Los Angeles herald., 1907-12-17
TEACHERS
ARE PUPILS
AT INSTITUTE
SECTIONAL MEETINGS WILL
AID WORK
BUSY WEEK MAPPED OUT FOR
EDUCATORS
Many Topics Are to Be Discussed by
Employees of City and County
School bepart-
nents

While the children of Southern Cali
fornia are enjoying their annual Christ
mas vacation the teachers are not en-
joying that care-free privilege, but are
taking their annual week of schooling,
having changed places, for the nonce,
with their pupils.
The teachers institute of Los Angeles
city and Los Angeles county began ses-
sions yesterday, to continue over Satur-
day. The Southern California Teachers
association will begin its fifteenth annual
meeting tomorrow and close at the same
time as the institute.
The program shows an extremely busy
week for the educators. The city sessions
will unite at the Polytechnic auditorium
in the forenoons and will scatter TO the
allotted places in the afternoons. The
same plan will be followed by the country
sections uniting at Simpson auditorium
in the forenoons. At these sectional
meetings the different departments will
work out their own individual features
to the best advantage for the cause of
education.
At the morning session the Los Angeles
county teachers at Simpson auditorium
listened to addresses by Prof. George l..
Leslie on "School Efficiency and Health
Inspection of the Schools and Rev. Rob-
ert J. Burdette on Saving Wood" He
said in part:
I'm order to saw wood properly" he
said, 'the worker must have a yard
stick. No person will succeed in any
kind of business or profession unless he
is able to take measurements and knows
what he is about
do not try to saw all the easy sticks
first" he said, "and leave the others until
the sun is low, the ham rind nearly gone
and the yard stick worn at the ends. If
you do you will have the final reckoning
to make just the same
Health Discussed
j. B. MonluX, assistant superintendent
of city schools, made an address. His
subject was "The Health Problem in the
Schools" He said in part:
"It may be necessary to leave the in
itiative to the doctors and specialists,
but the final work and the final test of
the efficiency of the results secured will
be left to us to determine, and we will
assume the task gladly IT, as is no doubt
the case, we can aid largely in prevent
ing and greatly IN curing the physical
defects of childhood and youth.
practically, so far, we have been con-
tent to wait until the child has shown
some marked symptoms of weakness or
disease before any attention has been
paid to his condition. Parents and teach
mute appeal for mercy and for help.
The child is pale, weak and siclSly, but
the school requires his attention. If the
bodily strength is not up to par; if the
cheeks fade day by day; IL the shoulders
become more stopped, who is notified?
But if the school work lags behind notices
are forthwith sent to the parent that the
child is failing and cannot be promoted,
and thus the whip is laid on at both ends
of the line. What matter If his little
head does ache or his little body is racked
with pain? He will soon outgrow the
difficulty, then all will be well-perhaps.
Prevention Urged
"In China, am told, the physician
is employed to care for the health of the
family and his services are retained only
so long as each member remains well.
When sickness comes he is forthwith dis
missed This is but practical and
sensible recognition of the fact that pre-
vention is better than cure.
"It Is in the field of prevention that
the thoughtful. loving, well-informed
teacher is destined to show most worth.
But that there be no mistake made in
providing the loving teacher with the
requisite skill for the york. the time has