Bisbee daily review., 1903-02-17
ESSAY READ BY MRS. A. M. DYER BEFORE WOmAN'S CLUB OF
 BISBEE.


 The first public school in Bisbee, was held in a building that stood Op- posite the present post office What has become of the little feet that passed over that primitive threshold We do not know but at any rate wei may be sure that they have walked little more surely for the instrue ton given in that hUmb @ place. After wards the school was moved up Tomb stone canyon, just where I have not been able 10 learn Then a one roomed building was put up by the company in the present site of the cen tral building. where a constant prOces- sion of teachers and pupils have been passing ever since. This building has been added to from time to time but it has now reached the limit for want of ground. In the first place the Con per Queen company gave to the school the ground on which it stands and much oi that now occupied by the surrounding houses, but thinking tha the grounds were much larger than ever would be required for play ground people were allowed to build on what was really the school prop erty. It is to be regretted for in the present condition of the schools the girls have no play ground but the street, and the less girls are in the street the better. The present site was objected 10 at first because it was so far out of town. am told that al first there were no buildings anywhere near it For many years the company took entire charge of the school, put up and added to the building and in the person of MT. Louis Wiuliams ran the whole school. and in most eff cient manner. As far as my Judgment and observation goes there never has been and is not better school in the territory. The management of this school has been particularly distin- guished for its disinterested common sense. and for the inauguration of this pleasing spirit thanks are due to MT. Louis Williams and also for the kindly interest he took in every teacher and
 
 T came here three and a half years ago the last fourVrOoms had just been added to the central building. though two were not occupied that year. One of the trustees remarked, Well we are through building now. This will be large enough for anything Bisbee will ever grow to" We all know bet ter now No one ventures to give a certain estimate of the size to which Bisbee may attain and with the in. crease in size how the children will flock into the schools claiming the right of every American child to be educated that he may make a good fight for himself in life and the na- ton looks to us, too, to see that the coming American shall be so trained
 that he shall be a good citizen. In
 that lies the hope of the future of our
 country. It is much that these chill dren are brought into close contact flor so many hours with educated re fined and honorable men and women and for those of foreign parentage how much it. means. to them to be associated with teachers who con stantly give out American ideas. Their little minds gTadua .ly lose the Ital- ian. Spanish or even English twist and they become in two if not in one generation Americans. It is said that it takes two generations to become a gentleman and equally true is it that 1t takes that long to turn from one nationality to another. Some think Americans are made so by birth, or by naturalization, or by public sentiment or by the press or by various other agencies but the truth of the matter is the great, humble. faithful army of public school teachers are the real makers of Americans. h the public schools the child IS taught not only book know edge but to love his coun- try and venerate his flag as he is not taught it anywhere else He salutes his flag and sings his national airs with ferYor absorbing the spirit though he may be little confused in his early years as to the exact words ana OlLGaL sthSos Oi n l-S P4lSAFLb D pride and is sure what kind of tea ''Iibertee" is, and is quite clear as to whether. the Star Spangled Banner gets weighed or yet wades" but the spirit is all right and in time he will know that it yet waves, and will will ingly lay down his life that it may continue to wave. But nothing in this world is so good that it may not be better The schools in Arizona have been much hampred by the want of money and this in conjunction with one other deplorable fact has been the cause of the schools being slow to adopt anything new that required money. The deplorable fact is that the old times, principally conspicuous in Bisbee by his absence but very plentiful in some parts of the territory