The Washington times., 1895-06-19

thOrities. This doing away with such
bran-w caring work has been TO pupil
and teacher alike blessing, and our chill
dren are by far the better for it, and we
do not hear of so many worn-out teachers
| in June as we once did
Having followed such a course of study
and investigation, ore can but feel that
the children of our public schools have
at least an average amount of knowledge
of the structure and care Of their bodies
wonderful mechanisms-whch they nay
right1ully use or seriously abuse, and the
ls@s governing them.
There is, perhaps, no branch of the
school curriculum in which the co-opera-
ton and support of the parent is so much
needed as in this, since the habits of the
child have so much TO do with his secur-
ing the proper benefits OF his instruction
in physiology and hygiene. Teachers as
rule struggle ConsCientiously to have
their pupils form habits of regularity
Failing in q certain instance the parent
is called in and made acquainted with the
facts OF his boys shortcomings After
having listened without apparent inter
est to the recital, be will very fire.
quently reply: well, boys Will be boys,
you know" and that is all the assist
ance the teacher receives. The boy, il
he ever had any lively doubts as 10 his
being "a boy knows it now, and hence
forth acts accordingly.
The boy who is careless of his morals
is as careless of his person, and the lower
he sinks morally the less care does he
take as 10 his physical needs.
Such cases are very few and far be-
tween Yes! aud criminals, full grown,
are very few and far between as compared
with our entire population, yet there
are a great many criminals and there is
a large number of bad boys aud girls
and yet this is but the natural outcome
of their parents teaching.
One is coustaEtly amazed at the lessons
taught by parents. A case of truancy
arises. The parent is summoned to APP
pear before the proper official that the
occurrence may be prevented in future
In such cases it is q rare instance when
the parent does not attempt to pass the
matter over as a joke, thus encouraging
the boy in his wicked course in de-
ceiving his mother and lying to his teacher
A boy brings a note of excuse for alb
sence, or for some other delinquency,
purpurting to have been signed by his
parent, when in truth the boy has made
the signature himself. In most cases this
is treated by the parent as trivial mat
ter, and thus the son receives with
applause his first lesson in forgery. Why,
the forgery OF parents name by a child
Of eleven to a note Of excuse is quite as
serious matter, relatively, as the forgery
of that same parents name by that same
boy, at twenty, to a check. 1t is not
surprising that boy who is not severely
punished for truancy will steal when he
sees a favorable opportunity.
A slight affair occurring on the street
witnessed by the boys on their way to school
is sufficient cause for protracted tardiness,
and perhaps absence for half or whole
day, yet the fact that they are not in their
proper places at the proper time is taken
as matter of course by the parent, and
the faithful effort of a conscientious teacher
is thus set at Daught.
A boy, Tom by name, aged ten, was sus-
pended month ago for 'insubordination,
to which the parent made reply that the
teacher was incapable of controlling her
pupils. This very day, June Ia, Tom was
seen snugly ensconced on the front step
of his fathers house, smoking cigarette
We may be pardoned for this seeming
depression in writing this "open letter"
to parents of our pupils.
B. 7. JANNEY,
Supervising Principal.