The Odanah star. [volume] (Odanah, Ashland Co., Wis.) 1912-1916, 1914-11-06
STATE TEACHERS
ELECT OFFICERS
ANNUAL CONVENTION OF WEST
ERN WISCONSIN ASSociA-
TON is CLOSED.
CONVENTION IN LACROSSE
Superintendent Potter of Milwaukee
Delivers Address-H. l.. Gardner
of Vernon County Is Named
President.


tendent of schools of Vernon county,
was elected president of the Western
Wisconsin Teachers association az
the closing session of the convention
at the State Normal school in La
Crosse.
Other officers elected were: F. Z.
Bray, Sparta, vice-president; George
E. Sanford, West Salem, secretary
treasurer. The board of directors con-
sists of A H. Sanford, La Crosse;
Robert Lohrie, Arcadia, and Miss
Lena Heideman, La Crosse.
The doing away with morning and
night chores" for schoolboys was de-
cried by Supt. M. G.. Potter, MilWau-
kee public schools, in an address De-
fore the eleventh annual convention
of the Western Wisconsin Teachers
convention. This work meant health,
morality and mental responsibility for
many young people," the speaker said.
'The social need in the city schools
is individual understanding, which,
once obtained so completely in our
country schools" the speaker contin-
ued. LET us hope there may never
come time when successful teachers
of rural schools shall cease to find
places in the city system, or when
such teachers shall be mechanical,
militarized or dehumanized by the
necessary organization of city children
into groups for teaching purposes.
''This is the beginning Of new in
dividualism. If We will only work
along these lines, no two children in
any of our schools will be treated ex-
actly alike. No two schools, in spite
of certain necessarily identical fea-
lures, will have the same individual
life or institutional peculiarities. Yet,
by reason of rediscovering the indi-
vidual, society, human brotherhood
finds itself resting upon larger,
safer, solder basis.
Both industrially and socially this
is a mechanical age. Minds stepped
in the sight or sound of revolving
wheels crave action and organization.
All this action and organization in
wolves a corresponding multiplication
Of wants and increase in expense.
''It is undeniably true that no period
Of the world has seen SO many men,
and contrary to- popular miscOncep-
ton, so many women, working so hard
and so continuously at work which,
more and more, involves less and less
of muscular exercise, less of outdoor
life and fresh air, and yearly more
pressure upon the mind and emotions.
"The things in which we are all
alike are SO much bigger than the
things in which we are different.
What's rich and poor to common be-
ginning and common end, common
sufferings, common dreams? We look
at these big freeholds; and money in
the bank is little thing On Summit
avenue and down on the river flats
don't We each alike seek the same
thing? We want to be happy and we
want to be free. Well, we know it's
hard to win these prizes when we're
poor, but it is SO easy when we're rich.
To live shut off on little island, call
ing the rest common and unclean, is
that being happy and free, is it having
life abundantly? Il look around and
Say, I'd like to Counsin Edward
it? double Illustration, the poor dis
inherited by their poverty, and the rich
by their riches. Don't you think we
shall find a common meeting place
some day where these two will cancel
Out?"