Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1896-05-15
LONDON. ENGLAND.

ADVICE TO OfSalllLc Ooou o"iN"S
Schools.
London Justice publishes the following
letter, which should be carefully read by
our American friends:
We here have just received an inquiry
from the southampton Branch as to the
method adopted by US in the management
of our S. d. F. Sunday School for chill
dren and as the above is but one among
many inquiries which have been received
by us the committee have instructed me to
obtain from you if possible brief space in
the columns of Justice in order to place be-
fore those comrades short account of our
experiences.
To those of our members who are inclined
to start Sunday School, l would first OF
all say that, unless you are prepared to sac
rifice deal of time and energy, the venture
is almost bound to fail. In the first place,
in order to insure to some extent the regu-
lar attendance of the children, it is neces-
sary that teacher should be in position
to attend his or her class with unvarying
punctuality. This is necessary in order
that a teacher, by constant contact with
the scholars, may be enabled to engender
reciprocity of sympathy, which can only be
done by perfect understanding existing
between them, and which understanding
can only be gained by proper tact on the
part of the teachers themselves. Ano56er
very successful way to ensure the attend
ance of children is to give them vested
interest in the school itself. What mean
is this Organize periodically, and rs often
as you can, some form of entertainment
magic lanterns, indoor sports, ETC., which
the children themselves may subscribe to
in the most easy way that may suggest
itself. OF course it may be possible that
there will be children who cannot pay, but
this fact, however, should not prevent
their participation in the festivities. Par
ents who wished to attend these functions
in order to watch the children enjoy them
selves should be charged nominal entrance
fee, which would go to help pay expenses.
If you can get the children to place penny
or 80 upon card, l do not doubt
for moment but they will stay until they
have got their moneys worth. Other or
RaQlZdUlOuS udVc w w uhios eshN hAAN ~ VA
pedient; let us see if we cannot do it bet
ter than they. After having satisfied
Yourself that the children are disposed to
attend, the next thing to be considered is
how to arrange your classes. The most
convenient way for all purposes is to
classify them according to their ages. If
it were possible to do so, it would be well
LAX the age at s and upwards. Children
Younger than this, 1 am afraid, we can do
yery little with. In this connection, how
ever, you find, unfortunately, that on
Sunday afternoon especially children lit
tie older are placed in charge Of other
children some years perhaps younger than
themselves, which makes it impera-
tive that wherever the elder ones go the
others must follow. Thus you have
the babies to reckon with.
With such contingency it is necessary for
women teachers to be on hand. Lessons
so called should, for the most part, take
the form of conversation between teacher
and pupil, as any attempt on the part OF
the former to approach insistance, would
end in driving the children away, seeing
that there is no compulsory attendance,
and the ordinary mems adopted by day
school teachers to enforce discipline is
quite outside the province of Socialist Sun
day School members. Subjects to be
taught must be compatible with the age of
the child, and simplicity of language the
first object considered. Many ideas in
culcated into the mind have in the first
place to be removed. Through verse and
prose the children are persuaded into be-
lieving, and acting up to such axioms Is
early to bed, early to rise, makes man
healthy, wealthy and WISE" This sort Of
nonsense must at any cost be eliminated,
for nearly all the morals to be drawn from
the text books at school are similar to
that quoted. Truthfulness in all its
bearings, and its possible applicability
to every day life, should be considered,
with broad differences as to its relationship
to Socialism. Cleanliness, too, il an item