The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1896-09-12
AIM AT SOMETHING DEFINITE.
mas County Institute, by Professor
Lake of antelope.

mas County Institute, by Professor
Lake of antelope.
That teacher who can hold the more
advanced pupils until the close of the
term or year makes better showing
than is possible when these drop out
before that time, and thereby creates
an impression in the public mind that
he is successful in his work. This adds
to his reputation, and paves the way to
more important positions at better pay.
Marked success in any enterprise is
profitable. Plan for this when you lay
out your work, and you will render
better service Than ever before, how
ever successful you may have been in
the past. If your school cannot be the
leading one in the county in point of
numbers, try to make it the best in
quality of instruction. Strive to i'm
plant in the minds of your patrons
that their district should be known as
one where the public school is the
pride ofall. Keep the big boys and
and girls with you till they have ac-
complished all that the school asks of
them; until the task they have entered
upon is completed. Do not open
school with all the older pupils in the
district enrolled. and close it with few
of them in attendance. If you do,
there is something wrong: and that
something will prove heavy drag,
and retard your advancement in the
profession.
"But how" you ask, "am 1 to keep
the big boys and girls?" They are
the very ones who are most apt to drop
out, because their time is worth some
thing al home. ';True, but you must
make their time worth more at school.
1t is only natural that they should
spend their time where it pays them
best; and, if the teacher cannot con-
vince his patrons that the time of their
children, including the big boys and
girls, is worth more to them in school
than elsewhere, with rare exceptions,
he owes it to the public and to himself
to quit the schoolrooom at once and
forever.
Try this plan; lay out or adopt
regular course of study, to be duly
sanctioned by your board of directors
and your county superintendent, and
make it known to each one of our
pupi1S tbot M opa oop bo raororGad oo
having finished school in your district
until the course of study decided on
has been completed, and a satisfactory |
final examination passed in all the |
branches it includes. In other words, |
ain, at something definite. Then your |
big boys and girls will soon realize
that they are to arrive at some fixed |
point as being the end of the journey, |
when they can be more easily induced |
to continue to that end. Present the |
matter in such manner as to impress |
upon your pupils that certain stigma
attaches, in the minds of people gen.
orally, to boy or girl who having the
fails TO complete in a
creditable manner the course of study
laid down in the district where the
school education is received.
Public graduating exercises, and the
awarding of diplomas at the end of the
term or year, are valuable auxiliaries
10 regular course of study. With q
of all these as q leverage
On school officers and pupils, an en-
,husiastic teacher should have no
trouble in maintaining an excellent
school in any district in this county.
Other counties in Oregon are operat.
ng on this plan, and it is my earnest
1esire that this county shall not
be behind in this important work.
In some districts it may be thought
best for each pupil to pay for the di-
oloma on receiving it, while in others
t may be preferable to meet this ex.
oense out of the public money. In
either case, if diplomas are to be
awarded, that fact should be made
Known to the entire school early in
he season. that the pupils may be en-
outraged to do their very best from the
H. G. LAKE.