Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1897-02-03
COMMUNICATION.
We'll Taken Points by One with
Experience.

| To the Editor of the Tribune:
The public schools of our republic are
| the pride of all good citizens of our noble
country. They are fond1y cherished by
all who desire the universal education OF
our children and the succeeding genera
tions who will take our places when we
shuttle off this mortal COIL" they are rec
ognized as mainstayS of our republic the
great medium, through which education
is made possible to the masses. Then ad
hitting this to be true what may be done
to bring them to higher standard of ex
ce11ence?
There are at least four factors in the
composition of every public school, and
they are parent, teacher, pupil and school
board, and each of these have their re-
spective duties to perform, and which
duties are very sacred, and the non-per-
Torrance, or the partial performance only,
of those duties will seriously interfere
with the success of any public school.
The great and important duties of the
pupil, while at school is to give implicit
obedience to his teacher, to be gentle and
kind to her, to evince willingness to re-
ceive the instruction, that the teacher de-
sires to impart, to be studious, and strive
to be what you were intended to be-the
noblest creature of Gods hand.
No teacher can, however competent, or
whatever experience she may possess,
teach an unwilling mind, with all our
modern advancement, with all our great
progress in electricity, and our mastery
of the forces of nature, with all great pro-
gress in medicine, our wonderful strides
in surgery, our wonderful inventions, no
way has yet been devised by which pupils
may become, intellectually qualified with
out an effort on their part, willingness
to receive and remember the instruction
given them by the teacher, hence as intel
1ectua1ity demands that the pupil make a
determined effort to possess it, and will
not be possessed unless that effort is made
it behooves the pupil to exercise his ener-
gies in this direction, and make deter
mined and continued effort to acquire
knowledge, the pupil should early in life
decide as near as may be on the position
or profession in life he desires to fill and
labor hard to attain that position or pro-
fession, and be determined to be an honor
to that position or profession after it is
reached. The pupil may say I have not
wealth, with which to acquire good edu-
mind ask you to go and read and study
the life of the immortal Lincoln, of Gar
field and of many another honored one and
there gather inspiration, hope and coura ge,
that will soon put to flight any such
thoughts.
AS pupils you also have some important
duties to perform. You are now enjoying
the benefits of good society, of humane
civil government, of religious liberty, of
free institutions, of the civil liberty that
was won by the ragged and shoeless pa
triots under our beloved Washington at
Concord and maitained in honor by the
patriots, on many well fought field in
the late civil war, and it is most sacred
duty to prepare yourself, in such a man
ner, that when these precious jewels are
placed in your charge ana your keeping,
you may transmit them to posterity as
untarnished as they are handed to you.
It is the manifest duty of pupils to not
only make continued effort to become
intellectually qualified, but it is equally
necessary to become thorough student
of good morals, for unless this branch of
the education of the pupil is thoroughly
looked after, the intellectual qualifications
may become valueless to the possessor;
for person, however well qualified intel
1ectually, if he be deficient in moral worth,
will be as unstable as mansion built up
on sand, as unsteady as the engine with
out balance wheel; moral worth is to the
possessor what the ballast is to the ship,
and will enable the owner of the same to
ride peacefully over the huge pillows that
may be met on 1ife's sea- Without our
<Nro1x orkI1 -. @
storm that may be met on 1ife's ocean,
and your little bark be left upon the sands
a perfect wreck.
The duties of the parent in reference to
the public schools are as sacred and as
well defined as are those of the factors
necessary to make up public school. 1t
is the manifest duty of every parent to
take deep interest in the school. One of
the plainest duties of every parent is to
visit the schools and see the character of
the work that is being done. Very little of
value of the work performed by the child
while at school can be ascertained from
the markings and percentages that are
marked on the grade card that may be
presented to the parent monthly. You
would be much better judge of the fu-
ture value of the work being done at school
if you would visit the schools where you
could note the earnestness of the child
and see him actually engaged in the
struggle for an education, or,as sometimes
is the case, not actually engaged in the
struggle to acquire an education. 1t has
often been my lot, having engaged in pub
lie school work for a number of years in