Evening star., 1935-05-28
ChildNeeds
Readiness
ForSchool
Anything That Helps
in Hard Situation
Should Be Done.
BY ANGELO PATRI.

THE child beginning school life has
so many difhculties 1T once that
anything one can do to remove even
one of them ought to be done
promptly. Anything that can be done
to avoid q difhculty should be done.
The little child who has never been
to school leaves . whole scheme OF
life behind him and enters on . NEW
one. Instead Of mother, there Is
stranger who speaks in strange tones
and tn . strange language.
Whoever heard: Glass, stand, right
face; forward. march; one, two. one,
two? And what In the world is it all
about? Attention, class. Books on
desk, one. two. three" That means
take your book out Of your desk and
hold 1t in a funny way in your right
hand with your left hand doing some
thing to it. Everything Is like that.
even going out to play and getting q
drink and going to the toilet. 1t
takes q lot of getting used to things.
II you have a sore arm where the
doctor scratched 1t, or sore leg
where he pricked it, things are even
worse. II you are sent for and es-
corted to little room long way down
the hall, and the doctor asks you to
say, "Ah-h-h." and you do. and he
says, "All right" and gives the mes
senger a blue slip and then the
teacher sends you home to give 1t to
your mother, that's still worse. 1t
means you have to have your throat
fixed, stay home a few days, and
feel bad because all the other chill.
dren are in school and getting smarter
every day.
II you are in school and are afraid
Of everybody and everything, II the
bells make you shiver. and the teach
ers make you tremble. and you are
afraid to stand up and speak out
loud when the teacher tells you to.
that Is very bad. So bad that you
simply can't do q thing about it except
cry and tell your mother you don't
want to 60 any more. School can be
dreadful for q beginner II he has any
such trouble.
A mother. who knows that her
child will 60 to school at the begin
ming of the term, should get him
ready now. Have all vaccinations
made. Have the birth certificates and
vaccination papers in an envelope in
safe place waiting for the day school
opens. Be sure that the child's nose
and throat and teenth are in good
shape. He is going to be with crowds
of children and the better shape he
is in the less liable he will be to be-
come i'll. Don't wait until school opens
to prepare him. Do it now!
Try to have the child familiar with
the building and the teacher. The
principal will be happy to make this
possible II you ask him to help you. A
glimpse Of happy children working
busily with the teacher robs school Of
much of its fear. A familiarity with
the building takes away some Of the
dread.
II q friendly child, who knows the
ways of the school, can escort the
stranger for the first day or 50, that
makes things much easier. It Is bet
ter for . child to do this than for the
mother. OF course. II there Is no one
else mother must do 1t herself
Should any mother have the mis-
fortune to have q child refuse to stay
In school without her the best thing
she can do is to turn the child over
to the teacher and 60 home. Do not
take the child home. Let him cry
it out and discover that nothing hap
pens to him in spite of oil his worry
Prepare him for his entering day and
leave him with the teacher. He must
do the rest for himself.
tcopyrisht. 1e3S1