Fergus County Democrat., 1906-05-29

over substantial rights. Men do not
yield ready obedience to the law be-
cause it is the law and because of a
patriotic devotion to the public well
fare. They baitually evade the pay
ment of taxes, jury service and other
irksome public duties, so far as they
are able, forgetting that the highest
form of patriotism is manifested in
everyday life. by Jealous discharge
| of these duties. Our young people
'evade the farm and the workshop,
and crowd into the cities hoping thus
to grow to wealth and influence by
speculation or other speedy methods,
rather than by the slow but sure
means of frugal industry. There, dis
| appointed by the sharpness of COM
petition and the smallness of returns
from honest efforts. they drift into
bad ways and go to swell the criminal
classes. Attachment to the old home
stead and the old-time family reunion
has almost become a tradition, and the
homely teachings of the decalogue, re-
quiring reverence for parental author
ity, is behind the time.
schools. save a few devoted to very
young children or exclusively to girls,
such, for instance, as a few parish
| schools conducted under the auspices
| of some church and those conducted
by sisters of charity. The state has
almost exclusive charge Of our educa-
tional work. Are not the unsatisfac-
! tory results of which complaint is fire.
| n11Qnf1V heard 611o tn f,yn 10 al
| feet in the school room work and the
methods employed? Would not it be
far better to abridge the curricula
raise the standard Of the teacher, and
| require the prescribed course to be
| thoroughly and completely mastered?
AS we now have it, teachers are Of
| ten employed not because of the ac-
complishments they possess, but be-
cause Of their "pulr' with the board Of
directors. In more than one instance
have l seen an election for members
of the board turn upon the question
whether a particular teacher, or prin-
cipal, should be discharged. The COM
pensation paid in many cases is not
more than can be obtained by a good
cook or farm hand. Those whom we
may not gladly welcome into our fam
|
sons to teach our children: and vet
| this important duty is often entrusted
to strangers about whose private lives
and habits we know nothing These
cases are not altogether as exceptional
as they might at first impression seem.
Many parents never visit the school,
and III many instances have not even
a speaking acquaintance with the
! teachers.
| 1t is only skilled mechanic that
can produce good work in m tai, wood
or stone. How can any but teacher
experienced in the art develop by APP
proprate training the beautiful and
useful qualities Of mind and heart
Which make manly men and women
| ~ women? It is only such teachers
who can work out in the school the
ultimate design of tha system.-that
is the production of men and women
fit fer the duties of enlightened citi-
zenship. 1t is only these that can train
young men to be honest. and young
women to be virtuous: who can lead
them to acquire such habits of thought
and action and entertain such aspira- :
| tions and purposes that they will be
a source of safety to them amid the
more to make a teacher than the abil-
ity to pass the examina ton with cred
| it. There must be qualities of mind
and heart, and character to impress
the young mind. and acquaintance
with the avenues leading to the in
ner being. Ability to enter into and
| sympathize with weaknesses and
short comings as well as the budding
hopes and aspirations of each pupil
is indispensable. Yet, i'm spite of the
supreme Importance of these qualifi-
cations, it is not infrequently the case
that we find employed teachers who
are not only destitute of them, but
even of thorough acquaintance with
the elementary branches which they
are hired to teach.
1t is an open question also, whether
we should not, except in the primary
grades, discard co-education altogeth-
er. There has been much discussion of
this subject in recent years, and the
opinion seems to be gaining ground
that we shall sooner or later be COM
PEELED to recognize the stubborn fact
that women and men differ as much
in their habits of thought and aspira-
tions as they do in their physical
frame, and reform our schools upon
common sense principles. 1t is a fact
that the classes going out of our high
schools from year to year are COM
nocod almost onfiro1v Of oir IT &c