly and cunning ; but if you treat them with firm- 
 
 iicw nnd discimion you will have no difficulty with moet. 
 
 B^s appreciate being rulel like reasonable beings. They 
 
 wiU obey a strong despot whose only law seems to them his 
 
 tamper and caprice ; but they will obey with far more 
 
VM^inoBs and cheerfulness, » constitutional monarch, 
 who Hhews thorn clenrly how tho principle of his rule is the 
 counnon gwd of all. Hoys know very well that they some- 
 tuues do Hron(< and deserve to be puriiahed.aud the discreet 
 luubter will make good use of his knowledge. Furthernvore 
 he will not frown too severely on every little fault, but will 
 keep his real thunderbolts for heinous sinners, llu will say 
 to his l)oy8 in elloct : " I know that you are naturally prone 
 to laugli and chatter, and play tricks, and make grinuwei, 
 in season and out of season ; and you know tliat I am here 
 to make you do something more useful though less agreeable 
 ..t certain times and places ; and you know too that if I 
 did not make you do this, I should bo a humbug. I know 
 uioreover, that you aro willing enough to believe uie, and 
 to do AH 1 wish you; but I know that you are unsteady 
 id purpose and weak of memory ; and therefore, when jou 
 forget or fail to obey me I shall feel myself under the 
 necessity of stimulating your will and memory by some 
 simple means. And 1 expect you, on the other hand, to 
 take It all in good part, and to believe that it is no pleasure 
 to me to soe those little hands clenched in pain and those 
 httle hpa working hard to repress your feelings. So, let us 
 think no harm of each other, but both agree to hate and 
 scorn whatever is maun, or foul, or dLshonest, whether in 
 man or boy." Such an appeal as this, will not be found to 
 lack titting response. And the advantage of ruling your 
 boys on such principles will be some degree of mutual 
 trust and kindly good will. The boys will not look upon 
 you so much as their natural enemy but rather as a friend 
 to whom they may tell their joys and sorrows and receive 
 encouragement and sympathy. Yen will find that you can 
 best put down certain forms of misbehaviour, by warning 
 your boys against tl^ and asking them to fix their own 
 punishment if they ! aj/et the warning. You will find that 
 if a boy tell you a deliberate lie his companions will at once 
 betray him by a hearty groan of disgust. You will find that 
 if you have forgotten to inflict a certain punishment which 
 you had ordered, the culprits themselves will not hasitate to 
 remind you. You will find a boy asking to be punished 
 when you are inclined to lot him off",— "and then I'm not 
 hkely to do it again." You will find that boys take a 
 pnde in your justice and severity, and value your praise and 
 blame more keenly than you might suppose it possible. 
 Why, the severest punishment I ever inflict, is not to speak 
 to a »>oy for somo days. This is reserved for lying and such 
 like oflfences ; and if the culprit be not hardened you may 
 aee him with downcast looks, hanging about me, or placing 
 
fcimMlt tu o.y way, day after d»j, in hopes of one word •■ • 
 sign of returning favor. 
 
 "The eesence of my i-y stem of discipline would J>e a judiciou* 
 
 «ontrol, not inconsistent with a di^e measure of frwHlom, 
 
 nor such as to prevent a boy's nature from healthily develop. 
 
 tag Itself. I would make as tew laws m posnible, but would 
 
 toko care that thoy were rigorously observed. I would try 
 
 to teach the boys under my care to take a pride in my 
 
 iystem of discipline, remeinljcriiig that the tone of feeling 
 
 among themselves will always be moi-e powerful than th« 
 
 •nathemas of any master. I would, on no account allow 
 
 their parents to interfere with my regulations. If a boy 
 
 obeyed me,— well and good ;- if he did not he should be 
 
 punished ; if that had no effect on him, he should le.we the 
 
 school. In fact, the ideal master, whoso picture 1 try te 
 
 answer, and God knows how much harder I should try, is a 
 
 man possessed of all good qualities, and especially of those 
 
 which will gain him the obedience and affection of his pwpils. 
 
 He his wise without being pedantic, firm though not harsh, 
 
 active though not medcning. He thoroughly uiidei-stands 
 
 the nature of boys, and is well acquainted with all their 
 
 tncks ; but he knows when to see, and when seeing, not to 
 
 «eem to see. He conducts himself towards them in such a 
 
 way as to invite their friendship, and, at the same time to 
 
 check familiarity. He shows a warm interest in all their 
 
 pursuits and fills them with part of his own enthusiasm for 
 
 whatever things are lovely and useful and of good report. 
 
 -T^^Vi*^® ^ ^®"*''' ^'^*""® ^- gaining influnce over his 
 pupils if he take some interest in their pursuits out of school, 
 which, «fter all, in a boy's eyes, are the most im[>ortant in- 
 terests of hfe, and thus he may l>ecomc truly the ruler, the 
 king of boyB, the fountain of honor amongst them, the model 
 of excellence. Then will he be obeyed readily, not servilely, 
 by milyects who will fight for the honor of doing his bidding. 
 Ihen will his kindly word of praise be thirsted for, and his 
 censure will call forth shame and contempt. Then will ho 
 not be deceived and plotted against, because his l>oys will do 
 everything b}- his advice or orders. Then will his compan- 
 ionship and presence be counted honor and happiness, his 
 •miles will be waited for, his wants anticipated. 
 
 "I like to see boys playing at purely boyish games, in w 
 l)oyish way, with companions of their own age, and with a 
 spmt shewing that they play voluntarily and not as a task. 
 But I like to see these games kept within their proper 
 bounds, and not allowed to encroach upon matters of more 
 importance. It is not a good lesson to teach that the busi- 
 ness- of life is to play, a lesson which too many boys learn at 
 
 (V 
 
in 
 
 (V 
 
 •ohool, ftnd carry into practice with a vftngeanco, when ihnf 
 grow older. BoyH are ho fo«d of fun, timt thoy are apt to 
 forget a« laws, Uiviiie and h«inan, for its nake ; and hence, 
 they will flight in ckjvtir (kweits, and RuwrMful hoaxei*, 
 taking no ahamo, and thinking ih) ill. TIuh in a imiiiful 
 truth about boy«, M\il a ^xHiit on which thoiv iirorai Hcuao 
 must lie gradually enlightened. For my part, it grieves iu« 
 to see truth made light of, evep in jest ; hut I am pvirauad- 
 vd, that enough justioo iH not (Jone to Iwys, in the way of 
 g«-Kiing rather th«n driving th«ir moral iuHtincts. You 
 can teaoh Iwys a great d«al more than yon (Kj, if you try 
 harder, and set more wiHoly Bbout it. Thoy won't care to 
 do wrong if you can show them that tliey will le just at 
 happy in doing right. But if you set your face aH a flint 
 agauist all kinds of fuu, your pupils c-onie to look upon 
 amusement and wrong doing as Byuonynious terms, and as 
 amuseirent is a necessity of their natun?, they Bnppose that 
 wrong doing must Iw bo also. So the gocnl master should 
 encourage and watch, and as much as is possible or advis^ 
 eblo mix with Uie amusements of his boys, lest while he eats 
 and drinks and takes his own pleasure a{»rt, tlte devil comes 
 unawares ujhju the flock and has his will among them. 
 
 "Boys have a great deal of natural faith, and it require* 
 hut little eflbrt on my part to make them l)elieve in my 
 wisdom, and justice and dignity. Sometimes, passion may 
 get the better of this faith, and they may call mo hard 
 names— always behind my hack— but on the whole, they 
 believe that thoy are far more likely to be in the wrong 
 tlian J, and it is this belief which is the greatest power I 
 have over them. T remember when I wits a bov, that nn« 
 of my own masters was like some others, harsh,' capricious, 
 unrelenting. He made no allowances, he puni.shed without 
 discrimination, — as often unjustly as justly. Well, we did 
 not exactly love this man, bnt we reverenced him. We 
 took all his harshness and cruelty as a matter of course, and 
 fed with thankfulness upon the rare crumbs of human kind- 
 ness, which from time to time, he flung us. We believed 
 in him then, and sucli is the force of custom, that some of 
 «8 believe in him to this day. Boys take a positive pride 
 in a teacher who keeps a tight hold over them, and makes 
 them stick to their work :— and such a man's strictness will 
 not in the least stand in the way of his popularity if he be 
 just and genial. 
 
 " But there is danger of our not only being dictatorial, 
 bv.t miel and cross. The habit of fault-finding is dangerous 
 to any man's sweetness of temper aiifl peace of mind : — and 
 it is a great part of our professional duty to find out and 
 
10 
 
 florrect faults. Daily and hourly we are not only tempted 
 but compellod to rebuke and scold, and punish ; and we 
 ■houM be more than mortal if we always exercised our 
 tunctions with love and wisdom. Not long since one of 
 my boys did something that he ought not to have done : 
 and It was my sorrowful duty to send out the fiat, concern- 
 ing him, that he should be punished.— lie knew that he 
 had done wrong, and that 1 was doing right, and he wa« 
 not sullen nor snivelling, but made up his mind to endure 
 as bravely as might be, what, in his little world, is the 
 great evil of life. And then he came to me, modestly, trust- 
 fully, to tell me that it was all over, and that he had not 
 cried, and that he was sorry. And I knew that he was 
 speaking from his heart, and we settled that we would not 
 Uo It again. And he was grateful that I forgave him so 
 soon, and did not continue to reproach him, with what was 
 at worst, a very venial fault, tho' a grave infringement of 
 scholastic discipline. Then he dismissed the matter from 
 his miiid, and ran out to-play. Jkit I shall not forget it so 
 soon, for I felt that if I had all the kingdoms of the earth, 
 J would have given them to he as simple minded as that 
 boy as trank, as honest, as ready to forget pain and sorrow. 
 And suddenly I remembered that I had wronged that very 
 l>oy, and had not been so frank in confessing my fault. A 
 day or two before I had made him lose his place in the 
 class by mistake; and on discovering my error, had been 
 ashamed to set it right, lest my boys should suspect that 1 
 was at any tims inattentive and forgetful. And now ] felt 
 deeply, how mean my conduct seemed beside his. 1 am 
 Htraid some Schoolmasters will think that I took a step ruin- 
 ous to the discipline of my school. For, when my boys 
 came back from their play, 1 told them what a wrong and 
 cowardly thing I had done. ] told them that I was asham- 
 ed and sorry, and earnestly hoi.ed both that I would never 
 commit such a fault again, and that none of theoi would 
 toilow my example. 1 told them that I was no better than 
 they, only [xerhaps a little wiser ; and that,-_raan or boy,— 
 each of us was daily tempted to be dishonest and a coward 
 and nrust wrestle with and conquer temptation if he would 
 be good and happy. My boys for the moment, looked 
 rather astonished at this confession, but 1 did not find that 
 It diminished their respect for me. I have tried all alone 
 to understand the thoughts of my bovs, to enter into their 
 feelings, to sympathize with their joys and sorrows. Thus 
 
 i may say with truth. i\\ai. 1 ha^e Ipi-mp^I -?nr» 
 
 them, than I have taught. 
 "If our boys sometimes take a i)leasure in tormentirg us, 
 
II 
 
 thej little know how difficult and vexatious it often is for 
 tis to torment them, as I suppose they think we take a 
 I easure in doing. They lit Jinow hoJ: hard it rometiLi 
 IS to frown and punish. They little know how often we 
 cloud our own happiness in pronouncing sentence of boyish 
 misery against them. Tliey little think when we are dS 
 a certain disagreeable part of our duty, that the smart some- 
 times lingers longer and sorer in our hearts, than in their 
 fhnv 1 "T ^^^« "-^P'oached niyself for thrashing 
 
 Hboy.hours after the tears have dried from his eyes and 
 
 t n,i;"".l T " l*"^""^ ''i" « ^'''''^y '•«'"P- And some, 
 times the pleasure of many of n.y afternoon walks has been 
 
 spoiiedby thoughts of the merry urchin whom I have left 
 
 h,cked up in school, to . , out or learn some drearv task. 
 
 JNay I have lain awake ha., the night, thinking of the punish- 
 
 ment winch it Would be my duty to inflict next „,on"ng. 
 
 rrX^n"''^''? *"•"' ^''^'^ ^^^''^^ *^"« I suppose; but 
 not l! .'^'' wiser people ought to grant, that nature has 
 not given us less kindly hearts than other men, and to an- 
 
 r„',tbrHr""'^ '"'* "' «"•' '" •»'"« -""'•' 
 
 "There is in every physically and mentally healthy boy, a 
 
 sort of latent energy, winch irresistibly drives hin/ to iVin, 
 
 jump, laugh, niake a noi.se, and otherwi.se give occasion U> 
 
 nsympathizmg guardians to scol.l and punish. I admit 
 
 in7«! r •'f g^'^"'*"^' /^^^J»ng tl»e young, thoughtfulness, 
 
 and sef control ; b.it 1 cannot for one moment place this 
 
 against the great danger of confounding in the youthful mind 
 
 Buch faults, with the fruits of moral depravity ; nor the 
 
 equal risk of bottling up such energies to burst forth at 
 
 length with more force, hut in some less harmless direction. 
 
 The truly wi.se educator will take care to let this latent 
 
 energy of youth, have some natural vent, or if it Ijecomes 
 
 nconvenient in any partictdar form, will distinctly prohibit 
 
 It m that form, and repre.ss it under the head of disobedience : 
 
 but will never forget, that to t.eat it as real sin, will only 
 
 (Jim a boy s moral perceptions, lessening his respect for virtue 
 
 and abnorence of crime. 
 
 "In after years, when our boys are men, j.ome of them, not 
 the best, will talk of us with ridicule or even malice. But 
 " we have done our duty, some will look back to our 
 tyranny with love and gratitude, rememberin« sins that we 
 ftelped them to conquer, and blessings, that we urged them 
 t« attain. And I for one, would not think my life wasted. 
 If I hoped that I had saved one young soul from the curw 
 ot selfishness and deceit :- brought one vuung scholar to 
 learn diligently in the school of God. 
 
15 
 
 " Our work is a noble and a worthy one. But more, it is a 
 happy work : it has pleasures that far out weigh its vexa- 
 tions. Many a ray of sunlight is thrown across our path 
 by the pure thoughts and the kindly words— and the honest 
 joys of boyhood. This very day as I was going to punish a 
 timid slirinking boy, who had committed a grievous offence 
 against my Medo-Persic law.j,-4ns ^-kssiuates begged him 
 off and i.>- a large majority, agreed to learn an extra lesson 
 if he were not punished. And lately, wiien T was going to 
 ^Junish a Loy for an injury done to a companion tliatc3.iipan- 
 1011 came to me privately, and entreated nje to let him take 
 the punislit. lent instead. I and other masters could tell many 
 such .stones. Are not these things sunshine to our hearts ? 
 And when a boy Jias been naughty and is sorry.anrl boars hia 
 punishment manfully and meekly, and listens to my reproof,- 
 and does not sulk nor spite me, and tells me that he will 
 not ilo it again, and I know that he is speaking sincerely, is 
 this not good and h«ppy ? 
 
 ^•" And sometimes a father or mother comes to talk with me 
 about one of my i)upils, and is not supercilious nor prejudiced, 
 nor blindly aff"ectionate, but treats me with respect and con- 
 sideration, and believes that lam doing my best for the boy, 
 «ncis grateful to me for it and enters into 4Hy 'diffioultios 
 and shews readiness to aid my efforts, will this not comfort 
 and strengthen nie in my work ?— or,— when men who were 
 once my boys, and worried and vexed me, and were whipped 
 andiebukedbyme, come back to thank me for what I have 
 -done for them, will not that make me happy ? Itis a pleusant 
 thing to know that, even if they do not a2)preciate your inter- 
 -est in them as boys, there are very few men who have other 
 than a kindly feeling towainis their old tyrants. I believe 
 that only bad men look back with hate upon the strictest of 
 Kchoolmastore. I have met once, and, thank Heaven, only 
 once, with a man who spoke bitterly and spitefully of a highly 
 respected Sdioolmaster, who had given him a well deserved 
 thrashing many years before. I did not seek that individual's 
 mrther acquaintance. 
 
 " And it is sweet and joyful for us, at all times, to be able 
 to rejoice over boys, who are gradually improving, taking an 
 interest m their studies, coming even to love them ; overcom- 
 ing bad habits, trying to do right. This is what we may see 
 tiaily li we open our eyes :— and if we see other boys doing ill, 
 we should not grieve overmuch, but hope and pray that God, 
 in His own good time, .and by other lips than oar's, may teacb 
 them those lessons which we cannot make them learn." 
 
CONCLUDING REMARKS. 
 
 In transcribing- the foregeing observations, the writer's- 
 precise words have been adheiecl to, with the exception of a 
 very few trivial verbal alteiafions, which, for my purpose 
 appeared to be improvements : indeed the phraseology, even 
 when it was slightly sarcastic, was too much in keeping with 
 the pointed nature of the remarks to allow of mv meddlins 
 with it. ^ ^ 
 
 As there are some peculiar grievances however, connected 
 with our own Common Schools, a few remarks on some of 
 them, may not be in appropriate here. 
 
 I. The uncertain tenure of tlie office of I'eacher. This may 
 arise from various causes : for exami)]e— the annual change 
 in the composition ot the Board of School Trustees, one of 
 the members retirins;— difference of opinion between the 
 two Trustees who remain in office, as to re-engagement of the 
 Teacher— tire prevalent practice of lending too ready an ear, to 
 disparaging remarks regarding the Teacher — circulated freely 
 in the shape of complaint with little enquiry into their correct- 
 ness, and leading the Trustees to believe that he is not giving 
 satisfaction, and cannot therefoie be doing his duty : — the su- 
 perabundance of young Teachers without experience, and na- 
 turally enough, ready to accept a salary which would be alto- 
 gether insufficient for those whose wants are not confined to 
 themselves. Another common enough grievance is, 
 
 II. An unsatisfactory appointment of l^mstees. This 
 may consist an their parts of — a lack of intelligence, and of 
 educational advantage!), accompanied however by an excess of 
 aelf-esteem — a natural dispodition of such a kind as to causa 
 frequent disagreement with those appointed to act along with 
 them : — personal habits unfavourable to a correct estimate of 
 thftimportauce of a- Teacher's being as far as possible, blame-- 
 less — liability to be swayed in the appointment of a Teacher 
 by family ties, chureh connection or association with party : — 
 a tendency to allow pecuniary considerations undue weight in 
 selecting a Teacher, providing essential school accomodation, 
 or means of study. 
 
 If such features of character, and habits will stand id tha 
 way of the eflSciency of School Trustees, as I believe they must — 
 B chief reason is that, what the School is, and what good it is to- 
 be productive of, depends so much on the Teacher— Bndi that 
 Ilia appointment is in the hands of the Trustees:— It is surelj^ 
 
14 
 
 then of vitul iniportanoe, that they be not only men who can 
 discrnuiDate, but who will really employ an undoubtedly good 
 Teacher— if it does cost more than tliev might kct some othera 
 lor. 
 
 I might add that Trustees would do well in the appointment 
 of a Teacher, to endeavor to secure one who has not merely 
 general qualifications, rendering him legally elegible as a 
 Teacher, but such other quiilificaticos as will give a special 6t. 
 ness for taking charge of the particular School he is chosen to. 
 Teachers who might be quite suitable in some situations, 
 would be as much the reverse in others ; The age and sex of the 
 Teacher have to be taken into account— natural temperament 
 as far as it can be ascertained, and maturity and stability of 
 character— on the other band the general nature of the home 
 training of the children in the Section— the numbers attending 
 the school!?, and thoii probable age and standing. 
 
 Another p,pint that should not be disregarded, is that choos- 
 ing a Teacher is not like jlrawing a prize or a blank in a lotterv, 
 although it may be gone about in i.s hap-huJSurd a fushion. 
 
 ^As the possession of a ('ertifioate is one thing, and ability to 
 teach— or the teachitig faculty— and abilityto govern a school— 
 another and very different .thing— and one which a County 
 Board of Examiners can know very little about, there is the 
 more need for School Trustees doing what they can to come at 
 some knowled}-e of a matter on which to so great an extent a 
 Teacher's success must depend : — and I think it is one which 
 ought to moderate the expectation in point of Salary, of young 
 and inexpericnoud Teachers, so long as they cannot brin^^ in- 
 dubitable proof of ability in both respects. 
 
 *,8 some County Boards are in the habit of noting on the 
 certificates they give, the proaciency of the Teachers in the 
 several branches of study in which they are examined;— such a 
 scale of attainments should be carefully examined by the Trus- 
 tees thej apply to, who will thus learn, as far as that can show, 
 
 what they may reasonably expect if they form an engagement : 
 
 and, while the practice cannot be too severely censured of Trus- 
 tees, when they part wich a Teacher with whom they have not 
 been satisfied, giving a Certificate which expresses more than 
 their honest convictions, they should exercise proper caution in 
 observing when Certificates of any kind are presented to them, 
 whether of qualification or of character, whether they are com- 
 plete, or whether and wherein they are deficient. Without any 
 desire on the part of applicants to impose, there may be a desire 
 to obtain employment without being particularly communicative 
 on points in respect whereof others might stand a better 
 ohanoe of succesBi 
 To reader the tenure of office by Tcacherg more lasting. 
 
16. 
 
 a careful choice of fche best men possible as Trustees, will 
 help :_a more intelligent selection by them of the best 
 T^l^ they can get will help still further :_and yet mmS 
 will It be so If applicants for Certificates strive to be 1^ 
 thoroughly taught as possible themselves before seeking the 
 position of instructors of others. There will, after aU 
 remain the difficulty arising from the annual change of 
 Trustees ;-but were the other points I have recommended, 
 more generally seen to, this would probably not operate as a 
 barrier so much as it sometimes does now 
 
 We cannot expect I believe, to have a'class of permanent 
 Teachers for some time to come: but this is no reason for 
 undervaluing thesei-vices of those who are only making a 
 stepping stone of the profession, as it is not uncommon to do 
 on that very ground If only they are well prepaied for the 
 work, and really make it their business while they are 
 engaged m it, I think they should be encouraged in it 
 whatever their ultimate aim may be :-and I can cheerfully 
 testify to the good service done by many such young persons 
 All T would say is, et them be -well up" in all respecS^ 
 before seeking to make a commencement/^ A year's study 
 at a good Grammar School is no bad Reparation before 
 entering on the work of teaching : the numbers are smaller 
 tnere : che pupils can get more attention from a Teacher and 
 have greater opportunity for personal application. The aim 
 to obtain Provincial Certificates is one that should be e" 
 couraged. By attendance at the Normal School, in additior 
 to other advantages, if a Certificate is got, it affords a better 
 guarantee of what a Teacher is, in some important respecte 
 that can be given by the strictest County Board in the 
 hnuted time at its command for examination of applicants 
 1 may remark further, that the generous provision of the 
 School Law m setting apart a certain number of days in 
 
 ^tn\Illf-'\T^ T'\ ""^^r '°^^*^^«' g«* hints for their 
 own benefit in the schools they teach, and possibly give 
 some in return, might. I think, very profitably be taken more 
 advantage of If Trustees of Schools would not merely iS 
 ready to authorize these visits ; but would go the length of 
 requiring them to be paid for the sake of their own schools 
 assisting the Teacher (whose salary may be low enough wTth 
 out being encroached on for such a purpose) to yisitsuch and 
 such schools I am persuaded their own schools would very 
 often reap the benefit. I only add, that while every year theij 
 may be School Trustees .hcHen who are far from being thi 
 most suitable, there are some whose services are, valuable 
 ^^i 1 iT^ Pu^-Pf^^ appreciated, wJiose very disadvantages 
 in early life, which they may never have wholly overcome 
 
.' ^ 
 
 t f 
 
 16 
 
 
 have had the effect of iutensifying their desire to have a goOd'. 
 school established and maintained in their own neighbor- 
 hood, and led to their being exceedingly useful as School 
 Trustees. 
 
 It will matter little however that there are those suitable 
 to act as Trustees, if there is indifferenctj exhibited in the 
 matter of appointment : if the correctly thinking portion of 
 any community do not make a i)oiut of being in their place 
 to prevent such anpointments being made as are the result 
 of selfish considerations, and which are frequently so exceed- 
 ingly detrimental. — The great responsibility after all rests 
 ■with the electors of the Trustees —the ratepayers of the School 
 Seotinn. 
 
 
 4i> 
 
 / * 
 
 U 
 
 ^.