The daily commonwealth. (Greenwood, Leflore Co., Miss.) 1916-1919, 1917-02-15
SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY LIFE.

Probably TO other agency of mans c~reatin
has such far reaching power for good in the com
munity as good, live up-to-date schools.
The time is long past in this country whe
"just any old school" will serve the purpose.
In no age of the world was business, competition
ever so keen and relentless as at the present
and never before was it so imperative that gu
young brains be trained and developed to thei
full capacity.
Nothing is truer today than that a commun
ity is known by the quality of it's schools, for it il
a fact that the school is a perfect barometer
for the community. AS the community, so tn
school; and conversely, as the school, so the com
munity.
But aside from the mere educational consider
alton, a progressive school in a community exerts
it's influence in other directions frequently very
little regarded by the community generally.
In the first place, a real, live, progressive
school is never found in 4 dead community. AS
well expect mushrooms from a barren soil as tt
expect educational perfection where none is ex.
pected or demended.
So, then, the really progressive school pre-.
supposes a like spirit in the community.
Men of observation and intelligence have this
fact in mind when seeking a location for a home
Probably the first two questions asked by nine
out of every ten home seekers are: "What of
your schools" and "What of your churches?"
The really desirable citizen, with a family of
sons and daughters to rear, is always suspicious
of the town without good school facilities. He
is aware of the fact that the mere absence of
these facilities argues a lack of interest on the
part of the community at large, and rightly re-
fuses to cast his lot with them.
So that, from a material point of view, the
higher we build our schools, the stronger their
drawing power in the material things of life.
We have said that the school is the barometer
for the community. 1t is pre-eminently so from
a standpoint Of morals.
The old adage, "As the father, or the son." is
fast losing it's farce in this day. Instead, we are
tending to coin a counter-adage, "As the son, so
the father" So that, as we build up our schools
year by year to a higher and higher state of ef-
ficiency, gradually trimming off crudeness and
e~levating the character and generally
remodeling and revitalizing the entire body
polite.
Then what of the schools of this community?
Are they our first consideration? They should be.
What other interest in life have you, reader,
that can for a moment compare with the welfare
of your children?
And what other influence in the child's life
is there to compare with that of his school?
Get this fact firmly in your brain and heart:
AS your school, so will your child be. The child
will be a faithful product of the school that moulds
his character.
Are we afraid to invest a few hundred dollars
or a few thousand in modern school facilities?
No community ever yet made the investment,
that it was not returned many fold. Viewed from
a purely financial standpoint, it is the safest in
vestment we can possibly make.
There is absolutely no excuse for a poor school
in any community of self-supporting men and
women.
The community that refuses to give of it's
best to its schools, will find ITSELF as the years
go by gradually losing in the race of life.
And the people who deem no sacrifice too
great to be made for their children's welfare will
year by year climb higher.