Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1899-04-13

fathers time and attention is largely
taken up with the necessary occupa-
tion of bread-winning, and the
mother finds more than ample scope
for her strength and energies in
making the home comfortable and
congenial to the different members
OF the family, in looking after the
forming of the habits OF the children
and in maintaining position in So
ciety suited to the circumstances. -.
The school is for the child, and for
the child alone. The sole object in
planning for the school is that our:
youth may lay the foundations of an
education and thus supplement in
every possible way the work being
done in the good home and counter
act in every possible way the evil in
fuences of the bad home. And when
l say education do not mean that
we can form an education with Ger
tain length of time spent on mathe-
mates, on history, geography and
language, with drawing and physi-
cal culture thrown in to give rein
ing touch-I say we cannot place the
sum of these on one side of an equa-
ton and the word education on the
other. The training which our chill
dren receive in our schools, if meas
ured by the time spent on this text
book or that, even if the matter in the
textbook is mastered, will be out
weighed in the scale with education.
Do not understand that I depreciate
in any way the value of these studies,
but they are to be considered the
means rather than the end. In ac-
complishing this end many things are
to be considered, not the least of
which is the formation of habits.
Children are creatures of habit and if
they do not form good habits, they
are sure to form bad ones. And as
those habits which they form while
in school are those which will charac-
terize their work in after life, we see
that the formation of good habits is
of the greatest possible importance.
The habits to be cultivated in school
are not only good habits of study as
we regard securing knowledge from
books, but to be added to these are
habits OF observation, habits Of ex-
preston, of forbearance, in short,
good habits of self-control in all ways.
When a young child first enters
school, with what awe he regards his
first teacher! She is to the child his
queen. She is the embodiment of
wisdom and skill, and in fact very
creature. He first looks
upon her as paragon. No suspi-
cion that she is an ordinary human
being, with the tendency to err like
other individuals, and it canpot be
possible that she was ever small like
himself and had been subjected to
the same training that is in the flu
ture for him. She must be product
spontaneous and instantaneous from
some unknown source which is so OBJ
scure that he never dreams of inquir-
ing the hows7 or why's? of her orr
gin. Every detail of her appearance
and action is noted, and as far as
possible, copied. Since this is true,
what fearful responsibility is that
of the teacher. Can it be possible t6
spend too much time, thought and
care in the preparation for this high
calllng7 For have not the teachers
of the present, in conjunction with
the parents, the moulding of the gen.
Grafton that is to succeed us? How
careful every teacher should be that
the child's first conception of the par
agon may be strengthened, instead
of becoming broken idol, which is
SO many times its fate; that he may
find her also the model of patience
and love, as we'll as the one who in
his estimation ''knows everything"
Sunshine, and not clouds, should
be the atmosphere of the schoolroom,
for the child carries the climatic con-
dition to it's home.
The school occupies place mid
way between the home and the world.
It is on the borderland between the
world of kindness and affection, and
that of pure justice. A child step
ping from one of these worlds into
the other must be guided very care
fully or he will lose his balance. -.
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