That Bad Boy, and Other Stories; or, How to Manage a School by Karns, T.C - 1913 (c.1910)

Nashville TN: Claude J. Bell. Good. 1913 (c.1910). Later Printing. Softcover. [soiling and discoloration to covers, some deterioration to spine covering at spine ends, pages age-toned but not brittle; the binding is still solid despite this being a cheaply-made book]. (Teachers' Help Series) Series A classic of its day (although perhaps only in Tennessee), by the "Late Professor of Philosophy of Pedagogics in the University of Tennessee." This small book (just 94 pages) is a compendium of "bad boy" stories gathered from various teachers during a summer institute, which the author has synthesized (without losing its essential anecdotal nature) into a treatise on how to maintain order and discipline in the classroom. It's tempting to regard this as a relic of its age -- and indeed, some of the problems addressed, e.g. the "stove-huddling nuisance," are more than a bit arcane -- but at the same time, I think a modern-day teacher would likely find much of value here. The author makes a sincere attempt to understand the root causes of bad student behavior (including, no surprise, bad parenting), and describes approaches that trend toward the psychological and empathetic rather than the whip-cracking. A few of the chapter titles will help give a flavor of the work: "How Bad Boys Are Made"; "The Pupil's Side"; "Securing the Favor of Parents"; "Some Extreme Cases"; "Character Building"; and "The Psychial Basis of Character." The dedication, appropriately, is to "the common school teacher, upon whom the hope of humanity rests." (Although the author then somewhat ironically begins his introduction by describing these very folks as "usually a plain plodding sort of people [who] are not noted for their convivial habits or their fondness for good fellowship.") OCLC locates only a handful of original copies of this book, in various editions; some bear an "applied for copyright" date of 1901, although this particular printing gives that date as 1910. In my opinion, this would make a wonderful (albeit unusual) gift for a young teacher just setting out on his or her career. .