The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1900-01-18
PRINCIPAL EVANS On THE
DANCING SCHOOL

The giving of dancing lesson last
Monday night, and the announcement
Of another lesson for Monday night, ,ian.
y, together with the fact that quite a
tend these lessons and stay through the
social, thus. being ont till after midnight,
on these occasions, suggest that the ques
ton Of whether some concerted move
ment on the part of the parents to change
these conditions should not be made.
There was time in this city when
dancing school, made up to any extent
Of high school pupils. could not be main
tained unless it was held either on Fri
day or Saturday night. But there has
been a gradual lowering of the standard
in this matter here until now any night
the conductor Of the school is chosen,
regardless of any bad effect that may be
brought upon the public schools. One
cause Of this lowering OF the standard is
the quite prevalent opinion or idea
among the mothers of boys that d dane
ing school furnishes good training be-
cause it enables boys to lose their awk-
ward self-consciorlsness. AS n matter o.
fact this awkward self-consciousness is
the very best gift OF nature To boys st ,n
age when body aud mind are seething
with nascent ideas and emotions and
when the will is in trance. a bashful-
ness that will keep a boy away from soc!a
excitement and II too-easy familiarity
with the girls until the chaos Of fifteen
or sixteen becomes the cosmos of twenty
one is Il blessing in disguise There is an
awkwardneSs that is much more painful
than mere clumsiness. 1t is the awk-
wardness of the situation when parent
discovers that the squeak o. Il iidle
mazes the strongest appeal to his boy's
ambition. "A boys will is the winds
will says Longfellow. A boy S will needs
no encouragement to relax, and boy :
AMBITIOUS are 50 hiill dH'l NilttipNg bHdt
they must be watched for and encour-
aged, with utmost care and intelligence.
But the very idea of the dance is relaxa
ton What tho the cannon of Waterloo
be laundering On with the dance. let
Joy he uncontined." TO man who is
tired whose mind needs II reaction from
the too heavy struggle with harsh condi-
tions there may he some virtue in the
dance. But for uniformed boys, for boys
ignorant of the harsher facts of life, un-
disciplined. without definite ambitions,
and with the pleasureloving part of
their natures only too fully developed
and under poor control, these dances
that come so frequently are apt to be-
come almost perilous indulgences 1t
would seem that the price paid for the
social grace of ease is almost too high.
At any rate the i'll effect ON school work
cannot be questioned II is not only the
dance itself, but the after effects and
complications that make this form Of so.
called education inimical to the high
school work There is the breaking down
more or less. of the barriers of nodests
and reserve, and the fascination of the
dance more and more occupies the minC
until in some cases there is an absolut.
exclusion of any other interest In shor
what may be a means OF simple ant
healthful enjoyment in the case of olde
people becomes, III too many eases, espec
tally where there is frequency of repeti
ton among school boys aud girls, pos
tive injury. This lowering of standar,
by parents has been reached very gradn
ally but ii has developed sufficient,
now to show plainly that a halt must bs
called or the work of Il algh schoo