MAW* OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS THEIR TEACHERS, PUPILS, AND PATRONS OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS THEIR TEACHERS, PUPILS, AND PATRONS BY OSCAR T. CORSON, LL.D. FORMERLY STATE COMMISSIONER OF COMMON SCHOOLS FOR OHIO AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY NEW YORK CINCINNATI CHICAGO BOSTON ATLANTA .< COPYRIGHT, 1918, BY OSCAR T. CORSON COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY CORSON'S OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS DEPT. CONTENTS OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM I. PURPOSE AND IMPORTANCE OF OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM 9 II. IMPROVEMENT or THE SCHOOLS .... 20 THE SUCCESSFUL TEACHER III. NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS 37 IV. ACQUIRED ABILITIES 52 THE TEACHER'S GROWTH AND SURPLUS V. THE TEACHERS' READING CIRCLE . . . 71 VI. TEACHERS' INSTITUTES 85 VII. PHYSICAL VITALITY AND MENTAL GROWTH . .97 VIII. A SURPLUS or HEART POWER . . . . in THE TEACHER AND THE SUPERINTENDENT IX. ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TEACHERS . . . .121 X. RELATION OF SUPERINTENDENT TO TEACHERS . 138 SCHOOL SENTIMENT XL THE POWER OF SENTIMENT 159 XII. SCHOOL SENTIMENT AND REGULAR ATTENDANCE . 167 XIII. SCHOOL SENTIMENT AND GOOD BEHAVIOR . . 180 XIV. SCHOOL SENTIMENT AND DILIGENT EFFORT . .193 XV. INFLUENCE OF MORAL SENTIMENT . . . 204 COOPERATION XVI. TEACHERS AND PUPILS 219 XVII. MUTUAL AID AND COMMON AIMS .... 233 XVIII. THE HELP OF THE HOME 248 XIX. COOPERATION OF TEACHERS AND PATRONS . .259 XX. PARENTS AND THE SCHOOL 271 5 4329S4 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM THE PURPOSE AND IMPORTANCE OF OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM THE free Public School System of the United States represents the Nation's most serious attempt to make valid the fundamental statement in the Dec- laration of Independence that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights which include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happi- ness ; for the public school is the one place in all the world where there is guaranteed absolute equality of educational opportunity to all, where wealth and ancestry, in and of themselves, count for nothing, and where brains and char- acter and industry are certain to win the recognition they merit. The chief purpose of the school. In the public school the rights of the children are sacredly safeguarded ; their physical, mental, and moral life carefully conserved; and their liberties made possible and permanent by a training which teaches them to recognize and obey wholesome au- thority, kindly but firmly exercised, and to respect the rights of others a training which is absolutely essential to any one who is ever either to pursue or to possess happiness. The importance of an institution can be measured by the demands made upon it by its friends, who give to it their cordial support. By this standard the public school must be recognized as a large factor in the life of the people. 1C ; V J OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM Each year brings with it new demands upon the school. A few decades ago, its course of study was brief and simple, including little more than the " Three R's." To day, a multiplicity of subjects are found in the curriculum, and the teacher of a public school is expected to be well in- formed on all of them. The school curriculum. The growth of the public school curriculum furnishes a most interesting study. To the critics who censure teachers for what is deemed an overcrowded condition of this curriculum, it can be truth- fully said that the teachers are not responsible for it. Few, if any, instances can be cited of the addition of a needless study, at the request or suggestion of a teacher. Many causes have contributed to the growth and en- largement of the course of study, the chief cause being an actual need in the life of the people for such growth and enlargement. As our nation grew in population and expanded in terri- tory, and as our trade with other countries developed, there arose a natural demand for Geography and it was added as an important study. History followed, because of a well-founded belief that in such a government as ours it is very necessary for the youth of the nation to have an intelligent idea of its founding, development, and purpose. Drawing was added soon after the Paris Exposition, held in 1867, largely as the result of a petition by manufacturers who had observed in this exposition that America's exhibit was not up to the standard of other nations in artistic products. Later on, under the leadership of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, legislation was enacted in practically all the states of the Union requiring the public PURPOSE AND IMPORTANCE II school to teach Physiology and Hygiene with special refer- ence to the effects of alcohol and narcotics on the human system. Some of us, whose musical education has been neglected, are without training in this important branch, because in our youth the " singing school " of the neigh- borhood had ceased to be, and the public school had not yet taken up this branch which is now considered an essen- tial in the course of study in all efficient schools. Within the memory of many is the time when cooking and sewing were taught in almost every household. Now many homes, either because of indifference to the importance of such training, or on account of the outside demands made upon the time and energies of the mother, give little or no attention to these essential household arts, and the school is therefore required to teach Domestic Economy and Home Making. Not long ago, local blacksmith shops, wagon-maker shops, carpenter shops, and other similar institutions furnished the opportunity for boys to learn trades. Now since such shops no longer exist, the school is called upon to provide manual training in its various forms, industrial training, and vocational training. The demands herein enumerated, all of which are reason- able, will serve to illustrate how rapidly the requirements made upon the public school have been increasing. It is evident that whenever anything which needs to be well done, ceases to be done by the home or by other private agency, the public school is expected to take up the work. Such demands and expectations on the part of the friends of the public school are highly complimentary to its ef- ficiency and mark it as a most important institution in our national life. 12 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM Destructive criticism. The importance of an institu- tion can also be measured by the destructive criticism directed against it by those who, for any reason, are un- friendly to it. Judged by this standard, the public school must again be recognized as a most important factor in the life of to-day. Some of this destructive criticism comes from a class of would-be aristocrats who are not in sympathy with the " common school " because they are not in sympathy with the common people. By such critics education is con- sidered a luxury which should be possessed only by the select few composed of the rich, the powerful, and the influential. To their narrow vision, education is really needful or beneficial only to the clergy or other members of the so-called learned professions. In their opinion, to attempt to educate " all the children of all the people" is wrong in principle and harmful in practice. Another class of destructive critics is composed of persons found in various walks of life, who have an unnatural crav- ing for public notice. Since they lack the ability to furnish any evidence of original thought or constructive criticism and the industry to secure recognition by any service of real merit, their only hope of gaining the notoriety which they so constantly seek, is found in making some sensa- tional statement which will secure for them prominent mention in the headlines of a sensational paper or the applause of an audience of unthinking people with itching ears for some new and strange doctrine, however false it may be. A consuming passion for such notoriety on the part of such critics is the only possible explanation for their extremely radical and equally false statements re- PURPOSE AND IMPORTANCE 13 garding the work of the public school. It is a matter of sincere regret that this class includes a few professors in colleges, universities, and training schools for teachers, who seem to be more anxious to be classed as " advanced thinkers " or " original investigators" than they are to be honest observers of what really exists. Criticism of this type is usually harmless and sometimes amusing, when presented for the consideration of persons who are intelligently informed as to what is really being accomplished in a modern public school. But in many instances harmful results come from such criticism, because uninformed people are often inclined to take it seriously on account of the natural, though incorrect, assumption that important educational positions in the higher educa- tional institutions are always filled with intelligent and sensible occupants who are competent to criticize and honest enough to refrain from criticism when they are ignorant of conditions. The most caustic type of destructive criticism to which the public school is subjected, finds expression in the columns of a few newspapers and magazines. While some of this criticism is, no doubt, due to ignorance, there is good reason to believe that much of it is published with a full knowledge that it is unfair and unjust. It is not un- reasonable to presume that its publication is persisted in because of a belief that it will create a sensation and re- sult in increased revenues to the publisher. Critics and faultfinders. Ignorance is the primary source of most of the destructive criticism of the work of the public school, and ignorance is always harsh in its judgments and dogmatic in its demands. In many in- 14 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM stances, ignorance condemns what it merely presumes is taking place in the schools, when an attempt to discover the truth would certainly reveal the fact that the alleged objectionable feature, thus ignorantly criticized, has not had an existence for many years. Ignorance declares that the public schools are destructive of individuality. The truth is that the public schools fur- nish the best opportunity in the world for the cultivation of all that is best, as well as the elimination of much that is worst, in individuality. Each year of our educational progress shows a marked advancement in the improvement of methods of teaching and of discipline. Ignorance publishes the statement that only an insig- nificant percentage of boys and girls ever attend the high school and that the small number in attendance is rapidly decreasing. The simplest computation in percentage, per- fectly plain to any one whose stupidity is not abnormal, and equally convincing to all whose dishonesty is not in- curable, proves the absolute falsity of the first part of this statement. Crowded high schools in township, village, town, and city and the inability of school authorities to plan and erect new buildings fast enough to meet the ever increasing demands of a phenomenally rapid increase of high school attendance, certainly furnish abundant proof of the falsity of the inexcusable misrepresentation persisted in by those who even pretend to believe the second part of the statement. Morality in the public schools. Ignorance charges that the public schools are immoral and that the children who attend them are in constant danger of moral contamination. To this charge, the personal experience of millions of men PURPOSE AND IMPORTANCE 15 and women, educated in the public schools, enters a most emphatic denial and protest. They recall with pleasure and gratitude the many influences for right living and against wrong doing, which the public school constantly exercises. The most potent of all these influences is the per- sonal influence of the teacher. All certificates granted to teachers in the public schools certify to good moral character as well as to academic and professional quali- fications. Immorality on the part of teachers is as ex- ceptional as immorality on the part of ministers, and creates as much surprise and arouses as great indignation, jjbjs impossible to estimate the value of the personal in- fluence of a good teacher in the lives of boys and girls ; and there are few, if any of us, who are not ready to acknowl- edge the debt of gratitude we owe to the influence of the public school teacher in the formation of character. In the daily work of the classroom, the highest ideals of truthfulness, honesty, obedience, industry, promptness, and other virtues are constantly inculcated, and in the games of the playground the great lessons of fairness, justice, self- control, and respect for the rights of others are learned as in no other experience. It is in the public school that many a strong-willed, high-tempered, hot-blooded little aristocrat, who imagines that he is monarch of all he sur- veys, learns his first lesson in the morals which are funda- mental in the life of a true democracy. Fortunate, indeed, will it be for both his future welfare and that of the state, if he takes the lesson kindly and prepares himself for future leadership by present obedience and the development of a spirit of unselfish service for others. Equally unfortunate 1 6 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM may it be, should his parents transfer him from the public school to some private school under the false impression that morals are taught in the latter and are neglected in the former. As a rule no great change for the better in the moral life of the young will be effected by sending them to private schools or academies. In the majority of instances the moral atmosphere of such schools is no better than that of the public schools and in some instances it is not nearly so good. An important lesson of the war. The World War has taught some important lessons which should be given careful consideration by all who are interested in the education of the children and youth of our country. One of the most important of these lessons seems to be entirely ignored by the destructive critics of our public school system, whose chief characteristic is their determination not to give any consideration to facts which are at variance with their hastily formed opinions or preconceived notions. It is quite natural that such critics should disregard the proof, furnished by the war, that practically all their destructive criticism, so persistently made before the war, was without foundation. How often they declared that the public school system was utterly failing in the accom- plishment of its purpose ; that it had become so " femi- nized " that the boys were growing up without manly characteristics or power of initiative to help themselves, without courage or ability to do hard things; and worst of all something which they do not now like to have recalled, that the only hope for the American public school system was to " Prussianize " it in order to make it efficient. To all such criticism, the record of the American soldiers PURPOSE AND IMPORTANCE Ij has furnished a most convincing and conclusive answer. Nearly all of them received their elementary education in the public school. The majority of them were without any additional training. Some of them went directly from school to the cantonments for a few weeks or months, and then to the battle front. All of them, with the true ideals of democracy taught and practiced in the public school, obediently answered the call of their country and of oppressed humanity across the sea, and enlisted to fight the most perfect military machine the world has ever known. At the Marne, Chateau-Thierry, the Argonne Forest, Sedan, and many other places, now sacred to the memory of all who love freedom and hate tyranny, they met the picked troops of the German army, stopped their cruel onslaught on civilization, and completely routed them. By the victories won, they settled for all time that the much-boasted efficiency of the German soldiers, educated in the much-praised German schools, and trained in the world-renowned German military camps, was no match for the spirit of the American soldiers, the product of the American public school system, with only a brief military training. The whole world, including conceited Germany and the destructive critics of American educa- tion, now knows that American soldiers possess manly characteristics, power of initiative to help themselves, and a dauntless courage rarely, if ever, equaled in the history of warfare. It would be gross injustice to the teachers of America to fail to recognize this lesson which the world war has so conclusively taught ; or to withhold from them the credit which is their due, and which should be gratefully given OUR PUB. S. 2 1 8 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM not only as a matter of fairness to them, but also in order that they may thereby be encouraged to continue their work with even greater devotion and success than ever before. Imperfections and deficiencies. It must not be as- sumed that a defense of the public school and its teachers signifies a belief that perfection has been attained by either. It does mean, however, a well-founded and deeply grounded belief that the public school is one of the most important factors in both the individual and collective life of our Nation, and an abiding faith in the competency and effi- ciency of a large majority of its teachers. There has been and is now too much condemnation of schools by ignorant, prejudiced, destructive critics who are ever ready to tear down but who seldom are able to propose anything to take the place of what they condemn and attempt to destroy. The imperfections of the public school system and the deficiencies of public school teachers are well known to their friends. These friends, however, believe that such imperfections and deficiencies can best be remedied by that kindly, considerate, and suggestively constructive criticism which constantly seeks for something worthy of commendation as a foundation on which to build, and then outlines in a definite manner both the characteristics of the proposed improvement and the process by which it is to be realized. Criticism of this nature is most wel- come and will always be gratefully received and promptly utilized by the teachers and friends of the public schools. The purpose of this book. With an abiding con- fidence in the beneficent mission of the public school as an institution, along with a full recognition of its imper- PURPOSE AND IMPORTANCE 19 factions and deficiencies; with an equally abiding faith in the growing efficiency of its teachers, together with an intimate personal knowledge of their readiness to admit their limitations and failures; with a firm belief that commendation of existing good is always more helpful than wholesale denunciation of everything that has been done, because some things may not have been well done ; and with an earnest hope that something suggestively helpful may be found in this volume, it is presented for the kindly consideration of all teachers and friends of public education, who love the public school for what it has done and who are unitedly working to make its future more glorious than its past. II IMPROVEMENT OF THE SCHOOLS THE destructive critic who finds no good in the public schools as they now exist, usually insists that " an educational revolution " is the only means by which they can be improved. To him there is nothing in their past history or present practice which is worth conserving or worthy of serious consideration. De- stroy everything in existence and start anew is his motto. Not revolution but evolution. On the other hand, the constructive critic believes that what the public schools need to enable them to keep on improving as they have been doing in the past and as they are doing at present, is not " an educational revolution " but a continuation of the gradual but effective evolution which has been going on all through the years since their establishment. He would build for the future upon the good which the past has achieved and which the present reveals, using the lamp of experience to guide him on the pathway of future progress. An intelligent study of the history of the progress of public education and a careful observation of current events and present tendencies in the educational world, plainly indicate that there are a number of important agencies constantly at work for the improvement of the public schools. School legislation. One of these important agencies is legislation. Any one who is at all conversant with the history of school legislation in the different states of the IMPROVEMENT OF THE SCHOOLS 21 Union and who is well informed as to the more recent school laws enacted in many states, must be convinced that the public schools are gradually but surely growing in the public esteem as indicated by the increasingly favorable consideration accorded them by members of the legislature and other public officials. Practically all the recently enacted school laws indicate a serious purpose not only to eliminate the objectionable features and strengthen the weak points of previous laws, but also to provide for such additional aids in the improvement of the public schools as legislation can reasonably hope to furnish. Perhaps the most prominent features of all recent school legislation are the provisions which relate to teachers their academic and professional preparation, certification, tenure of office, and salaries and to a more definite and intelligent supervision of the work of the schools, especially in the rural districts. The general purpose of such legislation is most com- mendable. It is important, however, that in executing all laws, especially new ones, the spirit rather than the letter of the statute should govern. In no instance should the legal demand for a specified amount of academic and professional training be so enforced as to work an injury to experienced and efficient teachers who may not be able to meet all the requirements of the exact letter of the law relating to such formal training, but whose success in the actual work of the schoolroom, as measured by all reasonable tests, is unquestioned. It is not wise to assume that all teachers who have not been formally trained are necessarily failures, or that all who have had formal training, for either a minimum or 22 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM maximum period, are certain to succeed. Teachers can- not be labeled with a " guarantee " under the provisions of a school law, as foods and drugs are under the food and drug act, with date and serial number attached. In mak- ing these comments, no reflection upon the right kind of professional training is intended. Such training is all important in its place, and a reasonable enforcement of the legal requirements that teachers make better prepara- tion for their work will certainly result in an improvement of the public schools. Examination and certification. Closely related to the legal requirements for the better preparation of teachers for their work is the question of their proper certification. In recent years there has been a rapidly growing feeling that in connection with such certification, many abuses have grown up and great injustice has been done to some of the most earnest and progressive teachers. Many teachers have a conviction that they have been singled out and made the victims of what they term the " examina- tion grind." Their feeling is aptly illustrated by the well-known anecdote descriptive of the experience which came to a teacher in a dream. In this vision of the night, the teacher appeared before the pearly gates, hoping for entrance to the heavenly home for which she felt a life of faithful service had prepared her. With characteristic patience, she silently observed the methods of procedure pursued by others in securing recognition. First a minister of the gospel pre- sented his claims and was immediately and cordially in- vited to enter the door which opened wide to receive him. A physician then told of his great service to humanity in IMPROVEMENT OF THE SCHOOLS 23 relieving pain and healing sickness, and was bidden to enter. A lawyer eloquently pleaded his own case, was given a merciful verdict, and secured admission. With modesty and timidity, the teacher then told of her work with the children in training their minds and molding their characters, and, in supplicating tones, asked if she might come in. A brief conference followed, at the close of which she was informed that before entrance could be granted, she would have to pass a teachers' examination. It is no doubt true that, in the past, teachers have been subjected to too many examinations of the technical type, which are narrowing to the vision and deadening to the growth of all true educators. School legislation, which purposes to remedy this wrong, is worthy of commenda- tion. There is danger, however, that the reform may go too far and that schools of real merit and teachers of genuine worth may suffer as a result. The primary pur- pose of requiring teachers of the public schools to secure certificates before entering upon the work of teaching is to protect the boys and girls who attend the schools from igno- rance, incompetence, and immorality. In thus protecting the children against inferiority, the more competent teachers also receive a benefit in being relieved from the harmful competition of a cheap class of teachers a competition which would not only lower educational standards but also reduce salaries, since such teachers would willingly teach for less because they know their services are worth less. It is, therefore, perfectly evident that a careful test of qualifications for teachers is of primary importance to the welfare of not only all the pupils but also the best-trained and most competent teachers of the public schools. 24 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM It is certainly necessary that all who have not been specially trained for the work of teaching should be re- quired to pass a fair test of their knowledge of the subjects to be taught before being granted a certificate to teach, and there is no valid reason for exempting those who have been specially trained for the work from a similar test. There is always cause for suspecting the efficiency of the preparation of any one to do anything, when he constantly resorts to all kinds of subterfuges to avoid a reasonable test of the preparation which he claims to possess. The one important thing is that all tests be fair and that they be conducted by persons who are competent to judge of the qualifications of a teacher. Provisional and permanent certificates. While it may be advisable, as a rule, to grant provisional certificates, valid for a brief period, to specially trained teachers upon the recommendation of the authorities in charge of the schools in which the special training is received, yet it is not unreasonable to ask all such teachers to give evidence of their qualifications to teach by passing a reasonable examination conducted by the state superintendent of schools, a state board of education, or other agency repre- senting the state. Any institution whose work is well done should not and will not hesitate to have it fairly tested. To presume that an examination by an appointed agency of the state cannot or will not be conducted in such a man- ner as to give justice to all, is unreasonable. The state carefully examines all applicants for entrance into the legal and medical professions and thereby protects, in a measure at least, future clients and patients from the harmful results IMPROVEMENT OF THE SCHOOLS 2$ of ignorance and incompetence of lawyers and physicians. Most of the complaints of unfairness or injustice resulting from these examinations come from applicants who fail because of poor teaching or lack of application as students, or from institutions without the necessary equipment to do efficient work. .It is true that there is always a possi- bility that an examining board may have in its membership representatives of incompetency and inefficiency, and that examinations conducted by such a board may be unfair and unreasonable in the tests submitted and unjust, per- haps occasionally even dishonest, in the certificates granted. It is, however, equally true that there is at least an equal possibility that the faculty of a training school for teachers may also have in its membership repre- sentatives of equal incompetence and inefficiency who may recommend for teachers' certificates those who are not at all qualified for the work of teaching. It can always be safely assumed that a large majority of the membership of both examining boards and training school faculties are competent, efficient, and honest. The best method of certificating teachers always recognizes the necessity of a friendly and sympathetic cooperation on the part of the representatives of both. A wise examiner of either pupils or teachers always gives due consideration to the work and recommendations of those who have prepared the applicants to be tested, and a successful teacher of either pupils or teachers always welcomes a fair test of the prod- uct of his teaching. While the certification of beginners to teach involves a number of difficulties and should have the serious con- sideration of all who are charged with the responsibility of 26 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM directing educational affairs, a much more difficult problem presents itself for solution in connection with the certifica- tion of teachers of experience. What policy should be pursued with reference to them? It is certainly unjust, unfair, and unreasonable to insist that really successful teachers should be subjected to repeated examinations in either the common or higher branches after they have given satisfactory evidence of a fairly broad and reasonably accurate knowledge of the subjects which they are required to teach. On the other hand there ought to be some method of eliminating the class of teachers whose increasing ex- perience brings with it a corresponding decrease of knowl- edge of all subjects and of power to teach any subject. It is unfortunately true that teachers of this class can usually secure from some official source the recommendations necessary to meet any formal requirement of the law which provides that temporary certificates shall be made perma- nent, after a certain specified period of successful teaching. To such teachers a permanent certificate is considered a warrant to cease all further study or thought of growth. Could permanent certificates, held by indifferent or self- satisfied teachers, who have no desire to add to their knowl- edge or to increase their teaching power, be revoked for indolence as well as for immorality, the best interests of the schools would thereby be conserved and the rights of deserving teachers protected. All teachers who are worthy of holding a permanent certificate are constantly alert to the importance of self- improvement and better preparation for their work. To them such a certificate is something more than an insurance policy to secure them against all possibility of a necessity IMPROVEMENT OF THE SCHOOLS 2^ for future effort of any kind. While it is a much-appreciated recognition of acquired knowledge and teaching skill, its greatest value is as an incentive to better scholarship and higher professional attainments. For the separation of experienced teachers into the two classes, deserving and undeserving, for devising methods for a proper recognition of the former and the elimination of the latter, and for the impartial execution of methods so devised, we must look to wise boards of education and courageous superintendents rather than to school legisla- tion. Tenure of office. Closely related to the question of the certification of teachers are the questions of tenure of office and salaries, both of which have been the object of much recent school legislation. Laws relating to these important questions are necessarily largely limited to general provisions protecting worthy teachers in their rights and fixing a minimum compensation for their services. For a solution of- these exceedingly important problems in detail, we must again look to competent boards of educa- tion advised by intelligent and sympathetic superintendents. The teacher's tenure of office should be made secure enough to encourage faithfulness and efficiency, but not so secure as to make possible permanency in spite of laziness, in- competency, and inefficiency. The teacher's reward. While real teaching power can never be measured in terms of money and while the largest and best rewards for unselfish devotion to the work of teaching must always be of a spiritual rather than a ma- terial nature, it is nevertheless a necessity that better pay be provided for better teachers if the schools are to have a 28 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM large measure of improvement. It is futile to expect that laws requiring increasingly higher qualifications for teach- ers can ever produce the desired results unless at the same time there is guaranteed an increase in salaries at least commensurate with the required increase in qualifications. It is unreasonable to hope that enough teachers to supply the schools will feel themselves impelled to take up the hard work of teaching from an altruistic impulse alone. As long as the occupations of day laborers, carpenters, painters, plumbers, masons*, street-car conductors, and others of a similar nature offer a much higher financial return for service much less exhausting to both body and mind than teaching, any law requiring superior quali- fications for teachers will be largely a dead letter. Supervision indispensable. The value of intelligent supervision of schools has been so often and so completely demonstrated that no argument in its favor is any longer needed. Conditions naturally demand organization and system in towns and cities, and organization and system in turn naturally call for executive direction and control. Supervision has, therefore, been considered an essential factor in town and city school systems for many years. In the country opposite conditions prevail. As a result, the rural schools have not generally been closely organized or definitely supervised. In the majority of states county supervision has existed for a number of years and has proved its value in securing a better general organization of the schools, in arousing a deeper interest on the part of patrons, and in creating a stronger public sentiment in favor of higher standards of education. The greatest defect in such supervision is IMPROVEMENT OF THE SCHOOLS 2Q that, on account of the large extent of territory to be covered and the large number of schools to be supervised, the definite and repeated inspection of the work of in- dividual schools and teachers is not possible. Without such inspection, supervision can never be highly efficient. In a few states, supervision has been provided for smaller units than the county, such as the township or district. When such units have been able to provide sufficient financial support to insure a competent superintendent, the results have usually been eminently satisfactory. In a number of states, recently enacted school laws provide for a combination of county and district supervision. Under such laws, the county superintendent is the executive officer of the county board of education and has general oversight of the schools of the county. The assistant or district superintendents are sufficient in number to make possible repeated visits to each school and thereby insure an intimate personal knowledge of the work of each teacher. With such knowledge to direct, each superintendent is thereby enabled to advise and help teachers in such a sympathetic and intelligent manner as will insure better results. The method of electing superintendents, their formal qualifications, and, to a certain extent, their duties, can all be prescribed by the letter of the law. The enforce- ment of the spirit of the law, however, is made possible only by an enlightened public sentiment which will not tolerate the use of the public schools for selfish and political purposes. One of the most gratifying indications of edu- cational progress at the present time is found in the grow- ing determination of all good citizens to divorce the manage- 30 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM ment of the public schools from partisan politics, and to unite in selecting the best men and women to direct the educational affairs of the community. After the people have selected capable representatives as members of the board of education and they in turn have selected a compe- tent superintendent and qualified teachers, the success of the administration will then depend almost wholly upon the character of the relation existing between the superin- tendent and teachers. If this relation is characterized by intelligent sympathy, unswerving loyalty, and hearty co- operation, success is assured. So important is this rela- tion that a separate chapter will be devoted to its con- sideration. Courses of study. A second important agency in the betterment of the public schools is the increasing attention given to the course of study with the purpose of adapting it more and more to the real needs of the present genera- tion. It is not surprising that there should be an honest difference of opinion among educators as to what these real needs are and, therefore, a lack of unanimity of view as to how they may best be met. In the past the theory of formal discipline has, no doubt, governed too largely the selection of studies and, as a re- sult, full justice has not been done to many of the pupils of the public schools. In some instances, at least, the dis- ciples of this theory, in their zeal to provide the discipline which they consider a necessary preparation for life, have neglected the essential training which prepares for making a living. It is possible, however, that greater injustice might result should the opposite theory prevail and the public schools be wholly converted into centers for indus- IMPROVEMENT OF THE SCHOOLS 31 trial training and vocational guidance. Between the two extremes can certainly be found the golden mean which gladly recognizes the value of any or all training which makes for discipline as a better preparation for life, or which furnishes greater skill in the manual and industrial arts as a better preparation for making a living. The cultural and the practical. All attempts to separate the cultural and practical or to place them in antagonism are to be deprecated. Each has its place in a well-rounded system of education. In the reconstruction of our public school system to meet the varying needs of a changing civili- zation it is highly important that neither be sacrificed to the interests of the other. The need of well-trained work- men and workwomen cannot be gainsaid. But there is an equally imperative need that men and women who toil with their hands should have such a training of mind and heart as will enable them to find pleasure and profit in reading a good book, in viewing a fine picture, or in listening to choice music. Vocational guidance, properly given, is certainly commendable, but avocational guidance is equally necessary. Adaptation to the individual. A third agency which indicates a determined effort to better public school condi- tions is found in the ever increasing consideration given to the individual needs and capacities of individual pupils. This is manifested in the ready adaptation of methods of discipline and instruction to suit these varying needs and capacities, in more elastic systems of gradation and promo- tion, in the careful study which is made to determine the causes of retardation, with a view to reducing it to a mini- mum, and in the establishment of special schools for the special benefit of defective children. 32 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM The old claim of the critic of the public schools that all the children are required to " lock-step " their way through the grades, without any consideration of their different abilities to progress, has never been well founded in fact; and, in view of all the means now used to furnish special help to the duller pupils and special opportunities for advancement to the brighter ones, such a claim has no validity whatever. Physical welfare of children. The increased attention given to the physical welfare of the children and the en- larged provisions made for their physical training each year, constitute a fourth important agency in the better- ment of the public schools. Evidence of this is seen on every hand. Old buildings are remodeled and new ones erected with well-equipped gymnasiums and baths together with all the improvements in heating, lighting, and ventila- tion, which modern science and architecture can suggest. Playgrounds amply equipped and well supervised are provided for the children, in many instances, especially in the large cities, at great expense. School physicians and nurses are at hand to administer to present needs, to point out any physical defects which interfere with either the mental or moral development of the child, and to guard against the spread of contagious diseases. Open- air schools are saving the lives of many children who would otherwise become the victims of tuberculosis. These enumerated evidences and many others of a simi- lar nature must convince all but the willfully ignorant and the hopelessly pessimistic that the public school is to-day perhaps the best medium of conveying to the public, and thus making generally effective, the latest IMPROVEMENT OF THE SCHOOLS 33 and best discoveries relative to the prevention of sickness and disease. Important agencies of improvement. Better school laws, better planned courses of study, more sympathetic consideration of the individual needs and capacities of the individual child, and greatly improved conditions and en- larged provisions for safeguarding the health of all children, have been presented as a few of the more important agencies in the improvement of the public schools. Important as these agencies are, they do not include the chief agency for such improvement. There is always danger that the one absolutely essential factor in the success of any school or system of education may be lost sight of in a complete absorption of attention to other factors, which, while es- sential as helps in securing desired results, should always be considered as secondary in importance. A concrete illustration may serve to make this plain. In the dining room of a hotel in an eastern city two men were taking lunch at the same table. One was a well- educated, keen-eyed traveling man who was successfully representing a large business house, as one of its salesmen. The other had devoted his life to public school work. The conversation finally turned to the subject of public educa- tion in which the traveling man manifested a deep interest. A number of school issues were discussed and finally the public school man was asked to name the city visited by him, which in his judgment had the best public school system. The answer was substantially as follows : " The city which has the best school system is always the city which employs and retains the largest possible number of first-class teachers." OUR PUB. S. 3 34 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM A brief pause and a slight intimation of surprise mingled with disappointment on the part of the questioner at what seemed at first an indefinite answer to his inquiry, followed, and then his observation to the effect that he presumed the statement was true. That the statement is true, no one, who really compre- hends what constitutes a good school, has any doubt. " As is the teacher so is the school/' a maxim as true as it is old, must ever be kept in mind by all who desire to improve our public school system. The real and final test of all school reforms including school legislation, re- organization of courses of study, systems of school super- vision, plans of promotion, methods of examination, studies of retardation, adjustment of salaries, tenure of office, and other agencies for the improvement of the public schools, is found in the effect that such reforms have upon the teachers who do the daily work of the schoolroom. If the effect is to inspire higher ideals of life and living, to develop a deeper devotion to duty, to arouse a larger sympathy for childhood, and to create new incentives to better work on the part of teachers, then it is certain that such reforms are worthy of confidence and support. The whole purpose of the public school should be to conserve the best interests of childhood. The prime essential in any school which meets this exalted purpose is a teacher dedicated in body, mind, and soui to the holy task of teach- ing. To such teachers, the different agencies discussed in this chapter will be welcomed as much needed and highly appreciated helps in improving the schools. Without such teachers, improvement is impossible. THE SUCCESSFUL TEACHER 35 Ill NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS SINCE an efficient teacher is the one essential factor in making an efficient school and since schools improve in direct ratio to the improvement of teachers, it is highly important that those who aspire to teach should possess a large measure of both the natural characteristics and the acquired abilities necessary to insure success. While no individual is born with a full equipment of teaching power, it is nevertheless true that some individuals early in life give unmistakable evidence that they possess in an unusual degree the natural characteristics of success- ful teachers. Others give equally positive evidence of the entire absence of any adaptation for the work of teaching. Education and training of the right kind will greatly increase the teaching power of the former. With the proper academic and professional preparation, they are certain to become teachers whose presence in any school will insure success. No amount of education or training of any kind can ever make successful teachers out of the latter. Nature has plainly labeled them as unfit for the schoolroom. The teacher's attitude toward life. To succeed in a large way, the teacher must have a right attitude toward life. This attitude must be one of sane optimism and good cheer, founded upon a well-grounded faith in humanity 37 38 THE SUCCESSFUL TEACHER and in the ultimate triumph of right over wrong. He must believe with Browning that " God's in his heaven All's right with the world!" No taint of pessimism must be allowed to darken his soul or to blur his vision of life. The pessimist has been described as an egotist who thinks the sun sets every time he shuts his eyes. A little observation of living specimens unfortunately existing in most localities will confirm the truthfulness of the description. Pessimism is always a compound of self-conceit and selfishness, both of which are foreign to the spirit of a true teacher. The possession of a sane optimism and a spirit of good cheer does not signify that teachers are ignorant of existing evils or satisfied with all things as they are. It does signify, however, that they are not ignorant of the fact that the record of crime and sin and misery so prominently advertised in the daily press is not the rule, but the excep- tion, in human life ; that they believe that the numerous but unrecorded deeds of kindness and the many earnest efforts to remove the causes of crime and sin and misery should also be taken into account in forming an estimate of moral conditions. They remember that whenever calamity or disaster of any kind comes to individuals or nations the latent goodness of the world always manifests itself in kindly sympathy and generous aid to the needy and suffering. This remembrance deepens their faith in humanity and confirms their belief that the world is growing better. Best of all, because it is the most encouraging of all, there is present in the consciousness of all true teachers NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS 39 the thought that, in the proper training of the boys and girls intrusted to their care, there comes an unsurpassed opportunity to help in a most definite way in making a good world still better. This spirit of optimism, of faith in humanity, of a cheerful willingness to help in overcoming evil with good, and of a definite determination to consecrate time and talent to the work of teaching, is a sure indication of the teacher's right attitude toward life, and, therefore, a promise of success to all who possess it. Faith in childhood. This is another essential of suc- cess, which must characterize all teachers who would win their way to the hearts of children. It is remarkable how accurately boys and girls measure this characteristic in a teacher and how readily they respond to either its presence or its absence. Words, or acts, which speak much louder than words, indicating a belief that boys and girls are all dishonest, untruthful, and untrustworthy, will produce an almost immediate determination on their part not to disappoint the teacher, by failing to measure up promptly and fully to his estimate of their characters. Many of us can recall instances in our own lives, as pupils, when our conduct certainly met the highest expectations of such a teacher. On the other hand when pupils are made to feel that the teacher has faith in them and that misbehavior on their part is both a surprise and a dis- appointment to him, the best that is in them responds to the confidence thus shown and good behavior naturally follows. All of us can remember teachers who led us to do right by a constant manifestation of their belief that we would not think of doing anything else. 40 THE SUCCESSFUL TEACHER The oft-repeated charges that children are usually dis- honest, and always deceitful, and that they are common liars, are gross libels upon the truth, and unwarranted insults to childhood. Such insults can emanate only from confirmed pessimists who, perchance, judge all children by their own children and in so doing forget the influence of heredity, or from self-seeking sensationalists who are always ready and willing to sacrifice the truth for tem- porary notoriety. The fact is that children are usually too honest, too frank, and too truthful to conform to the conventionalities of society as recognized and followed by their seniors. It is well known, in all homes where there are children, that special coaching is often necessary to keep them from telling the whole truth about many things, at such times and un- der such circumstances as might render it exceedingly embarrassing. This faith in childhood does not assume that boys and girls are perfect, that they do not always need direction and, at times, correction. Neither does it presume that they should be permitted to do as they please or to govern themselves absolutely. The theory that a well-governed school is a wholly self-governed school will not always stand the test of experience. The claim of some teachers that their pupils are better behaved when they are absent from the room than when they are present, naturally arouses some doubt as to its validity, creates a desire for a full investigation, and prompts a question as to how well behaved the pupils may be when the teachers are present. Even with adults self-government presents many perplexing problems whose satisfactory solution requires an appli- NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS 41 cation of all the wisdom of the past, together with an accurate knowledge of present conditions and needs. And it is not reasonable to ask or to expect children to assume all the responsibilities which come with self-government in school. They need and should have the directing influence and sympathetic help of cool-headed, warm- hearted teachers who will win their confidence by freely giving them their own. Such confidence in boys and girls is a necessary foundation on which to build a wholesome respect for them and a just recognition of their rights. Without such respect and recognition, it is impossible for any teacher to possess that genuine love for children which is essential to real success in the schoolroom. Loving the children. All true teaching touches the heart and molds the life, as well as trains the intellect. Every true teacher must feel with Charles Dickens : "I love these little people, and it is not a slight thing when they, so fresh from God, love us." Such love for childhood never manifests itself in the form of a sickly sentimentality so nauseating to all normal children. Frequently the kindly word of appreciation should be spoken. Perhaps, even more frequently an approving smile or a little act of courtesy or kindness on the part of the teacher will prove to the children that they are, indeed, the objects of loving consideration. Occa- sionally a punishment for some wrong act may furnish the most convincing evidence of a love which is most genuine. The one fact never to be forgotten by teachers is that in the currency of love for childhood there can be 42 THE SUCCESSFUL TEACHER no counterfeits, and that any attempt to deceive children by pretending to possess a love for them, which does not exist, is certain to meet with immediate detection. No finer delineation of this love, which should characterize the spirit of the true teacher, has ever been presented than that found in the thirteenth chapter of the Apostle Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians. The following quotation from this remarkable chapter can well be made a part of the creed of every teacher : "Love suffereth long, and is kind ; love envieth not ; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil; rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth ; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never faileth." Because of their human limitations the best teachers sometimes fail. But the experience of all teachers who are really successful will bear testimony to the fact that the de- gree of success attained is largely commensurate with the genuineness of their love for the children whom they teach. Love for children founded upon faith in them, respect for their rights, and consideration for their feelings will never permit teachers to grow into habitual scolds. There can be no doubt that, with too many teachers, there is a tendency to become impatient, sarcastic, and peevish. Unless such tendency is carefully guarded against, a con- firmed habit of scolding will soon be formed and harmful results will certainly follow. The tongue has been well described as the only sharp-edged tool which grows sharper with constant use, and there are some teachers whose NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS 43 tongues are so constantly sharpened with this constant use that they never lose an opportunity to exhibit their power to cut and wound the feelings of their pupils. Teachers who persist in speaking to their pupils in language which would not be tolerated in polite society should not be permitted in the classroom of any public school or college. All pupils and students have a right to courteous treatment, and none should be required to associate with discourteous teachers. The scolding habit. This is as foolish as it is harmful. Such a habit is always the outgrowth of uncontrolled temper, and an exhibition of uncontrolled temper on the part of teachers is usually a source of great amusement to pupils. Many times in schools taught by such teachers, fun-loving pupils will take turns in making a disturbance in order to create a scene and thus have an opportunity to observe their teachers in action. The most harmful way, however, in which an ill-natured disposition can manifest itself is in the use of sarcasm. If its use served only " to tear the flesh like dogs," as the derivation of the word indicates, the wounds produced thereby might in time heal, leaving little or no mark; but the hurt produced by sarcasm goes much deeper, piercing the very soul of the one who is the victim of its bite, and should the wound thus produced heal at all, a permanent scar is certain to remain. Many super- intendents are painfully aware of the serious difficulties which sometimes arise in the management of schools in connection with both children and their parents, because of the cutting remarks made by some sarcastic teacher whose tongue is, indeed, " an unruly evil, full of deadly 44 THE SUCCESSFUL TEACHER poison." No occasion can arise in any school or classroom to justify the use of sarcasm, and persistence in its use by any teacher should be sufficient cause for his dismissal. In Bleak House, there was one room which was used at times by its owner for a peculiar purpose. Into this room Mr. Jarndyce was accustomed to retire when he was de- ceived, or disappointed, or out of humor. This room, claimed to be the best-used room in the house, was known as the " Growlery." If one so benevolent as Mr. Jarndyce, whose fits of ill humor were more affected than real, felt the need of such a refuge in which to go to growl, when out of humor, it seems not inappropriate to suggest that every school building should have at least one room of this kind, into which teachers can go when seized with a fit of scolding, and there remain until self-control returns and they are thereby enabled once more to assume control of their pupils. Without such self-control, a high degree of success is impossible. Its growth always characterizes the growing teacher. The lack of it is the cause of many failures. Insistence that teachers shall treat their pupils with respect and courtesy, avoid all forms of abusive speech, and not indulge in scolding, does not imply that they should be devoid of temper, or incapable of showing displeasure, or of feeling indignation at an intended affront or injury. Teachers need temper in abundant supply. But they also need to control it; not to be controlled by it. In the presence of a teacher whose temper is evident but whose self-control is shown by calmness of mind and moderation of speech, the most mischievous pupils will think carefully before taking any steps to stir up trouble. Under such conditions, they quietly hoist the danger signal " Stop, NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS 45 look, and listen " - which will warn all their associates to move carefully as there may be serious trouble ahead. Faith in self. In addition to faith in humanity and in children, teachers must also have faith in themselves. This faith does not mean self-complacency, self-conceit, or self-satisfaction. It does mean that self-reliance or self-confidence which is absolutely essential to the success of any one who assumes responsibility or improves oppor- tunity. Self-exaltation and self-praise are foreign to true greatness. To a teacher of genuine merit, personal vanity is unknown. There are two types of egotism which sen- sible and honest people always shun. The one type over- estimates personal worth and is exceedingly offensive. The other pretends to a false humility and is, perhaps, even more distasteful. The first sings its own praise ; the other is constantly seeking compliments from others. Between the two extremes foolish over-appreciation of self and insincere self-depreciation there is the middle ground of sensible self-confidence on which successful teachers must stand, with faith in themselves that they are able to meet the demands made upon them in the performance of their duties in the schoolroom. Such faith and confidence will lead teachers to utilize all possible means of growth in self-reliance, in order that they may be able to help themselves in trying emergencies. In the success which results largely from personal effort, teachers in common with humanity in general find one of their gravest dangers the danger that they may, in the hour of their success, so overestimate their abilities to help themselves that they will become boastful rather than grateful. Faith in themselves must not, therefore, be 46 THE SUCCESSFUL TEACHER permitted to exclude a keen appreciation of the limitations of their personal efforts in any success attained, of the need some times of help from others, and of the importance at all times of a feeling of genuine gratitude for help re- ceived. Temporary success in teaching, as in all other callings or professions, is a much severer test of character than occasional failure. Inability to pass such a test successfully is always shown by the lack of a spirit of genuine humility which is always more willing to give credit to others than to claim it for self. Faith in self of the right type, is well described by General Horace Porter in his characterization of the suc- cessful commander of the Union forces in the Civil War : "General Grant never underestimated himself in battle. He never overestimated himself in victory." General Grant. A brief review of the career of General Grant will furnish abundant evidence of the truthfulness of this characterization. It will be recalled that he was trained for the life of a soldier at West Point and that he served with distinction in the Mexican War, taking part in all its battles save one, and being repeatedly brevetted for gallantry. Notwithstanding this training and expe- rience, so modest and retiring was his disposition, that he resigned his commission of captain in 1854 and engaged in farming near St. Louis. Later on he became associated with his father in the leather business at Galena. When the Civil War broke out, he promptly tendered his services to the government which had educated him, but received no reply to his letter addressed to the Adjutant General of the Army. His appointment, however, as colonel of an NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS 47 Illinois regiment, by Governor Yates, furnished him the opportunity for service which he craved and his promotions, which rapidly followed, are well known. From September 6, 1 86 1, when he seized Paducah, to the close of the war, April 9, 1865, every act of General Grant plainly showed that the first part of General Porter's characterization is correct. Two historic instances will serve to illustrate this side of his character. When General Buckner, who was in command of the Confederate forces at Fort Donelson, proposed an armistice and the appointment of commissioners to agree upon terms of capitulation of the forces and fort under his command, General Grant immediately replied in language which left no doubt as to his absolute confidence in his ability to en- force the terms of his proposal " No terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works." These are not the boastful words of an egotist, unduly impressed with an overestimation of his own self-importance. They are the calm expression of sublime self-confidence on the part of an extremely modest man who did not underestimate himself in battle. Again, in May, 1864, when thousands of brave men were sacrificed in terrible warfare, and, as a consequence, General Grant was subjected to the most severe denunciation and abuse by those whose ignorance of conditions and needs made them ever ready to criticize his movements, there came from this man of few words but mighty deeds, the laconic expression of his determined purpose to " fight it out on this line, if it takes all summer " another proof of his faith in himself to lead his armies to final victory. 48 THE SUCCESSFUL TEACHER That General Grant did not overestimate himself in victory is evidenced in many instances. One of the most impressive of these is found in the surrender at Appomattox, one of the greatest events in human history. A man of less self-control and generosity than General Grant might have found in the victory which came with this surrender, some excuse for personal glorification, as well as an opportunity to humiliate a great adversary. But no such thought seems to have entered the mind of General Grant. His generous soul and modest spirit prompted him to avoid all appearance of ostentation and to show every possible courtesy to General Lee and his de- feated troops. He tells us in his Personal Memoirs that, while his feelings were quite jubilant on the receipt of General Lee's letter relating to the surrender, when the surrender itself came, he felt no inclination to rejoice at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly and had suffered so much. In kindness of heart, modesty of manner, and simplicity of speech, General Grant stated the terms of surrender, which were most liberal and generous. In every possible way, he manifested the most kindly consideration for his great opponent and his generous sympathy for the defeated army, even to the extent of stopping his own victorious soldiers from firing a salute of one hundred guns in honor of their victory, because he did not want to exult over the downfall of the Confederates who were then their prisoners. In these hours of triumphant success, General Grant did not overestimate himself. With humility, as marked in victory as his self-confidence had been in battle, he began at once to exert his whole influence for peace. The four NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS 49 short words contained in one of the shortest sentences of his brief letter of acceptance of his nomination for the presi- dency " Let us have peace " - fell like a benediction upon all sections of the Nation which he loved, did much to help to heal that Nation's wounds, and to prepare the way for the national peace which all hope and believe is to be permanent. Teachers in common with all persons who are engaged in work of far-reaching importance have, at times, serious difficulties to meet. To be able to face such difficulties in that brave spirit which does not underestimate itself is a large factor in insuring success. To be able to succeed and at the same time to retain that spirit of genuine humility which never overestimates itself in victory is the best evidence that success has been worthily won and the surest promise that it will continue. A young teacher's experience. A brief account of the experience of a young teacher will illustrate the feeling of pupils relative to the necessity of self-confidence as a factor in success, and may serve as a warning to teachers whose actions constantly indicate their lack of faith in their ability to succeed. This experience came one morning at the close of the devotional exercises with which the work of the school day began. A boy of nine or ten was called to the teacher's desk to receive a reprimand for some miscon- duct, and was publicly accused of being the worst boy in the school. Such an accusation was, in itself, a serious blunder, as the boy naturally felt that he must show that he was not entirely undeserving of such a charge. This was followed by a more costly blunder by the teacher in the statement that he did not know what to do with the boy an OUR PUB. S. 4 50 THE SUCCESSFUL TEACHER admission which gave to the boy a keen realization of his own ability to make trouble and of the teacher's lack of confidence in his ability to meet it. Then followed a pro- posal by the teacher that the boy and he change places, in which case the boy was asked, what he, as a teacher, would do with the teacher, as a pupil. This general question brought no reply from the boy whose caution might well be imitated by all teachers who habitually speak without thinking. The teacher then inquired, " Would you keep me in at recess ? " to which the boy replied with an emphatic " No." " Would you stand me on the floor? " asked the teacher, and again the prompt reply was " No." Sending home, whipping, and the other common methods of punish- ment were proposed, and each one met with the same reply. The teacher concluded his questions by asking, " What, then, would you do with me? " to which the boy calmly re- plied, " It seems to me if I was you and couldn't teach this school, I'd go and get one I could teach." While few teachers may receive such a frank answer as the one quoted from this boy, all teachers will do well to consider that his answer truthfully expresses what all pupils think of teachers who doubt their ability to control their schools. Faith in God. As the one sure foundation for this faith in humanity, in childhood, and in self, there should be in every teacher's soul a firm faith in God. Such faith has been in the past, and is to-day, the mightiest force for good in all the world. Profane as well as sacred literature bears testimony to its power in the lives of men and women. All human experience proves the truthfulness of the sentiment expressed by Bulwer-Lytton : NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS 51 "Strike from mankind the principle of faith, and man would have no more history than a flock of sheep/' Down deep in our souls there is a feeling which is in accord with the sublime sentiments recorded in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, and with its author, we are led to say: "But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him." There is nothing sectarian in such faith nothing in it which does not appeal to both the judgment and the conscience of an overwhelming majority of men and women of all times and conditions. It is this faith that life is of divine origin and that the human soul is immortal, which gives to education its loftiest conception and to the teachers of boys and girls their highest incentive to faith- ful service. "Talk faith. The world is better off without Your uttered ignorance and morbid doubt. If you have faith in God, or man, or self, Say so ; if not, push back upon the shelf Of silence, all your thoughts till faith shall come. No one will grieve because your lips are dumb." IV ACQUIRED ABILITIES THE emphasis placed, in the preceding chapter, upon the natural characteristics of teachers, as essential factors in their success, does not signify a belief that teachers are born with a full and complete equipment of teaching power. To assume that teachers are so born is as unreasonable as to claim that training alone will make successful teachers of all who are the recipients of it. The purpose of this chapter is to emphasize the equal importance of those acquired abilities which all successful teachers must possess and which result from education, training, and experience. Power of concentration. One of the most important of these acquired abilities is the power to concentrate attention upon the subject at hand and to think logically to a definite and correct conclusion. The exercise of such power produces a type of knowledge which possesses certain marked characteristics. It is always clear, distinct, and positive. It always creates an insatiable desire for more knowledge. A power in itself, such knowledge always reacts upon the thinking, of which it is largely the product, in such a manner as to clarify and strengthen it. Useful knowledge and conscious thinking are intimately related. " You may know the fellow who thinks he thinks, Or the fellow who thinks he knows ; But find the fellow who knows he thinks And you know the fellow who knows." 52 ACQUIRED ABILITIES 53 "He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not ; he is a fool, shun him. He who knows not, and knows that he knows not ; he is simple, teach him. He who knows, and knows not that he knows ; he is asleep, wake him. He who knows, and knows that he knows ; he is wise, follow him." A thorough study of the subjects to be taught is a fundamental necessity in the education of all teachers. The purpose of such study should be to develop teachers who are strong minded because they know that they think and who are wise leaders because they know that they know. Power of expression. Equal in importance with the ability to think accurately and to know positively is the ability to express what is thus thought and known in simple and direct language. Growth in teaching power depends in no small degree upon growth in language power, and the cultivation of such power should claim the serious attention of all who aspire to teach. All teachers of all subjects should have such a love for the English language as will lead them to a keen appre- ciation of its importance as a medium for the expression of thought and also cause them to put forth every possible effort to increase their teaching power by constantly increasing their ability to use such language as will most clearly express the ideas which they desire to convey. The English language. Tributes of appreciation have been paid to the beauty and forcefulness of the English language by many of the great scholars of the world, and ready assent will be given to the truthfulness of the fol- lowing sentiment : 54 THE SUCCESSFUL TEACHER "The Greek's a harp we love to hear; The Latin is a trumpet clear ; Spanish like an organ swells ; Italian rings its silver bells ; France, with many a frolic mien, Tunes her sprightly violin ; Loud the German rolls his drum, When Russia's clashing cymbals come ; But Britain's sons may well rejoice, For English is the human voice." All who love the English language and appreciate its beauty and power should help in every way to preserve its purity. To teachers, especially, is intrusted this exceedingly important work. It is, therefore, imperative that teachers of all classes realize their responsibility in the use of English and the opportunity which comes with such responsibility. It should never be forgotten that accurate expression of thought always reacts to produce accurate thinking which in turn results in a product worthy of expression. It is fortunately true that in language training, as in moral training, example is more forceful than precept. Because of this fact, the teacher's language should, in so far as possible, always furnish an example worthy of imitation. A common tendency of all times, and with all classes, especially with boys and girls in the public schools and students in college, is indicated by the use of extravagant language in the expression of ideas concerning the most commonplace things. How often we hear objects of small significance and events of little importance described in an exaggerated manner by the use of superlative terms. Many adjectives, which should be held in reserve, to be used only ACQUIRED ABILITIES 55 in an emergency, are so overworked on ordinary occasions that when the emergency arises, they are unfitted for duty. A language sanitarium in which overworked descriptive words and phrases could remain in quiet retirement until a real need for their use presented itself, would serve a useful purpose in connection with many lives. The harmful results of persistent carelessness in the use of language which does not accurately express thought are not confined to the language itself. Such use invariably reacts upon the thinking of which the language is the in- accurate expression. Without exception, lack of precision in language is indicative of loose thinking. It is, therefore, highly important that teachers should develop by education and training the ability to use language with exactness, and by constant practice, should acquire the habit of stating precisely what they mean in both speaking and writing. The use of slang. All teachers should be constantly alert to protect the language they love against the slang expressions which are ever seeking entrance to their speak- ing vocabularies. They should find themselves in hearty agreement with the sentiments of Doctor Holmes as expressed in the following quotation from The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table: "I think there is one habit worse than that of punning. It is the gradual substitution of cant or slang terms for words which truly characterize their ob : ects. I have known several very genteel idiots whose whole vocabulary had deliquesced into some half dozen expres- sions. All things fell into two categories fast or slow. Man's chief end was to be a brick. When the great calamities of life overtook their friends, these last were spoken of as being a good deal cut up. Nine tenths of human existence were summed up in the single word, bore. These expressions come to be the algebraic symbols of minds 56 THE SUCCESSFUL TEACHER which have grown too weak or indolent to discriminate. They are the blank checks of intellectual bankruptcy. You may fill them with what idea you like ; it makes no difference ; for there are no funds in the treasury upon which they are drawn. Colleges and good-for- nothing smoking-clubs are the places where these conversational fungi spring up most luxuriantly. Don't think 1 undervalue the proper use and application of a cant word or phrase. It adds pi- quancy to conversation as a mushroom does to a sauce. But it is no better than a toad-stool, odious to the sense, and poisonous to the intellect, when it spawns itself all over the talk of men and youths who are capable of talking, as it sometimes does. As we hear slang phraseology, it is commonly the dishwater from the washings of English dandyism, schoolboy or full-grown, wrung out of a three- volume novel which had sopped it up, or decanted from the pictured urn of Mr. Verdant Green, and diluted to suit the provincial climate." In this quotation Doctor Holmes truly characterizes slang and accurately estimates the effect of its constant use upon the minds of those who are addicted to it. " Genteel idiots/' " minds grown too weak or indolent to discriminate/ ' and " intellectual bankruptcy " are its products. While its occasional use is no doubt justifiable and while teachers should, with Doctor Holmes, not under- value such use, the influence of their precept and example should always be against such general use of slang as must, indeed, be " odious to the sense and poisonous to the in- tellect " of all persons of refinement and intelligence. The ability to use simple language in the expression of clear thinking is a most important factor in the success of all teachers. It is impossible to overestimate the value of the teaching power which depends upon the possession of such ability. To aid teachers in its acquirement should be one of the definite aims of all their education and training, and to increase such ability should be the constant pur- ACQUIRED ABILITIES 57 pose of all who teach. All persons who are unable to tell what they think or know in simple language are seriously handicapped in the work of teaching any class of students and should be forever prohibited from teaching teachers, because of the far-reaching injury which may result there- from. No doubt the enforcement of such a prohibition would create a number of vacancies in some normal schools and teachers' colleges, but since a position occupied by a teacher who cannot use language which can be understood by his students is really vacant anyhow, no loss would result from the creation of such vacancies. Pedaguese. In a most delightful little volume entitled A Joysome History of Education is found the word, " peda- guese," coined by the author of the history to characterize the language used by entirely too many who attempt to write or speak on educational subjects, and who, to quote the words of the author, " have given their own mysterious meanings to so many common expressions, that it is now absolutely necessary to have a word which shall name this new language " - a language which " isn't English ; and to consider it such would be to convict the writer of drivel- ing idiocy." To serve as a warning of what may come to a teacher, writer, or speaker who persists in giving " mysterious meanings " to commonplace things or who attempts to conceal entire absence of thought by the use of ponderous words, the examples of " pedaguese " contained in A Joysome History of Education are heartily commended. While there is something amusing in the use of " peda- guese," its frequent appearance in pedagogical literature has its serious side. Quite often earnest teachers, unable 58 THE SUCCESSFUL TEACHER to comprehend the meaning of such language, are thrown into a condition of complete discouragement which leads them to doubt their ability to comprehend. As a result of such discouragement and doubt, they quit reading, stop thinking, and cease growing, or else fall into the habit of using meaningless language, themselves. Lincoln as a master of language. It is pleasing and helpful to turn from a consideration of such meaningless language, which should be studiously avoided, to the language of simplicity as used by all really great thinkers and effective writers and speakers. No better example of the use of simple language to express profound thought can be found than the example furnished by Lincoln's Gettysburg address: "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. "Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. "But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate we cannot conse- crate we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion that ACQUIRED ABILITIES 59 we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." An analysis of this address to determine its language structure will be of interest to all teachers who are striving to acquire teaching power by a mastery of English, as well as to all pupils who are old enough to appreciate the meaning and force of words fittingly used. Some of the interesting facts revealed by such an analysis are : Total number of words used, including the articles "a" and "the" 268 Words of one syllable 196 Words of two syllables 46 Words of three syllables 18 Words of four syllables 8 Or stated in per cents to nearest integer : Words of one syllable 73 per cent Words of two syllables 17 " Words of three syllables 7 " Words of four syllables 3 " Total number of different words used 139 Different words of one syllable 83 Different words of two syllables 36 Different words of three syllables 15 Different words of four syllables 5 Or stated in per cents to nearest integer : Different words of one syllable 60 per cent Different words of two syllables 26 " Different words of three syllables n " Different words of four syllables 3 " 60 THE SUCCESSFUL TEACHER While Lincoln was, no doubt, specially endowed with great natural ability to think clearly and logically, there is also no doubt that his exceptional ability so to think and so to express his thoughts in language of such marvelous sim- plicity was acquired by the most persistent self-schooling and laborious practice. The method by which he thus trained himself to think and to express thought is plainly described in the following summary of the historic " inter- view " of the Reverend John P. Gulliver with Mr. Lincoln the morning after his speech at Norwich, Connecticut, a few months before his nomination for the presidency in 1860. In the opening paragraphs of this " interview, " Mr. Gulliver tells of the impression made upon him by Mr. Lincoln's remarkable address and of his introduction to him the following morning at the railroad station while waiting for the train. After boarding the train they entered into a conversation about the address in which Mr. Lincoln was asked to explain how he gained his " unusual power of ' putting things/ " the request being accompanied with the observation that " It must have been a matter of education," and the question, " What has your education been? " To this request Mr. Lincoln replied : "Well, as to education, the newspapers are correct I never went to school more than six months in my life. But, as you say, this must be a product of culture in some form. I have been putting the question you ask me, to myself, while you have been talking. I can say this, that, among my earliest recollections, I remember how, when a mere child, I used to get irritated when anybody talked to me in a way I could not understand. I don't think I ever got angry at anything else in my life. But that always disturbed my temper, and has ever since. I can remember going to my little ACQUIRED ABILITIES 6 1 bedroom, after hearing the neighbors talk of an evening with my father, and spending no small part of the night walking up and down, and trying to make out what was the exact meaning of some of their, to me, dark sayings. I could not sleep, though I often tried to, when I got on such a hunt after an idea, until I had caught it ; and when I thought I had got it, I was not satisfied until I had repeated it over and over, until I had put it in language plain enough, as I thought, for any boy I knew to comprehend. This was a kind of passion with me, and it has stuck by me, for I am never easy now when I am handling a thought till I have bounded it north and bounded it south and bounded it east and bounded it west. Perhaps that accounts for the characteristic you observe in my speeches, though I never put the two things together before." One more quotation from this " interview " will serve to show that Mr. Lincoln, in later years, still kept up the self-training which made him such a master of reasoning and of clearness and simplicity of statement. In response to the questions, " Did you not have a law education? " and " How did you prepare for your profession? " he replied : "Oh, yes! I 'read law,' as the phrase is; that is I became a lawyer's clerk in Springfield, and copied tedious documents, and picked up what I could of law in the intervals of other work. But your question reminds me of a bit of education I had, which I am bound in honesty to mention. In the course of my law-reading I constantly came upon the word demonstrate. I thought, at first, that I understood its meaning, but soon became satisfied that I did not. I said to myself, 'What do I do when I demonstrate more than when I reason or prove? How does demonstration differ from any other proof?' I consulted Webster's Dictionary. That told of 'certain proof,' 'Proof beyond the possibility of doubt; ' but I could form no idea what sort of proof that was. I thought a great many things were proved beyond a possibility of doubt, without recourse to any such extraordinary process of reasoning as I understood 62 THE SUCCESSFUL TEACHER 1 demonstration ' to be. I consulted all the dictionaries and books of reference I could find, but with no better results. You might as well have defined blue to a blind man. At last I said, i Lincoln, you can never make a lawyer if you do not understand what demonstrate means'; and I left my situation in Springfield, went home to my father's house and stayed there till I could give any proposition in the six books of Euclid at sight. I then found out what ' demonstrate ' means, and went back to my law studies." Here we find the secrets of Lincoln's ability to use lan- guage with such simplicity, clearness, and definiteness. In the first place his desire to comprehend all that was said in his presence was so intense that any failure on his part to understand made him uncomfortable, impatient, and even angry. The mental pictures presented by him of his boyhood struggles, in his lonely room, when on the hunt of an idea, determined to think out the hidden meaning of some conversation to which he had listened, and of his determination, when a law student, not to proceed further with his law reading until he knew for himself what " demon- strate " meant, are most impressive and suggestive. It should also be noted that when he went on the hunt of an idea, he never gave up the chase or ceased the struggle to comprehend, until he " caught the idea." Failure " to catch the idea " or to come even within hailing distance of an idea is the cause of much of the high sounding but utterly meaningless language used by some writers and speakers on educational subjects. The final step in his process of self-education and training is shown in the persistent drill to which he subjected himself, by bounding the " caught idea " north, south, east, and west, and by calling into use every illustration or anecdote at his command, to enable him to tell what he had learned ACQUIRED ABILITIES 63 to comprehend with so much difficulty to the other boys (and later on to the people of a nation) in such a simple manner as would make it perfectly plain to them. By this persistent training, Lincoln gained the power of " eloquent simplicity " which characterized all his utter- ances. His use of English well illustrates Emerson's statement : " Eloquence is the power to translate a truth into language perfectly intelligible to the person to whom you speak." It is only by a similar process of persistent training that language power can be attained to any degree by a teacher. There must be a similar earnest desire to understand fully and to comprehend definitely the subject under con- sideration, a similar " hunt " for ideas to express, and a similar effort to clothe these ideas in language so plain and simple as to make them perfectly intelligible to the hearer or reader. A teacher's preparation to teach. Several years ago a young man was teaching his first school in a country district. His educational capital was small but his desire to add to it was large. All the lessons to be taught to the children were carefully prepared in advance and an earnest effort was made to master the subject matter of each lesson so that it could be presented with clearness and simplicity. In this work of preparation a serious difficulty presented itself in a geography lesson relating to the ex- planation of the change of the seasons. The temptation was strong to follow the line of least resistance, to do the easiest thing, and to teach the lesson to the children as it had been taught to the teacher, by having the explanation in the book memorized and recited. In this way time would 64 THE SUCCESSFUL TEACHER be saved and effort economized. Should any pupil at some future time be required to pass an examination for a teacher's certificate, and should such examination ask for an explanation for the change of seasons, as is usually the case, the memorized definition would meet all the require- ments, as it had already done for the teacher when he secured his certificate. The teacher felt, however, that he would like to under- stand the reasons given in the book for the change of seasons, and set about in earnest " to hunt for the idea " which was fundamental to such understanding. For- tunately no expensive apparatus was at hand and he was compelled to provide his own. This apparatus consisted of a globe-shaped collar box to represent the earth and a piece of candle to serve for the sun. The closing of the board shutters of the schoolhouse made the room dark enough to bring out the full effect of the planetary move- ments about to take place and secret enough to insure against undue publicity in the " research " work to be carried on. The collar box was provided with a wire pole and the miniature earth was then inclined the right number of degrees to the plane of its orbit. The candle was lighted and the " solar system" was set in motion. With persistent determination, born of an earnest desire to understand the statements in the textbook, the young teacher patiently sought to find out for himself why the tropics and the polar circles are placed where they are, why the seasons change as they do, why days are long and nights are short in the summer and nights are long and days are short in the winter, and why days and nights are equal at certain times. After repeated attempts to solve ACQUIRED ABILITIES 6$ these mysteries, he finally " caught the idea " and the real joy which came with the discovery can never be forgotten by that teacher. The first step had been taken toward making the idea plain to the pupils. Then followed a careful consideration of the best means of presenting the lesson to the class so that the boys and girls as well as the teacher could understand it. It is needless to state that there was an immediate revival of interest in the subject of geography in that school, as there will always be a revival of interest in any subject in any school, when the teacher has so mastered the lesson that he has ideas rather than mere words to present, and can, as the result of such mastery, present his ideas to the pupils with clearness, definiteness, and simplicity. Too much emphasis cannot be placed upon the necessity of the use of such language by teachers as will be perfectly plain and definite in its meaning to pupils. One word not understood by the pupils will often break the thought connection in a recitation, between the instructor and the class, thereby making the entire recitation meaningless and, therefore, worthless. If, perchance, the word not understood is caught up by the pupils, instead of the idea it was intended to express, the result will be that the state- ment thus misunderstood is memorized with no thought at all as to its meaning; or a wrong meaning will be given to it which leads to a ridiculous misunderstanding. The study of words. Many of the blunders in recita- tion and examination credited to the stupidity of pupils should be charged to poor instruction by teachers whose thought is not clear and whose language is, therefore, indef- inite and meaningless. The following incident will serve OUR PUB. S. 5 66 THE SUCCESSFUL TEACHER to illustrate the importance of a full and complete under- standing of the meaning of words in teaching a reading lesson to children. The incident occurred in a teachers 7 institute in connection with the presentation, by an in- structor in primary work, of a lesson in the second reader, to a group of children, who had been prevailed upon to give a few hours of their vacation time for experimental purposes. With rare skill, this instructor, a woman of varied and uniformly successful experience, proceeded with the deli- cate and difficult task of teaching this group of children in the presence of a large audience of teachers. Her kindly tone of voice and quiet manner soon made the children feel at home. Apparently unconscious of the presence of hun- dreds of interested listeners, the children talked eagerly and naturally with their teacher about the affairs which touched their little lives. The reading lesson was then taken up and its subject matter talked over in a familiar and interesting manner. The difficult words which were new to the children were placed upon the blackboard, properly marked for pronunciation, their meaning explained in a simple, direct way, and their proper use illustrated by sentences. The word " present " was prominent in the lesson. Its meaning was really the key to a correct under- standing of much that the lesson contained. The children had spelled it, pronounced it, and used it in a number of sentences. To some teachers in that audience there seemed to be a waste of time in getting at the meaning of the word. Finally after all the preliminary drill, the teacher asked the children to tell in their own language what they thought a " present " was. At once there came from a ACQUIRED ABILITIES 67 volunteer the statement, " A present is something you give somebody. " Then the teacher, whose skill and tact prompted her to use every means to bring out the meaning of words, picked up an empty crayon box near by and, holding it aloft before the class, said, " Is this a present? " The children replied in the negative with great unanimity and emphasis. Then said the teacher " What shall I do with it to make a present out of it? " presuming, of course, that some child would give the expected answer, " Give it to some one and it will be a present." But the un- expected, which can usually be expected in school, occurred. A little girl whose frail body, wan face, and general appearance indicated that she came from a home of poverty, held up her tiny hand as an indication that she had an answer. The teacher told the child how glad she was to see her ready to answer, and then asked her to tell the class and the institute what should be done with the crayon box to make a present out of it. In a timid manner, but with a voice clear and distinct, the little girl replied ' c Cover it with plush." Her reply was a revelation to all the teachers in that institute. It was evident that the meaning put into the word, " present," by this child was the natural outgrowth of experiences in the home from which she came. In that home she had undoubtedly seen little gifts made by her mother or sisters by covering boxes with plush, because there was no money with which to buy expensive presents, and to her childish mind, her definition was ample to in- clude all presents. The teacher then made plain the fuller meaning of the word. Without such explanation, the child, having read the lesson with her own idea of a present in mind, would have failed to grasp its larger significance. 68 THE SUCCESSFUL TEACHER While acquired abilities other than those named in this chapter will, no doubt, suggest themselves to the reader, the ability to think clearly and the ability to express the results of such thinking in simple direct language are of fundamental importance in the equipment of teachers for their work. Without such equipment no person, whatever his reputation for scholarship may be, is fitted to teach. THE TEACHER'S GROWTH AND SURPLUS V THE TEACHERS' READING CIRCLE 1 T F I cease to become better, I shall soon cease to be good" is a suggestive sentiment credited to Oliver Cromwell. While this sentiment was probably in- tended by its author to apply to moral and spiritual life and growth, there can be no doubt that it also applies with equal truthfulness and force to the professional life and growth of teachers. Important as are their natural characteristics and acquired abilities, their professional life and growth are even more important. Essential as are their academic education and professional training, their continued self-improvement, after they have been educated and trained, is even more essential. The opportunities for such professional growth and self-improvement are abundant. The attitude of teachers toward these oppor- tunities, and the use which they make of them, furnish a fair standard by which to judge their merits. Origin of Teachers' Reading Circles. One of the most important of these opportunities for professional growth and self-improvement is found in the Teachers' Reading Circle which has an existence in some form in nearly all the states of the Union. Since the reading circle is now so universally recognized as an important factor in the professional growth of teachers, it seems appropriate, in this connection, to call attention to the history of its organization. 71 72 THE TEACHER'S GROWTH AND SURPLUS To the late Mrs. D. L. Williams of Delaware, Ohio, is due the honor of first proposing a State Course of Reading for Teachers, in an address delivered before the Ohio State Teachers' Association, July 6, 1882. The subject of this unusually helpful and inspiriting address was Young Teachers and Their Calling. So important is this address and so applicable to present conditions that a brief summary of its contents is given. It contained first, an earnest appeal to all teachers with prospective teachers among their pupils, "to show them a well-managed and well- taught school, " which might serve as a model to be imitated, and to make such pupils " the special objects of their professional attention." Examiners of teachers were urged to protect " the young teacher who has made conscientious and laborious preparation " by such treatment as will insure recognition of his merits, and to use " firmness in rejecting incompetence." The ex- treme importance of showing practical appreciation of real merit in young teachers by regular increase of salary and increasing permanency of position was impressed upon school directors and superintendents, and deserved em- phasis was placed upon the duty which " the profession in general owes to the young persons entering it, in the pro- fessional spirit." The closing paragraph of this address which led to the establishment of the Ohio Teachers' Reading Circle, is of such interest in its relation to the reading circle movement as to warrant its republication : "My ' lastly' I scarcely dare venture upon lest it be dismissed as visionary and impracticable. For many years I have been enter- taining a theory that a course of reading, reaching through several years, might be instituted under the management of this Association, THE TEACHERS READING CIRCLE 73 with its annual examinations and reports at this annual reunion ; appropriate honors being conferred at its completion. If such a course of reading, partly professional, could be made available for young teachers, it seems to me it would be of extreme value. Since the Chautauqua Literary Course has been such an eminent success, I have more confidence than ever in the feasibility of such a plan. But it would involve labor, and would require self-sacrifice, on the part of the wisest and most capable, and, therefore, the most over- worked members of the Association, to make it a success. I doubt, however, whether any work we can do would pay a larger dividend. I do not dare, in closing, Mr. President, to move for a committee to report upon this matter. I fear it is too soon. But in the dis- cussion which follows this paper, I shall be glad to hear the objections which suggest themselves to the members of the Association. Would an ' Ohio State Teachers' Course of Reading ' meet a need of the young teachers of the State, and incite them to self-improvement ; and, if so, is such a course of reading practicable?" The address was discussed by a number of the leading teachers and superintendents attending the meeting, nearly all of whom heartily indorsed the plan, proposed by Mrs. Williams, of establishing a state course of reading for teachers. This discussion was followed by the adoption of the following resolution : "Resolved, That the Association heartily approves the suggestion made at the conclusion of the paper read by Mrs. Williams, concerning a Course of Reading for Teachers. "That Mrs. D. L. Williams, Hon. J. J. Burns, and Dr. John Hancock be appointed a committee with full power to mature a plan and to put it in operation ; and to make a report of the same to this Association at its next Annual Meeting." At the next meeting of the Ohio State Teachers' Asso- ciation, held July, 1883, the committee submitted a report which was adopted by the Association. Certain parts of 74 THE TEACHER'S GROWTH AND SURPLUS this report, quoted in the following paragraphs, are full of interest as relating to the history of the establishment of the Reading Circle and as expressing in the best possible way the purpose and value of systematic reading for teachers. "Your committee believes such a course of reading practicable, and that just at this time, when a membership in a Reading Club, or a Literary Society, is almost essential to social recognition such an enterprise may very easily be inaugurated, and successfully carried forward. * * * "In such organizations (reading circles) the enthusiasm and culture of a few leading minds quicken all that come in contact with them, and lift up standards of excellence for all to strive towards. As a plan is adopted to which all must conform, reading is methodi- cally done, and if such a plan is followed for any length of time there is at least a possibility that a habit of reading may be formed. The reading is likely to be done thoroughly, because it is done in the expectation of being questioned upon the matter read, and the reader does not wish to fail. It is done con amore, because a sufficient number are engaged in it to give zest to what otherwise might be regarded as, at best, a laborious duty. It brings teachers into intel- lectual companionship and sympathy, and so gives to each the intel- lectual support and self-respecting independence of all. The strong are made better and stronger by what they impart, and the weak are unconsciously helped to a higher plane of thinking and doing by intellectual contact with those stronger than themselves." This admirable report wisely recommended that the course of reading be in part professional and in part literary ; that it be four years in length ; that it " be under the care and direction of Ohio Teachers' Association " ; and " that the Association proceed at once to take the necessary steps to inaugurate an organization among the THE TEACHERS 7 READING CIRCLE 75 teachers of Ohio for reading and study, to be known as the ' Ohio Teachers' Reading Circle/ " The recommendations of this report were promptly indorsed and executed, and before the adjournment of the Association a " Board of Control," consisting of eight members, was chosen, and the " First Year's Course of Reading," and in so far as can be determined from any reliable record, the first course of reading to be adopted for the teachers of a state, was announced as follows : " I. In Pedagogy, one of the following : Hailman's History of Pedagogy, Krusi's Pestalozzi, Quick's Educa- tional Reformers. The committee also expect the members to read at least one educational periodical. " II. In Poetry, Longfellow, Whittier, or Lowell - life and poetical works. " III. In American History, the discovery and early settlement of North America, to 1776 ; and we recommend under this head, Irving's Columbus, Parkman's Histories, Bancroft, and Higginson." Since this beginning over three decades ago, the teachers' reading circle movement has grown until it now includes all sections of the country. In many states, the books are carefully selected by a special committee appointed by the State Teachers' Association or some other properly con- stituted authority, and the course so selected is uniform throughout the state. In other states the books to be read by the teachers of a county are recommended or selected either by the county superintendent or by a committee appointed by him for that purpose. In the absence of carefully kept records in many states and counties, it is not possible to determine with certainty 76 THE TEACHER'S GROWTH AND SURPLUS or even to estimate with any degree of accuracy how many teachers have availed themselves of the excellent oppor- tunity furnished by these courses of reading as an efficient means of professional growth. There can be no doubt, however, that hundreds of thousands of teachers have been directly benefited in this way and that many additional thousands have, in a smaller measure, been indirectly helped. In Ohio, the " Mother State/' the average annual enrollment of teachers who have read with more or less thoroughness one or more of the courses adopted, since the work was inaugurated in 1883, is at least five thousand. Many teachers, principals, and superintendents, now in active service in prominent positions, have carefully read and studied all the books adopted, and in their libraries will be found the " Reading Circle Books " which are usually the most prized, the best read, and most completely digested volumes in their possession. Although the teachers' reading circle was organized for the purpose of helping young and inexperienced teachers, it is quite evident, as indicated in the preceding paragraph, that its benefits have not been confined to such teachers, but have been extended to teachers of all classes, who have realized the need of continuous growth and constant self- improvement. As predicted in the report of the committee setting forth the promised benefits of the proposed organi- zation of a reading circle, the enthusiasm and culture of a few leading minds have quickened all that came in contact with them and these leading minds have, in turn, them- selves been quickened into clearer thinking and more sym- pathetic feeling, as a result of the unselfish service they have given to others. All teachers who have availed themselves THE TEACHERS READING CIRCLE 77 of the opportunity furnished by the reading circle to read and think together, have thereby been brought into in- tellectual sympathy and companionship. In view of the professional growth and personal culture which are assured to all who actively participate in reading circle work, it is difficult to understand why any teachers who prize such growth and culture should neglect to take advantage of the opportunities thus offered for self- improvement. It is quite probable that such neglect is primarily due to a failure to realize the need of such self- improvement and that the alleged reasons offered by some teachers for not taking advantage of such opportunities are really excuses born of laziness or indifference. Some poor excuses. Occasionally teachers will claim that they know their own individual and professional needs much better than those needs can possibly be known by any reading circle board or committee and that they, therefore, prefer to pursue courses of reading of their own selection. Usually such teachers never make such selec- tion and do not read at all. Even if they do read, they thereby exhibit a type of selfishness which is destructive to that professional spirit which all true teachers are anxious to encourage and to cultivate. There are always some teachers who attempt to justify their refusal to take part in the work of the Teachers' Reading Circle by the claim that they are members of a Chautauqua Circle, or some circle of a similar character, and that all their time is occupied in reading the course adopted by such circle. While such membership and read- ing are to be commended, no really professional teacher will attempt to substitute them for membership in a 78 THE TEACHER'S GROWTH AND SURPLUS teachers' reading circle and the reading of the books prescribed therein. What professional standing could a lawyer hope to attain or maintain, who would ignore the demands of his profession, pay no attention to the latest court reports and judicial decisions, and then attempt to justify such action and neglect on his part by the interest he might have in a course of reading of a general literary character? Such a lawyer would soon be without clients. Any physician who would similarly ignore the demands of his profession, and who would cease to inform himself upon the latest discoveries in medical science and the prevention or cure of diseases, would soon cease to practice medicine because of a lack of patients. Unfortunately, the teachers who take no interest in their professional growth and improvement and who ignore such reading and study as are necessary to such growth and improvement, are per- mitted in too many instances to continue their practice on the poor children who are not permitted to choose their teachers as clients and patients are permitted to choose their lawyers and physicians. Many professional people, including teachers, so economize their time as to enable them to pursue both professional and general courses of reading and thereby not only insure their professional growth and improvement, but also guard against a type of narrowness and bigotry which sometimes characterize those who never read or think outside of their special work. Occasionally teachers will plead financial inability to purchase the required books as an excuse for their failure to engage in the work of the teachers' reading circle. In view of the low salaries received by most teachers, this excuse seems, at first thought, to be worthy of some THE TEACHERS' READING CIRCLE 79 consideration. As a rule, it is imperative that teachers exercise the most rigid economy in all their expenses. There are always many things which they would like to do and in which they could engage with both pleasure and profit, but which are denied to them, because of an expense which they cannot afford. But there are some things which no teacher who desires to grow and to improve can afford not to do. Certainly no teacher, unless under financial stress due to circumstances beyond control, can afford not to add to his own library each year a few good books to be made a part of his life equipment by careful reading and study. The most unreasonable excuse offered by teachers for failure to read systematically and persistently is lack of time. It is true that teachers are busy people, that they often have unusual demands made upon their time and strength, and that they have numerous and varied duties to perform. It is also true that, with proper organization and system in connection with their work, under normal conditions all reasonable demands can be promptly met and all necessary duties satisfactorily performed, and some time be saved each day to be used in reading and study for self-improvement. It is the privilege and duty of all teachers so to plan their work in the school and for the school as to insure at least an hour or two each day for such reading and study. If the determination so to plan is sufficiently strong and persistent, satisfactory results will invariably follow. In the following allotment of time, each need of the day is liberally provided for. A good daily program. For teaching, six hours ; plan- ning and preparing the lessons to be taught, three hours ; 8o THE TEACHER'S GROWTH AND SURPLUS meals, eating and healthful relaxation following, three hours ; sleep, eight hours ; resting, recreation, and exercise, two hours ; in all twenty-two hours. This leaves two hours each day which can be and should be used by the teacher for self-improvement. The teacher's program should devote these hours to reading and study with the same regularity and persistence as other hours are devoted to teaching, planning and preparing lessons, eating, sleeping, resting, and exercise, and nothing but dire neces- sity should be permitted to interfere with this program. Teachers, like all other individuals who desire to grow, must have a definite plan for reading and study, and they must stick to it. The truth is that no profession, vocation, or calling furnishes better opportunities for self-improvement by means of reading and study than the opportunities which come to the teacher. In addition to the time which can be saved and utilized for such purpose each day, the weekly Saturday vacation day and the months of at least partial leisure, which come with the summer vacation, will be carefully improved by all teachers who are really in earnest in their efforts to become better equipped for their work. In the majority of instances, it will be found that all teachers who have attained a high degree of success owe such success in a large measure to private reading and study. There is always time. Really busy people, in any walk of life, seldom excuse themselves for a failure to perform duty by pleading a lack of time. They are the people who usually can and do find time for the many duties imposed upon them. They are usually the first to respond THE TEACHERS' READING CIRCLE 81 to the demands of the church, the community, and the state. Men and women who have nothing to do are usually so busy doing nothing that it is useless to ask them to do anything. A young colored student who was about to graduate from a theological seminary, in a letter to the young woman whom he intended to marry, described himself as follows : "I am a gentleman of leisure, floating upon the waves of cir- cumstance. My life, like the remainder of my race, is one constant, monotonous, multiplicity of recapitulated nothingness." Such persons are not confined to the colored race. It is pitifully true that there are some teachers whose lives, in so far as any systematic attempt at growth or improvement is concerned, are also " one constant, monotonous, multi- plicity of recapitulated nothingness. " Such teachers are never able to find time to read or to study. Instead of offering excuses for failure to join in the work of the teachers' reading circle, all teachers who really desire to grow in knowledge and wisdom quickly recognize the benefits which come from reading carefully selected books, along with other teachers. They keenly realize the value of companionship in their reading and thinking and they, therefore, eagerly take advantage of the oppor- tunity, afforded by membership in a good reading circle, to talk over what has been read and to exchange ideas regarding the views and sentiments expressed by the author of the book under consideration. How to read a book so as to get from it the largest amount of useful information and lofty inspiration and, in the getting, to develop right habits of thought and study, OUR PUB. S. 6 82 THE TEACHER'S GROWTH AND SURPLUS merits careful consideration by all teachers who value the privilege of reading for self-improvement. Gratitude for the helpful suggestions and wise directions given by a friend to a young teacher of a country school many years ago, relative to his reading, coupled with an earnest desire to pass on these suggestions and directions to other teachers and students, prompts the writing of the following paragraphs which briefly summarize a valuable experience in the life of that teacher. This friend was the late Honorable Le Roy D. Brown, who at one time served as State Commissioner of Schools in Ohio, but who at the time referred to was superintendent of schools in Eaton, Ohio. The young teacher was much surprised, somewhat pleased, and not a little embarrassed to receive an invitation from the superintendent of the county seat schools to take dinner with him when attending a meeting of the county teachers' association. What was served for dinner and the method of disposing of it, whether in accord with the most approved etiquette of the day or not, has long since passed out of mind, but the " after dinner " conversation which took place in the library will never be forgotten. The young teacher still vividly recalls the impression made upon him by the large number of well-selected books which bore their own evidence of hav- ing been carefully read and thoughtfully studied. This evidence was seen in the copious notes and comments neatly recorded on the blank pages of the different volumes. After a brief inspection of the library, Mr. Brown, with a directness of purpose which characterized him in a marked way, asked the young teacher what he was reading. The question was as embarrassing to him then as it would be THE TEACHERS' READING CIRCLE 83 to too many teachers to-day not alone to teachers of the country schools but to some teachers of the grades in the towns and cities, and to others who like to be called " pro- fessor " in the high schools. The embarrassment was due to the simple fact that truthfulness compelled the young teacher to reply that he was not reading much of anything, upon which humiliating confession, Mr. Brown proceeded to urge upon his youth- ful guest the absolute necessity of systematic reading and study of some of the best books as an essential means of growth and development, and the absolute certainty of intellectual decay, if such reading and study were not persisted in. This earnest appeal to read the best books was supplemented by some valuable suggestions as to how to read them, which may be briefly outlined as follows : 1. Always read with pencil and notebook at hand. 2. Neatly mark in the book which is being read, each suggestive statement of fact, important reference or conclusion, or beautiful sentiment, which specially arouses interest, arrests thought, or challenges attention, with number of page on which each is found, and record in notebook by means of some brief notation which will be intelligible in subsequent reviews of the book. Of course, this suggestion implies that the book read has something in it worth marking and noting, and that the reader has a sufficient amount of intelligence and concentration of mind to discover the things which are worth while. 3. Carefully review the book thus read from the markings and notes made, and then record in ink, on the blank leaves found in the volume, the revised notes resulting from such review. Experience teaches that to carry out these suggestions with any degree of completeness books must be read with thoughtful care and reasonable time be given to the reading. 84 THE TEACHER'S GROWTH AND SURPLUS There is, perhaps, an occasional genius who can take in a page at a glance and quickly assimilate all the mental food which a volume contains. But ordinary folks, such as most of us are, need to form the habit of reading slowly and meditatively in order that the mental digestive apparatus may properly " function." By no means is it to be inferred that there should be no reading for mere pastime or restful recreation. All brain toilers, especially teachers whose work is peculiarly exhausting, should some- times read books which require little thought but which are, nevertheless, uplifting in their moral tone and helpful in the optimistic view of life which they present. Fortunately such books are to be found and they should have a place in every teacher's library. Book ownership. To read as suggested also necessitates that the reader own the books which he reads; for, of course, no one who really appreciates the courtesy of the loan of a book will either mark it or keep it. While access to good public libraries should always be taken advantage of and should be highly appreciated by teachers who must depend upon such libraries for the use of many books of reference and other volumes which they cannot afford to purchase or may not care to own, it is doubtful whether any teacher will ever grow strong on the reading of bor- rowed books. The teacher of real power is never the book- less teacher. VI TEACHERS' INSTITUTES THE teachers' institute furnishes another valuable opportunity for the professional growth and self- improvement of teachers. Originally the chief purpose of the institute was to supplement the academic training of teachers. In the fulfillment of this purpose, it was really a type of extension school for the better educa- tion of such teachers as had not enjoyed the advantages furnished by a good school. Often this extension school was in session for several weeks and the entire time was devoted to the preparation and recitation of regularly as- signed lessons in the branches required for a common school certificate. Later on the institute was held for a shorter period, and while the subjects taught in the common schools were still given the larger part of the attention of instructors, a new emphasis was placed upon the method of teaching these subjects in the schools. To-day the institute is held for only a week, or, in some states, for only a day or two, and the purpose is no longer informational, either in knowl- edge or method, but inspirational. In several states, attendance upon teachers' institutes is no longer optional with the teacher, but compulsory. In such states, the teachers are paid from ten to twenty dollars for the week's attendance, and, in at least one state (Penn- sylvania) a teacher who fails to attend and who has no 86 THE TEACHER'S GROWTH AND SURPLUS valid excuse for such failure, forfeits not only the payment for the week's attendance but also an additional equal amount in deduction of salary for the month succeeding the institute. Do teachers' institutes pay ? It is occasionally asked whether the teachers' institute pays professionally ; whether the benefits received warrant the outlay made. No really earnest, progressive, professional, studious, growing teacher is in any doubt on this point. To such a teacher a good institute is a source of life and inspiration. It may not always be possible to enumerate in a specific manner the benefits which have been gained by attendance upon the institute. But thousands of teachers of long experience will bear testimony as to the help derived from such at- tendance ; to the feeling that they cannot well go through the hard work of the school year without the inspiration that always comes, not only from the work of the instructors and the other exercises of the regular program, but also from the sympathetic association with other teachers, whose aims and purposes and ambitions and difficulties are identical with their own. The value of teachers' institutes, the type of the men and women who should give instruction in them, and the benefits to teachers who attend them, as viewed by a teacher of long and successful experience, who is, therefore, qualified to speak with authority, are well described in the following : "I feel sure the county institute furnishes the best means for maintaining the esprit de corps of the teachers of a county. The summer school, valuable as it is, cannot do this. "The instructors at institutes ought to be, and generally are, men and women of larger experience and broader educational views than TEACHERS' INSTITUTES 87 the average teacher. To be in touch with such instructors .for a week or more is an inspiration to study and growth which result in better teaching, and professional advancement logically follows." Who are most benefited ? To the inexperienced teach- ers, the institute should be, and when properly managed, directed, and instructed, always is a positive help in the suggestions which come from the instructors, who should always keep in mind the needs of such teachers, and who should always be men and women who speak out of real experience in the actual work of the schoolroom. Any one who has never had such experience or who has forgot- ten the difficulties and perplexities which characterized the first years of his experience as a teacher, cannot hope to be of much service to those who most need help and sympathy. Inexperienced teachers can also secure great benefit from association in the institute with those who have been over the road, who know all about its rough places, and who have earned the right to be called the " leading teachers " of their county. Such teachers should find their greatest joy in mingling with their younger associates in the work, in making them feel at home in the institute, in giving to them freely the lessons which experience has taught, and in help- ing them in every way possible. To all such teachers there will come a full realization of the meaning of "It is more blessed to give than to receive." The institute instructor. To those who instruct in the teachers' institute, there comes a responsibility which is great as well as an opportunity which is unusual. The message to be given should be carefully thought out and felt out. It should come from a head which is clear in its thinking and from a heart which is warm with a burning 88 THE TEACHER'S GROWTH AND SURPLUS desire to be really helpful to teachers of all classes. It should never contain a recital of visionary theories of edu- cation, which have resulted from a " brain storm " on the part of some impractical " professor " who could not suc- cessfully teach or superintend a real school for a single day ; or an account of foolish experiments in some mysterious realm of the psychic world, which have been performed by some one in a " research laboratory " ; or an attempt to make an impossible application of some alleged peda- gogical principle, which common sense at once recog- nizes as being ridiculous in conception and impossible of execution. Destructive criticism, which always deadens, should find no place in thought or expression. Courage and hope should be the keynote of the work of the session. What teachers need is encouragement in working toward the realization of high ideals which appeal to their judg- ment as being possible of realization, and not criticism of everything which they have done or hoped to do. They need to be inspired to nobler efforts, not made despondent by the recital of pretended but absolutely false achieve- ments. They need to be encouraged to do their best, to magnify the importance of their own personalities, and to work out in so far as possible their own salvation, by over- coming difficulties which are certain to arise. They should not be discouraged with the thought that the admission of difficulty always indicates weakness and that, if they were only strong enough, there would be no difficulties to overcome. They need a joyous enthusiasm to work with and for their pupils ; not a knowledge of some dark and mysterious philosophy or psychology which will lead them to question whether they are really here on earth with large TEACHERS' INSTITUTES 89 responsibilities which, at times, seem hard to bear, but with accompanying opportunities for service which should fill their souls with gratitude and their lives with joy. To bring to teachers some such hope, encouragement, enthusiasm, and inspiration should be the purpose of every teachers' institute, and to work for the realization of this purpose, officers, teachers, and instructors should unite all their energies and efforts. Abolition of the teachers' institute. Notwithstanding the fact that the teachers' institute has proved its worth as a means of professional growth and inspiration in the life of teachers, and that this worth is fully recognized by the best teachers in all sections of the land, there is an occa- sional attempt to abolish it entirely or to make its contin- uance optional with the board of education or some other school authority. The causes leading to the final or optional discontinuance of the teachers' institute in a very few states constitute an interesting study which cannot, in this con- nection, be entered into in detail. In one instance, at least, the teachers' institute has been abolished largely because of the intense dissatisfaction of the teachers with the method used in its management by the " state machine," which seemed to pay little or no heed to the needs or demands of the teachers for whose benefit the institute should always be planned and carried on. As a rule, however, the attempt to discontinue the teach- ers' institute, either by direct or indirect means, does not originate with the teachers, but with outside critics of various types. These are often characterized by little or no knowledge of what the real purpose of an institute should be, of what it has accomplished in the past, or is attempting go THE TEACHER'S GROWTH AND SURPLUS to do now, and they are actuated, in too many instances, by purely selfish motives. Objectors and critics. Of course, there are a few people who are opposed to teachers 7 institutes because of the cost of their maintenance and especially on account of the small amount paid to the teachers for attending them. Such objections should be eliminated from the consideration of the merits of the institute precisely as similar objections should always be ignored in the consideration of any measure for the betterment of the teachers and the schools. Money is the only measure of value known to some people. To attempt to convince such people that an institute has a value to teachers not measured by the money standard is useless. The severest critics of institutes are so-called " educators " who are sometimes professors in colleges of education or other departments in universities, and who are unable, because of a lack of anything of value to say, to appear be- fore an audience of teachers and patrons of the schools and say anything which will arouse interest or command atten- tion. The audience is always blamed for the failure, and the stock criticism follows that the audience, because of a lack of intelligence to comprehend the wonderful wisdom and the learned discussion of the speaker, does not " react. " It never seems to occur to such faultfinders that there can be no reaction without action, and that the two are always equal. These would-be institute instructors, who are without a message, and who try to conceal their lack of anything to say by an attempt to say it in " pedaguese " instead of English, soon develop into the second stage of complaining. TEACHERS' INSTITUTES 91 They condemn all institute instructors who really command a hearing because of a real message, delivered in a manner which is effective, as mere " entertainers " whose " per- formances " unfit an audience to listen to a " logical dis- cussion of a serious question." Their final spasm of criti- cism comes when they no longer receive any response to their persistent and urgent appeals to be permitted to lecture in the institutes, and manifests itself in an outburst of contempt for all that the institute represents or does, and by the claim that they would not lower their official dignity nor risk their reputation for scholarship by descending to the low plane of talking to such ignorant and uncultured audiences. It is such as they who have pronounced the teachers 7 institute a failure. It is gratifying in this connection to call attention to the many rare men and women, connected with the higher educational institutions, who are in no way affected with the snobbery which is unfortunately too common in many such institutions. Their scholarship is both broad and accurate and their training both wide and deep. Their heads are filled with sane ideas which they can express in language understandable by the common people. Their experience in both school and life is rich. Their hearts are full of sympathy. Such men and women, instead of con- demning the institute as a failure, consider it one of the greatest agencies in existence for the betterment of the public schools through the uplift which it gives to both the teachers and the patrons. Another class of opponents of teachers' institutes is com- posed of persons who have heard some of the meaningless jargon which is sometimes inflicted upon those in attend- 92 THE TEACHER'S GROWTH AND SURPLUS ance, and with some degree of justice conclude that the institute is of no real value and should, therefore, be dis- continued. Their mistake is due to the erroneous conclu- sion that all instruction is of the meaningless kind which they have been unfortunate enough to hear. There would be as much reason in a proposal to discontinue all schools, because there are some poor teachers, as in a demand to dis- continue teachers' institutes, because there are some in- efficient instructors. The claim is sometimes made that with the coming of better educated and better trained teachers, the value of the institute passes, and that it should, therefore, be dis- continued. If the education and training which teachers are now receiving produce a class of teachers who think that they are finished products with no need of further self-improvement and professional growth, and who are thoroughly satisfied with themselves and their work, then the less we have of such education and training the better for the schools. Education and training of the right type never produce such teachers. The better teachers are pre- pared for their work, the more they feel the need of that uplifting and inspiriting influence which a well-conducted teachers' institute supplies. Just as the best-trained min- isters, lawyers, and physicians are most anxious to meet in conferences and associations for the consideration of the betterment of their profession in order that they may re- ceive the help that comes from attendance upon such meet- ings, so the best-trained teachers most readily respond to the call of the teachers' institute. Because of their superior education and training, such teachers are always glad of an opportunity to attend all such meetings, and those who TEACHERS' INSTITUTES 93 are not truly professional should be compelled to attend or to cease pretending to do a work for which no education or training can ever fit them. The teachers 7 institute, as now conducted in some states and as it should be conducted in all states, is a most impor- tant factor not only in providing a means of professional growth for teachers but also in creating and maintaining an interest in the welfare of the public schools on the part of the parents. Through such an institute a most effective appeal can be made for the much-desired cooperation be- tween the home and the school and for the development of a school sentiment which will sustain that " community interest " of which so much is heard and for which so little is really done. An institute which thus touches the inter- ests and meets the needs of both teachers and patrons, and thereby helps to create and to direct educational thought and sentiment is in reality a most efficient means of public school extension. As such it is certainly worthy of the official recognition and financial support of both state and local educational authorities. Public school extension is at least equal in importance to university extension, which is now recognized as a large factor in the work of higher education. Other agencies for growth. In addition to the county teachers' institute, there are various other important meet- ings of teachers, such as the local institute, the county or city teachers' association, district and state and national associations. Professional teachers welcome all these agencies for growth and improvement and in so far as pos- sible give them their cordial support. In the smaller meet- ings there is found the opportunity to form an intimate 94 THE TEACHER'S GROWTH AND SURPLUS acquaintance, each with the work of the other, which is beneficial to all, while in the larger meetings, such as district, state, or national, there is obtained that larger acquaintance and broader vision so necessary for growth and develop- ment. In the summer schools, which are so largely attended, and which are usually in charge of good instructors, teachers find another excellent opportunity for that systematic and continuous study which is a most important factor in their self-improvement and professional growth. In such schools many teachers complete their college course and thus fit themselves for promotion in both position and salary. The custom of some boards of education of placing a pre- mium upon attendance at summer schools by providing for an additional increase in salary for all teachers who attend, is worthy of both commendation and imitation. There are always some teachers, however, who should neither be required nor encouraged to attend summer schools. Their work during the school year shows, both by the manner in which it is done and by the results secured, that they are devoted students of the subjects taught and of the best methods of teaching them. To many such earnest and successful teachers, attendance at a summer school would result in more harm than good. During their vacation they should endeavor to dismiss all thought of school and formal study from their minds and should spend the time in rest and recreation. Perhaps, some day some one possessed with a large supply of common sense and high ideals of justice will devise some plan by means of which the much-coveted " credits," now obtainable only by a formal study of the theory of education in a school of TEACHERS' INSTITUTES 95 pedagogy, may be obtained without such formal study by real teachers who are intelligently studying and successfully solving the real problems of the real schools which they daily teach. Every one who is well informed as to educa- tional conditions knows that there are many such teachers in every county of every state in the Union. They are usually the source of much of the information upon which reports of educational progress and the discussion of methods in education are based, and are not infrequently better in- formed in educational theory and more thoroughly trained in educational practice than the teachers to whom they would be compelled to go to secure formal credits for their work. Travel. Unfortunately, the low salary paid to most teachers in the public schools prohibits them from taking advantage of one of the most effective means of growth and development, viz. travel. Only those who have seen something of the world in all its vast and varied interests can realize how the horizon of the teacher enlarges, his vision expands, and his powers develop with even an occa- sional opportunity to look beyond the narrow limits of the county or state in which he teaches. Colleges and univer- sities recognize the value and importance of this agency in the life and growth of their teachers by instituting the " sabbatical year " in which a leave of absence is granted, for the purpose of travel and study, with sufficient salary to make possible the acceptance of the courtesy by all to whom it is offered. Is it too much to hope that the future will produce a new type of philanthropist who, out of genuine gratitude for what the public schools have done for him, and with a vision 96 THE TEACHER'S GROWTH AND SURPLUS of what he can do in return for the public schools, will show his gratitude and make possible the realization of his vision by providing the necessary funds to send worthy public school teachers upon an occasional excursion or voyage in quest of renewed health, enlarged enthusiasm, and new ideas? An occasional generous gift for this purpose has already been made and lends encouragement to the hope that in the near future large donations for the benefit of public schools will be even more common than are similar bequests to colleges and universities at the present time. Is it unreasonable to expect that some day wars will cease because preparation for wholesale murder will have ceased, and that, as a result, the billions of money now worse than wasted in the barbarities of inhuman and inexcusable war- fare or in preparation for a fanciful security against it, can be saved for public education, thereby making possible the payment of sufficient salaries to enable the teachers in the public schools to secure such benefits of travel as will en- rich their own lives and the lives of their pupils ? The future safety of our republic depends in no small measure upon the character of the instruction given in its public schools; the character of this instruction depends largely upon the character of the teachers, and the charac- ter of the teachers depends in a large measure upon their growth in all that makes for a larger and better intellectual and spiritual life. To the promotion of this growth every teacher's life should be devoted and the energies of all who love the public schools should be directed. VII PHYSICAL VITALITY AND MENTAL GROWTH AS a growing financial surplus, the result of wise busi- ness management, tends to create and maintain confidence in the stability of a commercial enter- prise on the part of those who have money to invest, so an increasing surplus of teaching power, the result of personal growth and self-improvement, tends to create and main- tain confidence in the success of teachers on the part of those who have children to educate. It should, therefore, be the constant aim and determined purpose of all teachers to accumulate such a surplus as will insure the confidence of parents in the efficiency of the school and the respect of pupils for the competency of the teacher. Physical vitality. It is becoming more apparent each year that good health is an important factor towards suc- cess in all vocations or professions. It is safe to say that in the near future the physical examinations which prospective teachers will be required to pass will be such as to exclude from the ranks all who are not supplied with a reasonable amount of physical vitality. Such examinations will serve two purposes first, the protection of the children in the schools against the possibility of the contagion of ill health and the incompetency and irritability so apt to result from the poor health of teachers ; and second, the protection of persons lacking in physical strength from a complete OUR PUB. s. 7 97 98 THE TEACHER'S GROWTH AND SURPLUS loss of health so certain to result from an attempt to teach without sufficient vigor to endure the strain. Notwithstanding the fact that in all communities there can still be found some people who look upon teaching as a sinecure, an easy task really without care, with few hours, short days, and long vacations, all who know what teaching actually means in preparation and what it requires in both physical and mental effort, recognize that in no work of any kind are there greater difficulties to meet than in the work of teaching ; in no place are there graver responsi- bilities to assume than in the schoolroom. Live teaching is exhausting to nervous energy and is a constant drain on life itself. Not a few teachers who spent their early years on a farm, at a time when the working day had no limitations as to length except dawn and dusk, can testify that mauling rails from daylight to dark is not nearly so tiresome to body or mind as " splitting hairs " in the schoolroom for five or six hours a day. This is especially true if the " hair splitting " is due to the lack of apprecia- tion or understanding of hypercritical parents who fail to recognize the difficulty of school problems and their own ignorance of how such problems should be solved. It is, therefore, imperative that all teachers who aspire to the highest success should make such success possible by con- serving in every available way their physical strength in order that they may accumulate a surplus of physical vital- ity with which to meet the emergencies which are certain to arise in the work of the school. Examination papers. To aid in the accumulation of this surplus, all such drudgery as marking papers should be reduced to a minimum. In some schools there is a tend- PHYSICAL VITALITY AND MENTAL GROWTH 99 ency to require so much written work that teachers are compelled either to give little attention to the mass of writ- ten material handed in to them by pupils or to exhaust their physical and mental life in the drudgery of examining it. If critical attention is not given by the teacher to both the form and the content of the written work of the pupils, such neglect soon becomes known. Instead of the exact- ness which writing is presumed to produce, carelessness on the part of the pupils, who have discovered that much of their written work is never even looked at, is certain to result. On the other hand, if a large amount of written work is critically examined by the teacher, no time is left for the rest and recreation so essential to both physical and mental life and vigor. As a result, there is a deficiency in- stead of a surplus in the teacher's vitality. No teacher can long devote many hours either day or night to such drudg- ery and do justice to the important work of the school. When examinations or other exercises necessitating a large amount of written work are required, pupils should remain in school in the forenoon for only such time as is necessary to complete the work assigned, and should then be excused for the remainder of the day. After they have been so excused, teachers can be free to give their undivided attention to the task of marking papers an important piece of school work which should be done in the school- room during school hours. Under no circumstances should teachers be compelled to hold examinations all day and then devote half the night, or perhaps the vacation period, to the work of grading manuscripts, thereby unfitting themselves for the schoolroom activities which are to follow. Boards of education and the patrons whom they represent ioo THE TEACHER'S GROWTH AND SURPLUS will readily indorse and cordially support this plan when its purpose is explained to them ; and, since even the lazy and indifferent are inclined to do a little studying at home in the examination season, no loss to pupils will result. The importance of a reasonable amount of written work, carefully done by pupils and carefully examined by teach- ers, is recognized by all. An excess of such work, how- ever, will always result in positive injury to both pupils and teachers, not alone in the evils already named, but also in a loss of the positive benefits which result from the oral recita- tion properly conducted. The so-called written recitation cannot be indulged in to any great extent without neglecting the important work of training pupils to think on their feet and to express their thoughts orally with accuracy and fluency. Written questions prepared by the teacher, to which answers are written by the pupils, may guarantee a recitation hour of quiet and order, but the quiet is sug- gestive of death and the order calls to mind the cemetery. What a recitation should be. The oral recitation prop- erly directed by a competent teacher glows with life. In such a recitation interest is aroused, thought is provoked, the mind is informed, and the power of expression is de- veloped. At the close of such a recitation, pupils know that something of real value has been accomplished, and teachers are not burdened by the sight of stacks of written material to which many tedious hours must be devoted to determine what has been done by the pupils in the recita- tion hour. In many schools, the elimination of a large amount of the lifeless written work together with the sub- stitution in its stead of oral teaching by live teachers and oral reciting by live pupils, would result in much more sub- PHYSICAL VITALITY AND MtiNTAf GROWTH L^L stantial progress by the children and a growing surplus of physical life for the teachers. Habits to be avoided. Not a few teachers become ad- dicted to what may be termed the keeping-in-at-recess-or- after-school habit and thereby greatly diminish their sur- plus of physical vitality. While there may be an occa- sional need to detain pupils at recess or after school hours for the purpose of study or instruction, usually the teachers who depend upon such means to secure the necessary prep- aration of lessons succeed only in gaining the enmity of their pupils and in wearing themselves out in body, mind, and spirit. While keeping in at recess or after school may occasionally be the natural punishment for some offense committed by a child, as a rule, teachers who resort to such a punishment for every little act of misbehavior will soon find that they, themselves, suffer more than the children, in being deprived of the benefits of full recesses and prompt dismissals. In the majority of instances, a large number of pupils kept in at recess and after school indicates ineffi- cient teaching and poor discipline. It is the custom of some teachers, who are not victims of the habit of keeping the children in after school hours, to remain in the schoolroom after dismissal to prepare the lessons and to arrange the work of the next day Usually the atmosphere of the schoolroom and the physical condi- tion of the teacher, at the close of the day, are such as to make it impossible to do work of any kind in an efficient manner. It would be well for the health of all such teachers if they were compelled to vacate their schoolrooms when the day's work is completed, to take exercise in the open air, and thus to create an appetite for the evening meal and ;O3 TH TEACHEP/S GROWTH AND SURPLUS to develop physical conditions favorable to a good night's rest, one of the most essential factors in maintaining a sur- plus of physical vitality and mental vigor. Sleep. " How long should a teacher sleep? " was once found in the question box of a teachers' institute, directed to an instructor whose life had been devoted to the work of education and whose long and varied experience included practically all phases of school work, from teaching a coun- try school to a professorship in a large university. " Just as long as it tastes good " was the immediate and smiling reply of this instructor, a man of rare ability and unusually successful experience, since then the superintendent of schools of one of the largest cities of the United States, and afterward the chief executive of his native commonwealth. To sleep " just as long as it tastes good " is always a safe guide to follow and one which can be followed without diffi- culty by teachers under all ordinary circumstances and conditions. Nothing which can be controlled should ever be permitted to interfere with a teacher's sleep, and the " meal of sleep " should always begin early enough in the night to insure that the " taste " will be satisfied early enough in the morning to enable the teacher to get up at a reasonable hour, to eat breakfast in a civilized manner, and to get to school not on time, but always ahead of time. The teachers who are ahead of time at school in the morn- ing usually keep ahead of the school work throughout the entire day. Such teachers have a great advantage over those who hurry to school, perhaps arrive a few minutes late, and never quite catch up with the work of the day. For the purpose of preparation for the work which is to follow, a half hour in the morning before school opens, when the PHYSICAL VITALITY AND MENTAL GROWTH 103 atmosphere of the schoolroom is pure, the teacher's body rested and brain clear, is worth hours of time in the evening when the opposite conditions prevail. To leave the schoolroom as soon as possible after the day's duties have been performed and to return to it early enough in the morning to give ample time to prepare for the work of the day is a good rule for all teachers to follow and one which should have very few exceptions. Obedience to this rule will greatly aid in economizing strength and in accumulating a surplus of vitality. Borrowing trouble. In many instances, however, need- less worry rather than necessary work constitutes the great- est drain upon the life of the teacher. It is, therefore, im- perative that all causes of needless worry be eliminated so far as possible in order that health be conserved and a surplus of vitality be accumulated. When worry is due to poor health, teachers owe it to themselves as well as to their pupils to use every known means to improve their health and thereby increase their efficiency. If the worry is caused by a lack of confidence, which is the result of a lack of preparation to teach, usually the surest and quickest means of relief will be found in attending school until the needed preparation is secured. If the source of the worry is found in a failure to interest the pupils in their work, and this failure is due to an unwillingness of the teacher to pay the price of success in the daily preparation which is neces- sary, then the only hope of relief which can come to such a teacher is found either in regeneration or resignation. There are, however, many well-prepared, studious, grow- ing, earnest, and progressive teachers, who are the victims of worry. In the majority of instances this worry, as it 104 THE TEACHER S GROWTH AND SURPLUS applies to their experience, may be defined as " trouble which never happens," but which seems to be about to hap- pen much of the time. The futility of such worry on the part of others is always easily recognized. But to elim- inate it from one's own life is not always an easy task. The absurdity of " borrowing trouble/ ' on which a high rate of interest in the form of anxiety and nervous strain must always be promptly paid, is shown in the following good-humored stanzas from the pen of Sam Walter Foss, whose sane philosophy of everyday life has helped all who have read his poems. "The sun's heat will give out in ten million years more, And he worried about it. It will sure give out then, if it doesn't before, And he worried about it. It will surely give out, so the scientists said In all the scientifical books he had read, And the whole boundless universe then will be dead, And he worried about it. "And some day the earth will fall into the sun, And he worried about it. Just as sure and as straight as if shot from a gun, And he worried about it. 'When strong gravitation unbuckles her straps, Just picture,' he said, 'what a fearful collapse ! It will come in a few million ages, perhaps/ And he worried about it. "And the earth will become much too small for the race, And he worried about it. When we'll pay thirty dollars an inch for pure space, And he worried about it. The earth will be crowded so much, without doubt, There won't be room for one's tongue to stick out, PHYSICAL VITALITY AND MENTAL GROWTH 105 Nor room for one's thoughts to wander about, And he worried about it. "And the Gulf Stream will curve and New England grow torrider, And he worried about it, Than was ever the climate of southernmost Florida, And he worried about it. Our ice crop will be knocked into small smithereens, And crocodiles block up our mowing machines, And we'll lose our fine crop of potatoes and beans, And he worried about it. "And in less than ten thousand years, there's no doubt, And he worried about it, Our supply of lumber and coal will give out, And he worried about it. Just then the ice age will return cold and raw, Frozen men will stand stiff with arms outstretched in awe, As if vainly beseeching a general thaw, And he worried about it." 1 In some instances teachers, in common with other types of humanity, permit themselves to dwell so constantly upon the few unpleasant experiences connected with their daily work, that they lose sight of the far larger number of pleasant experiences which always result from a cheerful performance of regular duties. In brooding over their troubles in the schoolroom, they forget " to count their blessings." The annoyance caused by the misbehavior of one disobedient boy occupies so large a place in their thought that no room is left for the joy which should result from the knowledge that a score of other boys are always obedient and well behaved. The failure of a small minority to do well in their studies looms up so large that the success of 1 From " Whiffs from Wild Meadows/' Copyright, 1898, by Lee and Shepard. Used by permission of Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Company. io6 THE TEACHER'S GROWTH AND SURPLUS the majority is entirely forgotten. Teachers who con- stantly magnify their troubles and minimize their joys, and who emphasize their hindrances rather than their helps, usually develop a habit of worrying, which soon renders them unfit for efficient service. A tendency to worry for any reason should be resisted with all the force at the com- mand of the teacher. If persisted in, health is certain to be undermined and efficiency greatly decreased. With written work reduced to the minimum amount really essential to the needs of the pupils; with exami- nations and other written exercises conducted in such a manner that the resulting work for the teacher can be done in school hours; with the keeping-in-after-school habit abolished whenever possible; with sufficient exercise in the open air to counteract the enervating confinement of the schoolroom ; with sufficient sleep to renew bodily and mental vigor ; and with the cultivation of a spirit of cheer- fulness, which will tend to dwell upon sources of encour- agement rather than discouragement, teachers can hope to lay up such a surplus of physical vitality as will enable them to meet the emergencies which are certain to arise in their work. Mental vigor. Teachers who make use of the means of professional growth and self-improvement will gradually accumulate a surplus of mental vigor which always charac- terizes the permanently successful teacher. While the amount of capital invested in knowledge and training, with which teachers begin their work, is an important factor in their equipment, it is absolutely essential to their continued success that this capital be made effective by an ever in- creasing accumulation of knowledge and an ever enlarging PHYSICAL VITALITY AND MENTAL GROWTH 107 capacity to use it. Neither the original capital nor the growing surplus of the knowledge possessed by teachers should be confined to the results produced by the study of the subjects taught by them. In their first years of ex- perience, it is often necessary for teachers to devote much of their time and energy to a mastery of the subject matter contained in the textbooks used by their pupils in the preparation of their assigned lessons. But nothing can be more destructive to the real mental life and intellectual growth and development of teachers than a mere formal going over and over, again and again, of the subject matter of a textbook with which they are perfectly familiar. Teachers are frequently urged to make a careful re-study of the lessons which they have taught for many years, not- withstanding the fact that the lessons, in themselves, can- not possibly present anything new to be learned or any- thing for consideration which will necessitate mental effort or arouse new interest. Imagine a primary teacher, who has devoted several decades of her life to teaching children to read and who is thoroughly conversant with the best methods of teaching the important subject of reading, shortening her vacation in order that she may return to her home in good time to make a careful review of the lessons contained in the Primer and First Reader which she is to teach, before she attempts to present to the children the profound truths and the stirring scenes which these text- books contain ! What intellectual power and spiritual in- sight will come to her as she again reads the thrilling story of " A Cat " or even " The Cat ! " How she will revel in the new joy which will come to her soul as she contemplates the possibilities of the different answers which may be given io8 THE TEACHER'S GROWTH AND SURPLUS to such searching questions as " Is this a ball? " " Ned, can you hop? " or "Can the bird sing? " Think of the inspiration which must come to the soul of a teacher, who has drilled children on the multiplication table for a quarter of a century, as she reviews the tables of two times one to twelve times twelve in search of new ideas to present to her class ! How her heart glows with a renewed zeal for her work as she prepares anew the lessons to be taught ! It is not, however, the teachers of the primary and ele- mentary grades, alone, who are in danger of intellectual decay and death from such a deadening process of repeti- tion. Primary and elementary teachers are generally kept alive by being in constant contact with the vigorous life of the children whom they teach, and whose never ending curiosity to know and whose bounding enthusiasm to do are a constant incentive to mental alertness on the part of the teacher. Increasing the surplus. Teachers of older pupils in high school and college, whose work is highly specialized, are also in constant danger of becoming dull and lifeless in their oft-repeated presentation of lessons with the subject matter of which they are perfectly familiar, unless constant additions are made to their surplus of intellectual vitality from sources which are outside of their specialties and from which new interest, inspiration, and enthusiasm can be drawn. A beggar who was reproved for impersonating on three successive days, a blind man, a deaf and dumb man, and a paralytic, when asked by one of his generous but indignant victims if he did not think it would be better to choose one affliction and stick to it, replied : " No, ma'am. They's nothin' so fatal to the full develop- PHYSICAL VITALITY AND MENTAL GROWTH IOQ ment of all one's natural powers as narrer specialization." This incident is not without its pedagogical significance and needs no comment or explanation. All who are conversant with the important incidents in our Nation's history will readily recall the stirring scenes which took place in the United States Senate in 1830 on the occasion of the great debate between Hayne and Webster - a debate which is still the subject of much interesting and profitable study jn the schools. In his reply to Hayne, the senator from Massachusetts showed a grasp of the fundamental principles of nationality and a knowledge of history, which were marvelous in their scope and in their application to the subject under discus- sion. When asked how much time he had given to the prep- aration of his famous reply, Mr. Webster answered, " Twenty years." A review of his biography will bring to mind con- vincing proof of the truthfulness of his answer. In all the years of these two decades, much of his training, both in the theory of our government as gained from his study of the constitution, and also in his experience in defending the constitutional rights of his Alma Mater and other impor- tant interests, led him to interpret the constitution as possessing large powers. In all this study and experience, he had accumulated a large surplus of knowledge and of conviction on the subject of nationality, which enabled him to attack the doctrine of States' Rights in a manner which disconcerted his opponents and delighted his friends. When the supreme moment in his life came, he was prepared to meet it with honor to himself and with lasting benefits to his country, because of the surplus of knowledge which he had accumulated in the preceding years. no THE TEACHER'S GROWTH AND SURPLUS In some such manner, teachers should be prepared to meet the supreme moments in their lives as teachers - moments which may determine, in a large measure, the future success or failure of their pupils. Fortunately, most of us can recall a few teachers of this type teachers who taught out of the fullness of their accumulated surplus of knowledge of the subject assigned for study. When the opportunity came, they were ready to meet it so as to arouse interest, hold attention, and create a hunger to know and to grow. Because of preparation made all through the years, they were able not only to teach the lesson assigned but also to relate its teachings to life and living. However large the capital with which teachers begin their work, unless a constantly increasing surplus of mental vigor is added with each year's experience, their intellectual decay and death are certain to follow. In every instance a dead or dying school is the direct result of a dead or dying teacher. It is, therefore, the constant desire of every live teacher to accumulate such a surplus of mental vigor as will give life to the school and animate all who attend it with an eager desire to work for an education which will fit them for life's duties and life's activities. VIII A SURPLUS OF HEART POWER EVEN with a surplus of physical vitality and mental vigor, however, teachers may fail to touch the life of their pupils in such a manner as to insure their growth in the best things of life. Something more than a strong body and a keen mind is necessary in the equipment of teachers. It is imperative that they also possess a large surplus of heart power, without which all teaching must fail to realize its highest purpose. The need of heart culture. Perhaps the most serious lack in modern education is the failure to develop this heart power in pupils. In the emphasis which .has been placed upon the intellectual, in many instances, the spiritual has been neglected. Boys and girls need to be taught to appreciate as well as to know ; to feel as well as to do ; to sympathize with workers as well as to work. In these days when special emphasis is being placed upon the importance of things material, when some would have us think that preparation for making a living is the only purpose of education, when we are told that all the products of the school can be definitely measured, there is great need that attention be called to the fruits of the spirit and to the fact that the best products of education cannot be measured in terms of the physical and the in- tellectual. Heart culture must not be neglected. The emotional life of children must not be starved for lack of appropriate food and exercise. ii2 THE TEACHER'S GROWTH AND SURPLUS An illustration from Dickens. In some of the extremely " practical " theories of education, advanced at the present time, is found conclusive evidence that the descendants of the Gradgrinds, M'Choakumchilds, and Feeders, whose characters are so perfectly delineated by Charles Dickens, are still abroad in the land and differ little from their an- cestors. The following quotation from Hard Times, de- scriptive of the leading characteristics of Thomas Grad- grind, quite definitely defines the attitude toward education of some of the modern measurers of educational results. "Thomas Gradgrind, sir. A man of realities. A man of facts and calculations. A man who proceeds upon the principle that two and two are four, and nothing over, and who is not to be talked into allowing for anything over. Thomas Gradgrind, sir peremptorily Thomas Thomas Gradgrind. With a rule and a pair of scales, and the multiplication table always in his pocket, sir, ready to weigh and measure any parcel of human nature, and tell you exactly what it comes to. It is a mere question of figures, a case of simple arith- metic." , A glance at a Gradgrind School in full operation at the time when Dickens wrote, together with a brief considera- tion of the methods used there and the results which followed, will not be without profit. Following a remarkable definition of horse, by " Bitzer," the recitation in this School of Facts proceeded : "' That's a horse. Now let me ask you girls and boys, Would you paper a room with representations of horses ? ' "After a pause, one-half of the children cried in chorus, 'Yes, sir!' Upon which the other half, seeing in the gentleman's face that Yes was wrong, cried out in chorus, 'No, sir!' as the custom is, in these examinations. "'Of course, No. Why wouldn't you?' A SURPLUS OF HEART POWER 113 "A pause. One corpulent slow boy, with a wheezy manner of. breathing, ventured the answer, Because he wouldn't paper a room at all, but would paint it. "'You must paper it/ said the gentleman, rather warmly. "'You must paper it/ said Thomas Gradgrind, 'whether you like it or not. Don't tell us you wouldn't paper it. What do you mean, boy? "'I'll explain to you, then,' said the gentleman, after another dismal pause, 'why you wouldn't paper a room with representations of horses. Do you ever see horses walking up and down the sides of rooms in reality in fact ? Do you ? ' " ' Yes, sir ! ' from one-half. ' No, sir ! ' from the other. '"Of course, no/ said the gentleman, with an indignant look at the wrong half. 'Why, then, you are not to see anywhere, what you don't see in fact ; you are not to have anywhere, what you don't have in fact. What is called Taste, is only another name for Fact.' "Thomas Gradgrind nodded his approbation. "'This is a new principle, a discovery, a great discovery/ said the gentleman. 'Now, I'll try you again. Suppose you were going to carpet a room. Would you use a carpet having a representation of flowers upon it ? ' "There being a general conviction by this time that 'No, sir! 7 was always the right answer to this gentleman, the chorus of No was very strong. Only a few feeble stragglers said Yes; among them Sissy Jupe. " ' Girl, number twenty ! ' said the gentleman, smiling in the calm strength of knowledge. " Sissy blushed, and stood up. "'So you would carpet your room or your husband's room, if you were a grown woman, and had a husband with representa- tions of flowers, would you ? ' said the gentleman. ' Why would you ? ' '"If you please, sir, I am very fond of flowers,' returned the girl. "'And is that why you would put tables and chairs upon them, and have people walking over them with heavy boots ? ' '"It wouldn't hurt them, sir. They wouldn't crush and wither, if you please, sir. They would be the pictures of what was very pretty and pleasant, and I would fancy ! OUR PUB. s. 8 ii4 THE TEACHER'S GROWTH AND SURPLUS "'Ay, ay, ay! But you mustn't fancy,' cried the gentleman, quite elated by coming so happily to his point. "' That's it ! You are never to fancy.' "'You are not, Cecelia Jupe,' Thomas Gradgrind solemnly re- peated, 'to do anything of that kind.' "'Fact, fact, fact!' said the gentleman. And 'Fact, fact, fact!' repeated Thomas Gradgrind. "'You are to be in all things regulated and governed,' said the gentleman, 'by fact. We hope to have, before long, a board of fact, composed of commissioners of fact, who will force the people to be a people of fact, and nothing but fact. You must discard the word Fancy altogether. You have nothing to do with it. You are not to have, in any object of use or ornament, what would be a contradiction in fact. You don't walk upon flowers in fact ; you cannot be allowed to walk upon flowers in carpets. You don't find that foreign birds and butterflies come and perch upon your crockery ; you cannot be permitted to paint foreign birds and butterflies upon your crockery. You never meet with quadrupeds going up and down walls; you must not have quadrupeds represented on walls. You must use,' said the gentleman, 'for all these purposes, combinations and modifica- tions (in primary colors) of mathematical figures which are susceptible of proof and demonstration. This is the new discovery. This is fact. This is taste.'" In this School of Facts, Dickens, the great defender of the rights of childhood, tells us no little Gradgrind had ever seen a face in the moon; had ever learned the silly jingle, "Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are;" had ever associated a cow in the field with the famous cow with the crumpled horn, who tossed the dog who worried the cat who killed the rat who ate the malt, or with the yet more famous cow that swallowed Tom Thumb. A SURPLUS OF HEART POWER 115 When Thomas Gradgrind learned that his children, Thomas and Louisa, had actually peeped in at a circus, his indignation knew no bounds. In an outburst of sur- prise, he excitedly remarked to the mother that he would as soon have expected to find his children reading poetry. On another occasion, when Louisa had been overheard to begin a conversation with her brother by saying, " Tom, I wonder," she was immediately censured and sternly told that she must never wonder. Trained in this School of Facts, her emotional life cruelly starved, Louisa Gradgrind grew to young womanhood and was married to Josiah Bounderby, the owner of Coketown, " a big, loud man with a stare, and a metallic laugh, a man made out of coarse material/' ignorant and unsympathetic - the " Bully of humility." This marriage was negotiated by her father as a business transaction in keeping with his heartless methods and in harmony with his system of edu- cation. Even the marriage of his daughter was simply one more Fact in the world's long list of Facts. There followed the inevitable domestic misery incident to all such heartless and loveless unions. In a short time the crisis came and the heartbroken woman, who had no knowledge " of tastes and fancies, of aspirations and affections," who had " never had a child's heart " nor " dreamed a child's dreams," left the abode of her married misery to which she had been con- signed by her heartless father, and returned to his home. Humiliated by the sad experience through which his daughter had passed, Thomas Gradgrind came to the conclusion that he could not " but mistrust himself " and in the shadow of this doubt, he soliloquized in language both pathetic and suggestive : , n6 THE TEACHER'S GROWTH AND SURPLUS "Some persons hold that there is a wisdom of the Head, and that there is a wisdom of the Heart. I have not supposed so ; but, as I have said, I mistrust myself, now. I have supposed the Head to be all-sufficient. It may not be all-sufficient ; how can I venture this morning to say it is ! " In this manner, in the school of life's sad experience, Thomas Gradgrind slowly learned the lesson which this generation needs to learn that the wisdom of the Head, important as it is and must always remain, is not all- sufficient, and that there is a higher and much more im- portant wisdom the wisdom of the Heart, which must not be neglected in the schools, if the boys and girls who attend them are to be prepared for lives of real usefulness and joyful service. "It is the heart and not the brain That to the highest doth attain." Feeling and understanding. This wisdom of the heart cannot be learned from books by means of formal lessons. It must result largely from daily communion in the home and school with parents and teachers who possess a large surplus of heart power accumulated by living lives of un- selfish service and by giving freely of their own life for others. When the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night and said unto him, " Ask what I shall give thee," this wisest man of all the ages replied, " Give, therefore, thy servant an understanding heart that I may discern between good and bad." B.ecause of his wise choice and because he did not ask for mere material blessings, Solomon was given not only a " wise and understanding heart," but A SURPLUS OF HEART POWER 117 also the material blessings, which he did not primarily seek. The sentiment credited to him that as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he, applies to all times and all conditions. To the truthfulness of the divine teachings of the primary importance and the fundamental necessity of heart power in the lives of those who are really to lead in the world's work, all human experience bears willing testi- mony. All agree that out of the heart are the real issues of life. To the teacher such heart power is absolutely indispensable. To the accumulation of a surplus of such power all worthy teachers aspire. The physical and the intellectual. Within certain limits, rather definitely fixed, physical exercise is beneficial and results in an accumulation of a surplus of physical life and vigor. Beyond these limits it cannot go without im- pairing physical strength and even endangering life itself. Evidence of this is furnished in the sudden collapse of the overtrained athlete who pays the penalty of failing to recognize the limitations to which physical training can be safely carried. In the higher realm of the intellectual,- appropriate mental exercise is also the only means of accumulating a surplus of mental vigor. While there are also in this realm limitations beyond which the exercise of the mind cannot go without endangering its healthful action and growth, usually the more the minds of teachers are exer- cised in an intelligent effort to clarify the subject matter taught to their pupils, the more vigorous their own minds become. Brain fag on the part of teachers scarcely ever results from an over accumulation of a surplus of knowl- edge. As a rule minds wear out from a lack of such surplus. n8 THE TEACHER'S GROWTH AND SURPLUS The spiritual. In the highest realm of all the spiritual the cultivation of the emotional life, resulting in the accumulation of a surplus of Wisdom of the Heart, is realized in the same manner as in the physical and mental by appropriate exercise. In this exercise no se- rious attention need be paid to the conflicting theories of opposing schools of psychologists, one of which claims to believe that the actions produce the emotions, while the other insists that the emotions produce the actions. Wise teachers will strive so to teach that both emotions and actions will result, and they will not waste time in trying to discover which is cause and which is effect. It is invariably true that the more heart power teachers put into their work the more they have on hand for use. The more they give to their pupils out of the fullness of their own spiritual life, the larger their own souls grow. We all know great-hearted teachers who are living mani- festations of the true, even if paradoxical, statement that the only way to get life is to give life. Unfortunately, there are teachers of the opposite type who constantly exemplify the equally true statement that the certain way to lose life is to save it. Teachers who possess a surplus of physical vitality which gives strength of body, a surplus of intellectual vigor which provides wisdom of the head, and a surplus of heart power which insures wisdom of the heart, are well equipped not only for their daily duties but also for the emergencies which may at any moment arise in the classroom. Such an equipment tends to that perfect self-control of body . and mind so essential to success in the work of the school. THE TEACHER AND THE SUPERINTENDENT IX ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TEACHERS IN the midst of the many difficulties and discourage- ments which teachers are certain to meet, both in the schoolroom and outside of it, it is well for them to realize that there are also many sources of encourage- ment from which inspiration can be drawn to help them in their daily tasks. It is unfortunate for any class of people to habituate themselves to thinking that all the hard things of life and living center about their calling or pro- fession. The advice of Mrs. Wiggs " Don't you go an' git sorry fer yerself " - furnishes a wholesome philosophy for all who are inclined to complain about their condition. The " Glad Game " has great possibilities in it for all who are willing to play it in the right spirit. The habit of complaining. A friend who was once entertained in the home of a discouraged school principal was compelled to listen to his lament that all his days were spent with children ; that he had no opportunity to mingle with his equals in the world of business ; and that he longed for the time when he could leave the schoolroom and its anxieties and perplexities and enjoy freedom from the care which he vainly imagined belonged only to the life of the teacher. Within a week afterward this friend talked with another man who had taught school in his earlier years, and who had become a successful business man. He lamented the fact that he had to witness so many of the dishonest practices of the business world, and 122 THE TEACHER AND THE SUPERINTENDENT stated that he often longed for a return of the days when he taught school and associated with bright, happy, inno- cent children. In most human beings there is a tendency to make difficulties harder to meet by imagining that other people have none to meet. The best remedy for this disease is a full realization of the fact that no workers anywhere are without their difficulties and discourage- ments, and that all worthy work worthily performed has connected with its performance sources of encouragement. Consciousness of duty. Teachers in common with all others, who are honestly and faithfully trying to meet their responsibilities and to improve their opportunities, find in the consciousness of duty performed a source of genuine encouragement. No one can deprive teachers of the happiness which always comes from this source. With such encouragement, the routine work of the school loses much of what must be drudgery to teachers who complain of their responsibilities or who refuse to make use of their opportunities. Work can never grow monotonous to teachers who have high ideals of duty. To them will come something of the vision of a life of duty made up in a large measure of a repetition of daily tasks performed in a happy spirit, and so beautifully described in the follow- ing stanza from Edward Rowland Sill : " Forenoon and afternoon and night Forenoon and afternoon and night Forenoon and afternoon and what ? And that is life ? No more ? Make this forenoon sublime, This afternoon a psalm, this night a prayer, And time is conquered and thy crown is won." ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TEACHERS 123 The teacher's silent influence. To many teachers en- grossed with the details of their daily routine there may seem to be little opportunity to have any part in the con- sideration or the solution of what may appear to them to be the larger and more important problems of education and life. It is nevertheless true that all teachers who faithfully perform their daily tasks do have a large part in the solution of all such problems. Nearly three decades ago, in a small village school, a modest but efficient primary teacher conscientiously taught the little children some of the simple facts about the in- jurious effects of alcohol upon the human system. Among the children thus taught was a little boy whose father, a working man, occasionally indulged in the use of liquor. One day the father, accompanied by his boy, was offered a glass of beer by a friend who, at the same time, laughingly offered to the child a tiny glass of the same beverage. As the father raised his glass to his lips, he was startled by the statement of his boy that Miss , his teacher, had told him that it was not good for people to drink beer or whiskey. The father looked at his boy and thought of the possibility that, when he grew up, he might not be able to control an appetite for drink acquired by following his father's example. He realized what the teacher, in whom he had perfect confidence, was unselfishly trying to do and he then and there became a total abstainer and an active opponent of the saloon. In all the campaigns against the saloon, which have been carried on in the village, county, and state in which this father lives, he and his son have been ardent champions of the temperance cause. Who will say that that primary teacher, and 124 THE TEACHER AND THE SUPERINTENDENT thousands of others like her, have not had a large part in bringing about the great temperance movement which has been sweeping over 'the country, and which is resulting in the abolition of the saloon in the entire nation? Gratitude and confidence of pupils. In the appreciation of their pupils or students, teachers find another source of most helpful encouragement. Frequently this encourage- ment comes in the classroom with the teaching of the lesson. All who teach well, know the joy which comes with noting the change of countenance in pupils who have passed from darkness to light, as the result of an under- standing of some difficulty which has been made plain to them by some helpful suggestion from the teacher. Some- times pupils who have been made to realize by means of discipline the harmful results of wrongdoing manifest sincere appreciation for what has been done for them by teachers. The assumption that merited punishment al- ways leads pupils to hate teachers who administer such punishment is unwarranted. One reason for the absence of appreciation of pupils for their teachers is the absence of the wholesome discipline which teaches respect and commands obedience. All who have taught long enough to see their former pupils engaged in the affairs of actual life know the en- couragement which comes with the hearty appreciation of men and women whom they formerly taught. Not in- frequently successful business men readily give credit to their boyhood teachers for the training which has made their success possible. In all communities will be found ministers, lawyers, physicians, bankers, working men, and working women persons in all walks of life who are ever ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TEACHERS 125 ready to pay tribute to the teachers of their childhood and youth. Many teachers now living in retirement find in the gratitude of their former pupils a source of such comfort and joy as are unknown to persons who have devoted their lives to the accumulation of property with no thought of helpfulness to others. Parents should show faith in the teacher. The ap- preciation of parents for what teachers do for their children is a third source of encouragement for teachers. Unfor- tunately there are many parents who never express the gratitude which they feel. In this respect they are not unlike other people, including teachers. In another chapter of this book teachers are urged to express the appreciation which is due their pupils for their readiness to cooperate in the discipline of the school and for their efforts to do the work assigned to them day by day. It is equally important that parents express the appreciation which is due teachers for their readiness to cooperate with the home and for their faithful work in the schoolroom. With some parents, failure to express their appreciation of teach- ers is due to timidity. With others, indifference is the cause. With a still larger number, thoughtlessness is the explanation. The attitude of the latter class is indicated by the following illustration. A superintendent of schools was called into the store of a prominent business man for a conference. This business man hastened to tell the superintendent with much en- thusiasm of the good work which a new eighth grade teacher was doing. When asked how he knew about the teacher and her good work, the man replied that he had a boy in her school ; that this boy had given his parents much 126 THE TEACHER AND THE SUPERINTENDENT anxiety because he had formed such a dislike for going to school the year before that it had been difficult to persuade him to enter the eighth grade ; that the father had com- pelled him to go but that he had feared that he might not be able to keep him in school, and that if he did remain in school, little would be accomplished by him. He then told of the remarkable change which had come over his boy, that he now loved to go to school and gladly remained at home in the evenings to prepare his lessons for the next day. This father gave the teacher the entire credit for the change in the boy's attitude toward school and study and declared that the teacher must be a remarkable woman to exercise such a wholesome influence over a boy. The superintendent thanked the father for his kindly expression of appreciation of the work of the new teacher and then inquired whether he had told her of his gratitude for what she had done for his boy. With deep embarrassment the father replied, " I never thought of it." In the confession, " I never thought of it," will be found the reason for the failure of many parents to express the appreciation which they really feel for the work of teachers. While such thoughtlessness of parents is inexcusable, it is unwise for teachers to dwell upon it to such an extent as to lead them to fail to realize that there are many parents who do think to express their appreciation of the work of the school. Such parents are found in all communities and their gratitude is a source of constant encouragement to teachers. The teacher and the school board. The approval of boards of education is another source of encourage- ment. Only persons who have served on boards of ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TEACHERS 127 education can fully realize the responsibility of the po- sition and the thanklessness of the public exhibited in too many instances by an attitude of unreasonable and unjust criticism manifested toward the men and women who give many hours of valuable time in the most im- portant public service to which any one can be called. Even teachers are sometimes unappreciative of what members of boards of education do for them. In some instances their lack of appreciation is shown by joining in the criticism which is too often due to ignorance or mis- understanding. More frequently this lack of appreciation is shown by a failure to extend to the board the courtesy of a word of thanks, either spoken or written, for an election to a position or for a reelection at an increase in salary. A few years ago, in one of the states of the central west, the enactment of a new school code necessitated the elec- tion of new boards of education to succeed boards which had been in control of the schools for many years. After the election in one of the townships, the members of both boards met together to consider the needs and interests of the schools of the township, and to transact the business incident to the transfer of authority from the old board to the new. The meeting was an important one, continuing until late at night. One of the members had gone to sleep early in the session. When the time came for final adjourn- ment, he was peacefully slumbering. Before taking the final step which would close the old and open the new administration, the clerk of the old board remarked that he desired to read a letter which had been addressed to him, and which was of interest to all the retiring members. He then proceeded to read : 128 THE TEACHER AND THE SUPERINTENDENT 11 Board of Education, Township, "GENTLEMEN: "I am sending this note to thank" The unusual sound of the word " thank " aroused the sleeping member who straightened up in his chair and asked what was going on. The clerk then started at the beginning and read, "I am sending this note to thank you, the members of the retiring board of education, for the position to which you elected me last year, for the support you have given me in my work, and for the increase in salary granted me this year." This note of appreciation was signed by a young woman who was a graduate of the normal school of the near-by city. A member of this board, who served the schools of his township for more than a quarter of a century, and who always loyally supported the teachers, is authority for the statement that in all that time the note from this teacher was the only note received from any one thanking the board for anything. Teachers should show their appreciation of an election or a reelection not alone by a courteous expression of gratitude for the confidence thereby manifested in them, but also by the recognition of the fact that an agreement or a contract with a board of education to teach school for a definite period at a definite salary is an obligation to be sacredly kept and not a mere " scrap of paper " to be ignored, should they be elected to a more desirable posi- tion at a larger salary. Superintendents in search of teachers should also recognize that some professional ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TEACHERS 1 29 courtesy is due other superintendents and their boards of education. They should never attempt to induce teach- ers to leave the positions to which they have already ac- cepted an election or a reelection, without first consulting the school authorities in charge of the school which such teachers have contracted to serve. In many instances teachers should be released from their agreements or con- tracts, when called to better positions at increased salaries. But in no instance have they either a legal or moral right to accept another position, until they have been honorably released from the position previously accepted. No excuse can be offered for the breaking of a contract by a teacher. The sure test of merit. There are three important ways in which boards of education can encourage teachers in their work. The first is by recognizing merit and merit alone in their election and retention. By such recognition inferior teachers can be largely eliminated from any system of schools and superior teachers will be greatly encouraged to give their best service to the schools. How to determine definitely who are teachers of merit is not always an easy question, especially when the persons under consideration have had no actual experience in actual teaching. Per- sonality is always an important factor. A right attitude toward life and childhood is a necessity. Professionally trained teachers with the " model school " experience which is generally a part of their training are usually the best " prospects," and should be given preference. But no one can foretell with absolute certainty whether or not anyone without experience will succeed as a teacher. The one sure test is teaching. After this test is made, it is usually not difficult to determine whether a teacher OUR PUB. S. Q 130 THE TEACHER AND THE SUPERINTENDENT merits retention or not. It is always necessary, however, that care be exercised in passing final judgment upon the success or failure of teachers. With some, the promise of success which characterized their early efforts is not real- ized. With others, what seemed failure in the beginning changes into success later on. Fortunately, members of boards of education do not have to rely upon their own judgment in deciding the merits of teachers. Superin- tendents and principals are employed to perform this service and their recommendations are always followed by wise boards of education. Encouragement by boards of education. Another way in which boards of education can extend much needed encouragement to teachers is by giving them their com- plete confidence and loyal support. As long as teachers are retained in the schools they have a right to expect and they should always have such confidence and support. Worthy members of boards of education will never be swerved in their loyalty to teachers by the carping criti- cism which always exists. One member of a board of education, who shows a willingness to listen to complaints against teachers in their absence, can make untold trouble for the schools. Even when complaints are valid and criticisms are just, they should be made to the superin- tendent or principal who can usually dispose of them satis- factorily. In no case should members of boards of educa- tion take the initiative in such settlement. Boards of education are courts of last resort in determining justice to teachers, pupils, and patrons. Under ordinary circum- stances the fewer sessions held for this purpose the better for the schools. ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TEACHERS 131 Liberal salaries. While a consciousness of duty per- formed, words of appreciation from grateful pupils and patrons, and the confidence and support of loyal members of boards of education furnish much needed encouragement to teachers, all these combined do not provide a means of livelihood. While their value cannot be computed in money, neither can they take the place of money. While deserving teachers never teach for money alone, all teach- ers must have money with which to buy the necessities of life. A third way, therefore, and in many respects the most important way in which boards of education can give encouragement to teachers, is by the payment of liberal salaries. In some instances persons are elected to membership on boards of education with the unworthy ambition of saving money for the taxpayers by reducing school expenses. While there should always be rigid economy in the expenditure of public funds for any pur- pose, it is very rarely the case that less money should be spent for public education. If there is any extravagance in the use of school funds, it is occasionally shown in the erection and equipment of too costly buildings. If such extravagance occurs, it is never right to ask teachers to pay for the buildings thus erected by teaching at smaller salaries or for a shorter school year. It is never wise economy to employ cheap teachers or to reduce school opportunities and thereby to impair the rights of children to secure a good education. In the majority of instances, however, members of boards of education are willing to provide for the payment of as liberal salaries as the financial condition of the district will permit. Usually they are ready to join in any legitimate movement which will pro- 132 THE TEACHER AND THE SUPERINTENDENT vide more money for the schools. They should always be, and they usually are citizens whose business ability and integrity inspire confidence in the community, and as a result they are qualified to lead in securing the financial recognition which the schools deserve. In some communities there exist conditions which make it impossible for boards of education to pay good salaries. These conditions are in no sense the fault of those in control of the schools. Frequently they are due to extravagance in other departments of public service. There is a growing feeling that the public schools will never be certain of the financial support to which they are justly entitled, until laws are enacted which will insure that a definite and fixed proportion of all moneys raised by public taxation shall go to their maintenance. It is neither wise nor just to permit a board composed entirely of officials representing other departments of public service to determine the amount of money to be used by the schools. If boards with the power of making distribution of public funds are deemed necessary, common fairness demands that the public schools which constitute the most important public interest shall be represented on such boards. No cus- todians of public funds have a better record for economy and honesty in the use of funds at their disposal than boards of education. Because of the interests which they represent, they are entitled to have entire control of the financial management of the schools, including the levying of taxes for their support as well as the expenditure of the money produced by such levy, subject only to such re- strictions as will hold them to strict accountability and guard against any extravagance or dishonesty. ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TEACHERS 133 A difficult problem. Even when sufficient funds are provided for the payment of teachers' salaries, the adjust- ment of such salaries presents one of the most difficult problems which boards of education have to meet. All who have had experience with teachers know that the difference in their real worth is much greater than the difference in the salaries paid them. Some teachers are worth their weight in gold. Others belong in the silver class. Some would be over-compensated, if paid in a leaden currency. Many factors enter into the value of a teacher's services. Knowledge is important. Ignorance is never a valuable commodity, and the supply is always so much greater than the demand that the tendency of prices is always downward. On the other hand there is always a good market in the business world for usable knowledge, and teachers who are in possession of a large supply of such knowledge should have financial recognition of what they know. To teachers, however, ability to im- part knowledge to pupils in such a manner as to make them eager to know and willing to work to learn is of far more worth than the knowledge itself. Such ability should have much greater recognition than it has usually received in the adjustment of salaries. This ability to impart knowledge the power to teach so as to cause another to know, comes in a large measure with experience. Experience which shows the develop- ment of such ability and teaching power should, therefore, be a large factor in determining increases in salaries. Un- fortunately in many school systems salaries are increased with experience, regardless of the results shown by the experience. Some teachers are worth much more each 134 THE TEACHER AND THE SUPERINTENDENT succeeding year because of the mistakes eliminated and the helpful lessons learned in the preceding years. Others are worth less each succeeding year, because of the mis- takes repeated until they become habitual and the failure to improve by the lessons which should have been learned by experience. To recognize the experience of teachers in a fair, just, and impartial manner, there should, there- fore, be both an ascending and a descending salary scale. For all teachers who are so able and so eager to learn in the school of experience that they show marked improve- ment each year in their work, salaries should be increased as rapidly as financial conditions will permit. For teachers who are so indifferent to the lessons of experience as to keep on repeating their mistakes and thereby showing their inability to improve, salaries should be decreased so rapidly as to insure their retirement at an early date. The relative worth of teachers. In determining the value of the experience of teachers under their direction, superintendents and principals upon whom boards of education should rely for guidance in the adjustment of salaries, find a most difficult and delicate duty to perform a duty which cannot be evaded without injury to the schools and injustice to the teachers, and which cannot be performed by the adoption of a fixed rule which auto- matically determines increase in salaries regardless of special merit possessed by superior teachers. Neither can the increasing or decreasing value of teachers' services be definitely determined by a formal " rating " of teaching and by recording on a " rating blank" the per cents which some educational theorist has decided are indicative of the relative value of the desirable characteristics of teachers. ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TEACHERS 135 In these days of " credits," " measurements/ 7 and " stand- ardization/' there is danger that a dead and deadening formalism may take possession of the schools and of those who are responsible for their administration. By means of a peculiar and prevalent type of specious reasoning based upon real or supposed analogies which are presumed to exist between the world of matter and the realm of the spiritual, conclusions are being drawn which are as dan- gerous as they are false. It is comparatively easy to measure the market value of work of a material nature and to know whether it has been well or poorly done. Frequently such work is done by the " piece " and paid for in accordance with a definite schedule as " piece work." On the other hand it is always exceedingly difficult to measure the value of the services of a teacher who knows what to teach and how to teach it, and whose life is conse- crated to the work of training intellect and building char- acter. Work of this nature cannot be done by the " piece " and then inspected and paid for at the schedule rate, when found to be done in accordance with the plans and speci- fications. It requires rare ability in a superintendent or principal to determine with fairness and justice the relative worth of teachers. It requires still rarer courage to assume the responsibility of advising a board of education to adopt a salary schedule which will in some measure at least give financial recognition of such relative worth and thereby give the greatest encouragement to the most deserving teachers. In the midst of the imperfections in which we live and work ideal conditions cannot obtain. An ideal should be kept constantly in mind, however, by boards 136 THE TEACHER AND THE SUPERINTENDENT of education and their executive officers in the adjustment of salaries. This ideal will include, whenever possible, the payment of such salaries as will enable teachers to live in comfort and to lay aside something for old age, and an increase in salary each year to all teachers whose devo- tion to duty and growth in teaching power plainly show that they are worthy of the increase. It would seem that it ought also to be possible to make a definite distinction between the kinds of service rendered by different types of teachers and so to adjust salaries as to give special en- couragement to teachers of special merit. Every one knows, however, that the salaries usually paid to teachers in our public schools have not been in the past and are not now sufficient to make it possible for them to provide for the future. One of the most dis- couraging things connected with the life of teachers is the anxiety with which they look forward to the time when, on account of illness or old age, they must retire from active service. Teachers without relatives or friends upon whom they can depend for assistance in their declining years cannot escape such anxiety. A retirement fund. Since it seems impossible under present conditions to secure sufficient money with which to pay salaries which will make it possible for teachers to provide for their future needs, it is highly important that provision should be promptly made in every state, as has already been done in several states, for a teachers' retire- ment fund which will guarantee to all teachers who have given their lives to the service of the state at least a reason- able degree of comfort in the years which follow their re- tirement. Such a retirement fund is not a gratuity ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TEACHERS 137 " something given freely or without recompense/' It is not a charity " something bestowed gratuitously on the needy or the suffering for their relief." It is simply a be- lated payment of the interest on a debt long past due from the state to the overworked and underpaid teachers who have done more for the physical, mental, and moral wel- fare of the state than any other class of citizens in the state. To such encouragement all worthy teachers are entitled. Appreciation the best reward. In a government of the people, by the people, for the people, it is imperative that all the people be given an education such as our public schools were founded to furnish. Just as in the crisis through which civilization has been passing, the world has been looking to the United States for help to win the victory for democracy in its war against autocracy, so in the permanent peace which it is hoped will follow this vic- tory, the world will look to the United States to furnish the ideals of education, which are essential to the life of democracy. Never before in the history of our nation have teachers in our public schools faced such opportuni- ties for service, or been called upon to assume such responsi- bilities for results as at the present time. In their difficult work of training the youth of America for citizenship in a world democracy, they need all the encouragement that can come to them from the loyal and liberal support of united and appreciative patrons. Without such en- couragement, failure is inevitable. With such encourage- ment, success is assured. X RELATION OF SUPERINTENDENT TO TEACHERS THE public schools are the schools of all the people, who with few exceptions give them their loyal support, not only by providing money raised by taxation for their maintenance, but also by according to them a keen appreciation of the educational opportunities which are thereby furnished to their children. Soon after their establishment it became evident that the people could not be directly responsible for their management. Laws were, therefore, enacted authorizing and requiring the appointment or election of boards of education to represent the people in providing properly equipped school buildings in which to hold the schools, and in electing teachers to take charge of the work. As the school attend- ance rapidly increased in the towns and cities, boards of education readily realized that they could not efficiently represent the people in the management of their educational interests without an executive officer, specially equipped for the work, who could devote all of his time and attention to the administration of the schools under their control. To meet this need, laws were enacted authorizing boards of education to elect a superintendent of schools to advise the board as to the best educational policy to be adopted by them and to execute for the board such policies and plans as they might see fit to adopt. In many instances, the election of a superintendent to 138 RELATION OF SUPERINTENDENT TO TEACHERS 139 represent the board of education in an advisory capacity and to direct the work of the schools did not, for a time, meet the public approval. Many people doubted the necessity or the importance of the new office. They were unable to see what a superintendent of schools could find to do, when the board of education provided the material equipment for the use of the schools and elected teachers to teach the children. The original attitude of the public toward the office of superintendent is illustrated by the following incident. One type of superintendent. A group of children were taking advantage of a recess period to engage in playing a game of school. As is almost always true in such a game, they were presenting, as their conception of the school, the worst possible conditions of disorder and the worst examples of teaching they had ever known. The pupils were all idle, indolent, and impudent. Their lessons were unprepared and their general behavior was unbecoming in every way. The teacher belonged to that class, unfortu- nately represented in too many schools, who are afraid their rights will not be properly recognized, and who, therefore, always demand more of their pupils than they are either able or willing to give in return. Like other heathen, this teacher used many vain repetitions, evidently hoping to be heard on account of much speaking. With such pupils and such a teacher, the type of school represented in the game can be readily imagined. Some of the parents of the children engaged in the game happened to be visiting the school and were interested spectators of the play. They noticed one of the boys, who seemed to take no part in it except to walk up and 140 THE TEACHER AND THE SUPERINTENDENT down among the other children in a listless sort of way. Occasionally he would rest his hand upon the head of some boy, while examining with a look of indifference, his copy- book or his prepared work in arithmetic or language. At other times, he would glance around the schoolroom in a mysterious manner. Finally he took a seat near the teacher's desk where he remained stationary through the remainder of the recitation, at the close of which he bade the teacher good-by and retired from the busy scene. His strange actions aroused the curiosity of the interested visitors, one of whom inquired who this mysterious per- sonage might be, and why he did not take a more definite and active part in the game. Instantly the children responded: " Oh ! He is not expected to do anything; he is the superintendent." It is possible that this reply may represent the opinion still held by a few uninformed and unintelligent individuals. It is also possible that there may still be found an occasional so-called superintendent who merits the description indi- cated in the reply. It is fortunately true, however, that such a superintendent is rare in these days of educational progress. A more common type. In the great majority of in- stances the superintendent of public schools is now held in the highest regard by all the best people who live in the district which he serves. He is recognized as a large factor not only in the successful management of the schools but also in the direction of the affairs of the community. He is called upon to assume grave responsibility in initiating and executing educational policies. Intelligent people no longer think of him as an impractical theorist, nor sneer- RELATION OF SUPERINTENDENT TO TEACHERS 141 ingly refer to him as a man who may know what is in books but who is ignorant of business affairs and devoid of common sense. Of no other public servant is more required in knowledge, tact, skill, judgment, and courage. Instead of not being expected to do anything, he is required to have some part in doing almost everything. He is usually the busiest man in the community. To-day competent and efficient members of boards of education gladly defer to the judgment of a competent and efficient superintendent. They always loyally support him in carrying out his educational policy. Instead of looking upon the superintendent as a mere figurehead or office clerk, they expect him to stand for something very definite in the community, both as a man and as a superintendent. They believe that there is a place in the educational system for properly constituted authority and that this authority should be lodged in the superintendent, who should be held to a strict account both for the manner in which he exercises it and also for the results which follow. This authority should give him the initiative in the employ- ment of all teachers and in framing and directing the educational policy to be adopted and pursued. The relation of superintendent to teachers. In the exercise of such authority, a wise superintendent always seeks the advice of the worthy members of his board of education. He also holds frequent conferences with his teachers. In all his relations with them or with the public, he is open-minded and absolutely straightforward. His every act and every word bears the stamp of sincerity. He never uses his authority in an arbitrary manner. He never boasts of the power he possesses. 142 THE TEACHER AND THE SUPERINTENDENT It is in this authority, vested in the superintendent and properly exercised by him, that the individual teacher finds the best guarantee of that freedom which is so essential to the highest success. The right relation of superintendent to teachers is, therefore, the relation of authority, properly constituted and wisely exercised, to individual freedom, properly conceived and wisely used. Conflicting forces not necessarily antagonistic. The principle involved in this relation of apparently conflicting ideas is found in the world of nature, in the field of politics, and even in the domain of theology, as well as in the relation of superintendent to teachers. In the world of nature, the centripetal and centrifugal forces are in constant operation. Notwithstanding the fact that the direction of one of these forces is toward the center and of the other from the center, they are both so perfect in their action that perfect results necessarily follow. In the field of politics, there always has been, is now, and always will be a difference of opinion between the followers of Alexander Hamilton, the great representative of national authority as embodied in a strong centralized government, and the followers of Thomas Jefferson, the great representa- tive of the freedom of the individual, who is subject to the government. To-day, however, no one but an unreasonable partisan fails to see something of good in the political creeds of both Hamilton and Jefferson. A few times in our history as a nation we have reached high tide under the adminis- tration of a great soul who was competent to appreciate fully the good in both theories of government. Under the immortal Lincoln, a terrible strife of four years in our RELATION OF SUPERINTENDENT TO TEACHERS 143 nation was so guided and controlled that, when the end finally came, the world recognized, as never before, the majesty and authority of our government, and yet, at the same time, the world understood as never before, the real significance of individual freedom for all, and the real meaning of the phrase government of the people, by the people, for the people. In the domain of theology many sermons have been preached, many volumes have been printed, and many discussions have been held, in a vain attempt to explain away the apparent conflict between God's sovereignty and man's free agency, by an 0z^-emphasis of the one and an zmder-emphasis of the other. To the ordinary layman, however, the best explanation yet proposed for the diffi- culties connected with the question is found in the old colored man's wise observation that he had never " heard tell of anybody's bein' 'lected to anything 'cept when he was "a candidate" Just as there can never be any harmful results in the world of nature from the action of the apparently con- flicting centripetal and centrifugal forces, neither of which can ever trespass upon the domain of the other, so no harmful results can ever follow in school administration, if such relation be sustained between the superintendent's authority and the teacher's freedom as will not permit either to trespass upon the domain of the other. Just as authority is strengthened and freedom is made more secure by a proper recognition and application of the two ideas em- bodied in the two apparently conflicting theories of govern- ment, so, in school administration, the authority of the superintendent is strengthened and the freedom of the 144 THE TEACHER AND THE SUPERINTENDENT teacher is made more secure by a proper recognition and application of the two ideas embodied in the apparently conflicting theories of the authority of the superintendent to plan and to direct and the freedom of the teacher to carry out the proposed plans and to follow the given direc- tions. Just as God's sovereignty, when properly com- prehended, in no sense interferes with the intelligent use of a rational individual's freedom of choice to work out his own salvation, even if it be with fear and trembling, so the superintendent's authority, when properly constituted and wisely exercised, in no sense interferes with the intelligent use of a sensible teacher's freedom of choice to teach in such a way and by the use of such methods as are best adapted to her individual characteristics and as are best suited to the needs of her school. Powers and duties of superintendents. The authority of the superintendent, however, may be unwisely used in planning and executing such a close and rigid organization and classification of the schools as will seriously interfere with the largest growth and the highest development of the individual pupils and with the fullest success of the indi- vidual teachers in their work of instruction. In the earlier days of supervision, this was possibly the tendency. But at present much of the criticism directed against the organization and classification of the schools is without reason or excuse and is due to the fact that the critics presume that conditions exist in reality, which have no existence except in their own distorted imaginations. Some of the severest critics of present day school admin- istration waste their time and exhaust their energy in creating, arresting, indicting, prosecuting, condemning, RELATION OF SUPERINTENDENT TO TEACHERS 145 sentencing, and punishing large numbers of men of straw with whom they have associated so long as to render them in a large measure oblivious to what is being done in the world of reality to correct the defects against which they so loudly declaim. In the great majority of instances, the organization of schools into classes of reasonable size, as such organization usually exists at the present time, not only secures the greatest good to the greatest number, but also serves the highest interests of the individual pupil. It is highly important that classes of sufficient size be maintained in the organization of schools to insure the proper class spirit and to secure the benefits which result from the enthusiasm of numbers. The claim sometimes made that, in order to reach the individual child, the teacher must at all times deal directly with the individual, is not in accord with the teachings of experience. There are many times when the individual is best reached through the class. While too many pupils to a teacher necessarily leads to a neglect of the individual, on the other hand, too few pupils to a teacher just as certainly works harm to the individual because of the lack of interest of both pupil and teacher, which is certain to result. In fact all experience indorses and confirms the following statement quoted from the Report of the Committee of Twelve on Rural Schools : "When we consider the various elements that enter into a good education and especially training for social activities, it is not too much to say that a very small school is almost necessarily a very poor school." Because of the recognition of the truthfulness of the conclusion stated in this report, " that a very small school OUR PUB. S. 10 146 THE TEACHER AND THE SUPERINTENDENT is almost necessarily a very poor school/ 7 thousands of such small schools have been abandoned and, throughout the country, wherever the physical conditions will permit, rural schools are being rapidly consolidated or centralized, in order that they may be better organized and classified, and, therefore, be better fitted to serve the children of the rural communities. Organizing and classifying. One of the important duties of a superintendent of schools is, therefore, the proper exercise of his authority in directing such an organization and classification of the schools under his supervision as will serve the best interests of the pupils. In the exercise of this authority, he will have, in working out the matters of detail, the loyal support of all teachers who are worthy of the freedom which rightly belongs to them. In this important and necessary work, neither superin- tendents nor teachers can afford to waste any time in the consideration of the claims made by a few visionary the- orists that there is no longer any need of the exercise of any authority in the organization and classification of schools, and that both pupils and teachers should be given absolute freedom in their work. There is no such thing as absolute freedom in the world, either in school or out of it. Willing obedience to wholesome authority is the price which must always be paid for genuine freedom. Just as the citizen who most readily obeys the laws of his country is the one who complains the least about the proper exercise of rightly constituted authority, so the teacher or pupil who most readily responds to the authority of the superintendent is the one who complains the least about the wholesome regulations of the school. Just as RELATION OF SUPERINTENDENT TO TEACHERS 147 the individual who prates the most about the interference of authority with his individual freedom is not infrequently the anarchist who ought to be in jail, so the teacher or pupil who is always talking about individual rights and always demanding special privileges too often belongs to the class who have mistaken their unfortunate peculiarities for strong individuality and who are most in need of the control and direction of the superintendent. Not only is the organization of schools into classes of reasonable size desirable from an educational standpoint, but such organization is a necessity from a financial stand- point. The suggestion, made by extremists who condemn all organization and classification and who fail to see any good in class spirit or class enthusiasm, that " one teacher to about five children would be about right," is so imprac- tical in its nature and so impossible of execution as to render it unworthy of serious consideration. To carry out such a suggestion would necessitate an expenditure of from five to eight times the amount of money now paid for teachers' salaries, with a corresponding increase in the cost of schoolrooms and equipment. The impossibility of realizing such an ideal, even if it were worthy of realiza- tion, will be evident to any one who will compute the cost of such realization in his district, village, town, city, or state. It is plainly evident that harmful results must also follow an unwise use or abuse of authority, should the superintend- ent demand a too rigid adherence to the course of study prescribed for the guidance of teachers in directing the work of their pupils. It is often claimed by the critics of the public schools that teachers are not allowed any free- 148 THE TEACHER AND THE SUPERINTENDENT dom in the use of the course of study ; that all pupils in the same grade in all of the schools, regardless of conditions, are compelled to be at the same place in the study of the same subject on the same day ; that all classes of the same grade must do exactly the same amount of work in a speci- fied time, whatever their abilities may be; that teachers of ten-talent, five-talent, and one-talent schools must all render the same account of their stewardship; and that as a result not only individual pupils, but entire classes of pupils, are either stretched or contracted to meet the absolutely unchangeable demands of an absolutely fixed course of study. In the great majority of instances inves- tigation will prove the entire absence of any foundation for the existence of such criticism. As a rule teachers whose judgment is worthy of consideration are not only consulted in the preparation of the course of study which is to serve as their guide, but they are also given a large amount of liberty in so adapting the course as to meet the varying conditions and needs of the schools which they teach. In any system of schools there are usually a few teachers who need very definite guidance, both in what they do and in what they teach. Unless the authority of the superin- tendent and his assistants is exercised in giving such guid- ance, such teachers are liable either to miss the road entirely, to travel in the wrong direction, or to go off on every path that happens to look inviting to them, with the result that their pupils fail to learn with any degree of thorough- ness many things of fundamental importance and are, therefore, unprepared later on to do the work which is necessary to be done. While slavery to a course of study RELATION OF SUPERINTENDENT TO TEACHERS 149 is to be greatly deplored and the abuse of authority which leads to such slavery is to be severely condemned, on the other hand the determined attempt of any teacher to ignore the requirements of a wisely planned course of study should meet with prompt and positive disapproval on the part of those who are responsible for the work of the schools. Courses of study. Not only is it important that teachers recognize the value of a wisely planned course of study and willingly strive to meet, in so far as possible, its requirements as they apply to the grades or classes which they teach, but it is also equally important that they possess a general knowledge of the requirements of the entire course and an intimate acquaintance with the work to be done not only in their own grades and classes but also in the grades and classes which immediately precede or follow. An efficient superintendent will, therefore, exercise his authority in securing a reasonable and faithful adherence to the course of study by individual teachers in the grades or classes which they teach and in insisting that all teachers shall maintain a vital interest in the work of other grades or classes with which their own work is so intimately related. Unwillingness of a teacher to cooperate with the superintendent in securing a reasonable and faithful adherence to a wisely planned course of study is an indica- tion of insubordination which cannot be excused because of any false claim to individual freedom. Inability of a teacher so to cooperate is an indication of inefficiency which must result in harm to the schools if permitted to continue. 150 THE TEACHER AND THE SUPERINTENDENT The use and abuse of textbook^. Slavery to the use of textbooks is another harmful result which will follow an unwise use or abuse of authority by a superintendent who unduly magnifies the importance of knowledge gained from books and who fails to understand or to appreciate the value of information gained by intelligent observation and study of nature and life. It is possible to follow the textbook so closely in teaching subjects which bear an intimate relation to nature and life, that the child will fail to realize the existence of such a relation. As a result, the child will form the habit of memorizing and repeating in parrot-like manner what the author of the textbook has recorded, with no thought of making any observations or of conducting any investigations of his own. Under such teaching it is possible for pupils of certain types to go through school without discovering that there are many things worth knowing, which must be learned outside of textbooks. The following outline of an incident, related a few years ago by William Hawley Smith to a small group of friends who were discussing textbook teaching, will serve to illustrate the dangers of overdoing it. Shortly after this noted author and lecturer had delivered one of his stirring addresses on education, a young principal of a village school, who had heard the address and who was evidently much impressed with its earnest appeal for a broader recognition of the varied capacities of children, met Mr. Smith on the train and, after introducing himself, related his experience in substance as follows : Your lecture convinced me that I was adhering too closely to the subject matter of the textbooks, and as a result almost entirely neglecting the training of the powers of observation possessed by the RELATION OF SUPERINTENDENT TO TEACHERS 151 children. I returned to my school determined to reform my methods of teaching so that the pupils in my classes would have their attention directed daily to matters of interest outside of books. My school is located in a village surrounded by a farming community, whose chief product is corn, thousands of bushels of which are stored in cribs not far from the schoolhouse. This corn attracts rats in large num- bers and I thought that, if there is any object in the world with which the children are familiar, that object is certainly a rat. I closed the recitation in the textbook sooner than usual, in order to have a few minutes for outside work in the form of an observation lesson, and proceeded to begin my reform. I asked the children how many of them had ever seen a rat and at once had a showing of hands which proved that all were familiar with the object about which the observa- tion lesson to be given centered. I then asked a second question, which I predicted all could not immediately answer correctly, inas- much as a correct answer would require close observation, which I feared they were not all in the habit of making. This second question called for definite information relative to the length of hair on a rat's tail. The answers varied, from a small fraction of an inch to several inches. The "critical moment" had arrived. The time was at hand for a most impressive first lesson in the reform movement which would take the thought of the children from textbooks, center their attention upon the object under consideration, and teach them the importance of making observations at first hand. Calling attention for a moment to the great difference in the answers to the question and to the fact that there could be but one correct answer, I asked how that correct answer could be determined. One boy immediately signified by uplifted hand a readiness to respond. He was asked to do so and replied, "Look it up in the dictionary ! " While it is possible to give so much attention to text- book lessons and books of reference, as sources of informa- tion that children will gain the false impression that any question in dispute can be settled by " looking it up " in the dictionary or encyclopedia, it is also possible to go 152 THE TEACHER AND THE SUPERINTENDENT to the other extreme of spending an undue amount of time in so-called observation or development lessons with the result that children will become incapable of sitting down alone, and, unaided, of getting from books the lessons which can be learned from no other source. While the training of- the observation is exceedingly important in order that the senses may be cultivated to take in impres- sions from the outside, it is equally important that the power to get thought from the printed page be developed in order that the recorded results of the investigations and thinking of the greatest minds of the world may be under- stood and appreciated. An efficient superintendent will wisely exercise a sufficient amount of authority in directing the teaching in the schools under his control to secure a well-balanced training for the children in the observation of nature, the study of objects, and the mastery of textbooks. And capable teachers will avoid on the one hand the extreme which confines the lessons to the textbook and on the other hand the other extreme which substitutes lectures by the teacher for the study of lessons in the textbook which have been carefully outlined and definitely assigned for preparation by the pupils. Examinations and promotions. In the earlier years of the history of school supervision with its accompanying organization and classification of schools and adoption of courses of study dealing in a large measure with the subject matter of textbooks, there was, no doubt, a tendency to over emphasize the importance of formal examinations as a means of testing the products of teaching and of determining the fitness of pupils for promotion. In some instances ex- RELATION OF SUPERINTENDENT TO TEACHERS 153 aminations were held each month in each subject and the success or failure of pupils at the end of the term or year was determined wholly and finally by whether or not their average of examination grades reached a certain fixed and inflexible standard determined by the authority of the school as represented by its superintendent, who prepared the examination questions in each branch of study in all the grades of the school. Under such a system of promo- tions the judgment of the teacher was largely ignored ; and both teachers and pupils used all their time and energy in an attempt to prepare for the examination, upon whose results depended the success of the teacher in the past and the hope of the pupil for the future. To pass or not to pass was the question uppermost in the minds of all. Grades were the all-important ends and aims of school work. In the laudable attempt to correct this extreme use, or rather this abuse of examinations, it is possible that the opposite extreme has been reached at present in many schools and that, as a result, pupils to-day, instead of suffering the wrongs incident to too many and too technical examinations upon which everything is made to depend, are the victims of no examinations at all and, as a result, go through school without an opportunity to receive the educational benefit which undoubtedly comes from the written examination properly conducted as a test of knowl- edge. Under the old regime, teachers taught and pupils prepared their lessons with the nightmare of the final examination constantly in mind. They drilled and crammed, in the hope that a passing grade might be secured, and with the feeling that failure to pass meant disgrace. Under the new regime, pupils prepare for a passing grade 154 THE TEACHER AND THE SUPERINTENDENT in the passing recitation, in the hope that no final examina- tion will ever test their understanding of a subject once recited, or their retentive power in being able to recall important fundamental facts and principles, and with the feeling that to escape an examination is indeed a high honor. While it is wrong in both theory and practice to give no consideration, in determining the standing and promotion of pupils, to their work in the daily recitation, on the other hand, to make the marks given by the teacher in the daily recitation the one factor in determining such standing and promotion, and to excuse all pupils who recite well day by day from all formal tests, constitute a policy which, although both, general and popular, may well be questioned. There are good reasons to believe that pupils who really do well in the daily recitation should be glad of an opportunity to prove their worth in a fair examination, conducted in such a manner, and with questions of such a nature, as to constitute a welcome test instead of a dreaded tempta- tion, as has too often been the case in the past when exami- nations were made up of questions which tested the memory alone or which were prepared with the purpose of " catch- ing " the unwary or frightening the timid. It is certainly unreasonable, unfair, and unjust to ignore the judgment of teachers in estimating the standing and in determining the promotion of pupils. But to make teachers the sole judges of such standing and promotion is to impose upon them a responsibility from which they may well shrink. The better the judgment of teachers the more anxious they are to have their judgment supplemented by the judgment of the principal or superintendent, based upon a RELATION OF SUPERINTENDENT TO TEACHERS 155 fair test of their work by means of a fair examination of their pupils. A superintendent has abundant justification for exercis- ing his authority in submitting pupils to fair and reasonable examinations at such times and under such circumstances as he may deem wise, with the purpose of testing both the knowledge of the pupils and the ability of teachers in imparting knowledge, and in using the results of such examinations in connection with the estimates of the teachers in marking the standing, and in determining the promotion of pupils. Well-taught pupils and capable teachers have nothing to fear from the exercise of such authority and will gladly respond to such a test. Cooperation. The relation of superintendent to teach- ers should be constantly characterized by the exercise of mutual sympathy in the work of the school. As a rule, and there are few if any exceptions to this rule, the super- intendent should have had actual experience as a teacher and thereby know at first hand the difficulties which beset the pathway of the teacher. It is only by means of such experience that genuine sympathy for the teacher is born. No amount of training in the theory of education or of the study of ideal school administration can take the place of this experience. A superintendent without it is in constant danger of assuming, perhaps unconsciously to himself, but nevertheless, obviously to all but himself, the attitude of an unsympathetic commander who demands that his teachers shall do what he orders, rather than that of a sympathetic leader who inspires them to follow his leader- ship. A superintendent who is so unfortunate as to be with- 156 THE TEACHER AND THE SUPERINTENDENT out experience as a teacher, can best show his wisdom and most readily gain the sympathy of his teachers by manifesting a willingness to learn from them the lessons which they have learned by experience. Were it possible for teachers to know from experience the difficulties which so often confront the superintendent, they would be better prepared to sympathize with him in his work and would be less apt to criticize his actions. Generally, however, teachers readily respond to the wishes of a tactful, sym- pathetic superintendent who treats his co-workers with that respect and consideration which always characterize the real leader. Loyalty. The relation of superintendent to teachers should also always be characterized by unswerving loyalty to one another and to the highest and best interests of the schools which they have been elected to serve. All claims to respect are forfeited by the superintendent who is so lacking in frankness and courage that he will hesitate to tell the teachers themselves of their incompetency and failure which he is free to discuss in their absence. To recommend teachers for dismissal without having tried in every reasonable way to help tHem to succeed, or without having notified them of the intended recommendation is unfair and unjust. Teachers who are given due considera- tion and fair treatment by a frank, courageous, loyal super- intendent, and who will not loyally respond to all the reasonable requirements made by him, should be promptly notified that their disloyalty will not be tolerated and that, if persisted in, their dismissal will certainly follow. In the administration of either a government or a school system there is no place for traitors. SCHOOL SENTIMENT is? XI THE POWER OF SENTIMENT WHEREVER we go, under whatever conditions we are placed, by whatever circumstances we are surrounded, we always find a constant, power- ful force at work, molding character, directing energy, stimulating effort, and to a very great extent guiding and controlling the thoughts, actions, and destinies of the great masses of the people. This force we call public sentiment. Power of public sentiment. History is largely a record of what has been accomplished for humanity by the force of this public sentiment. Tyrannical forms of government have crumbled into dust and upon their ruins have been built up governments of the people, by the people, for the people, largely as the result of a public sentiment which demanded that human rights should be recognized and human freedom guaranteed. Political parties have gone down to defeat and in their stead other parties have arisen only to meet the same fate when they have failed either to recognize or to obey public sentiment. Corrupt forms of religion, based upon superstition and hatred, have been compelled to die as they should. In their place has come the religion of faith in God and love for men, the outgrowth of a sentiment born of and developed by Him who spake as never man spake. Public sentiment and law. In current events history in the making can constantly be seen the results of the 159 l6o SCHOOL SENTIMENT influence of this same public sentiment. In some com- munities there is a well-developed public sentiment which sanctions the laws enacted for their government and demands that these laws be rigidly enforced both in letter and in spirit. In other communities similar laws are ignored or openly and flagrantly violated, because the public sentiment is either indifferent to law enforcement or openly defiant against the restrictions which these laws impose. Laws which are not the crystallization of an intelligent public sentiment and which do not, therefore, meet the approval of a majority of the people to whom they apply, are usually dead letters upon the statute books. Such laws are really a menace to the welfare of any govern- ment in so far as they at least indirectly lower respect for authority and teach disobedience to law. The fundamental principle in law enactment and enforce- ment, that law should represent intelligent public sentiment to make it enforceable, is now quite generally recognized in legislating upon all questions relating to the public welfare, such as sanitation and the prevention and cure of disease. Even in legislating upon great moral issues, such as temperance, the same principle is generally recognized. Public sentiment and education. In the development of such public sentiment education is the largest factor. In the work of educating public sentiment to favor measures of health and to oppose the evils due to intemperance the public schools have been a mighty influence. For a quarter of a century, the teachers in these schools have carefully instilled into the minds and hearts of their pupils lessons in physiology with special reference to the laws of health and to the evil effects of alcohol and narcotics upon the human THE POWER OF SENTIMENT l6l system. No doubt, some of this teaching has been un- scientific and poorly done. But the beneficial results of it are to-day everywhere manifest in an awakened intelligence relating to both individual and public health and in an aroused conscience on the temperance question. That the two questions uppermost in the public mind to-day are those of sanitation and temperance is due in a large measure to the work of the public schools in training a new generation of citizens who, as the result of such training, think in- telligently upon questions of public welfare and feel deeply upon questions of moral significance. Some well-intentioned but inconsiderate people think that the mere passage of a law will insure the immediate correction of a wrong or a sworn allegiance to the right. Such people seem to imagine that if there were only laws providing for piety and wealth, we should all awaken some morning both righteous and rich, without any effort on our own part. As a result of such agitation, without the education which should always accompany agitation in the interests of any worthy cause, the statute books of all the different states in the Union and of the Union, itself, are not infrequently encumbered with laws which have no good reason for existence. An interesting experiment in government. There is a tradition that, at one time, an absolute monarch in a moment of good-natured indulgence gave to his subjects the right to elect a legislature to enact laws for the public good. In this grant of power to the people there was a distinct provision that any one who presented a bill for consideration with the purpose of having it enacted into law must do so with a noose around his neck. In the event OUR PUB. S. II 1 62 SCHOOL SENTIMENT that his bill became a law and proved to be a real benefit to the people, because it provided for a public need, rep- resented intelligent public sentiment, and was, therefore, capable of enforcement, the noose would at once be re- moved and the lawmaker be given his full freedom. Should the opposite conditions prevail, however, and the enacted law prove to be harmful and worthless because it failed to meet a real need, or to represent real public sentiment, and, therefore, be incapable of enforcement, the noose would be tightened and the lawmaker be removed from the scene of action. It is not difficult to imagine what would happen were such a provision in force in our state and national governments at the present time. One of two results would certainly follow either fewer unnecessary and harmful laws would be enacted or an increasing number of legislators who are responsible for such laws would suffer the penalty provided for them. How sentiment influences conduct. Public sentiment is also a large factor in determining the conduct of in- dividuals in any community. Where public sentiment strongly upholds the right and condemns the wrong, it is easy to do right and to avoid wrong. Where public senti- ment approves acts of questionable morality, withholds its disapproval of wrongdoing, or is even indifferent to standards of conduct, the natural tendency of all who come under the influence of such sentiment is to lower their ideals of duty and to become careless in their habits of living. Even those whose consciences will not permit them to surrender to untoward influences and whose wills are strong enough to withstand the force of a degraded public sentiment, find the struggle both difficult and constant. THE POWER OF SENTIMENT 163 Intelligent public sentiment is a powerful influence not only in the enactment of needed legislation and in the enforcement of desirable laws in the community, and in making it easy to do right and to avoid wrong but also in acting as a deterrent to wrongdoing by the public con- demnation which it visits on the wrongdoer. No greater punishment can come to any one who still has any self- respect or any regard for the opinion of his fellow men than the knowledge that he is condemned by public sen- timent righteously indignant because of some offense committed by him. The disgrace and humiliation con- nected with such condemnation not infrequently result in declining health and sometimes in death itself. It is, therefore, exceedingly important that all who are in any way responsible for the education and direction of public sentiment should exercise great care in order that no in- justice be done to any one. Misdirected or uncontrolled public sentiment, unwilling to wait until all the facts are known or to abide by the decisions of the courts, in moments of passion, sometimes manifests itself in the acts of the lawless mob so abhorrent to all law-abiding citizens. School sentiment. Just as public sentiment is inti- mately related to the life and welfare of a community, so school sentiment is equally intimately related to the life and welfare of the school. In community life the conduct of the great majority of the citizens is neither largely in- fluenced nor definitely determined by laws prescribing duties and penalties for the violation of such laws, but by public sentiment which approves some acts as right and disapproves other acts as wrong. In a school the behavior of the great majority of the pupils is determined not by the 1 64 SCHOOL SENTIMENT specific rules and regulations prescribed by the teachers or other school authorities but by the school sentiment which characterizes the school. In a community of high ideals of life and living and a strong public sentiment for right doing, few laws are needed for the control of the citizens. In a school of similar character few rules are necessary for the direction of pupils. In a community of low ideals and of little regard for properly constituted authority, laws cannot be enforced. In a school of low ideals of obedience and respectful consideration for teachers, rules are always a dead letter. In a community intelligent public sentiment is largely the result of education. School sentiment can be developed and maintained only by the same process. In a community the condemnation of an indignant public sentiment is a powerful factor in preventing wrongdoing on the part of citizens. In a school, boys and girls usually dread the condemnation of their schoolmates and, as a result, are often kept from doing wrong. In a community misdirected or uncontrolled public sentiment occasionally manifests itself in lawless acts against which the sense of justice of all good citizens protests and to the abolition of which the efforts of all good citizens are constantly directed. In a school misdirected or hastily formed school sentiment or opinion, unless wisely restrained by competent teachers, may occasionally work serious injury to a suspected but innocent pupil. Rules of school. Teachers who understand and appre- ciate the great influence which school sentiment exerts in the discipline and work of the school place little dependence upon rules and regulations. They strive constantly to create and maintain such a sentiment among the pupils THE POWER OF SENTIMENT 165 as will make good behavior the surest means of securing the good opinion of their schoolmates and the approval of their teachers. On the other hand, the pupils will be made to feel that the one certain punishment resulting from misbehavior will be condemnation by their schoolmates and disapproval by their teachers. An occasional rule with a definite punishment for its transgression may be necessary to meet some special offense in the school just as a few laws with prescribed penalties for their violation are needed to punish the crimes and misdemeanors of a few individuals in society who are not amenable to the demands of public sentiment. Occasionally there may still be found a teacher with his code of rules for the government of the school, but for- tunately this type is rapidly becoming extinct. Within the last few years, however, a representative of this dis- appearing race called at the office of a state superintendent of public instruction, in company with his daughter, who was attempting to teach a district school in the county in which the state capital was located. The father had been a teacher himself in the " good old days " when pupils were informed what not to do by a code of rules posted in a conspicuous place in the schoolroom. He at once stated that he had called upon the state superintendent to ask what authority a board of education had in administer- ing the affairs of the school. He was informed that the board had full authority to direct the schools under their control. He then inquired whether or not it was the duty of the board to make rules for the government of the children in school. In replying to this, the state superintendent suggested that, under ordinary conditions, very few rules, 1 66 SCHOOL SENTIMENT if any, are necessary or desirable, and asked the father to state the nature of the difficulty encountered by his daughter in teaching the school and what action he thought necessary on the part of the board of education, to help her in over- coming the difficulty. The reply was that his daughter was greatly annoyed by whispering in school and that he thought the board should make a rule prohibiting it. To this only one response could be made, viz. that such annoyances as whispering cannot be regulated by rules. The disappointment which this response gave to the visitors was plainly manifest. The young teacher returned to her school, perhaps sadder, certainly no wiser, and doomed to the inevitable failure which must come to any teacher who imagines that success in discipline is dependent upon rules which prohibit wrong conduct by pupils. The importance of a strong school sentiment is evident to all teachers who have sensible theories regarding school discipline, or who have had successful experience in the management of a real school. It is not, therefore, necessary to discuss at length the necessity of cultivating such a sentiment in the life of the school. It is important, how- ever, that careful consideration be given to the fundamental factors which enter into successful school management and to the intimate relation which the creation and mainte- nance of a wholesome school sentiment bear to the success of both helpful discipline and effective teaching. XII SCHOOL SENTIMENT AND REGULAR ATTENDANCE SINCE no school can hope for any large degree of success without regular and prompt attendance, it is imperative that this necessary factor should receive primary attention. Irregular attendance and habitual tardiness of even a few pupils have a demoralizing effect upon the entire school. Successful teachers, there- fore, always strive so to direct the sentiment of the school that regular and prompt attendance is considered an honor not only to the individual pupil but also to the school of which he is a part. When the proper school sentiment exists, inexcusable absence and unnecessary tardiness are certain to meet with the condemnation of the school whose pupils have a just pride in its standing and rightfully resent anything which injures its good name. Rules powerless when opposed by school sentiment. In securing prompt and regular attendance, rules are of little or no value, while school sentiment is all powerful. An inspection of school attendance statistics will not un- frequently show that in one district of a township the percentage of the enumeration enrolled and the percentage of the enrollment in regular daily attendance are unusually large, with a correspondingly small number of cases of tardiness. In another district of the same township, with precisely the same physical conditions, exactly opposite 167 1 68 SCHOOL SENTIMENT conditions prevail. Sometimes in the same grade of the same building of a city school, one room will have an almost perfect attendance record with little or no tardiness; another room across the hall will keep the truant officer busy looking after unexcused cases of absence and will be constantly annoyed by an ever increasing number of cases of tardiness. The marked difference in results achieved in attendance in different schools in country, town, or city is due largely to the difference in school sentiment created and maintained by different teachers. One accurate test of teaching is the character of the school sentiment which it produces. The value of regularity and promptness. In order that a wholesome school sentiment may be developed among the pupils with reference to prompt and regular attendance, it is imperative that their teachers, principals, and superin- tendents shall have positive convictions as to the value of promptness and regularity in the life of all who are to hope to succeed. Irregular attendance and a large amount of tar- diness should be looked upon as the two things most detri- mental to the entire school, as well as to the individual pupil. With the united, determined, and persistent effort of teachers, and those who direct and supervise them, school sentiment can be so molded that, in a short time, the care- lessness and indifference of pupils in regard to regular and prompt attendance will be replaced with a determination to make the attendance as nearly perfect as conditions will permit and to eliminate in so far as possible all tardiness. A careful study of the subject of attendance and tardiness will convince any one that in most instances the irregular pupil and the tardy pupil are one and the same; that SCHOOL SENTIMENT AND REGULAR ATTENDANCE 169 tardiness is almost never necessary; that the habitually tardy pupil is usually the one who lives nearest to the school, has the fewest out-of-school duties to perform and, there- fore, has the least excuse for tardiness; that irregularity in attendance seldom results from anything except the indifference or carelessness of children or parents; and that the overwhelming majority of pupils, when properly instructed and directed, are both regular and prompt in their attendance at school. What was done in one school. As a practical illustra- tion of what can be accomplished in a few months by the united efforts of teachers in securing regularity in attend- ance and in eliminating tardiness, the following brief summary of the report of the superintendent of schools in a town located in one of the north central states is here given : n w 1 ol w " si !i MONTH gi pi fc w o I gg gH B H! g go4 tj W W 1 W< s FH W J2! * * AH 1 Sept 832 762 732 9 6 31 428 Oct 840 808 783 97 19 535 Nov 835 8l4 794 97-4 14 547 Dec 825 801 783 97-7 6 577 Jan 845 804 77 8 96.8 i 507 Feb 830 784 762 97 490 The starting point of the reform which produced the rather remarkable results indicated in this summary was the discovery by the newly elected superintendent that, in 170 SCHOOL SENTIMENT the high school, in the first few days after the school opened, there had been several cases of tardiness, the majority of which were due to a girl who lived within a square of the high-school building, and all of which were unnecessary and inexcusable. This discovery led to an investigation which revealed that the school sentiment was at such a low ebb that many pupils were utterly in- different to the importance of prompt and regular attend- ance upon their school duties. With a firm belief that the future success of the school depended in a large measure upon the elimination of this indifference by means of the cultivation of a wholesome school sentiment in favor of prompt and regular attendance, the teachers and superin- tendent united in a determined and enthusiastic effort to bring about the necessary change. By a little tactful management the determination and enthusiasm which characterized this effort of the teachers were easily im- parted to the minds and hearts of the children and with unanimity of sentiment and effort among pupils and teachers, excellent results naturally followed. Every ef- fort was made to encourage promptness and to concentrate sentiment in its favor. Every room was closely watched. The pupils soon found that tardiness was in bad repute not only in one room but in all rooms. The frown of dis- approval certain to meet any one who came late and thereby spoiled the record of his room became a large factor in the elimination of tardiness. The simple request of the super- intendent that the pupils who were tardy the previous day, week, or month, without good excuse, should stand before the school was looked upon as a punishment to be avoided by not being tardy. SCHOOL SENTIMENT AND REGULAR ATTENDANCE iyi In one of the overcrowded primary rooms enrolling eighty pupils, the attendance, with the exception of two boys, was excellent. These boys seemed to care for nothing which ordinarily influences the conduct of children. They were very irregular in their attendance and quite fre- quently tardy. Although the excellent teacher in charge of the school had put forth every effort to change their attitude and improve their attendance, no results for the better were manifest. The children became indignant, and finally one day at noon, a little six-year-old came into the room and in an excited manner informed the teacher that they could not make " them bad boys " go home. The teacher, not understanding what was meant, inquired into the trouble and found that " them bad boys " were the two irregular pupils who had been waited upon by a very large committee of their classmates who, feeling disgraced by the way in which they were acting, had tried to make them go home. Relation of tardiness and attendance. No doubt some readers will be ready to say at this point that while the cultivation of such a school sentiment may tend to reduce tardiness, the final result will be that the dread of being tardy will become so great that many pupils will remain away entirely rather than come to school a few minutes late. While this may occasionally occur in a school taught by a teacher who has not the skill to control the sentiment of the school, such instances are exceedingly rare. In the school referred to in this discussion, out of an enroll- ment of nearly nine hundred children, only ten cases of this kind occurred in the five months included in the sum- marized report found at the beginning of this chapter, and 172 SCHOOL SENTIMENT these in the first month or two. In the last two months only one case occurred. The universal testimony of all the teachers was that as tardiness decreased the attendance grew better. Without a single exception, the rooms having the least tardiness in any one of the five months had the largest per cent of attendance and the largest number of pupils neither absent nor tardy. The summary shows the same results for the entire school. It will be noted that in September, with a per cent of attendance of 96 and with 428 pupils neither absent nor tardy, there were 31 cases of tardiness ; in October, with the per cent of attendance 97, and with 535 pupils neither absent nor tardy, the number of cases of tardiness was reduced to 19 ; in November the number of cases of tardiness was still further reduced to 15, while the per cent of attendance was 97.4, and the number neither absent nor tardy was 547 ; in December there were only 6 cases of tardiness, with the per cent of attendance increased to 97.7, and the number neither absent nor tardy 577. The decrease in the per cent of attendance and in the number neither absent nor tardy in January, when there was only one case of tardiness, and again in February, when there was not a single case of tardiness in the entire school, was due entirely to sickness, including several cases of measles and a few cases of scarlet fever, which compelled a number of the most regular and punctual pupils to remain at home. While each teacher must, in a large measure, be respon- sible for the sentiment and discipline in her own room, it is the duty, and should be the pleasure, of every principal and superintendent to aid the teacher in every way possible in the cultivation of a proper school sentiment and in the SCHOOL SENTIMENT AND REGULAR ATTENDANCE 173 right discipline of the school. There are at least two im- portant ways in which such aid can be given. In nearly every school there are a few children, just as in nearly every community there are a few men and women, who care nothing for the good opinion of those with whom they associate. Such children are indifferent to any school sentiment, however wholesome and uplifting it may be. In dealing with at least some of these pupils, the teacher has a right to expect that the principal or superintendent shall give sympathetic advice and occasionally a helping hand. The superintendent or principal can also be of great assistance to teachers in creating and maintaining proper school sentiment and right school discipline by friendly conferences with parents whose children may not be living up to their best in their school life. In such conferences parents should be treated with all the respect which is their due, but also with a firmness which will command their respect for the school and its teachers. Usually parents will readily respond to the courteous appeals of teachers to help them in making the school a success by sending their children to school regularly and on time. In a few in- stances, however, parents can be found who think that, if pupils prepare their lessons well, and are in school, espe- cially the high school, in time to recite, all reasonable requirements have been met. Such parents need to be shown that the preparation and recital of lessons, while exceedingly important, do not include all of school life and that the good of the school as a whole, as well as the welfare of the individual pupil in forming right habits of conduct, requires that all pupils shall cheerfully respond to all reasonable requirements of the school. 174 SCHOOL SENTIMENT The school records. Weekly and monthly reports of the whole school, in which the attendance, tardiness, and other important matters of interest in each room are given prominence, should be made out carefully, regularly, and promptly by the superintendent or principal. These reports should be printed on a duplicating machine, which should be a part of the equipment of every school, and a copy placed in each room, where pupils and teachers can see it and thus be enabled not only to note the record made by their own school but also to compare this record with that of other schools. By tactful management of the teachers of the different schools, a helpful rivalry in securing regular attendance and in eliminating tardiness can be created in all the schools. The teacher as a model. While no definite rules can be prescribed for the cultivation of a wholesome school sentiment in favor of regularity and promptness, all teachers who hope to succeed in creating or maintaining such senti- ment must possess and constantly cultivate two very important characteristics. No teacher can hope to create a sentiment in favor of promptness on the part of children who is not a model of promptness herself. This promptness must be habitual and must show itself in all her acts, outside of the school- room as well as in it. Very little credit is due any teacher for being on time in the performance of the ordinary, daily duties of the school. The rules of any well-directed school require promptness of all teachers and no teacher can hope to retain her position for any length of time and fail to meet this reasonable requirement. Boys and girls know this and are not, therefore, greatly influenced by the prompt- SCHOOL SENTIMENT AND REGULAR ATTENDANCE 175 ness of their teachers in school. They are, however, pro- foundly influenced for good or ill by the habits of their teachers outside of school. A concrete illustration, drawn from an actual experience of a superintendent of schools, will serve to make this plain. This superintendent, upon special invitation of the boys of one of the grammar grades of the school under his direction, joined them on a Saturday picnic excursion, knowing that on such an occasion the boys would reveal their real nature, as boys never do in the schoolroom. Rest- ing under a tree within hearing distance of a group of the liveliest boys in the school, he heard a most interesting con- versation relating to their teacher. The culmination of this conversation was the following most suggestive comment from the leader of the group : "She needn't always be talking to me about coming to school on time. I'm in her Sunday School class and she's late every Sunday." Appreciation of the efforts of pupils. A second necessary characteristic of the teacher who hopes to succeed in creat- ing and maintaining a proper school sentiment in favor of regularity and promptness, or any other school virtue, is a cheerful readiness to show appreciation of the efforts of the pupils to come to school every day on time, or to do any- thing which will add to the good name of the entire school, and to the welfare of the individual pupil. In this work, the superintendent or principal with an interest in all the schools should exert a most helpful influence. In the town whose schools are the subject of frequent reference in this chapter, an opportunity came for the superintendent to help in a manner which was greatly appreciated by the 176 SCHOOL SENTIMENT children and which served to crystallize a strong sentiment among them for regular and prompt attendance. On one morning the ground was so icy that walking was dangerous. All the teachers feared that a large majority of the pupils would not come at all, but all were most pleasantly surprised to find that over ninety per cent of the children were in school on time. When this information was telephoned to the superintendent, he immediately determined that a fine opportunity had come to him to put forth extra effort to show his appreciation of the extra effort of the boys and girls, under unfavorable conditions. With considerable difficulty each room of the four different buildings was visited, in order that the pupils might know that the superintendent, who had to walk much farther than any of them over the same icy pavements, was genuinely grateful, to them for being in school when it was so difficult to come. In order to show appreciation in a practical manner, the children in each room were informed that the school board of the town were also so well pleased with their attendance that morning that they had directed that the schools should remain in session in the forenoon for a half hour longer than usual and that the pupils should be dismissed for the remainder of the day. The hearty ap- plause which greeted this announcement in each room still rings in the ears of that superintendent and will always remain with him in memory as the sincere expression of gratitude of the boys and girls who were happy in the knowledge that their efforts to reach school on time under difficulty were appreciated by their teachers, their superin- tendent, and the school board. This incident had no little to do with crystallizing the sentiment of the pupils in favor SCHOOL SENTIMENT AND REGULAR ATTENDANCE 177 of the regularity and promptness which were shown in such a marked way in the months and years which followed in their school days and in developing fixed habits of life after school days were over. Getting acquainted with the parents. Another im- portant aid in securing regular and prompt attendance in school is found in home visitation by teachers and principals or superintendents, with the purpose of showing their interest in the welfare of the children and of determining the causes of absence and tardiness when they exist. Referring once more to the school to which attention has been frequently called, an illustration of the effectiveness of this home visitation will be found, which may be sugges- tively helpful to teachers. In the month of October, it will be noted in the report, there were nineteen cases of tardiness in the entire school. Seven of these were caused by the pupils attending a colored school taught by an excellent colored teacher who became very much discouraged by what seemed to him the hope- less task of getting the children of a few families to come to school on time. In company with the teacher the superintendent visited the homes from which these children came. The parents were plainly and frankly told how unfavorably the school which their children attended compared with the other schools of the town. The deter- mination of teachers to break up the tardiness which resulted entirely from carelessness was discussed and an appeal was made to the parents to aid in the work. Several visits were made to one of these homes before the mother was seen. These repeated visits were made necessary because the mother, finding out in some way that the calls were OUR PUB. S. 12 178 SCHOOL SENTIMENT about to be made, would go out of the back door and disappear down the alley, as her callers entered the front gate. Upon being captured finally, as the result of a flank movement, the old colored woman stood trembling in the presence of her visitors, evidently almost overcome with fear. It was soon learned that her strange actions were due to the fact that an older boy was in jail because of some misdemeanor, and the mother imagined that the young boy who was attending school had also gotten into trouble of some kind. When assured by her visitors that they had come on a kindly errand to find out why her boy was not in school regularly and on time and to ask her to help in keeping him in school, she broke down completely and with a pathetic earnestness never to be forgotten by the visitors, she thanked them for their interest and added, " I never knowed before that anybody cared for my boy." As a result of the visits to these homes, the month following there were only three cases of tardiness in the colored school, the succeeding month only two cases, while in January and February, there was no tardiness at all. The attendance also greatly improved to the benefit of the school and the satisfaction of the teacher. Another and far more important result of the visits was the greatly in- creased interest and sympathy of the teacher and superin- tendent aroused thereby in homes of the type visited. Not infrequently in homes of this class, occupied by white as well as colored people, there is a feeling that no one cares for the welfare of the children in them. In many instances a friendly visit by the teacher will be the beginning of a new interest of both children and parents in the work of the school. This new interest will often change indifference SCHOOL SENTIMENT AND REGULAR ATTENDANCE 179 to cooperation and thereby not only relieve the teachers of much annoyance and sometimes serious trouble, but will also save the children from the formation of habits which have much to do with failure in after life. Importance of regular and prompt attendance. Possibly some persons who read this chapter will object to placing so much emphasis upon the regular and prompt attendance of pupils in school. It may be claimed by them that tardiness is not immoral and that it is, therefore, wrong to create a school sentiment which condemns it so severely. To such criticism the one decisive answer is that un- necessary tardiness is immoral, at least in the sense in which it is unjust, not only to the person whose tardiness greatly hinders his own success, but also to all others who suffer in loss of valuable time and in disarrangement of carefully made plans, because some one is late. The laws of the land provide severe punishment for any one who robs another of material wealth, but there is no recourse open to any one who is robbed of valuable time by another who has no conscience in keeping engagements promptly and who has no appreciation of the value of time to a busy person or any realization of the serious inconvenience caused by his unnecessary tardiness. Success or failure in life depends very largely upon habits formed in childhood. Among the habits which are funda- mental in character and success, the habit of regularity and promptness holds a most important place. In order that this habit may be cultivated it is legitimate and right that school sentiment shall be so developed and directed as to commend strongly regularity and promptness and to condemn severely irregularity and tardiness. XIII SCHOOL SENTIMENT AND GOOD BEHAVIOR ATER the establishment of a school sentiment which brings children to school on time and which keeps them in school, in so far as possible, every day, the teacher's attention and effort should be centered upon the creation and maintenance of a strong school sentiment in favor of good behavior on the part of pupils. Good behavior means much more than good order as the latter phrase is ordinarily used. In the minds of some teachers, the demands of good order are fully met when pupils keep quiet in the schoolroom. Perfect order which manifests itself in the stillness of death may result from the exercise of mere physical force by a teacher who thereby frightens his pupils into keeping still. On the other hand good behavior must, to a large extent, be the result of an inner desire on the part of pupils to do right because it is right and to avoid doing wrong because it is wrong. This desire is best cultivated by living in a school atmosphere due to a school sentiment in favor of what is right and opposed to what is wrong. Non-responsive pupils. Every one who has success- fully taught school knows that there is an occasional pupil who will not respond to such a school sentiment and who can be influenced in his behavior for the right only by a wholesome fear of punishment for willful wrongdoing. In rare instances such punishment must be inflicted and 180 SCHOOL SENTIMENT AND GOOD BEHAVIOR l8l no silly sentimentalism should keep a teacher from doing his duty when such instances arise. It may be true that punishment is a relic of barbarism. It is certainly true that an occasional barbarian finds his way into the public schools, who can be civilized only by making use of the relic. It is much better for such a barbarian to be civilized, even by means of punishment, than to grow up a law-defying citizen and, in later life, pay a severe penalty for some crime or misdemeanor committed by him. In the great majority of instances, however, good behavior of pupils can be secured without thought or fear of punishment. The stronger the school sentiment for good behavior among the pupils in school, the less the need of discipline by the teacher. Behavior of pupils out of school. When the sentiment of the school is strongly in favor of good behavior and when high ideals of proper conduct are constantly held up before the pupils by teachers who practice what they teach, the results will be plainly seen not only in the schoolroom, but also outside of it. Normal children, when properly trained and directed, love order rather than disorder. They enjoy marching in and out of school with systematic precision. They know that in their play right conduct and fair deal- ing are absolutely necessary to the success of the game. Even in going to and from school the effects of a proper sentiment for good behavior among children will be mani- fest. Many communities can bear testimony to the marked difference in conduct of school boys and girls, when outside of school, under the direction of different teachers. A resi- dent of a village, upon returning to his home after an ab- sence of several months, observed a decided improvement in 1 82 SCHOOL SENTIMENT the behavior of the pupils of the public school as they passed his residence, a half mile away from the schoolhouse. He could hardly realize that they were the Same boys and girls who, the previous year, had greatly annoyed the whole neighborhood by trespassing upon lawns, invading or- chards, and in many other ways making themselves a general nuisance to the community. He at once surmised that the change for the better was due to a change in the principalship of the school. He found upon inquiry that this was true. A new principal had come to town and with his coming and under his leadership a different senti- ment had been aroused in the school and a difference in the behavior of the school children necessarily followed. The wrong way. In some of the old-time country schools no doubt duplicates of them can still be found no attention was paid to the behavior of pupils either going out of or coming into the schoolhouse. When the hour of dismissal came, or rather after it was passed, for too often the school was " let out " late, the teacher's laconic statement " dismissed " was followed by a scene which can be visualized or even imagined only by those who have been actors in the " comedy " or " tragedy " which took place. To the older boys and girls, who were strong enough to escape unharmed in the midst of the rush for the door, the performance partook of the nature of comedy, for mirth certainly predominated and the ter- mination of the plot was happy, to paraphrase the lan- guage of Noah Webster. To the younger children, who had to crawl under the seats or seek other places of safety until the human cyclone passed by, tragedy much more accurately described the event which had every promise SCHOOL SENTIMENT AND GOOD BEHAVIOR 183 of being a " fatal and mournful one," to quote again the words of the great lexicographer. When school " took up " either in the morning or after recess or noon, the opposite conditions prevailed. The youngest and most helpless of the children were in no danger of harm from any undue haste of the older pupils to enter. They had abundance of time to take their seats without any chance of collision with their larger brothers and sisters who saun- tered into the schoolhouse in a leisurely manner which indicated that a wonderful reaction had taken place in their nervous system since they had gone out with such tremendous energy and rapidity. At the noon hour very little time was used in eating the dinner which had been carefully and amply provided by the mothers of the children. Great " efficiency " was shown in the swiftness of movement exhibited by the pupils in opening their dinner buckets or baskets. The amount of time devoted to eating inside the schoolroom depended entirely upon the state of the weather. If rainy or stormy weather prevailed and prevented outdoor games, a few minutes might be devoted to swallowing a good portion of the large supply in store. If the weather at all permitted a game of ball or other outdoor sports, the only food consumed was such as could be transported to the playground in the hands of the children. The amount thus consumed depended upon the length of time which intervened between the minute of dismissal and the minute at which the consumer " went to bat " or entered upon the fulfillment of some other important athletic engagement which must be promptly met, whether any dinner was eaten or not. 184 SCHOOL SENTIMENT The right way. Into a school of this type with little or no sentiment in favor of becoming behavior in relation to the habits of order and decency, there once came a teacher of real culture and rare refinement. In every sense of the word, he was by nature and training a true gentleman. At the first noon hour, the school was thrown into a state of consternation by his quiet but commanding announcement that fifteen minutes of the time would be taken to eat dinner, the pupils being directed to take their dinners to their seats and to sit down in an orderly manner while eating. The pupils, especially the larger boys, gazed at one another and at the teacher in open-eyed wonder, as they silently surrendered to this startling innovation which seemed to them to require a wicked waste of time. They could eat but little because of a difficulty in swallowing due to the inaction of their salivary glands, produced by the surprise resulting from the unexpected situation into which they had so suddenly been thrown. The fifteen minutes seemed an age to them. In that brief space of time, however, they learned from the example of their teacher a lesson in good behavior, not found in books, but of vital importance in their future happiness and success. They saw this teacher take a napkin from his dinner basket and spread it neatly on his desk. On this napkin he placed the food which he wanted to eat and then proceeded to eat it with due regard to the usages of good society and the requirements of common decency. Fortunately for the future comfort and welfare of the teacher, he showed that he was human by observing at the close of the meal that he would join the boys in a game of ball. More than one pupil who attended that school and thus SCHOOL SENTIMENT AND GOOD BEHAVIOR 185 came under the civilizing influence of the strong school sentiment for good behavior in its broadest and truest sense, developed under the leadership of that teacher, can look back upon the first noon hour of the school taught by him, and the lesson in proper behavior in estting which came with it, as an important experience in life. Supervision of play. The playground affords an ex- cellent opportunity for the cultivation of a strong school sentiment in favor of the best things in school life and in the behavior of boys and girls. To what extent the play of children should be supervised or directed is still an open question. Under normal conditions, normal children need little, if any, supervision or direction in their play. Usually they know what games they want to play and how and when they want to play them. Unfortunately, however, there are some abnormal children who seem to be devoid of the play instinct and who need to be saved from them- selves by being taught how to play and how to enjoy the company of other children. Instead of being permitted to stay in the schoolroom buried in a book, or to stand around alone on the playground at recess, such children should be encouraged, even to the extent of kindly compulsion, to join in the games of the school. Children of this type furnish their teachers excellent opportunities for the exer- cise of the highest order of tact and of the most sympathetic patience. In these days of crowded districts in the cities and of sparsely settled districts in the country, abnormal condi- tions exist of an exactly opposite type but both of which are unfavorable to play. In the crowded districts of the cities lack of sufficient room in which to play creates a 1 86 SCHOOL SENTIMENT condition which demands relief and which is being rapidly remedied in all progressive cities whose citizens have an appreciation of the necessity of play in the physical, mental, and moral education of children. Ample playgrounds for all children' of the city are fully as important a part of the equipment of the school as the buildings in which the schools are held. In the sparsely settled districts of the country, the at- tendance at school is frequently so small that it is impossible to arouse any enthusiasm in the games which appeal with so much force to children when there are a sufficient number to play them. In such schools the difficulty is increased by the type of games now most popular with the public. It is rather difficult to organize a team for baseball, foot- ball, or basketball in a country school whose total enroll- ment ranges from six to ten, about equally divided between boys and girls. Even when the enrollment of a country school is normal and reaches twenty to thirty, it is not an easy task under present conditions and with the modern ideas of games, to organize the play of the children so as to make it appeal to all classes and all ages. In the play of the children as well as in their studies, the centralized school is proving its worth and necessity. Old-time school games. To schools of all kinds there would come real benefit, could there be a renewal of the playing of some of the old games in which few or many can take part. The present tendency of both the elemen- tary and high schools of village and town to ape the colleges and universities in athletics is harmful both to the spirit of real play and also to the morals of the boys and girls. The impossibility of the country schools' following the example SCHOOL SENTIMENT AND GOOD BEHAVIOR 187 of the village and town schools in their attempt to conduct their games after the fashion of the college and university, will account in no small measure for the lack of play of any kind in many district schools. No more difficult or impor- tant task confronts the teacher of any school, especially the small one-room district school, than to foster the play spirit of the pupils under his direction. The best work in the school- room is impossible without real, recreative, life-giving play outside of the schoolroom at the recess and the noon periods. While there may be an honest difference of opinion as to the advisability of supervising and directing the play of normal children under normal conditions, there can be no doubt as to the necessity of a sympathetic attitude of all teachers in relation to the games of the playground. There is something abnormally wrong with teachers who have no interest in the play of their pupils. All wide-awake teach- ers know that the playground offers an opportunity to study the characteristics of their pupils which the classroom can- not furnish. It is exceedingly unfortunate that there are still a few teachers who have not yet learned that the re- cess period is fully as important a factor in the education of children as the recitation hour. The sentiment of the school for good behavior is largely influenced by the stand- ards of conduct which prevail on the playground. All teachers who prize good behavior and who realize the tremendous influence of school sentiment in securing it, always show a sympathetic interest in the games played by their pupils. The teacher on the playground. Whether a teacher should join his pupils in playing games will depend in a large measure upon how well he can play them. Repeated 1 88 SCHOOL SENTIMENT failure by a teacher to bat a ball will often result in his losing the respect of pupils just as certainly as failure to make a point in a recitation. Success on the playground, on the other hand, often opens up an avenue of approach to the hearts of pupils, especially boys of a certain age, who can be won in no other way. Other things being equal, the athletic teacher has a decided advantage over the teacher who has never taken an active part in games or who has no personal interest in play. In a school located in a college town, a new principal took charge. At the first recess, he looked out of his office on a game of baseball played between the regular high school nine and a " scrub " team made up of the best re- maining players in the school. In addition to the oppor- tunity for play which the game furnished, there was a strong incentive to all to do their best because of the chance which such play offered to the high school team for the practice needed in their preparation for games with the college students and other high schools. With such an incentive to stimulate them, they played well. The pitcher of the regular team was an expert even at that time. Later on he pitched the team of the college from which he grad- uated to victory in many a hard fought battle. The new principal thoroughly enjoyed the game of ball but was not an expert in playing it. While he felt that he would like to join the boys in the game, he was fearful of the outcome should he try it. The second day the captain of the team, a thoroughly manly fellow who was a leader in all the work and life of the school, called at the office of the principal and courteously inquired of him whether he ever played ball. A hesitating " sometimes" was the reply, which SCHOOL SENTIMENT AND GOOD BEHAVIOR 189 was followed by a pressing invitation by the captain to join in their games, assuring the principal that all the boys wanted him to do so. To play or not to play was the dilemma which confronted the anxious principal. Whether 'twere better to decline the invitation with thanks, or simply to join the onlookers and " root " for the game, or to go to bat and, perchance, soon hear the unwelcome sentence, " three strikes and out," was not easy to decide. The decision was to join actively in the game, and trust to the fates, together with the best efforts of which he was capable, for a favorable outcome. Cer- tainly the fates must have sympathized with the new principal that day as he took his place at the plate and, with grim determination to do or to die, faced the pitcher. All the players were unusually alert and many a knowing and suggestive glance passed among them. The pitcher with due deliberation threw the ball. The principal struck at it and, mirabile dictu, hit it at precisely the right spot, in exactly the right way, knocked it outside of the school grounds, far out into an adjoining field, and made his first, last, and only home run. The remarks which were made as he ran the bases and the applause which greeted his arrival at the home base were of such a nature as to make him feel that the problem of the discipline of the school was already at least partially solved. No doubt that successful " hit " in the baseball game opened the way for successful teaching in the classroom and furnished an opportunity to get close enough to the boys to help in leading them to help the teachers in creating and main- taining a strong sentiment for good behavior both in and out of the schoolroom. IQO SCHOOL SENTIMENT Teachers who know that they cannot play or who feel that they cannot learn to play a game well enough to com- mand the respect of their pupils, will do well to decline to play at all. Inability to play, however, is no reason or excuse for a lack of interest in play or for a failure to show an appreciation of pupils who play well. Teachers who have no such interest or who have no inclination or desire to express such appreciation are sadly lacking in some of the essentials which always characterize leaders in influencing the sentiment of the school for good be- havior. The teacher's example. Just as in the development of a school sentiment in favor of promptness so in the culti- vation of a school sentiment in favor of good behavior, the personal example of the teacher is an exceedingly important factor. " As is the teacher so is the school," is literally true many times as shown in the conduct of pupils. While this fact brings to all conscientious teachers a keen sense of their responsibility, it also makes plain to them their unusual opportunity to influence the habits of conduct of their pupils to a greater extent than is exercised by any other agency, with the possible exception of some of the better class of homes. Any teacher who sneers at such responsibility or who makes light of such opportunity thereby shows that he has no real appreciation of the real work of a real teacher. In practically all schools, the conduct of teachers in the schoolroom must accord with the highest ideals of morality. All teachers who have conscience enough to feel their responsibility and heart enough to realize and to appreciate their opportunity in relation to the conduct of their pupils constantly strive SCHOOL SENTIMENT AND GOOD BEHAVIOR IQI to furnish a good example by earnestly endeavoring to live up to these same ideals outside of school. The manner of life of teachers outside of the classroom oftentimes has more influence upon the conduct of pupils than all that they say and do in the classroom. If the conduct of teachers outside of school corresponds with their precept and example in school in favor of the best things in life, then their influence is greatly strengthened. But should their conduct outside of school not measure up to the standards set in school, then their influence for good is entirely nullified. It is highly important, there- fore, that all teachers who are really desirous of creating and maintaining a strong school sentiment in favor of good behavior should fully appreciate the important part which their own behavior plays in realizing their desires. In all respects, teachers should strive to furnish an example worthy of imitation, which will be a safe guide to right conduct. This is true not only with special reference to morals but also in relation to matters of dress, cleanliness, neatness, and order, all of which are at least closely related to morals, and exercise a decided influence upon the con- duct and character of pupils. The order or disorder of a teacher's desk will determine in a large measure the order or disorder of the desks of the pupils and will have a de- cided influence upon the behavior of the school. Well- shined shoes worn by the teacher will have more to do in influencing the majority of children to clean their shoes before coming into the schoolhouse than daily lectures upon the subject, and will also affect their general behavior in no small degree. Some years ago a man of more than ordinary natural 1 92 SCHOOL SENTIMENT ability and of good education failed of reelection as superin- tendent of schools in the town which he had served for several years. To an outsider, the action of the school board in thus failing to reelect him seemed an inexcusable injustice. When asked for a reason for the action of the board, one of its members, a gentleman of excellent char- acter and high standing in the community, who had always been friendly to the superintendent, replied substantially as follows : " He always persisted in wearing a low-cut vest and a white necktie, but did not change his linen often enough to meet the demands of cleanliness. As a result he lost the respect of many pupils, parents, and teachers, and thereby lost his influence for good in the schools." While this example may illustrate an exceptional case, there can be no doubt that many similar instances, differing, if at all, only in degree, can be found. Teachers who are not cleanly, neat, and orderly do lose the respect of their pupils and thereby do lose their influence for good in the schools which they teach. XIV SCHOOL SENTIMENT AND DILIGENT EFFORT WITH a school sentiment which secures regular and prompt attendance and which insures good behavior of the pupils, a safe and secure founda- tion upon which to establish a successful school is assured. In the establishment of such a school there are certain factors of such primary importance as to warrant their careful consideration. One of these factors is a strong and abiding sentiment in favor of hard work as the only guarantee of success in securing anything worth securing, in education as well as in any other worthy cause. Hard work leads to success. In .considering the causes of retardation of pupils in the public schools, it is well to remember that, while some pupils fail to measure up to the standards of the school because of inability to do the pre- scribed work, perhaps a much larger number fail because they are unwilling to work. Some pupils are undoubtedly " born short " and are, therefore, deserving of all the special consideration which it is possible for the teachers of the public schools to give or for special schools to provide. Too much cannot be said in favor of doing all that sym- pathy, intelligently directed, can suggest or liberal appro- priations of money, wisely used, can furnish, for the better education and training of defective children. A much larger number of pupils, however, are either born lazy or have been so pampered by indulgent parents that they OUR PUB. S. 13 193 194 SCHOOL SENTIMENT have never learned that work on their own part is a neces- sity. Such pupils should be given to understand that they have no claims upon teachers for special consideration. The freaks or fancies of children regarding what they may want to do or not want to do, determined by whether they imagine the work easy or difficult, should never receive any serious consideration by either parents or teachers. Nor- mal children, who are properly trained at home and rightly taught in school, find just as real pleasure in the work which every worthy school demands and secures as in the play which every deserving school provides and encourages. While it is no doubt true that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, it is equally true that all play and no work invariably fails to make any child or adult either happy, contented, or successful. The perfect joy which results from real play and restful recreation is possible only to those who have experienced the genuine pleasure due to purposeful work, conscientiously performed. The child who has been so surfeited with play that he does not find any joy in it, who has done nothing so long that he is un- willing to do anything, who thinks that it is the chief busi- ness of the world to entertain or to amuse him, and who will not attempt to do anything unless first assured that the doing will cost no effort on his part, is an object of pity. Such a child presents a serious problem to his teachers. Unless his viewpoint of life can be changed and he can be made to realize the necessity of work in obtaining an edu- cation, he will remain uneducated, no difference how much money may be spent upon him by fond parents whose foolish indulgence has made it impossible for the best schools and teachers to be of any service to him. SCHOOL SENTIMENT AND DILIGENT EFFORT 195 A foolish and harmful idea. Unfortunately some teachers have become inoculated with the pedagogical heresy that children should never be conscious of effort in learning or doing anything. They have, therefore, at- tempted to turn the schoolroom into a play house and the entire teaching and learning process into a game of some kind. While it is undoubtedly true that the spirit of play, which is characterized by freedom and joy, should always dominate the work of the school, it is also true that children should learn early in their school experience that work is not play. In fact, unless children are misled by foolish teachers and parents, they soon understand the difference between play and work and fully realize that the two can- not be interchanged without loss to both. In a school which posed as the representative of the so- called new education, but which in reality misrepresented all true education, the primary arithmetic class was called. The teacher in charge was an exponent of the spontaneity craze which sometimes breaks out in the ranks of teachers. Her pupils ranging in age from seven to eight years showed by their actions that they had taken full advantage of the " new freedom " which had come to them. They both acted and reacted in a truly marvelous manner. Motion seemed to be the law of their being and the law was in constant action. When they came to the class all the gaits known to the race track were exhibited. Some ran, others paced, a few cantered, still others loped. No one walked in an orderly manner. Such a method of travel as orderly walking would have been an indication of conservatism which the teacher could not, under any circumstances, permit, since it would interfere with the 1 96 SCHOOL SENTIMENT free and full development of all the natural powers of the children. After the majority of the class had arrived some place near the vicinity where the recitation in arithmetic was to take place, one of the boys, an unusually active, flesh-and- blood specimen, was selected to act as a fairy and was given a wand a long stick, the use of which the disorder of the school might have warranted for another purpose with which to perform various acts of a more or less mi- raculous nature. The teacher then announced that the drama of arithmetic was about to be staged and that the first act would be of the blind variety. The fairy at once proceeded to pass the wand over the heads of his classmates with the purpose of closing their eyes to all their surround- ings. For some reason, perhaps because the presence of visitors was unfavorable to the perfect action of the wand, nearly all the children kept at least one eye partly open. Even with this partial blindness, the game of blind arith- metic proceeded. The teacher struck a call-bell three times, paused a moment, and then again struck the bell three times. After sufficient time had elapsed for a com- plete realization of the full effect of this wonderful per- formance upon the minds of the sightless children, the fairy in charge of the show led one of his blind classmates to the bell. This blind boy at once struck the bell six times with all his might and the immortal truth that three and three are six rang out upon the schoolroom air with such a volume of sound as to extinguish temporarily all other noises, and to announce to the entire school the culmination of the first act of the drama. In the intermission between acts, the teacher kindly SCHOOL SENTIMENT AND DILIGENT EFFORT 197 explained the " psychology " of the game by informing her visitors that it proved what was at that time generally ac- cepted as true by all leading psychologists, viz. that impres- sions could reach the brain by the auditory nerve alone. Following the brief intermission, the curtain arose on the second and final act of the drama. The fairy proceeded to restore sight to the blind by passing his wand over the heads of the class in a direction opposite to that in which it was passed when they were deprived of their sight. Pausing a moment so that their eyes might once more be- come accustomed to the light, the miracle-performing rod was again passed over their heads. In an instant their ears were stopped with their own fingers, their tongues were palsied by their own efforts, and they became deaf to all sound and incapable of speaking to any one. Not- withstanding strong circumstantial evidence tending to prove that neither perfect deafness nor entire speechlessness resulted from the efforts of the fairy, the game of deaf and dumb arithmetic proceeded. The teacher held up three pieces of crayon in her right hand and the same number in her left hand. The pupils with their recently restored vision gazed upon the scene for a short time. Then one of the deaf and dumb members of the class with great spontaneity of movement rushed to the crayon box, took out six pieces of crayon and holding them aloft again proved that three and three are six. The teacher again explained to her visitors the " psychology " of the game by calling attention to another theory which she informed them had also been generally accepted by all leading psychologists, viz. that impressions could reach the brain by the optic nerve alone. 1 98 SCHOOL SENTIMENT The pupils, having been restored again to their normal condition through the agency of the fairy's wand, rushed to their different seats, each in his own spontaneous man- ner, and each, no doubt, in his heart as completely dis- gusted with the entire silly performance as were the visitors, whose experience with children both in work and at play caused them to feel that such a farce as they had just wit- nessed was an insult to the intelligence of childhood and a worse than useless waste of valuable time. Normal children are never interested in easy tasks. They are not even entertained by attempts to deceive them into thinking that they can learn anything worth knowing incidentally or accidentally and entirely without effort on their own part. Their intuition teaches them that work is a necessity in doing anything really worth doing. Lessons of the playground. The real spirit of childhood is usually best shown on the playground. The games which appeal with most force and which bring the greatest joy to children are never easy ones. Watch the boys on the play- ground of a country school. The jumping " epoch " in the year's calendar of sports has arrived. Apparently without any hint or suggestion from any one, all the boys in the neighborhood have been suddenly seized with an insatiable desire to jump in any and every direction, up and down, in and out, backward and forward. Standing jumps, running jumps, high jumps, and hop-step-and- jumps are a few of the many varieties indulged in. On this particular day the high jump is the special order. The simplest and, for that reason, perhaps the best apparatus has been provided for use for this particular event. This SCHOOL SENTIMENT AND DILIGENT EFFORT 1 99 apparatus consists of two sharpened sticks with forks on them at different distances from their sharpened ends and a third stick to be used as a hurdle over which the young athletes are to jump. The sharpened sticks are pushed into the ground and in their lowest notches the third stick is laid. All the boys of all ages and sizes jump over it with little or no difficulty. No one cares to repeat the exercise for the simple reason given by one boy who im- patiently observes that anybody can jump that high. He enthusiastically asks that the hurdle be put up higher. His request is granted. Only a few of the older or the more athletic boys are able to perform the more difficult task. The others stand by and cheer their more successful playmates, and at the same time not only long for the day when they can perform the same feat, but with fixed de- termination resolve to hasten its arrival by constant prac- tice. The hurdle is then placed in the highest notches. Only one boy in the entire school is able to jump over it. This he proceeds to do with great joy to himself and to the intense delight of all the other boys who admire what he has done because it was hard to do. Play and work. In a well-taught school, not only do the freedom and joy which are characteristic of the spirit of play dominate the work of the pupils in the preparation and recital of their daily lessons, but there are also manifest the same determined earnestness to excel in the work of the school as is shown in the games of the playground, and the same willingness to win success by putting forth the neces- sary effort to insure it. Just as there are always a few pupils who, because of inability, indifference, or laziness, do not care to play well, if at all, so there is always a small 200 SCHOOL SENTIMENT minority in every school who, for similar reasons, cannot be aroused even by the best teachers, aided by the strongest school sentiment, to do much, if any, serious work. The great majority of pupils, however, when properly taught and wisely directed, do respond to the sentiment of a school which has high ideals of industry and which demands that all credits shall be honestly earned, all honors meritoriously won, and all worthy standing of pupils be maintained by their doing each day the best work of which they are capable. A successful school is always a hard-working school. To maintain such standards of work as will in- sure success in any school, a strong sentiment in favor of hard work is a fundamental necessity. In the cultivation of a school sentiment in favor of hard work, the personal example of the teacher plays as important a part as in the cultivation of a sentiment in favor of prompt- ness and good behavior. Devotion to study on the part of teachers is contagious and spreads rapidly through an entire school. The Oneida Institute. No one who has listened to the story of the early struggles of the teachers in Oneida In- stitute, located in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, so graphically told by its remarkable founder, James H. Burns, known as " Burns of the Mountains," can doubt the effec- tiveness of the instruction of teachers who, although de- ficient in academic training for their work, are on fire with a zeal to learn as well as to teach. When the young moun- taineers in the school casually learned from a college cata- logue, which in some way came to their notice, the require- ments for college entrance and then presented these requirements to their inadequately prepared teachers for SCHOOL SENTIMENT AND DILIGENT EFFORT 2OI consideration, consternation followed. To these teachers it seemed utterly impossible to teach the required subjects. It was in this crisis that the great leader, the head of the school, whose academic preparation consisted of ten months of schooling in one of the mountain schools and seven months in Denison University, Granville, Ohio, " called a ' faculty meeting/ " to quote his own humorous phrase, to determine what could be done for these young students who were burning with an intense desire to get an educa- tion. The different members of the " faculty " were asked whether they thought they could learn as rapidly as the students whom they had to teach. All agreed that they thought they could. The thought that they could soon grew into a determination that they would. Led by this determination, the devoted teachers of the school met each evening at six o'clock. From that hour until midnight, with an earnestness which could not acknowledge defeat, they prepared the lessons they were to teach to the boys and girls who were equally determined to learn. Of course, the formal demands of the colleges that students could not enter the freshman class unless they had been prepared by college trained teachers recognized no exceptions to the rule. All the students trained in Oneida Institute had to undergo a rigid examination when they presented themselves as prospective college students. At first they were examined in the common branches taught in the elementary grades. So surprisingly satisfactory were the results of this examination, that tests were applied to their knowledge of high school branches with the result that practically all of them were admitted to the freshman class. One of their number was given 202 SCHOOL SENTIMENT advanced standing in the sophomore class of a college in good and regular standing, a member of the examining committee humorously observing that had they kept on with the examination, he verily believed that some of the students would have graduated from college without entering it. The record made by these students while in college and their success since graduating from college prove beyond a doubt the efficiency of the training they received in the Oneida Institute at the hands of teachers whose lack of preparation was more than made up by a desperate determination to meet a need which could be met by no one else. The reference to the marked success achieved by Oneida Institute, which has no doubt been duplicated in a measure at least by other similar schools, is not made with the thought that such unusual success even suggests that teachers can usually hope to succeed to any great degree without thorough preparation for their work. The founder of this school and his assistants, who have accomplished so much with so little capital of preparatory training and equipment, deeply regret this lack of education and train- ing for their work. But their success under such unusual difficulties and in spite of such marked limitations does demonstrate the possibilities of work by determined teach- ers and the effect of such work on the pupils whom they teach. Could the same devotion to duty and the same determination to grow in knowledge as characterized the founder and teachers of this school of mountaineers in Eastern Kentucky take possession of all the teachers who have had the advantage of thorough preparation for their work, who could measure the effects upon the sentiment SCHOOL SENTIMENT AND DILIGENT EFFORT 203 of the schools taught by them as well as upon the individual pupils who attend the schools? It is safe to say that in many schools and colleges there would come to the pupils and students a new interest in education and an enlarged vision of life and its work. No excellence without labor. Work, both purposeful and persistent, is a fundamental necessity in winning either success or happiness. When the lamented Booker T. Washington was requested by the Sunday School Times in 1907 to name the things for which he was most thankful, the chief source of the gratitude of his heart was summed up as follows : "First for the opportunity to work. Work is the greatest blessing that a Good Providence has conferred upon the human race. Any one who has learned to love work for its own sake cannot fail to be supremely happy. The man who has something to do is to be envied. The man who has nothing to do is to be pi tied. " Fortunate indeed are the pupils who come under the influence of teachers whose example impresses the lesson of gratitude for an opportunity to work and inspires a love of work for its own sake. XV INFLUENCE OF MORAL SENTIMENT ANOTHER prime essential in a good school is a strong sentiment in favor of truthfulness and honesty in all the work of the school. So intimately related are truthfulness and honesty that they can be considered as really one element of character. Certainly one cannot exist without the other and no school can be a good school which does not daily emphasize the importance and necessity of both in the education of boys and girls. In all the work of the classroom, in all the games of the playground, and in all the relations of teachers with pupils and of pupils with each other, there should be a definite understanding that truthfulness and honesty must be the rule which admits of no exceptions. Trained in such an atmosphere and guided by such a sentiment boys and girls will grow up to love truth for truth's sake, and to hate deception in all forms because of its harmful effect upon life and character. Moral sentiment essential. That there is need of such training and guidance and that it is also difficult to give it, will be readily recognized by all who know conditions as they exist to-day. In too many instances, the critics of the character products of the public schools lose sight of the fact that the training in character which they so insistently demand of the schools is exceedingly difficult if not impossible of realization, because of the lack of 204 INFLUENCE OF MORAL SENTIMENT 205 support in too many homes and because of the presence of low standards of common truthfulness and honesty in relation to the affairs of everyday life. The father who is guilty of engaging in business trans- actions which are not strictly fair and honorable and who thus furnishes to his own son an example of dishonesty and deceit, adds greatly to the burden of the teacher, who is striving to create a school sentiment in favor of truthfulness and honesty. The mother who is such a slave to the con- ventional forms of society that she does not hesitate to practice deceit or to sacrifice permanent principles of right for temporary popularity, and who thus leads her daughter to conclude that genuine character is, after all, of little value, does her part to make a school sentiment in favor of truthfulness and honesty difficult of attainment. It is not always easy to teach the importance of truthfulness to a child whose parents do not hesitate to attempt to deceive the conductor of a passenger train as to the age of the child, to save a few cents in railroad fare. When parents teach and practice the theory that the end justifies the means, and that it is right and commendable to cheat a business corporation because its methods of dealing with the public are presumed to be dishonest or unfair, it should not be surprising if the school fails sometimes to turn out a thoroughly honest and reliable product. In too many instances much of the best effort of teachers must be directed to the elimination of false standards of truthfulness and honesty taught in the home and practiced in society. While the results produced by such effort are important, they are necessarily of a negative nature and, therefore, not easily measured or recorded. There is no 206 SCHOOL SENTIMENT possibility of knowing with any degree of accuracy how much of untruthfulness and dishonesty has been eliminated from the lives of adults by a training in truthfulness and honesty in the lives of school children, made possible and effective by a strong school sentiment in favor of these virtues. Could there be a fuller realization of what the public schools accomplish in a negative way in character training, there would be a higher appreciation of their work and far less criticism of what they fail to do. The distinction between right and wrong. Teachers who are successful in cultivating a strong school sentiment for truthfulness and honesty are always careful to dis- tinguish closely between innocent acts of mischief, in which all normal children love to have a part, and guilty deeds of meanness which are rare under normal conditions. The debates which are so often held in teachers' meetings, or conducted through the columns of educational journals on whether children should tell on one another or not, usually entirely ignore this important distinction. Wise teachers never inquire too closely into the origin of many school pranks which, in no great degree, if at all, involve any question of right or wrong conduct. Teachers who are always " holding court " and conducting investigations with the purpose of trying to ferret out all the mysteries in which children in common with adults like to enshroud their innocent fun, will have little time to do anything else. In many instances, the foolish determination of tactless teachers to find out all about all the details of everything which happens in the life of the school results in far more harm to the school than that produced by the alleged misdeeds of the pupils under investigation. INFLUENCE OF MORAL SENTIMENT 207 To demand that children shall go on the witness stand to testify against their classmates in matters of little mo- ment or consequence is to encourage tattling, which should always be discouraged and which should usually be con- demned. To encourage, or, under ordinary circumstances, even to permit such a practice in school is to train for gossip in later life. Even when the necessity arises of in- vestigating the acts of pupils, teachers should strive to avoid, in so far as possible, placing them in a dilemma where they must decide between telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth about something of really little vital importance morally, and thereby implicating their school- mates, or withholding the truth, or, perhaps, even telling a falsehood to shield those who have had a part in the matter under investigation. While false ideals of loyalty may at times exist in the minds of pupils, it must never be forgotten that the principle of loyalty to one's friends is fundamental in true character. To develop this principle of loyalty to friends, along with loyalty to truth in the practice of the principle, is often a difficult task which calls forth the best efforts of the most tactful teachers. If pupils are not asked to tell what they know about the origin of innocent acts of mischief, which in no way involve the good name of the school nor violate any moral principle, they can usually be relied upon to tell the truth in giving all the information they possess con- cerning any act of wrongdoing which is an injury to the school or which is harmful to any of its members. The tactless teacher. On the playground of a country school at the opening of the noon hour, an interesting as well as an interested group of boys gathered about the 208 SCHOOL SENTIMENT leader of the school. This leader was the oldest member of the group. He had won his way to leadership by the exercise of the same qualities of character as win success in any business, calling, or profession in life. He was bright-minded, true-hearted, loyal-souled, full of fun, and ready at any time to help his schoolmates. More than once he had helped to fight the battles of some of the smaller boys when they had been subjected to the impositions which are not uncommon in the lives of such boys. He could always be relied upon in the hour of need. He had never been known to forsake his friends. To be recognized by him as worthy of membership in his band was an honor coveted by all the smaller boys who were eager to endure almost any degree of punishment or pain which might be required in the entrance examination to the privilege of playing with the larger boys who had the confidence of the leader. To be invited by him to join his party on an ex- ploring expedition in the fields or on a march of conquest through the woods adjoining the school grounds brought a thrill of pride and joy to all who were fortunate enough to be so highly honored. On one of their marches, the boys had the good fortune to capture a small owl. Instantly there flashed upon the alert mind of the leader the possibilities of some innocent fun. Not being selfish, he was anxious to share his vision with the other boys. Calling them about him, he outlined his rapidly formed plan to hide the owl under his coat, to take it into the schoolroom, and at the " psychological moment," to turn it loose. Of course, this bit of proposed mischief, perfectly innocent and legitimate, forcefully appealed to the boys, all of whom cheerfully and willingly INFLUENCE OF MORAL SENTIMENT 2OQ took the pledge of secrecy and solemnly promised not to tell how the owl got into the schoolhouse, should the teacher be foolish enough to ask any questions. With joyful anticipation of what they all hoped the near future had in store for them, the boys hurriedly returned to the school grounds and anxiously awaited the call to books with an intense longing which was very unusual for them. When the call finally came, all who were in the secret entered the schoolhouse with such remarkable promptness and in such exceptional order as would have aroused the suspicions of a really tactful teacher and would have caused him to be on the alert for other signals of warning. One of these signals of warning was the undue haste with which all the boys, who knew the plan, began to study their lessons. Each one seemed suddenly to be possessed with such an insatiable desire to prepare his lessons as would admit of no delay and as demanded instant satisfaction. With eyes turned toward their books but with many expectant side glances about the room and with ears open to catch the slightest sound, the little band of heroic toilers studied on, each moment fondly hoping for developments full of intense interest to them. After a few minutes of " watchful waiting " their highest hopes were realized. The owl, freed from its temporary prison under the coat of the leader, who all the time seemed deeply absorbed in the study of his lesson, fluttered for a few minutes blindly about the room and then quietly settled on the casement of a window near the seat of one of the smaller boys only that and nothing more. And there would have been nothing more, had the teacher kept quiet. A perfectly harmless and an absolutely quiet OUR PUB. S. 14 210 SCHOOL SENTIMENT owl would have remained in perfect silence where it sat, and a group of fun-loving boys would have been completely subdued, had the teacher shown a modicum of the wisdom which owls are reputed to possess. But the teacher, determined to find out how the owl got into the school- room, at once started on an investigation which he vainly imagined would put him in possession of that really useless information. With a high degree of solemnity which might well characterize a judge presiding at a trial in which a human life is at stake, the teacher pointed out the grievous wrong which had been committed in disturbing the peace of the school by bringing an owl into the schoolroom. He stated his purpose to discover who had committed this great wrong. He then proceeded with the investigation by calling on one of the smallest boys in the guilty group to tell whether he knew how the owl got into the room. This boy was thereby at once placed in a most embarrassing position in which a serious dilemma confronted him. On the one hand he felt it his duty to remain loyal to the leader of the school, whom he loved, and to whom he had given his solemn promise not to divulge the name of the per- petrator of the innocent mischief ; on the other hand was the demand of the teacher that he break his promise to his schoolmate and thus prove disloyal, as it seemed to him, to his best friend. In the struggle which came to him in making the decision as to what response he should give to the teacher's demand, the boy was influenced by an innate sense of the unfairness of the teacher who had placed him in such a trying position. He replied that he did not know. The teacher then turned to another boy and asked him the same question. It will be evident to INFLUENCE OF MORAL SENTIMENT 211 every one that this second boy had an additional reason for not telling the teacher what he had been asked to tell. Not only was he influenced by his idea of loyalty to his leader and by the remembrance of his promise not to tell, but also by the feeling that to expose the first boy, who had already said he did not know, would be an act of un- pardonable meanness on his part. The second boy also replied that he did not know. On through the ranks the teacher's question passed, each boy being asked to tell and each boy replying that he did not know. Finally the teacher reached the leader and called upon him to testify. But his mind was so deeply centered .upon the study of his lesson and his attention so absorbed in this deep study that he did not hear the call. The teacher again called him by name and received in reply a surprised " What sir ! " The teacher then repeated the question " Do you know how that owl got into the schoolroom? " Imagine, if possible, the consternation of that group of boys who, with some slight pangs of conscience, had remained true to the promise made to their leader not to tell, when they heard him reply to the question which they had declined to answer, in a clear and emphatic " Yes sir." It seemed to them that all was lost. Visions of the infliction of punishment to which teachers of the type of the one who was in charge of this school so often resort, came rapidly to their minds. Relief soon followed and in a manner fully as unexpected as the shock of the surprise due to the answer of their leader that he knew how the owl got into the room. With a high degree of evident satisfaction that he had at last found the boy who would tell him all about the mystery of the owl's presence, the teacher 212 SCHOOL SENTIMENT requested the leader to explain that mystery. The reply was prompt and definite and most satisfactory to the boys. It was simply this "I am not sure but I think it came down the flue." It is possible that the boys may have done wrong in refusing to answer truthfully the question of the teacher. But there can be no doubt that the chief sinner was the teacher, himself. If the recording angel on that day entered anything upon his books against any one, it is safe to presume that the charge of wrongdoing was not against the boys who, at least, had what seemed to them a justi- fiable reason for their action, but against the tactless teacher who had not the slightest excuse for asking the foolish question which was the cause of all the trouble. Another and better way. In contrast with the policy of this tactless teacher, who was at least indirectly respon- sible for any deception practiced by his pupils, attention is called to another experience of a principal of schools in dealing with another group of fun-loving boys. This principal always spent the play period out among the chil- dren on the playground. He was there not as a policeman in search of some offender whom he could prosecute and punish, but as a friend who loved the children and heartily sympathized with them in all their games and in their fun. On one occasion his attention was called to a group of boys who had retired to a little ravine in a distant corner of the schoolground and who, with heads close together, were deeply intent upon some scheme which demanded and received their undivided attention. As the principal came near the group, he could not help hearing an earnest con- INFLUENCE OF MORAL SENTIMENT 213 versation which revealed not only the source of their interest but also their future plans. One of the boys was the happy owner of the works of an old clock minus the spring which controlled its movements. When the clock was wound up, the energy which, when under control, was slowly used through a period of several hours, in the absence of the controlling spring, was exhausted in a few seconds. The resulting noise was such as to bring joy to the hearts of any mischief-making and fun-loving group of boys. One of the boys who was enjoying the thrill of this novel experience soon realized the possibilities for fun which the apparatus contained and proposed to another boy, " Jim " by name, who sat in a part of the schoolroom distant from the teacher's desk and, therefore, well located for action, that he take the old clock with him into the schoolroom and when the teacher's back was turned to the school, wind it up, put it in his desk, and " let 'er go." This valuable suggestion met with the instant and hearty approval of all the boys, who also united in a promise not to tell should any inquiries follow. A tactless principal would have felt it necessary to break up such a band of conspirators at once by sending them all into the schoolroom and depriving them of their play until such time as they might come into a full realization of the enormity of the crime of planning mischief and standing together in maintaining secrecy regarding the execution of their plans. The boys would have been impressively informed that they could never hope to make such plans without being discovered. Fortunately for the boys and also their principal he was not tactless. He had not for- gotten how thoroughly he enjoyed fun when he was their 214 SCHOOL SENTIMENT age. Because he still remembered his own boyhood days, he was able to appreciate the motives which inspired the plan to have some fun. He quietly turned away from the scene with joy in his heart that he had boys in school whose brains were active enough to think of something original and with delightful anticipations in his soul of the pleasure which would be his in the near future. When the school bell rang, all the children from all parts of the large playground instantly responded to its call. They formed in straight and quiet ranks at their proper places, marched to their schoolrooms and seats in an orderly manner, and entered at once upon the preparation of their lessons. A good judge of boy nature, even without any knowledge of their plans, would have readily noted in the pious looks and faultless behavior of the youthful conspirators, as they entered the building and took their seats, a suggestion to keep an eye out in their quarter. To the principal who knew the plans and what was certain to occur at the earliest opportunity, the whole situation was intensely amusing. He was fully as anxious to play his part as the boys were to play theirs. He purposely turned his back to the school and commenced to write a number of arithmetical problems on the blackboard. At once the boys who were in the secret signaled to " Jim " that the time had come " to let 'er go." The old clock was wound up, and carefully placed in his desk which made an excel- lent sounding board. When it " went off/' all the pupils in the room except the " conspirators " manifested their intense surprise. Had the principal been ignorant of the source of the noise, a hasty glance over the schoolroom would have revealed the location of the disturbance and INFLUENCE OF MORAL SENTIMENT 215 the boys who were responsible for it. The only un- disturbed boys in the room were, of course, those who knew all about the scheme. They did not even glance up from their books. Intense interest in their lessons riveted their attention to their studies. The principal, however, did not need to turn his face to the school. He simply wrote right on and in the most pleasant tone of voice, said : " Jim, please bring the old clock in your desk and place it on my desk." Slowly, " Jim " responded to the call to come to the front. As he reached the principal's desk with his rare treasure from which so much had been expected, he was met by the principal with a cordial smile and a hearty " thank you." Not a word was said to the boys to throw any light upon the great mystery of how the principal knew where the clock was located; no criticism of any kind came from him. He apparently dismissed the whole matter from his mind. Had he been the tactless, talking, investigating type, he would have called the attention of the entire school to what he had discovered at the play period and would have endeavored to impress upon all the pupils how impossible it was for them to hope to escape detection, should they attempt to play any pranks of any kind. Such an explanation would have been most pleasing to " Jim " and his associates, who left the schoolroom that day sadder but not wiser. In their confidential con- ference which soon followed, they agreed that it was not worth while to attempt to plan mischief in that school. In their ranks, " remember the .old clock " became a slogan, the mere mention of which was sufficient to control, in a large measure, their actions when mischief came up for 2l6 SCHOOL SENTIMENT consideration. The tactful principal had won an important victory by keeping his eyes open and his mouth closed. A difficult problem. To create and to maintain in the school such a sentiment for truthfulness and honesty as will lead boys and girls, in practicing these virtues, to live up to higher ideals than are found in many homes, is indeed a difficult problem. To solve such a problem successfully means incalculable benefits in character growth to boys and girls. It demands the highest type of truthfulness and honesty coupled with the most consummate tact and skill on the part of teachers. COOPERATION XVI TEACHERS AND PUPILS AT a recent meeting of the representatives of the big business interests of the United States, one of the leading captains of industry is reported to have said that the badge of sanity in the business world of to-day is ability to cooperate. On a sign hanging in front of a small restaurant, located near the passenger station of a western city, is the following striking announcement : " Try our 25-cent meals. If you don't we'll both starve." Both the statement credited to the big business man and the advertisement of the small restaurant-keeper recognize the importance and necessity of cooperation in the success- ful management of business affairs. Mutual helpfulness. Even in the material and in the economic world, the lesson that no man liveth unto himself is being slowly but surely learned. Selfishness never pays, while the spirit of helpfulness to others, which is the essence of true cooperation, always brings in large returns on the investment made. In no department of the world's work is there greater need of cooperation than in the department of public education. Here the child, the parent, the teacher, the home, the community, the school board, and all the other representative interests and agencies of the state are 219 220 COOPERATION involved. If the work of the public school be performed in a spirit of true cooperation, the results must be beneficial to all. If this spirit of cooperation is lacking, the school, the home, and the state all suffer as a result. To some teachers the thought of cooperation suggests little more than the importance of a readiness and willing- ness on the part of parents to help them in their work in the daily tasks of the schoolroom. While such help is both desirable and necessary, it cannot be secured simply for the asking. It results only from superior work done by the teacher with the children in the schoolroom. The one sure way to secure cooperation from the forces outside of the school is to give such service in the school as will enlist the attention, interest, and commendation of fathers and mothers in the home, and of citizens in the community. A well-taught school always finds a good advertising medium in its pupils. A young teacher was worrying over some of the diffi- culties, partly real and partly imaginary, which confronted him in his work in a country school. At the close of the week he walked several miles to his home to consult his former teacher, to whom he was indebted for all that he possessed of education and training as well as for the inspiration which had led him to attempt to teach. To this sympathetic friend he poured out his heart in the relation of his troubles and then asked him for advice as to what to do under the circumstances which seemed so dis- couraging. The advice which was given has been a source of real help and encouragement in all the years which have followed. It is recorded here in the hope that it may help others : TEACHERS AND PUPILS 221 "My boy, go back to your school determined to give to the children who attend it all of the best that you have. Hold back nothing in your power to give, and always remember this : if you will take care of your school, your school will take care of you." That schools do take care of teachers who take care of their schools has found verification in the experience of thousands of teachers who have been successful in spite of difficulties which have seemed insurmountable. By giving to the children all of the best that they had, the opposition of outside faultfinders has been overcome, in- difference has been turned into active interest in the welfare of the schools, and success has been won where defeat appeared certain. What is meant by cooperation. Since cooperation with the pupils is not only essential to the success of the school but is also the only means of enlisting the cooperation of forces outside of the school, it is very important to deter- mine as fully as possible what is meant by such cooperation and by what means it is most readily secured and main- tained. It will be evident to all who have given this important question any thoughtful consideration that it is impossible to cooperate with anyone in anything without an abiding interest in the welfare and work of the one with whom the cooperation is desired. No spasmodic or passing interest will answer. Just as the business man soon learns that success necessitates the dedication of his life to the trans- action of the business in which he is engaged and that nothing must be permitted to interfere with constant devotion to the work which confronts him, so the teacher who secures the cooperation of the pupils and thereby 222 COOPERATION insures the success of the school must never allow his interest in the welfare of the children to lag nor his devotion to the school to decrease. On a hot August day, a member of a township board of education met one of the teachers of the township high school, walking quite a distance from the interurban car line which had brought her from her home in the adjoining city. In answer to the suggestion that it must be an un- usually urgent errand which brought her to the country on such a day, the surprising reply was made that she was making her annual trip over the township to call at the homes where children who had passed the county examina- tion then required for entrance to the high school lived. When it was found that it had been decided in the homes to send the children to the high school, she expressed her keen appreciation of the opportunity which would soon be hers of knowing and teaching them. If parents were undecided about sending the children to the high school, an effort was then made to show them the value of a high school education and to persuade them to give their children an opportunity to take advantage of it. When the boys and girls from these homes entered the high school, they knew that in this teacher they had a friend. Many of them would never have gone to high school at all, had it not been for her unselfish service in visiting their homes. All of them were eager to cooperate with the teacher whose interest in their welfare made them anxious to help in every possible way to make the school a success. Instances of cooperation secured by teachers in all grades and in all types of schools, as the result of their TEACHERS AND PUPILS 223 abiding interest in the welfare and work of their pupils, might be multiplied indefinitely. On the other hand, it is unfortunately true that many instances might also be recorded of failure to attend school at all, or to remain in school after starting, or to do successful work while in school, in the grades, or in high school, or in college, because of a lack of such abiding interest on the part of teachers. Sympathy. It is also impossible to cooperate with any one in anything without a genuine sympathy for him in the experiences through which he may be passing and with him in the work which he is attempting to do. Such sympathy is more than pity, commiseration, or con- dolence. It is a " feeling corresponding to that which another feels." It means that attitude of mind and heart which enables teachers to enter intelligently into the life of pupils, to understand how matters look to them, and to comprehend the motives which lead them to act or to fail to act. Genuinely sympathetic teachers know what it means to rejoice with them that do rejoice and to weep with them that weep. Whether they teach little children in the elementary school, larger boys and girls in the high school, or more mature students in the college or university, they keep constantly in mind the experiences of their own childhood and youth. And, as a result, they never lose the feeling corresponding to that which their pupils or students feel. There is nothing sentimental about genuine sympathy. It is never foolishly indulgent. It does not pretend to rejoice when there is no occasion for ecstasy. It does not weep when there is no cause for tears. It never leads teachers to do for pupils or students what they should do 224 COOPERATION and must do for themselves in order to maintain their own self-respect and to develop their own powers. Genuine sympathy always includes a proper proportion of sense. It is justice tempered with mercy in the proper amount and applied in the proper quantity at the proper time. With such sympathy, teachers can readily find their way to the minds and hearts of those whom they teach, and thus secure that cooperation which is so essential to success. Without such sympathy, the relation of teachers and taught must always be lacking in that frankness and cordiality upon which the happiness and success of the school so largely depend. The mutual understanding of teachers and pupils, the ready obedience of pupils to the requests of teachers, and the attention, interest, and indus- try of pupils in all their work, found in well-taught schools, are all characteristic of the spirit of cooperation resulting from the leadership and direction of teachers of genuine sympathy. On the other hand much of the misunder- standing, disobedience, indifference, inattention, and idle- ness, found in poorly taught schools, can be traced to a lack of cooperation resulting from a lack of leadership and direction due to a lack of genuine sympathy on the part of the teachers in charge of such schools. Appreciation. A third essential factor in cooperation, which is the natural outgrowth of the two already dis- cussed, is sincere appreciation. Normal individuals of all ages and conditions love to have their successes and their efforts to succeed recognized and appreciated. Children in the elementary schools and young people in high schools and colleges deserve, need, and should have the sincere appreciation of their teachers in all that they succeed in TEACHERS AND PUPILS 22$ doing well and in all that they earnestly strive to do well. It is well for teachers to keep constantly in mind what they owe to their pupils, without whose willingness and readiness to cooperate, it would be impossible for them either to discipline or to teach their schools. To realize the large part which the pupils of the school have in its discipline it is only necessary to observe what takes place on the playground of any school any day of the school year. An illustration of the true spirit of cooperation. The recess period has come and hundreds of boys and girls go out on the playground to engage in games of different kinds. Everywhere there is seen intense activity mingled with keen interest and real joy. Over in one corner of the large play- ground the older boys are playing a game of baseball with the intense enthusiasm so characteristic of their age. Just as the playtime draws to a close, on all hands there are indications of unusual interest. The fielders go farther out in the field; the basemen become more alert; the shortstop gets ready to spring instantly in any and every direction. A glance at the home-plate reveals the cause of all the commotion. The champion batter is at the bat. The manner in which he stands and sways his bat tells plainly that he is determined to hit the ball, perhaps for a home-run, and to help to win a victory for his side. In the pitcher's box is another boy, whose actions clearly prove that he is determined, if possible, to throw a ball which not even the champion batter can hit. For some time he goes through all the contortions incident to winding himself up. Just as he is about to throw the ball, which he hopes will help to win victory for his side, the school bell taps. OUR PUB. S. 15 226 COOPERATION The ball which he has been so long getting ready to throw, quietly drops into his pocket. At the call of the bell, which represents the authority of the school, he and the other hundreds of boys and girls on the playground instantly leave the games which they love. Within two minutes they have quietly marched to their different rooms, are seated at their desks, and are busy with the preparation of their lessons. No finer manifestation of the true spirit of cooperation can be found anywhere than in such a scene. Uninterested, unsympathetic, and unappreciative, indeed, must be any teacher who can witness such a prompt response to the call of the school without renewed interest in the welfare of his pupils, without genuine sympathy for them in all that they do, or without sincere appreciation of all their efforts to make possible the discipline of the school. The teacher's dependence upon his pupils. Such a manifestation of the spirit of cooperation on the part of pupils will naturally lead any considerate teacher to a full realization at all times of what he owes to his pupils, and to wonder many times what would happen if, at any time, for any reason, they should decline to leave their games and return to their studies, when the call comes. How helpless the teacher would be in such an emergency ! There are not enough policemen in any district to drive the children from the playground into the schoolroom, if they should conclude " to cooperate " in defying the authority of the school. Could some of the narrow- visioned faultfinders of the work of the public schools realize, even to a small degree, what this spirit of cooperation, which exists in all good schools and which is encouraged by all good teachers, TEACHERS AND PUPILS 227 means in the life and in the training for citizenship of the boys and girls, their captious criticism of comparatively insignificant details would be turned into generous com- mendation of the results of large significance secured by the schools. In the preparation of their daily lessons, as well as in their willingness to respond to the discipline of the school, pupils make possible successful work in the classroom. Sometimes teachers fail to recognize this fact. Some teachers spend so much time in scolding the occasional pupil who has a poorly prepared lesson, or in complaining about an occasional recitation which has not measured up to the ideal standard set for it, that no time is left to indicate in any manner the genuine appreciation which ought to be felt and expressed for lessons well prepared and recitations well made. Teachers who find that they are constantly irritated by what a small minority in their classes fail to do in the preparation or recitation of their lessons, and who are never pleased with what the large majority succeed in doing day by day in both their preparation and recitation, should either resign or reform. The chief element in the reform essential to the success of such teachers is the cultivation of the ability both to see what is worthy of sincere appreciation in the work of their pupils and to express this appreciation in such a manner as to call forth the best efforts of those whom they teach. All teachers of experience can no doubt recall instances of good results of appreciation shown by them for the efforts of their pupils. They know something of the joy which accompanies the expression of such appreciation and of the pleasant recollections of it which permanently remain. 228 COOPERATION Fortunate, indeed, are teachers who have no occasion to recall experiences of an opposite nature, which have resulted in the discouragement and, perhaps, the permanent failure of their pupils. That teachers should unhesitatingly per- form the unpleasant duty of chiding pupils for a failure to do their work well and then neglect an opportunity of expressing their approbation of a decided improvement in their work, seems so strange and so unreasonable as to be unbelievable. Yet, that such actions are not uncommon will find verification in the experience of most teachers. Approbation better than faultfinding. In a high school, several years ago, was a boy who possessed the not un- usual combination of rare ability to learn together with a large amount of the inertia of rest. Because of his un- questioned ability to do his work exceptionally well and his apparent lack of any desire or ambition to do it at all, this boy was naturally the subject of much discussion by the teachers and principal of the high school. Failing in their efforts to make any impression upon him, the teachers referred the boy to the superintendent of the schools, who was thoroughly informed regarding his lack of application and who was exceedingly anxious to help the teachers in their attempt to arouse him to a realization of his opportunities and to a determination to go to work to improve them. An appeal was made to the boy to go to work, to improve his time and his opportunities and, as a result, to become the leader of his class, which' he could easily do by proper application and study. Coupled with this appeal to his self-respect was the suggestion that if he did not, of his own accord, reform his habits of idleness and show decided TEACHERS AND PUPILS 22Q improvement in his work, the assistance of his uncle and guardian, in whose home he had lived since the death of his father, would be sought. Neither the appeal nor the suggestion seemed to have any effect, and in due time the superintendent kept his promise by performing the un- pleasant duty of calling upon the uncle, one of the leading professional men of the community, and informing him of the failure of his nephew to do his school work in a satis- factory manner. With characteristic promptness and determination, the uncle replied that he would attend to the matter immediately and would see to it that his nephew did his work as it should be done. Good results soon followed. The boy applied himself to his studies and soon became as conspicuous for good recitations as he had previously been for poor ones. Teachers, principal, and superintendent were all much pleased with the change in the boy's attitude toward his work, and were encouraged to know that the visit to the home had brought such desir- able results. The astonishing fact connected with this incident is not that the boy improved in his work but that it never occurred to the superintendent that an excellent opportunity to perform a most pleasant duty awaited him. In the course of a few months, however, the existence of such an oppor- tunity was called to his attention in a manner never to be forgotten. On a Saturday afternoon, as the superintendent was walking up the street, the boy in question, who had been doing such satisfactory work for several months, met him and asked for a conference which was most cheerfully granted. The conference opened with a statement from 230 COOPERATION the boy to the effect that the superintendent probably remembered that several months before in his office he had had a meeting with him at which the boy's poor stand- ing in school had been discussed, and that he had been told that unless there was an immediate improvement in his work, the assistance of his uncle would be sought. The superintendent was pleased that the boy remembered the incident and, with no little satisfaction, replied that he, too, distinctly recalled the conversation and that he had visited the uncle and had performed the unpleasant duty, as he had promised. The boy then asked the superin- tendent whether he knew anything about the character of his work since and, if so, whether any improvement had been made or not. To this question the superintendent was glad to be able to reply that he was fully informed about the boy's work and that all his teachers had reported a decided improvement in all his studies. At this point, the boy showed marked signs of deep feeling and with his voice trembling with emotion said : " If you are sure that I am doing better work, would you mind going and telling my uncle? " As the superintendent hurried away from that conference to call again on the uncle to perform the pleasant duty of telling him that his nephew, concerning whom such serious complaint had been made a few months before, because of his failure to do his school work in a satisfactory manner, was now meeting the highest expectations of his teachers by doing his work well, he sorrowfully wondered why he had to be reminded by the boy of the fine opportunity which had come to him to perform a pleasant duty by doing a gracious act. And he firmly determined that in the future TEACHERS AND PUPILS 231 he would constantly try to be on the alert to recognize and improve all such opportunities. When looking for such opportunities, it is astonishing how many of them can be found, how greatly burdens are lightened, and how much more efficient life becomes by an expression of sincere appreciation of the earnest efforts and honest work of others. Lack of feeling prevents appreciation. The failure of so many people, including too many teachers, to express appreciation of earnest effort and honest work is due to different causes. With some, no appreciation is ever expressed because none is ever felt. And none is ever felt because of a lack of any capacity to feel. Such people pride themselves in never being moved to feel deeply about anything or for any one. They pretend to believe that all feeling, especially the expression of it, is a sure sign of in- tellectual weakness, and that the absence of all expression of appreciation marks them as superior individuals. The presence of such people anywhere is a menace to the happi- ness and welfare of humanity. To permit them to teach in either elementary schools, high schools, or colleges is a crime against childhood and youth. A much larger class of persons, including not a few teachers, seldom, if ever, indulge in expressions of appre- ciation of any one or for anything, largely because of in- difference or thoughtlessness, both of which are closely related to selfishness. They have, or at one time did have both the capacity to feel appreciation and the desire to express it. But because of a failure to cultivate the capacity, they have become indifferent to the encourage- ment which they can give to others and to the happiness which will come to themselves by letting their apprecia- 232 COOPERATION tion be known. There is no more certain way to dwarf the soul and to destroy all that is best in life than to with- hold the expressions of sincere appreciation which the heart feels and is prompted to give. On the other hand to cultivate the habit of giving praise to whom it is due, when it is due, is to cause the soul to grow and the life to expand in power to bless both those who receive and those who give. One secret of success. Teachers of real power are never indifferent to their opportunities to speak the word of appreciation and encouragement, which means so much to the young lives under their direction. They are never thoughtless in taking advantage of such opportunities. They keep selfishness out of their own hearts and lives and win success for themselves and the schools which they teach by acting upon the advice given to the young teacher as recorded in the opening pages of this chapter, and by unselfishly giving to the children all of the best that they have in an abiding interest in their welfare and work, in a genuine sympathy for them in all that they do, and in a sincere appreciation of all their efforts to follow the leader- ship of their teachers and to meet the requirements of the school. XVII MUTUAL AID AND COMMON AIMS WHILE cooperation should begin with the children in the school, it should not end there. In all their relations with one another, teachers should at all times be actuated by a desire to be mutually helpful. They should never permit themselves to become envious of the success of others nor to be influenced by the petty jealousies, which too often manifest themselves in their ranks, and which result in so much injury both to themselves and to the schools which they teach. Their relations should be characterized by such a spirit of co- operation as will encourage frankness of speech to each other in the discussion of the work in which they are engaged and discourage all captious criticism of what is being done. Teachers should not criticize each other. The absence of this spirit of cooperation sometimes leads teachers to talk about one another in an unfriendly, unprofessional manner rather than to each other, with a desire to be mutually helpful. It is not uncommon to hear college professors criticize, in a most caustic manner, the work of high school teachers, and teachers in the high school complain about the poorly prepared pupils promoted from the grammar school, and so on down the line. In the majority of instances such criticisms and complaints are unjust and, if persisted in, are usually a certain indication of the inferior teaching ability of those who indulge in them, and who 233 234 COOPERATION hope, thereby, to cover up their own deficiencies and short- comings. Even where there is any justification for such criticisms and complaints, it usually does no good to make them. With teachers who know how to instruct and who are characterized by the true spirit of cooperation, poorly prepared pupils can be helped to overcome their deficiencies in much less time and with much less effort than are often worse than wasted in finding fault with the work of their previous teachers. Usually teachers who have the right attitude toward their work, who are actuated by the spirit of cooperation, and who do not, therefore, try to excuse their own defi- ciencies and failures by laying the blame on others, are never inclined to complain about the work of teachers from whose schools their pupils have been promoted. If, how- ever, the tendency to indulge in such complaints should manifest itself, all that is ordinarily needed to correct it is to call their attention to the readiness with which they assented, at the close of the preceding term or year, to the promotion of some of their own pupils, who were not any better prepared to do the work of the next grade or class than the inadequately prepared pupils who have been promoted to their grade or class, and of whom they have shown a tendency to complain. Cooperation and promotions. It is in the promotion of pupils, as well as in their treatment after they have been promoted, that the presence of the spirit of cooperation brings such beneficial results, and its absence works such serious harm to both pupils and teachers. In order that justice be done to children who are classified as dull or slow, it is exceedingly important that all the teachers who come MUTUAL AID AND COMMON AIMS 235 in contact with them shall be united in a common bond of interest in them and sympathy for them. A case in point. Near the close of the school year, a superintendent of schools visited the different buildings to confer with the principals and teachers regarding the promotion of pupils. There was no doubt as to what should be done with the majority of them, since their work had been reasonably well done and they were, there- fore, reasonably well prepared to be promoted to the next grade. A few pupils, however, presented a problem for serious consideration. Their work had not measured up to the reasonable standard set for promotion and there was serious doubt as to whether they should be promoted or not. In a seventh grade two pupils of this type were the subject of discussion. They were older than the other children in their class. While they had tried hard to keep up with the work of the class, they had, in a measure at least, failed to do so. What should be done with them? To mere theorists in education, who know nothing of the responsibility which accompanies the carrying out of theories, such a question seems easy to answer. But hundreds of capable and conscientious teachers can testify to the perplexity which has come to them when they have tried to decide what should be done under such conditions. After a full discussion of the different phases of the question, the superintendent asked the teacher of the two pupils under consideration what she thought should be done with them. She had had them under her direction for a year. She knew not only the character of their work, but what was of far greater importance in making a decision, she also knew the character of their effort to do the work. Being 236 COOPERATION an intelligent teacher she was also well informed as to the requirements of the eighth grade, which the pupils would be expected to meet should they be promoted. With all this information to guide her in coming to a conclusion, she unhesitatingly replied that, considering the age of the pupils and the other factors entering into the problem, she was certain that they would derive more benefit from going on to the eighth grade than from being kept back in the seventh grade for another year, and for this reason alone, they should be promoted. The superintendent imme- diately directed that the pupils should be promoted as the teacher had recommended, and was greatly surprised to have her state that she could not consent to it. On being asked why she could not consent to carrying out her own recommendation, the teacher reluctantly replied that she could not endure the caustic criticism of the eighth-grade teacher to whom the pupils would go, if they were pro- moted, and who would constantly complain, both in school and out, of their lack of preparation and of the inferior work of the teacher who had consented to their promotion. While it may be possible that the preceding incident illustrates in an extreme manner the harmful results of the lack of the spirit of cooperation of one teacher, it is feared that many similar incidents, differing only in degree, can be found in the record of the experience of school administration. As long as the slightest trace of such a spirit as was manifested by this eighth-grade teacher remains with any teacher in any grade, the complete cooperation which is essential to the success of a system of schools is impossible. While teachers should never be excused for poor work due to a lack of effort on their MUTUAL AID AND COMMON AIMS 237 part, and should be held to strict accountability for the reasonable preparation of their pupils for the work of the next grade or class, when reasonable requirements have been met and promotions have been made in the belief that the best interests of the pupils promoted have been conserved, then the true spirit of cooperation demands that all carping criticism shall cease. Undesirable if not worthless. All teachers, in either elementary schools or high schools, who are not willing to be controlled by such a spirit of cooperation and who thereby prove that they are incompetent to work in har- mony with other teachers, should be eliminated as dis- turbing factors in the administration of the schools with which they are connected. Waste of time and energy. In recent years much has been said on the subject of waste in education. Attention has been repeatedly called to the large amount of material found in some of the textbooks, especially in arithmetic and geography, which has little if any value of any kind for anyone. In many instances eliminations have been made with benefit to pupils, who are thereby given more time to master the essentials of the studies pursued, and also to teachers, who are thereby relieved from giving attention to a mass of unimportant details, and are enabled to concentrate their attention upon the presentation of the things of fundamental importance. Attention has re- peatedly been called to the great importance of lesson plans carefully prepared by teachers for use in the classroom, with the definite purpose of utilizing all the time of each recitation in the most profitable manner. While such methods of eliminating waste and economizing time are to 238 COOPERATION be commended, it is possible that teachers may become so engrossed in formulating plans to carry these methods into execution, in their own grades or classes, as to lose sight of the larger waste which so often results from a lack of cooperation with the other teachers with whom they are associated. In some of the large universities, with their numerous colleges and over-organized departments, and with the teaching of the different professors, assistant professors, instructors, fellows, and student helpers so minutely specialized that the same things are not infrequently pre- sented under different names, there often exists a large and inexcusable waste of energy, time, and money due to a duplication of work. In the elementary schools, however, the opposite condition prevails. In these schools the teachers are not specialists. Their work is to present the elements of knowledge to beginners, and, by means of line upon line and precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, to teach the fundamentals upon which all future education must depend. In the elementary schools, therefore, the waste is not, as a rule, due to the duplication of work found in the universities, but to a lack of coopera- tion of the teachers in the different grades or classes in emphasizing and re-emphasizing with sufficient drills and re-drills the fundamental things which can be learned by the vast majority of children in no other way. It is the business of second-grade teachers, not only to advance the children a little farther in their education, but also to see to it that the tools of learning placed in their hands by the first-grade teachers are so intelligently and persistently used as to insure skill in their use. Third- MUTUAL AID AND COMMON AIMS 239 grade teachers must never conclude that, when the little section of the course of study specially assigned to them has been taught, their whole duty has been performed. The work of previous teachers must be carefully reviewed in order that the pupils may be given, by means of daily practice, still greater accuracy in their knowledge of essen- tials and still greater proficiency in the use of such knowl- edge. Teachers of all grades or classes should recognize not only the importance of teaching well the new subject matter outlined for their pupils, but also the necessity of perfecting in so far as possible the knowledge and under- standing of the subjects previously studied by their pupils. In some schools the results of the failure of teachers to cooperate in this manner are apparent in the pupils' lack of thoroughness and accuracy in the subjects studied. It is not uncommon to find that the knowledge of phonetics, a most important and usually a well-taught subject in the primary grades, is permitted to lapse, because of a failure to make any practical use of it, with the result that all that has been once learned is practically entirely forgotten and later on has to be taught all over again. Thoroughness in arithmetic. The inaccuracies in arithmetic, which are too common and too numerous, and which result in a large waste of time, are in many instances the direct result of a lack of persistent practice in the use of the four fundamental operations, due to a false pre- sumption of teachers that, since their pupils have already been taught to add, subtract, multiply, and divide, that work has been completed and there is, therefore, no need of giving it any further attention. The philosophy of such teachers seems to be the same as that of the small boy who, 240 COOPERATION not being in love with the requirements of his music teacher that he must devote a great deal of time to practicing each day, asked his mother whether his father, a prominent member of the bar, was a real lawyer or not. On being informed that he was, the boy at once asked, " Then why does he have to practice? " Persistent attention to the use of good language. It is generally admitted that the results of language teach- ing are not satisfactory. Notwithstanding the elaborately planned and frequently well-taught courses of study in English in elementary schools, high schools, and colleges, in too many instances the pupils and students who graduate from high school or college, or both high school and college, are unable to speak or to write with a reasonable degree of grammatical accuracy or to show any marked ability in the use of their mother tongue. While a part of the failure in language work is undoubtedly due to a type of teaching found in too many schools, which is so technical that it is lifeless and, therefore, of no real value, the unsatis- factory results secured are much more frequently due to a lack of cooperation in carrying out the course of language study prescribed in the elementary grades, and to the in- difference of many high school and college teachers to the work which the special teacher of English is earnestly attempting to do. In no subject is there greater need of persistent practice to insure satisfactory results than in language, and in the teaching of no subject is there a greater lack of the cooperation absolutely necessary to secure such persistent practice, than is often found in the teach- ing of language. Departmental instruction. For many years depart- MUTUAL AID AND COMMON AIMS 241 mental teaching has been the rule in high schools. In more recent years it has also come into use in many gram- mar schools. With the advent of junior or intermediate high schools has come a large extension of this type of teaching. In many systems of schools the work of one teacher with all the pupils in all their studies ends with the sixth grade. While there are many arguments in favor of such departmental work, there are still some thoughtful and successful teachers and superintendents who have not yet been convinced that its introduction be- low the high school is advisable. Whatever difference of opinion may exist on this question, there can be no disagree- ment as to the absolute necessity of the cooperation of teachers who have charge of the departmental work in schools of any grade or type, if the best results are to be secured. To secure and to maintain such cooperation constitutes the most serious problem which confronts those who direct such teaching. The natural tendency of all special or departmental teachers is to magnify the importance of the subjects which they teach, and to minimize the importance of the subjects taught by all other teachers associated with them. The inevitable result of this tendency, if not directed or con- trolled by wise and firm supervision, is that the teacher of each subject will claim more than a fair proportion of the time and energy of pupils in the preparation of lessons assigned by him. If all the teachers persist in making such claims and are equally strong in enforcing their demands, many pupils are soon so overwhelmed with the unreasonable amount of work required of them that they become either discouraged or indifferent. If some teachers are more OUR PUB. S. l6 242 COOPERATION reasonable than others in the claims which they make, or are less dogmatic in enforcing their claims, they soon find their own work slighted by the pupils. To make the problem still more difficult, it is sometimes true that departmental teachers resent any supervision of their work, because of the ridiculous assumption that, since they have a special knowledge of the subjects which they teach, they must not submit to any advice or direction in their teaching. In many universities will be found fully matured representatives of this type of pedagogical bigots, and in some of the larger high schools less mature but not less conceited representatives can also be found. An interesting example. In departmental teaching it is highly important that the teachers of different subjects shall recognize the intimate relation which these different subjects often bear to one another and, therefore, be ready at all times to cooperate in their teaching by frequent consultations with reference to their work. In some schools, teachers of Latin and English, for example, attempt to do their work as though these subjects were in no way related, when, in fact, they should be closely related in their presentation. Examples of the harmful results of the lack of cooperation in teaching these important subjects are too numerous. One illustration is recorded here. A young man, who had just graduated from a large high school of good standing, who was a good student, and who had taken the four years' course in Latin and the full course in English, consulted a friend with reference to the meaning of the word " pertinacious." He was referred to the dic- tionary. In a few minutes he reported that he was sur- prised to find that " pertinacious," as he pronounced it, MUTUAL AID AND COMMON AIMS 243 meant holding on to an opinion or purpose with obstinacy or " sticking to it," while he had thought it meant about the same as " pertinent. " When asked whether " per- tinacious " was the correct pronunciation, he replied that he had not thought of the pronunciation and, of course, he had not observed it, when looking for the meaning of the word. Further inquiry revealed the fact that he had also failed to pay any attention to the derivation of the word from the Latin, which he had studied for four years. An interesting conference followed in which the young man's attention was called, apparently for the first time, to the long list of adjectives such as pertinacious, rapacious, sagacious, and tenacious, which are pronounced with the long sound of "a," and whose corresponding nouns, per- tinacity, rapacity, sagacity, and tenacity, are pronounced with the short sound of " a." The use of the dictionary in finding the root meaning of words was also pointed out and the derivation of many English words from the Latin was discussed. The young man showed intense interest in both the pronunciation of words and their derivation, and most generously expressed his appreciation of what he had learned about them in the conference. The friend could not help wondering what his teachers of Latin and English had been doing all the four years they had taught the boy in the high school. Certainly they had not co- operated in their work in such a manner as to interest him in some of the things of fundamental importance in the study of both languages, or to teach him what every student ought to know thoroughly, viz. : how to use a dictionary with intelligence and purpose. Importance of united effort. The frequent grade meetings 244 COOPERATION held by and for the teachers of elementary schools usually furnish abundant opportunity for the discussion of the many problems of common interest to all of them, and by means of such discussion, for the cultivation of the spirit of cooperation which generally characterizes their work. It is unfortunately true, however, that the higher up we go in education, the less there seems to be of the spirit of mutual helpfulness among teachers. In some high schools its absence is much more in evidence than its presence, while in many colleges there is little or no attempt by the pro- fessors to work together for the common good of the students. Teaching in one-room country schools has in recent years been the subject of much investigation. The lack of united effort on the part of many of the teachers of these schools to work together for their betterment, due in many in- stances to a lack of proper supervision, has been frequently pointed out and severely criticized. It is a mistake, how- ever, to assume that the country schools are the only schools which need investigation, or whose teachers lack in making united effort for their improvement. In effect, there are many " one-room " schools located in large high school and college buildings and taught by teachers with as little interest in what is going on in other classrooms in the same building and with as little concern as to the general welfare of their students as can possibly be charged to the most indifferent teacher of a one-room school in the country. Supervision and cooperation. Many benefits result from wise supervision of schools. Perhaps the greatest of all these benefits is found in the cultivation of the spirit MUTUAL AID AND COMMON AIMS 245 of cooperation which such supervision always seeks to create and to maintain among the teachers under its direction. In no schools is this supervision more greatly needed than in secondary schools and higher institutions of learning, many of whose teachers are recent graduates of colleges, with little or no experience in teaching or knowledge of methods of presenting to their students the subject matter with which they may or may not be reason- ably familiar. Unfortunately, there is less direction of the work of teaching in these schools than in any other. Per- haps after the reform of the country schools, now attract- ing and receiving so much attention from educators, has been completed in a reasonable measure, and the teachers of these schools have been led to recognize the importance of cooperation with the pupils whom they teach and with one another, some attention can be given to the schools higher up. In recent years in a few instances teachers have organized to make demands upon superintendents and boards of education. With threats either direct or implied they have declared war upon all agencies which will not grant their demands and have vowed vengeance upon any one who, for any reason, failed to agree with their theories or to indorse their practices. In neither the method nor the purpose of such organizations is there anything of the true spirit of genuine cooperation. The domineering dogmatism which so often characterizes the activities of those who promote such organizations, and who insist upon directing their policy, is convincing proof that personal preferment is their main object. On the other hand when the true spirit of cooperation characterizes teachers, selfish ends 246 COOPERATION are in a large measure lost sight of in an earnest desire to be mutually helpful for the common good of all. Instead of organizing to make arbitrary demands for advancement in position or increase in salary, teachers should cooperate to give more efficient service and thereby to merit the recognition which usually brings both advance- ment in position and increase in salary to those who deserve them. Whatever may be the merits or demerits of the " strike " as a means of securing the rights of labor in its contest with capital, the work of teaching is such that those who engage in it can never afford to resort to the methods sometimes used by " strikers " to secure recognition. All really professional teachers are characterized by a keen sense of what is right and proper in their relations with one another. They are careful never to violate either the letter or the spirit of that fine Professional Courtesy which avoids even the appearance of seeking, either directly or indirectly, positions rightfully belonging to others. " An officially declared vacancy with no possibility of reflecting the present incumbent " is the only condition under which self-respecting teachers will permit themselves to be con- sidered as applicants for a position which has been filled by another teacher. The Golden Rule. In 1879 the Ohio State Teachers' Association appointed a committee, with instructions to report a Code of Professional Ethics at the next meeting of the Association. In accordance with these instructions, at the next meeting held in Chautauqua, N. Y., July 7-8, 1880, Honorable W. D. Henkle, chairman of the committee, announced that while there was no formal report prepared for presentation, " for himself he thought a sufficient code MUTUAL AID AND COMMON AIMS 247 was embodied in the Scriptural Injunction stated either affirmatively or negatively, " Do unto others as you would have them do unto you/' or, " Do not unto others as you would not have them do unto you." All teachers who are imbued with the true spirit of co- operation will readily give assent to this Code of Ethics. The Golden Rule of conduct formulated by the Great Teacher is the only basis of that genuine cooperation which eliminates selfishness and insures success. XVIII THE HELP OF THE HOME SUCCESS of teachers in cooperating with childreh in the discipline and work of the school and with one another in all that pertains to the highest welfare both of the school and of the community in which the school is located, is the one sure foundation upon which to build cooperation with patrons. Unless teachers can and do prove their real worth by working successfully with the children in their daily tasks and by working harmoniously with one another in everything that pertains to the highest and best interests of the schools which they have been elected to serve, they have no right either to ask or to ex- pect the cooperation of the fathers and mothers whose children they teach. But when teachers do prove their worth by proving their ability to cooperate with their pupils and with one another, then they should have and, in the majority of instances, they will have the hearty coop- eration of the homes of the community. Teachers should be leaders. In securing this much desired cooperation without which the fullest measure of success is impossible, it is important that teachers should realize that it is always their privilege and usually their duty to take the initiative. Teachers cannot afford to rest upon any such false idea of dignity as will lead them to await the coming of parents to announce that they are ready to cooperate in making the school a success. Par- 248 THE HELP OF THE HOME 249 ents naturally look to the teachers of their children for a positive manifestation of that friendly spirit which attracts other kindred spirits and which is an essential characteris- tic of teachers who really desire to work with the people of a community, through the schools, for the advancement of the highest and best interests of all. If teachers would have friends, they must show themselves genuinely friendly. Boarding around not without its advantages. Few teachers are now living, who have had actual experience in " boarding around " which, in the earlier days, was a com- mon custom. While this custom undoubtedly had some features which were not highly desirable, it did provide an opportunity for teachers to gain an intimate acquaintance with the home life of both the children and their parents, and, by means of such acquaintance, to open up the way for cooperation between the home and the school. While teachers are no longer compelled to visit homes, as in the past, for boarding purposes, all teachers whose de- sire for cooperation leads them to appreciate the importance of a knowledge of the home conditions of their pupils wel- come every opportunity which presents itself for home visitation. Fortunate are those teachers who are able to visit homes with both pleasure and profit to themselves as well as to the children and their parents. The results which often follow such visits are of the immeasurable variety. Some of us can still recall the delight which came to us as children, when a loved teacher came to our home to take supper. If perchance he stayed all night, remained for breakfast, and permitted us to walk to school with him in the morning, enough joy was stored up to last for weeks or months. More than one individual can trace a determina- 250 COOPERATION tion to get an education to such a home visit from a friendly teacher. Friendliness and hospitality. Unfortunately, the in- creasing formalism which now characterizes social life, especially in towns and cities, renders less frequent the invitations of parents to teachers to accept the hospitality of their homes. Because of this condition, the children whose home life creates the greatest need for the intimate friendship of their teachers, are often entirely deprived of it. It is always difficult to secure the cooperation of the home when the parents are the victims of the extreme formalities which sometimes characterize social usage. If such parents could only realize how much good they could do themselves, their children, the teachers of their children, the school, and the community by opening their homes and their hearts to the teachers, they would hasten to extend to them every courtesy and consideration within their power. By so doing, they would experience a joy which is unknown to all who live selfish and exclusive lives. Fortunately there still remain in all communities some homes in which teachers are always welcome guests. In such homes will always be found parents whose greatest pleasure is to cooperate with the teachers of their children in every movement which has for its purpose the betterment of the schools. To some of the poorer homes, representatives of which can be found in nearly all communities, a visit from an in- terested and sympathetic teacher will often come as a bene- diction to the parents. Such a visit will usually reveal to the teacher rare opportunities for giving such help as will secure the cooperation which is so much needed in order THE HELP OF THE HOME 251 that the school may be enabled to render the highest service. What one teacher did. Into a high school located in the center of a mining region, came a young woman who had been employed to teach the important subject of domes- tic science. She was well equipped in knowledge and by training secured in an excellent school from which she had graduated. In addition to her knowledge and training, she possessed two qualifications absolutely essential to success in her work. One of these qualifications was an unusual supply of good common sense which caused her to realize that her teaching of domestic science must be adapted to the conditions and needs of the homes from which her pupils came. The other qualification was a consuming desire to be really helpful in her teaching. She was anxious to serve not only the girls whom she had an opportunity to teach, but through her teaching of them to do all in her power to improve the home life of the com- munity. Within a few weeks after the opening of school, practically all the homes that had girls in the high school were visited. When possible the visits were so timed as to give the teacher an opportunity to gain some knowledge of the kind of food eaten and some idea of how it was pre- pared and served. With that rare tact known only to the teachers who are endowed with an abundance of com- mon sense and who are fully possessed by a consuming desire to be really helpful, she soon gained entrance into the hearts as well as the homes of the parents. The majority of these parents were of foreign birth. They were living in accord- ance with the customs of the countries from which they came and were in sad need of some influence to direct them 252 COOPERATION to better things. As a result of the visits of the teacher, the confidence of the parents as well as that of the children was won to such an extent that she could talk freely to both parents and children about their home life. Having secured definite information as to the kind of food used in the home and of the changes necessary in cooking it in order that it might be made more palatable and more healthful, and a knowledge of the reforms necessary in housekeeping to make the home life more desirable, the teacher taught do- mestic science to the girls in such a manner as to give them a usable knowledge of how best to cook the kind of food served in their own homes and of how best to keep house in the midst of the surroundings in which they lived. In addi- tion to this knowledge, they gained from their teacher as well as from her teaching something of still greater impor- tance than the knowledge itself. This was a determination to use their knowledge in their homes in such a manner as to improve the cooking of food furnished and to make their homes more attractive in every way. The superintendent of schools in the community in which this high school is located is authority for the statement that many of the homes have been completely transformed as the result of the cooperative spirit manifested by the teacher of domestic science. It is, perhaps, needless to add that the parents in these homes are in hearty sympathy with the school and are always ready to cooperate in every possible way to help the teacher in her work. Teachers may help the homes. To all teachers there comes in a greater or less degree an opportunity to manifest a spirit of cooperation by leaving the narrow path marked out by mere necessity and by going out of the way to do for THE HELP OF THE HOME 253 their pupils and the homes from which they come something which is not required by the letter of the contract that teachers are usually expected to sign. It should be remem- bered however, that to depart from mere formal require- ments, in order to gain entrance to the hearts and homes of parents, always involves much additional work by teachers. But it is additional work which always brings in large returns and which invariably secures cooperation from parents. The domestic science teacher might have taught cooking and homemaking to the girls, as it is too often taught in schools, with no reference to the needs of the community. It would have required less effort to begin the work in the routine way than to visit the homes in order to gain a knowl- edge of their needs. The teaching, however, was made more effective in its results by the extra effort made in the beginning to discover the needs which should in a measure, at least, always determine the character of the teaching. And the cooperation of the home secured by this extra effort of the teacher made possible the success of the teaching. Home standards should be maintained. Insistence that teachers should take the initiative in the work of secur- ing the cooperation of parents, and that they should go out of their way, if necessary, to show a personal interest in the homes from which their pupils come, does not signify that parents have no responsibility to assume in connection with the education of their own children or in relation to the success of the school which their children attend. Upon all parents there rests a responsibility which cannot be evaded or neglected without serious loss to their children and to the school. No teacher, however faithful in the per- formance of her duties or however sympathetic with her 254 COOPERATION pupils, can entirely fill the place of the parents in the life of the child. No school however efficient can fully take the place of the home. It is impossible not to view with regret and anxiety the present tendency to turn over to the public schools more and more of the moral as well as of the physical and intel- lectual education and training of children, and, thereby, to require teachers to assume more and more of the respon- sibility which many homes no longer seem willing to carry. While this tendency seems quite complimentary to the public schools and their teachers, it is an indication of a letting down of home standards, which is not at all com- plimentary to the home. Neither is it encouraging to the school, because in the majority of instances homes that evade the responsibility which rightfully belongs to them fail to give cooperation to the teachers to whom they have attempted to transfer all the responsibility connected with the education and training of their children. The less parents do for their own children in the home the less they are willing to do to help the teachers of the schools which their children attend. It is highly important for the welfare of all concerned that recognition be given to the fact that there are some duties belonging to the home which cannot be delegated to any school, and which, if neglected by the home, must remain unperformed, to the lasting injury of child life and to the serious detriment of the highest and best interests of society and the state. The home has its responsibilities. There is a general agreement that it is well to keep the public school buildings open for the use of both the children and their parents for longer periods each day and for many more days of the THE HELP OF THE HOME 255 year than has usually been customary in the past. But an attempt to substitute the school for the home as an abiding place, or to substitute the teacher for the father and mother in assuming entire responsibility for the training of children is not to be commended. It is always unwise, to say the least, for the school to attempt to compete with the home in the performance of duty for which the home should be held primarily responsible. If parents make no attempt to control their children outside of school, they have no right to expect the teachers to do what they, as parents, have neglected or failed to do. If, as the result of the failure of parents to secure obedience from their children outside of school, the children spend their time in pool rooms, dance halls, and other places of questionable character, the school should not be expected, required, or permitted to introduce into school either during school hours or in the evening at the schoolhouse, card games, pool tables, and dancing in order to counteract the evil influence outside of school, re- sulting from the indifference of parents to the welfare of their own children. If questionable games and practices are to be introduced into the activities of the school in order to protect children from outside temptations, we may well inquire what is to be the outcome of such a policy. If the policy of substituting the school for the home be per- sisted in, a little later on we may expect some reformer to propose the building of schoolhouses which can be utilized as apartments for the family. In such buildings the parents as well as the children could spend all their time under the care and direction of teachers. By such a plan all re- sponsibility would be transferred from the home to the school, and parents would thereby be relieved of all care. 256 COOPERATION Moreover the public schools have no right to introduce into the life of the children who attend them any activities or practices which do not meet with the approval of a large number of parents, because of conscientious scruples against such activities and practices. The schools have always been most careful not to interfere in the slightest degree with the religious opinions or convictions of anyone by teaching sectarianism in any form. It is equally important that the schools be just as careful not to sanction games, amusements, or practices concerning the moral influence of which there exists an honest difference of opinion among parents. High school pupils and special privileges. The sug- gestion is sometimes made that while pupils below the high school should not be permitted to indulge in such games, amusements, or practices in the evenings at the schoolhouse, because they should be in their homes under parental con- trol and in bed early to secure needed sleep, high school pupils should be released from such parental control and should find in the schoolhouse in the evenings an opportu- nity to gratify their social desires and instincts. From such suggestions as this come some of the greatest difficulties which at present confront the high school. One of the most serious hindrances to the best work in high schools is found in the harmful indulgences granted to children outside of school hours by foolish parents who seem to be suffering from the delusion that boys and girls of high school age should no longer be subjected to any restraining influences in the home, but should be continually entertained and amused. Teachers are constantly told that high school boys and girls must not be overworked. Many parents THE HELP OF THE HOME 257 need to be told in such a manner as to lead them to take heed, if such telling be possible, that these same boys and girls, whose rapidly growing bodies require not only plenty of food and exercise, but also an abundance of sleep in order that they may grow physically, mentally, and morally strong, must not be over-indulged and " over-societied " while out of school. At no time in the life of children are home restraints and firm parental control more greatly needed than during high school age. If parents would wisely exercise such control of their children and would administer wholesome discipline in the home when needed, there would never be any occasion for asking the school to save their children from evil influences outside of school. In the so-called lower walks of life, parents are sometimes cited to appear in court where they are required to give bond as a guarantee that they will properly care for their children. There are good reasons to believe that the jurisdiction of the court should be extended so as to include some parents . higher up in the social scale who admit their failure to care properly for their children by asking the public schools to provide for their oversight both in school and out of school, by night as well as by day. The public school should be a mighty agency for good in every community. It should enter sympathetically into the life of children whenever and wherever possible. It should constantly give the pupils who attend it that train- ing in respect for authority and in obedience to law which is so essential to growth in character and so fundamental in good citizenship. It should do all that can be done to arouse interest in study and to make pupils happy in their work. It should join with the home in providing at proper OUR PUB. S. 17 258 COOPERATION times and under favorable conditions wholesome entertain- ment and amusement for both children and adults. It should cooperate in every possible way with the home in surrounding children both in school and out of school with such influences as will develop and conserve all that is best in life and character. But in doing all this, the public school cannot take the place of the home. Unless the home per- forms the duties incumbent upon it, boys and girls of school age must suffer as a result. Unless parents do their duty in the home and thereby cooperate with the teachers in the school in giving the proper training to the rising generation, it is unreasonable to censure the school for the inferior product which is certain to result from a lack of such coop- eration. XIX COOPERATION OF TEACHERS AND PATRONS THE attitude of parents toward teachers, as well as the treatment of parents by teachers, is an im- portant factor in determining whether or not co- operation shall characterize the relations existing between them. If the home is indifferent to the welfare of the school, there is little hope of cooperation between parents and teachers. If the home is in sympathy with the school and is willing to help the teachers in their work, cooperation is certain to follow. There are many ways in which the home can help the school and thereby show a willingness on the part of parents to cooperate. Attitude of parents toward teachers. In the first place the home can help the school by a clear realization, together with a definite recognition of the fact that, in aims and purposes, their mission is one and the same. This mission is the development of all that is highest and best in life and character. In the home the children should always be led to think of their teachers as friends who are anxious to help the parents in securing what is best for their children. It is encouraging to think that in the majority of instances the relations between home and school and parents and teachers are growing more cordial. But it is sad to relate that there are still too many instances of a lack of this cordial relationship which is so essential to the success of the school, 259 260 COOPERATION Mistakes of parents. A few years ago in one of the smaller towns of the middle west, a visitor was taking an evening walk. A short distance ahead of him, a small boy was playing on the sidewalk. A shrill voice, pitched in a high key and belonging to some one inside of the adjoin- ing house, sternly commanded the boy to stop playing and to come into the house. This voice at once attracted the attention of the visitor but it had no effect on the boy, who no doubt heard the call which he certainly did not heed. The voice from the inside of the house grew louder and harsher in repeating the command. But the boy played right on, apparently indifferent to any call from any source. Suddenly a woman undoubtedly the mother emerged from the door with broom in hand. In an angry and excited manner, she addressed the boy : " You won't mind me, won't you? Well, you just wait till next September, when I'll start you to school, and then I guess you'll catch it ! " Occasionally thoughtless parents try to frighten their children into obedience by telling them that some wild animal will devour them, if they do not do what they are told to do. Sometimes even the fear of the devil, himself, is aroused in the minds of children to help in securing good behavior. But this fond mother had so far advanced in her methods of parental control that she was able to re- nounce all such inferior helps and to call to her aid, several months in advance, the prospective teacher of her dis- obedient boy in an attempt to secure home discipline. With such home preparation as this mother's treatment of her boy furnished, he would enter school with the feeling that his teacher was an enemy to be feared and shunned, COOPERATION OF TEACHERS AND PATRONS 261 rather than a friend to be honored and loved. With such a feeling in the heart of the boy, the teacher's effort to win his confidence would be useless. Not until all such feeling was eradicated could the teacher hope to exercise a whole- some influence in his life or to direct his work in a satis- factory manner. What the home can do. The home can also help the school in the important work of discipline that discipline which teaches respect for rightly constituted authority and obedience to wholesome regulations that discipline which produces good behavior and which results in good character. No sane person doubts the necessity of such discipline in the training of children. The occasional plea of sentimental theorists that in this progressive age no discipline of any kind is needed, can well be ignored by both parents and teachers. To come in contact with a " modern " child reared under the direction of a " modern " mother who has applied the " modern " theory that no discipline is essential to the development of character will convince any one of the absurdity of such a claim. A brief visit to a school in which pupils are permitted to do as they please will usually serve to arouse pity for the pupils who are the helpless victims of the resulting disorder, together with contempt for the teacher who is primarily responsible for it. Corporal punishment. The intelligent, tactful teacher, whose head is clear, heart warm, and will strong, can usually succeed in discipline without resorting to corporal punish- ment in any form. In the past, in too many instances, such punishment has been inflicted without reason or excuse by ignorant, indifferent, or brutal teachers with uncontrollable 262 COOPERATION tempers, whose only hope of subduing their pupils was by such a constant manifestation of physical force as kept the children in a state of perpetual fear. The frequent use of the rod in either the home or the school is always a sign of weakness on the part of the parent or the teacher who resorts to such use. The less frequent use of the rod in both home and school, as compared with the past, is an indication that parents and teachers are becoming wiser, more humane, and, therefore, more competent to direct the young lives committed to their care. Notwithstanding the fact that, as a result of a better understanding of child nature and of a wiser and more humane treatment of children, the rod has been banished in a large measure from all well-directed homes and well- managed schools, it is not wise for either parents, teachers, or boards of education to announce that under no cir- cumstances will corporal punishment be inflicted or per- mitted. To make such an announcement is the best way to encourage the occasional outlaw and there are usually a few representatives of this class even in the best com- munities to indulge in such acts of disobedience and insubordination as can be properly met only by the punish- ment which has been prohibited. The surest way to make corporal punishment necessary is to advertise that it will never be administered. Threats and promises. It is related that in the South- land a negro farmer at one time missed several chickens from his hen house. On another occasion two shoats mys- teriously disappeared from their pen. To determine, if possible, the source of these thefts, he seated himself one night at a good point of observation, and with shot gun in COOPERATION OF TEACHERS AND PATRONS 263 hand awaited developments. Shortly after midnight, he was surprised to see one of his colored neighbors stealthily approach his premises and proceed to help himself to several more choice fowls and another pig. The farmer pointed the shot gun in the direction of the thief, ordered him to replace the stolen property where it belonged, and then to get down on his knees and solemnly promise never again to steal any more chickens or pigs. The " darkey " replaced the stolen property as ordered, and then turning to his neighbor remarked that, while he was willing to carry out that part of his order, he did not propose " to sign away any of his rights." Wise parents, sensible teachers, and prudent boards of education never indulge in threats as to what will be done, or in promises as to what will not be done in the future. They fully appreciate the meaning of the injunction " Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." " In the place of the parent " is the legal status of teachers, which has been repeatedly sustained by the highest courts of the different states. Neither parents nor teachers have any right, moral or legal, to abuse children in any way. Both parents and teachers have the right, and it is their duty, so to discipline children as to develop in them the traits of character which are fundamentally necessary in all good citizens. It is always desirable and usually possible to secure such discipline without resort to corporal punish- ment. In the few instances in which it is necessary to use such punishment, teachers should not be interfered with either by unwise parents who are incapable of secur- ing home discipline, or by imprudent boards of education whose members pass unnecessary rules for the guidance of 264 COOPERATION teachers. In no instance is it wise for parents, teachers, or boards of education " to sign away any of their rights." Parental cooperation in school discipline. That the problem of school discipline is a difficult one is evident to all who have given it any thoughtful consideration. The old saying that it is hard to manage forty boys and girls not forty acting like one, but each one acting like forty helps us to a realization of what the problem really is. The marvel is that the public schools, with their millions of pupils, move on in their important work with so little friction in their discipline. So seldom is there any serious trouble in their management that, when any difficulties do arise, the newspapers usually publish a sensational account of them as a choice morsel of news. It is within the bounds of truth to state that the average public school runs with less friction in its government than the average home. Parents will no doubt admit that, in their own homes, with their own children, scenes sometimes occur, which they would not like to see described in the news- papers in the manner which too often characterizes news- paper accounts of occasional school difficulties. The ex- periences of parents with their own children should lead them to be more sympathetic with teachers in their difficult task, and less critical of their actions, even should they happen to make mistakes. If parents cannot always be patient with the actions of their own children, they should not be too severe in their denunciation of teachers who may occasionally manifest impatience with the actions of forty or more children of different dispositions and tempera- ments, coming from all types and kinds of homes. Parental anxiety and what parent is not anxious about COOPERATION OF TEACHERS AND PATRONS 265 his own children? may well stop to ponder the anxiety of teachers as they strive to devise ways and means to help the children in the struggles that must always accompany growth in character, and as they work on day by day with the children, with the knowledge that failure sometimes results from their most earnest efforts. The sympathy of parents with teachers is one of the greatest needs of the public schools. Because of a lack of this sympathy many teachers fail. Without such sympathy there can be no cooperation between teachers and patrons. The school a disciplinary force. Few people fully realize the great value of the public school to any com- munity, simply as a disciplinary force. In too many in- stances the public school is the only place where children are taught obedience of any kind. As an illustration of such an instance, the experience of a superintendent of schools is in place. As this superintendent glanced out of his office window one morning, he noticed that a father and mother were approaching the school building and attempting to bring their small boy with them. He was pulling back with all his might and declaring in a most emphatic manner that he would not go to school. The combined efforts of the father and mother finally succeeded in overcoming the frantic efforts of the boy who was dragged into the super- intendent's office. Standing there with a rebellious, dis- obedient, and determined spirit showing in his every look and movement, he was the product of that lack of home discipline which sometimes makes the discipline of the school so difficult. Holding on to their boy, who gave many indications of a determination to escape, should the 266 COOPERATION slightest opportunity present itself, the parents made the humiliating confession that he was entirely beyond their control and that he would not obey them at all. They then expressed the hope that the school might succeed in doing what they, as parents, admitted they had failed to do. The superintendent placed this disobedient, willful boy in charge of a primary teacher whose room was already over- crowded. In a few weeks, he had learned by kind but exceedingly firm treatment to keep step to the splendid discipline of a modern primary school, and to do what he was requested to do by his teacher. In a few months the boy's father appeared before the board of education to complain of what he termed the harsh discipline of the school. It is usually the fathers or mothers of such boys who are apt to complain about the discipline of the school and to criticize the teacher who succeeds in doing what they, as parents, confess they have been unable to do. Few parents who have totally failed in home discipline are willing to cooperate with teachers in school discipline. When obedience is taught and enforced in the home, the problem of school discipline is usually easily solved. But when there is a lack of parental control, coupled with constant criticism of the teacher who insists upon a proper regard for the authority of the school together with obe- dience to all reasonable requirements, effective school discipline is made much more difficult. An example of cooperation of teacher and parent. Another incident in the experience of a village school principal will serve to illustrate the spirit of cooperation which should characterize parents in their relations with teachers. This principal had charge of the room in which COOPERATION OF TEACHERS AND PATRONS 267 were seated all the advanced pupils. The enrollment was large and included pupils of varied capacities and needs. The number of different subjects to be taught to the large number of pupils made the work exceedingly difficult. In addition to his duties as teacher of his own pupils, the principal was expected to supervise the work of the other teachers, to exercise a general oversight of the playground, to attend to the general discipline of the entire school, and to meet all the requirements, both in school and out of school, which came to a village school principal at the time in which he served. In his own room was a boy with marked ability to prepare lessons with rapidity as well as to make trouble, when he was not engaged in study. In theory it is easy to suggest that all that is necessary to control such a boy is to keep him busy with purposeful work. In practice all teachers know that, with scores of other pupils to look after, it is not always possible to carry out such a theory with a mischief-making pupil. One forenoon the boy in question was more troublesome than usual and was requested to remain at noon for a conference with the principal. In this conference an appeal was made to him to stop the practices which had annoyed his teacher and disturbed the school. The appeal was ac- companied with some very definite statements as to what would follow if he did not of his own accord change his conduct. When the boy reached home, his father, who had finished his lunch, asked him why he was late. In the appealing tone of voice so easily assumed by boys of his type, he replied that he had been kept in. The father then asked what he had been kept in for. The boy's laconic reply the reply usually given under such circumstances 268 COOPERATION was " Nothing." The father then told him that, since he had been kept in for " nothing " it would be necessary to proceed at once to protect him from such injustice in the future. The only way to insure such protection would be for the father and the boy to visit the principal, who lived only a short distance away, with the purpose of righting the wrong which had been done to the boy. When this proposal was made, the boy immediately surrendered, with the observation " Don't take me up there. Mr (the principal) is the last man on earth I want to meet, with you along! " The principal, not knowing what was happening in the boy's home at the time, had gone to his own home for lunch. He ate little, because he was too much worried to care for food. He feared that he might not have pursued the wisest course. He was anxious about the future results of the conference. Badly discouraged he started back to school. Glancing ahead, he noticed that the father was standing on the sidewalk, evidently waiting to see him. There at once came to him the thought that the father would condemn him and defend the boy, and he prepared for the ordeal which he imagined confronted him. To his surprise, the father met him in a most cordial manner, and then proceeded to relate the conversation which he had just had with his boy. He followed this with the suggestion that he suspected that the boy was hard to manage, since he was evidently a " chip off of the old block." The cordial manner shown by the father and his willing- ness to admit that his boy was not an angel, opened up the way to a friendly consideration of his misconduct and led to a thorough understanding of how the home and school COOPERATION OF TEACHERS AND PATRONS 269 could cooperate in bringing about the needed reform. The boy was an only child. The father admitted that, at times, it was difficult for his parents to decide upon what was best to be done to insure the best results, and then in the spirit of true cooperation said to the principal that he believed that, working together, the parents and teacher could save the boy. After that interview, the principal re- turned to his school with a light heart, in the full knowledge that no trouble could come in relation to the behavior of the boy which could not be satisfactorily met, because of the assured cooperation between the parents and teacher. To save boys and girls to lives of usefulness is the chief business of both the home and the public school. To succeed in this mission requires the united efforts of parents and teachers. Without the sympathetic support of the home, the best efforts of the school are often of little avail. And the saddest thing about the failure which results from a lack of cooperation between parents and teachers is that the children involved pay the penalty. Lincoln's appeal to Americans. One of the chief factors in making and keeping the world safe for democracy is education which leads to respect for authority and obedience to law. Long ago, Abraham Lincoln recognized the im- portance of such education and urged that it be made universal in homes, schools, and churches. On January 27, 1837, he delivered his remarkable address on " The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions." The following quotation from this address should be so taught to all American youth that its sentiments will find a place in their hearts and its teachings will be practiced in their lives : 270 COOPERATION "Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity swear by the blood of the Revolution never to violate in the least particular the laws of the country, and never to tolerate their violation by others. As the patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and laws let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor let every man remember that to violate the law is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the charter of his own and his children's liberty. Let reverence for the law be breathed by every American mother to the lisping babe that prattles on her lap ; let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges ; let it be written in primers, spelling books, and in almanacs ; let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and en- forced in courts of justice. And in short, let it become the political religion of the nation ; and let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay of all sexes and tongues and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars." In- this commercial age when the cry against any attempt to enforce the laws against dishonest practices is so often heard from those who claim that such enforcement is a menace to the business interests of the country, Lincoln's appeal " never to violate in the least particular the laws of the country, and never to tolerate their violation by others," comes with renewed force. To this call for respect for authority and obedience to law all homes and schools should rally with determination to cooperate in every possible way in teaching to the children of the nation such lessons of obedience as will insure a law-abiding citizenship in the days to come. XX PARENTS AND THE SCHOOL IN the important work of securing the application and industry necessary for pupils to obtain an education, the help of the home is an absolute necessity to the success of the school. In these days of marvelous progress in science and in invention, care must be exercised by those in educational authority lest the people become inoculated with the notion that there is after all some royal road to learning over which children can be carried, without effort on their part, to an education. We now talk so far and with such great ease, travel so rapidly and comfortably at so little expense, and enjoy so many material comforts and mechanical conveniences that it is difficult not to conclude that there ought to be some way of getting an education without any great amount of application and industry or serious effort. The progress of science and invention. At the Phila- delphia Centennial there was an electrical exhibit which at that time was considered marvelous. Three electric nov- elties were of intense interest to all who witnessed this exhibit. They were the electric light, the telephone, and a small trolley car which was operated at certain hours each day to the great amusement of the crowds of people who were present. Backward and forward along the miniature track on which it ran, this wonderful car made its mysterious 271 272 COOPERATION journeys. The fact that it was moved by an invisible power led some persons to suspect that a magician, hidden somewhere near by, was directing its movements. In fact an elderly man one day expressed what was in the minds of many, who were watching the moving car, by the obser- vation : " You can't fool me. There's somebody some- where pushin' that thing. " More than one visitor to the Centennial came away feeling that this explanation was the correct one. Very few of the observers, with the possible exception of the scientists who knew the facts and who, with something of prophetic vision, could foresee the wonderful future of electricity, ever dreamed that those electric novelties would ever come into general use. But what were novelties and curiosities then are prime necessities in the social and business life of to-day. The electric light is now found everywhere, in country as well as in city, literally turning night into day. We constantly use the telephone, often wondering how we ever lived without it. And we are told that in the near future we may be able to sit in our homes or offices and talk to our friends anywhere and everywhere with no " hello-girl " to intervene or " automatic busy-buzz " to interfere. Trolley cars are no longer confined to cities and towns, but carry their millions of passengers everywhere throughout the country. No royal road to learning. It is perhaps not surprising that in the midst of all this rapid change and progress in material things, there should be many parents and some teachers who have formed the hasty and false conclusion that, by this time, some inventive genius in the educational world should have provided some kind of electric educa- tional railway on which children can be placed at from four PARENTS AND THE SCHOOL 273 to six years of age, a few nickels be dropped into the slot to pay their passage, and no further attention be paid to them by the home until they are graduated at the other end of the line, with a diploma as a sort of remembrance of the pleasures of the delightful journey which was characterized by the constant presence of ease and the complete absence of effort. In too many instances parents seem to be more anxious to have their children go through school than they are to have the school go through their children. With such parents graduation is considered far more important than education. In the language of Dean Briggs of Har- vard University, "Many parents regard school and college as far less serious in demands than business ; a place of delightful irresponsibility where youth may disport himself for a season before he is condemned to hard labor." Parental mistakes. Parents of this type are a real menace to the success of any school. Their influence both in their own homes with their own children and in the com- munity where they live is always harmful. Should they happen to be, as they sometimes are, influential in financial circles and able to purchase social standing, they can make serious trouble for teachers and superintendents who insist that application and industry are absolutely necessary for all pupils rich or poor. No school, however efficient, can give an education to any one. If such a thing were possible, no doubt the percentage of educated people would be much larger than at present. Fortunately an education cannot be bought. If it could, thousands of rich people, who are unwilling to have their OUR PUB. S. 1 8 274 COOPERATION children pay the price of application and industry to secure an education, would bid high in the market for even a small supply. All that any school can give to any one is a chance to work out his own educational salvation. There are not and there cannot be any short cuts to an education. There are no easy ways of learning to think. Work may be made pleasanter and school life may be made happier by better methods and wiser teachers. But hard work will ever remain a prime necessity in winning honorable success either in obtaining an education or in using it after it is obtained. Country boys versus city boys. The success of country- bred men is a matter of frequent reference and favorable comment. There is no denying the fact that a large major- ity of the most successful business and professional men were reared in the country in the midst of many apparent disadvantages. Two factors have entered into their early training, which will, in a measure at least, help to explain their success, sometimes credited to the supposed mental and moral superiority of country boys as compared with town or city boys a superiority which has no existence in fact. Country boys are usually so trained in early life, both by teaching and by experience, as to cause them to take responsibility seriously. The assumption of such respon- sibility leads them to take the initiative, when necessary, in doing the work of the home. The many chores which are incident to the life of the farm all tend to develop the sense of responsibility and the habit of taking the initiative in doing things which need to be done. Country boys do not usually have any greater longing for such performance PARENTS AND THE SCHOOL 275 of duty than their city cousins. But in the experience of the former, the tasks are present and must be performed, while in the life of the latter, the absence of such demands tends to develop the inertia of rest rather than that of motion and to produce habits of idleness rather than a willingness to work. The constant presence of work of some kind demanding careful attention on the farm is a strong factor in training country boys in the habits of industry so necessary in winning success. The almost complete absence of work for city boys in the unoccupied hours of their school days, and especially during vacation, is a constant menace to their welfare as well as a constant source of anxiety to thoughtful parents who realize that the " devil always has something for idle hands to do." Several years ago a prominent citizen of a large city, in talking with an intimate friend, remarked that he was sometimes at a loss to know what to do with his three boys during the summer time that he was afraid of the idle- ness of the vacation. The friend, knowing that this father, like himself, was reared on the farm, could not refrain from smiling as he inquired whether, in his boyhood home, there was ever any similar anxiety of those in authority. All who were reared on the farm can readily answer this inquiry. They will recall that in their boy- hood days all the farmers seemed to have work planned ahead for at least twenty-five years, even the rainy days being fully provided for with work in the barn or wood- house. To this father, however, the problem was a very different one. He had good reason to be anxious about his three boys and to be afraid of the idleness of the vaca- tion in a large city. Those three boys have since grown 276 COOPERATION to manhood. All of them are now filling important places in business and professional life. All are young men of character a credit and a comfort to their parents. And they are what they are largely because their father's fear of the idleness of the vacation led him to see to it that his boys always had something to do in the vacation time. The work which was secured for them, or which they often took the initiative in securing for themselves, was not usually such as could be performed with unsoiled hands, or without tired muscles. But however exacting the demands, they were cheerfully met. Importance of home training. In many cities much is being done to improve the opportunities of children for work. Vacation schools are being established and indus- trial training introduced. But none of these things can ever fully take the place of home training which strives constantly to impress children with a sense of responsibility in the performance of home duties, and which persistently insists upon home work in the preparation of lessons home work, not by the parents for the children, but by the children for themselves. One of the inexplainable things which teachers are often compelled to witness with sincere regret is the constant effort of parents who are strong in ability and character, because of having been compelled to work their own way to success in the midst of dis- advantages, to remove every semblance of difficulty from the educational pathway of their children. In their attempt to relieve their children of all hard work by practically getting their lessons for them, such parents, through mis- taken kindness, rob them of an opportunity to grow strong by means of the discipline of self-help. In too many PARENTS AND THE SCHOOL 277 instances the benefits of home study are lost to children because of the mistaken kindness of an over-indulgent father or mother. In some instances children of wealthy families turn out to be worthless in life, because they are not taught either to work, themselves, or to respect those who do work. If the public school insists upon honest effort as the only condition of success, such children are either permitted to quit school or are sent to some fashionable private school where money is supposed to be able to purchase what the children have been unwilling or incompetent to earn by their own efforts. In other instances parents who have worked their way through college send their indolent sons to the most expensive institution the country affords, and give them all the money they want to be squandered in dissipation. When vacation comes such sons sometimes have to be sent to some seaside resort to recuperate their energies for another year of dissipation. Unfortunately, there are still a few so-called schools which harbor young people of this type. Hard work necessary to success. Sometimes children of real promise are spoiled by being made to feel that, because they are bright, hard study is unnecessary. It is dangerous for young persons to entertain the notion that they can succeed by their wits without honest, persistent effort. Thomas Edison has been quoted as saying that success is made up of five per cent of native ability and ninety-five per cent of hard work. Whether this statement represents the relative proportions of the ingredients of which success is composed may be a debatable question. But there can be no doubt of the fact that the probabilities 278 COOPERATION of doing something worth while in the world are much greater for students who put forth one hundred per cent of effort in connection with a relatively small per cent of ability than for students who have one hundred per cent of ability but who put forth only a relatively small per cent of effort. It is possible that if class honors, usually conferred on commencement day, were deferred for fifteen or twenty years after graduation, a more just recognition of real worth might be given. It would then be made plain that not simply native ability alone is essential to success but that constant use of and application of that ability in persistent hard work on the problems of life are even more important. Lowering the standards. One of the danger points in school administration is found in the tendency to heed demands to let down the standard of effort and to assume that, if children attend school with a fair degree of regu- larity, they will absorb knowledge and the ability to use it. These demands sometimes come in the form of an insistence by some parents that no home study be required of children under any circumstances. Sensational papers and maga- zines join in these demands with the specious plea that boys and girls in the public schools must be protected from " nervous prostration " due to overwork in grammar schools and high schools. It is possible that there may be found in the public schools a few girls who are the victims of overwork resulting from the demands of over-ambitious parents or the requirements of unreasonable teachers. There can be no doubt that a much larger number can be found who are the victims of " nervous prostration " because of premature entrance into society, which takes PARENTS AND THE SCHOOL 279 them out to parties, dances, and theaters several nights each week, when they should be at home in bed getting wholesome sleep. Examples of boys overworked in the public schools are hard to find. But examples of boys ruined in body, mind, and soul by cigarette smoking, per- mitted in some homes and even encouraged by the practices of some fathers, are found on every hand. It is highly important that all sensible parents cooperate with teachers in protecting the schools against the demands that standards of work be lowered to meet the requirements of parents who care more for society than they do for education, and in giving proper recognition of the value of application and industry in the lives of children. Unfair criticism of teachers. Fairness and justice demand that teachers should never be condemned without a hearing. Our constitution guarantees that the worst criminal shall be confronted by his accusers and be given a chance not only to defend himself but also to have an attorney to conduct his defense at the expense of the state ; that the trial be conducted by an impartial judge ; and that the final decision as to the guilt or innocence of the accused shall be determined by a jury of twelve men sworn to render a verdict in strict accordance with the evidence presented. Public school teachers are not always accorded this courtesy. Too often they are the victims of unfair criticism by parents who act upon " hearsay " evidence which would not be permitted in any court of justice engaged in the trial of criminals of any type. Not infrequently teachers are condemned without a hearing upon silly reports of what really never happened. Because of these unfair criti- 280 COOPERATION cisms and the resulting unjust condemnation of teachers, it is necessary that a plea be made that the home help the school by such cooperation on the part of parents as will lead them to pay no attention to the idle rumors afloat in all communities regarding the work of the school, or to the necessarily biased reports of alleged partiality or injustice of teachers. In the majority of instances such rumors and reports originate with children who have been justly disciplined for some offense and who desire to make trouble for the teacher. The sleeping car passenger who was aroused and urged to desist from his loud snoring which was keeping all the other passengers awake, and who, in reply to his question, " How do you know I was snoring? " was told that every one heard him, and who then replied, " Well, you mustn't believe all you hear," stated a truth which, if heeded by parents, would bring great relief to teachers who are not infrequently misrepresented and mis- understood because of the credence given to idle rumors. Gossip. Some of us can vividly recall a game that was quite popular in the country schools which we attended. This game was played on rainy days when outdoor sports were not possible. How distinctly memory recalls the appearance of the semi-circle formed in the old schoolhouse and composed of two or three scores of boys and girls. At the head, seated close together, were the older boys and girls who had reached the age when they were intensely interesting to one another. Next in order, seated by them- selves, came the smaller girls who had not reached that period. Last of all came the forlorn little boys who did not think they ever would reach it. Those who occupied the extreme foot of this latter class may still recall the suffer- PARENTS AND THE SCHOOL 281 ing caused by the bashfulness which characterized them at that time. Boys of this age and type need and should have all the sympathy which can come to them from all possible sources. Boys who are too old to be interesting to the old women of the community but who are not old enough to be interesting to the young girls are in a precarious condition. But to return to the game. The girl who sat at the head whispered into the ear of the boy next to her a long meaning- less sentence. This was done with such haste and in such an indistinct, incoherent manner, as to render it impossible to understand what was thus whispered. The boy in turn told what he pretended to hear to his neighbor, always adding a little on his own account to the strange medley of words rapidly passing along the line. Finally the last boy was reached. Silence then reigned for a brief space of time as all eyes and ears were turned, first to the girl at the head as she slowly repeated the statement with which the message began, and then to the boy at the foot as he in turn related what had reached him at the other end of the line. After the shouts of laughter which followed had died away the game was repeated, the fun growing with each round. The laughter was due, of course, to the fact that there was never any resemblance between the state- ment with which the girl at the head started the game and the final report of the boy at the foot. This game was called " Gossip." Few, if any of the boys and girls who played the game knew what the word meant. All of them who have since taught school have learned its meaning by experiencing the harmful results which have come from the gossip of the communities in which they have taught. Unfortunately all communities have homes 282 COOPERATION in which idle rumor, no matter how unreasonable, is certain to find sympathetic listeners, and the tongue of gossip, no matter how ridiculous its story, is certain to be given an attentive hearing. Earnest teachers are often greatly embarrassed in their work because some parents, and some- times members of the board of education, persist in listening to idle tales which are put into circulation by troublesome children and then passed around in the community by gossiping adults. How a better feeling between school and home may be maintained. How often the little misunderstandings which arise between parents and teachers would vanish if parents would decline to listen to the idle rumors which so often abound in the community. If, instead of gossiping about teachers, parents would visit the schools to get acquainted with them or invite them to their homes in order that they might learn to know them intimately, both schools and homes would be greatly benefited. In the majority of instances, parents who really know what is going on in the schools which their children attend are ready to cooperate with the teachers in their work. Every community has its citizens who assume to know what is going on in schools, which they never visit, and who out of the fullness of their ignorance are always ready to advise teachers what to do and how to do it. Teachers should always seek an intimate acquaintance with the home life of their pupils. Parents should learn all that can be known about the work of the school. As the result of such acquaintance and knowledge, there will grow up between the school and the home that sympathetic relation without which real cooperation is impossible. PARENTS AND THE SCHOOL 283 When parents sustain teachers in the discipline of the school ; when they support them in the enforcement of all reasonable regulations and requirements which have for their object the development of studious habits together with an appreciation of the necessity of hard work ; when they refuse to listen to school gossip and decline to pass judgment upon the work of the schools and teachers with- out any knowledge of either, teaching will be relieved of much that is discouraging and teachers will be enabled to devote all their time and energy to the welfare of their pupils. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY BERKELEY Return to desk from which borrowed. This book is DUE on the last date stamped below DEC l 1947 LD 21-100m-9,'47(A5702sl6)476 Yb UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY