Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1910-06-14
SCHOOL CREDIT.
Should BE Given for the performance
of Home Duties.
q. R. Alderman.l


be a real helper to the home. How
can the school help the home? How
can it help the home establish habits
in the children of systematic perfor-
nance of home duties, so that they
will be efficient and joyful home
helpers? One way is for the school
to take into account home indus
trial work and honor It, 1t is my
conviction, based upon careful and
continuous observation, that the
school can greatly increase the inter
est the child will take in home indus
trial work by making it a subject Of
consideration at school A teacher
talked of sewing, and the girls sewed.
She talked of ironing, and they want
ed to learn to iron neatly. She talk
ed of working with tools, and both
girls and boys made bird-houses,
kites and-other things of interest. A
school garden was planned in city,
and one of the boys was employed
to plow the land. Seventy-five chill
dren were watching for him to come
with the team. At last he came driv-
ing around the corner. He could
manage a team. He drove into the
lot, and a hundred and fifty eyes
looked with admiration at the boy
who could unhitch from the sled and
hitch onto the plow, and then as he
man-fashion" over one shoul-
der and under one arm-drove the
big team around the field, all could
feel the childrens admiration for the
boy who could do something worth
while. have seen a girl who could
make good bread or set a table nice
ly, get the real admiration of her
school mates.
The school can help make better
home builders. 1t can help by in
dustrial work done in the school,
but as that is already receiving con-
sideration by the press and in few
schools, 1 shall not in this short arti-
Gle treat of it,
The plan l have in mind will cost
no money, will take but little school
time and can be put into operation
in every part of the state at once. 1t
will create a demand for expert in
struction later on. 1t is to give school
credit for industrial work done at
home. The mother and father are
to be recognized as teachers, and the
school teacher put into the position
of one who cares about the habits
and tastes of the whole child. Then
the teacher and the praents will have
much in common. Every home has
the equipment for industrial work
and has someone who uses it with
more or less skill.
The school has made so many de-
mands on the home that the parents
have in some cases felt that all the
time of the child must be given to the
school. But an important thing
that the child needs along with
school work is established habits of
home making. What one does de-
pends as much upon habit as upon |
knowledge. The criticism that is
most often made upon industrial
work at school is that it is so differ
ent from the work done at the home
that 1t does not put the child into that
sympathetic relation with the home,
which after all is for him and the
home the most important thing in
the world. Juvenile Institutions find
that they must be careful not to in
stitutionalize the child to the extent
that he may not be contented in a
real home. In my opinion iG will be
a great thing for the child to want
to help his parents do the task that
needs to be done and want to do it
in the best possible way. The rea-
son that so many country boys are
now the leading men of affairs is be-
cause early in life they had the re-
sponsibility of home thrust upon
them, I am sure that the motto "Ev-
erybody Helps" is good one.
But one says, "How can 1t be
brought about How can the school |
give credit for Industrial work done
at home?" This may be accomplish
ed by printed slips asking the home
to take account of the work that the
child does at home under the in
struction of the home. and explain
ing that credit viii be given this /
work on the school record, These
slips must be prepared for children !
according to age so that the child
will not be asked to do too much. for
Il must be clearly recognized that
children must have time for real play.
The required tasks must not be too
arduous, yet they must be real tasks.
They must not be tasks that viii put
extra work on parents except in the
matter of instruction and observa-
tion They may well call for the
care of animals, and should include
garden work for both boys and girls.
Dradif I'm eahOOI for hama induetrial