The Mena weekly star., 1921-06-23
POLK COUNTY
 SCHOOL NEWS
tBy ". H. Morden, County Superin-
 tendentl.

The annual and enumeration reports are due to be made by all school boards on the first day of July. This IS very important matter and should be attended to at once. Sometimes 2 part of the boards neglect it until late and cause an enormous amount oi trouble to the county superintendent All should bear in mind that this is the busiest time of the year for him and if they will make their reports promptly he will have chance to get out to the schools early during the summer term. In case the members of the board are too busy to take the enumeration they have perfect right to employ somebody to attend to 1t.
 There are several matters to be re- ported by the boards besides the enumeration. The report blanks you have show what is to be done. Study it before you start out for the enumer- ation and try to answer every question except the financial report. You need not bother about that. There are ai- ways a few who do not even indicate from what district the report is, they do not sign their names, and many lit tie things are left out that cause trouble. Let every board resolve to make the report in full and on time.
 The institute will be next week in the Central school building in MenaI It will begin Monday morning and last thru Friday. There are a great many things to be done at the institute, but we are not going to attempt every thing. We are going to make coun- ty program for the year, set our aims for better things educationally, and study methods of reaching our aims. Our motto is: Every Schoolhouse a Community Center" We are going to do everything possible thru the teach CTS to attain this ideal. The one thing that is going to bring it about in the end is cooperation. Some com ment may be necessary to make this plain to everybody.
 A baseball team Contains nine play CTS, all of whom must try to win if they succeed. In nearly every game any one player can lose the game if he desires to do so. Put moderate load on wagon and expect the team to pull it, but if one of them refuses to go the other can not carry the load. Load the automobile and if one cylin- der is not working, the work of the other does not amount to much. Plant a crop for two men and if only one of them works, practically the whole thing will go to grass. This thought is true with school districts, with cities, with counties, with states, and with countries. We have a job for everybody, andsf sany one fails to do his part we lpse not only what he might have done, but often others are affected. If the coal miner does not do his work so that the steel compan- les can do theirs, and so on there will be no blow made for the farmer to do his.
 In order to have communities that are most desirable to live in, either large or small, every individual in it should do his part. When this is dons we will have good schools, good churches, good people, and good time. Since we must make new be- ginning near the bottom of the ladder in bringing about better communities we are going to mention few of the details here that might and should be attempted, not allof them at once, and not necessarily all pff them by any one community.
 l. The schoolhouse should be an at. tractive building. We naturally love the beautiful, the lowest human in the world loves beautiful things. If the schoolhouse is made attractive they like to go there to school, or to any thing the community might have there There should be pretty flowers about the school, pretty lawns, shade trees and all those things that go to make { pleasant place to go to. We have these things at home. Why not try te have them at school where the chil dren spend at least half of theil time
 2. There ought to be organized play in every community, and at tn, schoolhouse. There ought to be ten his courts, croquet grounds, baseball grounds, and arrangements for othel similar games. Some say that chil dren on the farms do not need to pla, since they get plenty of exercise iron i their work. From our own experienc' we think that a child will do twice al much work in five days if he know that he will get two half days of thi week in organized play than he woul, to work the whole six days w think that for grown people also. Ey erybody that is able should play hare at least half day in the week. H. will make up for the loss of time il the extra amount of work he will d,
 the other five and half days; be
 sides he will be happier for having as sociated with other folks in this play
 3. There ought to be an organizes literary society in every community
 Some have the community clubs whicl are all the same. These clubs shoull
 always have a program with well de
 fined aims which they will work for il
 the upbuilding of the communities. 4. Every community ought to hay
 . Sunday school, and if they have n
 church the schoolhouse is the plac for it. They should have commurit
 singings, and other kinds of music
 Music is the best method in all tn
 world to appeal to all the people. If
 community lacks interest just get u some good music. That will arouse al of them.
 5. The schoolhouse is the place flo farmers organizations, club folks parents teachers associations, an others.
 There are other thing that we woul like to mention, but we fear this
 too long. If anybody should be inter
 ested now in beginning some new con ! fnunitv work the hest heln we cot1I