The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1921-08-01
STUDY SUBJECT FIRST PETI-
TION AFTERWARDS

This, paper recently published
copies of some petitions that had
been presented to the school board
and the city council, and they showed
to what extremes people will go in
signing petitions. It shows to what
extremes the leaders or carriers ct
the petition will 60 in accepting
signatures merely to obtain a string
of names.
Reports had been circulated re-
garding the number of signatures
the petitions bore, and when printed
and counted there were some sur
prises that reflected upon the truth
fulness Of the persons reporting as
to the number of names. Those seek
ing the signatures accepted them
from people who were not at all COM
petent to pass intelliegntly upon the
matters at issue and whose opinions
counted for little or nothing. Ex-
emplae, a school petition asking that
the board re-employ certain teachers
because their work had been Of high
order and desirable, when signed by
people who never go near the schools
and never manifest any interest in
anything of the kind, or by people
who have only recently moved into
the community and who have never
become acquainted with the teachers
in question, cannot be expected to
command the respect and serious
consideration of the school board.
If people want their school petitions
to carry weight, they might better
decline to allow any but taxpayers
and patrons of the school to sign 1t
or people who actually visit the
schools and get first hand informa-
ton. In the latter case there would
be very few if any who could qualify
fer signing school petition, since
only handful Of people ever go to
the schools at all. Last year they
had a visitors week when the whole
public were urged to visit the
schools, and practically the whole
public ignored the invitation. Only
a few scattering visitors went to the
schools at all.
There is an old saying that there
are always two sides to question,
and in school matters where every
thing is liable to be very personal 1t
is well to get both sides IL possible
before allowing ones self to form
conclusions. When people try to
get both sides, they are apt to find
themselves embroiled in a lot Of
petty differences because of the bias
and untruthfulness Of humanity
This leads people to resolve that they
will never again pay any attention
to school troubles and they 60 about
ignoring complaints and grievances.
This in turn leaves the field wide
open for teachers and trustees to
build up little autocracies that
ignore the parents and ride rough
shod over them and their wishes.
Parents are always entitled to
take hand in school management,
the only trouble being the selection
Of the proper channels thru which
to express their wishes and to exert
their influences. Parents are often
more autocratic and unfair than any
of the teachers and trustees, and in
sofar as they are radical and unrea-
sonable they destroy their own in
fluence and put up the bars against
themselves and their desires.
While teachers and trustees study
the school problems from fuller in
formation than the average patron,
yet they do we'll to remember that
after all, the parents know their own
children better than anyone else and
thew know nrettv much what thew
want for their children and being the
ones who pay the bills and have to
stand for the results, 1t 10 no assump-
ton Of rights when they insist upon
being heard and needed. The schools
are maintained for the families, and
not for the teachers, nor are the
homes and families tolerated merely
to maintain the school system.
In these times OF readjustment
d & u