Chapter Xix.
School-Management.
Holy Job says: "Man's life upon earth is a warfare." The life of a teacher is eminently such. The moment he enters his class-room where thirty pupils await him, he has to face thirty enemies. Not that the pupils cherish hostile or even unfriendly feelings towards their master. God forbid! but there is in every one of them some one more or less prominent defect or fault, which, in whole or in part, will frustrate the teacher's work in the class-room, and it is with these defects and faults, as with so many deadly foes, that the teacher must do combat. One pupil is lazy; this one is fickle; that one stubborn; and in all there is a considerable amount of ignorance. Nor does the teacher's struggle cease with the four or five hours of class work. There are other trials awaiting him on return home. The daily careful preparation of the matter to be taught is a real drudgery, while the correction of themes and compositions is very fatiguing. Over and above this there is the monotony of repeating the same matter year after year. At times, too, there may come regulations from superiors which do not suit the taste of the teacher, which, however, must be complied with; for in order to ensure unity and harmony in any educational establishment some kind of executive superintendence over persons and things is indispensable.
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