The Profession of the Teacher: An Address Delivered by William R. Abbot, Esq., Bellevue High School, Virginia; Before the National Educational Association, in Detroit, Michigan, A

Excerpt from The Profession of the Teacher: An Address Delivered by William R. Abbot, Esq., Bellevue High School, Virginia; Before the National Educational Association, in Detroit, Michigan, August 4th, 1874 But there is a much higher ground for the value of special study and general self-culture on the part of the teacher. It cannot be too strongly impressed upon our consciousness, that as soon as we cease to learn, we cease to teach successfully. Education has been termed a dynamical and not a mechanical process; the forces must be active and in metion. That mind may act upon mind there must be growth and vital activity in the one as in the other. And so the teacher who rests satisfied with the present state of his knowledge, nor seeks by study constantly to enlarge its boundaries, gives to his pupils to drink from a stagnant, fetid pool, that would repel the most ardent, instead of that Pierian fount, whose copious and refreshing streams will allure the most careless and indifferent. There is still another reason that makes this course the imperative duty of the teacher, who seeks to reach the highest measure of success. N 0 man can understand asubject thoroughly unless he has some knowledge of its bearings and relations to other kindred branches, of its antecedents and collaterals; and he who in his zeal explores the contiguous provinces of thought will always find his labor richly rewarded in a greatly improved comprehension of his own domain, and return laden with beautiful and appro'priate illustrations - the teacher's most effective weapons. But, though his mind be stored with the treasures of knowledge gathered from every quarter, yet, unless he possess the skill to impart it, he will he likes mine of precious ore buried in the bowels of the earth, or a fountain sealed up in a rock, or a light hid 'under a bushel; and this brings us to the second of the qualifications which go to make up the good teacher, aptness to teach. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.