CHAPTER XVII.

ONTARIO TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION CONVENTION IN 1869.

On the 3rd of August, 1869, the Teachers' Convention of Ontario met in the Normal School Buildings, the Reverend Doctor Nelles, President, in the Chair.

On behalf of the Chief Superintendent, who was absent on his Holidays, Mr. J. George Hodgins, Deputy Superintendent, gave the Association a very cordial welcome.

After the transaction of routine business the Convention adjourned until the Evening when the Reverend Doctor Nelles, the President, delivered the opening Address on "The Importance of the Teacher's Calling," as follows:

I shall occupy the time allotted me this Evening in offering some observations for our encouragement and guidance as Teachers. And, first of all, let me say, it is of importance that we think well of our calling. We cannot be too deeply impressed with the beauty, dignity and value of the Teacher's work. In every Profession the great secret of success is an enthusiastic concentration of effort. Nor has any one but an Apostle, or at least the successor of an Apostle, stronger reasons than the Teacher for magnifying his office. No doubt teaching has its less attractive side, and the quiet simplicity of the employment disguises from common view its real grandeur. The School House is often badly built, badly ventilated, and badly kept; the entire premises reminding one of Whittier's picture of the old Puritan graveyard.

"With scanty grace from nature's hand,

And none from that of art."

It seems from a paragraph, which appeared lately in the Newspapers that in the Townships of Ops and Mariposa, (I purposely mention the names,) the School Houses are not fit for stables, and I heard a Trustee in the School Convention of Northumberland, held a few months since, give a similar character to some School Houses in that County.* Again, the Schoolmaster is poorly paid; but though poorly paid, is none the less expected to render efficient service. An American Deacon once apologised to a friend of mine for his Pastor's Sermon on the ground that he was "only a Seven hundred dollar Preacher!" We commend this theory of indulgence to those other Deacons who manage the temporalities of our Common Schools. The children of the School are sometimes untidy in their persons, coarse in their manners, and either dull at learning, or quick at mischief, or perhaps both the one and the other. The results of an evil parentage and a bad home come out in the School-room; and while the iniquities of the Fathers are visited upon the children, the iniquities of both Fathers and children are visited upon the Teacher. On the most favourable supposition, the Teacher's life is one of hard work for body and mind, and second to none in that other element which, according to Doctor Arnold, kills sooner than work-the element of worry. And yet, despite all these things, and more that might be said, let us be proud of our

* In regard to Ops the Local Superintendent thus writes to The Globe :-" I beg to call attention to a paragraph quoted by Doctor Nelles, in his learned and eloquent opening Address to the Teachers' Association, in your City, in which the School-houses of Ops are said to be unfit for stables. The statement in that paragraph is much too general, as there are but three out of the eleven School-houses of Ops which are of a very inferior quality, all the others being of the best description-of Brick-large and commodious, and well finished. Even those three inferior ones will not stand long, under the enlightened offer from the Municipal Council, of twenty-five per cent, to each Section, to aid in providing suitable School Accommodation. By referring to the last Annual School Report, you will find that Ops is not far behind any of the older Townships in its efforts for education. Its competitive Examinations, at which $60 worth of Books obtained from the Department are annually distributed its high Salaries offered to Normal and first-class Teachers: and the general interest manifested in the Quarterly Examinations by Parents, Clergymen and other friends of education, place it-and deservedly place it-amongst the most advanced Town. ships in the Province.

Profession. The ruder the materials on which we work, and the more repulsive the surroundings, the greater our praise. In our hands alone is the wand of the enchanter by which savages are transformed into men. Mechanics, and Farmers, and Lawyers, and Doctors, and Clergymen, and Editors, and Legislators-all are very useful members of society; but only when they have passed under the quickening touch of the Schoolmaster. In a new Country, especially, the great necessity is that of culture. The husbandman stands on the borders of a wilderness; before him are Trees, Stumps, rotten Logs, Rocks, wild Beasts and Vermin. He brings to bear his labour and skill, and in a short time the whole landscape is changed; the air is filled with fragrance of new-mown Hay; the Harvests wave in the wind; the Orchards are laden with Fruit; the Flocks and Herds graze in the Meadows; and the Ships traverse the Ocean bearing the produce of that husbandman's toil to feed the starving millions of other Lands. Not less abundant and of a still higher order is the return from that other tillage, so aptly termed by Bacon "the Georgics of the Mind." And although, in this agricultural Land, the wealth and prosperity of the people must mainly depend upon the soil, yet we remember also, that,

"The riches of the Commonwealth

Are free strong minds and hearts of health,
And more to her than gold, or grain,

The cunning hand and cultured brain."

A good work is worth a thousandfold more when it bears the stamp of imperishability. It is not easy to build above the storms. The great Empires of olden time have passed away; the beautiful Temples have crumbled; the marble Statues remain only in fragments. Modern Empires and modern Temples will, perhaps, perish in their time. But when the Teacher gathers before him the children of his School and their bright eyes look up into his, he knows that though living in a world of shadows and of wrecks, there is in his presence and under his control the one substance in all the universe, out of which he may rear an imperishable fabric, on which he may carve lines of beauty that shall defy the pittings of the rain, and under whose dome shall resound the music of an eternal song. The immortal mind, with its apprehensions of truth; the immortal mind, with its energy of will; the immortal mind, with its gorgeous dreams that do but prophesy yet more gorgeous realities; the immortal mind, with its pure affections and sympathies clinging like the tendrils of a vine to the Infinite Unknown; the immortal mind, with its ever-enlarging capacity for progress and enjoyment; this is the enduring monument of the Teacher's toil, and this his ample reward.

EFFECT OF THE DIFFUSION OF EDUCATION.

It is the glory of our age, and especially of this Land, that educational advantages are widely diffused. In eminent examples of mental power we may never surpass the giants of other days, but the culture of our time has an infinitely higher praise in that it reaches the people at large, stretching its impartial hand to those who, among the most highly cultivated nations of antiquity, would have groaned in ignorance and bondage. The light which once illumined only the mountain peaks, now floods the plains, and finds its way into the valleys. Under this diffusion of light, the noxious vapours are scattered; the ghosts troop home to churchyards; witches, hobgoblins, and a thousand "gloomy spectres of the brain," with a thousand physical evils, are driven away. What a famous Monarch once prayed for, "that every peasant might have a fowl in his pot," has become a reality, at least, in America; and what is more, every Peasant has, or may have, his Newspaper and his Bible, with the Common School and Sunday School for his children. Here, at least, we have the groundwork of national weal and the first great stride toward the Millenium. Thus the range of the Teacher's influence has widened to the universal brotherhood of man. Like the Preacher of the 19-XXI.

Gospel, he has become the friend of the poor, the liberator of the Slave, the solace of the weary, and the instrument of a new social order. The love of freedom was not less strong in ancient times; but the conditions of freedom, the School-room and the Printing-press, these were wanting. Men died for liberty; yet liberty died also. They could repel external aggression, but could not resist internal dissolution. An army of Schoolmasters is found to be better than an army of Soldiers. We eulogise Christianity as the last best gift of Heaven; and we do well. But one of the chief peculiarities of Christianity is that it begins and advances only by means of popular instruction. The old Pagan Religions amused the people with shows and corrupted them by superstitutions; Christianity comes to them with a revelation of truth, and by her neverceasing appeals to the understanding and conscience, compels every system of Worship to make good its claims as a "reasonable service." She alone of all Religions demands and creates the Schoolmaster; she alone does not fear him when he appears. This appeal to the court of reason in matters of faith is not, indeed, without its perils. All progress is full of peril, and the drift of much of modern thought is well calculated to give perplexity and alarm to serious minds. The age is calling with a cry of anguish for the man who shall break "the word of reconciliation" to the warring forces of the Church and the School. The voices of a thousand would-be peace-makers do but add to the clamour of the strife. Yet, no one whose opinion is worth hearing, imagines that peace shall come by the slumber of slavery of the intellect. Nay, rather let us hope that as the continued exercise of political freedom is the best security for political order, so the exercise of thought and the universal diffusion of knowledge will eventually bring only greater honour and stability to the true Religion.

WE ARE IMPROVING IN METHODS OF EDUCATION.

We shall, I think, do well to cherish a strong faith in the improveability of educational methods. It was said by Doctor Johnson, that "education was as well understood in his day as it would ever be." With all deference to so great a name, this must be set down as one of the many absurd sayings of famous men. There are always some who despair of progress, and who frown upon all experiments, however judicious. Some doctors will kill, or cure, only with the old drugs; some religionists are wedded to the old forms and hackneyed phrases

"Hollow creed and ceremonial

From which the ancient life has fled;"

Some politicians cling to the dear old abuse because it has come down from their fathers. Copernicus and his new Astronomy; Columbus and his new Geography; Jenner and his Vaccination; Harvey and his Circulation of the Blood; Stephenson and his Locomotive; all in their turn have had to fight their battle with this "old King Clog," the god of the timid, the superstitious, and the lazy. Nevertheless, "King Jog," as Mackay calls him, generally wins the battle at last.

King Clog was a mighty monarch,

He sat on his lofty seat,

With his golden crown and his ermine gown,

And his courtiers at his feet.

His power seemed firm as the mountains

Inert, but strong was he;

And he ruled the land with a heavy hand

And a placid tyranny.

And whenever a boon was asked him,

He stared with a calm amaze,

And said: Ye foolish people,

Ye must stand on the ancient ways.

And he folded his arms on his bosom,

And slept, and never heard

The measured beat of the trampling feet,

And the oft-repeated word

That came from the solemn conclave

Of the people, met to plan

Some better laws, to aid the cause

Of the happiness of man;

Nor the voices loud resounding.

Like waves upon the shore,

That proclaimed to the listening nations

That Clog should rule no more.

But Jog, the next Successor,

Who understood his times,

Stepp'd on the throne:-Father, begone;

To linger is a crime.

Go to thy bed and slumber,

And leave the world to me:

Thy mission's done; thy race is run

I'm ruler of the free.

So Clog retired, obedient,

And Jog, his son, was crown'd.

We hope he'll govern better

And so the world goes round.

Thus, notwithstanding the dictum of the great Lexicographer, I hope you will take the side of King Jog rather than of King Clog. Believe in the possibility of something better, "and better still, and better thence again, in infinite progression." Lord John Russell told the Reformers of England a few years ago that the time had come to "rest and be thankful." In educational matters the true motto is to be thankful and rest not. It will be time enough to talk of resting when we have reached something like a settled science of the mind and an education in harmony with that science; time enough to rest when the leading Educators in Europe and America have come to something like agreement as to what should be taught, how it should be taught, and when it should be taught; what place should be given to Physical Science, and what to Languages; what to Ancient Languages and what to Modern; how far the Curriculum should be uniform, and how far varied, or special, or optional; what should be done with the Girls, whether they should be taught like the Boys, or otherwise, whether with the Boys or away from them; whether, with Mill and others, we are to take up in defence of Woman's rights and adopt new views of education to correspond; or whether we are to resist these notions as dangerous heresies leading back to chaos; these are but a few of the questions which remain to be answered, and which, on one side, or the other, we are practically answering for good, or evil, every day of life. It belongs to the Teachers of the land, as men of thought and experience, to have wellconsidered views on these matters, and in all suitable ways to press home their views on the public mind. And in this respect the practice of our Chief Superintendent may be commended, in that he not only travels to study the Educational Institutions of other Lands, but visits from time to time the various Counties of our own Province, to discuss with the people face to face the operations of our System of Public Instruction, and to elicit especially the opinions of Teachers and Trustees.

THE ART OF READING-WHAT MAY YET BE DONE.

Before leaving this point, I wish particularly to mention one striking proof of what yet remains to be done in even the most elementary parts of education; I refer * See the remarks on Reading by Mr. Lewis on page 298.

to the Art of Reading. We sometimes collect statistics to show what proportion of the population can read. We mean by this what proportion can gather something of the sense of au Author for themselves; but if we speak of the proper and effective reading of an Author in the hearing of others, then there must be a vast alteration of our statistics. In this sense how many men are there in Canada who can read? How many even of educated men? How many of College Graduates? How many of the Professors? It is a poor solace to know that it is as bad elsewhere as in Canada. Every thoughtful mind must rejoice in the recent awakening of a new interest on this subject. These popular readings are yet destined to do much for the improvement and entertainment of the people. A talent for public speaking has always been a power in the earth, but the capability of adequately rendering, I say adequately rendering, the words of another, is scarcely less valuable. Genius is a rare gift, but to read well is to put the world in possession of the fruits of genius. Shakespeare, Milton, Tennyson, Macaulay, and all the great masters of prose and song are made to speak to us with the living voice. The sympathy of many hearts redoubles the power of what is said, and we rise to a higher sphere of thought and feeling, as by a kind of enchantment. Thousands pour with delight over the pages of Homer, but Homer as he thrilled the heart when sung by the Rhapsodists of old, this is a pleasure enjoyed no more. One Printing-press is doubtless worth ten thousand wandering minstrels, but if some one would invent a Press for the manufacture of good readers, we should have, if not another revival of learning, what is not less to be desired, an enkindling of a new intellectual life in the breasts of many who have heard indeed the names of our noble Poets, but who have never yet learned to love, or enjoy, them. I speak especially of the Poets, for of all writing, true poetry lies perhaps nearest to the common heart, and is best adapted to furnish a counterpoise to many of the dangerous tendencies of the age. A celebrated Elocutionist, when asked who taught him to read, answered, "My Mother;" and, as a general rule, women read better than men, as they also speak better English. The cause of this fact, and the use to be made of it, I must leave for others to show; but I commend the whole subject to the careful study of the Members of this Association.

TRAMMELS OF SYSTEM-CAUTIONS.

Having spoken of improvement in Systems of Instruction, permit me to caution you against the trammels of system. There is some danger of "red-tapeism" even in the School Room. The good Teacher will observe closely and handle tenderly the idiosyncrasies of children. Nature gives us only individuals, and no two alike. Classification is man's work, and is always a kind of mutilation of the fact. The abstractions of the system builder are often as misleading as the fancies of the Poet-both the one and the other needing to be corrected by constant reference to the actualities of life. All children may have the same faculties; but these faculties are combined in innumerable ways. As soon expect precisely the same cast of countenance as precisely the same bias of mind. An Oriential Shepherd distinguishes his sheep by their faces; in this Country a clever Farmer can distinguish a black sheep from a white one, or a sheep from a lamb. Most Schoolmasters can do better than that as regards the body; but the colour and shape of the immortal part often escapes them. "Best men," says Shakespeare, "are moulded out of faults." The faults of the child are often a clue to his capacities, and the germs of what might be his virtues. But how much skill is required to make the transformation? It is impossible by education to run children like bullets all in one mould, and it would be no addition to the charm of life could it be done. Symmetry of culture is well enough; but nature has her own types and laws of symmetry which we must study and not force. I invite your attention to the following passages from the last work of Mrs. Stowe :

It was the fashion of olden times to consider children only as children pure and simple; not as having any special individual nature which required special and in