In the School-Room: Chapters in the Philosophy of EducationHart, John S. (John Seely)
Philosophy
In the School-Room: Chapters in the Philosophy of Education
Hart, John S. (John Seely)
Teaching
When the painful affair was over, I gave him my hand cordially and
frankly, and said, "Charlie, you have honorably and courageously atoned
for a grievous fault, and I assure you, I restore you not only to your
position in school, but to my respect and confidence."
I never had any further difficulty with Charlie Graham. Years
afterwards, when I met his father at the Springs, he could hardly
contain his amazement when I told him that I had once flogged his oldest
son Charlie, at his own particular request. It was, I suppose, the first
and last time the hand of correction was ever laid on him.
XXIII.
PHRENOLOGY.
In the previous chapter I gave a leaf from my experience of life in a
boarding-school. I propose now to give another leaf from the same book.
The incident about to be narrated, however, is not given as an
illustration of boarding-school life, but merely because it happened at
school. It might have happened elsewhere, though the circumstances on
that occasion were particularly favorable for giving to it a curious
point.
While I was at the head of the Edgehill school, at Princeton, N. J., a
stranger called one day and announced himself as Prof. ----. The name is
one almost as well known in the history of Phrenological science as that
of Prof. Combe. He said he was about to give a lecture in Princeton on
the subject of Phrenology, and as he was an entire stranger to myself
and to all the pupils and teachers in the school, he thought it would be
a good opportunity for making an interesting and critical experiment. He
proposed, therefore, with my consent, to spend an hour, in presence of
the school, in examining the heads of any of the boys that I might call
up for that purpose. From the very intimate relations existing in a
boarding-school, the characters of the boys would be well known to me
and to their companions and teachers, and we would have therefore the
means of knowing how far he succeeded in his experiment.
Thinking that an hour spent in this way would not be misspent, that it
would at least give some variety to the monotonous routine of study and
lessons, and, let me add, being not entirely without curiosity as to the
result, I consented to his proposition, and called the school together
in the large assembly-room. All the boys being in their seats, together
with the teachers and the ladies of the household, I stated briefly the
object of their assembling and the method in which it was proposed to
proceed with the experiment. They were to observe entire silence, and to
give no indication, by word or look, so far as they could help it, to
show whether the Professor was hitting the mark or not, as he read off
to them the characters of their companions. The boys took to the idea at
once, and the excitement very soon was at fever-heat.
Placing a chair upon the platform, in full view of the school, and the
Professor alongside of it, I called up
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