The Coconino sun., 1925-04-03

: On account of the difference in ages
! it is impossible to follow a steady pro-
gram. We advance them as rapidly
as they get hold of the English and
can assimilate the work. The boys
have class in manual training and
! the girls in sewing. Some first grade
girls are making their own school
dresses, while the older girls make
not only their own clothes, but also
those of the smaller children at home.
We have eight boy scouts and II
campfire girls from our building. They
enter into these activities with the
greatest zest and are very apprecia-
| tive.
The parents are taking a deep in-
i terest not only in their children's work
but in the opportunity presented to
learn English themselves. Thirty-six
parents from Brannen district alone
have signed cards signifying their de
sire to attend night school twice a
week. The children are, as a rule,
more docile than the Americans, and
/ have yet to find case where there
has been anything but the best CO.
operation from the home. Parents
will come to the school if a child has
not been doing satisfactory work or
has been acting unruly, and tell US
that we have their permission to use
any measures we may deem necessary.
They are keeping the children in
school, many times at great sacrifice
to themselves, when they could secure
permission for the boy or girl to go
to work. During my two years at
Brannen there has been but one case
of truancy, and that was an afternoon
of last May when boy went over to
city park lake to go swimming. His
excuse was, that / had told him he
had to take bath before coming back
to school.
The Mexican posses an inherent
sense of beauty 1t is their greatest
delight to write or tell stories about
nature pictures We have no difficulty
in getting a three or four page story
for an English lesson, and if allowed
to choose a picture they will invariab-
ly select a beautiful landscape or
glowing sunset. AS one boy expressed
his sentiment about a sunset picture
of Grand Canyon: Il wish to know
more about the place of that picture
1t is very beautiful bat it also makes
me feel sad. do not know why" Is
that artistic spirit worth cultivating!
/ shall always plead for the child,
no matter of what race, to be given a
chance. Dare we say that it is of no
use to try to do anything with them!
Few people seem to know that the fa-
nous, or infamous, as you will, Porl-
firo Diaz of Mexico was full-blooded
Indian. 1t is said that up to the time
he was 10 years of age he had never
worn much more than gee-strlng.
The archbishop of Mexico City was at
tracted by the pictures the. ragged lit
tie Indian was drawing on the cathe-
dral walls and arranged for his edu-
cation.
AS the chiIdren's knowledge of
English increases it opens to them
veritable fairyland "Stories and
more stories, books yand more books" j
is their constant cry. By the time
they have completed the third grade
thev have read every book IN the
building. / found boy the other day
copying memory gems from an old
discarded grammar. Think what 1t !
means to them to be able to read what
they want to ins English. They speak
but are not able to read Spanish, and
have no stories in their homes to read
if thew could. There is nothing so
pathetic as the. child who goes through I
his Young life deprived of the joys OF
hooks. When YOU read Treasure Is
land what would you have exchanged
for that spirit of adventure What
boy who has read Black Beauty has
not emerged with more humane /
thought and act for animals +! what {
boy, who has ever read it, has not /
thrilled to the deeds of King Arthur T
and his knights and has not secretly (
vowed imitation? III
A we'll selected and directed course /
of reading will give these children the
opportunity of forming characters OF I
enduring beauty and usefulness. m
war and in peace, in everyday life and I
in the great crisis of life, it IS youth
nv which things have been manly
shaped as they are. Alexander, when
hut a youth, overthreW the great KING
and prevented an Asiatic Europe. Ma
noleon. at 25, had conquered Italy,
and at the same age Don John Oh
Austria saved Christendom from the
Turk. Cortez was only 30 when he
Mexico. Keats died at 20
and Byron at 81. Newton had COM
nleted many discoveries before he was
25. 1t was mainly boys OF 10 to 70
who won the war for us.
Youth is inabued with daring cour-
ape by the narration of such deeds.
Who. then, would hesitate to satisfy
its craving? Lord Dunsany's com
plant against those who see nothing