Mr. Stone. I trust that the gentleman will not infer from my remarks that I intended to narrow the question down simply to visiting. I can indorse every word he has said. I believe in showing the parents of our pupils that we mean to be men and women; but, sir, I suppose that, in order to do that, we must first make the acquaintance of the parents. You cannot approach all parents by your work in the schoolroom. There are some men who will not see it. There are some men who are so engrossed in business, there are some ladies who are so engrossed in the cares of their family or in the circles of fashion and folly, that, if they do not hear any complaints from their children, they think you are doing well. I once called upon a gentleman whose time was largely absorbed in business, who had a daughter in my school, who was applying herself to her studies, and really making good progress, and whose eyes sparkled whenever she saw me enter the house; and one of the first things he said to me was, "Is it term-time now, or vacation?" That daughter, sixteen years of age, was leaving the house every morning, with her satchel of books, to go to school, and sometimes, as her mother told me, taking her botany to the dinner-table, under her father's eyes, and yet he did not know whether it was term-time or vacation! I could have put that young lady upon Hebrew, and he never would have known it. He would have paid fifty dollars for books, and never have known what the books were.

W. E. Sheldon, of Boston, Mass. A single question has arisen in my mind. How shall this love, friendship, and gratitude, on the part of parents towards teachers, that have been so much commended, be secured? That is the practical question with me. I believe that there are a great many teachers in Massachusetts (I will not speak for the Pine-Tree State) who think they discharge their whole duty to their school, to

the parents, and to themselves, provided they are able, faithful, and conscientious teachers in the school-room. They treat parents civilly when they come to the school-room, welcome the friends of education there, but believe they have no work to do beyond that. They are willing to go to tea if they are invited, they are willing to attend all the pleasant parties in the neighborhood if they are invited, and in a social way become acquainted with the people. All this is very well as far as it goes; but I am so radical that I go a little farther than that. I believe in a man's being a man as well as a teacher, taking a part, and even leading, in the community in which he is placed; and most teachers know how much, in many places, such a central figure is needed. The people, interested in making money and getting a living in these times, are so much occupied that all those means which are necessary to awaken the community to the important interest of their children, in relation to their intellectual and moral education, are too much neglected. How can this needful work be done? Let the teacher throw aside his modesty, announce an educational meeting in his neighborhood, perhaps in his own school-house, and invite the friends of education there to discuss the matter. This has been tried in very many townships with admirable success. teachers, perhaps, will say, "I am now sufficiently overburdened; my nervous system is already too much taxed; I cannot enter into this enterprise." But let me assure my brother it is an expedient to save labor, to save nervous power, to put the teacher in such a position that he will have more moral and intellectual power, will secure a coöperation and interest that will lessen his labors to such an extent that he will grow young in his profession.

Some

Another thing. It was very wisely remarked, in the lecture last evening, that that teacher was a wise and successful

one who first discovered the secret of controlling pupils and parents. Evidently, our first duty is to know our pupils — their individual characteristics and capacity, and to discover what kind of training they need for the most symmetrical development of the highest powers of their minds and hearts. Our next duty is to know the influences that control those minds and hearts when they have left the school; and this can be discovered by first becoming acquainted with the parents, and then discovering how to manage those outside influences. Strategy! Tactics! You will oftentimes have to make a "flank movement; " they are getting popular; and I tell you it is worth while to flank some of these crabbed obstacles in the community. If you attempt to take them by direct assault, you are defeated" with great slaughter;" but if you flank them, go in on the right side, (and there is a right side to every community,) you can enter; and when once inside, you will find friendship and gratitude.

I think that a large proportion of our teachers fail to exercise the influence that they might by neglecting to use their social power. The social qualities of most ladies, certainly, are a free passport to almost any home. A case recently came under my observation of a very kind and amiable teacher, who was approached by an intoxicated mother. It was a sad sight. With threatening words, with more threatening looks, she was denouncing that lady; but, with a sweet and winning face she said, "I love your girl, Jane, and I wish you would allow me to manage her for the present." And what did the drunken woman say? "Oh, you have done admirably for me; I thank you," and turned away. Now, suppose that teacher had met that intoxicated mother with a frown, and said, "I do n't want to have anything to say to you; I will send for the master and have you expelled from the hall," would not the opposite have been the result? You

must study every case as it presents itself; but be sure you do it in a spirit of kindness; and you can do this if you cultivate that spirit, and cultivate those qualities that are essential to success. I know there are some teachers thank Heaven there are but few!-who cannot seem pleasant, because they were never constituted so as to have the suaviter in modo, that is essential; they have more of the fortiter in re in their natures; and to be natural, they must act that out. It is better for such teachers, I think, to stay in their schoolrooms; but, speaking of them generally, I think they should take hold heartily in that outside work to which I have referred. Visiting is not the only thing. Sometimes that may look as though you were trying to get into the good graces of the people. But start some outside work, that will show you are fully up to the times, and understand your work, and I believe parents will be only too willing to let you do this work, and extend to you all they can of gratitude and support.

Charles Hutchins, of Boston. It seems to me that the great thing to be done now is to bring parents and teachers together, so that they shall flow, not as they now too often do, as separate streams, but as one stream to the same result. Teachers can do much; but it seems to me that the danger is, that parents will come to feel, as they often do, that the work of education is in no sense theirs, but that of the school committee and the teachers; and so ignore and neglect their own part of the work. There is very little thought or reading, even by intelligent parents, upon the subject of education. They do not read the educational journals or educational works, because they are not professional teachers, when God has made, and will even hold them to be, the highest and holiest of teachers for their own children.

There is another danger, which arises from the fact that

our school officers are in most places elected on the basis of politics. Now, when parents interest themselves, and educate themselves practically in the work of education, and put their hands into the teacher's hands, and take his hands in theirs to work intelligently together, there will be little danger that politics - I mean politics in a bad sense I will control our schools, decide the character of our school boards, govern the appropriations of money, and compel a man, as is now the case in some cities and towns, to be of a particular political stripe if he would secure an election to a school.

W. E. Sheldon. This very question was discussed eight years ago, at the meeting at Springfield, Mass. I was interested a few weeks ago in reviewing that discussion. The ground taken at that time by very many prominent educators was substantially this: that the community did too much; appropriated more money than was needed; built better school-houses than were needed; and that the cooperation was altogether more than it ought to be. That was the spirit of that debate very largely. What a contrast, sir, with the spirit that we see to-day! I hail it as an indication of progress. I was disappointed and saddened after reading that discussion. I think the case of the city of Boston was cited, which appropriated nearly four hundred thousand dollars annually for schools. I believe they have been going on increasing it forty or fifty thousand dollars a year ever since, as an indication that that sort of progressiveness was not in the wrong direction; and I believe they will go on increasing the amount in like manner every year if we do our duty as teachers, and that the result will be satisfactory to all.

T. W. Valentine, of Brooklyn, N. Y. I think the idea of securing the coöperation of parents by visiting them is all very well; but I would like to ask those gentlemen who are advocating it, how many of them do it.

Suppose we have