The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-04-14
STUDENTS PARENTS.

small boys in one OF the washington
public schools. Il don't know what 1
condolences of most of the parents
complaints is tempered by an inVoiun-
tary humor that is at least divertlns-
Perhaps a dozen mothers Of boys IN
my class imagine that 1 have taken
their youngsters to raise Not few
OF them have the idea that a teacher
should devote her almost exclusive at
tention to their young ones.
Willie don't seem TO be learnin !
nOthin' one of them mournfuny COM
planned to me the other day. My little
Lizzie, that's d year younger WINE
knows fractures twict as well as Willie
she can almost do em on her nngers-'
Well said to her William as
9uredly has every opportunity to learn
fractions. But his application is not
what Ii should be-
No. miss she retorted. the hull
long an short of it is this: Winie's
thick. He takes after his paw. His
paws the thickest man 1 ever see Wen
Il comes to figurin' an things like EN-
] Wisht you'd make him take his lunch
TO school with him an you could give
him some extry teachin' durin' the noon
hour, couldn't Sou2'
She looked quite put out when 1 told
her that my health required that 1 leave
The school room DURING the noon hour
Tor breath Of fresh air and hot
Luncheon.
The mother Of a boy who is always
tardy-he rarely creeps along to school
until the morning session is about half
an hour old-came to me the other day
with long face, after she had been re-
ness.
7 can't git Jim out O. bed o. morn
IN s. she told me dismally. Can't you
do somethin with him o
James is case in which a little
physical suasion might prove effectual,'
4 told her.
Please say that ag'in miss she re-
piled. and 1 said it again in d little
more matter-of-fact way
Oh. no nobody can't sway Jim,'
She said hurriedly. 'Jim's too pig
headed. An ! amt strong enough to
whale him. an his paws a fireman on
rhe railroad an away most o. tn time
Well, said I. perhaps trihe inn
patiently I am sure 1 don't know
what can do in James case. 1t
would be both impracticable and incOn-
Venient for me to call at your home at
1850 o'clock every morning and pull Jim
out of bed wouldn't it?'
She by no means repudiated this
suggestion, and it actually seemed plain
from her manner that she rather
thought that it would be a pretty good
scheme for me to devote an hour or so
each morning to the job of separating
her offspring from his bed.
THE views of some of the mothers
as to the teachers duty in correcting
denotes of their young ones used to be
entertaining for their novelty. but they
are not any more One of the cleVerest
lads in my class is an extremely tough
little reprobate whose fingers had been
discolored with cigarette smoke ever
since I had him, and whose clothing al
ways eXhales an aroma of stale cigar
cites. His mother came rushing to me
in a great state of excitement a few
afternoons ago.
My Johnny smokes cigarettes! she
exclaimed breathlessly.
I know that I replied. He has
been smoking cigarettes for a long time
] never saw him smoking them, but his
fingers are always stained with thems
and he always smells of them.
But never knowed a word of it till
yistiddy!' painted the boys mother ex-
citedly. Wy didn't we never tell me2
Wy didn't ye hammer tn daylights out
O. him.?
-" Because said I. corporal punish
ment is forbidden in the public schools
and, moreover. a boy should be punish-
ed at home for such a practice.
" I amt got no time T. beat him. she
replied, I'm too busy takin' care o. tn
others. I'd like t. know what schools is
fur if they amt fur making young ones
behave themselves
And the very mothers of boys who
are the most willing to shift to the
teachers the responsibility Of 'poundin'
the daylights out of their refractory
sons are the HlSL ones 10 make q TERRI
nc Gproar when they are falsely in
formed by prevaricating young ones
that their children have been punished
at school. Not long go the mother of
one of my igibles-she had fire.
quentiy upbraided me severely for not
Chastising the yOungster at school
brought the boy to me just before the
beginning Of the morning session She
was in a great state of excitement and
wrath. The boy had a black eye and he
was whining and whimpering when the
mother dragged him before me.
What dye mean by hittin' my boy
in tn eve with a slate? was the amaz-
ing question that the boys mother put
TO me. and her attitude was so menac-
ing that I was really afraid that she
was going to pull my hair and scratch
my face was so overwhelmed with as
constituent that I couldn't speak for a
moment, but boy in one of the seats
near the door, who was listening to the
conversation got up and came over to
me and asked permission to speak.
nodded permission and the boy said:
saw tbat kid get the black eye
yesterday. He sviped an apple off q
fruit peddler's cart and the dago threw
an apple at MIN and caught him on the
eye with it,
Some OF the fathers of pupils are
funny. too. They have queer ideas as
to the most effective methods Of in
creasing the sum of knowledge Of theil
sons. One of my pupils for two terms
past has been a big. overgrown boy
who is much older than any others Of
the boys in my class. He's "a we'll
hammered boy. but he simply is no
bright. The boys father, who is :
inarketman. called upon me the other
afternoon
What's tn matter wit that mutt
anyway. mum@ he inquired of me
i told him that I thought his sor
was backward because of a rathei
slow development, which rendered i
difficult for him to learn rapidly.
Well. / dunno what it is said tn
marketman. but I sure have tried t
discipline that lummox. Wy only last
week ] kicked him all the ways down
stairs, because Wen I asst him t. tot
up a column O. 'figgers fer me it TUX
him bout four hours G. do it. KICKED
him all the way downstairs, 1 did ant
yet it didn't seem t do him no goodt'
.Of course I didn't presunne TO cues