TO-DAY'S WORK.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 200, 18 May 1908, Page 8

TO-DAY'S WORK.

WW SCHOOL IS IN. . -'x ■'■- - TEACHING THE YOUNG IDEA.

v : (By Socrates.) , '

"Full'well tho boding tremblers learned to . ,■ trace < Tha day's dicastors in his morning face. —Goldsmith. »• Host of us havo a \yery "good idea of what goes' on when school is "in." Wo liavo been there ourselves, and cherish divers momories -of that interesting period of our lives ■ which commenced when wo wore five, and endured throughout the years of our primary and, .if wo. had any, our secondary education. Wo have also flattered ourselves, no doubt"; that we knew our teachers. Did wo? Were "wo' profound psychologists, unerring in our analyses'of human types? I do not think we .were, for. wo had something to learri in-thbso days.- -

: Tliero is an impression among certain people—and some of those really ought to know better—thVt.'the average school teacher has a very-easy time of it. Tho writor (who has been himself a teacher) well remembers tho characteristic comment'of a typical " cockatoo " of -the backblocks on this aspect of public opinion towards tho teaching profession. '

.. "'You , knock off, five-days a week, at 3 o'clock, get Saturdays and Sundays off, six weeks' spell at Christmas, two in the winter, other holidays chucked in—ain't you follows ashamed to'''old;out-your 'ands when tha scrow comes along?",- ; f

■ I preferred not to' argiio'with him, for his hoad'.was very thick, his intellectual. vision clouded'by tho'neglect .of his parents to see to his education, and it was a very warm day. Since that timo'l havo licard tho samo opinion expressed'yaribnslj) and have frequently wondered whether all public i Gchool teachers wore liigh-souled, single-minded people, ill!love with their labours, or if a certain percentage suffered the work -for tho sake of its compensations—the holidays. Bo .that'as;it-..may, .it...'remains to bo said that the ■ sweots of the' profession ■ lmvo to "be earned, wliother a-man or woman enters tho game from pure lovo of it or no. , Before the Bell Rlnss. . ' . Here is a.• side |of the picturo which tho public does not often seo—the day's work of an assistant-teacher. 1 There is a lot to do. and consider .before the bell rings at 9 o'clock on a school morning, and the teacher who' wishes his day to 'run smoothly and well will find much profit-in previous'preparation.l* What is ho going to teach? How does ho.propose to dp it? His 'first lesson is usually: the: exposition ,;of some principle in arithmetic,, with, suitable examples in its practical application. Arithmetic' is' best taken in the morning, for then the "young idea" is bright and fresh.'

Tho " Lir-os." '■ •■ ' ■■ ■ ■ ' By the time the bell "goes," he has.probably arranged in his mind his ■ plan of" instruction for tho whole of tho forenoon, and ho then goes out to tho assembly portion of tho playground, where lie casts his eye over the "lines." This'is one of, tho psychological; moments of the day—when the' " hard cases " in tho lines 'study his face and roughly figure out' for themselves what sort, of a , dfty' they aregoing to experience, ! Teachers'aro human beings, not automatic machines, and their moods are varying., Boys - know.'it, , .the teachers themselves know- it, . wis world knows it. So it 1 ' ig | that the " weather" for the day may be "set,fair," or,"warning signals for northerly gales" may bo handed round. If it is the latter, then the 'j,hard cases" ponder regretfully over, thoir sins of' omission and commission; for them it will be tho. " Dies Irae." The various classes aro then marched.in to their respective roomsj tho doors close, 'and a hush, settles down-on the building—school" is "in."'

At Work. What follows 'depends very much on the teacher's system of working. ■ Apart from the strictly preceptorial. part of his business, there jare certain matters—of a judicial naturo—which must, <in the interests of order and discipline, receive careful attention. These are delinquencies .which come forward— oither for immediate settlement or postpone-, ment until a more convenient season, according to the particular circumstances ■ of each —almost as soon as the door, closes. The Late-comer. Tho teacher, with chalk in hand, is just about to expound somo arithmetical, propositiraj when a hurried shufflo is heard along tho corridor, a nervous rap on the door, and Unpuhctuality slips, into the room, panting and apologetic. ~ , , "Well?* _ • "Please sir, I had to go a message." This is tho,stock explanation.'. . ' . "Got a note?." ' "Please sir, I lost it." The rascal, has organised his defences.; ■ < . "H'm—sco me at playtime, and the incident closes—nntil playtime. The teacher turns to tho blackboard again', and the class settles down to' work. Tho Truant. . Towards the end of the lesson a scufflo is beard in the coTridor, followed by & violent rat-a^tat'on.the door....The class sits .up expectantly, . scenting a row, as the teacher goes >to the , door. He looks round as he reaches it. "Come out, Green," and Green, who has made a fruitless attempt to, open up conversation witlr-'. his neighbour, comes slowly , out and- stands on the floor. In tho corridor stands a member of tho proletariat, perspiring and wrathful, and holding by tho scruif of tho neck his young hopeful, who glowers at his parent,: and looks defiant at the teacher. .

"I've brought Jimmy.',- to school this mornin', and lost two hours' work over the job. 'E's played the wag for about a week now—give im'a good'idrn'." "All right, I'll talk to him." \ ''Don't be afraid to lay it on, you know."

"That's all right—l'll seo that—er—justice, is done." The parent departs, tho door closcs on the i delinquent and his judgo, and tho following conversation' probably takes place:— • , "Where have,you been?" "Waggin' it, sir." "Playing truant, "you mcian." . "Yes, sir." "You know what that means, I suppose?" "Yes, sir. I've just had one hiding from the old—from father."

• "Well, this sort of thing can't go on — you know that. You and I must havo some understanding on tho subject. . We'll talk the matter over later on."

The incident then. closes; and work goes on. What happens "later on" is between, the boy and his master, who has a difficult task before, him. An easy way out of the difficulty,' of course, would bo to oblige tho irresponsible wallop" the 6on. This is summary 'jurisdiction, and satisfies tho conscicnoo of most people. But it docs not deal, with the question of truancy as a psychological problem. Playtime and LuncJitlme.

Half way through the forenoon, the boll rings for and tho ontiro school, with tho exception of a dismal coterie, of recalcitrants, who are-"kept in," pours out. into the playground, and for 10 or 15 minutes work is suspended. Tho teacher's duty of supervising takes him into tho playground, also, and he maintains a cate.~::l watch on the soene. Bullying, rough play, and trespassing on. forbidden territory axe tho .usual.

broaches tho laws of the playground. Tho boll 'rings all too soon, and anothor hour's work follows, tho children- being now refreshed by their brief romp in tho open-air. Tho school is practically deserted i'or tho major portion' of tho lunch hour, but the playground fills rapidly by tho timo tho "first boli" rings, and from then on to tho "sccond boll" it is playtinio over again. Two hours' steady work follows, and then tho main portion of tho day's work corncs to an end. Tho "Wasliing-Up." Having got rid of tho bulk of the clnis : there remains a small group of laggards, whoso'spelling, reading, arithmetic, or some other branch of school work not up to the mark. Tliero also remains a pilo of exorciso books which must bo looked over, and most probably the team is awaiting tho teacher's prosenco on tho field. Tliero may be also somo preparation for tho next day's work. All these little things tako timo, and tho conscientious teacher very seldom, if ever, leaves school much beforo five., Notos. *

Ono of tho privileges of a teacher's somo people would call it an Annoyance—is to be (the recipient, at'times, of peculiar notes from parents v Somo of these are sultry, others amusing, while a few are pathetic. Most teachers carefully preserve these as epistolary curiosities. Tho writer has received a few in his day. "If you Jay a finger on mv son again," wrote! a certain irate parent to me onco, "I'll como down and stand you on your head md bump you." Ho never, came, although his precious son crosscd my path many times since.

" You are an unprincipled scoundrel," wroto another paterfamilias, whose son had put both feet through every commandment of school conduct, "and you ought to bo imprisoned." I was able to convince him latterly that ho was wrong, and wo/ lived happily thereafter. " Pleaso . excuse Johnny being absent," wrote a mother pathotically to me once, " as his; father? died last week." Irato Parents. , Very embarrassing at times is the visit to tho school of an irato parent. Tho writer does not recall any personal interview with one of theso, but lie has seen a fow. A groat brawny female, sleeves rolled up, red-armed, no hat, sailed into tho playground of a certain school ono day with fierce battle in lief eyo. It was " playtime,so there was a largo and' appreciative 'auidence. Sho singled out tho object of her displeasure, ono of tlio senior masters, shook her fist in his face, and scandalised tho spectators by a speech which was hardly, in tlio strict sense of the word, " King's English." The writor remembers ono instance where a cortain bellicose parent became so i insulting that tho teacher to whom he was addressing his remarks took off his coat, and with a preliminary flourish of his fists, " waded in" for tlio sako of his selfrespect. After a lively bout the bellicose ono retired, and subsequently apologised. ' Theso are a fow of the features. of tho day's work of a public school teacher. Of course, ithero are long intervals of peaceful calm as compensations, but nearly every teacher has, at one time or another,, had to /ace music of a more or less lively tuno. If ho is a philosopher, thenHhoy are, to him, I hut welcome breaks in' the monotony of his daily routine.