THE TROUBLES OF A COUNTRY SCHOOL TEACHER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2437, 28 November 1900, Page 64

THE TROUBLES OF A COUNTRY SCHOOL TEACHER.

By One Who Has Bee>t a Cottxtrt Teacher. Part 111. Let us turn from the country teacher's home surroundings to her work. This is really harder and more unsatisfactory than that of a teacher in a large town school. She may have only 20 or 30 children to teach, biit they will be arranged in six or eight different classes ; and the organisation and carrying out of all the work for 'Jiese presents no small difficulty to a 'young _or inexperienced teacher. She can often give only a few minutes to the teaching of 3/ lesson in each class, yet is expected to ■ produce nearly as good results as are obtained in tlie best-staffed town schools. When the number of scholars falls just below that required for a pupil teacher fco be appointed, the work is as hard as school teaching can, well be. Then even the better class of country schools are not nearly so well supplied with educational appliances as town ones, while in small or old 1 ones the apparatus is very limited indeed, four o.r five rn.a-.ns., a get of reading sheets.,

and an abacus being all one can look for. Attendance is apt to be- irregular to a far greater degree than in town schools, a young or weakly child cannot travel long distances along bad roads in wet weather ; also country children are required "to help at home far more than those in . town. And' however much irregular at- | "tendance may be against the interests of both children and teacher, one* cannot i greatly blame poor and struggling parents lor keeping their children at home during a press of farm" work. . Often,* of course" ' parents^ are indifferent and keep their children at 1 home on the smallest pretext • this especially, if they live just over the twomiJe radius, beyond which attendance cannot- be compelled." Irregular" attendance, from whatever - cause arising,' means loss of salary to" the "teacher/: -who, .recording to the beautiful 1 justice' of payment by average attendance, is fined for every one break of illness, every spell of wet weather, and the whims or indifference of parents^ But loss of salary is not the only hardship 'en- : 'tailed on the teacher by irregular attend"- I anee ; the solid work of course suffers, and 1 examination results must follow suit.- -Few- ] teachers can preserve much enthusiasm for their work when day after day nearly half their scholars are absent. There -is not even the poor satisfaction of having lighter work with a low average attendance.'. -Even if this were so the teacher might paraphrase ,' the "servant's words in Moliere's play, and i say it would be better for him to work I more and be paid more. No, he (or she) has double work in urging on the poor attenders to keep up with the class work. Then the school roll is liable to be suddenly lowered by changes of residence. A teacher may assume charge of a school with a fair attendance, and in a few months find ,it lowered 50 per cent, by the departure of tAvo or three families from" the district. Often when a new school is required, the settlers agree to put up a building themselves if the board will find the teacher and appliances. Many up-country schools are started in this way, and if the attendance increases largely the board may in course of time erect a better school building. This will not be done readily, however; and thus for a long time 40 children may have to be crowded into a room constucted foi 20. The temporary building has usually been put up by men who understand little of school requirements. Any kind of school is better than none, and settlers deserve credit for the efforts they often make to start a school ; but too often they appear to think they have done everyt—ng necessary in erecting something with four walls and a roof. It may remain im-^ 'lined and unceilinged, the ground may, re-* main uncleared and unfenced. Perhaps the building has 'been constructed of green timber, which shrinks and allows free passage to all tlie winds of heaven, and to not a little rain. At one school where I taught for some time streams of water would beat in at the doors and between wall and floor, and meander over the room, while nearly as much came through window frames and crevice's in the walls and roof. Work would have to be stopped during a heavy shower, while the desks and forms were dragged into the middle of the room to escape as much water as possible. Another school was lighted by a single window in one side, which in cloudy weather did little more than render darkness visible in the angles of the apartment. Here neither .vood nor water was supplied, and the only water accessible in the neighbourhood was a stagnant pool by the roadside a few chains away. Nothing had been done to improve the site, and^ the only approach, to the school door became a mass of tenacious clay in wet weather. Country school buildings, too, are frequently the only meeting places of ,the district, and are often largely utilised for dancing and other gaieties. Every week or two during the winter, months the teacher is subjected to the annoyance of having everything turned up- ; side clown, much to the detriment of the school furniture and appliances, to say nothing of the loss of time entailed in putting away and setting things to 7 rights ■again. Then there is often a chronic difficulty ovet the cleaning of the school. No grown person- will undertake to come a distance every day for tlie small sum a country committee can allow for school cleaning, so the daily, cleaning is inadequately performed by some of the children. Yet with all these drawbacks the school work is expected to go on smoothly and the results to be good. The school children must make fair progress, even if they attend little more than naif their time. Their books must be well kept, and the girls' sewing must be spotless, however difficult it may be for the teacher to secure anything like cleanliness and order about the school. As a matter of fact things fall short of the requisite perfection ; the school report is not excellent, and the teacher sees it is vain to expect perfection. Thus year by year passes with the same unsatisfactory monotony. The teacher, whether a man or woman, suffers from depressing surroundings and hope deferred. A man has more freedom of action and may find it easier to turn to another occupation ; but s, woman must go on. Deprived of all the stimulus of companionship with people of equal oi superior culture and of almost all means of self-improvement, she feels \erself to be deteriorating rather than progressing. She has hardly any opportunity even of improving her methods of teaching, for she cannot visit large schools, noi discuss educational matters with teachers of ability and wide experience. The few she meets are in much the same position as herself. The talk of the men of the district is limited to farm. ' matters, and their reading to - the - weekly paper ; the women have even les"s to talk of than the men. In some districts the intellectual level is even Jowei ; I have known one or two where a large proportion of the settlers (having immigrated in " ante-Seddonian days ">v grown up before the • establishment of -j school) could not even sign their own names. It is surprising how &oon one's ideas become assimilated to one's surroundings ; after a short time I have- caught myself looking upon ability to lead an ordinary book of travels» intelligently as evidence of uacouiinoja culture.

The majority of school' committeemen IrU such districts are, of course," illiterate (the secretary must be able to read and write, but the rest may not possess these accomplishments), and. the. readiness _ of parents and committees to be sure -that they- ara qualified to direct the teacher is usually proportioned to their ignorance. . Some even appear to -look upon the teacher as a kind of servant :'. "You are paid to do as we tell -j r ou," as the wife of a member of the committee of an aided school said to the teacher with whom she had i dispute over the keeping in of her child. In a country district a solitary teacher is at the mercy of unreasonable parents and committees as no town teacher can be, and if she is unfortunate enough to come into conflict withi rough and coarse-minded persons:; is often, made the victim of a regular' persecution.™' --',-, My account of the - conditibnV''~o'fla. / couifr try school teacher's life may seem gloomy, but I have related '"a plain, unvarnished' tale," rather omitting and softening down than exaggerating. Some teachers I have heard of who have had- worse trials than mine. - -At least I have always been 'fortunate enough to be -amongst- quiet- arid respectable people;- "but a 'teacher- may.- fee sent where many of the people are not so. Not long argo an authority on school .ma.tte.rs in -Wellington,-- writing about the inadvisability of sending young. '.women. ■. teachers 'to .rough up-country districts, .said j-that there were -scKodls. under the -board 'to. I which no self-respecting man would allow 1 ~" his daughter or sister to go. In this and in other respects I well know that I have not fully sounded the miseries a country school teacher may have to endure ; nevertheless I am glad that I have seen my last country school, and can subscribe myself "One Who has Been a Country Teacher-."