GENERAL ARRANGEMENTS.
The distraction and perplexity of the teacher's life are, as was
explained in the last chapter, almost proverbial. There are other
pressing and exhausting pursuits, which wear away the spirit by the
ceaseless care which they impose, or perplex and bewilder the intellect
by the multiplicity and intricacy of their details; but the business of
teaching, by a pre-eminence not very enviable, stands, almost by common
consent, at the head of the catalogue.
I have already alluded to this subject in the preceding chapter, and
probably the majority of actual teachers will admit the truth of the
view there presented. Some will, however, doubtless say that they do not
find the business of teaching so perplexing and exhausting an
employment. They take things calmly. They do one thing at a time, and
that without useless solicitude and anxiety. So that teaching, with
them, though it has, indeed, its solicitudes and cares, as every other
responsible employment must necessarily have, is, after all, a calm and
quiet pursuit, which they follow from month to month, and from year to
year, without any extraordinary agitations, or any unusual burdens of
anxiety and care.
There are, indeed, such cases, but they are exceptions, and
unquestionably a considerable majority, especially of those who are
beginners in the work, find it such as I have described. I think it need
not be so, or, rather, I think the evil may be avoided to _a very great
degree_. In this chapter I shall endeavor to show how order may be
produced out of that almost inextricable mass of confusion into which so
many teachers, on commencing their labors, find themselves plunged.
The objects, then, to be aimed at in the general arrangements of schools
are twofold:
1. That the teacher may be left uninterrupted, to attend to one thing
at a time.
2. That the individual scholars may have constant employment, and such
an amount and such kinds of study as shall be suited to the
circumstances and capacities of each.
I shall examine each in their order.
1. The following are the principal things which, in a vast number of
schools, are all the time pressing upon the teacher; or, rather, they
are the things which must every where press upon the teacher, except so
far as, by the skill of his arrangements, he contrives to remove them.
1. Giving leave to whisper or to leave seats.
2. Distributing and changing pens.
3. Answering questions in regard to studies.
4. Hearing recitations.
5. Watching the behavior of the scholars.
6. Administering reproof and punishment for offenses as they occur.
A pretty large number of objects of attention and care, one would say,
to be pressing upon the mind of the teacher at one and the same
time--and _all the time_ too! Hundreds and hundreds of teachers in every
part of our country, there is no doubt, have all these crowding upon
them from morning to night, with no cessation, except perhaps some
accidental and momentary respite. During the winter months, while the
principal common schools in our country are in operation, it is sad to
reflect how many teachers come home every evening with bewildered and
aching heads, having been vainly trying all the day to do six things at
a time, while He who made the human mind has determined that it shall do
but one. How many become discouraged and disheartened by what they
consider the unavoidable trials of a teacher's life, and give up in
despair, just because their faculties will not sustain a six-fold task.
There are multitudes who, in early life, attempted teaching, and, after
having been worried, almost to distraction, by the simultaneous pressure
of these multifarious cares, gave up the employment in disgust, and now
unceasingly wonder how any body can like teaching. I know multitudes of
persons to whom the above description will exactly apply.
I once heard a teacher who had been very successful, even in large
schools, say that he could hear two classes recite, mend pens, and watch
his school all at the same time, and that without any distraction of
mind or any unusual fatigue. Of course the recitations in such a case
must be from memory. There are very few minds, however, which can thus
perform triple or quadruple work, and probably none which can safely be
tasked so severely. For my part, I can do but one thing at a time; and I
have no question that the true policy for all is to learn not _to do
every thing at once_, but so to classify and arrange their work that
_they shall have but one thing at once to do_. Instead of vainly
attempting to attend simultaneously to a dozen things, they should so
plan their work that only _one_ will demand attention.
Let us, then, examine the various particulars above mentioned in
succession, and see how each can be disposed of, so as not to be a
constant source of interruption and derangement.
1. _Whispering_ and _leaving seats_. In regard to this subject there
are very different methods now in practice in different schools. In
some, especially in very small schools, the teacher allows the pupils to
act according to their own discretion. They whisper and leave their
seats whenever they think it necessary. This plan may possibly be
admissible in a very small school, that is, in one of ten or twelve
pupils. I am convinced, however, that it is a very bad plan even here.
No vigilant watch which it is possible for any teacher to exert will
prevent a vast amount of mere talk entirely foreign to the business of
the school. I tried this plan very thoroughly, with high ideas of the
dependence which might be placed upon conscience and a sense of duty, if
these principles are properly brought out to action in an effort to
sustain the system. I was told by distinguished teachers that it would
not be found to answer. But predictions of failure in such cases only
prompt to greater exertions, and I persevered. But I was forced at last
to give up the point, and adopt another plan. My pupils would make
resolutions enough; they understood their duty well enough. They were
allowed to leave their seats and whisper to their companions whenever,
_in their honest judgment, it was necessary for the prosecution of their
studies_. I knew that it sometimes would be necessary, and I was
desirous to adopt this plan to save myself the constant interruption of
hearing and replying to requests. But it would not do. Whenever, from
time to time, I called them to account, I found that a large majority,
according to their own confession, were in the habit of holding daily
and deliberate communication with each other on subjects entirely
foreign to the business of the school. A more experienced teacher would
have predicted this result; but I had very high ideas of the power of
cultivated conscience, and, in fact, still have. But then, like most
other persons who become possessed of a good idea, I could not be
satisfied without carrying it to an extreme.
Still it is necessary, in ordinary schools, to give pupils sometimes
the opportunity to whisper and leave seats.[1] Cases occur where this is
unavoidable. It can not, therefore, be forbidden altogether. How, then,
you will ask, can the teacher regulate this practice, so as to prevent
the evils which will otherwise flow from it, without being continually
interrupted by the request for permission?
[Footnote 1: There are some large and peculiarly-organized schools in
cities and large towns to which this remark may perhaps not apply.]
By a very simple method. _Appropriate particular times at which all this
business is to be done_, and _forbid it altogether_ at every other time.
It is well, on other accounts, to give the pupils of a school a little
respite, at least every hour; and if this is done, an intermission of
study for two minutes each time will be sufficient. During this time
_general_ permission should be given for the pupils to speak to each
other, or to leave their seats, provided they do nothing at such a time
to disturb the studies of others. This plan I have myself very
thoroughly tested, and no arrangement which I ever made operated for so
long a time so uninterruptedly and so entirely to my satisfaction as
this. It of course will require some little time, and no little
firmness, to establish the new order of things where a school has been
accustomed to another course; but where this is once done, I know no one
plan so simple and so easily put into execution which will do so much
toward relieving the teacher of the distraction and perplexity of his
pursuits.
In making the change, however, it is of fundamental importance that the
pupils should themselves be interested in it. Their co-operation, or,
rather, the co-operation of the majority, which it is very easy to
obtain, is absolutely essential to success. I say this is very easily
obtained. Let us suppose that some teacher, who has been accustomed to
require his pupils to ask and obtain permission every time they wish to
speak to a companion, is induced by these remarks to introduce this
plan. He says, accordingly, to his school,
"You know that you are now accustomed to ask me whenever you wish to
obtain permission to whisper to a companion or to leave your seats; now
I have been thinking of a plan which will be better for both you and me.
By our present plan you are sometimes obliged to wait before I can
attend to your request. Sometimes I think it is unnecessary, and deny
you, when perhaps I was mistaken, and it was really necessary. At other
times, I think it very probable that when it is quite desirable for you
to leave your seat you do not ask, because you think you may not obtain
permission, and you do not wish to ask and be refused. Do you, or not,
experience these inconveniences from our present plans?"
The pupils would undoubtedly answer in the affirmative.
"I myself experience great inconvenience too. I am very frequently
interrupted when busily engaged, and it also occupies a great portion of
my time and attention to consider and answer your requests for
permission to speak to one another and to leave your seats. It requires
as much mental effort to consider and decide whether I ought to allow a
pupil to leave his seat, as it would to determine a much more important
question; therefore I do not like our present plan, and I have another
to propose."
The pupils are now all attention to know what the new plan is. It will
always be of great advantage to the school for the teacher to propose
his new plans from time to time to his pupils in such a way as this. It
interests them in the improvement of the school, exercises their
judgment, establishes a common feeling between teacher and pupil, and in
many other ways assists very much in promoting the welfare of the
school.
"My plan," continues the teacher, "is this: to allow you all, besides
the recess, a short time, two or three minutes perhaps, every hour" (or
every half hour, according to the character of the school, the age of
the pupils, or other circumstances, to be judged of by the teacher),
"during which you may all whisper or leave your seats _without_ asking
permission."
Instead of deciding the question of the _frequency_ of this general
permission, the teacher may, if he pleases, leave it to the pupils to
decide. It is often useful to leave the decision of such a question to
them. On this subject, however, I shall speak in another place. It is
only necessary here to say that _this_ point may be safely left to them,
since the time is so small which is to be thus appropriated. Even if
they vote to have the general permission to whisper every half hour, it
will make but eight minutes in the forenoon. There being six half hours
in the forenoon, and one of them ending at the close of school, and
another at the recess, only _four_ of these _rests_, as a military man
would call them, would be necessary; and four, of two minutes each,
would make eight minutes. If the teacher thinks that evil would result
from the interruption of the studies so often, he may offer the pupils
_three_ minutes rest every _hour_ instead of _two_ minutes every _half
hour_, and let them take their choice; or he may decide the case
altogether himself.
Such a change, from _particular permission on individual requests_ to
_general permission_ at _stated times_, would unquestionably be popular
in every school, if the teacher managed the business properly. And by
presenting it as an object of common interest, an arrangement proposed
for the common convenience of teacher and pupils, the latter may be much
interested in carrying the plan into effect. We must not rely, however,
entirely upon their _interest in it_. All that we can expect from such
an effort to interest them, as I have described and recommended, is to
get a majority on our side, so that we may have only a small minority to
deal with by other measures. Still, _we must calculate on having this
minority, and form our plans accordingly_, or we shall be greatly
disappointed. I shall, however, in another place, speak of this
principle of interesting the pupils in our plans for the purpose of
securing a majority in our favor, and explain the methods by which the
minority is then to be governed. I only mean here to say that, by such
means, the teacher may easily interest a large proportion of the
scholars in carrying his plans into effect, and that he must expect to
be prepared with other measures for those who will not be governed by
these.
You can not reasonably expect, however, that, immediately after having
explained your plan, it will at once go into full and complete
operation. Even those who are firmly determined to keep the rule will,
from inadvertence, for a day or two, make communication with each other.
They must be _trained_, not by threatening and punishment, but by your
good-humored assistance, to their new duties. When I first adopted this
plan in my school, something like the following proceedings took place.
"Do you suppose that you will perfectly keep this rule from this time?"
"No, sir," was the answer.
"I suppose you will not. Some, I am afraid, may not really be determined
to keep it, and others will forget. Now I wish that every one of you
would keep an exact account to-day of all the instances in which you
speak to another person, or leave your seat, out of the regular times,
and be prepared to report them at the close of the school. Of course,
there will be no punishment; but it will very much assist you to watch
yourselves, if you expect to make a report at the end of the forenoon.
Do you like this plan?"
"Yes, sir," was the answer; and all seemed to enter into it with spirit.
In order to mark more definitely the times for communication, I wrote,
in large letters, on a piece of pasteboard, "STUDY HOURS," and making a
hole over the centre of it, I hung it upon a nail over my desk. At the
close of each half hour a little bell was to be struck, and this card
was to be taken down. When it was up, they were, on no occasion whatever
(except some such extraordinary occurrence as sickness, or my sending
one of them on a message to another, or something clearly out of the
common course) to speak to each other; but were to wait, whatever they
wanted, until the _Study Card_, as they called it, was taken down.
"Suppose now," said I, "that a young lady has come into school, and has
accidentally left her book in the entry--the book from which she is to
study during the first half hour of the school. She sits near the door,
and she might, in a moment, slip out and obtain it. If she does not, she
must spend the half hour in idleness, and be unprepared in her lesson.
What is it her duty to do?"
"To go," "Not to go," answered the scholars, simultaneously.
"It would be her duty _not_ to go; but I suppose it will be very
difficult for me to convince you of it.
"The reason is this," I continued; "if the one case I have supposed were
the _only_ one which would be likely to occur, it would undoubtedly be
better for her to go; but if it is understood that in such cases the
rule may be dispensed with, that understanding will tend very much to
cause such cases to occur. Scholars will differ in regard to the degree
of inconvenience which they must submit to rather than break the rule.
They will gradually do it on slighter and slighter occasions, until at
last the rule will be disregarded entirely. We must therefore draw a
_precise line_, and individuals must submit to a little inconvenience
sometimes to promote the general good."
At the close of the day I requested all in the school to rise. While
they were standing, I called them to account in the following manner:
"Now it is very probable that some have, from inadvertence or from
design, omitted to keep an account of the number of transgressions of
the rule which they have committed during the day; others, perhaps, do
not wish to make a report of themselves. Now as this is a common and
voluntary effort, I wish to have none render assistance who do not, of
their own accord, desire to do so. All those, therefore, who are not
able to make a report, from not having been correct in keeping it, and
all those who are unwilling to report themselves, may sit."
A very small number hesitatingly took their seats.
"I am afraid that all do not sit who really wish not to report
themselves. Now I am honest in saying I wish you to do just as you
please. If a great majority of the school really wish to assist me in
accomplishing the object, why, of course, I am glad; still, I shall not
call upon any for such assistance unless it is freely and voluntarily
rendered."
One or two more took their seats while these things were saying. Among
such there would generally be some who would refuse to have any thing to
do with the measure simply from a desire to thwart and impede the plans
of the teacher. If so, it is best to take no notice of them. If the
teacher can contrive to obtain a great majority upon his side, so as to
let them see that any opposition which they can raise is of no
consequence and is not even noticed, they will soon be ashamed of it.
The reports, then, of those who remained standing were called for;
first, those who had whispered only once were requested to sit, then
those who had whispered more than once and less than five times, and so
on, until at last all were down. In such a case the pupils might, if
thought expedient, again be requested to rise for the purpose of asking
some other questions with reference to ascertaining whether they had
spoken most in the former or latter part of the forenoon. The number who
had spoken inadvertently, and the number who had done it by design,
might be ascertained. These inquiries accustom the pupils to render
honest and faithful accounts themselves. They become, by such means,
familiarized to the practice, and by means of it the teacher can many
times receive most important assistance.
In all this, however, the teacher should speak in a pleasant tone, and
maintain a pleasant and cheerful air. The acknowledgments should be
considered by the pupils not as confessions of guilt for which they are
to be rebuked or punished, but as voluntary and free reports of the
result of _an experiment_ in which all were interested.
Some will have been dishonest in their reports: to diminish the number
of these, the teacher may say, after the report is concluded,
"We will drop the subject here to-day. To-morrow we will make another
effort, when we shall be more successful. I have taken your reports as
you have offered them without any inquiry, because I had no doubt that a
great majority of this school would be honest at all hazards. They would
not, I am confident, make a false report even if, by a true one, they
were to bring upon themselves punishment; so that I think I may have
confidence that nearly all these reports have been faithful. Still it is
very probable that among so large a number some may have made a report
which, they are now aware, was not perfectly fair and honest. I do not
wish to know who they are; if there are any such cases, I only wish to
say to the rest how much pleasanter it is for you that you have been
honest and open. The business is now all ended; you have done your duty;
and, though you reported a little larger number than you would if you
had been disposed to conceal your faults, yet you go away from school
with a quiet conscience. On the other hand, how miserable must any boy
feel, if he has any nobleness of mind whatever, to go away from school
to-day thinking that he has not been honest; that he has been trying to
conceal his faults, and thus to obtain a credit which he did not justly
deserve. Always be honest, let the consequence be what it may."
The reader will understand that the object of such measures is simply
_to secure as large a majority as possible_ to make _voluntary_ efforts
to observe the rule. I do not expect that by such measures _universal_
obedience can be exacted. The teacher must follow up the plan after a
few days by other measures for those pupils who will not yield to such
inducements as these. Upon this subject, however, I shall speak more
particularly at a future time.
In my own school it required two or three weeks to exclude whispering
and communication by signs. The period necessary to effect the
revolution will be longer or shorter, according to the circumstances of
the school and the dexterity of the teacher; and, after all, the teacher
must not hope _entirely_ to exclude it. Approximation to excellence is
all that we can expect; for unprincipled and deceiving characters will
perhaps always be found, and no system whatever can prevent their
existence. Proper treatment may indeed be the means of their
reformation, but before this process has arrived at a successful result,
others similar in character will have entered the school, so that the
teacher can never expect perfection in the operation of any of his
plans.
I found so much relief from the change which this plan introduced, that
I soon took measures for rendering it permanent; and though I am not
much in favor of efforts to bring all teachers and all schools to the
same plans, this principle of _whispering at limited and prescribed
times alone_ seems to me well suited to universal adoption.
The following simple apparatus has been used in several schools where
this principle has been adopted. A drawing and description of it is
inserted here, as by this means some teachers, who may like to try the
course here recommended, may be saved the time and trouble of contriving
something of the kind themselves.
The figure _a a a a_ on the next page is a board about 18 inches by 12,
to which the other parts of the apparatus are to be attached, and which
is to be secured to the wall at the height of about 8 feet, and _b c d
c_ is a plate of tin or brass, 8 inches by 12, of the form represented
in the drawing. At _c c_, the lower extremities of the parts at the
sides, the metal is bent round, so as to clasp a wire which runs from
_c_ to _c_, the ends of which wire are bent at right angles, and run
into the board. The plate will consequently turn on this axis as on a
hinge. At the top of the plate, _d_, a small projection of the tin turns
inward, and to this one end of the cord, _m m_, is attached. This cord
passes back from _d_ to a small pulley at the upper part of the board,
and at the lower end of it a tassel, loaded so as to be an exact
counterpoise to the card, is attached. By raising the tassel, the plate
will of course fall over forward till it is stopped by the part _b_
striking the board, when it will be in a horizontal position. On the
other hand, by pulling down the tassel, the plate will be raised and
drawn upward against the board, so as to present its convex surface,
with the words STUDY HOURS upon it, distinctly to the school. In the
drawing it is represented in an inclined position, being not quite drawn
up, that the parts might more easily be seen. At _d_ there is a small
projection of the tin upward, which touches the clapper of the bell
suspended above every time the plate passes up or down, and thus gives
notice of its motions.
[Illustration]
Of course the construction may be varied very much, and it may be more
or less expensive, according to the wishes of the teacher. In the first
apparatus of this kind which I used, the plate was simply a card of
pasteboard, from which the machine took its name. This was cut out with
a penknife, and, after being covered with marble-paper, a strip of white
paper was pasted along the middle with the inscription upon it. The wire
_c c_, and a similar one at the top of the plate, were passed through a
perforation in the pasteboard, and then passed into the board. Instead
of a pulley, the cord, which was a piece of twine, was passed through a
little staple made of wire and driven into the board. The whole was made
in one or two recesses in school, with such tools and materials as I
could then command. The bell was a common table bell, with a wire
passing through the handle. The whole was attached to such a piece of
pine board as I could get on the occasion. This coarse contrivance was,
for more than a year, the grand regulator of all the movements of the
school.
I afterward caused one to be made in a better manner. The plate was of
tin, gilded, the border and the letters of the inscription being black.
A parlor bell-rope was carried over a brass pulley, and then passed
downward in a groove made in the mahogany board to which the card was
attached.
A little reflection will, however, show the teacher that the form and
construction of the apparatus for marking the times of study and of rest
may be greatly varied. The chief point is simply to secure the
_principle_ of whispering at definite and limited times, and at those
alone. If such an arrangement is adopted, and carried faithfully into
effect, it will be found to relieve the teacher of more than half of the
confusion and perplexity which would otherwise be his hourly lot. I have
detailed thus particularly the method to be pursued in carrying this
principle into effect, because I am convinced of its importance, and the
incalculable assistance which such an arrangement will afford to the
teacher in all his plans. Of course, I would not be understood to recommend
its adoption in those cases where teachers, from their own experience,
have devised and adopted _other_ plans which accomplish as effectually
the same purpose. All that I mean is to insist upon the absolute
necessity of _some_ plan, to remove this very common source of
interruption and confusion, and I recommend this mode where a better is
not known.
2. The second of the sources of interruption, as I have enumerated them,
is the distribution of pens and of stationery. This business ought, if
possible, to have a specific time assigned to it. Scholars are, in
general, far too particular in regard to their pens. The teacher ought
to explain to them that, in the transaction of the ordinary business of
life, they can not always have exactly such a pen as they would like.
They must learn to write with various kinds of pens, and when furnished
with one that the teacher himself would consider suitable to write a
letter to a friend with, he must be content. They should understand that
the _form_ of the letters is what is important in learning to write, not
the smoothness and clearness of the hair lines; and that though writing
looks better when executed with a perfect pen, a person may _learn_ to
write nearly as well with one which is not absolutely perfect. So
certain is this, though often overlooked, that a person would perhaps
learn faster with chalk, upon a black board, than with the best
goose-quill ever sharpened.
I do not make these remarks to show that it is of no consequence whether
scholars have good or bad pens, but only that this subject deserves very
much less of the time and attention of the teacher than it usually
receives. When the scholars are allowed, as they very often are, to come
when they please to change their pens, breaking in upon any
business--interrupting any classes--perplexing and embarrassing the
teacher, however he may be employed, there is a very serious obstruction
to the progress of the scholars, which is by no means repaid by the
improvement in this branch.
To guard against these evils, a regular and well-considered system
should be adopted for the distribution of pens and stationary, and when
adopted it should be strictly and steadily adhered to.
3. Answering questions about studies. A teacher who does not adopt some
system in regard to this subject will be always at the mercy of his
scholars. One boy will want to know how to parse a word, another where
the lesson is, another to have a sum explained, and a fourth will wish
to show his work to see if it is right. The teacher does not like to
discourage such inquiries. Each one, as it comes up, seems necessary;
each one, too, is answered in a moment; but the endless number and the
continual repetition of them consume his time and exhaust his patience.
There is another view of the subject which ought to be taken. Perhaps it
would not be far from the truth to estimate the average number of
scholars in the schools in our country at fifty. At any rate, this will
be near enough for our present purpose. There are three hours in each
session, according to the usual arrangement, making one hundred and
eighty minutes, which, divided among fifty, give about three minutes and
a half to each individual. If the reader has, in his own school, a
greater or a less number, he can easily correct the above calculation,
so as to adapt it to his own case, and ascertain the portion which may
justly be appropriated to each pupil. It will probably vary from two to
four minutes. Now a period of four minutes slips away very fast while a
man is looking over perplexing figures on a slate, and if he exceeds
that time at all in individual attention to any one scholar, he is doing
injustice to his other pupils. I do not mean that a man is to confine
himself rigidly to the principle suggested by this calculation of
cautiously appropriating no more time to any one of his pupils than such
a calculation would assign to each, but simply that this is a point
which should be kept in view, and should have a very strong influence in
deciding how far it is right to devote attention exclusively to
individuals. It seems to me that it shows very clearly that one ought
to teach his pupils, as much as possible, _in masses_, and as little as
possible by private attention to individual cases.
The following directions will help the teacher to carry these principles
into effect. When you assign a lesson, glance over it yourself, and
consider what difficulties are likely to arise. You know the progress
which your pupils have made, and can easily anticipate their
difficulties. Tell them all together, in the class, what their
difficulties will be, and how they may surmount them. Give them
directions how they are to act in the emergencies which will be likely
to occur. This simple step will remove a vast number of the questions
which would otherwise become occasions for interrupting you. With regard
to other difficulties, which can not be foreseen and guarded against,
direct the pupils to bring them to the class at the next recitation.
Half a dozen of the class might, and very probably would, meet with the
same difficulty. If they bring this difficulty to you one by one, you
have to explain it over and over again, whereas, when it is brought to
the class, one explanation answers for all.
As to all questions about the lesson--where it is, what it is, and how
long it is--never answer them. Require each pupil to remember for
himself, and if he was absent when the lesson was assigned, let him ask
his class-mate in a rest.
You _may_ refuse to give particular individuals the private assistance
they ask for in such a way as to discourage and irritate them, but this
is by no means necessary. It can be done in such a manner that the pupil
will see the propriety of it, and acquiesce pleasantly in it.
A child comes to you, for example, and says,
"Will you tell me, sir, where the next lesson is?"
"Were you not in the class at the time?"
"Yes, sir; but I have forgotten."
"Well, I have forgotten too. I have a great many classes to hear, and,
of course, great many lessons to assign, and I never remember them. It
is not necessary for me to remember."
"May I speak to one of the class to ask about it?"
"You can not speak, you know, till the Study Card is down; you may
then."
"But I want to get my lesson now."
"I don't know what you will do, then. I am sorry you don't remember.
"Besides," continues the teacher, looking pleasantly, however, while he
says it, "if I knew, I think I ought not to tell you."
"Why, sir?"
"Because, you know, I have said I wish the scholars to remember where
the lessons are, and not come to me. You know it would be very unwise
for me, after assigning a lesson once for all in the class, to spend my
time here at my desk in assigning it over again to each individual one
by one. Now if I should tell _you_ where the lesson is now, I should
have to tell others, and thus should adopt a practice which I have
condemned."
Take another case. You assign to a class of little girls a subject of
composition, requesting them to copy their writing upon a sheet of
paper, leaving a margin an inch wide at the top, and one of half an inch
at the sides and bottom. The class take their seats, and, after a short
time, one of them comes to you, saying she does not know how long an
inch is.
"Don't you know any thing about it?"
"No, sir, not much."
"Should you think _that_ is more or less than an inch?" (pointing to a
space on a piece of paper much too large).
"More."
"Then you know something about it. Now I did not tell you to make the
margins _exactly_ an inch and half an inch, but only as near as you
could judge?"
"Would _that_ be about right?" asks the girl, showing a distance.
"I must not tell you, because, you know, I never in such cases help
individuals; if that is as near as you can get it, you may make it so."
It may be well, after assigning a lesson to a class, to say that all
those who do not distinctly understand what they have to do may remain
after the class have taken their seats, and ask: the task may then be
distinctly assigned again, and the difficulties, so far as they can be
foreseen, explained.
By such means these sources of interruption and difficulty may, like the
others, be almost entirely removed. Perhaps not altogether, for many
cases may occur where the teacher may choose to give a particular class
permission to come to him for help. Such permission, however, ought
never to be given unless it is absolutely necessary, and should never be
allowed to be taken unless it is distinctly given.
4. Hearing recitations. I am aware that many attempt to do something
else at the same time that they are hearing a recitation, and there may
perhaps be some individuals who can succeed in this. If the exercise to
which the teacher is attending consists merely in listening to the
reciting word for word some passage committed to memory, it can be done.
I hope, however, to show in a future chapter that there are other and
far higher objects which every teacher ought to have in view in his
recitations, and he who understands these objects, and aims at
accomplishing them--who endeavors to _instruct_ his class, to enlarge
and elevate their ideas, to awaken a deep and paramount interest in the
subject which they are examining, will find that his time must be his
own, and his attention uninterrupted while he is presiding at a class.
All the other exercises and arrangements of the school are, in fact,
preparatory and subsidiary to this. Here, that is, in the classes, the
real business of teaching is to be done. Here the teacher comes in
contact with his scholars mind with mind, and here, consequently, he
must be uninterrupted and undisturbed. I shall speak more particularly
on this subject hereafter under the head of instruction; all I wish to
secure in this place is that the teacher should make such arrangements
that he can devote his exclusive attention to his classes while he is
actually engaged with them.
Each recitation, too, should have its specified time, which should be
adhered to with rigid accuracy. If any thing like the plan I have
suggested for allowing rests of a minute or two every half hour should
be adopted, it will mark off the forenoon into parts which ought to be
precisely and carefully observed. I was formerly accustomed to think
that I could not limit the time for my recitations without great
inconvenience, and occasionally allowed one exercise to encroach upon
the succeeding, and this upon the next, and thus sometimes the last was
excluded altogether. But such a lax and irregular method of procedure is
ruinous to the discipline of a school. On perceiving it at last, I put
the bell into the hands of a pupil, commissioning her to ring regularly,
having myself fixed the times, saying that I would show my pupils that I
could be confined myself to system as well as they. At first I
experienced a little inconvenience; but this soon disappeared, and at
last the hours and half hours of our artificial division entirely
superseded, in the school-room, the divisions of the clock face. I
found, too, that it exerted an extremely favorable influence upon the
scholars in respect to their willingness to submit readily to the
necessary restrictions imposed upon them in school, to show them that
the teacher was subject to law as well as they.
But, in order that I may be specific and definite, I will draw up a plan
for the regular division of time, for a common school, not to be
_adopted_, but to be _imitated_; that is, I do not recommend exactly
this plan, but that some plan, precise and specific, should be
determined upon, and exhibited to the school by a diagram like the
following:
FORENOON.
IX. X. XI. XII.
+---------+---------+---+---+------------+
|READING. |WRITING. |R. |G. |ARITHMETIC. |
+----+----+----+----+---+---+-----+------+
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
+----+----+----+----+---+---+-----+------+
AFTERNOON.
II. III. IV. V.
+-----------+---------+---+---+----------+
|GEOGRAPHY. |WRITING. |R. |G. |GRAMMAR. |
+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+----+-----+
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+----+-----+
A drawing on a large sheet, made by some of the older scholars (for a
teacher should never do any thing of this kind which his scholars can do
for him), should be made and pasted up to view, the names of the classes
being inserted in the columns under their respective heads. At the
double lines at ten and three, there might be a rest of two minutes, an
officer appointed for the purpose ringing a bell at each of the periods
marked on the plan, and making the signal for the _rest_, whatever
signal might be determined upon. It is a good plan to have the bell
_touched_ five minutes before each half hour expires, and then exactly
at its close. The first bell would notify the teacher or teachers, if
there are more than one in the school, that the time for their
respective recitations is drawing to a close. At the second bell the new
classes should take their places without waiting to be called for. The
scholars will thus see that the arrangements of the school are based
upon system, to which the teacher himself conforms, and not subjected to
his own varying will. They will thus not only go on more regularly, but
they will themselves yield more easily and pleasantly to the necessary
arrangements.
The fact is, children love system and regularity. Each one is sometimes
a little uneasy under the restraint which it imposes upon him
individually, but they all love to see its operation upon others, and
they are generally very willing to submit to its laws, if the rest of
the community are required to submit too. They show this in their love
of military parade; what allures them is chiefly the _order_ of it; and
even a little child creeping upon the floor will be pleased when he gets
his playthings in a row. A teacher may turn this principle to most
useful account in forming his plans for his school, in observing that
the teacher is governed by them too as well as they.
It will be seen by reference to the foregoing plan that I have marked
the time for the recesses by the letter R. at the top. Immediately after
them, both in the forenoon and in the afternoon, twenty minutes are
left, marked G., the initial standing for general exercise. They are
intended to denote periods during which all the scholars are in their
seats, with their work laid aside, ready to attend to whatever the
teacher may desire to bring before the whole school. There are so many
occasions on which it is necessary to address the whole school, that it
is very desirable to appropriate a particular time for it. In most of
the best schools I believe this plan is adopted. I will mention some of
the subjects which would come up at such a time.
1. There are some studies which can be advantageously attended to by the
whole school together, such as Punctuation, and, to some extent,
Spelling.
2. Cases of discipline which it is necessary to bring before the whole
school ought to come up at a regularly-appointed time. By attending to
them here, there will be a greater importance attached to them. Whatever
the teacher does will seem to be more deliberate, and, in fact, _will
be_ more deliberate.
3. General remarks, bringing up classes of faults which prevail; also
general directions, which may at any time be needed; and, in fact, any
business relating to the general arrangements of the school.
4. Familiar lectures from the teacher on various subjects. These
lectures, though necessarily brief and quite familiar in their form, may
still be very exact and thorough in respect to the knowledge conveyed.
When they are upon scientific subjects they may sometimes be illustrated
by experiments, more or less imposing, according to the ingenuity of the
teacher, the capacity of the older scholars to assist him in the
preparations, or the means and facilities at his command.[2]
[Illustration]
[Footnote 2: In some of the larger institutions of the country the
teacher will have convenient apparatus at his disposal, and a room
specially adapted to the purpose of experiments. The engraving
represents a room at the Spingler Institute at New York. But let not the
teacher suppose that these special facilities are essential to enable
him to give instruction to his pupils in such a way. I have known a much
larger balloon than the one represented in the engraving to be
constructed by the teacher and pupils of a common country school from
directions in Rees's Cyclopedia, and sent up in the open air. The
aeronaut that accompanied it was a hen--poor thing!] The design of such
lectures should be to extend the _general knowledge_ of the pupils in
regard to those subjects on which they will need information in their
progress through life. In regard to each of these particulars I shall
speak more particularly hereafter, in the chapters to which they
respectively belong. My only object here is to show, in the general
arrangements of the school, how a place is to be found for them. My
practice has been to have two periods of short duration, each day,
appropriated to these objects: the first to the _business of the
school_, and the second to such studies or lectures as could be most
profitably attended to at such a time.
We come now to one of the most important subjects which present
themselves to the teacher's attention in settling the principles upon
which he shall govern his school. I mean the degree of influence which
the boys themselves shall have in the management of its affairs. Shall
the government of school be a _monarchy_ or a _republic?_ To this
question, after much inquiry and many experiments, I answer, a monarchy;
an absolute, unlimited monarchy; the teacher possessing exclusive power
as far as the pupils are concerned, though strictly responsible to the
committee or to the trustees under whom he holds his office.
While, however, it is thus distinctly understood that the power of the
teacher is supreme, that all the power rests in him, and that he alone
is responsible for its exercise, there ought to be a very free and
continual _delegation_ of power to the pupils. As much business as is
possible should be committed to them. They should be interested as much
as possible in the affairs of the school, and led to take an active part
in carrying them forward; though they should, all the time, distinctly
understand that it is only _delegated_ power which they exercise, and
that the teacher can, at any time, revoke what he has granted, and alter
or annul at pleasure any of their decisions. By this plan we have the
responsibility resting where it ought to rest, and yet the boys are
trained to business, and led to take an active interest in the welfare
of the school. Trust is reposed in them, which may be greater or less,
as they are able to bear. All the good effects of reposing trust and
confidence, and committing the management of important business to the
pupils will be secured, without the dangers which would result from the
entire surrender of the management of the institution into their hands.
There have been, in several cases, experiments made with reference to
ascertaining how far a government strictly republican would be
admissible in a school. A very fair experiment of this kind was made
some years since at the Gardiner Lyceum, in Maine. At the time of its
establishment, nothing was said of the mode of government which it was
intended to adopt. For some time the attention of the instructors was
occupied in arranging the course of study, and attending to the other
concerns of the institution; and, in the infant state of the Lyceum, few
cases of discipline occurred, and no regular system of government was
necessary.
Before long, however, complaints were made that the students at the
Lyceum were guilty of breaking windows in an old building used as a
town-house. The principal called the students together, mentioned the
reports, and said that he did not know, and did not wish to know who
were the guilty individuals. It was necessary, however, that the thing
should be examined into, and that restitution should be made, and,
relying on their faithfulness and ability, he should leave them to
manage the business alone. For this purpose, he nominated one of the
students as judge, some others as jurymen, and appointed the other
officers necessary in the same manner. He told them that, in order to
give them time to make a thorough investigation, they were excused from
farther exercises during the day.
The principal then left them, and they entered on the trial. The result
was that they discovered the guilty individuals, ascertained the amount
of mischief done by each, and sent to the selectmen a message, by which
they agreed to pay a sum equal to three times the value of the injury
sustained.
The students were soon after informed that this mode of bringing
offenders to justice would hereafter be always pursued, and arrangements
were made for organizing a _regular republican government_ among the
young men. By this government all laws which related to the internal
police of the institution were to be made, all officers were appointed,
and all criminal cases were to be tried. The students finding the part
of a judge too difficult for them to sustain, one of the professors was
appointed to hold that office, and, for similar reasons, another of the
professors was made president of the legislative assembly. The principal
was the executive, with power to _pardon_, but not to _sentence_, or
even _accuse_.
Some time after this a student was indicted for profane swearing; he was
tried, convicted, and punished. After this he evinced a strong hostility
to the government. He made great exertions to bring it into contempt,
and when the next trial came on, he endeavored to persuade the witnesses
that giving evidence was dishonorable, and he so far succeeded that the
defendant was acquitted for want of evidence, when it was generally
understood that there was proof of his guilt, which would have been
satisfactory if it could have been brought forward. For some time after
this the prospect was rather unfavorable, though many of the students
themselves opposed with great earnestness these efforts, and were much
alarmed lest they should lose their free government through the
perverseness of one of their number. The attorney general, at this
juncture, conceived the idea of indicting the individual alluded to for
an attempt to overturn the government. He obtained the approbation of
the principal, and the grand jury found a bill. The court, as the case
was so important, invited some of the trustees, who were in town, to
attend the trial. The parent of the defendant was also informed of the
circumstances and requested to be present, and he accordingly attended.
The prisoner was tried, found guilty, and sentenced, if I mistake not,
to expulsion. At his earnest request, however, to be permitted to remain
in the Lyceum and redeem his character, he was pardoned and restored,
and from that time he became perfectly exemplary in his conduct and
character. After this occurrence the system went on in successful
operation for some time.
The legislative power was vested in the hands of a general committee,
consisting of eight or ten, chosen by the students from their own
number. They met about once a week to transact such business as
appointing officers, making and repealing regulations, and inquiring
into the state of the Lyceum. The instructors had a negative upon all
their proceedings, but no direct and positive power. They could pardon,
but they could assign no punishments, nor make laws inflicting any.
Now such a plan as this may succeed for a short time, and under very
favorable circumstances; and the circumstance which it is chiefly
important should be favorable is, that the man who is called to preside
over such an association should possess such talents of _generalship_
that he can really manage the institution _himself_, while the power is
_nominally_ and _apparently_ in the hands of the boys. Should this not
be the case, or should the teacher, from any cause, lose his personal
influence in the school, so that the institution should really be
surrendered into the hands of the pupils, things must be on a very
unstable footing. And, accordingly, where such a plan has been adopted,
it has, I believe, in every instance, been ultimately abandoned.
_Real self-government_ is an experiment sufficiently hazardous among
men, though Providence, in making a daily supply of food necessary for
every human being, has imposed a most powerful check upon the tendency
to anarchy and confusion. Let the populace of Paris or of London
materially interrupt the order and break in upon the arrangements of the
community, and in eight-and-forty hours nearly the whole of the mighty
mass will be in the hands of the devourer, hunger, and they will be soon
brought to submission. On the other hand, a month's anarchy and
confusion in a college or an academy would be delight to half the
students, or else times have greatly changed since I was within college
walls.
Although it is thus evident that the important concerns of a literary
institution can not be safely committed into the hands of the students,
very great benefits will result from calling upon them to act upon and
to decide questions relative to the school within such limits and under
such restrictions as are safe and proper. Such a practice will assist
the teacher very much if he manages it with any degree of dexterity; for
it will interest his pupils in the success of the school, and secure, to
a very considerable extent, their co-operation in the government of it.
It will teach them self-control and self-government, and will accustom
them to submit to the majority--that lesson which, of all others, it is
important for a republican to learn.
In endeavoring to interest the pupils of a school in the work of
co-operating with the teacher in its administration, no little dexterity
will be necessary at the outset. In all probability, the formal
announcement of this principle, and the endeavor to introduce it by a
sudden revolution, would totally fail. Boys, like men, must be gradually
prepared for; power, and they must exercise it only so far as they are
prepared. This, however, can very easily be done. The teacher should say
nothing of his general design, but, when some suitable opportunity
presents, he should endeavor to lead his pupils to co-operate with him
in some particular instance.
For example, let us suppose that he has been accustomed to distribute
the writing-books with his own hand when the writing-hour arrives, and
that he concludes to delegate this simple business first to his
scholars. He accordingly states to them, just before the writing
exercise of the day on which he proposes the experiment, as follows:
"I have thought that time will be saved if you will help me distribute
the books, and I will accordingly appoint four distributors, one for
each division of the seats, who may come to me and receive the books,
and distribute them each to his own division. Are you willing to adopt
this plan?"
The boys answer "Yes, sir," and the teacher then looks carefully around
the room, and selects four pleasant and popular boys--boys who he knows
would gladly assist him, and who would, at the same time, be agreeable
to their school-mates. This latter point is necessary in order to secure
the popularity and success of the plan.
Unless the boys are very different from any I have ever met with, they
will be pleased with the duty thus assigned them. They will learn system
and regularity by being taught to perform this simple duty in a proper
manner. After a week, the teacher may consider their term of service as
having expired, and thanking them in public for the assistance they have
rendered him, he may ask the scholars if they are willing to continue
the plan, and if the vote is in favor of it, as it unquestionably would
be, each boy probably hoping that he should be appointed to the office,
the teacher may nominate four others, including, perhaps, upon the list,
some boy popular among his companions, but whom he has suspected to be
not very friendly to himself or the school. I think the most scrupulous
statesman would not object to securing influence by conferring office in
such a case. If difficulties arise from the operation of such a measure,
the plan can easily be modified to avoid or correct them. If it is
successful, it may be continued, and the principle may be extended, so
as in the end to affect very considerably all the arrangements and the
whole management of the school.
Or, let us imagine the following scene to have been the commencement of
the introduction of the principle of limited self-government into a
school.
The preceptor of an academy was sitting at his desk, at the close of
school, while the pupils were putting up their books and leaving the
room. A boy came in with angry looks, and, with his hat in his hands
bruised and dusty, advanced to the master's desk, and complained that
one of his companions had thrown down his hat upon the floor, and had
almost spoiled it.
The teacher looked calmly at the mischief, and then asked how it
happened.
"I don't know, sir. I hung it on my nail, and he pulled it down."
"I wish you would ask him to come here," said the teacher. "Ask him
pleasantly."
The accused soon came in, and the two boys stood together before the
master.
"There seems to be some difficulty between you boys about a nail to hang
your hats upon. I suppose each of you think it is your own nail."
"Yes, sir," said both the boys.
"It will be more convenient for me to talk with you about this to-morrow
than to-night, if you are willing to wait. Besides, we can examine it
more calmly then. But if we put it off till then, you must not talk
about it in the mean time, blaming one another, and keeping up the
irritation that you feel. Are you both willing to leave it just where it
is till to-morrow, and try to forget all about it till then? I expect I
shall find you both a little to blame."
The boys rather reluctantly consented. The next day the master heard the
case, and settled it so far as it related to the two boys. It was easily
settled in the morning, for they had had time to get calm, and were,
after sleeping away their anger, rather ashamed of the whole affair, and
very desirous to have it forgotten.
That day, when the hour for the transaction of general business came,
the teacher stated to the school that it was necessary to take some
measures to provide each boy with a nail for his hat. In order to show
that it was necessary, he related the circumstances of the quarrel which
had occurred the day before. He did this, not with such an air and
manner as to convey the impression that his object was to find fault
with the boys, or to expose their misconduct, but to show the necessity
of doing something to remedy the evil which had been the cause of so
unpleasant an occurrence. Still, though he said nothing in the way of
reproof or reprehension, and did not name the boys, but merely gave a
cool and impartial narrative of the facts, the effect, very evidently,
was to bring such quarrels into discredit. A calm review of misconduct,
after the excitement has gone by, will do more to bring it into disgrace
than the most violent invectives and reproaches directed against the
individuals guilty of it at the time.
"Now, boys," continued the master, "will you assist me in making
arrangements to prevent the recurrence of all temptations of this kind
hereafter? It is plain that every boy ought to have a nail appropriated
expressly to his use. The first thing to be done is to ascertain whether
there are enough for all. I should like, therefore, to have two
committees appointed: one to count and report the number of nails in the
entry, and also how much room there is for more; the other to ascertain
the number of scholars in school. They can count all who are here, and,
by observing the vacant desks, they can ascertain the number absent.
When this investigation is made, I will tell you what to do next."
The boys seemed pleased with the plan, and the committees were
appointed, two members on each. The master took care to give the
quarrelers some share in the work, apparently forgetting, from this
time, the unpleasant occurrence which had brought up the subject.
When the boys came to inform him of the result of their inquiries, he
asked them to make a little memorandum of it in writing, as he might
forget the numbers, he said, before the time came for reading them. The
boys brought him, presently, a rough scrap of paper, with the figures
marked upon it. He told them he should forget which was the number of
nails, and which the number of scholars, unless they wrote it down.
"It is the custom among men," said he, "to make out their report, in
such a case, fully, so that it would explain itself; and I should like
to have you, if you are willing, make out yours a little more
distinctly."
Accordingly, after a little additional explanation, the boys made
another attempt, and presently returned with something like the
following:
"The committee for counting the nails report as follows:
Number of nails. . . . 35
Room for more . . . . 15."
The other report was very similar, though somewhat rudely written and
expressed, and both were perfectly satisfactory to the preceptor, as he
plainly showed by the manner in which he received them.
I need not finish the description of this case by narrating particularly
the reading of the reports, the appointment of a committee to assign the
nails, and to paste up the names of the scholars, one to each. The work,
in such a case, might be done in recesses, and out of school hours; and
though, at first, the teacher will find that it is as much trouble to
accomplish business in this way as it would be to attend to it directly
himself, yet, after a very little experience, he will find that his
pupils will acquire dexterity and readiness, and will be able to render
him very material assistance in the accomplishment of his plans.
This, however--the assistance rendered to the teacher--is not the main
object of the adoption of such measures as this. The main design is to
interest the pupils in the management and the welfare of the school--to
identify them, as it were, with it. And such measures as the above will
accomplish this object; and every teacher who will try the experiment,
and carry it into effect with any tolerable degree of skill, will find
that it will, in a short time, change the whole aspect of the school in
regard to the feelings subsisting between himself and his pupils.
Each teacher who tries such an experiment will find himself insensibly
repeating it, and after a time he may have quite a number of officers
and committees who are intrusted with various departments of business.
He will have a secretary, chosen by ballot by the scholars, to keep a
record of all the important transactions in the school for each day. At
first he will dictate to the secretary, thus directing him precisely
what to say, or even writing it for him, and then merely requiring him
to copy it into the book provided for the purpose. Afterward he will
give the pupil less and less assistance, till he can keep the record
properly himself. The record of each day will be read on the succeeding
day at the hour for business. The teacher will perhaps have a committee
to take care of the fire, and another to see that the room is constantly
in good order. He will have distributors for each division of seats, to
distribute books, and compositions, and pens, and to collect votes. And
thus, in a short time, his school will become _regularly organized as a
society or legislative assembly_. The boys will learn submission to the
majority in such unimportant things as may be committed to them; they
will learn system and regularity, and every thing else, indeed, that
belongs to the science of political self-government.
There are dangers, however. What useful practice has not its dangers?
One of these is, that the teacher will allow these arrangements to take
up too much time. He must guard against this. I have found from
experience that fifteen minutes each day, with a school of 135, is
enough. This ought never to be exceeded.
Another danger is, that the boys will be so engaged in the duties of
their _offices_ as to neglect their _studies_. This would be, and ought
to be, fatal to the whole plan. This danger may be avoided in the
following manner. State publicly that you will not appoint any to office
who are not good scholars, always punctual, and always prepared; and
when any boy who holds an office is going behindhand in his studies, say
to him kindly, "You have not time to get your lessons, and I am afraid
it is owing to the fact that you spend so much time in helping me. Now
if you wish to resign your office, so as to have more time for your
lessons, you can. In fact, I think you ought to do it. You may try it
for a day or two, and I will notice how you recite, and then we can
decide."
Such a communication will generally be found to have a powerful effect.
If it does not remedy the evil, the resignation must be insisted on. A
few decided cases of this kind will effectually remove the evil I am
considering.
Another difficulty which is likely to attend the plan of allowing the
pupils of a school to take some part in this way in the administration
of it is that it may tend to make them insubordinate, so that they will,
in many instances, submit with less good humor to such decisions as you
may consider necessary. I do not mean that this will be the case with
all, but that there will be a few who will be ungenerous enough, if you
allow them to decide sometimes what shall be done, to endeavor to make
trouble, or at least to show symptoms of impatience and vexation because
you do not allow them always to decide.
Sometimes this feeling may show itself by the discontented looks, or
gestures, or even words with which some unwelcome regulation or order on
the part of the teacher will be received. Such a spirit should be
immediately and decidedly checked whenever it appears. It will not be
difficult to check, and even entirely to remove it. On one occasion
when, after learning the wish of the scholars on some subject which had
been brought before them, I decided contrary to it, there arose a murmur
of discontent all over the room. This was the more distinct, because I
have always accustomed my pupils to answer questions asked, and to
express their wishes and feelings on any subject I may present to them
with great freedom.
I asked all those who had expressed their dissatisfaction to rise.
About one third of the scholars arose.
"Perhaps you understood that when I put the question to vote I meant to
abide by your decision, and that, consequently, I ought not to have
reversed it, as I did afterward?"
"Yes, sir," "Yes, sir," they replied.
Do you suppose it would be safe to leave the decision of important
questions to the scholars in this school?"
"Yes, sir;" "No, sir." The majority were, however, in the affirmative.
Thus far, only those who were standing had answered. I told them that,
as they were divided in opinion, they might sit, and I would put the
question to the whole school.
"You know," I continued, addressing the whole, "what sort of persons the
girls who compose this school are. You know about how many are governed
habitually by steady principle, and how many by impulse and feeling. You
know, too, what proportion have judgment and foresight necessary to
consider and decide independently such questions as continually arise in
the management of a school. Now suppose I should resign the school into
your own hands as to its management, and only come in to give
instruction to the classes, leaving all general control of its
arrangements with you, would it go on safely or not?"
As might have been foreseen, there was, when the question was fairly
proposed, scarcely a solitary vote in favor of government by scholars.
They seemed to see clearly the absurdity of such a scheme.
"Besides," I continued, "the trustees of this school have committed it
to my charge; they hold me responsible; the public hold _me_
responsible, not you. Now if I should surrender it into your hands, and
you, from any cause, should manage the trust unfaithfully or
unskillfully, I should necessarily be held accountable. I could never
shift the responsibility upon you. Now it plainly is not just or right
that one party should hold the power, and another be held accountable
for its exercise. It is clear, therefore, in every view of the subject,
that I should retain the management of this school in my own hands. Are
you not satisfied that it is?"
The scholars universally answered "Yes, sir." They seemed satisfied, and
doubtless were.
It was then stated to them that the object in asking them to vote was,
in some cases, to obtain an expression of their opinion or their wishes
in order to help _me_ decide, and only in those cases where it was
expressly stated did I mean to give the final decision to them.
Still, however, if cases are often referred to them, the feeling will
gradually creep in that the school is managed on republican principles,
as they call it, and they will, unless this point is specially guarded,
gradually lose that spirit of entire and cordial subordination so
necessary for the success of any school. It should often be distinctly
explained to them that a republican government is one where the power
essentially resides in the community, and is exercised by a ruler only
so far as the community delegates it to him, whereas in the school the
government is based on the principle that the power, primarily and
essentially, resides in the teacher, the scholars exercising only such
as _he_ may delegate to _them_.
With these limitations and restrictions, and with this express
understanding in regard to what is, in all cases, the ultimate
authority, I think there will be no danger in throwing a very large
share of the business which will, from time to time, come up in the
school, upon the scholars themselves for decision. In my own experience
this plan has been adopted with the happiest results. In the Mount
Vernon School a small red morocco wrapper lies constantly on a little
shelf, accessible to all. By its side is a little pile of papers, about
one inch by six, on which any one may write her motion, or her
_proposition_, as the scholars call it, whatever it may be, and when
written it is inclosed in the wrapper, to be brought to me at the
appointed time for attending to the general business of the school.
Through this wrapper all questions are asked, all complaints entered,
all proposals made. Is there discontent in the school? It shows itself
by "_propositions_" in the wrapper. Is any body aggrieved or injured? I
learn it through the wrapper. In fact, it is a little safety-valve,
which lets off what, if confined, might threaten explosion---an index--a
thermometer, which reveals to me, from day to day, more of the state of
public opinion in the little community than any thing beside.
These propositions are generally read aloud. Some cases are referred to
the scholars for decision; some I decide myself; others are laid aside
without notice of any kind; others still, merely suggest remarks on the
subjects to which they allude.
The principles, then, which this chapter has been intended to establish,
are simply these: in making your general arrangements, look carefully
over your ground, consider all the objects which you have to accomplish,
and the proper degree of time and attention which each deserves. Then
act upon system. Let the mass of particulars which would otherwise
crowd upon you in promiscuous confusion be arranged and classified. Let
each be assigned to its proper time and place, so that your time may be
your own, under your own command, and not, as is too often the case, at
the mercy of the thousand accidental circumstances which may occur.
In a word, be, in the government of your school, yourself supreme, and
let your supremacy be that of _authority_; but delegate power, as freely
as possible, to those under your care. Show them that you are desirous
of reposing trust in them just so far as they show themselves capable of
exercising it. Thus interest them in your plans, and make them feel that
they participate in the honor or the disgrace of success or failure.
I have gone much into detail in this chapter, proposing definite
measures by which the principles I have recommended may be carried into
effect. I wish, however, that it may be distinctly understood that all I
contend for is the _principles_ themselves, no matter what the
particular measures are by which they are secured. Every good school
must be systematic, but all need not be on precisely the same system. As
this work is intended almost exclusively for beginners, much detail has
been admitted, and many of the specific measures here proposed may
perhaps be safely adopted where no others are established. There may
also, perhaps, be cases where teachers, whose schools are already in
successful operation, may ingraft upon their own plans some things which
are here proposed. If they should attempt it, it must be done cautiously
and gradually. There is no other way by which they can be safely
introduced, or even introduced at all. This is a point of so much
importance, that I must devote a paragraph to it before closing the
chapter.
Let a teacher propose to his pupils, formally, from his desk, the plan
of writing propositions, for example, as explained above, and procure
his wrapper, and put it in its place, and what would be the result?
Why, not a single paper, probably, could he get, from one end of the
week to the other. But let him, on the other hand, when a boy comes to
him to ask some question, the answer to which many in the school would
equally wish to hear, say to the inquirer,
"Will you be so good as to write that question, and put it on my desk,
and then, at the regular time, I will answer it to all the school."
When he reads it, let him state that it was written at his request, and
give the other boys permission to leave their proposals or questions on
his desk in the same way. In a few days he will have another, and thus
the plan may be gently and gradually introduced.
So with officers. They should be appointed among the scholars only _as
fast as they are actually needed_, and the plan should thus be
cautiously carried only so far as it proves good on trial. Be always
cautious about innovations and changes. Make no rash experiments on a
large scale, but always test your principle in the small way, and then,
if it proves good, gradually extend its operation as circumstances seem
to require.
By thus cautiously and slowly introducing plans, founded on the
systematic principles here brought to view, a very considerable degree
of quiet, and order, and regularity may be introduced into the largest
and most miscellaneous schools. And this order and quiet are absolutely
necessary to enable the teacher to find that interest and enjoyment in
his work which were exhibited in the last chapter; the pleasure of
_directing and controlling mind_, and doing it, not by useless and
anxious complaints, or stern threats and painful punishments, but by
regarding the scene of labor in its true light, as a community of
intellectual and moral beings, and governing it by moral and
intellectual power. It is, in fact, the pleasure of exercising _power_.
I do not mean arbitrary, personal authority, but the power to produce,
by successful but quiet contrivance, extensive and happy results; the
pleasure of calmly considering every difficulty, and, without irritation
or anger, devising the proper moral means to remedy the moral evil; and
then the interest and pleasure of witnessing its effects.