The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1908-02-06
BY JENNIE SwAB

The following is another one of
those excellent papers written by a
Hand county school teacher, and
read before the teachers meeting
of Jan. IL:
AS we survey the thickly seated
benches Of our little school rooms,
we see before us the children of to-
day, the men of tomorrow, the i'm
mortals of eternity.
Dear teachers, can we afford to
let one single opportunity Of improv-
ing the minds of our pupils pass?
Are we sometimes aware of the fact
that the future of this nation rests
to a great extent in the hands of the
school teachers? Did we ever stop
for a moment to consider the oppor-
tunity presented to us for bettering
the future of our nation we would
do all in u power to improve the
minds and characters of the children
under u charge. Many a great
man owes his present success to an
inspiration received in the little red
school house."
The great men of tomorrow are
now in the public schools under our
charge. The future leaders of this
nation, the men that are going to
make things move are now attend
ing school in our little school rooms.
Perhaps we, day after day, are in
structing a future president. He
may be in your school room, he may
be in mine. Are you doing what
you can to inspire in him a love for
humanity; a desire to do and be only
the best; to live for those around
him and the good that he can do?
Of course we all know that only a
small per cent of the children will
ever become famous, yet all will be-
come men and women.
Are we doing what we can? Are
we improving every opportunity
that we have to make manly men and
wonanly women? Are they to leave
our school and go out in the world
to be, q help to society because of
high ideas made by them while I'M
der our charge or on the other hand
are they to leave school and go out
in the world to become a prey to
society because of our neglect. Here
in the school room is an opportunity
for the teacher to improve society.
Inspire in the children a love for
the better things of life. How can
a teacher do this in a better way
than inspiring in them a love for
good literature. And who has a
better opportunity of awakening in
the child IN interest in good litera-
ture than the teacher.
There r numerous ways of do
ing this thru the reading lessons and
also during opening exercises. This
also affords the teacher an excellent
opportunity for teaching morals
Read some good story. for opening
exercises. If necessary the teachers
may make some comment on it at
the close of the reading, but dear
teacher do not moralize on every
story you read for it is very disgust
ing to some children to have a SER
mon given at the close of every
story. Let them comment on the
story.
Many times, when | have finished
a story, some of my pupils speak up
with Teacher do you know what
I'd have done,if it had been me-?
Let the children tell what they would
have done. Allow them to criticise
the actions of the characters. They
will thus, though perhaps uncon-
sciously, be studying the characters
of people, and thus be building up
their own.
| will close with these words from
I. j. Conaty: "A man or woman,
with the personality of the true
teacher, has Gods mission, and Gods
blessing will accompany such a per-
son."