The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1911-04-14

enrich rural life. with a community
once fired with the right kind Of en-
thusiasm, we have welcomed and en-
couraged local initiative. Some of the
best ideas that have helped rural
communities have in some sense been
spontaneous outbursts of popular
enthusiasm that became dynamic and
effective under the wise leadership
of some local teacher or citizen who
kindled in the neighborhood light
nobody before had dreamed could
shine so brightly in the rural dis
tricts. Such leadership has develop
ed interior decoration, school libra
ries, better teachers, better pay with
longer terms, consolidated schools,
lowered taxation, and, above all, made
the school more thoroughly the CEN
tre of intellectual and social life of
the community by wise cooperation OF
the farmer and his family with the
teacher.
The ultimate aim of the association
is TO reach the home of every pupil
that comes into the school. I chal-
lenge anybody to cite a community
anywhere in the State that supports
a progressive school and fails to show
advancement along all lines of COM
munity life. You can trace the de-
velopment of dozens of communities
throughout South Carolina by the
steady development of their local
schools, presided over by thorough
teachers who realized the vast oppor-
tunities they had for stamping upon
the lives of these communities lessons
that would grow into richer fruition
with the passing years.
Love For the Beautiful.
Ex-President Eliot of Harvard uni
versity uttered great truth when he
said: "The best place to inculcate the
love Of the beautiful is in the school
room. To the rising generation the
most effective lessons can be given,
and from the schools millions of chill
dren will carry the lessons to millions
of homes"
During the last two decades great
many farmers with children
to educate-have left their farms and
moved into the little towns that have
sprung up along the railroad lines.
Their prime motive for doing this was
indeed a worthy one-to put their
children in school,; but there is no
doubt that in many instances results
have not justified the wisdom of such
a course, for by it these parents were
taken away from the only business
for which both habit and training had
fitted them, and they became loafeTs.
While the children were indeed put
in school, still they were subjected to
harmful influences and temptations td
do wrong such as they had never
dreamed of and to resist which their
previous quiet lives in the country
had by no means prepared them
Thus, both parents and children found
that they purchased school privileges
at very dear cost, indeed. Then
too, the home community lost by such
migration-farms left to tenants
went down, values deprecated, and
those left in the country found ii
more difficult than ever to keep up
the neighborhood school. How much
better it would have been, and how
much cheaper, for all to have Joined
hands and worked for the upbuildine
of the home school-the one common
interest around which every white
citizen could and should rally, and
the greatest unifying influence any
rural community could have-to have
cultivated a proper pride in their
school, to have spent their declining
years peacefully at the old homestead
and to have educated their children
in the pure, healthful atmosphere Of
! the country! All this would have re.
suited if the improvement Of our ruTa.
school had received the attention its
importance demands. The best pe0-
pie of our country communities would
have remained on their farms and Led
happier, more peaceful les, the;l
farms would have improved instead
of going to waste, our country
churches would have kept pace with
these other improvements-society in
every phase would have felt the for
| ward impetus, land civilization would
have moved upward. But if this mi
grafton to towns and factories COL,
fhar could ave