Memoirs of John Adams Dix; comp. by his son, Morgan Dix.

1830-1842.] GENERAL DIX'S INTEREST IN GE rY. i41
The following picture of the teacher must, I think, have
been painted ficmLrecollect:n of the dignified and conscientious guides of his own yo
"The committee cannot forbt dd that the instructors, in the
academies with which the prop(;partments may be connected,
should labor to impress on the mI f those who may be preparing
themselves for the vocation of teach. deep sense of the responsibility which belongs to it. There i, no other in which a conscientious and discreet discharge of )priate duties can well produce
more beneficial or lasting effects. from the conduct and precepts
of the teacher that the minds commit, to his guidance are destined to
receive impressions which may accompany the individuals through life,
and give a determining cast to the character. In his demeanor they may
read impressive lessons of moderation, forbearance, and self-control; from
his rules of government they may learn the value of firmness, justice, and
impartiality; or they may find, in exhibitions of petulance, unsteadiness
of purpose, and unjust distributions of favor, a license for the indulgence
of their own prejudices and passions. Nothing is more vital to the successful government of the teacher, and to the execution of his plans of
instruction, than a steady self-command. The most certain mode of
bringing his own authority into contempt is to show that he is not his
own master. The moral atmosphere of the school-room will be pure
or impure according to the conduct and character of him who presides
over it. On his example will, in no inconsiderable degree, depend, for
good or evil, the destiny of numbers whose influence will, in turn, be
felt by the political society in the operations of which they are to take
an active part. The teacher should be made to feel so sensibly the importance of his position, that it may be continually present to his
thoughts, and become the guide and rule of his actions. He should
bear perpetually in mind that he is the centre of a little system, which,
as time advances, is destined to spread itself out and carry with it, for
the benefit or injury of all whom it reaches, the moral influences imparted by himself."
With another department of our State annals General
Dix's name is honorably associated: I refer to the Geological
Survey of the State of New York. By resolution of the
Assembly, dated April 18, 1835, the Secretary of State was
"requested to report to the Legislature, at its next session,
the most expedient method of obtaining a complete geologi