The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1910-09-21
CIRCUS DAY BEATS SCHOOL
WHY SUPERINTENDENT ORDER
ED HOLIDAYS FOR SHOWS.
Says The Teachers Learn, Too

Menagerie Good For Children and
Trained Animals For the Instruc-
tors, Declares Life Long Educa-
tor. Every Child Should See a
Circus Once in a While.
SPRINGFIELD, Mono session
of the public schools of Springfield
after 10 o'clock a. m. on circus
day."
This edict from the office of Prof.
Jonathan Fairbanks, lifelong educa-
tor and for So years superintendent
Of the public schools of Springfield,
brought JOY to the hearts of 5000
school children, for it meant that at
10 o'clock on the morning of two
circus days, last Thursday and next
Wednesday, the city schools closed
IC@ nc day.
= cICus is something every child
cVgat to see" Supt. Fairbanks said,
- planning his orders for it is a
irritable education in itself You
can see for a small sum attractions
that have been grouped together at
a cost of hundreds of thousands of
collars, and which would cost large
sums to see outside a circus.
School children read Of lions and
see pictures of lions, but they don't
really know what lion is until they
see one. Merely seeing the animals
in the open cages of d circus parade
10 of To oh mt
see many animals with which they
are not familiar, and get a real
knowledge of animals of which they
have read but which they have lit
tI6 opportunity to see. In the me-
nageTie there are animals from all
parts OF the world, and the child
who goes to the circus learns more
about animals in one day than he
can learn from the teacher of a ma
ture study class in a year.
Lessons For Teachers Also.
The trained animals of circus
are an object lesson that cannot be
beaten anywhere, and for this rea-
son every school teacher. ought to
attend the circus. The perform
ances of the animals prove what con-
scientious and continued training
will do. If the school teacher put
as much effort in the training of
children as the circus trainer gives
to the training of performing pigs
the Improvement shown by the
school children of today would be
remarkable
When one considers what train
ing will do for a pig it is not diff
| cult to see how much good the prop
er training will do a school child,
for even the dullest school child is
far brighter than the pig.
The influence of the circus is
broadening for the reason that it
! shows so many things which seem
impossible to the average person,
but which are really done with APP
parent ease. The child who attends
a circus gets an entirely new idea
OF expert Craftsmanship and of skill
in the performance of physical feats,
and for this reason 1 say the circus
has an educational value.
Little Accomplished in School.
Then school room work is done
IN the most perfunctory way when
there is a circus in town. The minds
of the children-not nearly all of
the children are there-are not upon
the work, and the teacher can put
no life in his or her tasks. The
teacher knows all the work will have
20 be gone over the following day.
Il am certainly going to attend
the circus" Prof Fairbanks con-
cluded, and his eyes twinkled mer-
rily when he added, "and am not
going for the purpose of taking my
children, either"
Prof. Fairbanks is almost so
years old, and he has been elected
superintendent of the public schools
here almost without opposition &c
times.