The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1913-10-25
DANCE TANGO IF
1T CHEERS YOU
School Principal Urges Teach
ers to Enjoy Any Anuse-
ment That Will Effect
That.
SCHOOLS ARE BACKWARD
President Luther, OF Trinity,
Urqes More Work and Less
Play In Our System.

ADVISES the teachers TO CanSOs turkey
trot, bunny hug, or indulge in any
other such dance which might give
them any enjoyment, and make them
better and happier individuals. At
the afternoon meeting of the New
Haven Teachers convention yesterday,
William McAndrews, principal of the
Washington Irving High School, of
New York City, in enunciating his
gospel of eheerfulness for teachers
contained in the title of his address,
you urged the 1900 or more peda-
gogues present to do anything which
gave them pleasure or which made
them better and more optimistic
members of the community.
Tango, turkey trot.. do the bunny
hug, or any other dance if you like it.
If you get your greatest enjoyment
dancing take that form of recreation.
If I find that my teachers like to do
that sort of thing and it makes them
happier am going to urge them to
do it."
He urged the philosophy of cheer
fulness for its subjective as wellas OBJ
jective effect, saying that a. cheerful
teacher has a good influence upon the
child as well as herself.
Best Clothes For School
In connection with giving the best
Of herself to the school Mr. Mean
drews told the teachers to wear their
OGSL C4OlA0S 70 SC1lOO1s ana II En9y hddI
but two gowns wear the better there
and save the other for Sunday. Save
the beautiful pictures which you buy
for your homes for your school room
wall and remem Der only the good
things which your pupils dos Inject
the positive. element, rather than the
negative, into your daily work and
you will find that you are the better
for it as well as the children
Take the attitude that your job is
the best job in the world. 1t is your
main business in life and do not
make the mistake of trying to get
away from it The secret Of success
enjoyment Of life, which is the spirit
of youth. You may have it ats q |
or at 40 and you may never have it, |
but it consists in an appreciation of |
everything in life. great or small
Teachers Are Builders
s'Be cheerful. say cheerful things, |
you are not a corrector but a build
er and the sooner you appreciate that
fact the better teachers you will be-"
Mr.. McAndrews' subject was ..You''
and his remarks were all largely di-
rected to answering the question, How
do you like your job ?''sszE1e tHustraet-
ed his point by quoting one of Mayor
Gaynor's favorite stories from Epic
tetus of the rich man invited to a
A1duauO1 WHO Oh sLIl0 IlISL occasion was
given the seat OF honor and the sec
ond time had to sit with the SER
wants. Being questioned by by
stander If he liked his seat, he an
swered yes. because It was his.
Our Schools Backward.
Another notable address of the af-
ternoon session was that Of President
FTavel s. Luther of Trinity college to
the High school teachers He spoke
from the Sfandp0inf of "a II
education rather than the attitude of
the teacher toward her work. He
emphasized the need of greater energy
in school, compared the American
his fourteenth year with those of the
italian, German and English boy Of |
the corresponding age, and laid the |
deficiency to the short ecFool hours |
in America
President Luther told why in the
face of splendid opportunities for edl1-
cation, and the admirable organize
ton Of the American schools, he took
such an attitude of fault finding. One
Of the reasons for the lower standard |
here, he said. is that the American |
people have never taken the schools |
seriously. the rank and file regard |
them as very good places to send /
their children when there is no place I
else, and the school, moreover, affords /
a delightful opportunity for fault find |
ing, I'll 0ACuS0 1OT SnpTh1nB the re- Il
sponsibflfties of parenthood- That it |
Is the most important function in the |
life of child they do not recog-
nize.
Sessions Too Short.
Two reasons why your children are
behind those of a, corresponding age
Of other countries, are the casual des-
u1tory interest of the parents and the
Iaxity in enforcing school laws, and
more cogent than either the short ses-
sions, the comparatively easy tasks
given the children in American
schools. 1.-THE English, Germans and
italians are not yet convinced of the
of WEAKNESS in the educa-
lion of the child said President Lu-
Their.
eve are obsessed with the idea Of
The spirit of play in education, and
we have kindergartens which I am
sure, would cause F'roebel to laugh.
A child cannot be taught too soon that
there is a lot of hard study which
must be done, that a healthfuI tired
feeling after a school days work is
1ot the wrecking of human. life.
eff we tried to feed the body with
he tfdbits which we give the mind
We should be amenable to board of
health prosecutions. The school day
should be longer, the child should be
helped less in his pursuit of an edu-
,atfon. and made. to realize the neces-
;ity Of working for what he gets
Continuing on the subject of his dis
course, After the Grade Schools,
What?'s Dr. Luther advocated earIyl
specialization, urging that the child
If fourteen is old enough to map out
his career as well as when he is
,lder. The boy can be trusted to
udge of his future vocation at IA as
veil as 20. Some of them couldn't
make a worse mess of their lives than
heir fathers, no matter how early l.
hey started in their careers This
ar1y selection of the Vocational train
ng of pupils will mean that trade
chooIs, schools of agriculture and spe-
ta1 vocational schools will be estab-
lshed to answer this early craving for |
career. I
The biggest question of the day is
low we shall be fitted for our life
l