Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1895-03-01
TO AID IN
An Effort to Improve the Appear
ance of the School
Rooms,

Education no longer consists in de-
veloping merely the intellectual man,
but also the moral and the esthetic. I'm
fortunate is that person who has not
had these elements of his nature stimu-
lated by the inspiration that comes from
feeling that he is under the spell of some
great and grand countenance that looks
down upon him from the past. The
portrait or bust of a Longfellow, a
Franklin, a Lincoln, a Cicero, a Caesar,
a Plato or a Pericles looking down upon
the child in his formative years will have
an ennobling influence which time vii
not efface. His acquaintance with the
countenanoes of such men gives an
added interest to a knowledge of their
lives. and works. True, strong and SYM
metrical characters are thus formed,
and a roundabout manhood and woman
hood developed.
An effort is now being made to start a
system of gradual improvement of the
decorations for the walls of the rooms Of
our city schools. Though the enterprise
was started less than a week ago, the
nucleus of a fair sum has been collected
u eachiroom under the charge of the
respective teachers. The method of
gathering the fund varies to suit the
needs of the various grades, but the gen.
ar9I nIon 10 RI OS1y oOnh r1,ri1 fo roo1yo n
bi-weekly or monthly contribution. Any
sum may be given, the amount being
left entirely to the mean and wishes of
the pupil. AS soon as a sufficient sum
has been raised in a room it will be ex-
pended at once IN the purchase OF a suit
able portrait, bust, or representation of
some noted historic scene. These pro-
auctions are now abundant, and can be
had at very low rates. There exists no
good reason why our school rooms
should not:have their barrenness broken
by such decorations as will afford a con-
slant source of inspiration to not only
the pupils now occupying the several
rooms, but also to those who may oc
cupy them in the future.
1t will be the aim of those in charge
to make tasteful selections. A mere
daub, or any ugly picture had better
never be placed within sight of a child
The decoration, whatever it may be,
ought to possess a strong educative ele-
ment.
But the good that comes from this
plan does not end in that which is pur-
chased with the money raised. AS soon
as a pupil has invested, even a small
sum-, in something that remains in the
possession of school, his interest in the
school changes; it is no longer superb.
cial, but it is deeper and more real. He
feels that he is a joint owner of q part
of the room, and will therefore assume a
form of conduct becoming such a rela-
ton.
Still greater is the benefit that comes
to the little child from the act of giving
to a good cause. It affords an oppor-
tunity for the child to check the natural
tendency to a selfish and sordid disp oei-
ton, by giving to of which both
he and others are to reap present and
subsequent results. All are only too
we'll aware of the sums paid out by chill
dren monthly for those things that do
them harm only. If the results of child
earnings can be turned from an i'm
proper into a proper channel, a very i'm
portant lesson in economy will be
taught.
It is also a part of the plan to get
decorations of such,a nature and form
that adeep interest will be taken in their
care and preservation. The cheap and
worthless pictures frequently found on
the walls of school rooms are not only
pseudo-educative, but invite destruction.