The Rathdrum tribune. (Rathdrum, Idaho) 1903-1963, 1915-11-05
Boost Community Interests.
q. D. Davis

a commonwealth, county or mere
school district, is lack of unity: 1t
was upon this same string that George
Washington harped. on this same
string that Daulel Webster so contin-
ually played. and upon this same
string that we must play good
many more times before Utopia Is
realized. However, let US make our
harping mostly positive harmony
instead Of spending our time hushinR
dlscord.
Every boy outgrows his knee
breeches and he is glad when the
time comes for bis new SUIT with long
pants. Just so Is, and should be.
every community when 1t outgrows
its yesterdays aud puts on its
long pants for now and tomorrow
The older idea which prevails still
in some more medieval corners OF
our hearts that real life is that part
OF existence bounded on the fist side
by high fence called school gradua-
tion and on the last by Morpheus, is
now old fogY. School days are vital
part of real life, in fact the most
vital part because truly "the boy is
father to the man." School is only
one phase of complex life, nor is IL
the biggest phase. The home must
ever be the fountain OF life. The
church and community phase will
always be closely related parts in this
completely. Our new idea and ideal
must be an abundant life in which
each phase is adjusted with proper
correlation to the other. In other
words we must see to it that our
house be not divided against itself
but that School, Home, Church,
Community, work as one big unit 10
, the making of this early real life OF
our boys and girls.
School authorities all over the land
are coming to realize that the home
IA The best class room for many
valuable courses OF practice. which
really is valuable form Of study. As
result credits in school have been
offered for so many hours of such |
various work done at home. A
schedule is now being prepared by
which such home work Will be
honored at the Rathdrum schools. 1t
is expected that parents will cooper
ate heartily with such a move.
1t has been well said that every
child has proper inheritance which
1t is our business asa ruling genera
tion to lead him into; scientific, a
literary and artistic, and a religious.
Not all OF this is or can be done by
the school; nor by the school plus the
home. We must rely on the church
for part. How would IL be-in
order to enforce the truth that
education is not the process going on
merely inside school walls how
would it be, we repeat, to offer in
school credits for certain kinds of
church work and study: The leading
schools of the land are doing 1t. We
are planning it.
The community, after all, is the
big element ia life. IL is the field In
which the young laborers work with
the tools sharpened by earlier train
ing. This may be IA very fertile ded
or very stony one, all according To
the habits of life Ut those who make
up the communicable older people. |
1t might be prof table scmi-Occasion-
ally for our community--lh!s
peculiar compound OF business and
retirement; work and play; lodges aud
fermitaRes; old aud young; goo5 and
biu:-to question itself after this
III ,nhar:
Am looking forward or backward?
dreaming or working toward az ideal?
Am [ providing suitable soil in
which my teuderlings can grow into
proper size?
Am ! nourlshing my homes?
Am | fostering my spiritual life 10y
providing for my churches?
Am l backing my school system?
Roofing out the evils and planting
the good?
In word, am working as a unit?
The proper answering OF such
questions by anv cnmmnnftv inenrac