The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-08
MORAL TRAINING
IN HIGH.

"a wa III, nlsn school, recently sent
letter to the parents and guardians OF
the pupils of that institution that SO
Impressed Itself upon State Superin-
tendent Blair that he has had it print
ed In leaflet form and is sending it
broadcast over our neighboring state.
All OF the letter is in admirable spirit
and much of it is of general applica-
ton.
In the first place the letter i'm
presses upon the parents that educa-
tlon in the high school is business.
AS the business man regulates his at
iairs so the pupil. with the aid of his
parents should regulate his business
ana make everything else to conform
70 the business of getting an educa-
ton A program is suggested for the
daily routine that includes not only
the school work but the leisure hours
and the study hours.
The remainder OF the letter Is de-
voted to ethics and morals. The writ
er explains that this is just as much
part of the education Of the boy and
girl as it is to study the text books,
Tor education without character Is
negative quotient He points out to
parents that the high school age is the
susceptible age for physical as we'll
as other reasons and that parents are
prone to think that there is no dan.
ger of their children doing wrong;
that their children could not possibly
be guilty Of some of the vices of 9th.
er children. and he calls attention to
the fact that neither wealth nor social
position is protection against wrong
doing.
After calling attention to the fact
that every drunkard, every degener-
ate. every fallen woman, every thief,
every murderer. was once an innocent
babe. looking and smiling into its
mothers face and unconscious of evil,
he proceeds to detail some of the
many things that are practiced which
lead to wrongdoing Among these
he points to absence from home in
the evenings, the pool rooms, the
bowling alleys and the public streets
unless an older person accompanies
them. High school dances and balls
come in for rebuke, as well as public
dances. Visits to moving picture
shows, vaudeville theatres and similar
places are permissible only when ac-
companied by responsible adults, who
should see to 1t that the particular ex-
| hibition is clean and free from sug-
gestiveness before children are per-
mitted to attend. Street loafing soon
gives boy a bad name, and "gad-
ding" the streets is absolutely fatal
to girls reputation.
| Parents are urged to learn who
their sons and daughters chums are
and see that they are proper persons.
Especially be sure that you know the
character of the boys that associate
with your daughter. Most girls Of the
high school age have no very keen
discrimination or correct taste in the
matter of boys. Every town of this
size has a lot Of would-be Sports
whose cheap swagger, pretended
worldly wisdom, and brass-washed
"sportiness" have a sort OF glamor
of attraction for girls. No girl is safe
in the company Of such half-baked
youths
The letter concludes with forcible
and well-founded objections to fra
ternities, sororities and exclusive SO
cial clubs. These have no place In 8
democratic public school. They pro
mote jealousy, faction, and snobbish
ness, and are cheap limitations of the
real thing" There is no element Of
good In them as far as the education
of the pupils is concerned, and the
evil they do far outweighs any goot
that could possibly come from them.