Evening star., 1942-10-21
Teaching Power
Is Too Often
Neglected
Children Miss
Attention of
Instructor
By A neelo Patri

The routine of school gets to be
habit and If it Is maintained
for a sufficient number of years,
becomes a teachers way of life.
When that way is suddenly changed
that teacher, unless on guard, re-
sents it and accepts the order
grudgingly and with many grumbles.
That is the hard way of doing, hard
est on the grumbler.
To go along cheerfully, to accept
change and sudden reversals of Gus
tom as routine. is to save oneself a
deal Of wear and tear Let the old
way go and try to enjoy doing the
unusual and the task will not bear
down as hard.
What difference does 1t really
make to the teacher to use one exit
| instead Of another2 To have chill
dren lined according to addresses
instead of height? To dismiss chill
dren to an inner hall instead of to
the yard in emergency drill7 Sup
pose we do have to get out of class
rooms in double quick a couple of
times week in raid drill. Count it
a part OF duty and let 1t count for
the interrupted lesson. 1t is as
important to the children.
Maybe you have to go to school
earlier and stay later? Maybe you
have to make out an Identification
card for every child this morning
right away-and you do, while you
keep the class busy doing something
they really need to do, and you send
them upstairs with a grand feeling
Of accomplishment.
Then, comes the order, Discard
those Identification records and
make this lot, as directed below"
What of 1t? This is wartime and
the unexpected is the usual thing.
Be calm about it. If everybody
knew what was coming he would be
ready for 1t and nobody would be
upset, but as nobody knows what
tomorrow Is bringing we just have
to wiggle along as best we may.
Lessons fall behind while the extra
work is done. That cannot be helped.
Plan to give the children useful
work, have it ready, so that when a
demand for immediate service comes
from the office you can hand the
| job you prepared to the class, put
some bright and well-liked child in
| charge and go ahead, cheerfully.
1t would be nice if the people
in authority could lessen the num-
ber of reports they ask for during
the war. 1t does seem as though
they could proceed with the essen
tial duties without some of the
details required, but leopards do
not change their spots even in war
time and supervisors do love sheaves
and sheaves of paper, with much
data, and the plotting of curves, and
the typed summaries. Maybe they
nourish them In some way unknown
to us who only sit and write, but be
that as 1t may, we don't help our
selves any by grumbling.
1t is this teaching power that we
must conserve at all costs. We will
not allow the unexpected, even un-
reasonable demands made upon us,
to rob us of that, and so rob the
children Of their greatest need in
wartime, the full strength of their
| teachers. We will take all orders
cheerfully, execute them accurately
and speedily, and with goodwill,
in the hope of promoting the chill
dren's well-being, as we'll as preserv-
ing our own.
Mr.. Patri has prepared a leafiet
entitled "Stammering," in which
he advises parents how to coach
the youngsters over this child
hood difficulty. If you want 1t,
address Mr.. Patri, care Of Wash
ington Star, Post Office Box IS,
Station o, New York, N. Y, in
closing cents to cover cost of
mailing and handling.