The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1903-03-05
TO THE PATRONS OF BENTON
HIGH SCHOOL.

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come acquainted with you and
the work at this place, I think
few words to you will enable us to
cooperate better in the work and
more nearly attain that end for
which the school is founded,
namely, the education of your
children, the training of their
minds in those things that will be
of use to them in future life.
In many respects you are to be
commended: for the interest you
show in the success of the school,
for the finances raised by your
selves in order to supplement the
public funds and the length of
term you are desiring to MAIN
tain. However, since perfection
belongeth not to man and upon
every human enterprise there can
be made Improvement, l wish to
suggest to you one thing which |
feel will greatly promote the good
of the school,. That one thing is
in. regard to the irregular attend
ance of students at school. No
child can make a success in
studies and be absent from school,
every other day or every other
week, or miss any large per cent.
of the lessons in his classes. To
be a good student, know thorough
ly subject, develop the mind and
strengthen it for use in the future,
the child must attend school every
day, not miss one lesson in the
subject. So well known is this
principle among the best educa-
tors, that in College and Univer-
sity work, if a student miss as
many as one lesson out of about
ten he must do a great deal of
extra work, or pursue the same
course of study through the next
term.
In order for the child to grow
physically, in order for the body
to be supported and properly de-
veloped, we all know how vastly
important it is that it have its food
atregular intervals. No one would
think of having a child eating for
a whole day or week. This same
principle applies to the training
and proper development of the
child's mind. Whenever the child
is absent from school day or a
week its mind is, to a greater or
less extent weakened thereby
The oftener this is repeated the
more will that mind be enfeebled.
While the child is growing into
the man or woman the mind is
plastic, the child is teachable.-
But if you wait until that man.
hood or womanhood has been
reached the mind is no longer
plastic. To attempt to make an
educated person out of a man af-
ter he is grown will only result in
failure. Many a young man is
now looking back over his past
life and regretting that he did not
spend that time in the school
room, did not educate himself
while he had opportunity and his
mind would permit it. So that
now is the time for the boys and
girls to be educated. While they
are yet young and the mind plas-
tic is the time for their minds to be
properly developed. The children
are not now able to see the need
of this close application to study.
They do not fully realize the fact
that in a few years they will not
be capable of the education which
they now are. We, as teachers,
are striving to make them aware
of this fact and helping them to
obtain that education which will
be SO greatly needed in future
life. But in order for US to be
successful in our attempts the
students must come to the school.
They must be regular in attend
ance. But they, not seeing the