The Dickinson press., 1909-04-03

SATURDAY APRIL 5 1909
From the time the tad pole appear,
in the sprina until the cricket has played
his last serenade In the fall. there has
been with US q teemine world Of animal
life interesting and fascinating to the
child. Teach the children a love fos
animal life and encourage this natural
sympathy. not to the point of fantacism
where they object to a legitimate use
of animals. but teach them the truth
in life. The scope Of their little horizon
will widen and the world will look
beautiful and good to them. The moral
effect Of such teaching is tenfold far
more reaching than to tell the child
Dramatically to be good and talk about
goodness in the abstract A nation can
not rise higher than the ideals of her
people. It is difficult for a grade to
rise higher than the ideas and ideals of
ts teacher. ~ "a
Self improvement is necessary from
the stand point Of being up-to-date.
Civilization il forging ahead by leaps
and bounds. This activity is centerine
more and more in commercialism and
unless the schools. the churches and
the womans' clubs keep abreast with
the times to redeem the better qualities
in man. this Unsuitable greed for wealth
will ruin all.
The up-to-date teacher of today will
be a back number tomorrow unless she
studies and familiarlzes herself with
the details of her profession. Some of
the methods in teaching may be mere
fads but a teacher must know those fads
in order to counterfeit them if she does
not believe in them. Teachers, I plead
with you to spend all your waking hours
in determining the good and evil in
the public schools. Let us of one accord
eliminate evils and ~nonsensical fads and
retain the good. Then shall we be as
sured of a substantial progress in the
public schools for all time to come.
Self improvement prepares for emer-
gencies. The teacher works for every
body, of all desires, of all tastes. of all
creeds and of various ideals. She
must do impartial justice to good and
bad, friend and foe, alike. With fore
bodings of many unpleasant situations
which may happen professionally,
prepare yourselves for such EMERGENCIES.
Supplementary study during spare
moments for self improvement also
keeps teachers from getting into a rut.
Is it possible that the profession in the
world is narrow? We talk about medi-
cine as a profession. also the law and
the ministry but teaching is the profess
sion in the sense tina. it makes all the
others. A teachers field touches life
everywhere. The true teacher is the
leader of the world. Will you think, if
you please. the presidents IF these
United States, the senators, the COVER
nors, the supreme judges, of thirty or
forty years from now are today occupy
ing the smallest seats in our schools?
The social and political leaders to come.
the financiers of the future. the geniuses
of invention, the scholars, the American
citizen with all his ideals and ambit-
ions, are all among those little tots of
today, whom it is the teachers duty
and sacred privilege to develop. Isn't
it a wide f1eld2 y
This age is lacking in aesthetic tastes.
True scholarship is losing ground.
Religious culture is at a low ebb. Com
mercialism has manhood spellbound and
womanhood is held in its meshes. All
classes are insane over the desire for
wealth. History shows us that a one
sided development brings ruination.
The shoals on which other nations
have been wrecked lie ahead of US. Oul
only hope is in the public school and
the public school teacher. It is the
teachers duty to inspire those young
lives with the better things in life. II
is MI duty to lift this country into q
higher. plane, looking for material
effect 80 or 40 years from now.
Let us study necessarily and Labor
without ceasins for personal self i'm
provement to slorify u profession by
gradually lifting the masses into higher
and nobler thinking, to ideals of bette,
homes, better churches, better schools
and q better county.
AFTERNOON
A general discussion of'the new and
old school laws took up about half of the
afternoon. session. A large number
asked questions and those who could
answered them. 1t was the general
opinion that the North Dakota school
laws are very indefinite and need revis-
ing badly. Very little new school legis.
lation was made at the last session.
Walter c. Fait, principal of the lay