The New Dominion

EDUCATIONAL DEPARTMENT:

SCHOOL-ROOM SKETCHES.

BY PAULUS, N. Y. CITY.

In a visit to one of the up-town schools, the principal related the following incident:

I went into one of the class-rooms on one occasion, when the teacher called upon one of the pupils and said to me, "I wish you would take him out of my class. I can do nothing with him."

I looked at the little fellow who stood quietly looking down at the floor, and I said "Why, what's the matter? Is he so very bad? Don't you think you can do something with him?"

"No! nothing at all. There is nothing good in him. I can't make anything of him. He is all bad."

What! all bad! Oh, I hope not! and turning to the boy I said, "Look up at me. This is a very bad report your teacher gives. What shall we do? I think there is something good in you. Now, I would like to see some of the good boys."

The teacher called some five or six of them, and they stood up, and told one of them to step forward, which he did. I looked at him, and then at the culprit, and I said, "I think we can find something good in him. He's not all bad,"

I looked at the good boy from head to foot. His shoes were dirty and had no "shine" on them. I looked at the little fellow before me, and saw that his shoes were clean, with an attempt at a polish, which struck me as a point. So I said,

"Here's something good right away. Harry is a good boy, but he forgot to clean his shoes. But here's Jimmy, that has his shoes clean. Who cleaned your shoes, Jimmy?"

"I did it myself, sir!"

"Who put it into your head?"

"Nobody, sir. I did it myself."

"Now, then, boys," said I, "here's something good in Jimmy. He's not all bad-not quite so bad." Here's one good thing to start with I think we can find some more good things. Jimmy, would you rather be a bad boy or a good boy?"

"I'd rather be good, sir!"

"Would you really-now? Stop and think about it. Would you really rather be good boy than bad?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well now, we have two good things. He tries to keep clean, all of himself, and he would rather be good than bad. I think we can try him. Will you try, Jimmy?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Well, then, boys, shall we try Jimmy a little longer, before we put him out of our class?"

To which all the boys and the teacher answered with a hearty, "Yes sir!" and the little fellow went to his seat with the sympathy of his class-mates, and my own.

"By the way," said the Principal, "you know I never want to do anything to make my scholars lose their self-respect. In that reason I never allow my teachers to report a scholar publicly before their classes. I try to keep these things as much between the teachers and myself as possible, and I endeavor to have the scholars feel that they are responsible for their own character and the good character of the class. As the complaint in this case was made in the presence of the whole class, I tried to make the best use of it I could."

"More than a year has passed by and I do not recollect having had Jimmy under my personal reproof since that time."

I could not help admiring the tact as well as the moral insight of that principal, and I went away from the school and earnestly wishing him a thousand blessings upon his work.