Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1910-09-08
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!. UNCLE TOMS LETTER.
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True I am an old fogy. and have
fogy ways, but then am human and
have a love of humanity that inspires
me to seek the best possible and in my
letters regarding children seek to
Mace the child where he belongs, or
ON equality with the most elegant and
refined of human beings. True he may
not be as cultured as some, but one
thing is certain. he is more plant
than older ones and can be more easily
moulded TO what be he ought and
should be than people of more mature
wears. further believe the barbarous
system of the ages should be abolished,
and the child dealt with as an intelli-
gent human being, and not as beast
that has to be coerced into submission.
/ take this position from actual ex-
perience, and not from trumpet up
theory Of my own. A child has his
likes and dislikes, and a child's feel
ings is are just as great as grown
person 5 and just as easily hurt as an
adults, and he feels it just as keenly,
and I'll tell you when one oftheir own
size and age hurts their feelings there
is going to be a racket. This Of it
self, ought to be sufficient to teach us
we ought to respect the feelings of a
child just as much as we do the feel
ings of grown folks
The main thing for a teacher to do
is to impress upon his students that he
does not want to wound or hurt them
at all, and if he does this by asking
them questi ons along he line l am
talking on, he'll soon find out they all
have high conception of their feel
ings, and it hurts them to be insulted,
ignored and mistreated as much as it
does you or l. When the child finds
out you are bent on respecting his
feelings, then he'll respect yours and
all you have to do is to tell him how
and what you do want. If we are to
mount up in the scale of civilization
we should lay aside our old brutal and
barbaric rule of government in the
school room know as well as /
know I am living man that my sug
gestions are feasible and practicable,
and will produce the best of results.
Honor the child and he will honor
you. Love the child and he will love
you. Away with barbarisrn in the
schoolroom; away with the switch and
standing up on the floor Fathers and
mothers, delegate to no man the au-
| thority to whip your child. Don't
allow him to be degraded that way.
If he must have licking do it your :
self, and don't make him gazing
stock while doing it. r. 't
Now, teachers, about one short lee
ture every Monday morning to your
students on what you owe to them and
they owe to you, will keep them good
all the week.
You teachers certainly know how to
be nice, genteel and polite to grown
folks, and you certainly know how to
respect their feelings and their honor.
If you do, then give the children the
benefit OF your knowledge and treat
them accordingly. Try it for week,
then two weeks and month, and YOU
| IL be convinced. Your Uncle Tom is
a progressive old fogy, and has some
ideas worth considering. Tn going to
write some more letters to my little
cbums later I've got quite a lot of
little sweethearts in the school rooms
l must encourage to be ladies, and
they'll be it see If they don't. Ne i
"- 5Ah 'iiA UNCLE TOM.
Tracy City, Tenn, Sept. 8, 1910.