The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1907-03-15
To rustees
(BY THE EDITOR)

BY THE EDIToR
Fl You are member of the school board
! The matter of why or for what purpose
is worthy of consideration, and no doub
was considered before you we're noml
! mated for the place.
To give you the benefit of every doub
we will say that you are one of The
representative men of the district, {
man of intelligence and good judg
ment in most things, willing to serve
) the community at intervals without pay
just for the good of the school, and that
you do your duty promptly and we'll
You are a man of rather broad liberal
ideas, free from prejudice and petty no
tions and one who will listen to com
plants that come to you about school
matters, take the first opportunity to
investigate the other side of the matter
and administer suitable reproof or
rebuke to the guilty person. You do
not express yourself about such a mat.
ter until you have learned all you can
about it, and you bring the incident to
a close in such way that it will not be
pleasant to have it happen again with
the same person at fault. You are care
full about the selection of teacher, you
let the teac her know that considerable
is expected of him, and you proceed to
fix up the school house so that it will be
comfortable and neat and clean when
the time arrives for school to open.
You visit the school and satisfy your
self that the teacher is competent and
industrious, and if children are absent
who ought to be in school you go
straight to the parents and investigate
without fear of being told to go home.
When some of the young people want
to have dance at the school house,
you consider whether such amusements
cannot be held elsewhere, and remind
them that damage to school furniture
and interruption of school work may
result from the dance, but if there seems
to be pressing need for the amusement
and there is no other place to have it,
you confer with the teacher and arrange
to have all the work of removing the
desks and other furniture done by those
who a;e giving the dance, but under
your immedi.e direction, and any lack
of regard for your orders in any particu-
lar is the signal for parley which may
be followed immeditely by a LOCKE out.
To cover the possibility of you having
to put the furniture back yourself you
had them deposit forfeit of S5, but
when the dance is over half of this is re-
turned to them, the other half being
kept to pay man to take your place IN
the field the next day while you sleep,
it being your custom to sleep the day
after you stay up all night to see that
the school property was protected, that
no drinking was carried on about the
place and that nothing rough or dis.
orderly occurred at the party. If the
teacher proves to be incompetent or
incident or unable to govern, you do
not hesitate to tell him plainly that he
must reform or resign, and you have the.
C. urage to male good. If large pupil
is giving the teacher trouble, you do
not hesitate to bar HIM out of the
school when it becomes plain that
he will not conform to the rules. You
visit the school at intervals, and confer
with teacher and pupils about the needs
of the school and the decorations they
have put up; even going SO far as to
draw on the treasury for some six or
seven dollars each year for frames for
pictures they have secured, for gay-col-
ored paper which they agree to make
into certain artistic designs to beautify
the school room and to furnish busy
work for leisure moments. You take
an interest in these things, and impress
them with the idea that you would like
to do more for them il you could, and
that you will be back again to take &C
count of their further work. Altogether