The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-09-13
B|C PROBLEMS IF
 THE SCHOOL ROOM Mrs. Aird Presents Interesting
 Paper on Subj4ct DUTIES OF THE PARENT How a Teacher Yearns for Parents Sympathy and How Improvement
 Associations Assist in soIv-
 ing the Problem.
DUTIES OF THE PARENT

that read by Mrs. Maude Mckenzie Aird of the Culture club and secretary of the Barker School Improvement association. Mrs Ards paper was read Saturday morning, and described many of the teachers and parents problems in a help full and sympathetic way. Her paper was as follows:
 Fellow Teachers and Fellow Mothers df
 such are present.:
 | I feel honored, and it gives me the | greatest pleasure to speak to you on this subject, which I consider of great irn- portance, and in which I am deeply in 1 terested, having been identified with the movement in our city for the past four years.
 , You will indulge me, I am sure, in spea king from the viewpoint of teacher and also from the viewpoint of a mother, being an ex-teacher and the mother of l four children-children today. citizens of | tomorrow.
 Some years have elapsed since I was a member of this honored profession, yet how well I remember how l longed for that perfect understanding and sym- pathy between parent and teacher.
 Isn't it remarkable the changes which often take place in the few paces be- teween school and home? Often the small est matter assumes the proportion of momentous question. In the full room or, say, 50 average daily attendance, there is small opportunity for individual at tention and the teacher, however capable, fnr1fi at his or her wits end to place certain pupils. Sometimes one brief visit to a home will suffice to solve the inigma of an unresponsive child; again any num- Der of visits will not serve to break down the wall of partition between the teach CT and the devotee at the shrine Of the good old times when the blue back speller and all day session. with the dinner hour and two recess periods, were in vogue. Perhaps in the matter of i'll prepared lessons or upon point of discipline John or Margaret is kept in after school hours, ill-humoredly the matter is discussed at home, John or Margaret affirming they were in no wise to blame, but that the teacher had a spite at them, and so on, note following this kept in' state: Preacher, you will please send my child home as soon as school is out. Mrs. Brown" No explanation, no kind re- quest, no respectful subscription. You discover John or Margaret burning with the importance of the delivery of this note as soon as you are seated at your desk, and greet them for the day. the childish countenance exultant and boding trouble for you.
 Do all teachers dread these notes as l did? I believe most do, consisting as they do often of the merest scratch on leaf torn from an old account book, and from this to a full page of legal cap, yea, verify the mother still lives who wrote me the legal cap notes, and so do I, and We are the best of friend, and perhaps you won der why. Well, because I never read theml
 Then comes the insufferable annoyance of children kept out on f,imsy pretexts, clearly a lack of parental interest. clearly a failure to understand the necessity of early training in points of punctuality and faithful adherence to this paramount duty.
 | Then the problem of the personal ap- pearance of our pupils is almost unget- able Of course, if John or Margaret has reached that halcyon state with all the world loving the lovers our sugges1 tions along this line are not necessary, but consider the pupils from to IA enignas to themselves and everybody l else.
 Pardon this personal reference, a pupil | of mine, boy of 10 or perhaps Il, with l to the world, T am from those bonnie banks and braes,' a Scot, who presented 1 himself day after day in the very dirtiest clothing The little lectures on hygiene and personal cleanliness fell on apparent | ly deaf ears, only the face with its fine Scotch coloring and the brow with its l heavy Scotch locks soon shone in a shin- ing soap-scrubbed condition, but the | clothing-how could I bear to have him come near mel The little lectures contin- ued and my Scotch lad disappeared one, two. three days: then nice little note informing his parents and asking an ex- | planation. Never shall I forget at tea, | time of that day a ring announced 6 | gentleman, and he was gentleman. | though black with the smut of his daily toll hundreds of feet In the earth. trem- bIed a little before this Scotch giant, for so he seemed to me. His very presence | proclaimed him a conqueror of the hard est of manual labor, and of old nature herself. for he came just as he laid down | his tools.
 My note had been handed him. and here he was. Should I tell him? His state ment "I want my boy to learn. I want him to have & better chance than I did, but I go to work at o'clock You see what time I return, and you see his own mother is dead.' An, all was clear to me. but should tell him?,
 That dry sob in his voice told me about Janet. the love of his youth. asleep on wonder hill, 1t explained the delicately ohiselled features and the clustering locks of my Scotch lad and the torture
 my lectures had been to his proud lit tie soul when there was no Janet to make him any clothes or to keep what he had clean He continued: 'T came to tell you that would give him a
 sound thrashing and send him back
 and if he needs anything in the way of
 books or pencils let me know" Then
 had to tell him: MT. Blank, please
 do not thrash William; couldn't bear
 to have you. All he needs is clean. fresh
 clothing like the other children" Will liam got the clothes and I got VII,
 liam.
 teacher must be all things to al
 children that they may by all means
 teach some and 1t is just at this juno
 ture that the School Improvement as
 sociation furnishes the means.
 How delighted our children are to have
 us go to school for just a little visit 20 times a month they go and canno
 we go once or twice as we do at Bar
 lSer school? It should be regarded as al | | ipnDeratfye duty for opca 0et fha cnp