What is the meaning of Terms and Tides in the poem the village schoolaster?
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The poem first describes an abandoned schoolhouse that was once noisy and led by a stern schoolmaster who took education and teaching seriously. Throughout the poem, the narrator describes how the children perceived him; although he was stern, they laughed at his jokes and recognized his kindness, and they admired all his knowledge and talent. Now, the narrator remarks that all of it is in the past and the schoolmaster is not here anymore.
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The poem begins with a description of an old schoolhouse that is bordered by a dilapidated fence and flowering gorse bushes ("blossom'd furze unprofitably gay").
The narrator tells us that the school was once a "noisy mansion" presided over by a village schoolmaster. He remembers how severe and stern the man was; as a teacher, he was feared by every child who played truant. The narrator relates that frightened schoolchildren could "trace the day's disasters in his morning face." Despite his sternness, however, the schoolmaster told plenty of jokes. His students laughed at them to humor him; they were determined to prolong his brief moments of sanguinity and to lessen his periods of discontent.
Yet, for all his severity, the schoolmaster was known to be kind. If he was an uncompromising teacher, it was only due to his commitment to education. The village people stood in awe of him. He was literate, knowledgeable about "terms and tides" (geographical boundaries and the times of festivals), skillful in mathematical computations ("gauge"), and experienced in land-surveying. Additionally, he was skilled in the art of rhetoric and debate ("In arguing too, the parson own'd his skill,/ For e'en though vanquish'd he could argue still").
In fact, the schoolmaster was the wonder of the "gazing rustics" (the uninformed throng of people who marveled at his deep knowledge). These people were so awed by the schoolmaster that they often wondered how "one small head could carry all he knew." In the end, the narrator ends the poem with the sad proclamation that the schoolmaster no longer teaches at the schoolhouse ("past is all his fame") and that "The very spot/ Where many a time he triumph'd is forgot."
Basically, the schoolmaster's accomplishments have been consigned to the oblivion of a forgotten past. In the modern world, the schoolmaster only serves as a quaint reminder of the old ways.