LETTER II.

SELF-EXAMINATION AND SELF-DISCIPLINE.

HAVING, in my opening letter, very briefly touched upon the general subject of school-keeping, I propose now to indicate more particularly what steps are to be taken to secure success in the objects at which you will aim. And, in my view, self-examination, self-discipline, selfgovernment, self-renunciation, to a great extent, comprise the most obvious and certain means at your command. These will do more to promote the successful management of your school, than any set of rules, however well conceived or rigidly enforced.

To ascertain and explore the springs of action in one's own mind, is to obtain possession of the key that will unlock the minds of others; than which nothing is more important in the business you have undertaken; and nothing will give more effectual control over those intrusted to your care. And, as this is a leading object with the teacher, and one on which his usefulness mainly depends, it should be, first of all, secured. There are ten persons who fail in school-government, to one who fails in mere instruction. The extent of classical and scientific preparation is of little moment, where the capacity for government is deficient.

You

Self-examination, if faithfully carried out, will unfold to you natural biases and motives, of which you may now be wholly unaware. may have been drifting forward on the stream of life, like a deserted ship on the bosom of a mighty river, heedless of your course, and trusting that the right haven would be found at last, without any special agency on your part to avoid the shoals and whirlpools, the obstructions and rocks, that lie exposed or hidden before you. You feel no "compunctious visitings" at this state of things; for you have never been roused to their contemplation. Your attention has never been called to an investigation of those ruling influences which, unknown to yourself, have hitherto led you onward in time's pathway.

You have felt no responsibility, for you have acted for yourself alone; and being, as you supposed, an exemplar or model to no other, have made no effort to alter your course.

The case is now wholly changed. What you are in motive, princi ple, habit, manners, will the pupils under your charge, to a greater

or less degree, become. There may be points exhibited by you be fore your school, which in word you steadily condemn; but powerless and ineffective will be that precept which your example opposes with its iving force. Hence the necessity of this personal inspection. "Know thyself" was the injunction of an ancient philosopher; and it has been reiterated by many among the wise of modern days.

Most of those traits which make up what we call character in a man, are the results of education as developed not only by the processes of school instruction, but by whatever passes before the eye, whatever sounds upon the ear, excites the imagination, warms the heart, or moves the various passions within us; and the more frequently the mind falls under the same set of influences, the greater the probability that the character will take a stamp conformably to such influences. Hence we perceive, although with some exceptions, a marked similarity in individuals of the same parentage. But there are traits inherent in the human constitution, and widely differing from each other, as strongly marked as the instincts of animals, which lead one species to seek the air, and another the water, without any teaching whatever.

The man of nervous temperament will exhibit conduct conformable to it; the phlegmatic, to it. The acquisitive tendency produces the avaricious man; the taciturn, the silent man. Although the operations of these original elements in our species can, perhaps, never be entirely reversed, they may, under faithful training, be so qualified as to make them subserve the cause of duty and humanity; for we are never to admit that the great Creator made anything but for the promotion of the ultimate well-being of his creatures. As, on the completion of his six days' work, he saw that "it was very good," we are bound to believe that every element in man's nature, whether physical, moral, social, or intellectual, was intended to become the instrument of good in some department of the great system of things, however perversion or excessive indulgence may sometimes produce the very opposite effects. To say otherwise, would be like asserting that light is no blessing, because it may dazzle or blind the eye; or that fire is a curse, because it sometimes consumes our dwellings or destroys our treasures; or that water is our foe, because it may drown us.

It being established, then, that ours is a complex nature and that, without an adequate knowledge of it, as existing in ourselves individually, we cannot do all in our sphere, of which we are capable, for the benefit of our fellow-beings, the acquisition of this knowledge becomes our first duty; and, especially, when we put ourselves in a position to stamp an image of our spiritual selves upon those who are committed to our influence and our training.

Our first care, then, in this business of self-inspection, is to ascertain whether we have any tendencies or proclivities that militate with our highest idea of a perfect man; whether our motives are lofty, our affections holy, our principles upright, our feelings and tastes pure, our intentions unselfish, our habits such as they should be. Every one has a beau ideal in his own mind; and, if we fall below it in any of these particulars, we are to set about bringing ourselves up to the standard we have assumed.

In this great work we shall need aid beyond ourselves. In fact, self-love will be continually blinding us, or leading us astray from a strict and righteous judgment; and, to enable us to be just, we must as constantly seek for aid where only it is to be found.

Having, then, ascertained the defects in our character, our next step is to impose that self-discipline which reformation requires. It may be difficult, it doubtless will be; but the result will be worth more than its cost. The work must be commenced in strong faith, with an unyielding will; and a resolute perseverance will achieve the victory. Have you doubts as to how you shall begin upon the new course? Phrenology teaches that every organ has one antagonistic to it; and that by exercising it, and suffering its opposite to lie dormant, the former will enlarge, and the latter shrivel for want of exercise. Take a hint from this. Have you discovered that your motives centre in self? Seek every opportunity for benefiting others, even at some personal sacrifice. Have you found yourself indulging in any passion? Cultivate a feeling of gentleness and forbearance. Put yourself in the way of meeting provocation, that you may learn, by practical experience, to resist the temptation to the evil. Have you detected a love of ease, or of inaction, or indolence? Nerve yourself to a vigorous attack upon the propensity or habit, if it has already become such, assured that, if continued, it will prove fatal to every noble purpose. Have you accustomed yourself to speak ill of others, or encouraged slander or gossip in your associates? Resolve to check it where you can, whether in the domestic circle, or abroad among strangers; and resolve, as a general rule, to be silent where you cannot commend. If others are unjust to you, be forgiving and generous to them. If the cost or inconvenience be great, the discipline will be all the better and more useful. It is by such trials that the character is to be improved and perfected. It was not sleeping on beds of down that prepared the men of '76 to endure the unutterable hardships of those days; but a long and severe training in the rigorous school of adversity and self-denial. It is the wielding of the heavy sledge that imparts vigor to the arm of the smith; while the same brawny limb, confined in a sling, would soon wither into imbecility.

Thus, then, are you to treat propensities and habits, and every sin or defect, which you find besetting you or opposing your progress towards the standard you have set up for your own attainment.

A discipline like this terminates at last in that self-conquest so important in every situation of life, and is of unspeakable advantage to him who is the guide of the young in the beginning of their career.

The importance of self-government has been proverbial from the days of Solomon. It enables its possessor to make the best use of his powers under any circumstances that may arise. It decides the contest between two individuals, in other respects equal, declaring for him "who ruleth his own spirit." Nay, it comes, in lieu of intellectual power, in the dispute, and secures the victory to him who is in other respects the weaker man. It is highly useful in every sphere; and, in that of the teacher, is in requisition every hour of every day.

The last of these elements of preparation is self-renunciation, or self-sacrifice, a state of mind the most difficult to reach, and yet the noblest of all; for it was the leading characteristic in the Great Teacher-the purest, safest model for every other teacher.

a case.

You will, very naturally, in the outset of your pedagogical course, feel jealous of your authority and dignity, and require a deference and respect from your pupils, which, if withheld or rendered tardily, you may be disposed to resent or make the occasion of severe discipline to the offender. It is fitting that this point should not be neglected; but be not hasty to act or to adopt extreme measures in such Assure yourself first that disrespect was intended. The low state of manners at this day is notorious. In many families, of good standing in the world, it is a subject that scarcely comes within the cognizance, or, apparently, the thought of parents. The children are not trained to observe the courtesies of civilized society, but actually grow up like the untutored savage of our western wilds. If any refinement exists around them, they are somewhat affected by it; but they do and speak as others-leading individuals in the families-do. Hence, many a noble-spirited boy enters the school-room practically unconscious of the claims of the teacher to any token of respect from him, that had never been required around the hearth-stone of his own home. Consequently, his manner may be rough, his tones loud and coarse, his language ill-chosen, his carriage clownish, even on his first introduction to the teacher. Should such a one come under your observation, judge him not hastily; check him not harshly. There may lie within that repulsive exterior the best elements of our nature; and he may be wholly unconscious that he has infringed any of the laws of civility. Ascertain, therefore, the facts in the case, before you arraign him for his delinquency.

Every variety of temperament, too, may be found among your pupils. The merry, the daring, the timid, the artful; one, so overrunning with fun and frolic, that he commits many a breach of good manners quite involuntarily; another, easily excited by passion, answers rudely, under its impulse, when, in his sober judgment, he would stand self-condemned, although his pride might forbid his acknowledging his fault.

Cases will be continually occurring to test the principle of self-sacrifice within you; and well will it be for your own happiness, and better still for your pupils, if you shall have so firmly established it, as to enable you to endure from them, for a time, what you would, perhaps, be disposed, if coming from others, to consider an insult.

But do not misunderstand me. I would have your pupils behave with strict propriety; would have you enforce it as a rule. My object in these remarks is to guard against precipitate action; nay, to prepare you to carry the martyr-spirit into your government, when the welfare of the children shall require it. The mother sometimes comes to her knees before her offending child. The spirit that dictates such an act should move the teacher in cases demanding it. Cases so extreme would rarely occur in school; but when they do happen, he should be prepared to meet them in this maternal spirit.

When the first Napoleon had an object to gain, whether it was the carrying of a bridge, the taking of a city, or the subduing of a kingdom, difficulties did not daunt him, nor the cost in men or treasure cause him to waver in his purpose. The only question was, "how many men will it cost?" and they were detached for the service. With a similar determination, but for a far nobler end, the teacher is to ask himself, "what amount of labor, what degree of personal sacrifice, will it require of me to save this child?" The question being solved, the generous effort is, with Bonapartean promptness, to be commenced. The debasing passion is subdued; the repulsive habit reformed; the evil tendency put in check,—and the boy is redeemed!

Do you ask me if this is the preparation for keeping school? I answer, the course I have recommended comprises the initiatory steps. They are the most necessary ones of all; first, because they involve the highest good of a human being; and, secondly, because they come not within the scope of the examination of school committees, either at the time the teacher receives his certificate of competency to take charge of a school, or at the public examinations, when he appears before the people, to prove or disprove the accuracy of the committee's written opinion.

I am well aware of the check that this perversion of the relative