*G0O SOME 
 
 OF THE 
 
 DANGERS OF TEACHERS. 
 
 AN ADDRESS 
 
 DELIVERED BEFORE THE 
 
 AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF INSTRUCTION, 
 
 PORTLAND, ME., AUGUST 31, 1844. 
 
 BY DANIEL P. GALLOUP, 
 
 Principal of the West Grammar School, Salem, Mass. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 WILLIAM D. TICKNOR & CO., 
 
 Corner of Washington and School Streets. 
 1844. 
 

SOME 
 
 DANGERS OF TEACHERS. 
 
 AN ADDRESS 
 
 DELIVERED BEFORE THE 
 
 AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF INSTRUCTION, 
 
 AT 
 
 PORTLAND, ME., AUGUST 30, 1844, 
 
 BY DANIEL P. GALLOUP, 
 
 Salem, Massachusetts. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 WILLIAM D. TICKNOR & CO., 
 
 Comer of Washington and School 'Streets. 
 1844. 
 
LB/045 - 
 
 .Gss- 
 
 
SOME OF THE 
 
 DANGERS OF TEACHERS. 
 
 BY DANIEL P. GALLOUP, 
 
 Salem, Massachusetts. 
 
 In all the employments of life, and in every branch of 
 business in which we may be engaged, we are liable to 
 fall into errors of misconception, or of practice, which 
 experience alone will correct ; and which this oftentimes 
 fails of entirely effecting. From this common lot of im- 
 perfect humanity, the teacher is by no means exempt ; 
 if, indeed, he be not, from the nature of his employment, 
 more fearfully exposed than others. He is in danger 
 from causes existing within himself, and he is in danger 
 from the influence of external causes which he may have 
 less power to modify, but which are still, to some degree, 
 under his control. It is of some of those dangers to 
 which teachers are particularly exposed, that I propose 
 at this time, briefly to speak ; — dangers, which in my 
 
4 MR. GALLOUP S LECTURE. 
 
 limited experience, I have been made to feel are not alto- 
 gether imaginary, — dangers few in comparison, it may be, 
 with those which others have discovered, who have fath- 
 omed the depths, and scaled the heights of the teacher's 
 experience. 
 
 I. The teacher is in danger of forgetting, to some 
 extent, the silent influence of his own example upon those 
 committed to his charge. 
 
 We too often forget, in our intercourse with children, 
 that they are children ; — that they are governed less by 
 theory than by example ; — that their sympathies are easily 
 excited ; — that there is a sympathetic chain, binding 
 them to their teacher, which they are never able fully to 
 sunder. How important then, that this chain should be 
 the silken cord of love, and not the debasing and repul- 
 sive bond of fear or hatred. Philosophy and experience 
 establishes the truth of the Prussian maxim, that "as is 
 the teacher, so is the school." A stupid, selfish, in- 
 competent master, will most assuredly run down the best 
 school in New England ; and this deterioration will be 
 in direct proportion to the length of time, such school is 
 permitted to remain under his influence. While, on the 
 other hand, an intelligent, conscientious, well prepared 
 teacher, will as assuredly lift up to a level with himself 
 the most backward school in the state. So true is it, that 
 all streams flow level with their founts. 
 
 We are too much inclined to look away from ourselves 
 for causes, with which we have a more intimate connec- 
 tion. Children are creatures of imitation. Their minds, 
 their feelings, and their impulses, are all easily controlled, 
 guided, and made to assimilate to the pattern which they 
 
DANGERS OF TEACHERS. 5 
 
 have constantly before them. Its silent influence is ever 
 felt and heeded. Who has not witnessed, at times, the 
 apparent utter impossibility of leading scholars to attend 
 quietly and silently to their duties in school ; when all 
 efforts on the part of the teacher, to direct the energies 
 of his pupils and quell the rising tumult, tend but to in- 
 crease the gathering storm. It is in vain, and worse than 
 in vain, for the teacher at such times to attempt to force 
 onward his plans, however judiciously they may have 
 been formed, or however well they may have succeeded 
 under other circumstances. Let him pause and reflect, 
 if reflect he can in the midst of such excitement ; let him 
 look within himself, and see how much of his present 
 troubles may have originated in his own feelings, if not 
 in his own acts, — how much of the impatience of his 
 scholars may be attributed to his own impatience, — how 
 much indeed, of the day's disasters, might have been 
 read by an attentive observer in his own morning's face. 
 
 " He, who would have friends, must show himself 
 friendly ;" and the teacher, who would have kind, affec- 
 tionate, and obedient pupils, — manly in their deportment, 
 and circumspect in their behavior, — must possess in him- 
 self all those desirable mental and moral qualities which 
 will beget the same in others. A teacher, who would 
 exert a good moral and spiritual influence upon his school, 
 should be firm but gentle, dignified but not arrogant. If 
 he wishes to cultivate a domineering, haughty, and turbu- 
 lent disposition, rather than one of ready acquiescence, 
 and heartfelt obedience, let him be dictatorial and assum- 
 ing in his own deportment, — always speak in the im- 
 perative mode, — never condescend to ask, but always to 
 command, and he will most assuredly succeed ; not that 
 1* 
 
6 
 
 teachers should not command and be obeyed, but there 
 is as much difference in the different modes of obtaining 
 this result, as there is between obedience and disobe- 
 dience ; and while the firm, but mild and gentle course, 
 will in most cases prove successful, the haughty and arro- 
 gant will almost as certainly fail. 
 
 True dignity of character will always be associated 
 with artlessness and simplicity of manner. Children are 
 keen observers, and they shrink instinctively from artifi- 
 cial austerity, or laugh at its absurdity. A teacher, who 
 should move about the school-room with a haughty, dom- 
 ineering manner, might talk loud and long about moral 
 duties and correct deportment to little purpose. So with 
 the tones of the voice in which he addresses his pupils. 
 If he is loud and boisterous in his manner, and sharp and 
 crabbed in his speech, attempting to win by assuming an 
 unnatural and dogmatical tone of authority ; he shuts up 
 the hearts of his children, — awakens in their breasts a 
 spirit of repulsion, if not a feeling of disgust, — the spell 
 by which they were bound is broken, and " they will not 
 listen to the voice of the charmer, charm he never so 
 wisely ;" — while a naturalness of manner, joined with an 
 honest frankness of speech, will win the confidence, love, 
 and respect of the child or the man, and induce him to 
 listen calmly and patiently to truths unpalatable in them- 
 selves, and which under other circumstances might be 
 resented or repelled. 
 
 If the teacher has any sly ways of detecting scholars in 
 their mischief ; if he resorts to stratagem or artifice to 
 circumvent their plans ; or does any thing which is cun- 
 ning or deceitful ; he teaches cunning and deception to 
 the children. If he drills them on certain passages or 
 
DANGERS OF TEACHERS. 
 
 questions, to be used on certain occasions to show them 
 off to advantage ; and gives that exhibition as a fair sam- 
 ple of their general scholarship ; he teaches deception. 
 It is a practical lesson, not soon forgotten, and an evil is 
 committed, for which ho present good can in any sense 
 be considered an equivalent. A teacher should never 
 resort to any artifice, but ever be distinguished for upright- 
 ness and sincerity of character, — in the minutest particu- 
 lar fair and honorable, — transparent as the thinnest crystal. 
 In vain will he strive to inspire his pupils with a love for 
 truth, unless he is inspired with a love for it himself. He, 
 who governs himself best, will always govern his school 
 best. 
 
 Example is all powerful in its influence upon the com- 
 munity. If it be true with adults, that "evil communi- 
 cations corrupt good manners ;" how emphatically true 
 must it be of children, at that peculiar period of life, in 
 which of all others impressions are the most readily and 
 most permanently made ; when example never fails to 
 influence and help to form the character, while precept 
 may fall powerless upon the ear, or fail entirely to affect 
 the heart. When the teacher witnesses, as he at times 
 will, the impatient, irritable disposition of his scholars ; — 
 the outbursting of this impatience, it may be, in action if 
 not in word, let him turn his thoughts homeward and in- 
 ward, and see if he cannot there discover the first rip- 
 pling of the stream, the impetuosity of whose swelling 
 current he now finds it so difficult to control ; — if the 
 tardy conception of the child, or his more than common 
 excitability, has not been construed into a wilful stub- 
 bornness, or downright insubordination, until loud words 
 and heavy blows serve but to increase the evil. Surely 
 
the teacher needs to cultivate patience in himself, if he 
 would see it flourish in others. 
 
 Intellectually, as well as morally, the school will re- 
 semble the teacher. Though there may be some minds 
 that will soar above all obstacles, still the mass of pupils 
 who give character to the school, will rarely rise higher 
 than the fountain, whence they derive their mental sup- 
 plies. If that fountain be circumscribed in its limits, 
 possessing surface, it may be, but no depth, with no 
 streams flowing in to give activity, energy, and life, to 
 the little which it contains, then the supplies which it 
 furnishes, must be comparatively small in quantity, and 
 partake in quality of the mass, from which they are drawn. 
 In other words, if the teacher is superficial in his attain- 
 ments, with no deep-felt need, and strong aspirings for 
 more, — though he may, in his own estimation, be pos- 
 sessed of all desirable knowledge, and like Goldsmith's 
 schoolmaster, " e'en the story run that he can gauge," 
 his scholars will be likely to partake of his own self- 
 sufficiency, and like him be satisfied with small attain- 
 ments. There is nothing, perhaps, more to be depre- 
 cated, than a feeling among scholars that they have arrived 
 at the acme of all knowledge, and consequently possess 
 no disposition to put forth further effort, and strive fori 
 higher and still higher attainments. One's efforts wil 
 always correspond to the standard which he has set up, 
 either real or imaginary, and which it is his object to 
 attain ; and the pupil's ideal, will be the real standard of 
 the teacher. 
 
 II. In the teacher's eagerness to advance his pupils, 
 there is danger of his resorting to motives addressed main- 
 
DANGERS OF TEACHERS. 9 
 
 ly to their selfish and sensual passions ; and thus strength- 
 en, and render too active, those principles of our nature, 
 which in most cases are too strong already. 
 
 Appeals are frequently made to the emulation of chil- 
 dren, by the bestowment of prizes, or otherwise re- 
 warding successful effort; a practice founded in error, as 
 I think, and oftentimes productive of much evil. If edu- 
 cation consisted in accumulating and storing up a certain 
 amount of intellectual lumber, irrespective of the means 
 employed to accomplish this end, then, indeed, it would 
 become of little consequence what motives were used as 
 incentives to action. But if education consists in the 
 proper developement and training of all the faculties, 
 giving to none an undue preponderance, but to each and 
 all a due share of attention, then it becomes of the ut- 
 most importance, that no motive should be presented 
 whose tendency would be to produce an undue develope- 
 ment of a part, at the expense of the other faculties of 
 the mind ; or, which should cultivate the intellectual at 
 the expense of the moral powers. It can scarcely be 
 less objectionable, to present any motive for exertion, 
 like that of the bestowment of a prize, which would in 
 any case be mistaken for the end or object of education, 
 and that an end attainable only by the few, and not within 
 the reach of the many. 
 
 If certain limits could be prescribed, attainable by all, 
 and yet taxing alike the energies of all, then, indeed, the 
 bestowment of prizes might not excite such deep feelings 
 of envy and ill will among the several competitors, as 
 ever must be excited, so long as all, who run, do not 
 obtain the reward. It will be found in most cases, that 
 the number really contending for the prize, will be very 
 
10 MR. GALLOUP'S LECTURE. 
 
 few, in comparison with the whole ; and that the success- 
 ful competitors, or all, who really strive, having consider- 
 ed the prize as the only good to be obtained, and having 
 arrived at the ultimate end of all their hopes, will lose 
 their interest, and relax their efforts, for the want of a 
 sufficiently stimulating motive beyond this ; and, that the 
 mass of pupils, who feel the utter impossibility of their 
 succeeding, will manifest still less energy, and put forth 
 less effort, than they would do were they not thus sepa- 
 rated from their more fortunate companions ; — fortunate, 
 as they will esteem them, either in the natural endow- 
 ments with which they are favored, or the external cir- 
 cumstances by which they are surrounded. It may be 
 said, that the instinct, or propensity of emulation, is im- 
 planted in us by nature, and should therefore be culti- 
 vated like any other natural endowment : so are the in- 
 stincts of anger, pride, and the other selfish and sensual 
 passions. They are given to us for wise purposes : we 
 cannot rid ourselves of them if we would ; we should not 
 if we could. But from some cause, they are too strong 
 already, they need cultivating, but they need repressing 
 rather than inflaming. If the conscience could be ren- 
 dered so sensitive and active, as to keep pace with the 
 ambition, there might be less danger; but in our country, 
 where the one is almost entirely neglected in our systems 
 of education, while the other is stimulated to the highest 
 degree by the whole framework of society, there is dan- 
 ger that the character may become an ill balanced one, 
 and the community suffer in consequence. 
 
 It is time that this important subject, of employing the 
 motive of rivalry in our schools, which has been so long 
 discussed, should be finally and rightly settled. Much 
 
DANGERS OF TEACHERS. 11 
 
 depends upon the settlement of this question in reference 
 to our moral and political character as a people, — much 
 in reference to the ultimate predominance or subjection 
 of that party spirit, and that love of power and distinction, 
 which is fast taking the place of the patriotism which ani- 
 mated the fathers of our country. Much, very much de- 
 pends upon the care of the instructers who sow the seed, 
 as to what shall be the character of the harvest which 
 may be reaped thirty years hence, when those boys now 
 at school shall become the rulers and electors of the land. 
 Their influence is fearful, nay, it may be decisive on the 
 question, whether we shall then be enjoying the rich 
 fruits of industry, virtue, and peace, or be palsied by 
 vice, and torn and distracted by civil dissension. 
 
 Another motive, to which appeals are too frequently 
 made, is that of fear ; not that high and ennobling fear of 
 doing wrong, because it is wrong, but the low, debasing 
 and cowardly fear of bodily pain ; received as a punish- 
 ment, and oftentimes by the child, as an equivalent for 
 wrong doing. Although it may be, and often is the duty 
 of the teacher who would be faithful to his trust, to inflict 
 bodily pain ; yet its frequency should be avoided, and 
 the fear of its infliction should never be allowed to be- 
 come a predominant motive, to influence the child in the 
 performance of his duties. A sensitiveness to bodily 
 pain forms no part of the disinterested, self-sacrificing, 
 and heroic character which ever excites our admiration ; 
 and should therefore be discouraged, rather than strength- 
 ened. A free and frequent use of the rod, at home or at 
 school, renders the character pusillanimous, selfish, and 
 tyrannical ; it should be used only as a last resort ; and 
 then, not as a kind of offset or equivalent which atones 
 
12 MR. GALLOUP'S LECTURE. 
 
 for the fault, but as a sure consequence, a final result of a 
 course of evil. Punishments should be inflicted seriously, 
 feelingly, and in love rather than in anger ; and the child 
 should be made to see, and to feel, that they are thus in- 
 flicted ; for, they will fail of the desired effect, unless it be 
 made evident to his mind, that the infliction, even of de- 
 served punishment, is as painful to him who administers, 
 as to him who receives the chastisement. Care should 
 be taken, lest by a summary and hasty manner of punish- 
 ing, the child be encouraged and trained in the practice of 
 a course of deception, which it is ever as painful to witness 
 as it is difficult to overcome ; a course which may prove 
 successful in making a good scholar, but which will most 
 assuredly make a bad man. 
 
 The teacher should be careful to make it felt by his 
 pupils, that he is interested in their welfare. Without 
 this real interest and sympathy on the part of the teacher, 
 he will be unable to understand, or properly to estimate, 
 the little trials, troubles, and difficulties, which the child 
 meets in his progress. He will be likely to see faults 
 where none exist ; to attribute to malice, or design, what 
 might have been the result of ignorance, impulse, or 
 thoughtlessness. Children oftener act from impulse than 
 from premeditation ; from thoughtlessness than from de- 
 sign ; and yet how often is the wrong act put down as a 
 crime, the wrong-doer treated as a criminal, while the 
 intent to do evil, which alone constitutes crime in the 
 eyes of all law, human and divine, is wanting. It is un- 
 reasonable to suppose that children are actuated by evil 
 motives, when others are so obvious ; to treat them as 
 guilty until they are proved to be innocent. Such a 
 
DANGERS OF TEACHERS. 13 
 
 course, of suspicion and distrust, will beget distrust and 
 falsehood in others. 
 
 Another motive, to which it may be safe to appeal, 
 and which may not be appealed to in vain, is a desire to 
 prepare for the active duties of life ; a leading of children 
 to feel, that they are not laboring for their parents, or 
 their teacher ; nor for their own present good, so much, 
 as for their future benefit. The pupil who is preparing 
 to enter upon a professional life, is induced to apply him- 
 self more closely to his studies, knowing as he does, that 
 permanent success depends mainly upon his own exer- 
 tions. So the boy, who feels that he is to rely upon his 
 own exertions for support, will be stimulated to greater 
 diligence, if he is made to feel that success in life will 
 depend much upon his excellence as a scholar. There 
 is, or ought to be, no study pursued in any of our schools, 
 which may not be recommended to the pupil for such 
 reasons ; taking care that success in life be not measured 
 by the false standard of pecuniary value, but by that ele- 
 vation, excellence, and happiness, which should be its 
 aim. 
 
 But the highest and noblest motive, and one to which 
 it may ever be safe to appeal, is that of conscientious- 
 ness ; a deep, inwrought, and controlling desire of obey- 
 ing the law of God, and of doing right because it is right. 
 This principle is too much overlooked in all our systems 
 of education. The conscientious scruples of the child 
 are often treated v\ith derision, if not with contempt by 
 his associates. He sees the world around him acting 
 from some one or more of the many ordinary motives by 
 which men are influenced ; among which selfishness holds 
 a prominent place, if, indeed, it be not, in many cases 
 2 
 
14 MR. GALLOUP's LECTURE. 
 
 the predominant motive. He is constantly beset by the 
 same temptations. No wonder that they should prove 
 too strong for his power of resistance, strengthened as 
 they are by the example of those around him. The 
 wonder is that the still, small voice of conscience is ever 
 heard, or when heard, is not stifled by the discordant 
 sounds about him. It should be our aim, as teachers or 
 parents, to correct this state of things, to take the side of 
 conscience, and point out what is right and wrong ; and 
 so to train and enlighten this inward monitor and judge, 
 that the question of right shall always be suggested in the 
 mind of the child, whenever he is tempted to the com- 
 mission of any improper action. 
 
 I am more and more convinced that learning for the 
 love of it ; — for the pleasure which every new acquisition 
 gives ; — a conscientious discharge of duty, and a deep 
 sense of right ; are the motives most likely to produce 
 the happiest results, unmixed with that which is evil ; 
 and, that if they are properly appreciated and fostered, 
 they will be found to be sufficiently powerful incentives 
 to action ; — and, that we should seldom appeal to fear, 
 or an unholy ambition, into which emulation too often 
 degenerates, when too much excited. 
 
 III. Teachers are in danger of yielding too readily 
 to untried schemes, designed for the advancement of edu- 
 cation. 
 
 Strange as it may seem, this most difficult of all em- 
 ployments, of training aright the youthful mind, is felt by 
 the community generally, as one in which they are per- 
 fectly competent to give advice, and where they con- 
 sider the experience of the teacher of little value ; hence, 
 
DANGERS OF TEACHERS. 15 
 
 visionary minds are constantly devising new plans to do 
 the old work, and substituting the vagaries of their own 
 imaginations, for the more certain results of experience. 
 
 Practice and theory are very different things ; and the 
 teacher should beware, how he disregards the teachings 
 of the one, in his eager search for the other. He should 
 be constantly building upon his own experience, a theory 
 of his own ; incorporating into it, of course, any sugges- 
 tions which he may receive from abroad, but never rely- 
 ing solely upon the invention of others. He should origi- 
 nate or form his own plans to suit the circumstances of 
 the case; for however well the same plan might answer for 
 two teachers, it will hardly be possible to find two schools 
 so nearly alike, that the same system would operate equal- 
 ly well in both ; hence the teacher who would be success- 
 ful, should never be a copyist. 
 
 Surely we live in an age of innovation, if not of im- 
 provement ; and I am far from believing that there is not 
 much of improvement, in what we term innovation. 
 Change and a desire for change, are the prevailing pro- 
 pensities of the age ; old landmarks are being removed, 
 and new principles and new doctrines are professedly 
 evolved. The great danger in all this is a tendency to 
 the other extreme, a fondness for innovation, and for 
 things that are novel, for novelty's sake ; from an impa- 
 tience of all restraint. There is a disposition, where it is 
 seen that ancient and venerated institutions contain some 
 wrong principle, and consequent corrupt practices, to 
 bring every thing belonging to them, whether good or bad^ 
 under the verdict of reprobation. It is so in respect to 
 schools and school discipline. At one time we are 
 gravely told, that the use of the rod is a relict of barba- 
 
16 
 
 rism ; the resort only of real or would-be tyrants ; and 
 that soft words, honied expressions, and appeals to the 
 pride or ambition of the pupil are the only rational means 
 to be employed, to ensure obedience. And, anon, after 
 an ephemeral existence, the last named wonderful discov- 
 ery becomes more beautiful in theory than in practice, 
 and cuffs and pinches are made a favorite resort, to avoid 
 the humiliating concession of an utter abandonment of the 
 principle. Again, systems of school discipline and in- 
 struction are invented, designed to be universal in their 
 application ; based upon the no less absurd assumption, 
 that all schools and all scholars are alike ; and that the 
 same system will prove alike successful in the hands of all. 
 All such plans are as sure to fail, as that " Providence 
 has determined that human minds should differ from each 
 other, and for the very purpose of giving variety and in- 
 terest to this busy scene of life. Now if it were possible 
 for a teacher so to plan his operations, as to send his pu- 
 pils forth upon the community, formed on the same model 
 as if they were made by machinery ; he would do so 
 much towards spoiling one of the wisest of the plans which 
 the Almighty has formed for making this world a happy 
 scene. Let it be the teacher's aim to co-operate with, 
 not vainly to attempt to thwart, the designs of Providence, 
 ever remembering that it is his province to cultivate, not 
 to create.^* 
 
 Again, there are some persons so wedded to the old 
 paths, such ardent lovers of ancient usage, that they are 
 disposed to look with suspicion upon any course in which 
 they have not been accustomed to walk ; and to distrust 
 all efforts at reform, as secretly designed to destroy that 
 *Al)bott's Teacher. 
 
DANGERS OF TEACHERS. 17 
 
 which they profess lo improve. He, therefore, who 
 would be found exerting the greatest amount of influence, 
 and doing the most good, must occupy the middle, but 
 not neutral ground, — avoiding either extreme, but gather- 
 ing wisdom and power from both. It is not that every 
 thing new is not true, or that every thing true is not new ; 
 even if it were so, a new dress, or a different aspect, 
 might give to an old truth new beauties, and a greater 
 prominence which it may always have merited, but never 
 received. 
 
 IV. Teachers are in danger of cultivating the intel- 
 lectual, at the expense of the moral and the physical na- 
 tures of their pupils. 
 
 Most communities are acting erroneously upon this 
 subject. They judge of the teacher, and award him the 
 meed of praise, or of censure, in proportion to the amount 
 of intellectual labor which he requires his pupils to ac- 
 complish in a given time ; irrespective of the cost of ob- 
 taining it, either in the sacrifice of the health, or the neglect 
 of the heart. The teacher is in danger of being in- 
 fluenced by this prevailing opinion, as he will seldom pos- 
 sess a sufficiency of moral courage to enable him to rise 
 above it. The best antidote may be found in the reflec- 
 tion, that he is amenable to a higher power than public 
 opinion; and, that however much present gratification the 
 good opinion of others may afford him, a clear conviction 
 of right, and the satisfaction of having conscientiously 
 performed his duty, will in the end afford him far greater 
 and more permanent happiness. 
 
 A man's moral and religious nature is the highest part 
 of his nature ; and the teacher has no right to neglect its 
 2* 
 
18 MR. GALLOUP'S LECTURE. 
 
 cultivation. It is his duty to train up the child for useful- 
 ness and happiness ; not only for himself, but for others. 
 Intellectual greatness may give him the ability to promote 
 the welfare of others ; but this ability will rarely be ap- 
 plied to that purpose, while tie is left a slave to his lower 
 propensities. Talent and knowledge, to be a blessing 
 either to the possessor or the world, must be placed un- 
 der the control of the higher sentiments and principles of 
 our nature ; nay, they may be, and often are a curse to 
 both when not thus controlled and guided. It is not the 
 uncultivated intellect that society has to fear, so much as 
 the corrupt heart. The ignorant may, indeed, be made 
 the tools of others ; but like tools, they are comparatively 
 harmless, without that shrewdness, intelligence, and skill 
 which are necessary to guide them. While on the other 
 hand, those whose moral natures have not been properly 
 cultivated, are ever sowing the seeds of evil, and corrupt- 
 ing all those who come within the sphere of their influ- 
 ence. Better, far better, that a man should remain in 
 ignorance, than that he should eat of the fruit of the tree 
 of knowledge, only to be made a more subtle and pow- 
 erful adversary of God and humanity. 
 
 But while the head, and the heart, are receiving a due 
 share of attention, the body, the only organ of manifesta- 
 tion to the world without, should not be entirely over- 
 looked or neglected. The physical natures of those 
 committed to our charge, have a claim upon our care and 
 attention, which cannot be avoided, and should not be 
 disregarded. 
 
 Although we cannot, from our relation to the child, 
 have so extensive an influence in forming or developing 
 its physical nature, as the parent ; still there are some 
 
DANGERS OF TEACHERS. 19 
 
 general laws of physiology, to which we may with pro- 
 priety give heed ; and to the application of which, we are 
 imperatively bound. Because we cannot do all, we are 
 not excused for the non-performance of that little, for 
 which we have time and opportunity. Among the laws 
 most prominent, over which we have control, is that of 
 the importance, and absolute necessity of a constant and 
 abundant supply of fresh air, in order to promote the 
 healthy activity of the mind, as well as that of the body. 
 This law of our nature is not sufficiently understood or 
 regarded. While we are in health, and are experiencing, 
 as we erroneously suppose, no ill effects from a constant 
 breathing of impure air, we are apt to solace ourselves 
 with the fatal delusion, that there is no danger ; but as we 
 grow older in the wrong doing, as our constitutions be- 
 come seriously and permanently affected, nay, destroyed 
 as they may be by the process ; then, when too late to 
 repair the evil, we may begin to learn that no law of our 
 nature, however trivial in our estimation, can be violated 
 with impunity ; or, that the result of such violation can 
 in any way be avoided. 
 
 A medical writer,* who has given much attention to 
 the subject, says, that "it is not certain that we remain 
 uninjured, if we breathe over the second time, any por- 
 tion of air which has the previous instant issued from a 
 pair of lungs, whether ours or those of somebody else." 
 His own opinion, he says, is Ci that no air, which has is- 
 sued from the cavity of the lungs, should be inhaled 
 again ; and that by neglect of this rule, though it be in 
 ignorance, thousands and tens of thousands are slowly in- 
 juring themselves, and implanting the seeds of disease in 
 
 *Dr. Alcott. 
 
20 MR. 
 
 various forms, especially consumption." " Be it remem- 
 bered," says another,* "that mankind subsist more upon 
 air than upon their meat and drink." " The respiration, 
 we might almost say, the digestion of pure air, becomes 
 therefore a matter of the highest importance to health. 
 The moment we inhale any atmospheric impurities, that 
 moment does the change of the blood in our lungs become 
 more or less imperfect ;" hence, there is another danger 
 incurred, from the congregating together of large numbers 
 in the same apartment, from the quantities of sulphu- 
 retted hydrogen gas which is expelled from our bodies ; 
 than which a more subtle and poisonous agent can scarcely 
 be found. 
 
 The teacher should see that the school-room is at all 
 times thoroughly ventilated ; and never rest, or suffer his 
 patrons to do so, until the appropriate means are provided 
 for doing this. Without constant care and attention, the 
 air of the school-room will not be in a proper state for 
 respiration ; and its evil tendency will be greatly increas- 
 ed by its elevated temperature. " For want of attention 
 to this subject," says the authorf above quoted, " and for 
 want of a due supply of exercise, — joined, it may be, to 
 the habit of going out suddenly into the colder, though 
 purer air, without being sufficiently protected ; ten thou- 
 sands sicken, and thousands die. Our school-rooms, our 
 factories, our shops, and our sleeping apartments, — to say 
 nothing of our parlors, and sitting rooms, — do more to 
 people our grave-yards, every year, than what is usually 
 called intemperance, with all its horrors." This may be 
 thought a startling assertion. Be it so. I am not re- 
 sponsible for it ; and Heaven grant that none of us, who 
 *Dr. Thackrah. |Dr. Alcott. 
 
DANGERS OF TEACHERS. 21 
 
 bear the office of teacher, should be responsible for suf- 
 fering causes to exist within our control, which lead to 
 results so disastrous. 
 
 Something might be said upon the influence of the 
 teacher in preventing the too frequent use, or indeed all 
 use, of unripe or unwholesome fruits; and also of control- 
 ling and directing the sports of children in such a manner 
 as may be most conducive to the healthy development 
 of all their faculties. But with this hasty glance I must 
 pass onward, leaving it for other and abler hands to do 
 justice to a subject, so full of interest, and so much over- 
 looked. 
 
 V. Teachers are in danger of cultivating the memory, 
 at the expense of the understanding. 
 
 This danger is not so imminent, perhaps, as formerly ; 
 and yet, I fear, that by some it may not be wholly es- 
 caped. New theories and new systems of teaching have 
 labored to simplify and analyze what formerly the pupil 
 received in the mass ; hence, his intellectual food is more 
 thoroughly digested. The effort should be, not to see 
 how much may be learned but how well, and the mere 
 ability to repeat fluently the words of a lesson, should be 
 considered a very small part of a good recitation. 
 
 I do not intend to be understood as acceding to the 
 frequently expressed opinion, that no scholar should be 
 required to learn any thing which he does not thoroughly 
 understand. This has been a favorite theory with some, 
 until much of our teaching and many of our text-hooks, 
 have become fit food for the nursery, rather than the 
 school-room. No food should be prepared for another's 
 reception, which that other is capable of masticating for 
 
22 MR. GALLOUp's LECTURE. 
 
 himself, inasmuch as the rejection of a little nutrition 
 would be far preferable to an entire paralysis of the diges- 
 tive organs. Any subject which the pupil thoroughly 
 understands, it may be profitable to require him to ex- 
 press in his own language, for the reason, that he is in this 
 manner taught most successfully the use of language, — 
 his instrument for future use in the expression of his 
 ideas ; and as it is the surest evidence that he understands 
 the subject, when he can explain it understanding^ to 
 others. In this way, his powers of mind are called into 
 exercise to analyze and construct his sentences. His 
 judgment is exercised to find out the best mode of ex- 
 pression ; — and his vocabulary is enlarged and rendered 
 more available. 
 
 He is not to study what he understands, but to study 
 that he may understand ; and the more effort he makes, 
 the more is his capability of doing so increased. There 
 will always by some things above his comprehension, 
 which he must take upon trust. To this infirmity, if it 
 be one, imperfect humanity will ever be subject. Here 
 the memory must be called into requisition to treasure 
 up, what after life, and more maturity of mind, will de- 
 velop and bring into use. 
 
 VI. Teachers are in danger of mistaking the end 
 and object of education, supposing it to consist in a 
 mere attainment of knowledge, or the treasuring up of the 
 opinions, sayings, or doings of others ; irrespective of 
 their use or application. In doing this, the memory be- 
 comes the only faculty called into exercise, while the 
 judgment, the conscience, and the affections, are left to 
 wither and decay. Knowledge thus obtained will be 
 
DANGERS OF TEACHERS. 23 
 
 useful, only in proportion to one's ability properly to 
 apply it ; and this ability can only be obtained by a right 
 cultivation of all the faculties. The same amount of knowl- 
 edge may in one case be used as a means of usefulness 
 and happiness, while in another it may serve only as an 
 instrument for doing evil. The character of the indi- 
 vidual decides the question, whether the knowledge which 
 he may possess, will be a blessing or a curse, either to 
 himself or to the community ; and the formation of this 
 character depends, not so much on the amount of knowl- 
 edge acquired, as on the influence exerted upon the 
 pupil, by the circumstances, the examples, the discipline 
 under whose operation he is placed. " Education, there- 
 fore," in the words of another, "consists in the forma- 
 tion of the character, and a good education, in the prep- 
 aration of man for usefulness and happiness. It involves 
 the right development, cultivation, and direction, of all 
 his powers, physical, intellectual, and moral. It implies 
 instruction in all the branches of knowledge which are 
 necessary to useful and efficient action, in the sphere of 
 the individual. But it must also include the physical 
 training which is to render the body capable of executing 
 the purposes of the soul, the skill which is requisite, in 
 order to apply our knowledge and strength to the very best 
 advantage, and above all, the moral training , by which the 
 character and direction of our efforts are to be decided."* 
 Though one cannot be truly educated, and yet be ig- 
 norant, still he may have a large amount of rote-learning, 
 an extensive collection of crude indigested facts, and be 
 very far from being a really educated man. One is often 
 said to be educated, or to have completed his education, 
 
 # Annala of Education, page 153. 
 
24 MR. GALLOUP'S LECTURE. 
 
 when he can repeat this man's Grammar, or that one's 
 Geography or History, while his ability to profit by his 
 attainments, is hardly greater than that of the most igno- 
 rant. Education, 1 repeat it, does not consist in com- 
 mitting to memory a certain amount of words or sen- 
 tences, but in a proper development of all the faculties ; 
 giving to each an appropriate, and to none an undue in- 
 fluence. We have too many men of one idea, and few 
 or none of perfectly developed characters ; and who 
 shall say, how much of the radicalism of the day may not 
 be attributable to this imperfect process of education, — 
 developing one faculty at the expense of the others, — 
 educating the head and neglecting the heart. 
 
 Parents not unfrequently mistake the end and object 
 of education, and it is for teachers to set them right. 
 They judge of their child's proficiency by the number of 
 pages he has gone over, or rather consumed, and by the 
 number of books they have been called upon to purchase ; 
 and not by the expansion, growth, and successful cultiva- 
 tion of all his powers, — not by the available knowledge 
 which he may possess, or by the power which he has 
 acquired to obtain more. 
 
 tc It has been much disputed," says one,* " whether 
 it be the primary object of education, to discipline and 
 develop the powers of the soul, or to communicate 
 knowledge. Were these two objects distinct and inde- 
 pendent, it is not to be questioned, that the first is un- 
 speakably more important than the second. But, in truth, 
 they are inseparable. That training which best disci- 
 plines and unfolds the faculties, will, at the same time, 
 impart, the greatest amount of real and effective knowledge ; 
 
 *School and Schoolmaster, p. 33. 
 
DANGERS OF TEACHERS. 25 
 
 while, on the other hand, that which imparts thoroughly, 
 and for permanent use, the greatest amount of knowledge, 
 will best develop, strengthen, and refine the powers." 
 
 "In proportion as intellectual vigor and activity are 
 more important than mere rote-learning, in the same pro- 
 portion ought we to attach the more value to an education, 
 which, though it only teaches a child to read, has, in so 
 doing, taught him also to think. He who can think, 
 and who loves to think, will become, with but few good 
 books, a wise man. He who knows not how to think, 
 or who hates the toil of doing so, will remain imbe- 
 cile, though his mind be crowded with the contents of a 
 library." 
 
 This want of long and patient thought, on the part of 
 the pupil, is at the present time, perhaps, the greatest 
 fault in intellectual education ; and it is the most difficult 
 thing to attain. It is so much easier, to hear a child 
 repeat parrot-like, the words of another, than to awaken, 
 close and vigorous thought, so much more satisfactory to. 
 those who witness and judge of the exercises of a school, 
 to see a promptness and flippancy on the part of the 
 scholars in their recitations, than the slow and apparently 
 hesitating process of the more thoughtful, that teachers 
 are in danger of cultivating the former at the expense of 
 the latter. 
 
 The mind of the child should never be made a passive 
 recipient of knowledge ; receiving it merely as a vessel 
 receives water which is poured into it, and retaining it, 
 only as a source of entertainment for superficial listeners 
 at times of public display. Better, far better, that a few 
 questions should be answered requiring thought on the 
 part of the pupil, than a rapid succession of answers,, 
 3 
 
26 MR. GALLOUP's LECTURE. 
 
 merely suffered to escape, like pent-up steam, by the 
 turning of a valve. The mind should be trained to pro- 
 duce, rather than to receive : and those who labor mainly 
 for the latter, greatly and fatally mistake the end, and 
 object of education. This looking and laboring for pres- 
 ent results, is making the period of education a time of 
 harvesting. Instead of preparing the soil, sowing the 
 seed, and training the young shoots to produce that fruit, 
 which a lifetime only shall be adequate to gather in, we 
 are looking too much for the fruit during the period of 
 sowing, — expecting results, while putting into operation 
 the causes which are to produce them. This may be in 
 unison with man's impatient and hasty impetuosity after 
 the things of this world ; but it is a violation of nature, 
 and of nature's laws. Teachers are too much inclined 
 to be satisfied with their labors, if the parents and patrons 
 of their schools are so ; and parents do not always dis- 
 criminate between the appearance, and the possession of 
 knowledge. But to appear to know is not to know ; 
 and teachers should never suffer the shadow to usurp the 
 place of the substance, either in their own minds, or in 
 the estimation of others. 
 
 Teachers oftentimes err, by taking for granted what 
 does not in fact exist, in supposing the child knows, when 
 he does not know ; and thus from a misconception of his 
 actual progress, they oftentimes may place an obstruction 
 in his path, which will render his successive steps more 
 difficult of attainment. To avoid this, they should never 
 suffer their pupils to leave one principle for another, until 
 by a succession of questions, explanations, and different 
 statements, they feel assured that the former has obtained 
 a lodgement in the minds of those they are endeavoring 
 
DANGERS OF TEACHERS. 27 
 
 to teach ; never feel satisfied that because they under- 
 stand the subject, and the pupil may say he does, that 
 such is the fact ; until the pupil, by his own explanations 
 and statements, shall render it certain ; and therefore safe 
 to pass onward. It has been wisely said, that, "it is 
 the subject that is to be taught, rather than the book.'' 1 
 The book may, indeed, be a convenient instrument to 
 aid one in doing this. By teaching but one thing at a 
 time, and by assisting the pupil to overcome difficulties 
 which may occur in his progress, we may best enable 
 him to obtain that knowledge of any subject which is 
 needful for a proper discharge of the duties of after life, 
 with honor to himself, and with profit to others. We 
 should seldom seek to remove difficulties from the learn- 
 er's path ; he should be encouraged and assisted to over- 
 come them himself. It is not what we do for him that 
 is most valuable, but what we lead him to do for himself; 
 as this kind of discipline is all important, to enable him 
 to meet and overcome the trials, disappointments, and 
 stern realities of life, when no helping hand will be near 
 to smooth his rugged path, and shield him from the im- 
 pending storm. 
 
 There is another class of dangers, to which teachers 
 are exposed, more personal in their character, as they 
 relate more particularly to themselves ; some of which I 
 proceed briefly to notice. 
 
 I. We are in danger of losing our health, by too close 
 application to our duties. 
 
 The advantages of possessing sound health cannot be 
 over-estimated, in its effect upon ourselves, and upon all 
 those who come within the sphere of our influence. 
 
28 
 
 Without it, we shall rarely possess that cheerfulness of 
 disposition which the teacher should ever strive to pos- 
 sess and retain, who would govern successfully those com- 
 mitted to his charge. A person of a captious, morose, and 
 impatient disposition should never be placed in a situation 
 to influence, and form the mind and character of children. 
 A person of unsound health is in constant danger of giv- 
 ing way to a petulance of habit and manner, destructive 
 to the growth of those finer feelings of our nature which 
 we ever delight to see prominent in others. The teacher, 
 above all others, needs to exercise freely and often while 
 out of school ; and of all others he is, perhaps, the least 
 inclined to do so. Any one who is at all acquainted with 
 the duties of the teacher, experimentally, knows well 
 the degree of lassitude, and disinclination to any effort, 
 whether mental or physical, which oppresses him, and 
 prompts him to seek repose whenever he escapes from 
 the pent-up air of the school-room. He would almost 
 as willingly die as move, and he is quite sure to die if 
 he does not move. Almost any other employment gives 
 exercise, air, and sunshine in the performance of its du- 
 ties ; while in that of teaching, neither exercise, nor air, 
 and but very little sunshine in its purity, is enjoyed. 
 Hence, no employment needs so much out of door ex~ 
 ercise, where we can breathe the clear, pure air of 
 heaven. 
 
 The teacher should banish, as far as possible, from his 
 mind, during his hours of relaxation, all those subjects of 
 anxiety and perplexity, which harass and torment him, 
 and are a fruitful cause of that melancholy and low spirits, 
 of which teachers are too often, and too justly accused. 
 I know well the difficulty of leaving behind us, as we 
 
DANGERS OF TEACHERS. 29 
 
 leave off a garment, all causes of disquietude, when we 
 leave the school-room door ; but the effort should be to 
 do so. The best and most ready way of doing so, is, to 
 mingle freely in cheerful and pleasant society, or partici- 
 pate in animated discussion ; where the mind will be re- 
 leased from the trials of the day, and become exercised 
 and strengthened, and the body invigorated by the con- 
 sequent excitement. Nothing, perhaps, is more delete- 
 rious in its influence upon a school, than a feeling of 
 despondency, or in other words, low spirits. The 
 teacher needs, in fancy, and in fact, to be ever awake ; 
 his energy, his ardor, and his hope should never flag, that 
 his scholars may be inspired with the same feelings ; and 
 believing that they can overcome all obstacles, while they 
 catch the spirit of their teacher, their young aspirations 
 will gain encouragement by his example, and strength by 
 their oicn exercise, till at last they will overcome obstacles 
 which might have appeared almost insurmountable. In 
 cheerfulness of spirit, in activity, strength, and fixedness 
 of purpose, and in the ardor of their hope, the school 
 will very much resemble their teacher. And these feel- 
 ings will be active or otherwise, in a degree proportionale 
 to the health of the body. 
 
 So intimate is the connexion between the several parts 
 of our compound nature, that the powers of the mind 
 cannot be fully, freely, and successfully exercised, with- 
 out a sound body : hence, 
 
 II. The teacher is in danger of becoming diseased in 
 mind, as well as in body. 
 
 The dull routine of every day duties has a tendency to 
 contract and belittle his mind ; while constant intercourse 
 
 3* 
 
30 MR. GALLOUp's LECTURE. 
 
 with infantile minds has a tendency to check all his upward 
 flights, and hold him down to their own level ; until the 
 mind, like a bow always bent, and never allowed to re- 
 sume its former position, loses its elasticity, and approx- 
 imates, to its every day aliment, if it does not become 
 assimilated with it. The mind should come in contact 
 with mature and cultivated mind in others, in order to 
 elicit sparks of genius, and bring out in full and perfect 
 development all its powers. This is in harmony with 
 nature in all her operations. It is not the union of the 
 steel with clay, but with the flint that produces the spark ; 
 nor, is it the gentle, though long continued use of the 
 arm, which gives power to the muscles ; but the sturdy 
 blows of the smith who wields the sledge, or remains 
 long at the anvil. 
 
 It becomes the imperative duty of the teacher, to avoid, 
 as far as may be, this deterioration of the mind and the 
 body ; lest by successive steps in a downward course, he 
 becomes, at length, incapacitated to retain his present 
 position, and, in process of time, finds himself at the lower 
 extremity of the inclined plane upon which he has invol- 
 untarily entered. To do this, he should frequently suffer 
 his mind to unbend from this rigid and unnatural tension, 
 that it may gain its wonted elasticity ; or find opportunity 
 to read attentively and critically the productions of able 
 minds ; which may serve as some antidote for the evil of 
 seclusion from contact with the living mind, as developed 
 in the active business of life. 
 
 The teacher should beware how 7 he neglects the culti- 
 vation of his own vineyard, while he is caring for that of 
 others. He should never feel satisfied with present at- 
 tainments, or believe that he is prepared to teach others, 
 
DANGERS OF TEACHERS. 31 
 
 merely by the aid of the printed page, as found in the 
 text-book ; with the questions which he is expected to 
 ask, all prepared, it may be for his use. He should study 
 attentively, not merely the lesson of the day, but the sub- 
 ject on which it treats ; and be enabled so to explain and 
 illustrate it, that he may seldom fail to interest his class ; — 
 always prepared to bring forth something new from his 
 own storehouse. The text-book should be but the intro- 
 duction to his own resources, which the pupil may use to 
 advantage while alone ; and not merely an instrument of 
 convenience, to minister to the ease of the teacher. 
 
 If the teacher is disposed thus to qualify himself to 
 meet his various duties, he will find ample scope for his 
 own intellect, and sufficient employment for his leisure 
 moments ; he will invigorate, strengthen, and promote the 
 healthy activity of his own powers, while he will be pro- 
 moting indefinitely the best good of the pupils of his 
 charge. Let him do this, and his own powers of mind 
 will never be found to deteriorate, but to be constantly pro- 
 gressive, and the consciousness of having been faithful to 
 his trust, and having left no effort untried to increase his 
 usefulness, will exert a salutary influence upon the health 
 of the body. 
 
 III. There is danger of teachers'' cherishing a spirit 
 of rivalry , of jealousy, or of exclusiveness, which will 
 prevent that free interchange of opinion, and communica- 
 tion of plans for the improvement of our schools; so es- 
 sential to the inexperienced, and so beneficial to all who 
 are engaged in the business of teaching. 
 
 Teachers should ever feel a common interest in all ef- 
 forts for the advancement of education ; — that any sue- 
 
32 MR. GALLOUP'S LECTURE. 
 
 cessful experiment is not the sole property of the origi- 
 nator, but so much to be added to the general fund in 
 which all teachers are equally interested, and from the 
 profits of which, all are entitled to an equal dividend. 
 Teachers, above all others, need the sympathy and co- 
 operation of each other, — a union of feeling and interest, 
 which shall give them an influence and power to act upon 
 the public mind, which could hardly be resisted, when 
 put forth for good, in the cause of education. There are 
 various ways in which teachers may co-operate with each 
 other, to promote their common interests. Frequent 
 and friendly visits to each other's schools will help to do 
 this. There is no one, however skilled in the art of 
 teaching, who may not. derive benefit from witnessing the 
 internal arrangement, and mode of operation in another's 
 school. He may see things to avoid, if not to imitate ; 
 and to the less successful, such opportunities cannot but 
 be productive of good. The practised eye of the teach- 
 er, in almost any school, may find some things to con- 
 demn, which have escaped the observation of the one 
 conducting the exercises, merely because he has viewed 
 them from a different point of observation ; or, hav- 
 ing failed to correct them at the first, habit has con- 
 firmed their practice, until they have ceased to arrest his 
 attention. Visiters, under such circumstances, should 
 consider themselves not as censors appointed to spy out 
 the defects, and magnify the mistakes which they may 
 chance to witness ; but as friends and fellow helpers co- 
 operating for the mutual advantage of all, — considering 
 individual, or personal prosperity as nothing, in compar- 
 ison with the general and universal advancement of the 
 business of instruction. 
 
DANGERS OF TEACHERS. 33 
 
 It will be found beneficial to observe the standard to 
 which scholars are brought, in their several studies, in 
 different schools ; and knowing that " what has been done, 
 may be done ;" teachers of the less advanced will be stim- 
 ulated to put forth more vigorous effort, while those of the 
 more advanced, feeling a consciousness of success, ever 
 grateful to the heart of the teacher, will not suffer them- 
 selves to lose the pleasure thus derived, by relaxing their 
 efforts, or resting satisfied with present attainments. 
 
 Teachers may do much to assist each other, by exerting 
 their influence to correct the false impressions, and erro- 
 nious notions, which may prevail in the community, upon 
 the subject of school discipline and instruction ; and in 
 doing this, they may find sufficient employment. The 
 prevailing sentiment of the community affects essentially 
 the well being of the school. How important, then, that 
 this sentiment should be correct, for, the teacher will labor 
 in vain to stem a current, setting constantly against him. 
 
 With the teaching of the school, parents and friends 
 profess to know but little ; but as it respects the disci- 
 pline of the school, they profess to know everything ; nor 
 will they be slow to obtrude their supposed knowledge 
 upon the notice of the teacher, upon all suitable or unsuit- 
 able occasions. Teachers, then, should have a control- 
 ling influence in forming and correcting public opinion 
 upon school discipline, as they value its favorable influ- 
 ence, or, as they deprecate its baneful and officious inter- 
 ference. 
 
 Frequent meetings of teachers for mutual improvement 
 have been found to be productive of much good, wher- 
 ever they have been enjoyed and permanently sustained. 
 But let it be remembered, that all who unite in these 
 
34 
 
 meetings, should not consider themselves as hearers 
 merely, but be sure to take a part in the exercises ; either 
 by writing or otherwise ; for the advantages accruing to 
 individuals, will be in direct proportion to the interest 
 which they take, and the amount of effort which they put 
 forth to sustain such meetings. Let no one complain of 
 a want of interest in them, and a lack of usefulness, until 
 he has done all he can to render them more useful ; and 
 let no one complain of inability, until he has made the ef- 
 fort and failed of success. It may be said, that in cities 
 and large towns, this plan may be successfully carried 
 into operation, but in the small towns, the result cannot 
 be so easily obtained. There may be force in this 
 objection, but still it is not conclusive. I know of 
 no place so situated as to render it impracticable to 
 hold meetings of teachers, either in separate towns, or 
 by the union of several towns ; which last course might 
 be advantageously adopted. I can, as I think, perceive 
 much to recommend the union of several towns in such 
 an enterprise. It would convince the people, that we 
 were in earnest in the matter, — that we were willing to 
 sacrifice our own time, convenience, and ease, it may be, 
 for their good; and it is here, as every where else, that 
 when one is found to be in earnest, he then, if not before, 
 begins to be listened to favorably, and to exert an influ- 
 ence upon others. 
 
 These meetings, at stated times, might be open for the 
 attendance of parents and others, partaking something of 
 he character of district meetings ; where a very good 
 opportunity would be presented for teachers from a 
 neighboring town, to speak with a directness of applica- 
 tion, of the particular wants of such district, and say 
 
DANGERS OF TEACHERS. 35 
 
 things which would come best from the lips of a stranger. 
 They might speak of the duties of parents, — of their neg- 
 lect of their schools, or of their unnecessary and misjudged 
 interference ; and thus, while speaking in general terms, 
 but with particular application, they would be assisting 
 each other to correct evils, which individual teachers 
 might labor in vain to effect. 
 
 The importance of a union of feeling and effort, cher- 
 ished and strengthened by a frequent meeting together of 
 teachers, and a frequent visiting of each other's schools, 
 for the purpose of seeing their various plans in actual op- 
 eration, cannot be over estimated. One may read, as 
 he certainly should, much upon the subject of education ; 
 he may be educated in the Normal school, but after all, he 
 must take life with life's conditions, as it presents itself 
 in its varied aspects, and under widely differing circum- 
 stances. 
 
 IV. There is danger of teachers failing to estimate, 
 as they should, the responsibility of their office. 
 
 Too many teachers are the mere creatures of circum- 
 stance. They are placed in their position by some acci- 
 dental occurrence, and retain it, only for its emolument, 
 or as an intermediate step to some more desirable situa- 
 tion. They have no heart in the business ; hence, they 
 seldom sit down and count the cost of the influence which 
 they are exerting, for good or for evil, upon the future 
 characters and lives of their pupils. When they reflect, 
 that every blow they strike, may not cease to act upon 
 the future destiny of their charge, " while time shall last 
 or immortality endure ;" they can hardly be expected to 
 estimate accurately the responsibility of their situation ; 
 
36 
 
 though they may strive earnestly to do so. I would not 
 undervalue the many sources of influence, brought to 
 bear upon the child, in the formation of its character. 
 They all have their appropriate sphere of action, and it 
 is only by continuing in that sphere which properly be- 
 longs to them, that their influence is made to be either 
 extensive or useful. The teacher has his sphere of op- 
 eration, and it is none the less important, because there 
 may be others laboring to the same end. It is not too 
 much to say, that the success of all our institutions, civil, 
 literary, and religious, depend mainly upon the labors of 
 the teacher. In vain will the statesman descant upon the 
 best models, and the best modes of administering gov- 
 ernment, if the people are incapable of judging, or of 
 appreciating their worth. In vain, that the eloquence of 
 the bar should be called into requisition, to sustain those 
 laws which our fathers, in their wisdom, have seen fit to 
 enact and transmit to us ; while ignorance, the hot-bed, 
 if not the generator of crime, is the predominant charac- 
 teristic of the people. In vain, that he, who ministers 
 at the altar, should strive to unfold to the mind the sacred 
 and sublime truths of revelation, and enforce its duties up- 
 on the uneducated and the superstitious. The teacher 
 must prepare the ground, by so unfolding and training the 
 mental and moral powers of the child, that he may be 
 prepared readily to receive, and properly to cherish the 
 seed that may be sown. What we are as a nation, and 
 what w T e enjoy as a people, may be mainly attributable 
 to the high regard paid by our ancestors to the cause of 
 popular education ; and their corresponding efforts to 
 transmit, unimpaired, the same sentiments to us. 
 
 Education is the surest preventive of crime. The 
 
DANGERS OF TEACHERS. 37 
 
 statistics of all Christian, as well as Pagan countries, go 
 to prove this assertion. Spain, in which it has been said 
 that, until recently there was but one newspaper ; and in 
 which not more than one in twenty of the people are in- 
 structed in schools, has a population about equal to that 
 of England and Wales ; while the number of convictions 
 for murder, or for maiming with intent to kill, was in one 
 year, in the former country, tivo thousand and six ; and 
 in the latter, in the same length of time, it was only 
 twenty-seven ! We cannot be surprised that in such a 
 land, the foulest crimes should seek no concealment, and 
 pass unpunished or undeplored ; — that scenes of blood- 
 shed should constitute the favorite amusement of the 
 people; — and, that their only security, of person or of 
 property, should consist in their successful intrigue, or 
 their power of resistance. How different the spirit and 
 the character developed by a proper system of education. 
 Those, whose minds and whose hearts have been prop- 
 erly trained and disciplined by education, have control 
 over their passions. Having cultivated a taste for simple 
 and innocent pleasures, rather than a love for vicious ex- 
 citement, their desires are awakened by objects higher 
 than any gratification merely animal. Instead of being 
 mere creatures of impulse, they become reasoning and 
 reflective beings, governed by a sense of justice, and of 
 right, which leads them to respect and concede the rights 
 of others. Forming plans for a distant future, they thus 
 rise nearer and nearer to a spiritual existence ; while all 
 the sentiments and principles bestowed by the Creator, 
 are made to occupy their proper places, and move to- 
 gether in subordination, to the great ends of their being. 
 If contemplations like these, upon the importance of 
 4 
 
38 MR. GALLOUP'S LECTURE. 
 
 the subject, do not inspire the teacher with exalted views 
 of the dignity and responsibility of his calling, let him 
 reflect upon the nature and value of the material, on 
 which he is called to operate. This is nothing less than 
 a living, thinking, accountable, immortal mind, — a soul 
 made in the very image of its Creator ; the crown and 
 glory of his creation. The amount of care and pains due 
 to a given work, is in proportion to the value of the ma- 
 terial on which the labor operates, and the importance 
 of the object contemplated. The most transparent and 
 purest marble, even gold and diamonds, on which is ex- 
 pended such exquisite art, are valueless, compared with 
 the human mind. Let us contemplate its godlike nature ; 
 its stupendous powers of thought, enjoyment, and suffer- 
 ing ; its high responsibilities, and immortal existence. 
 Let us reflect, that long after all material monuments of 
 skill and of glory shall have crumbled and perished, the 
 mind will endure ; and that though we may seem, for a 
 time, to labor upon it with little success, and less reward, 
 still we are doing a work that will last forever, and which, 
 if well done, will be sure to be fully rewarded and appre- 
 ciated at a future period. 
 
 The teacher operates upon the mind in an important 
 period of its existence. It is in its formative state, and 
 it might be well to consider the child, not as he is, but 
 as he is soon to be. From among the mass of pupils, on 
 whom we may now look as almost worthless, so feeble 
 their intellects, so limited their knowledge, so difficult, it 
 may be, that we find it practicable to fix in their minds 
 the simplest and plainest principles ; we are to find our 
 future rulers, statesmen, and divines ; those with whom 
 will rest our future destinies as a people, with all our in- 
 
DANGERS OF TEACHERS. 39 
 
 terests. They are the fathers and mothers, on whom 
 will depend the peace and happiness of all the families, 
 and the training up of all the sons, and all the daughters 
 of the land. Surely, to be instrumental of putting into 
 operation the causes which lead to results so stupendous, 
 is an honor to which kings might aspire, and shows the 
 calling of the teacher, to be second in dignity and im- 
 portance to none other. 
 
 But soon our duties and our opportunities will cease. 
 What we do, must be done quickly. And, if we would 
 have our names embalmed in the grateful remembrance 
 of those who shall come after us, let no sacrifice be with- 
 held, no self-denial spared, and no labor refused, that we 
 may give a right, direction to that mass of mind with 
 which we come in contact from day to day. "No man 
 liveth for himself." We live for the world ; we live for 
 posterity ; we live for eternity ! And taking the Bible 
 for our guide, the example of Him, who went about 
 doing good, for our pattern, and the glory of Jehovah for 
 our end, we shall not live in vain, nor die ingloriously, 
 though the world applaud us not, and its honors and 
 emoluments be not our portion. 
 
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