The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1920-05-13
EDUCATIONAL.
THRIFT AND EDUCATION

iaNhN ANoNiiSs AhN NhAAe Ail ~ Nooibiio
awaken impulses which develop habits
and greatly influence character. The
greatest opportunity of parents and
teachers as leaders of children is to
furnish to the young activities that will
properly stimulate and develop the
right instincts and impulses.
Among the good traits that make a
strong character is a proper attitude
toward material wealth-money aud
property. Those who early in life
have formed the habit of thrift have
one of the important elements that
make for success Because this ele-
ment is of vast Importance to the well
fare of the individual and also of soci-
ETY. there should be made a concerted
effort to incorporate into the training
of all young people such practices as
will develop in them tendencies not
only to save money but to spend wise
ly; to prevent waste wherever possible;
and to invest the earnings in business
propositions or securities that are safe
and reliable.
To bring about the best results the
home and the school must cooperate.
The parent working alone is handi-
capped in the teaching of thrift and
economy if the neighbors neglect their
and permit their children
to be wasteful and careless. With the
school cooperating in the movement
an atmosphere can be created which
will make thrift popular among pupil
groups. With simple lessons in thrift
given as part of the school work and a
simple device introduced to enable
children to deposit the small amounts
they may acquire, there will gradually
be developed in the children con-
sciousness that saving is a necessary
part of education. 1t will thus become
a part of the regular instruction and
an organized way of looking at life on
its economic side.
This is especially an opportune time
to introduce the study and practice of
thrift into our educational system.
The war has given us an initial lesson,
the effect of which we should not per-
NIT to disappear. Our young people
as a class have commenced the practice
of saving. The good work should be
continued Through the aid of the
Treasury Department we may keep on
investing savings in government securi-
ties. Never has the federal govern
ment come into as close contact with
our homes and our schools as during
the past two years. WmiIe this close
continues we should use its
influence to establish in our citizenship
a trait which is necessary to permanent
welfare and progress,
Thrift, like many other common
terms in our language, is one which it
is well to discuss in our schools and our
homes TO some people it is synony-
nous with boarding. Nothing can be
further from the truth. The individual
who piles up wealth at the expense of
his health is not an exponent of thrift
He who gloats over his money but
starves his soul is not an example to be
emulated Wise spending is as neces-
sary a part of thrift as the accumula-
tion of money.
Likewise the prevention of waste
needs to he discussed and definite steps
taken to bring about improved con-
ditions. The school affords an excel
lent opportunity to train young people
in the care of property both private
and public. Disregard for public pro-
perty is too prevalent amoug us. BY
actually training children in caring for
school property and by discussing with
them the sources of the funds from
which all such property is obtained,
much can be done to create in them
the proper attitude toward all public
Too often we hear among
adults such expressions as: "The state
pays for it; who caresi' at comes
out of the government anyway" The
town can stand It; II isn't anything out
of my pocket" Such utterances in
dicate a wrong civic attitude.
Another important matter in thrift
education is the safe investment OF
earnings. Too many persons have lost
what they have saved by turning their
money over to some individual with a
gold brick scheme, hoping to receive
fabulous returns on their investment
With the proper kind Of education it
should be impossible for unscrupulous
individuals to ply their trade.
We need thrift education. We need
1t as individuals and we need it as a
nation. The homes and the schools
should utilize the golden opportunity
that we have at this time to incorpor-
ate it into our educational system. Be
fore the war we were developing in the
wrong direction---in the direction of
waste and of prodigal spending. Let
us face about; let us see to it that we