The Coconino sun., 1924-10-03

filling stations, grocery stores and
mills that may be in their several
communities They know of any clubs,
societies and orders that may exist
for improvement and amusement.
rural routes and the railroads. They
are, of course, acquainted and identi-
fled with the churches and Sunday
schools and their work.
The Teachers Attitude
1t is taken for granted that teach
ers know all of these things. But what
have they done about them? In the
first place, of course, they live in
their several communities. That is 4
necessary in many Arizona districts.
But in no other way is it possible to
catch and live in the spirit of the
school communities. In the second
place, every fact that teachers have
come upon in the school districts has
reasons for its existence and they can
explain this existence and make it
valuable part of school work if they
are students of nature and of life.
They are there to make the conditions
of life better. If they have taught in
these districts for a year or more,
they have visited all the homes. They
have consulted all the parents about
the welfare of their children and have
found out just what children should
be in school.
The school bears the very closest re-
lation to every phase of community
life. Indeed, it has often been said
that the school is all the other in
stitutions in miniature. But do teach
ers quite generally realize just what
that means? 1t means that the school
lives the life of the community. It
thinks its thoughts, feels its emo-
tions, and bases its work or ought to
at least, on the same principles exact
ly. The school ought to be so life-like'I
that the transition from its life to ac-
tual life will be almost unnoticed by
the children. 1t makes the country
school boy take more pride in farm
life when he realizes that his world is
being drawn upon for problems in
earth facts with which he is familiar
in geography.
OF course, the kinds of teachers II
have in mind are constantly doing
more than they get paid for. But that
is true in most walks of life. Al man
once told me he had boy in his en-
ploy in his offices. One morning he
found this boy shivering in the cold
office. In reply to, his inquiry as to-
why he was working in the cold, the
boy said the janitor had built no fire.
Asked if he could not build fire, he
replied that he could but that he was
not paid for making fires. This boy
was not in line for promotion and
never will be. "People who never do
any more than they are paid for sell
dom get paid for any more than they
do" This is just as true of teachers
as of persons in other professions. II
once knew a young man who put in
several days cleaning the school
grounds, repairing fences and out-
buildings, and even scrubbing the
floor, for which he received no pay
in money. But he was paid. And af-
ter the community had increased his |
salary as much as it could, he was
called to higher position. He now
occupies one of the highest positions
in the gift of the state, and is draw
ing one of the best salaries paid by j
the state. This young man was will /
ing to take conditions as he found I
them and make the very best of them.
But this proved to be the test Of his
leadership. ~
School and Home
To get little closer to the every
day practical problems with which
teachers have to deal, let us see what
they can do to bring their schools and I
communities into still closer relation.
First, all teachers know that the
abiding principle of the home is love |