The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1911-12-29
County School News.
BY Mary f. Todd,

March with priyates. Yes, and surely
'Gainst the ranks of II don't care"
Join the Laugh when all is blue'
boys;
Under Colonel "Stlck it out. "
Drill with Captain "Put it over"
And Lieutenant Let them shout,
Learn the regiments favorite march
tunes
''We're Going On Ahead"
sssNeyer Give Up" Fight Smiling"
"Only The Dead are Dead"
SO shall you 'get the habit"
Just through that steady drill
OF "Do, DoBetter and Do More"
In the army OF l will.
After all it isn't the state of the
weather that makes happy Christ
mas. The enjoyment of the season
grows from contented and chart
table heart. Every Christmas will
be full of sunshine If we attune our
hearts to its kindly sentiment.
The boy Raising" bulletins pub.
lished by w. A. McKeever, professor
of philosophy at the Kansas agricul-
tural college, are now wanted in old
Scotland. Lord Pentland, secretary
for Scotland, writes that he read
with great deal OF interest Prof
McKeever's article ON the same sub
ject in the October Worlds Work
He asks that these bulletins ON "Boy
Raising" be sent to him. Not loni
ago these same bulletins were trans
lated into Mexican language for us
in the schools in that country.
However things may seem no eyi
thing is success-no good thing Il
failure.
There is great deal Of truth IL
the following letter:
Dear Friend
write to call attention to the wa.
seme teachers try to teach school
Most parents have plenty to do with
out teaching the children, so they
are sent to school to learn, but one
in while teacher will start the
children to reading, or call it read
ing, just having them repeat the
words in their books to them, never
teaching them letter or sound a
letter stands for, nor how to spell
the smallest word. And some times
the little ones are punished Tor not
having their lesson when they have
not the least idea how to learn it,
sent one child to school the full
term--a whole year-and at the END
1t did not know all of the letters,
any of the sounds of the letters, and
could hardly count to ten. 1t could
neither read nor spell, nor write.
The teacher had helped the child
commit a few of the lessons by mem
DRY and 1t could say these very we'll
have known of cases where the
parents did most all, il not all, OF
the teaching of the child themselves,
as the teacher Just put them to read
ing and expected these little tots to
read when they did not know one
letter from another. | would like
to put these teachers into a class OF
Greek or some unentirely familiar
language, at least a strange alphabet
and make them try to read 1t with
out knowing the letters and see how
fast they could learn to read using
the alphabet. like to see progress
In the schools and everywhere else,
but it seems to me that such teach
ing OF lack OF teaching, is progress
ing the wrong way. The letter is
the very foundation of reading and
can child really learn to read with
out knowing them? Make school
as interesting as possible but don't
lose sight of the fact that the little
ones must begin at the very begin
ming, They must know the first part
thoroughly before they can go high
err Where did such system origi-
nate? Or are those teachers merely
too lazy to take the trouble to start
the little ones correctly? have
known of good many cases of just
such teaching and the children never
seemed to make any satisfactory ad-
yancement until they learned the let
ters and knew how to spell by letter
and by sound and could tell words
by letter spelling and sound spelling.
Yours respectfully,
Mrs. Sam Jones called on us Mon