Connecticut western news., 1918-02-21


had the same ingredients, it took much
longer for them to become available,
due to the slow process decomposition.
The next speaker, Miss Marie
Lovenes, former superintendent of
schools ar Platt Plains. Minneota, who
has proven an efficient worker in rural
education economies, gave very in
, teresting talk on the value of ettCca-
tion to the child. The subject for her
speech was "the rights of the country
child
Miss Lovenes stated that we have
wonderful homes in New England and
that this fact alone spoke well for the
interest of the farmers and others in
their family. She stated that while
there were 10, 900, 900 country children
it was very evident that there were no
where near that number of hogs or
COWS.
First of all, the country child has
the right to physical perfection and
the only way that this can be done is
to keep them we'll. A survey has been
made of the entire country and the
state of New York stands at the head
we'll. That state has an average OF 81
nurses to the county. A strange fact is
shat country children are less healthy
than those who live in the city. The
only way in which this rnay be over
come ia to provide more visiting nurses
and decreasing the alarming rate of
infant mortality through the proper
feeding.
Education is the vital need Of all far
children. They need keen mental
stimulous which will aid and encour-
age them to do more thinking. The
country child, unlike the city child,
has plenty OIL time to think and it is
the duty of the teacher and the parents
to provide means which educate them
to think right. Miss Lovenes doubted
very much If the country schools of
this county and the teachers of these
schools, were a stimulous to the men,
tai powers of the average country child.
Better teachers are needed We should
reorganjze our present school system
and by paying larger Salaries, teachers
of real merit could be secured. Through
changing orr present system OF sup
porting our schools. the extra cost f
paying larger salaries would be very
small to the individual.
1t is very important that the teacher
of a rural school, should live in the
community and become acquainted
with the parents of the children which
she teaches. The western states are
providing homes for their teachers and
in many places the head of the scnool,
usually man, lives at this place the
year round, and is with the children
winter and summer. In the sumner
this teacher does vast amount of good
helping and encouraging the boys and
girls to -aise farm animals and garden
crops. Every community should stand
back of the teacher and keep IN touch
with the work she is doing in order
that you could tell at glance if the
education of your child was proceeding
satisfactorily. The great curse of
American education is the continual
changing of teachers. /
In manv schools the children have a
knack of being anle to teach other
pupils better than the teacher herself,
and this way of having the children
help one another should be encouraged.
IF the pupils are inactive slow moving
and slow thinking, methods of recrea-
ton which will take the childs mind
from the study and uncon .ciously have
stimulating effect on their mental
powers should be practiced. In every
school the use of the hammer and the
saw and canning methods should be
taught in connection with the usual
lessons.
1t is vital that a child should have q
high school education and then given
the right to choose his own vocation.
No one should start out in life to find
position where they would have more
time for pleasure. The work on the
farm is hard, but there arr many posi-
tions In the city which would be far
less agreeable. There should also be
an avocation on the farm which should
be just the opposite to the usual work
and which will give the country child
a chance to grow. Put something into
every ch1ld's life which will keep him
interested and there will be fewer boys
going to the city First give the child
an education which will make him
better citizen and enable him to take
up the work which you have started.
The next and last speaker of the day,
A. W. Manchester, is we'll known to
the majority of farmers of this town.
He stated that many people labored
under tremendous misconception of
the farm bureau and its purposes. The
work Of the bureau is 70 investigate
various methods OF farming and to pass
on to the farmer the earliest and best
method of producing more ami better
crops The most of us who are not sue.
ceeding are the ones who are not doing
enough thinking. In other words, the
solution of many of our farm problems
is right in our own heads and as there