THE TEACHER'S FIRST DAY.
The teacher enters upon the duties of his office by a much more sudden
transition than is common in the other avocations and employments of
life. In ordinary cases, business comes at first by slow degrees, and
the beginner is introduced to the labors and responsibilities of his
employment, in a very gradual manner. The young teacher, however,
enters, by a single step, into the very midst of his labors. Having,
perhaps, never even heard a class recite before, he takes a short walk
some winter morning, and suddenly finds himself instated at the
desk,--his fifty scholars all around, looking him in the face, all
waiting to be employed. Everything comes upon him at once. He can do
nothing until the day and the hour for opening the school arrives,--then
he has everything to do.
Under these circumstances it is not surprising that the young teacher
should look forward with unusual solicitude to his first day in school;
and he desires, ordinarily, special instructions in respect to this
occasion. Some such special instructions we propose to give in this
chapter. The experienced teacher may think some of them too minute and
trivial. But he must remember that they are intended for the youngest
beginner in the humblest school; and if he recalls to mind his own
feverish solicitude on the morning when he went to take his first
command in the district school, he will pardon the seeming minuteness of
detail.
1. It will be well for the young teacher to take opportunity, between
the time of his engaging his school and that of his commencing it,--to
acquire as much information in respect to it, beforehand, as
possible,--so as to be somewhat acquainted with the scene of his labors
before entering upon it. Ascertain the names and the characters of the
principal families in the district, their ideas and wishes in respect to
the government of the school, the kind of management adopted by one or
two of the last teachers, the difficulties they fell into, the nature of
the complaints made against them, if any, and the families with whom
difficulty has usually arisen. This information must of course be
obtained in private conversation; a good deal of it must be, from its
very nature, highly confidential; but it is very important that the
teacher should be possessed of it. He will necessarily become possessed
of it by degrees, in the course of his administration, when, however, it
may be too late to be of any service to him. But by judicious and proper
efforts to acquire it beforehand, he will enter upon the discharge of
his duties with great advantage. It is like a navigator's becoming
acquainted beforehand with the nature and the dangers of the sea over
which he is about to sail.
Such inquiries as these will, in ordinary cases, bring to the teacher's
knowledge, in most districts in our country, some cases of peculiarly
troublesome scholars, or unreasonable and complaining parents,--and
stories of their unjustifiable conduct on former occasions, will come to
him; exaggerated by the jealousy of rival neighbours. There is danger
that his resentment may be roused a little, and that his mind will
assume a hostile attitude at once towards such individuals; so that he
will enter upon his work rather with a desire to seek a collision with
them, or at least with secret feelings of defiance towards
them,--feelings which will lead to that kind of unbending
perpendicularity in his demeanour towards them which will almost
inevitably lead to a collision. Now this is wrong. There is indeed a
point where firm resistance to unreasonable demands becomes a duty. But
as a general principle it is most unquestionably true, that it is the
teacher's duty _to accommodate himself to the character and expectations
of his employers_, not to face and brave them. Those italicized words
_may be_ understood to mean something which would be entirely wrong; but
in the sense in which I mean to use them, there can be no question that
they indicate the proper path for one employed by others to do work
_for them_, in all cases, to pursue. If therefore the teacher finds by
his inquiries into the state of his district that there are some
peculiar difficulties and dangers there, let him not cherish a
disposition to face and resist them, but to avoid them. Let him go with
an intention to soothe rather than to irritate feelings which have been
wounded before,--to comply with the wishes of all so far as he can, even
if they are not entirely reasonable,--and while he endeavours to elevate
the standard and correct the opinions prevailing among his employers, by
any means in his power, to aim at doing it gently; and in a tone and
manner suitable to the relation he sustains;--in a word, let him
skilfully _avoid_ the dangers of his navigation, not obstinately run his
ship against a rock on purpose, on the ground that the rock has no
business to be there.
This is the spirit then with which these preliminary inquiries, in
regard to the patrons of the school, ought to be made. We come now to a
second point.
2. It will assist the young teacher very much in his first day's labors,
if he takes measures for seeing and conversing with some of the older or
more intelligent scholars, on the day or evening before he begins his
school, with a view of obtaining from them some acquaintance with the
internal arrangements and customs of the school. The object of this is
to obtain the same kind of information with respect to the interior of
the school, that was recommended in respect to the district, under the
former head. He may call upon a few families, especially those which
furnish a large number of scholars for the school, and make as many
minute inquiries of them, as he can, respecting all the interior
arrangements to which they have been accustomed; what reading books and
other text books have been used,--what are the principal classes in all
the several departments of instruction,--and what is the system of
discipline, and of rewards and punishments to which the school has been
accustomed.
If in such conversations the teacher should find a few intelligent and
communicative scholars, he might learn a great deal about the past
habits and condition of the school, which would be of great service to
him. Not, by any means, that he will adopt and continue these methods
as a matter of course,--but only that a knowledge of them will render
him very important aid in marking out his own course. The more minute
and full the information of this sort is which he thus obtains, the
better. If practicable, it would be well to make out a catalogue of all
the principal classes, with the names of those individuals belonging to
them, who will probably attend the new school, and the order in which
they were usually called upon to read or recite. The conversation which
would be necessary to accomplish this, would of itself be of great
service. It would bring the teacher into an acquaintance with several
important families and groups of children, under the most favorable
circumstances. The parents would see and be pleased with the kind of
interest they would see the teacher taking in his new duties. The
children would be pleased to be able to render their new instructer some
service, and would go to the school-room on the next morning with a
feeling of acquaintance with him, and a predisposition to be pleased.
And if by chance any family should be thus called upon, that had
heretofore been captious or complaining, or disposed to be jealous of
the higher importance or influence of other families,--that spirit would
be entirely softened and subdued by such an interview with their new
instructer at their own fireside, on the evening preceding the
commencement of his labors. The great object, however, which the teacher
would have in view, in such inquiries, should be the value of the
information itself. As to the use which he will make of it, we shall
speak hereafter.
3. It is desirable that the young teacher should meet his scholars first
in an unofficial capacity. For this purpose repair to the school-room,
on the first day, at an early hour, so as to see and become acquainted
with the scholars as they come in, one by one. The intercourse between
teacher and pupil should be like that between parents and children,
where the utmost freedom is united with the most perfect respect. The
father who is most firm and decisive in his family government, can
mingle most freely in the conversation and sports of his children
without any derogation of his authority, or diminution of the respect
they owe. Young teachers, however, are prone to forget this, and to
imagine that they must assume an appearance of stern authority, always,
when in the presence of their scholars, if they wish to be respected or
obeyed. This they call keeping up their dignity. Accordingly they wait,
on the morning of their induction into office, until their new subjects
are all assembled, and then walk in with an air of the highest dignity,
and with the step of a king. And sometimes a formidable instrument of
discipline is carried in the hand to heighten the impression. Now there
is no question that it is of great importance that scholars should have
a high idea of the teacher's firmness and inflexible decision in
maintaining his authority and repressing all disorder of every kind. But
this impression should be created by their seeing how he _acts_, in the
various emergencies which will spontaneously occur, and not by assumed
airs of importance or dignity, feigned for effect. In other words, their
respect for him should be based on _real traits_ of character, as they
see them brought out into natural action, and not on appearances assumed
for the occasion.
It seems to me, therefore, that it is best for the teacher first to meet
his scholars with the air and tone of free and familiar intercourse, and
he will find his opportunity more favorable for doing this, if he goes
early, on the first morning of his labors, and converses freely with
those whom he finds there, and with others as they come in. He may take
an interest with them in all the little arrangements connected with the
opening of the school. The building of the fire, the paths through the
snow, the arrangements of seats, calling upon them for information or
aid, asking their names, and, in a word, entering fully and freely into
conversation with them, just as a parent, under similar circumstances,
would do with his children. All the children thus addressed will be
pleased with the gentleness and affability of the teacher. Even a rough
and ill-natured boy, who has perhaps come to the school with the express
determination of attempting to make mischief, will be completely
disarmed, by being asked pleasantly to help the teacher fix the fire, or
alter the position of his desk. Thus by means of the half hour during
which the scholars are coming together, and of the visits made in the
preceding evening, as described under the last head, the teacher will
find, when he calls upon the children to take their seats, that he has
made a very large number of them his personal friends. Many of these
will have communicated their first impressions to the others, so that he
will find himself possessed, at the outset, of that which is of vital
consequence in the opening of any administration,--a strong party in his
favor.
4. The time for calling the school to order, and commencing exercises of
some sort, will at length arrive, though if the work of making personal
acquaintances is going on pleasantly, it may perhaps be delayed a little
beyond the usual hour. When, however, the time arrives, we would
strongly recommend that the first service by which the regular duties of
the school are commenced should be an act of religious worship. There
are many reasons why the exercises of the school should every day be
thus commenced, and there are special reasons for it on the first day.
There are very few districts where parents would have any objection to
this. They might indeed, in some cases, if the subject were to be
brought up formally before them as a matter of doubt, anticipate some
difficulties, or create imaginary ones, growing out of the supposed
sensitiveness of contending sects. But if the teacher were, of his own
accord, to commence the plain, faithful, and honest discharge of this
duty as a matter of course, very few would think of making any objection
to it; and almost all would be satisfied and pleased with its actual
operation. If, however, the teacher should, in any case, have reason to
believe that such a practice would be contrary to the wishes of his
employers, it would, according to views we have presented in another
chapter, be wrong for him to attempt to introduce it. He might, if he
should see fit, make such an objection a reason for declining to take
the school; but he ought not, if he takes it, to act counter to the
known wishes of his employers, in so important a point. But if, on the
other hand, no such objections are made known to him, he need not raise
the question himself at all, but take it for granted that in a Christian
land there will be no objection to imploring the divine protection and
blessing at the opening of a daily school.
If this practice is adopted, it will have a most powerful influence upon
the moral condition of the school. It must be so. Though many will be
inattentive, and many utterly unconcerned,--yet it is not possible to
bring children, even in form, into the presence of God every day, and to
utter in their hearing the petitions, which they ought to present,
without bringing a powerful element of moral influence to bear upon
their hearts. The good will be made better,--the conscientious more
conscientious still,--and the rude and savage will be subdued and
softened by the daily attempt to lead them to the throne of their
Creator. To secure this effect, the devotional service must be an honest
one. There must be nothing feigned or hypocritical; no hackneyed phrases
used without meaning, or intonations of assumed solemnity. It must be
honest, heartfelt, simple prayer; the plain and direct expression of
such sentiments as children ought to feel, and of such petitions as they
ought to offer. We shall speak presently of the mode of avoiding some
abuses to which this exercise is liable; but if these sources of abuse
are avoided, and the duty is performed in that plain, simple, direct,
and honest manner, in which it certainly will be, if it springs from the
heart, it must have a great influence on the moral progress of the
children, and in fact in all respects on the prosperity of the school.
But then independently of the _advantages_ which may be expected to
result from the practice of daily prayer in school,--it would seem to be
the imperious _duty_ of the teacher to adopt it. So many human minds
committed thus to the guidance of one,--at a period when the character
receives so easily and so permanently its shape and direction,--and in a
world of probation like this, is an occasion which seems to demand the
open recognition of the hand of God on the part of any individual to
whom such a trust is committed. The duty springs so directly out of the
attitude in which the teacher and pupil stand in respect to each other,
and the relation they together bear to the Supreme, that it would seem
impossible for any one to hesitate to admit the duty, without denying
altogether the existence of a God.
How vast the responsibility of _giving form and character to the human
soul_! How mighty the influence of which the unformed minds of a group
of children are susceptible! How much their daily teacher must
inevitably exert upon them! If we admit the existence of God at all, and
that he exerts any agency whatever in the moral world which he has
produced, here seems to be one of the strongest cases in which his
intervention should be sought. And then when we reflect upon the
influence which would be exerted upon the future religious character of
this nation, by having the millions of children training up in the
schools, accustomed, through all the years of early life, to being
brought daily into the presence of the Supreme, with thanksgiving,
confession, and prayer, it can hardly seem possible that the teacher who
wishes to be faithful in his duties, should hesitate in regard to this.
Some teacher may, perhaps, say that he cannot perform it because he is
not a religious man;--he makes no pretensions to piety. But this can
surely be no reason. He _ought to be_ a religious man, and his first
prayer offered in school may be the first act by which he becomes so.
Entering the service of Jehovah is a work which requires no preliminary
steps. It is to be done at once, by sincere confession, and an honest
prayer for forgiveness for the past, and strength for time to come. A
daily religious service in school may be, therefore, the outward act by
which he, who has long lived without God, may return to his duty.
If, from such considerations, the teacher purposes to have a daily
religious service in his school, he should by all means begin on the
first day,--and when he first calls his school to order. He should
mention to his pupils the great and obvious duty of imploring God's
guidance and blessing in all their ways, and then read a short portion
of Scripture, with an occasional word or two of simple explanation, and
offer, himself, a short and simple prayer. In some cases, teachers are
disposed to postpone this duty a day or two, from timidity or other
causes, hoping that after becoming acquainted a little with the school,
and having completed their more important arrangements, they shall find
it easier to begin. But this is a sad mistake. The longer it is
postponed, the more difficult and trying it will be. And then the moral
impressions will be altogether more strong and salutary, if an act of
solemn religious worship is made the first opening act of the school.
Where the teacher has not sufficient confidence that the general sense
of propriety among his pupils will preserve good order and decorum
during the exercise, it may be better for him to _read_ a prayer,
selected from books of devotion, or prepared by himself expressly for
the occasion. By this plan his school will be, during the exercise,
under his own observation as at other times. It may, in some schools,
where the number is small, or the prevailing habits of seriousness and
order are good, be well to allow the older scholars to read the prayer
in rotation, taking especial care that it does not degenerate into a
mere reading exercise; but that it is understood, both by readers and
hearers, to be a solemn act of religious worship. In a word, if the
teacher is really honest and sincere in his wish to lead his pupils to
the worship of God, he will find no serious difficulty in preventing the
abuses and avoiding the dangers which some might fear, and in
accomplishing vast good, both in promoting the prosperity of the school,
and in the formation of the highest and best traits a individual
character.
We have dwelt, perhaps, longer on this subject than we ought to have
done in this place; but its importance, when viewed in its bearings on
the thousands of children daily assembling in our district schools, must
be our apology. The embarrassments and difficulties arising from the
extreme sensitiveness which exists among the various denominations of
Christians in our land, threaten to interfere very seriously with giving
a proper degree of religious instruction to the mass of the youthful
population. But we must not, because we have no national _church_, cease
to have a national _religion_. All our institutions ought to be so
administered as openly to recognise the hand of God, and to seek his
protection and blessing; and in regard to none is it more imperiously
necessary than in respect to our common schools.
5. After the school is thus opened, the teacher will find himself
brought to the great difficulty which embarrasses the beginning of his
labors, i. e. how to find immediate employment at once, for the thirty
or forty children who all look up to him waiting for their orders. I say
thirty or forty, for the young teacher's first school will usually be a
small one. His object, I think, should be, in all ordinary cases, for
the first few days, twofold. First, to revive and restore, in the main,
the general routine of classes and exercises pursued by his predecessor
in the same school. And secondly, while doing this, to become as fully
acquainted with his scholars as possible.
It is best then, _ordinarily_, for the teacher to begin the school as
his predecessor closed it, and make the transition to his own perhaps
more improved method, a gradual one. In some cases a different course is
wise undoubtedly,--as, for example, where a teacher is commencing a
private school, on a previously well-digested plan of his own,--or where
one who has had experience, and has confidence in his power to bring his
new pupils promptly and at once into the system of classification and
instruction which he prefers. It is difficult however to do this, and
requires a good deal of address and decision; it is far easier and
safer, and in almost all cases, better in every respect for a young
teacher to revive and restore the former arrangements in the main, and
take his departure from them. He may afterwards make changes, as he may
find them necessary or desirable, and even bring the school soon into a
very different state from that in which he finds it; but it will
generally be more pleasant for himself, and better for the school, to
avoid the shock of a sudden and entire revolution.
The first thing then, when the scholars are ready to be employed, is to
set them at work, in classes or upon lessons, as they would have been
employed had the former teacher continued in charge of the school. To
illustrate clearly how this may be done, we may give the following
dialogue.
_Teacher._ "Can any one of the boys inform me what was the first lesson
that the former master used to hear in the morning?"
The boys are silent, looking to one another.
_Teacher._ "Did he hear _any_ recitation immediately after school
began?"
_Boys_;--faintly and with hesitation. "No sir."
_Teacher._ "How long was it before he began to hear lessons?"
Several boys simultaneously. "About half an hour." "A little while."
"Quarter of an hour."
"What did he do at this time?"
"Mended pens." "Set copies." "Looked over sums," and various other
answers are perhaps given.
The teacher then makes a memorandum of this, and then inquires;
"And what lesson came after this?"
"Geography."
"All the boys in this school who studied geography may rise."
A considerable number rise.
"Did you all recite together?"
"No sir."
"There are two classes then?"
"Yes sir." "Yes sir." "More than two."
"All who belong to the class that recites first in the morning may
remain standing; the rest may sit."
The boys obey, and eight or ten of them remain standing. The teacher
calls upon one of them to produce his book, and assigns them a lesson,
in regular course. He then requests some one of the number to write out,
in the course of the day, a list of the class, and to bring it with him
to the recitation the next morning.
"Are there any other scholars in the school who think it would be well
for them to join this class?"
In answer to this question probably some new scholars might perhaps
rise, or some hitherto belonging to other classes, who might be of
suitable age and qualifications to be transferred. If these individuals
should appear to be of the proper standing and character, they might at
once be joined to the class in question, and directed to take the same
lesson.
In the same manner the other classes would pass in review before the
teacher; and he would obtain a memorandum of the usual order of
exercises, and in a short time set all his pupils at work preparing for
the lessons of the next day. He would be much aided in this by the
previous knowledge which he would have obtained by private conversation,
as recommended under a former head. Some individual cases would require
a little special attention, such as new scholars; small children, &c.;
but he would be able, before a great while, to look around him and see
his whole school busy with the work he had assigned them, and his own
time for the rest of the morning, in a great degree, at his own command.
I ought to say, however, that it is not probable that he would long
continue these arrangements unaltered. In hearing the different classes,
he would watch for opportunities for combining them, or discontinuing
those where the number was small,--he would alter the times of
recitation, and group individual scholars into classes, so as to bring
the school, in a very short time, into a condition corresponding more
nearly with his own views. All this can be done very easily and
pleasantly when the wheels are once in motion; for a school is like a
ship in one respect,--most easily steered in the right direction, when
under sail.
By this plan also the teacher obtains what is almost absolutely
necessary at the commencement of his labors, time for _observation_. It
is of the first importance that he should become acquainted, as early as
possible, with the characters of the boys, especially to learn who those
are which are most likely to be troublesome. There always will be a few,
who will require special watch and care, and generally there will be
only a few. A great deal depends on finding these individuals out, in
good season, and bringing the pressure of a proper authority to bear
upon them soon. By the plan I have recommended, of not attempting to
remodel the school wholly at once, the teacher obtains time for noticing
the pupils, and learning something about their individual characters. In
fact, so important is this, that it is the plan of some teachers,
whenever they commence a new school, to let the boys have their own way,
almost entirely, for a few days, in order to find out fully who the idle
and mischievous are. This is perhaps going a little too far; but it is
certainly desirable to enjoy as many opportunities for observation as
can be secured on the first few days of the school.
6. Make it then a special object of attention, during the first day or
two, to discover who the idle and mischievous individuals are. They will
have generally seated themselves together in little knots, for as they
are aware that the new teacher does not know them, they will imagine
that, though perhaps separated before, they can now slip together again,
without any trouble. It is best to avoid, if possible, an open collision
with any of them at once, in order that they may be the better observed.
Whenever, therefore, you see idleness or play, endeavour to remedy the
evil for the time, by giving the individual something special to do, or
by some other measure, without however seeming to notice the misconduct.
Continue thus adroitly to stop every thing disorderly, while at the same
time you notice and remember where the tendencies to disorder exist.
By this means the individuals who would cause most of the trouble and
difficulty in the discipline of the school will soon betray themselves,
and those too, whose fidelity and good behaviour can be relied upon,
will also be known. The names of the former should be among the first
which the teacher learns, and their characters should be among the first
which he studies. The most prominent among them, those apparently most
likely to make trouble, he should note particularly, and make inquiries
out of school respecting them,--their characters,--their education at
home, &c., so as to become acquainted with them as early and as fully as
possible;--for he must have this full acquaintance with them before he
is prepared to commence any decided course of discipline with them. The
teacher often does irreparable injury by rash action at the outset. He
sees, for instance, a boy secretly eating an apple which he has
concealed in his hand, and which he bites, with his book before his
mouth, or his head under the lid of his desk. It is perhaps the first
day of the school, and the teacher thinks he had better make an example
at the outset, and calls the boy out, knowing nothing about his general
character, and inflicts some painful or degrading punishment before all
the school. A little afterwards, as he becomes gradually acquainted with
the boy, he finds that he is of mild, gentle disposition, generally
obedient and harmless, and that his offence was only an act of momentary
thoughtlessness, arising from some circumstances of peculiar temptation
at the time, a boy in the next seat perhaps had just before handed him
the apple. The teacher regrets, when too late, the hasty punishment. He
perceives that instead of having the influence of salutary example upon
the other boys, it must have shocked their sense of justice, and excited
dislike towards a teacher so quick and severe, rather than of fear of
doing wrong themselves. It would be safer to postpone such decided
measures a little,--to avoid all open collisions if possible for a few
days. In such a case as the above, the boy might be kindly spoken to in
an under-tone, in such a way as to show both the teacher's sense of the
impropriety of disorder, and also his desire to avoid giving pain to the
boy. If it then turns out that the individual is ordinarily a
well-disposed boy, all is right, and if he proves to be habitually
disobedient and troublesome, the lenity and forbearance exercised at
first, will facilitate the effect aimed at by subsequent measures. Avoid
then, for the few first days, all open collision with any of your
pupils, that you may have opportunity for minute and thorough
observation.
And here the young teacher ought to be cautioned against a fault which
beginners are very prone to fall into, that of forming unfavorable
opinions of some of their pupils from their air and manner, before they
see any thing in their conduct which ought to be disapproved. A boy or
girl comes to the desk to ask a question, or make a request, and the
teacher sees in the cast of countenance, or in the bearing or tone of
the individual, something indicating a proud, or a sullen, or an
ill-humored disposition, and conceives a prejudice, often entirely
without foundation, which weeks perhaps do not wear away. Every
experienced teacher can recollect numerous cases of this sort, and he
learns, after a time, to suspend his judgment. Be cautious therefore on
this point, and in the survey of your pupils which you make during the
first few days of your school, trust to nothing but the most sure and
unequivocal evidences of character; for many of your most docile and
faithful pupils will be found among those whose appearance at first
prepossessed you strongly against them.
One other caution ought also to be given. Do not judge too severely in
respect to the ordinary cases of misconduct in school. The young teacher
almost invariably does judge too severely. While engaged himself in
hearing a recitation, or looking over a "sum," he hears a stifled laugh,
and, looking up, sees the little offender struggling with the muscles of
his countenance to restore their gravity. The teacher is vexed at the
interruption, and severely rebukes or punishes the boy,--when, after
all, the offence, in a moral point of view, was an exceedingly light
one; at least it might very probably have been so. In fact, a large
proportion of the offences against order committed in school are the
mere momentary action of the natural buoyancy and life of childhood.
This is no reason why they should be indulged, or why the order and
regularity of the school should be sacrificed, but it should prevent
their exciting feelings of anger or impatience, or very severe
reprehension. While the teacher should take effectual measures for
restraining all such irregularities, he should do it with the tone and
manner which will show that he understands their true moral character,
and deals with them, not as heinous sins which deserve severe
punishment, but as serious inconveniences which he is compelled to
repress.
There are often cases of real moral turpitude in school,--such as where
there is intentional, wilful mischief, or disturbance, or habitual
disobedience, and there may even be, in some cases, open rebellion. Now
the teacher should show that he distinguishes these cases from such
momentary acts of thoughtlessness as we have described; and a broad
distinction ought to be made in the treatment of them. In a word
then,--what we have been recommending under this head is, that the
teacher should make it his special study, for his first few days in
school, to understand the characters of his pupils,--to learn who are
the thoughtless ones, who the mischievous, and who the disobedient and
rebellious;--and to do this with candid, moral discrimination, and with
as little open collision with individuals as possible.
8. Another point to which the teacher ought to give his early attention,
is to separate the bad boys as soon as he can, from one another. The
idleness and irregularity of children in school often depends more on
accidental circumstances than on character. Two boys may be individually
harmless and well disposed, and yet they may be of so mercurial a
temperament, that, together, the temptation to continual play will be
irresistible. Another case that more often happens, is, where one is
actively and even intentionally bad, and is seated next to an innocent
but perhaps thoughtless boy, and contrives to keep him always in
difficulty. Now remove the former away, where there are no very frail
materials for him to act upon, and place the latter where he is exposed
to no special temptation, and all would be well.
This is all very obvious, and known familiarly to all teachers who have
had any experience. But beginners are not generally so aware of it at
the outset as to make any direct and systematic efforts to examine the
school with reference to its condition in this respect. It is usual to
go on, leaving the boys to remain seated as chance or their own
inclinations grouped them, and to endeavour to keep the peace among the
various neighbourhoods, by close supervision, rebukes, and punishment.
Now these difficulties may be very much diminished, by looking a little
into the arrangement of the boys at the outset, and so modifying it as
to diminish the amount of temptation to which the individuals are
exposed.
This should be done, however, cautiously, deliberately, and with good
nature;--keeping the object of it a good deal out of view. It must be
done cautiously and deliberately, for the first appearances are
exceedingly fallacious in respect to the characters of the different
children. You see perhaps some indications of play between two boys
upon the same seat, and hastily conclude that they are disorderly boys
and must be separated. Something in the air and manner of one or both of
them confirms this impression, and you take the necessary measures at
once. You then find, when you become more fully acquainted with them,
that the appearances which you observed were only momentary and
accidental, and that they would have been as safe together as any two
boys in the school. And perhaps you will even find, that, by their new
position, you have brought one or the other into circumstances of
peculiar temptation. Wait, therefore, before you make such changes, till
you have ascertained _actual character_,--doing this, however, without
any unnecessary delay.
In such removals, too, it is well, in many cases, to keep the motive and
design of them as much as possible out of view. For by expressing
suspicion of a boy, you injure his character in his own opinion, and in
that of others, and tend to make him reckless. Besides, if you remove a
boy from a companion whom he likes, avowedly to prevent his playing, you
offer him an inducement, if he is a bad boy, to continue to play in his
new position for the purpose of thwarting you, or from the influence of
resentment. It would be wrong indeed to use any subterfuge, or duplicity
of any kind, to conceal your object,--but you are not bound to explain
it, and in the many changes which you will be compelled to make, in the
course of the first week, for various purposes, you may include many of
these, without explaining particularly the design or intention of any of
them.
In some instances, however, you may frankly state the whole case,
without danger, provided it is done in such a manner as not to make the
boy feel that his character is seriously injured in your estimation. It
must depend upon the tact and judgment of the teacher, to determine upon
the particular course to be pursued in the several cases, though he
ought to keep these general principles in view in all.
In one instance, for example, he will see two boys together, James and
Joseph we will call them, exhibiting a tendency to play, and after
inquiring into their characters he will find that they are good-natured,
pleasant boys, and that he had better be frank with them on the subject.
He calls one of them to his desk, and perhaps the following dialogue
ensues.
"James, I am making some changes in the seats, and thought of removing
you to another place. Have you any particular preference for that seat?"
The question is unexpected, and James hesitates. He wants to sit next to
Joseph, but doubts whether it is quite prudent to avow it,--so he says
slowly and with hesitation,
"No sir,--I do not know that I have."
"If you have any reason, I wish you would tell me frankly, for I want
you to have such a seat as will be pleasant to you."
James does not know what to say. Encouraged, however, by the
good-humored tone and look which the master assumes, he says, timidly,
"Joseph and I thought we should like to sit together,--if you are
willing."
"Oh,--you and Joseph are particular friends then, I suppose."
"Why,--yes sir."
"I am not surprised then, that you want to sit together,--though, to
tell the truth, that is rather a reason why I should separate you."
"Why sir?"
"Because I have observed that when two great friends are seated
together, they are always more apt to whisper and play.--Have not you
observed it?"
"Why,--yes sir."
"You may go and ask Joseph to come here."
When the two boys make their appearance again, the teacher continues.
"Joseph, James tells me that you and he want to sit together, and says
you are particular friends. But I tell him," he adds, smiling, "that
that is rather a reason for separating you. Now if I should put you both
into different parts of the school, next to boys that you are not
acquainted with, it would be a great deal easier for you to be still and
studious than it is now. Do not you think so yourselves?"
The boys look at one another and smile.
"However, there is one way you can do. You can guard against the extra
temptation by extra care; and on the whole, as I believe you are pretty
good boys, I will let you have your choice. You may stay as you are, and
make extra exertion to be perfectly regular and studious, or I will find
seats for you where it will be a great deal easier for you to be so.
Which do you think you should rather do?"
The boys hesitate, look at one another, and presently say that they had
rather sit together.
"Well," said the teacher, "it is immaterial to me whether you sit
together or apart, if you are only good boys. So you may take your seats
and try it a little while. If you find it too hard work to be studious
and orderly together, I can make a change hereafter. I shall soon see."
Such a conversation will have many good effects. It will make the boys
expect to be watched, without causing them to feel that their characters
have suffered. It will stimulate them to great exertion to avoid all
misconduct, and it will prepare the way for separating them afterwards
without awakening feelings of resentment, if the experiment of their
sitting together should fail.
* * * * *
Another case would be managed perhaps in a little different way, where
the tendency to play was more decided. After speaking to the individuals
mildly, two or three times, you see them again at play. You ask them to
wait that day after school and come to your desk.
They have, then, the rest of the day to think occasionally of the
difficulty they have brought themselves into, and the anxiety and
suspense which they will naturally feel, will give you every advantage
for speaking to them with effect;--and if you should be engaged a few
minutes with some other business, after school, so that they should have
to stand a little while in silent expectation, waiting for their turn,
it would contribute to the permanence of the effect.
"Well, boys," at length you say, with a serious but frank tone of voice,
"I saw you playing in a disorderly manner to-day. And in the first place
I want you to tell me honestly all about it. I am not going to punish
you,--but I want you to be open and honest about it. What were you
doing?"
The boys hesitate.
"George, what did you have in your hand?"
"A piece of paper."
"And what were you doing with it?"
_George._ "William was trying to take it away from me."
"Was there any thing on it?"
"Yes sir."
"What?"
George looks down a little confused.
_William._ "George had been drawing some pictures on it.
"I see each of you are ready to tell of the other's fault, but it would
be much more honorable if each was open in acknowledging his own. Have I
ever had to speak to you before for playing together in school?"
"Yes sir, I believe you have," says one, looking down.
"More than once?"
"Yes sir."
"More than twice?"
"I do not recollect exactly,--I believe you have."
"Well, now, what do you think I ought to do next?"
The boys have nothing to say.
"Do you prefer sitting together, or are you willing to have me separate
you?"
"We should rather sit together, sir, if you are willing," says George.
"I have no objection to your sitting together, if you could only resist
the temptation to play. I want all the boys in the school to have
pleasant seats."
There is a pause,--the teacher hesitating what to do.
"Suppose now I were to make one more experiment, and let you try to be
good boys in your present seat, would you really try?"
"Yes sir."--"Yes sir, we will," are the replies.
"And if I should find that you still continue to play, and should have
to separate you, will you move into your new seats pleasantly, and with
good humor, feeling that I have done right about it?"
"Yes sir, we will."
* * * * *
Thus it will be seen that there may be cases where the teacher may make
arrangements for separating his scholars, on an open and distinct
understanding with them in respect to the cause of it. We have given
these cases not that exactly such ones will be very likely to occur, or
that when they do, the teacher is to manage them in exactly the way here
described, but to exhibit more clearly to the reader than could be done
by any general description, the spirit and tone which a teacher ought to
assume towards his pupils. We wished to exhibit this in contrast with
the harsh and impatient manner, which teachers too often assume in such
a case;--as follows.
"John Williams and Samuel Smith, come here to me," exclaims the master,
in a harsh, impatient tone, in the midst of the exercises of the
afternoon.
The scholars all look up from their work;--the culprits slowly rise from
their seats, and with a sullen air come down to the floor.
"You are playing, boys, all the time, and I will not have it. John, do
you take your books and go and sit out there by the window, and, Samuel,
you come and sit here on this front seat,--and if I catch you playing
again I shall certainly punish you severely."
The boys make the move, with as much rattling and disturbance as is
possible without furnishing proof of wilful intention to make a noise,
and when they get their new seats, and the teacher is again engaged upon
his work, they exchange winks and nods, and, in ten minutes, are slyly
cannonading each other with paper balls.
* * * * *
In regard to all the directions that have been given under this head, I
ought to say again before concluding it, that they are mainly applicable
to the case of beginners, and of small schools. The general principles
are, it is true, of universal application, but it is only where a school
is of moderate size that the details of position, in respect to
individual scholars, can be minutely studied. More summary processes are
necessary, I am aware, when the school is very large, and the time of
the teacher is incessantly engaged.
9. In some districts in New England, the young teacher will find one or
more boys, generally among the larger ones, who will come to the school
with the express determination to make a difficulty if they can. The
best way is generally to face these individuals at once, in the most
direct and open manner, and, at the same time, with perfect good humor,
and kindness of feeling and deportment towards them personally. An
example or two will best illustrate what I mean.
A teacher heard a rapping noise repeatedly, one day, just after he had
commenced his labors, under such circumstances as to lead him to suppose
it was designed. He did not appear to notice it, but remained after
school until the scholars had all gone, and then made a thorough
examination. He found at length a broken place in the plastering, where
a _lath_ was loose, and a string was tied to the end of it, and thence
carried along the wall under the benches, to the seat of a mischievous
boy, and fastened to a nail. By pulling the string he could spring the
lath, and then let it snap back to its place. He left every thing as it
was, and the next day while engaged in a lesson, he heard the noise
again.
He rose from his seat.
The scholars all looked up from their books.
"Did you hear that noise?" said he.
"Yes sir."
"Do you know what it is?"
"No sir."
"Very well, I only wanted to call your attention to it. I may perhaps
speak of it again, by and by."
He then resumed his exercise as if nothing had happened. The guilty boy
was agitated and confused, and was utterly at a loss to know what to do.
What could the teacher mean? Had he discovered the trick?--and if so
what _was_ he going to do?
He grew more and more uneasy, and resolved that, at all events, it was
best for him to retreat. Accordingly, at the next recess, as the teacher
had anticipated, he went slyly to the lath, cut the string, then
returned to his seat, and drew the line in, rolled it up, and put it in
his pocket. The teacher, who was secretly watching him, observed the
whole manoeuvre.
At the close of the school, when the books were laid aside, and all was
silence, he treated the affair thus.
"Do you remember the noise to which I called your attention early this
afternoon?
"Yes, sir."
"I will explain it to you now. One of the boys tied a string to a loose
lath in the side of the room, and then having the end of it at his seat,
he was pulling it, to make a noise to disturb us."
The scholars all looked astonished, and then began to turn round towards
one another to see who the offender could be. The culprit began to
tremble.
"He did it several times yesterday, and would have gone on doing it, had
I not spoken about it to-day. Do you think this was wrong or not?"
"Yes sir;" "wrong;" "wrong;" are the replies.
"What harm does it do?"
"It interrupts the school."
"Yes. Is there any other harm?"
The boys hesitate.
"It gives me trouble and pain. Should you not suppose it would?"
"Yes sir."
"Have I ever treated any boy or girl in this school unjustly or
unkindly?"
"No sir;" "No sir."
"Then why should any boy or girl wish to give me trouble or pain?"
There was a pause. The guilty individual expected that the next thing
would be to call him out for punishment.
"Now what do you think I ought to do with such a boy?"
No answer.
"Perhaps I ought to punish him, but I am very unwilling to do that. I
concluded to try another plan, to treat him with kindness and
forbearance. So I called your attention to it this afternoon, to let him
know that I was observing it, and to give him an opportunity to remove
the string. And he did. He went in the recess and cut off the string. I
shall not tell you his name, for I do not wish to injure his character.
All I want is to have him a good boy."
A pause.
"I think I shall try this plan; for he must have some feelings of honor
and gratitude, and if he has, he certainly will not try to give me pain
or trouble win after this. And now I shall say no more about it, nor
think any more about it; only, to prove that it is all as I say, if you
look there under that window, after school, you will see the lath with
the end of the string round it, and by pulling it, you can make it
snap."
* * * * *
Another case, a little more serious in its character, is the following.
A teacher having had some trouble with a rude and savage-looking boy,
made some inquiry respecting him out of school, and incidentally learned
that he had once or twice before openly rebelled against the authority
of the school, and that he was now, in the recesses, actually preparing
a club with which he was threatening to defend himself, if the teacher
should attempt to punish him.
The next day, soon after the boys had gone out, he took his hat and
followed them, and turning round a corner of the schoolhouse, found the
boys standing around the young rebel, who was sitting upon a log,
shaving the handle of the club smooth, with his pocket-knife. He was
startled at the unexpected appearance of the teacher, and the first
impulse was to hide his club behind him, but it was too late, and
supposing that the teacher was ignorant of his designs, he went on
sullenly with his work, feeling, however, greatly embarrassed.
"Pleasant day, boys," said the teacher. "This is a fine sunny nook for
you to talk in."
"Seems to me, however, you ought to have a better seat than this old
log," continued he, taking his seat at the same time by the side of the
boy.
"Not so bad a seat, however, after all. What are you making, Joseph?"
Joseph mumbled out something inarticulate by way of reply.
"I have got a sharper knife," said he, drawing his penknife out of his
pocket. And then, "Let me try it," he continued, gently taking the club
out of Joseph's hand.
The boys looked surprised, some exchanged nods and winks, others turned
away to conceal a laugh; but the teacher engaged in conversation with
them, and soon put them all at their ease, except poor Joseph, who could
not tell how this strange interview was likely to end.
In the mean time the teacher went on shaving the handle smooth, and
rounding the ends. "You want," said he, "a rasp or coarse file for the
ends, and then you could finish it finely. But what are you making this
formidable club for?"
Joseph was completely at a loss what to say. He began to show evident
marks of embarrassment and confusion.
"I know what it is for; it is to defend yourself against me with, is it
not, boys?" said he, appealing to the others.
A faint "yes sir," or two, was the reply.
"Well now, Joseph, it will be a great deal better for us both to be
friends than to be enemies. You had better throw this club away, and
save yourself from punishment by being a good boy. Come now," said he,
handing him back his club, "throw it over into the field as far as you
can, and we will all forget that you ever made it."
Joseph sat the picture of shame and confusion. Better feelings were
struggling for admission, and the case was decided by a broad-faced,
good-natured-looking boy, who stood by his side saying almost
involuntarily,
"Better throw it, Joe."
The club flew, end over end, into the field. Joseph returned to his
allegiance, and never attempted to rise in rebellion again.
The ways by which boys engage in open, intentional disobedience, are, of
course, greatly varied, and the exact treatment will depend upon the
features of the individual case. But the frankness, the openness, the
plain dealing, and the kind and friendly tone, which it is the object of
the foregoing illustrations to exhibit, should characterize all.
11. We have already alluded to the importance of a delicate regard for
the _characters_ of the boys, in all the measures of discipline adopted
at the commencement of a school. This is in fact of the highest
importance at all times, and is peculiarly so at the outset. A wound to
the feelings is sometimes inflicted by a single transaction, which
produces a lasting injury to the character. Children are very sensitive
to ridicule or disgrace, and some are most acutely so. A cutting reproof
administered in public, or a punishment which exposes the individual to
the gaze of others, will often burn far more deeply into the heart than
the teacher imagines.
And it is often the cause of great and lasting injury too. By destroying
the character of a pupil, you make him feel that he has nothing more to
lose or gain, and destroy that kind of interest in his own moral
condition, which alone will allure him to virtuous conduct. To expose
children to public ridicule or contempt, tends either to make them
sullen and despondent, or else to arouse their resentment and to make
them reckless and desperate. Most persons remember through life, some
instances in their early childhood, in which they were disgraced or
ridiculed at school; and the permanence of the recollection is a test of
the violence of the effect.
Be very careful then to avoid, especially at the commencement of the
school, publicly exposing those who do wrong. Sometimes you may make the
offence public, as in the case of the snapping of the lath described
under a former head, while you kindly conceal the name of the offender.
Even if the school generally understand who he is, the injury of public
exposure is almost altogether avoided, for the sense of disgrace does
not come nearly so vividly home to the mind of a child, from hearing
occasional allusions to his offence by individuals among his play-mates,
as when he feels himself at a particular time the object of universal
attention and dishonor. And then besides, if the pupil perceives that
the teacher is tender of his reputation, he will, by a feeling somewhere
between imitation and sympathy, begin to feel a little tender of it too.
Every exertion should be made therefore, to lead children to value their
character, and to help them to preserve it; and especially to avoid, at
the beginning, every unnecessary sacrifice of it.
And yet there are cases where shame is the very best possible remedy for
juvenile faults. If a boy, for example, is self-conceited, bold, and
mischievous, with feelings somewhat callous, and an influence extensive
and bad, an opportunity will sometimes occur to hold up his conduct to
the just reprobation of the school, with great advantage. By this means,
if it is done in such a way as to secure the influence of the school on
the right side, many good effects are sometimes attained. His pride and
self-conceit are humbled,--his bad influence receives a very decided
check, and he is forced to draw back at once from the prominent stand he
has occupied.
Richard Jones; for example, is a rude, coarse, self-conceited
boy,--often doing wrong both in school and out, and yet possessed of
that peculiar influence which a bad boy often contrives to exert in
school. The teacher, after watching some time for an opportunity to
humble him, one day overhears a difficulty among the boys, and looking
out of the window, observes that he is taking away a sled from one of
the little boys, to slide down hill upon, having none of his own. The
little boy resists as well as he can, and complains bitterly; but it is
of no avail.
At the close of the school that day, the teacher commences conversation
on the subject as follows.
"Boys, do you know what the difference is between stealing and robbery?"
"Yes sir."
"What?"
The boys hesitate, and look at one another.
"Suppose a thief were to go into a man's store in the day time, and take
away something secretly, would it be stealing or robbery?"
"Stealing."
"Suppose he should meet him in the road and take it away by force?"
"Then it would be robbery."
"Yes; when that which belongs to another is taken secretly, it is called
stealing; when it is taken openly or with violence, it is called
robbery. Which now do you think is the worst?"
"Robbery."
"Yes, for it is more barefaced and determined--then it gives a great
deal more pain to the one who is injured. To-day I saw one of the boys
in this school taking away another boy's sled, openly and with
violence."
The boys all look round towards Richard.
"Was that of the nature of stealing or robbery?"
"Robbery," say the boys.
"Was it real robbery?"
They hesitate.
"If any of you think of any reason why it was not real robbery, you may
name it."
"He gave the sled back to him," says one of the boys.
"Yes. And therefore to describe the action correctly, we should not say
Richard robbed a boy of his sled, but that he robbed him of his sled
_for a time_, or he robbed him of the use of his sled. Still, in respect
to the nature and the guilt of it, it was robbery."
"There is another thing which ought to be observed about it. Whose sled
was it that Richard took away?"
"James Thompson's."
"James, you may stand up."
"Notice his size, boys,--I should like to have Richard Jones stand up
too, so that you might compare them; but I presume he feels very much
ashamed of what he has done, and it would be very unpleasant for him to
stand up. You all remember, however, how large he is. Now when I was a
boy, it used to be considered dishonorable and cowardly for a large,
strong boy to abuse a little one who cannot defend himself. Is it
considered so now?"
"Yes sir."
"It ought to be, certainly; though, were it not for such a case as this,
we should not have thought of considering Richard Jones a coward. It
seems he did not dare to try to take away a sled from a boy who was as
big as himself, but attacked little James, for he knew he was not strong
enough to defend himself."
* * * * *
Now, in some such cases as this, great good may be done both in respect
to the individual, and to the state of public sentiment in school, by
openly exposing a boy's misconduct. The teacher must always take care,
however, that the state of mind and character in the guilty individual,
is such that public exposure is adapted to work well as a remedy, and
also that in managing it he carries the sympathies of the other boys
with him. To secure this, he must avoid all harsh and exaggerated
expressions, or direct reproaches, and while he is mild and gentle and
forbearing himself, lead the boys to understand and feel the nature of
the sin which he exposes. The opportunities for doing this to advantage
will, however, be rare. Generally it will be best to manage cases of
discipline more privately, so as to protect the characters of those that
offend.
* * * * *
The teacher should thus, in accordance with the directions we have
given, commence his labors with careful circumspection, patience,
frankness, and honest good will towards every individual of his charge.
He will find less difficulty at the outset than he would have expected,
and soon have the satisfaction of perceiving that a mild but most
efficient government is quietly and firmly established in the little
kingdom over which he is called to reign.
* * * * *
Transcriber's Note:
Summarized here are the corrections applied to the text.
We can then see how much improvement has been
"improvement" was printed as "impovement"
at his own discretion, waive it.
"waive" was printed as "wave"
evil consequences will result
"consequences" was printed as "conquences"
between the boys of a town school and an academy
"academy" was printed as "acadamy"
sits at the curtained desk
"sits" was printed as "sists"
Proposed, that a music committee be appointed
"that" was printed as "That"
misspelled word
"misspelled" was printed as "mispelled"
in periodicals devoted to education
"devoted" was printed as "dovoted"
are cases of discipline
"discipline" was printed as "dicipline"