Jht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
463 
Pastoral Parson 
(Continued from Page 45S) 
seems to think that the country Is just 
the place to bring up boys, but no one 
seems to know just why, A chance to do 
things of his own accord and make his 
own playthings is one of the reasons why. 
In school so much is put over on him. 
but here he works for himself. The boys 
can use all the tools on this farm ; only 
put them back where they found them. 
On some farms all the tools are locked 
up, hut not so here. A boy will never 
learn to use a tool or to put it back if 
it is locked away from him. 
A Partner. —The boy on the farm be¬ 
comes, or ought to become, a partner in 
the business, lie early hears the busi¬ 
ness affairs talked over, and begins to 
know what pays and what doesn’t. If he 
helps about the hens, he has hen money 
in his pocket, and the more they lay, the 
more he has. If lie has always to work 
out or go off the farm to get any money, 
of course, he will not stay on the farm. 
IIow few other occupations, besides 
farming, where the boys can have any 
sense of partnership! With a banker or 
a teacher or a clerk or a bookkeeper, 
what does the boy know or care about 
bis father's work? 
The Little Red ScnooT.iiorsE— A 
while ago they had a school exhibition 
down county, and a part of the program 
was putting on a wonderful contrast be¬ 
tween the old country School and the 
wonderful model school of today. The 
children who took the part of the old- 
time school were trained to talk terribly 
flat ‘'rube” tnlk, and to make dreadful 
grammatical errors. It seems to the Par¬ 
son that this was in dreadfully bad taste, 
to put it mildly. At least one man got 
up and left the room ! The Parson has 
a fairly good chance to compare the 
school of t(*day with that old-time school, 
as we get off four children to school every 
morning, and there were five in the Par¬ 
son’s family that went to the one-room 
school. When it comes to the real ground¬ 
ing in the fundamentals, the Parson knows 
perfectly well that the school today can¬ 
not touch the old one-room school as the 
Parson knew it. 
A Desire for Learning. — There 
seemed to be a real dpsire for learning 
in those days, too. Boys went three 
terms a year as long as they could, and 
then, when needed on the farm, they went 
one term a year—the Winter term. 
Great, strapping fellows going to school 
in the Winter because they wanted to 
learn, not heeause they had to go. What 
they got that way did rhem some good. 
The elective course is nothing new. 
These big Winter scholars studied what 
they needed and wanted most, and could 
put all their time in one study if they 
wanted to. After all, the main thing in 
education is to teach people to read well 
and to know where to find things when 
they want to “read up” on them. To 
know how to use reference books and 
where to find data is infinitely more than 
to try to c-rnm a few facts in the head, 
only to forget them later. 
The Geese. —All this household, in¬ 
cluding Mrs. Parson, are agreed that the 
geese are the most interesting things on 
the farm, and about the smartest. We 
have six big geese now—two sets or fami¬ 
lies. They are big, snow-white birds, 
and attract a deal of attention. You can 
hear their talking all over the neighbor¬ 
hood. for they are great conversational¬ 
ists. They holler a good deal in the night 
and early morning, but now we are used 
to it. it disturbs no one’s sleep. George 
puts tlm eggs down cellar and turns them 
over every day or two. The worst thing 
is, they lay 1 U the same nest, and this 
will have to be remedied, as it, will never 
do to set two geese anywhere near each 
other. As soon as one leaves her nest, 
the other will go over and steal all her 
eggs, and then there will bo war—and 
less eggs. 
"Pitt Griefs.” —The Parson wonders 
if all the local newspapers are like the 
one that comes into our household every 
night. Such a mess of news! Pictures 
of rich divorcees seem to be the chief de¬ 
light of the publishers. Sometimes they 
seem to have two to a paper. These, 
with the doings of the movie world, make 
up the chief part of the paper. One really 
shudders to see the hoys pick up the 
sheet. Part of it is given over to short 
items about the city, sort of harmless 
local gossip. Evidently Sir has been 
glancing at the daily. ‘‘Where did you 
gpt that idea from?" said Mrs. Parson to 
Sit. “This morning. Out of the ‘City 
Griefs.’” said Sit. 
Confessions of a Rural School Teacher 
After reading Hope Farm Notes in the 
issue of Dacember 24. 1021, I feel that 
I would like to say a few words about 
the school Question. You state that "the 
chief object of the modern school speme to 
be to have children pass from one grade or 
school to another.” Iu this T think you 
are quite right, but I don’t think it is 
the teacher’s fault so much as the par¬ 
ents, although T am not excusing the 
teacher, either. Tin* parents think that 
if the child doesn't pass it is the fault 
of the teacher, and 1 suppose it is; but, 
at any rate, the parent must have the 
ehild pass his grade if he doesn't know 
half the subject matter thoroughly. If 
the teacher keeps him two years on a 
year's work for the purpose of having him 
know that work well, instead of half¬ 
way, the teacher is promptly "fired” at 
the end of the term. “Teach to ‘pass’ 
the children.” is the slogan of the dis¬ 
trict. not “Teach to teach them some¬ 
thing.” Of course, there are exceptions, 
but, as a whole, the teacher who wants 
to retain her job more than a year at a 
place will tench to "pass” the c-hildreu 
first, and if there is any time left, and 
she feels so inclined, will try to teach 
them well the things they but half-know 
in passing the examinations. This, of 
course, is a had. or. at least, a very poor 
way of doing, and the children suffer in 
the end, for the skimming of knowledge 
that they have, instead of real knowl¬ 
edge. they are supposed to have. 
I have taught two years, and am now 
teaching for the third year. The first 
year I taught as I supposed I should 
teach; that is. have the children-really 
know and understand a thing before go¬ 
ing to the next. The children had a 
smattering of the work of the previous 
year, so that I made an extensive review. 
The children didn't “pass” the first term 
Work because they hadn't completed all 
the work required by the syllabus for 
that grade, I was promptly told that- the 
childern must “pass.” and it didn’t make 
any difference when I explained and 
demonstrated the fact, that they knew 
what they had covered. They must 
"pass.” Now I am teaching in a differ¬ 
ent school for my second year. The 
children “pass.” and I try to ease my 
conscience by doing the best I can for 
them in the way of real knowledge. 
You also state that the small school, 
with n conscientious teacher, can give 
the individual pupil as good or better 
training than a larger school. I suppose 
you mean a larger school room of only 
one grade as in opposition to the small 
rural school of all grades. Well, per¬ 
haps you are right, but I can’t give my 
1L pupils of the second, third, fourth, 
sixth, and seventh grades the training 
a city teacher could give one grade of 
22 pupils. For that reason and others 
that refer to the “pass” business, this is 
my last year teaching. The law requires 
that for all grades above the fourth, eight 
or more subjects he taught. Below the 
fourth, and including it. there should be 
taught, four to six subjects. By dint of 
combining classes, -alternating classes, 
etc., I still must bear 20 or more classes 
per day. Each class, therefore, has not 
more than 15 minutes at the most, and 
generally less, as the small children and 
older ones too often need help between 
each class. Can I do as much for my 
children when I have 15-minute classes 
as can a teacher who has 22 children, 
and eight or six classes, with more than 
twice my time for classes? I know of 
but one teacher who, it appears to me, is 
doing as much for the children as a city 
teacher could do. At least, by the ap¬ 
pearance of the work on exhibition at a 
school exhibit on a "Community Day,” 
it sremed to come up to the standard bet¬ 
ter than most schools. For instance, in 
writing, flu important subject. I_went.to 
the district school before entering high 
school, and never had any real train¬ 
ing in writing, although I had a 
fine teacher. She has no time for 
anything but the most simple and short¬ 
est of writing classes. In the city school 
I had a hard time to do fair work in 
writing. Today my writing is poor, and 
I expect the children I am teaching to 
be little berter off. Last year, by cut¬ 
ting down equally imporrant work, I got 
in two half-hour periods of real writing 
instruction twice a week. This year, 
due to extra classes in history that must 
be given the sixth grade, if they “pass.” 
I cun have no real writing class. The 
little ones have “copies” to copy from. 
That's all; lint it is as much as is given 
in all districts around here. I try to 
be very careful about written work in 
other subjects, but that is all the chil¬ 
dren have, and all I can do. The city 
child has at least once a week from the 
first grade through high school, a 45- 
minute period of writing instruction. 
Children are taught how .to form letters. 
Tn the teachers’ magazine I subscribe 
for, one sees articles concerning the 
methods of teaching writing, but now 
at the end of two years of seeing such 
articles, I hate to open the magazine 
when it comes. There's so much I long 
to do. and every number gives me more 
ideas, but there is no time for such things 
for the country child. They are only 
for his city cousin. I am not the only 
teacher that will tell you this. I have 
heard dozens of teachers tell me the 
same, teachers who are old enough to 
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THE RURAL (NEW-YORKER 
333 West 30th St. New York City 
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THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
333 W 30th St.. N. ¥, 
be m.v mother, and arc considered "the 
best” teachers. If you cut down on sub¬ 
jects to make more time, the children 
won’t or can’t “pass" subjects not taught. 
If you can't “pass" children, why. you 
can’t be a teacher, or. at least, you won't j 
be hired by any trustee. 
I suppose there is something wrong 
with me; not the school. That’s what 
anyone says to whom I speak about this. 
T started out from the rural school to 
high school, intent on being a teacher. 
But with me. as with other rural teach¬ 
ers. it seems, after experience, another 
story. In most districts the teacher is 
hired by the trustee. The parents, how¬ 
ever. pay taxps. and. of course, have 
something to say about how the school 
is "run. The teacher ends by having 
in too many cases, not one employer, but 
six or a dozen, each thinking they can 
say what shall or shall not be done. This 
alone, with its many confusions, contra¬ 
dicting orders, drives the teacher awnv. 
M y school now is a model, as far as 
this goes, for although the parents take 
c, great interest, they work and help me 
more than I can say, they do not feel 
that they are my employers. My first 
school was just the opposite. 
a rural teacher. 
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