The Alaska daily empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1912-1926, 1922-04-14
JUNEAU SCHOOL NEWS
Published Every Friday.
New School News Staff
EDITORIAL
Do Your Best Work to the End

Do Your Best Work to the End
The students have been working
hard all year, and in looking forward
to the end of the term, there is some
times a tendency during the last few
weeks to let down on the work. 1t
is often said by the students i've
worked hard all year; now I'm going
to take it easy the rest of the term
This is entirely the wrong philoso-
ply, as the race is never won until
the wire is crossed. Taking it
easy the last few weeks may fail
you in subject, or lower your grades
much, and you wonder how it hap.
pened.
This feeling is probably due to the
Spring fever" which you should not
let get the best of you. Keep on
working to the last, for you have all
summer to play and enjoy yourselves
while it would Cor ought to- lessen
your enjoyment to have the memory
of a poorly completed term always
with you.
The time to do the best work is at
the close of the year. If you have
not been doing well, you will have
chance for it, instead of sliding
back. Work to your highest eff
cheney and do not let few weeks
of poor work hold you back, and
turn to nothing the good work you
have done before The work of next
year depends upon what you retain
of this years. and if it is not thor
oughly grasped at the end, you will
have great handicap to overcome at
the beginning of next year.
If your school work could be
turned into a story, how interesting
it would be at the start, but what
poor climax would result. All great
runners run hardest on the last lap
of the race, all great men work at
their highest efficiency in later
years We, too, must put our great
est effort into our work on this last
lap of the school year.
"PubIic School Art-Its Place in the
Elementary School Curriculum"
Public school art is not necessar-
| lily taught with a view of making
artists of the students; that has its
place in the vocational schools. But
that they may acquire a culture and
refinement. an added joy in living,
love and appreciation of the best
in art.
This sart by which we initiate the
beauties of the. exterior world and
transfer to paper the creations of
our ina gination, is not only pleas
utility in every department of HUI.
man life. All cannot expect to at
tain TO equal excellence, there is no
one who does not possess within him
germ which with proper cultivation
will develop to some degree OF ar
tistic beauty AS in music, so in
drawing, to become master of the
art requires a life long labor and
constant application. And yet it is
within the reach of all to acquire
such a knowledge and such an ex-
perience as to produce pleasing eff
LUIS, " CulLlFdtC anu ClCNdtO Oui
tastes for the beautiful in nature and
art. 1t is our aim to assist in the
development of the creative powers
of the child, to enlarge his under
standing and appreciation of the
world of nature, in common place
things. to acquaint him with the
world of art as expressed in mans
handiwork.
School art may we'll be divided into
five distinct classes, namely-draw
ing, painting. clay modelling, con
struction work and picture study.
Drawing should and is becoming an
essential element in our popular edu.
cation, for while it gives us pleasure
and amusement, practical advantages
naturally follow. Success in any
thing is in proportion to the exer-
ton put forth. and the student-artist
who with fixedness of purpose and
with patience, applies his mind and
hand to the work. may feel assured
of the most gratifying results. In
the teaching of drawing we are dc
veloping a muscular control of the
hand and a complete subsection OF
the fingers to the will. OF equal i'm
fportance is the correctness of the
eve in determining distances and
measurements.
In printing. the child is taught
color harmony. Little is new to the
grade. pupil other than simple studies
| in water colors, charcoal or colored
crayons. This, like construction
work, drawing or clay modelling, is
often correlated with other lessons
as language, reading or nature study
The educational value OF construc
tive work lies in the doing. not in
the results obtained. In the work
ing together of hand and brain and
in the power, and consciousness OF
power. thereby gained. II the method
of approach is reasonable and the
requirements are suited to the abili
ties OF the child. the results will take
care OF themselves.