Evening star., 1924-07-02
CALLS SONP PARENTS
TO TRAIN CHILDREN
Mrs. H.. A. Reeve DeCries
Sinking of Responsibility
in Home Education.
ASSAIL.S CONDITIONS
Declares Cure for Overcrowded
Penal Institutions Rests in
Proper Training.

America is paying the price for the
divorce of home from school, of
school from community and the con-
sequent disinteGration of the social
unit in the life of the child, accord
ing to Mrs II. \. Reeve, president of
the National Congress of Parents
and Teachers, who spoke at last
nights session. of the National Edu-
tral High School.
Mrs. Reeves stirring call to the
parents of the land to make their
full contribution to education formed
part of an interesting program de-
voted to the general topic of the
contribution Of the teacher, principal
superintendent and parent. Mary Nc
Skimmon Of Br"okline, Mass, consid-
cred The Princ.ral', Julia Spooner
Of Portland. Ore The Citizen
Teacher," and Willis A. Sutton of At
lsnta. "a, The Superintendent"
Structure Endangered.
With the privileges and opportuni-
ties offered to the profession of par
enthocd comes also the entire re-
sponsibiiity for certain phases of
education, and when this duty is ig-
hored or is shifted to the shoulders
OF those already sufficiently burdened
with their own share in Social vel
fare we face the collapse of our civic
structure which is inevitab BILE when
the weight is unequally distrib buted,
and which We see threatened in the
oNercrowded jails, the insane asylums
and reform schools. the banditry and
general laWleSSGcSS of the present
day. warned Mrs. Reeve.
we are facing conditions which are
the direct result of past mistakes. for
which the cure may come only by
recognition and reparation" the
speaker continued. declaring that the
1rst contribution to be made by the
parent is the right development of
the pre-school child. She continued: :
The parents contribution to edu-
cation may be briefly stated thus:
TO lay the foundations on which all
education must rest. and upon them
TO rear the framework which must
sustain the completed structure
Whlch the school and the community
shall build around those beams and
girders.
Stresses Fundamentals
The child for which the home is
responsible must first be good little
animal Eyes, ears, teeth, posture
bones and muscles and digestion-for
good digestion waits on appetite and
health on Doth'-all these are funda-
mental to education and their deyel-
oplnent can no more depend upon in
splratlon or tradition than can the
teaching OF sciences or instruction in
readln, 'ritin, and 'rithmetic' But
the child cannot even be a good little
animal without training in mental
ana motor habits. and here we have
some more foundation Stones-sleep
ana exercise, muscular control of
arms and legs, skill in the use of
hands and the cultivation of thor
BUSINESS Obedience, courtesy and
honesty, until they have become as
automatic as walking in RESPONSE TO
certain stimuli.
Observation, concentration. mem
ory and the fluent use and ready un-
derStandlng of the English IaneIaee
are radical requirements and though
the nome educator may be equipped
IN varying degrees to conduct these
courses, 1t is not the college diploma
but the true educational spirit which
makes the real teacher, as the lives
OF great men oft remind u.s.
Inc second contribution of the
parent Is one again too often ignored
the continued support of the home,
Whlch mus De given if the outward
forms Of education are to produce
thelr proper effect. This sustaining
interest must manifest itself in three
ways: First. the same-or, let US
nope. increasingly intelliggent-care
must be given to the physical deveI-
opment and the character training of
the school child, since the years of
school life place upon the little ami
mai heavier demands from body and
mind, and the contact with fellow
pupils offers more severe tests of
moral standards than are usually
met with in the shelter of the re-
Stricted home circle.
Must Pay for Several.
Second, when the child and the
school have come into relationship, the
parents knowledge must extend to
thorough comprehension of the SyS-
tenn of which he has now become a
part, of the social and economic
forces which have been brought to
bear upon his boy or girl, his finan-
cial interest in the investment he has
made and the return he is receiving
for the money expended in the sup
port OF public instruction. If he is
obtaining, through his enid, a third
rate article in the way of school or
teacher, in the result of liberal con-
tributions by means of taxes and
bonds, he should act in that case ex-
actly as he would in regard to any
other business enterprise-demand
that he get what he has paid for. If
on the contrary, he has tried to buy
a frSt-clasS article at cut rate and
has gotten only what he was willing
to pay for, he should place the blame
where it belongs-at his own door
ard not upon the educational system
which he has refused to support.
'Educat tion has too Iong been
and the teachers; it must begin with
the parents. In the national govern
ment We elect our legislators and
our executives, but they hear always
the voice OF the people-the people
who pay, and without whom the gov
ernment could not go on In the
school. as in the state, tie admins
traitors should be those best fitted to
represent us, but always behind them,
beside them, should be the people
Y, iaio
keeps his constituents informed. SO
Will The wise educator keep ever be-
fore his patrons his plans and his
needs, and his consciousness that
upon the parents of his pupils and
not upon him alone depends the sue
cess of his administration.
Third Contribution.
THE third contribution which NAV
be expected from the parent will be
the two-fold result of this business
partnership, this cooperative interest
in the children.
First. the work which the schools
are doing will be understood, its
practical value will be appreciated.
and sdtdndn in RuSsic and and art. in domestic
nome will supplement the curriculum,
to the benefit of both. And, secondly,
parents and teachers with the same
ideals and ambitions for the young
people will unite to secure from the
community at large the interest and
support SO essential to the advance
ment of modern standards and the
equalization of educational oppor-
tunity."
Mrs Reeves and Miss McSkimmor
were introduced by w. T. Longshore
president of the department. of
elementary school principals, of
introduced by Ida Christine Iversen
president of the department of class
room teachers, of Los Angeles. and