Page:The Life and Works of Christopher Dock.djvu/32

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In 1738 Dock gave up his farm and returned to teaching. The remainder of his life, thirty-three years, he devoted to his pupils. He opened two schools, one in Skippack and one in Sallford. These he taught three days each alternately. He encouraged the pupils in each school to write letters to the pupils in the other school. These letters usually took the form of questions relating to some incident in the Bible. Dock acted as letter carrier between the schools. This was one of his devices to promote constructive language exercises by his pupils — a practice that has found many imitators.

Dock has given by indirection the only adequate picture of a colonial school. It is not difficult to