Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-08-08
A WOMAN ON LEGISLATORS.
Schools Ought to Go Ahead Of FIRE.

SchooiS ought to 20 Ahead OF Fire
works.
The doings Of eur statesmen. III Albany
are not at an times interesting To the
/ humble citizen as they should be. but in
4 your paper two articles have made me
i wax indignant The Governor signed an
| appropriation of 100000 for good roads.
but vetoed bill appropriating $4,000 for
a state health school, although the latter
he states is "a eommendable project"
Now, grant that good roads are heces-
| sary. why couldn't the paltry $4,000 have
been deducted from the sl0.ooO0oO? Ny
simple mind cannot grasp this discrlmina-
ton, for if l had loaf Of bread and my
i neighbor none | would deem it Just and
! proper to give her half of mine
/ | am not a suffragette as she is known
| having always been too busy with home
duties which would have prevented my
attending meetings and advocating the
| cause" but like good citizen 1 always
am on the lookout for the children and
| their cause. and owing to the fact that
the children of today are the citizens Of
the next generation, they and their cause
should be first and second, and / fear it
viii not be until women are admitted to
4
| II / We're elected To represent a com
munity of citizens l would fight tooth and
nail for schools and health schools. and
| I would see that every child in the COM
| munity l represented had seat for a
whole school day. And I'd fight for more
| teachers and smaller classes; and then
perhaps when a child was graduated from
| grammar school he or she would be able
4 xtFgft.
spell ordinary words, as they are not now
| able to do.
l have many children among my friends
| and talk often to strange ones IN the
parks or streets, and question them re-
garding their school work and general
matters, and it is astonishing the lack Of
| knowledge they possess and how incom-
petent they are to express themselves
They all seem ahke-no Individuality
| received the other day a letter from
high school girl, ana she wrote of the
| company of soldiers having been mus
tard out
Please, l am not rapping at the children
nor the teachers, but at the whole school
system and the people who are RESPONSE
BILE and who, if it were a question of
spending the last $4,000 on fireworks or
education, would vote for fireworks every
time.
My own children I don't send to school,
and not being in position to send them
to private school. l educate them 1T
home, as | fear they might deprive some
children of seats that could not get their
learning at home; but l frequently have
visited classes. and nay sympathy was
always with the children and teacher
One class l visited was part time after
noon session. The children We're around g.
to years of age and tired out. Teacher
explained that ii was very hard TO get
them to concentrate their minds on les
sons. as they had played hard all morn
ing, and none of the mothers thought of
giving them a nap before school-and this
was ON a warm spring day.
Today being the time of specialization,
We should begin with thee hildren, Let
us have lots of schools and teachers and
small classes Let the children discuss
their work with each other in the class
and express their opinions This should
be done from the beginning of school, and
the interest should be aroused so they
won't want 10 run away from school
a child attending school from to IA
should have an education good and broad
enough for everyday life, and without
home work After school the children
should play and learn household duties.
but mothers tell me their children have
so much home work the children have no
time for helping them. and a teacher told
me she had to rush the children through,
there were so many waiting TO get in her
class but she would much prefer keep
ing them longer. AS it is, the poor
youngsters don't understand what they
are studying and often wonder what it's
all about, and before their wonder has
ceased they are put on to something else
all ground through the same mill.
Politics may not be greatly improved
with the advent of woman to suffrage,
but Pm willing to wager my best bib
and tucker that when she is admitted
there will be a radical change in the
schools 10 years thereafter, and if there's
any loose change lying about in the
state treasury and a vote is taken wheth-
er to spend the $1,000 on fireworks or
education our stateswomen at Albany
will see that every cent is blown up for
educational Correspondent n. Y. Press.