/ It
(Q ^A,ck
. NORTH CAROLINA
OtIMAL. OF EDUCATION
JULY, 1864.
iTavaviably iti -A.dvaiice. (ipX
ft/
II:
^!K
II voLMs vn NUMBER ft.
gcai'b 0f (!5bitor».
C. H. WILEY, Sdpebjntenient op Common Schools op North Casolina, Ch'e&n^horough.
1. JONES, * Greensbcrrogh
lUI^.H. WILEY, Salisbury.
T. M. J
SAIki_^_^___
1>. S. iliCHARDSON, Wilson.
\ c. w: SSrfTHE,
W. J. PALMER,
Lexington.
EaMgh.
kJ. 13. C-A.M:I*BEILiIL., resident editor, Gr(U^hor6ug7i.
GREENSBOEOUGE:
PRIKTED BY STERLING, CAMPBELL & ALBEIQHT,
F«S't3^ BTATB SDVOXrtOMAl. A8S0CIATZOX.
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ai€EAilD STEELINGl J. D. CAMPBELL. J. W. ALBRIGHT.
Sterling^ Campbell & llbrigiit^ Publishers,'
•
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o "Cj ^1, €>''%^^:m'
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CONSISTING or
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' OUST own cotintry. ,
. . .
• ~
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OUR OWN SCHOOL GRAMMARS.
By €. W. Smyttae, A. M. . . .
0«.r Own ]E*rimarSr <3rrammar. Designed for the use of beginners, .and con-taining
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THE NOETfl-CAEOLffli .
JOURNAL OF EDUCATION.
Vol. VIL JULY, 1864. No. 4.
~ (^Premium Essay.)
SCHOOL aOYERNMENT.
EY A. W. OWEN.
G-overnmeat is the system of polity in a State—that. form of fun-damental
rules and principles by which a nation or State is governed.
Without government no one could be jiecure, either in his person or
property, and the T:orld would be a scene of confusion and blood-shed.
As governmeat is essential to the prosperity and h^pinesg
of the corimonwealth, so school government is essential to the intel-lectual,
and moral devalopmenu and expansion of the immortal
minds of youth.
It is very important to have good order in all schools. All who
have written*or spoken on the subject/, have conceded the necessity
ty of obedience on the part of the pupil. "Order is Heaven's first
law.''
Self- Government. It is of the highest importance that the teach-er
should understand human nature, and be perfectly self-possessed,
in order that his decisions may command respect. The self-govern-ment
of the teacher should be complete. He who fails to govern
hirnself, will doubtless be unsuccessful in governing others. , The
passion, of anger always detracts from the weight of authority.
A teacher who gives vent to bis passion, cannot do justice to his
pupils. Prior to entering the arena as teacher, a man should y^b-tain
the mastery over Jais temper, so that under any provocation he
can control it. , The patience of tlie teacher will often be sorely,
tried. It is not reasonable for him to presume that the current of
affairs will run perfectly smooth for a single day. He should' be
prepared for any emergency, and not permit himself to be taken by
surprise. Such .forethought will give him self-co'mmand. If from
7d NOKTH OAEOLINA JOURIT^iL OF EDUCATION.
past experience and the nature of Iiij temperament, he is satisfied
that he 'cannot exercise this self-control, he is the wrong man for a
teacher. A man who cannot govern liimself is not the man to go '.
ern children.
As to the treatrtiGTit of those pitpils that are marJced v:ilh some jie-culiarities^—
Some pupils are Yerv backward ' and dull of compre-hension.
The teacher should avoid all such low, degrading epithets
as dunce, thickskull, &c. It is a duty incumbent i-ipon all teacher.s
to take a* special interest in such children. ~ A proper course of
treatment on. the part ©f the teacher, will have a tend.ency to re-move
this physical d&fect, and mental eccentricity,. K man is more
likely to succeed in any enterprise,' when ke has self-reliance. The
teacher in order to secure ^ood government in his school, Biiould
carefully study the means to be employed an-d the motives to be pre-sented,
and bring himself to the determination to have good order
in his school, and be so firmly convinced that be canhave it^ that
his pupils shall detect no misgiving in him on this point. ' When-ever
the pupils perceive that the teacher has scruples of his success
in .government, they will be ready to put' his skill to the. test.- Pa-tience
and perseverance wil> enable the teacher to surmount all dif-ficulties,
and merit for him the approbation and esteem of parents
and p#pils.
Just views of Government.—The chief magistrate of a republican
government with the aid of his cabir.et, executes the laws that are
passed by Congress, because they cotit.ain the seatimenis of a. free
and independent people. It is no.t tyranny, exercised to please the
one who governs^ or to promote his own convenience. The despot
csmmands for the sake of being obeyed, xin absolute monarch
commands, liecause his subjects are constrained to obey his mandates.
x\n aristocracy is a government where the power is vested in a few
nobles. . This does not now exist as a distinct form of government;
but is frequently found combined with monarchy and democracy ;
asin G-reat Brittuii-i and other limited monarchies. But govern-ment
in its proper sense^ is an arrangement for the general gopd---for
the benefit of the goverped as vfell as- of the ruler. The great ob-ject
of government instituted hj the teacher, should be to promote
the improvement of his school. In order to obtain the cordial- res-pect
of his pupils, he should endeavor to make his government as
uniform as practicable. He should not chastise to-day for a mis-demeanor
which he tolerates to-morrow. ' Oovernment should be
equally applicable to the largo^ as well as the small pupils—males
as well as females. Some teachers are censured for raising up :i
sort of aristocracy in their schools, a privileged class, a miniativre
SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 77
nobility. As two bodies can not occupy the same space at the same
time, so two distiact form» of government cannot be instituted in
the same school without producing discord and strife. They will
chastise the little boys and girls for violating certain rules, while
they tolerate the same thing among the larger pupils. This is de-cidledly
cowardly and impolitic. . The teacher should have the man-linessj
fortitude and justice to begin with the large pupils; the
smaller ones never resist, when those above them are well disciplin-ed.
The class that are thus indufged, will very probably soon be-come
disgusted with the teacher, and contemn his authority. He
should make his government impartial in every respect. He should
have no favorite—no preferences, based upon the exterior circunj-stances
of the child, his family, or personal attractions. The teach-^
er snould make no distinction between the rich and the poor. It is
not his purpose to serve mammon in the school-room; but to devel-op
the motal physical and intellectual faculties of all his pupils.
—
3Iany a gem is concealed under a rough exterior. The teacher
should delight in bringing this little gem from its hiding-place, and
polishing it until it equalled in brilliancy a ray of light emanating
from the sun. The teacher should take just views of government.
Human nature is very imperfect,, but notwithstanding, the young
possess some redeeming qualities. They are intelligent and reason-able
beings. All pupils have a love of approbation. Love of ap-probation
is a worthy motive to be addressed. The affection for ' a
teacher, which most children will exercise^ is one of the most power-ful
instrumentalities in facilitating good government. The teacher
should be firm, and make his decisions according to the dictates, of
his own conscience. Hig inquiry should be, what is right ? What is
justice—justice to my pupils—to myself ? The teacher should be
exceedingly careful as to the first impression he makes upon his pu-pils.
Whatever is well begun is half done, says the old proverb.r—
Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well. As respect
always precedes attachment, in order to obtain the love of the chil-dren,
he should first obtain their peculiar friendship. Friendship
often ends in love ; but love in friendship never. Entertaining a
suspicious spirit is an impediment to good government. The teacher
abould avoid exhibiting any indications of suspicion.
It is a maxim of law that one charged with crime is always pre-sumed
iuHocent until proved guilty. This should be the teacher's
maxim in his school. He should endeavor to classify his school and
give constant and full employment in study, recitation or relaxation.
Another auxiliary to good government as soon as the teacher
A2
^8 NORTH-CASOLINA JO^KNAL OFEDIJCATION.
classifies liis school, is a programme or plan 'of the daily exeicises
of his scliool. He should make but few rules. •The golden ^ule5
" Do unto others as you would that they should io to you," eomp'ri-
EBS enough for a beginning. To do right is a very comprehensiye'
one. ^ All pupils possess the ability to distinguish between right
and wrong. The teacher should, adopt this rule as the moral guide
for his school. -
Punishments.—There are various opinions with regard to the ]>:ind
of punishment to be inflicted upon- refractory and vicious pupils.
—
The following are generally used in both male and female schools,
viz: kind reprobf, loss of privileges, restraint or confinement, apd
the imposition of a task &o. •' The rod and reproof give wisdom*
but a child left to himself brirgeth his mother to shame," saith the
wise Solomon,.
* '
As the teacher is a representative of the parent in the school, he
may with propriety chastise with the rod of correction.
Wake up mind in. the School and in the District.— This waking up
process, when properly conducted, in one of the mcst powerful iiv
strumentalities in aid of good governnlent. His first object, should
be to interest his. pupils in their studies. 'Varieties of exerci-es in
school, have a good effect upon pupils. Yocal music is one of tb^se
varieties that ought to be introduced in schools. The parent should
also become intetested in. the school ; as well as the rupils'. The
teacher should endeavor to interest the whole district, and the b^^'^
means of securing the interest of all is to have examina
;'
exhibitions at the close of his or her schook°niid solicit tx : j
friends to attend. All brancjies should I
^ .ghly ,as
possible. Another variety is the organization oi a aebaiirig society
in thesohcol. Tl^e teacher should invite the j'urent'i r.nd friends
in the district to attend the society, and partici;
~'
oiis-sion
of qijestions. The pupils shbwld be taught ine aro ci Lj^; tiding
as soon as practicable. When teachers, pupils, parents and friends,
all become interested in the school, the teacher has but little diffi-culty
in securing good government.
Truth is always consistent with itself and 'needs nothing to help
it out ; it is always near at hand, and sits upon? your lips, and it is
ready to drop out before you are aware ; whereas a lie is trouble-some?
and sets a man's intention on the rack, and one needs a great
many more to make it good. Truth oan live in all regions, flourish
in all soils, and becomes n&ituralized in all climes.
THE OLD SCIIOOL-MASTEIl'S STORY. 79
. THE OLD^BGHOOL-MASTER'S STORY.
When I taught at district school, r-:;iid he, I adopted it :is a princi-ple
to give as few rules to mj scholars as possible, I had, howeTcr,
.^oce stali'ding rule, which was, 1' Strive' under *il circuDilatnces ^e«
do right," and the tex.t of, right under all circumstanoes, was the
Golden Rule—^*^ All things whatsoever ye would that men should
do linto you, do ye even so unto them."
If an offence was committi^d it was my invariable practice to ask,
• Was it right ? W^s it as you would be done by ?
All my experience and observation have convinced n^c, that' no
act 01 a pupil ought to be regarded ae an cfffince^ uiiles,#it be ric '.
-
ured by the statidard of the Golden-'Riile. i During 'the last year^of
my teaching, the only tes-ts I ever appned to an act of which it was
necessary to jiiLlge, were those of the aboVe questions. By tliis
coiirsel gained many important advantages/ •
In the- first place, the plea, " You have not made any plea againrf':
V/' which for a joag time was a terrible burden to me, lost all itM
pQ.W^y>. • •*,
'
•
' la the second place, by keeping constantly before. Mie scholars
as a standard of actiozi the single. text^of- right and wrong, as one
which, they were to ripply for tnemseives, I was enabled to cultivate
lu^them a* due feeling of pei'sonai responsibility. •
in the third place* I got a stronger hold on their leelings, and ac-o^
uired a new power of cultiva^ting and directing them."
JiU the fourth place, I had the satisfaction of seeing them become,
more truthful, hohest,-f^ustwo"i'thyj aud mainly,- in their ' intercourse
with men, with their friends and with each other. ^
, 0%ce,, hov/ever,' I was ^adiy puzzled byan y,ppUaation of the priu-ciple/
by one- of my seholars^i George Jones^ u large boy, who partly
ohrough a feelicg of stubbornness,, refused to give me some informa-tion.
The circumstances were these :
A scholar had played some' trick which interrupted the exercises.
As was my custom, I called on the one who had don« .the mischief
to come forward. As no one started, I repeated the request, but
without success. Finding that the culprit would not confess his
guilt, I asked George if he knew who had committed the offence.
'' I did Djot do it," was the reply.
"But do you know wl^did it?"
'' Yes sir." •
"Wko was it'C' # .
"I do not wish to tell."
80 NORTH-CAROLINA JOURNAL OP EDUCATION.
"But you must tell ; it is my duty to ask and yours i^o answer
me."
"I cannot do it sir; said Greorge firmly."
" Then you must stop with me after School."
He stopped ^s I requested, but nothing which I could urge would
induce him to reveal anything. At last,' out of patience with what
I believed to be the obstinacy of the boy, I said : " Well, George,
I have borne with you as long as I can, and you must either tell me
or be punished."
With a triumphant look, as though conscious that he had corner-ed
me, by an application of my favorite rule, he replied:
" I can't tell you because it would not be right ; the boy would
not like to have me tell of him ; and I'll do as I'd be done by.
. I few years earlier, I should have deemed a reply thus given an
insult, and should have resented it accordingly, but experience and
reflection had taught me the folly of this, and that one of the nfost
important applications of my oft repeated rule was to "judge of
the nature of others as I would wish to have them judge of mine.''
Yet, for the moment, I was staggered. His plan was plausible ; "he
might be honest in making it ; IMid not see in what respect it was
fallacious. I felt that it would not do to retreat from my posi4:ion
and suffer the offender to escape, and yet that I should do a great
injustice by compelling a boy to do a thing, if he really berieved it
to be wrong.
After a little pause, I said : Well George, I do not wish you to
do anything which is Wrong, or which conflicts with the Golden
E-ule, We will leave this for to-night, and perhaps you will alter
your mind before to-morrow.
I saw him privately before school, and found him more firm in
his refusal than ever. After the devotional exercises of the morn-ing,
I began to question the scholars, as was my wont, on various
questions of duty, and gradually led the conversa,tion to the Golden
Rule.
" Who," I asked are the " persons to whom, as members of this
school, you ought to do as you would be done by^ Yonr parents,
who support and send you here ? your schoolmates, who are engaged
in the same work with yourselves ? the citizens of the town, who by
taxing themselves, raise money to pay the expenses of this school ?
the School Committee, who takes so gr©g.t an interest in your wqI-fare
? your teacher, or the scholar who carelessly or wilfully commits
some offense against good order ?"
A hearty " Yes," was respotfded to every question.
PRoa
will rer , inter protection. Nature ^. .... ^^ m
forests ^.wSitiDg leaves whicb.liave formed thaiv !i:'aiamer -Aoth-ing,
tip ^ne groucd beneath .wliicli lupst of the vit.;ility is stored
ir> tbe roots. They form a loose covericg- containing nuioli air, thus
securing several degrees of warmth to' the surface below. In addi-tion
to the benefit thus derived, the decaying of ^he >o p. leaves sup-plies
a top dressing of the best kind 'of nour.i !i :;: : ior the .future
growth of the tree. Stable majiure affords good protection, but is
not so well adapted for affording nourishment. A compost in
which leaves form the largest propo'rtion, spread liberally, at least
an inch deep, over the whole surface under the tree, to be forked m
the following spring, will be highly beneficial. A tree may live and
grow without these precautions, l)ut its thrift will" be greatly promo-ted
by observing them.
—
American AyrieiilturisL
TjaE Origin 9^..Pianos.—The piano-forte, that favorite parlor
instrument hqw considered an almost indispensable article in every
family that can purchase' it, was invented by J. C. Schroder, of
Dresden, in 17X7. The square piano was made first by Frederica,
an organ builder of Saxony, about 1758. Piano fbrtes were made
in London by M. Zumpic, a G'ferman, in 1766. The manufacture of
this instrument was commenced in America since the ppening of the
present century.
Life is
lose.
—
id save
r. The
. Aim
the dy-
; more
id the
tassed.
mities
anu ... ^ ^ .J prepanu..... ^., aged
fatheit. and grey bearded sires! Already Lie -i. srs of
death beginning to tender tlieir services, to bring you r.o fiepuiv
chres of your fathers. WitL the feeble remnants of e -^steitce
struggle for heaven. Woru, prr^j;, sroli, while life liisgcr:^, h-', /cy
waifcp,"and G-odis .^racioiTS !
•
Lively sallies aud connected discourse 'are very diterent things.
T]^':\: are many perscms of that impatient liiid restless turn of
mind- that they^ cannot wait a moment for a concluison, or» folio vr
up the thread of any argument. In the hnrjy of conversation their
ideas are somewhat huddled into sense; but in the intervals of
thought leave a great gap betTreen. Montesquieu, said he often lo^t
am idea before he could find words for it
; yet he dictated, by way
of saving time to an amanuensis. This last is, in my opinion a vile
method, and solecism in authorship.
Bo careful to avoid a gloomy and to chemsh a cheerful temper.—
-
Be habitually cheerful, and avoid levity.
Adapt your means.to your ends. The fiery steeds of Apollo
might not work well at the plough or dray.
To devolve on science the. duties of religion, or on religion the
dutieaof science is to bind together the living and the dead.
DUTY 0^ FEMALES. . 85
THE DUTY OF FEMALES IN EELATION TO THE FU-TURE
EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF OUR COUNTRY.
We copy from th^ iV^ C. Presbyterian^ tlie greater part of an ad-dress,
deliTered by Rev. J. L. Kirkpatrick, D. D., President of
Davidson College, before the young ladies of Concord Female
College, with the hope that it may induce some of our educated
ladies to consider what is their duty.
—
[Ed. J^ournal.
Let me instance one great interest of society on which the war
now raging has proved especially disastrous, and for the recovery of
which from present ruin and its advancement in the future, we must
depend in great measure upon the females of our land. I refer to
the education of the young, particularly in the elementary branches
of learning. The extent to which the schools and all the plans and
machinery for education havS been interrupted, broken up, and in
many instances utterly destroyed, is a matter of tog common re-mark
to require more than tbis simple mention. The consequences
of leaving the children and youth of the country without even the
previous inadequate facilities for receiving instruction in the com-monest
branches of education, as- in large portions of the country, I
mky indeed say, generally, they have been left for now more than
three years—growing up in ignorance in the only season when it is
to be expected that they will acquire the rudiments of knowledge,
and contracting habits of idleness and vice from which it would be
almost a miracle if they should ever be recovered^—are too palpable
to be overlooked, and too appalling to be contemplated without a
shudder. Whatever renown our valiant soldiers and their incom-parable
leaders may win for us on the field of battle ; however hon-orable
the place we may thus achieve among -the nations of the
earth ; however great the prosperity which shall follow the estab-lishment
of our commercial as well as political independence ; these
advantages can never compensate us for the evils—the disgrace and
misery—of an uninstructed, illiterate population ; and without the
most vigorous and self-sacrificing efforts iso countervail the effects of
the war, and the tendencies to social disintegration now but too
apparent, such, to an alarming degree, must the population of our
land become in the generation which will soon crowd us off the
stage.
It is vain to attempt to form any rational conjectures as to the
results of the continuance, for three yean longer, of the war en a
scale approximating its present dimensions. But what, in respect
to the matter before us, will be our condition when the bloody
B
88 NORTH-CAROLINA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION.
drama shall close^ though it should be tomorrow ? , Our children
and youth will be here in full nuinbers to be instructed, with the
arrears of three years' neglect to be made up. Who is there to teach
them f Our young men, or our middle-aged men, as to a great ex-tent,'
in former years? Alas! the 'mere asking the question has
revived in how many bosoms, the saddest recollections of life ? Our
young men and middle-aged men, in a proportion to the entire num-ber
of these classes, which I am afraid to compute, have already
fallen victims of this merciless war. Others will yet fall. Of those
who may survive to return to us, many were arrested in the midst
of those studies which would have qualified to teacti others, by the
call to serve their country in the field of battle ; and it is scarcely
to be hoped that after so long a suspension of their studies, and with
all the habits formed in their new manner of life, any considerable
number of them will be found willing to resume their course of
preparation, or if qualified alfeady, will be content to engage in an
occupation requiring so close and inactive confinement, ministering
so little excitement, and offering so inadequate a compensation,
either of money or of social position, as that of teaching. By its
vast sacrifice of life, the war will have created extensive openings in
all our professions and in all departments of business in which either
wealth or distinction is to be acquired. It is not to be simply feared,
but confidently expected that when brought into competition with
such temptations, the humfele employment of the teacher will find
few to prefer it. It has been so in times past ; we may conclude
that much more will it be so, when in addition to the adverse effects
of the military life upon their tastes and habits, our returned sol-diers
can plead, as with much reason they may, that after their ar-duous
and ill-requited service in the field, they are entitled, for the
remainder of their days, to pursue that vocation which offers the
largest inducements of ease, profit and honor.
In no aspect in which the subject can be viewed, does there ap-pear
any ground of hope that our army when disbanded will supply
us with any thing like a sufficient nujnber of teachers for our schools.
A few of the crippled who may be found competent, or whom sym-pathy
for their unfortunate condition may tempt us to regard as
competent, provided they ate not so crippled as TrhoUy to incapaci-tate
them for other employments and not wholly to incapacitate for
this—^thege, and no others, we may expect from the quarter in view.
The question then returns upon us—Whence are we to obfain
teachers 7 Our schools must be re-opened ; an additional number
must be established ; the children of our land must be educated.
DUTY OF FEMALES. 8
-Otherwise, this horrible war and all the blood and treasure it has
cost us, will be for naught, an^ our hard won independence will
not 'be worth having or worth maintaining. Whe7ice are teachers to
he obtained? From abroad? Possibly some have supposed that
teachers will flow in upon us as in other times, from the Northern
States, or from across the sea. And here, to avoid all -misappre-hension,
let me say, I have not sympathized with the prejudice which
some of our people have cherished toward teaches from abroad,
particularly those who have come to us from the North, nor do I
now unite in the suspicions and denunciations which are indulged
toward them. That some of them have been pretenders, is no doubt
true ; there are such in every business ; we have them among our-selves.
That some of them ha-ve been inimical to our institutions
and have sought to avail themselves of their position to do us injury,
is likewise no doubt true. Bij^t that they have • ever accomplished
anything to our detriment, I have yet to be convinced. I have not
discovered that those of our people who have been under the tuition
of such teachers, are less loyal to the country, 'less strenuous and
self-sacrificing in mUintaining its rights, than the class not so edu-cated,
or not educated at all. Exceptions as to individuals and
particular localities there may be, but I am persuaded that if they
are to be found, it is as exceptions. On the other, hand, many of
these teachers have proved in the past and on this day, as true and
'
heartjUn our cause as those born on our soil. In the indisposition
of our own people to the business of teaching, and the impossibility
of procuring from among them an adequate supply of teachers, to
obtain competent instructors for our children from the Nortb, or
wherever to be had, has been not so fhuch a matter of choice as of
necessity. I rejoice that they came, no matter what brought them,
and am thankful for the good they have accomplished among us,
although that good may have bfeen attended with some incidental
evil. It was our own fault that formed the opening and furnished
the inducement for their coming. To have forbidden them, would
have been a part more churlish and unwise than that of the dog in
the manger.
But the day for assistance from that source is ptist. Nor is there
any other to which we may look. We are and shall be thrown upon
our own resources, left to rely upon our own energies'and patriotism
to prove to the world whether we are fit to be a free and independ-ent
people or not, to demonstrate whether a separate national exist-ence
which we have purchased by the sacrifice of thousands of our
best citizens on the field of battle, is yet h^ld by us in such estima-tion
that we are ready to make the fi/rther sacrifices necessary to
88 NORTR-GAEOLINA JO.URHAL OF EDUCATION.
preserve it in honor whilst we live, and transmit it unimpaired to
our posterity.
You Lave, of course, anticipated the conclusion to which the; o
remarks tend. Our females must engage in the worh of teaching. I
B3ij must; for there is no other alternative. That cur children
should not he educated, is not to he thought of. To be educated,
they must have teachers, and these in any sufficient number cannot
be supplied except from the class of our educated females.^ Upon
them, therefore,^he Providence of G-od has imposed the task of
being, to a very large extent, the instructors of the young in the
present generation, and possibly in more than one to follov/. Will
they shrink from the duty thus assigned them ? Hitherto, in our
Southern country, they have as a class, evinced a reluctance to the
employment—some because the social position of the teachers was
not, or they supposed it was not, as eligible as they claimed by birth
and family, or as they aspired to reach by a life of ^ndoleace? and
others, through an aversion to the confinement and severe toil of the
school room • and as these were not impelled to it by necessity, so
they were not attracted by its opportunities of usefulness. But such
objections must be overcome. The 15ve of ease must yield to a
sense .of duty. The-fa,otitious dicta of society must bow to the
mandate of Providence.
And that Providence, we find here, as often, occasion to remark,
notgOnly ordains the end to be secured, but in a manner wcnderful
like itself, so prescribes the means to be employed- and so hedges
about the agents by whom it works, that in a way as little welcome
as looked for, its purposes are attained with infallible certainty.
The thought to be here brought out, I am aware, is of a somewhat
delicate nature, and it is not easy, in just this place, to handle it
with the freedom which is necessary in order that it may make its
proper impression. But I wish to speak plainly; for I have, this
evening, a purpossi in viel? far higher than that of your entertain-ment
for the hour wo are together. Although I have assigned some
reasons for the small number of our native feiiiales who Lave hith-erto
engaged in the' business of teaching, what in reality has been a
more frequent and direct hindrance than any yet mentioned ? The
eo.Tly age at which our female?, expect to enter,, and many of tliem do
enter, the married life I This has prevented them pursuing their
education to the extent which would have qualified them thoroughly
for teaching in the. higher and more creditable schools in our Luid
;
and when cmce the anticipated' coiineetk'n has been' formed, other
and insuperable obstacles interpose to restrict them to their dom-es-tic.
duties. By a beneficent law of Providence, the excess in num-
DUTY OF FEMALES. .89
bers of "males ovef. females in all countries and ages, slight theugli
it isj has encouraged the expectation, founded on a natural and
proper 'desire, among the females of our land, of establishing them-selves
early in life bj forming the matrimonial relation. But this
unholy" war, with its countless other evils, has destroyed the propor-tion
hitherto existing between the sexes, and so far forth nullified
the decree of Providence. The excess in number, between the ages
of sixteen and thirty, is now largely on the side of the females. Our
young men, and even our boys, have been slaughtered in frightful
numbers, by our vindictive foes. Our young women and girls have
bean at home in safety. The result is inevitable ; many of the lat-ter,
whatever their attractions, personal or acquired, must remain
unmarried. This, I hesitate not to say, is'^a serious calamity, not
so much in all cases in a personal view, but in its social and politi-cal
aspects ; for it is in contravention of a providential ordinance
which lies at the foundation of human "welfare in all its relations.
It is however, a reality, a stubborn reality, which it behooves us to
look full in the face. Parents and their daughters should alike con-template
it calmly and providently. Our coacern with it at the
present time, connects itself with the educational intel-ests of the
country.
'
.
That same wonder-working Providence, to which reference has
been made, asse-rts its sovereignty and manifests its grace, by bring-ing
good out of evil. The restriction on the privilege of marriage
will leave at liberty, and will doubtless dispose, a large number of
females to engage in the business of teaching. Some will be impelled
by the necessity of providing for their livelihood; some by a desire
to be independent of parents and friends; some to avoid the tedium
of lonely idleness ; somfe as a means of usefurlness. There' is no
form of business, so to speak, no occupation, to which the educated,
woman can have recourse, which is at once so respectable, so certain-ly
remunerative, so congenial to her tastes, aid so suitable to her
sex. It is that to which Providence would seem to have designated
her by the very nature which has been impljinted within her—rher
abounding affections, her gentleness, patience, self^sacrifi<;e and per-severance.
So far as the welfare of our children is involved, it
would be no loss but rather the contrary, if their education to a far
greater extent than has yet been done, were consigned to females,
always provided that they are themselves qualified for the office by
previous acquirements and training. I do not mean the instruction
simply of very young children, and in the most common and ele-mentary
branches, but up almost or quite to the point of prepara-
B2
90 NOETH-CAKOLINA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION.
tion for College, mtbe case of our boys, and in that of olir girls,
through the larger part of the conrjie ptirsued in the highest semi-naries
to which they resort. There are doubtless some branches?
which as a general thing, can be taught most effectually by. males,
just as there are others in which females excel. HeDce»the advan-tage,
where it is practicable, of the co-operation of the two sexes.
But for that portion of the process of education which cemes within
the scope of these remarks, females are fully competent, even if we
should not say that they are particularly adapted. So that the ne-cessity
which Providence has laid upon us of looking to them as the
future instructors of our children, is not in itself a calamity to the
country, if only they shall address themselves earnestly to the high
and sacred calling.
If there be any fores in these views, there emerges from them a
duty of direct, practical import—that of educating our daughters
with reference to the office they are to fill—educating them to be-come
teachers. In ordinary circumstances many parents have done
this as a precaution, suggested by affection and prudence, against
the contingencies of a mutable world. They have wisely concluded
that such an education, whilst on the whole the best for their daugh-ters
in the most fortunate issues of life, was the only sure provision
for their comfort and independence should they ever fall victims to
its calamitous vicissitudes. ^What then in foriger times has been a
mere dictate of prudence, has now .assumed the pttitude cf a solem^i
duty—of an obligation stern and inexorable. It may not be ju-.i'
such a life as you may- prefer for your daughter., It is, I grant, a.
life of toil, sometimes of drudgery, and what is more trying still,
often of thankless and sordidly requited self-denial and labor. But
suppose the alternative lies between this life and one of dependent
idleness. Gould you hesitate in your choice ? But to take higher^
and this is the proper ground, suppose that the condition of our
country demands the sacrifice on your part. Could you refuse to
make it 1 I speak to you who have given up your sons to achieve
their country's independence at the cost of their lives, and I speak'
in a community which, if any in the land does, knows full well how
much of loss, suffering and woe is implied in this gift. You have
made your sons an offering on your country's altar. Would you
withhold your daughters from a service, noble in itself and befitting
' their sex, without which their country must be subjected to a yoke
more disgraceful and oppressive than that our ruthless enemies
would lay upon our necks.—the yoke of ignorance and its conse-quents,
vice and degradation. To such a bondage will our daughter
DUTY OF FEMALES. 91
themselves conseRfc that their country shall be reduced—their coun-try
whose .honor and freedom their brothers have so nobly vindicated
and won on the field of battle ?
I have chosen to represent the employment of the 'teachei' in
the light purely of self-denial; yet palfents should feel, and their
daughters also, that in such an emergency, to fill the place of a weli-
Cjualifiedj faithful instructor of the young, is an office, which in the
estimation of the truly wise and patriotic of the land, yields to none
in dignity and importance vfhich man or woman can hold, except that
of the ministry of the blessed Grospel. Let them feel that there is
no position for woman to occupy which is so high in dignity, of so
wide and lasting influence on national character, social advancement
and the happiness, temporal and eternal, of individuals. There are
those who may complain, saving that for the daughters from the
more cultivated households of the land, to devote their lives to so
humble a work, is an'expenditure and -a loss of accomplishments
which are needed for the embellishment of the gay circles of fashion
and of pleasure.- They' will doubtless ask in the spirit of Judas,
•'Why is this waste 1'' But could we hear the voice .of our Lord
speaking from His throne from whixjh He views with the tenderest
sympathy the forlorn condition of the lambs of His flock throughout
the wide -spread deeolation which covers the land, it would be one of
approval and encouiagement, like -that which cheered the heart of
Mary amidst the reproaches of Judas, and the murmurs of the other
disciples-. *'Let her alone, she hath done what she could. Inasmuch
as she hath done it unto the least* of these my disciples, she hath
done ifunto me." Mary desij:ed no higher encomium than that
pronounced upon her. No woman ev-er received a higher; no man
ever deserved a higher. Let those who seek their own pleasure as
the mo-st exalted aim of life, sneer with Judas. A Mary's name
has come down to us thraugh eighteen centuries, the s^^Ticnym of
whatever is pure and lovely and attractive in her sex, still green in
the fadeless virtues which cluster around it, and fragraat with the
perfumes of the Saviour's praises. A scofling Judas is indeed, still
remembered ; but how 1
If the time proper to be occupied with this service pevmitted, I
should take the liberty of speaking at some length ©f the character
of the preparation—in other words, of the kind of education re-quired
in the existing emergency, and for the work which Providence
has so obvioTisly and authoritatively assigned to the females of our
land. It must suffice to say, it is accurate and thorough,—far more
accurate and thorough than has been usual in our most reputable
92 NORTH CAROLINA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION.
seminaries. In this intimation, no reflection on our teachers is in-tended,
nor any insinuation against the aptness to learn of their
pupils. I simply assume a fact of which every competent te&oher
is painfully aware, and pupils who make sufficient progress to be able
to peroeiTG their own deficiencies, are mortifyingly conscious. This
very defect has deterred many fi-om .assuming the business of teach-ing,
who would otherwise have engaged in it, and has occasioned the
failare of others who undertook it. And to what is the defect to be
ascribed? 'Simply to the inadequate ^time allowed for the process
of education. From the day that our girls, or our boys eitiier, en-ter
school to the closing hour, the demand upon them and their
teachers, is for more and more rapid pr(5gress, by which is meant the
-getting over more ground, the despatching of more books, the taking
up of new studies. This has been the bane of education both male
and female, but pre-eminently of the latter, in our Southern coun-try.
Our fe-males usually leave school just at the age and at the
stage of their mental development, when they are'-about to be pre-pared
to rea^ the benefits of study and instruction. Teachers know
this, lament it and strive against it. But they are powerless to rem-edy
the evil. They can only mSke the best use they may oi the
brief space allowed them for their work, and mourn over the loss of
" the golden fruits -a little o.dditional time for culture would have per-mitted
them to realize.
In plain words, parents , must allow their daughters to remain
longer' at school ; *our daughters must consent to defer longer the
day to which ma^y of them- look forward with a vaguely defined,
but still eager and. contrcHing- interest,- when- they shall be liberated
from the thraldom of books and teachers, and enter upon what is to
be to them a new world. Without- such a sacrifice, if it should be
so called, on the part of both, it is impossible for our female;- o at-tain
that proficiency which v^iil render teaching anything else L'an a
burden or a humiliating failure. This is alt the more .im^ uit,
because in addition to the branches of, learning without a'cci:.; --ant
knowledge oiv'f^hich education is itself a fare© and teacl) uu: the
grossest of all impositions, our daughters are expected to dev, a no
inconsiderable portion of their time whilst in school, to whac are
termed- the Ornamental branches. I do not unite in the condemna-tion
which some have pronounced upon these latter. They may be
abused, as everything' else may be, Miicli time and money n«L.y be
lavished on them to little profit. So 'with other things, evc a the
most important. But they are acccmplishments appropriate lo the
Woman, serving to fit her the better for her office in society, and ad-
DUTY OF FEMALES. •
. 93
ding* to Iier personal happiness, and to her means of usefulness.—
Earnestly do I wish that every woman in our land, above the condi-tion
of the meoial, ^ere skilled in music, painting, dravring, em-broidery
and other similar accomplishments. There would not be
less happiness in our households, nor less piety in our churches
.Society would'be refined, the- taste of our people elevated, domestic
enjoyments iDoro appreciated, and fewer temptations leading toward
the bail-room and the bar- room. But the«e embellishments .of fe-male
education, that they may piove real ornaments to the eharaeter.
and not disgusting caricatures, require time and labor for their ac-quisition,
Tyhich time ai?d labor Inust not be . abstracted from the
solid branches of learning. That would be m suicidal policy ; it
would defeat the chief design of .education. " The woman need not
be the less accurately and thoroughly instructed in all the substan-tixil
parts of education because she is a proficient in the ornamental
department, if onlj iim^,, time for both, is allov/ed ;'and time, ample
time there is, if parents and daughters shall only consent that it be
allowed.
But leaving this and passing over in entire silence other topics on
which I had purposegi to speak, let me, in a few parting words ad-dress
myself directly to the young ladies of the institution, on
whose behalf these exercises are held» You enjoy an inestimable
privilege in being permitted in this day of turmoil, darkness and
woe, to pursue your education in safety'and quiet. Think of the'
beneficent Providence which keeps you beneath its overshadowing
wings. It is ]iot so with your fathers and brothers. The Providence
which is thus sheltering you, ?tnd affording you the excellent advan-tages
of study and instruction you here possess, U about to intro-duce
you into the scenes of active life at a most interesting and
critical period in the history of our country. G-rave duties and high
responsibilities await you as you step upon the threshold. You
cannot live for yourselves alone, for your own pleasure, exclusively
nor chiefly, and stand guiltless in the view of your country, or of
your country's G-od. Since the commeijcement of our tremendous
and still instant trouble?, the women of our land, your mothers and
older sisters, have borne an active and a most noble part in the de-fence
of our righis ; and when our independence shall bo fully
achieved, they will have v/on for themselves*a monument to stand,
side loy side, in equal pi'ide and renown, with that which shall com-*
memorate the illustrious doods of your fathers and brothers. In
one sens€ it may have been a humiliating spectacle, but in another it
was sublime almost beyond'precedent, to see our rulers, the. Presi-dent
of our Confederacy, the great leaders of our armie;-, and the
94 NORTS CAROLINA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION.
^ Governors of our several States, wlieii our cause was in greatest
peril, stretcliing out their hands imploringly to the women of the
land, to come to the rescue of our soldiers about to he reduced to
the dire alternative of perishing from cold, or of retiring from the
contest. And these women saved our army and saved our cause, I
need not say, how promptly or with what ceaseless ' plying of that
little instrument that henceforth, as a weapon of war, and in the
great achievement of. working- out a nation's freedom, will rank in
actual value with the sword and .the musket.
. That country which your mothers and elder sisters have thus aid-'
ed in saving from ignominy and subjugation, it will devolve upon
you and those of your age who have enjoyed advantages similar to
yours, to save from evils, I have already declared no less dishonora-ble
and oppressive. At such time, and with such an example before
you, will you prove unfaithful to the sacred trust ? Will you prove
unworthy of jiour blood ; unworthy of your country 1 Such you
will prove, if you tefuse to listen to the call of Providence, or shrink
from the responsibilities which it imposes on you, But I will not
admit the possibility of such recreancy on your part. The example
to which I have just referred, of your mothers and sisters, forbids
the supposition ; the history of your sex from the creation of the
world, in great dangers and great emergencies, forbids it. Gro, then,
and like Mary, do what you can—whether on a large sctile or a small
one^—only do what your abilities and condition may enable you to
do, what is seemly and appropriate to your sex; do that, and you
shall enjoy the favor and receive the commendation of the Saviour ;
do it all in love to Him, and He will receive you into fellowship
with His beloved and happy friends and followers on high.
NATIONAL PECULIARITIES.
The health of a people must depend, in no small degree, upon the
usual quality 6f its food, and the habits formed in consuming Jit.
And this must be allowed to be true, even while we ackno^^ledge the
almost unlimited capacity of the human stomach' to dispose of the
most varied, and too often the most inappropriate articles. Not to
dwell upon the peculiarities in diet which are mainly due to climatic
influences—such as the enormous ingestion of fatty substances in
very cold regions, dernanded by the necessities of the human const!"
tution, and the large consumption of fruits and light farinaceous
articles in warm latitudes^—the every day usages of the inhabitants
of the temperate zones, so familiar to us, 'are not unworthy of a
NATIONAL PECULIARITIES. 95
closer copsideration than is commonly accorded to them, both in a
hygienic and dietetic point of view.
That no standard can be set up as applicable to all, in regard to
the amount of food to be taken, is undeniable. Countless circum-stances
combine t© render this a variable quantity ; but it may be
safely asserted that, generally, far tpo much food is taken by those
whose means allow them to indulge their palates and overload their
stomachs. This is true on the sea, as well as .on the land, as we
lately had occasion to remark, when noticing the dietetics of ou''
luxuriously-appointed steam-packets. If we were to particularize'
we should say that the Englishman is more prone to exceed in tak-ing
solid food, and the Scotchman in his potations—although we
can testify to an improvement, in this latter respect, in maay parts
of the land of "barleybree." The Irishman, when he is provident
enough to get anything like abundance, is very apt to cembiiie the
faults of his fellow-islanders ; and when transplanted to Scottish
shores, testifies his decided preference for their whiskey over that of
his own land. The American has a fault whi<jh is fully as destruc-tive
to individual and to national health and vigor, as either of the
others mentiontd—-although the results are not so immediate.
We refer to the rapidity of swallowing, so long and so unfortun-ately
a characteristic of the inhabitants of the states. This is a trite
subject, but not the le^s a most important one, and which it is the
duty of the medical profession always to bring prominently beforo
the people. An adjunct evil is the too great variety of supplemen-tary
articles consumed amongst us—an erBor observable elsewhere
it is true, but, as we think, especially noticeable in our country, and
expressed often in the providing of sweetmeats and knick-knacks of
various sorts, which tickle the palate, but tease the stomach. The
astonishing quantity of confectionery consumed amongst us can
hardly be. estimated, but it is both preposterous arid enormous. We
have beard of young persons at school, who not only lavished all
their pocket-money in the purchase of candies, cakes, &e., but even
ran largely in debt for similar destructive edibles. This vicious
appetite prevails to a greater extent still in hot latitudes. We have
known young Cubans, and youth from our Southern States, who had
dearly destroyed their health by these deplorable habits.—Virginia
Medical Journal,
NEW ORLEANS SCHOOLS.
Among a long list of questions which every school teacher in
New Orleans is obliged to answer tinder oath, is the annexed :
9o NORTK-CArlOLINA, JOURNAL OF EDUCATION.
Are there any other assemblages of pupils in the school rooms at
other times, for literary or other purpose ?
If so, when, and for wnat purposes?
Do religious exercises or instructions form any part of the regular
duties of the school ?
If so, state the nature anfl eztent of the same.
Are there any demonstrations of loyalty, such as playing of pa-triotic
airs, singing j)atriotic songs, or the display of the flag of the
United States ever made in your school ?
If Bot, why are "they omitted ?
Are any'lopics introduced, or sung, or pltxyed, or Sags or mottoes
or devices displayed in your school, which are inimical to the Uni-ted
States', either 'during school hours or at other times ?
If so, state when and under what circumstances ?
Do you teach your scholars the duty of being, loyal to the govern-ment
of the United States ?
Are your sympathies with tEe United States government, or with
the so-called Confederate government ?
Have you taken the oath of Allegiance to the United States since
the ist of May, 1863 ?
If so, at what time, and before whom ?
Have you taken the amnesty oath of December 8th, 1883 ?
Have you ever taken the oath of allegiance to the so-called ©on-federate
government?
Are yon now, or were you ever, registered as an enemy of the
United States ?
Would you have any objection to have the United States flag
raised. over your school," or over the principal's desk during school
hours ?
The principal of each school is required to annex thereto a list of
the names ©f his or her pupils since the Ist Jan., 1864, together
with the name and residence of their parents or guardians.
^©isiriggairg
JULY 1864.
PAGE
School GovernmoQt, ^ 75
Olie Old School Master's Story, ,, 79
Edncation a Ltixnry, » 81
School Kiss, : - 83
Protect the roots of trees, JS3
What thou doest do quickly, .84
Duties of females, (Address,) 85
National Peculiarities, , 94
New Orleans Schools, 95
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