Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1911-12-15

PASFAASSSaj "hAiSt VI" SAS VIZ h"ua
those who we're themselves examples
Of clean-living, high-thinking man.
hood and womanhood found just as
ready and apt imitators, and their at
tempts to inculcate some Of the prin-
ciples of Righteousness and purity
were neve com plete failures.
The influence Of school work out
side and beyond the walls of the
school room Is directly as the influence
inside the school room. Every life
Within the school room today is to be
outside tomorrow, every tendency
and inclination developed Today is to
become Il habit and part Of character
tomorrow.
Judging from the products Of the
schools the following are some of the
points where the school is not making
itself felt In the right direction.
Respect for law,
Social responsibility,
Personal and social hygiene,
The real purpose Of education,
each q part OF all.
One needs only to look around in
any community to see numberless in
stances OF the absolute disregard for
authority on the part OF u young
people-open violation OF statutes, ut
ter lack of respect for The desires Of
home, school and conscience. In
many cases the home Is the first to be
blamed but toe often the school is not
doing what it might to correct this
default. When boys of twelve and
fourteen openly boast of what they
| will do if the school master dares to
try to punish m of them, l think
that master is, in part at least, re-
sponsible for the sever penalty these
boys must later endure for the same
defiance of the authority OF the state.
Opportunity for tee ching the reason
ableneSS, justice and absolute neces-
sity OF obedience to law, whether
civic, domestic, moral or physical are
innumerable in the daily work of the
teacher and the sooner we get him to
recognize them and make the best of
them the better for us all.
Selishness is the root of unhappi-
ness. II ours is the task to make our
brother happier the first duty is to
help him to see that until he begins
to consider his neighbor he is defeat
ing his own selfish ends. When we
can inspire Jul teachers to get pupils
to understand that what is worth
while Is so only so far as it can be
passed on to another, that every
member of society is to a certain ex-
tent responsible for the welfare of
every other member, then we may
feel that we have done much in the
right direction. 1t isn't hard to point
out the many places in any school day
to teach the child that he must ex
pect some day to become the founder
of q family and that what he does
now will have a great deal to do with
the kind OF a family that will be; that
he must expect to take a part in com
munity mt national affairs and to do
this we'll he nov has the opportunity
of learning from the experience and
thoughts Of others how to avoid mis-
takes and to promote progress; nor is
1t difficult to show him how to recog.
nize what will be a help or a him
drance in these lines when one sets
about to do it. Domestic dissatisfac.
ton, the difficulty that communities
l no vo in rottiprs n IN l{pas oS 70
form and improvement, not to men,
tion the corruption and graft found
every where show that we have much
yet to do.
School sanitation, outdoor class
rooms, public school medical inspec-
tion are terms becoming more and
more common, a hopeful sign that
the school is already beginning to use
more of its influence In the right di-
rection regarding the third point
hygiene. Until all schools are in
line with this movement, however,
We should not be content. The con-
science needs to be quickened until
all believe that to poison the air that
others must breathe, to pollute the
water that others must drink, to
weaken the constitution that others
must inherit is just as great a crime
rs to empty the vial Of poison into
your enemy's cup or to seud a bullet
through his brain. When we have
taught that personal habits are not
-FOUR own business" we will see re-