Part 26 (1/2)

A book of ten voluht well be written on the subject of parents and teachers If a teacher were the author no publisher would look at it, for the language would be unprintable

To the teacher the parent is an enemy When Mrs Brown comes to school she and the dominie chat pleasantly about the weather, while the children look on and marvel Little Willie is amazed to see his ht that he heard her say: ”That Mr Sentleman Did you see his nails?”

Poor little Willie does not know that hisfair sreeably all through her visit, but as she is shaking hands on the doorstep she will say, ”Oh, by the way, Mr S that he wasn't allowed to play hockey yesterday I want him to play every Wednesday”

”But,” says Mr Smith deferentially, ”I--er--well, Wednesday is the day when the Seniors play, and--er--since Willie is a Junior I--er--I--”

”Oh, thank you so e that he will play on Wednesdays,” and she sails away

Or perhaps Mrs Broill put it on to her husband

”The way things are done at that school are disgraceful, Too and see Smith and insist that the boy has his hockey”

Well, the poor father comes up to school, and he and the doe All the tie to tackle the hockey question

”Er,” he begins after clearing his throat, ” about--er--what a splendid view you have from here!”

”First rate,” nods the do about hockey” He coughs ”Splendid gaood-bye”

No er a dominie

From the parent's point of view a teacher is a rival when he isn't a sort of under-gardener The parent would never think of arguing with the doctor when he says that Willie has measles; the doctor is a specialist in disease, and the parent is not But it is different with the dominie He is a specialist in education, but then so is the parent That is possibly one of the reasons that the teaching profession is such a low-class one, for a teacher is merely a specialist in a world of specialists Everybody kno a child ought to be brought up In justice to parents I must confess that there are only two teachers in Britain to whom I should trust the education of any child of mine Most teachers are instructionists only, and the parent has so about aard ot when he joined the areant of his squad was an old pupil of his

”I think I can beat that, Duncan,” I said, and told him the story of an army lecture I had a co I had to give a lecture to the men of the battery on lines of fire They were mostly miners, and I tried to an with the definition of an angle and went on to circular measurement I noticed that one man stared at the blackboard in bewilder felloas When the lecture was over I approached hi to tell you,” I said

”I did have so it, sir,” he said

”H'm! What were you in civil life?”

”Mathematical master in a secondary school, sir”

I could not rise to the occasion I fled to theabout rising to the occasion brings to my mind another army incident in which I did not shi+ne I was a recruit in the infantry, and a gyh physical jerks He told us the fah we had broken our mothers' hearts ouldn't break his; in short he put the wind up us I got very nervous

”Right turn!” he roared, and I thought he said ”Right about turn”