Durango semi-weekly herald., 1905-11-27


or and father. older brothers and sis
ters md him very much In the way.
He Is an annoying, troublesome Great.
nre. He makes too much noise about
the house. he slams doors: he sets his
Feet down as II they were chunks OF
lead he does n thousand and one pet.
ty things. which really do not amount
to very much, for which he is scoIded
and his ears are boxed" Words of
abuse. which seer his very soul In
moments when he feels them most
heavily. are heaped upon him. As n
result he finds the barn and the street
more congenial than is his home. He
is thus deprived OF the wholesome
companionship which ought to be
found In every well regulated home.
So he comes under those influences
which tend to blight all his future life
There comes n time-a critical time
In the life of every normal boy
when he wants to cut loose from his
mothers apron strings. He thinks
himself man, and feels that no
woman. not even his own mother, has
u right TO boss him. He initiates men:
he wants to use tobacco and to swear
and the like. It Is Just at this point
that the wise father steps In and
seeks, by wise counsel and uplifting
comradeship. to correct the false at.
titude OF the boy and to continue
those influences for good that the
mother up 10 this time has been most
prominent in promoting. Snow me
man who, as boy. had his father
rs companion a part of each day
during his boyhood, and, II that father
be an honest, upright man. 1 will show
YOU man whose life is not clonded
by pernicious habits.
The boy fares no better at school
than he does at home The curricula
OF our public schools are adapted
more to the life OF the girl than to the
life OF the boy. Slowly school author.
tiles are beginning to realize this, and
Vet more slowly are they making
changes to meet his needs more fully.
Another thing: 1t is a shame. and |
say this advisedly. that up to IA years
OF age | should say so or 90 per cent
OF our boys do not know what Il is
TO have "A man teacher. This Ia not
urade against women teachers. On
the contrary | am thoroughly convinc.
ed that women are the natural teach. |
ers and the beneficent influence of
womanly woman upon the life of
boy can not he oyerestimated, but
there is time when the influence OF |
a strong man. In sympathy with boy
HE, would be far greater. A teacher
under present conditions can not come
into that personal touch with each pu |
Pill which is necessary to influence the |
moral nature of the child. Until con
ditions are changed and the efficiency
of the teaching force greatly improved
we may not expect much better re |
suits from our public schools.
hesitate to criticise the church.
because | do not feel that | can do
so intelligently, yet am sure tnat the
influence from this quarter is not any.
thing like what 1t should be. won.
der If there are very many ministers
of the gospel who have an intimate
acquaintance with even rs boys-I
mean such an acquaintance that
would make 1t possible to have a
quiet, heart TO heart talk with tnem.
For some reason or other the church
alienates the boys from 1t. | leave
1t TO the church to discover the reason
and apply a remedy.
When home, school and church do |
for the boy what should be done and |
can be done for him we win cease to |
have cause to worry about his future |
life as q man.
EMORY e. SMILEY.