San Diego State University - Del Sudoeste Yearbook (San Diego, CA)

Page 16 text:

6 WHITE and GOLD ed, a method, which, in spite of its popularity, cannot be considered beautiful, being characterized by a great abundance of variety and a total lack of unity. It is remarkable that in a district school that can scarcely boast of a dozen pupils, so many different types will be represented. There are the active, mischievous ones, bubbling over with life and spirits, who, when their interests are once aroused, will expend as much energy upon work as upon play. There are thelazy, indif- ferent ones to whom work is work and will never be anything but work, for whose benefit it becomes a patience-tiring necessity to be perpetually operating some forcing system; and, sad to say, there are some who seem to have settled into a state of mental apathy, lto rouse them from which is almost a hopeless task. So great is this need of effort on their own parts, that in our zeal, we feel impelled to take them by the shoulders and shake them from their Hdogmatic sluul- bersdl But knowing this to be impossible, we can but remember that slow and steady wins the race. Then let us be thankful there is the one whose sole aim in life is to pleaseewho does his best and would like to do more. A teacher can reasonably be engaged with but one grade at a time, and so what to do with children who are so wonderfully accomp- lished in the arts of ttreeling and writhingl, as; to threaten disaster to the more elegant accomplishments of reading and writing, is a serious problem. Ink-well lids raise and lower themselves, pens and pencils roll to the fioor as if by magic, and loose-jointed desks near by are so continually in a state of sympathetic vibration that you think this problem could be most easily solved by turning it over to Science, saying, HHere, at last, is perpetual motion!H ' Here is another by no means simple problem. You give out a piece of work that you suppose will occupy at least thirty minutes, and in teneperhaps lesseToni, Dick or Harry, tsometinies all threel bob up serenely with the triumphant announcement that it is iinished. You are engaged in developing some other subject and your carefully laid chain of thought is thus suddenly snapped. Then you think how valuable are those suggestions contained in books not written with pedagogical intent. What, for instance, could be more appro- priate and effective than ilto take a canvas bag which ties at the mouth with strings; into this slip hini head first, and sit on himfl thus sup- pressing him as they suppressed the guinea pigs in iiAlice in VVon- derland.H There comes a time, however, when your unwritten and even ver- bally unexpressed law, ilSay what you mean, mean what you do, and do business,H is generally observed, and there will be days when all is calm, and everything seemsjust as it should be. But the very next day the order of things may be entirely reversed, and you may be

Page 15 text:

WHITE and GOLD 5 Irishman, that our View of the matter suddenly becomes an exceed- ingly bright and happy one. Pat was trying to in vain to put on a pair of new boots, iinally, ceasing his Vigorous tugging, he observed, that he guessed they wouldhit go 011 till heid worn ,6111 a spell. To aid pupils in relizing the need of their supporting this insti- tution ttof the people, by the people, and for the peopleH ttlest it per- ish from the earthfi the teacher's bite must equal her bark and vice versa; the very first exhibition of either resulting in signs of an uni- versal awakening. The most interesting point of some story consti- tuting a primary reading lesson is reached, when you are startled by' the sound of approaching footsteps, and soon a voice is heard, crying, itWhere did you say we were to begin, and how far do we take?H The signal for advance being given, you are immediately surrounded, the situation demanding Himmediate and unconditional surrender? HI donit know what you mean for us to do, says one, ttIs this right as far as Pve gone?H another, and, HI canit do these examples. Our other teacher did11,t give this kind ii tPoor iiother teacherW 110w manifold and varied are the deficiencies accounted for in thy nanieU You have no sooner put down interruptions during recitations, than up come stagewvhispered consultation and rapid exchange of written messages, borne hither and thither upon the swift wings of invisible carrlers. V It can never be said of the ideal and the practical, I suppdse, that they coincide. But do they anywhere fall so wide of the mark as in district school-teaching? One after another difficulties 100111 up, often the most unexpected difliculty at the most unexpected time andin the most unexpected place. Very happily, our first enthusiasm, though largely derived from a contemplation of the practical from the standpoint of the ideal, is saved by the keen sense of pleasure and power felt in watching the slow evolution of order out of chaos, knowing that we stand at the helm. The greatest problem to be solved, and one which ye have always with you, is to eliminate HI cantw in order to find the value of HIill try.H The great difficulty of this problem seems to come from a de- plorable lack of mental confidence, which renders pupils capable of doing next to nothing of themselves. This difficulty, in turn, seems to be due to a hazv indefiniteness and lack of thoroughness in pre- viouslv attained knowledge-a weakness sometimes ridiculouslv re- vealed, when assuming too 111 uch you attempt to draw the pupil out. Ar1th 111et1c and G1a1nmar subjects on which haziness 1s particu- larly disastrous, under the Review System--the1e a deal in the name of a thing-actually become tolerable. Spelling strange to sa; i which with these two often forms a trio of conteniptibles, presents no horrors, where the uimpromptu phonetic method'i is generally adopt-

Page 17 text:

WHITE and GOLD 7 forced to think how much like playing with mercury school-teaching is. Whatever be your inward convulsions, outwardly you must be calm and steady, never once revealing your internal state, lest in the very revelation you add to the difficulty. Yet whatever be the trials and tribulations of our first encounter with the world, there are also the hopes and the joys. 'We love our first school with a strong affection'-an affection, that llhopes and en- dures and is patient,H and rifts in the clouds give us frequent glimp- ses of our ideals beyond, made brighter by the dark surroundings. -A7mz? Horral, l01. The insurrtmnn. The horned toad really started it. To be brought to the labora- tory and put in ayellow dish surrounded by a wire screen was very trying to such an independent traveller. He regarded his fellowspeci- mens with a degree of contempt because of their passive submission to treatment that was often disrespectful in the extreme; and did not hesitate to comment upon their lack of spirit. in that particular. VVllen the frogs arrived a powerful impetus was given to the spirit of discontent among the laboratory specimens. Indeed, the very manner of their arrival was calculated to breed disturbance-for they were brought in by small mortals, and struggling with all their might. And when they had been dumped together promiscuonsly into a rus- ty tin can, they proceeded to give voice to their injured feelings. The other specimens were rather shocked at the boisterous man- ner of the frogs, but such volnbility could not fail to have its effect upon them, and they began to consider their wrongs. HWell! this cross-section affair just wears nle outlll exclaimed the sea anemone. lkThose clumsy mortals poked around in my septee and reversed my stomach till I almost fell to pieces; and then they complained that they couldn,t see anything! uThatls nothinglll snapped a crab,. uYou should have heard the mean things they said about me today when they were drawing me. If my joints werenlt so stiff from this formalin Ild show them a few things. HThat teacher hates me, sobbed the Medusa, tlI know it. Iim the only one that hasnlt a glass top, and she told the others to throw me around all they wanted to.H The clams had been listening to it all with open mouths, and one was about to say something when an old starfish came stiny down