The teachers.—The atmosphere in which the pupils live is, mainly, an exhalation from the spirit of the teachers. They live and work together in a delightful spirit of concord and coöperation. They are magnanimous and would refuse to be a part of any life that would decline from this high plane. In this corps there are no hysterics, no heroics, no strain, no stress. They are, first of all, successful human beings; and their expert teaching is an expression of their human qualities. Their teaching is borne along on the tones of conversation. They know that well-modulated tones of voice contribute to the culture and well-being of the school. Should a teacher ever indulge in screeching, nagging, hectoring, badgering, or sarcasm, she would find herself ostracized. Such things are simply not done in this school. Hence, she would soon realize that this school is no place for her and would voluntarily resign. The school is simply above and beyond her kind.

Unity of purpose.—Among the teachers there are no jealousies, because each one is striving to exalt the others. They are so generous in their impulses, and have such exalted conceptions of life, that they incline to catalogue their colleagues among the very elect. The teacher in the high school and the teacher in the primary grade hold frequent conversations concerning each other’s work, and no teacher ever loses interest in the pupils when they advance to the next grade. To such teachers, education is not parceled out in terms of years but is a continuous process, even as life itself. They use the text-book merely as a convenience, but never as a necessity. If all the text-books in the school should be destroyed overnight, the work would proceed as usual the next day, barring mere inconvenience. They respect themselves and others too highly ever to assume a patronizing air toward their pupils. On the contrary, they treat them as coördinates and confederates in the noble and exhilarating game of life.

The vitalized school.—They have due regard to their personal appearance, but, once they have decided for the day, they dismiss the matter from their thinking and devote their attention to major considerations. Neither in dress, in manner, nor in conversation do they ever bring into the school a discordant note. School hours are not a detached portion of life but, rather, an integral part of life, and to them life is quite as agreeable during these hours as before and after. Such as they cannot do otherwise than render the school vital. And when such teachers and patrons as these join in such a benevolent conspiracy, then shall we realize not only a typical school but the vitalized school.

Questions and Exercises

  1. Upon what does the vitalization of a school mainly depend? Upon what else does it depend in part?
  2. What suggestion is made in this chapter in regard to the planning of school buildings?
  3. Why should care be taken in choosing the decorations of a school?
  4. Why is it unwise for teacher or pupils to boast of the achievements of the school?
  5. Why has the question of school lunches gained so much prominence recently?
  6. How should the industrial work in a school be linked with that in the community?
  7. Why are there fewer students in the higher than in the lower grades of most schools? Make a careful analysis of the situation in this respect in your school.
  8. Why is it a calamity to a community for a boy to fail to graduate from the high school?
  9. What may be done to prevent a child going outside the school to find something congenial?
  10. What should be a student’s motive in choosing a course?
  11. How do you make your school a center for community life? How can you make it more of a center than it is?
  12. How is the spirit of jealousy among teachers injurious to our school system? What usually makes one teacher disparage the work of another?
  13. What is essential in vitalizing a school?

INDEX

[A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W]