The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-11-08
CALLS SCHOOLS
CHEF FACTORS
oSate superintendent OF public In
struotion, p. c. Mccienaaan,
PraIoed Work Of Iowa n
situations.
Fer INSTRUMENTATION
Better Living Conditions for Teachers
That they May Better Reacn
Solution OF Problems, IS
Urged.

rho public School as the Chiel
E,,rtor in Americanization" was 'Ee
subject of the address dellverel ny
p = McClenahan, state superlhtep
dent of public instruction at the
Ioxro state Teachers ASSOCIATION
-oeatinp today. The bulwark OF oui
nation lies in the schools, the s'ate
sunerjntendent declared.
az ann glad this morning for the
,,,,,,ortunity TO speak to this Hortes
sionai organization and group OF uis
: tingy,; she'd American citizens, ne
said III come to you to talk TO-DAY
ahout education in America, and the
,uorL oP the Iowa teacher, supreme
IN the faith that our country ana its
;n.titutions will endure. America,
vn,,r country and mine, the home u
liberty and freedom and the hope OF
tba down-trodden people OF Tue
r,orld the realized ideal of the purr
,ans the country where dreams conis
true. ,-;,i-
-.,Tbis is the gravest and most cru
asl t;,na in the history of our nauon.
we can raise an army or nVe niiiiiCi
-, "a nrotect our women and chill
dren to drive our enemy from our
shores. and to clear the Worio iot
democracy. These external dangers
were bond of sympathy maklus
men fight and endure the supreme
sacrifice, making women "ork ahd
nray. and children sacrifce blVes,
dreams. ambitions-all were crushea
that America might live. Our battles
have been fought, our victories Woh'
orr heroes have returned; ana no"
instead of gazing at an external
enemy. we are ready 10 turn our at
tention to internal problems ana are
irving to learn the lesson which the
war has taught. Many lessons have
heen brought home to us and new
problems have been presented, ana
TODAY a greater responsibility rests
,npon the American teacher than ever
before in our history.
The School.
"J,ast Monday at o'clock the
school bell rang. The crowd OF more
than a half million entered the doors
of the Iowa public schools. VINO are
these children? Where did they
come from? Why do they come regu-
larly for five days in the week to
the public schools? What have we
a right to expect of these children
in the future? a glance at the lines
as they enter the schools shows that
they represent all the races known
in Iowa. One day l had the oppor-
unity TO visit a school building just
as the bell was ringing. The children
lined up before they entered the
building. In the front row of one
of the lines was a little girl with
pink cheeks, dressed in clean clothes.
She had real curls, cork-screw curls.
Just behind her was a boy wearing
a coat which was old and faded and
two sizes TOO large. He wore pair
of shoes that were too large for his
feet A faded brown hat was stuck
UPON the back Of his head. 1t was
nov bleached to a dingy white. A
stray lock of his white hair stuck
from a hole in the top of the hat
In the opposite line was another
child with a different kind of curl
In his hair. At the rear of one of
the lines was a boy who seemed to
stand apart from the rest. I ap-
preached and spoke to the boy, and
he only shook his head and said, No
sabby.' When l looked at this line
| thought OF America, her ideals and
her practices, and the possibility of
her public schools,
In the past America has had a
laissez faire attitude toward the
peoples of the world. The Goddess
of Liberty has stood In New York
harbor and extended her arms to the
world. 1t has said to the Poles, who
breathe the spirit of Kosciusco and
Polanski, Come to the descendants
of Columbus, Come to the follow
ers of Robert Bruce and Robert
Burns, Come to the worshipers of
O'Connell, Come and to the de.
scendants Of Plato and Aristotle,
Come And the stream of immi-
grants from every cline mas come to
America.
Many Peoples Here
To-day we have in America thirty.
five different races, speaking fifty.