Show I t AUNT HUNT J ENINAS ENINA'S ACCOUNT OF or HER VISIT TC THEIR NORi NORMAL T TEACHER CHER i I ONE night as I set by the window v the children comin home from I thought to myself what a mon monstrous monstrous mon mon-j site o 0 difference there is between the now-a-days now and when I was was a girl That aire chap they've got to teach our this winter they call can a normal that is you know he found his his' edification in the normal that place where the state makes young folks 1 think they know more than the Rule Rulen of the U Universe DIverse himself and then sends sends out bushels of them as model teachers Well I had heard the children all the fall about what that new teacher w was s doin and every night they all had they was about Little Henry was wat to larn to read without knowin his letters Just as though anyone could r read ad when they dont don't know their A ABCs ABC's B Cs C's Tell a word when they don dont don't t know the letters its it's made of And anra an- an j an-j ra other thing that goes beyond me entirely is to teach or anything anything anything any any- thing else without a book How Flow is anyone anyone anyone any any- one going to larn anything a book to larn it out of And Id I'd like to know what books was made fur if twant for people to larn things out of Where do them aire teachers gi git t what wha t they know about anything Out of books of course And now Id I'd like to know if a book is a good thing fur a teacher why it aint just as good fur the scholars G f John ohn talked about principles and propositions propositions propositions pro pro- positions in When I went to we had sums and didn't principle principle principle prin prin- ciple or prophesy about any of this other nonsense Mary was continually tellin how Christopher Columbus sailed across the ocean in a ship called the Mayflower and America where he found lots tats of savages Now I dont don't see how he could this country when he found lots of folks here I should think them aire savages was the ones who dis- dis it if anybody did I like to see Christopher ha have have e all the glory he can cant get t but I told Mary he hadn't orter have what didn't belong to him I tell you this country was red long before Christopher Columbus ever drew breath o oI oI oI I told Benjamin Franklin and Sarah SarahAnn SarahAnn Ann nn that they had better look into that a little and see see how matters natters was for I was of the opinion that tha the district was throwing away its money and the children was nonsense nonsense nonsense non non- sense and would be much better off to toK K hum They however seemed perfectly satisfied and said Things was diff different differ differ- rent r- r ent now than they was when I went to But their parents wasn't go goin in into to look after them I considered it my duty uty as their grandmother to investigate the matter I used to be he called a very good scholar in my day Why I could spell every word between the covers of 5 Websters Webster's speller and spelled down every in the county So one pleasant day I thought Id I'd go over t to and see for myself Well when I 1 got there what do you think I saw The whole out sno girls teacher and all I went into the house about my business and told the girls J 31 they ought to be he ashamed of themselves When was called they all came in a gri grinnin Probably the children children children chil chil- dren had told what I come fur The teacher was very He gave me mea 4 a chair asked after my health and Benjamin Benjamin Ben Ben- jamin and Sarah Ann and I almost began began began be be- gan to like the chap Well commenced and the the first thing they did id was to sing They had an organ The idea of havin an organ in One of the girls played and they sung and fooled around awhile and then commenced business just as they ought to in the first place He Hp tapped a funny looking bell two or three times and a few of f the scholars twisted and wiggled around a little and then marched to th the front seats I f couldn't imagine what was goin to happen but that it must be some new normal notion I waited waite Soon they commenced I about nouns and and then I concluded concluded concluded con con- it must be a grammar class But they talked about simplicities and 3 complexities and elements and modifications modifications modifications and so many strange thi things gs that I never learnt jn in grammar that I couldn't couldn't could could- nt understand anything about their operations He tapped the bell again and they all an wiggled and twisted and went t to their seats and some more went through the same operation and come to the i front fron t seats This was a class t but they talked s so much I didn't see much about it They were read- read in that grand oration of Daniel Webster Webster Webster Web Web- ster to his forefathers and they actually pretended that they knew what p Daniel niel i y h j fj Y 1 e y ii r was was as about when here on airth and I dont don't know but they would woul have havet t. t t told where he is and what he is th inkin ii about hout now if that ch chap ip hadn't told one oneL onet t L on em to read Well Vell they talked about the words and one would read a line i or two and then another would read the t. t same same until in all they read one verse if ifF F and he gave them two verses for the next lesson What a lesson that was I It t Why when I went to w we used V to read a verse apiece and the teacher would read two or three e besides Now came on a geography class and of all performances this was the worst n Part of them he sent to the board to 1 L draw what they called f maps the maps the funniest F things I ever seen seen little little peaks sticking f. f up all over them and the rest went to playing in a large box of sand he had hadon t on a table They would heap up little piles of sand and put in bi bits ts of glass glassand glassand and strings here and there and anel the then thenn n n scatter little bottles of grain rain and pieces of i stone and most everything else all allover allover over it It just made my my blood boil 2 to see time and money wasted in that i k way C J A. A While they were do doin in this he stepped ba back k to talk with me He asked my tI opinion IOn on some points and I gave them frankly I thought he might as aswell aswell aswell r well I know first as last the im impressions my mental understanding had received 4 j I told him I didn't think thin k the district could afford to pay him to teach the 1 1 children to play in sand and I didn't F. F r. r see the use of their chalk dra draw draw- win w- w in those maps on the board when those in the books hooks were a good deal better I asked him if he he didn't feel guilty makin them boys and girls say they was well acquainted with Daniel Damel Webster Webster Webster Web Web- ster a man who lived when America was first formed I asked him if he knew how many children Daniel had or whether his wife was a Methodist ora or ora ora a Presbyterian He confessed that he Then I told him he lie had better go back to that aire and larn lard more before the state held him up as a model teacher of ot the generation He colored up and pretended pretended pretended pre pre- tended he had some thin to do in another another another an an- other part of the room You see I could corner him on Daniel because my great grandmother was sister to the wife of his half brother A After fter the class was through he said they would take two or three minutes physical exercise and I in wonderment waited to see what that would be He tapped that bell and they all wiggled He tapped again and they stood up in the aisles Then a a girl went to the organ and arid commenced to play and he stepped out into the floor and says say Ready Of all performances I ever se seen n this was the worst even worse than the geography geography geography geo geo- graphy They shook their fists at each other and stamped their feet but when they commenced commenced their hands ab above ve their hea heads s I knew they must be bein bein bein in distress and arnd some thi thin must bed one ane one immediately or those normal ideas would send the whole to the lunatic asylum I started up and went towards that aire chap a little kind o 0 like I can tell you but just then they all jumped forward and pointed their fists at me This was wac- wac too much Murder I cried and ands jumped for the outside door ane and got clean into the road before I thought I L O i hadn't my thi things gs Now what was I to tol toj do But just then that chap had th the J impudence to come out and ask me to tol c come me back again He said he was was was' sorry but didn't know my nerves was weak and they were only taking a little 1 physical exercise practicing gymnastics and thought I could be more interested now I told hi him rn II No No thank ye thaI that tha I had seen all his physical exercise anc and gy gymnastics I cared to and if he would be kind enough to bring me my duds r I would trouble him no more for I should hOUld nee ne nee ne e ei cross that threshold agin so long as there was any normal ideas within its walls And I told him hed he'd r better go home and go to sheep sand and tell the state to turn that normal into a soap factory to help cleanse humanity from the evils it had brought upon upon the pre present ent generation He stammered out buI bu I 1 didn't wait wai t to hear I could see the all in the windows a grinnin and I just turned on my heel and shook the dust C. C for or snow rather off of my feet teet as asa asa a a. testimony agin them When I got home I told Benjamin franklin Frankli and Sarah Ann that if that was what hat they called a mo model el and a amodel amodel model teacher I never wanted to see mother another I. I Afla tit fw ff 7 |