Roanoke Rapids daily herald., 1948-10-13

Teacher
Relations
By GARRY CLEVELAND MYERS. PL.D.

IT'S wonderful when apprecia.
tive parents are welcome as visitors
in the classrooms and when pupils,
parents and teachers find good ways
of knowing one another as persons.
As a rule, there is all too wide
gap between the home and school,
which widens from the kindergarten
to the high school.
Referring to earlier, statements
of mine like the foregoing, Mrs.
Lucy Hartman Elicit writes from
East Moline, III. Il am using her
name with permission):
81 believe as you do, that some
thing can be done to bring about a
happier state of affairs. think the
teachers of John Deer School are,
among others, doing lot in quiet
way to remedy this difficulty.
An Invitation
Recently, my twelve-year-old
son brought me cordial invitation
to attend a party Grade e-1 was to
give for the mothers. The invita-
tions had been planned by the lam
guage class. / told him / would
attend, if possible.
CDR. Myers, he looked me straight
in the eye and said, Now, Nom, l
hope you understand that you will
just have to attend, for we are go.
ing to have play and refreshments
and I am the stage manager, and
how is it going to look if my own
mother doesn't care enough to come
when we have gone to all this
trouble? will just be socially ruined
If you don't come, for ! told my
teachers you would
81 was tired, my mother had just
died and I had an ironing a mile
high. but went, just as any decent
person would have done. went feel
ing very noble about taking the
time, and came home feeling very
refreshed and extremely humble.
Clever Dramatization
"Thc play was dramatized, cos-
tuned and staged with cleverness
professionals might have envied.
After the play, we were invited to
the home economies classroom where
we were met at the door by girls
who invited US to sign the guest
book. Then the boys helped us to find
seats. All this time the girls were
introducing each other to the moth
ers and their friends. After a bit
of conversation, we were invited to
the tea table where we were served
buffet style with coffee, tea and
cookies made by the home economics
class. A little girl sat at either end
of the table, one pouring tea the
other coffee. Other girls stood along
the table to welcome us. Boys and
girls alike urged us to have more,
and we did, not because we were
hungry but out of sheer delight at
seeing those charming children
serve us.
Later, the children let US enjoy
seeing them take over the cleanup
work. They were quietly efficient.
Eacn knew MIS- or her own duties.
Applied Psychology
"The children had also used lot
Of applied psychology in getting the
mothers there. So l think l was not
the only mother to have a little
pressure applied to get good attend
ance. We mothers shared conf
dences and were astounded at the
similarity Of our experiences.
From the time we arrived until
we left with cordial invitations to
come again soon, we were made well
come and happy by well trained
children who would do credit to q
high-priced finishing school. Not one
of these children will have an im-
pulse to sneer when the better
things of life are mentioned. Each
one of them has received precious
incentive to try to live on a higher
plane. Each child was able to be
proud of his own room, own teacher
and own mother"