Year: 1876

We had the pleasure Of visiting the dis
trict school of this place, last Monday, Off
cially, and can truly say the term has COM
menced, under the caro- of Miss Johns as
teacher, with very 1attering prospects. The
scholars are already under an excellent dis
cipline, order being the law, kindly en-
forced and cheerfully obeyed. We regret,
the unfinished condition of the school room,
the poor furniture and meager equipments
The Trustees, however are doing all they
can to remedy these defects, and us soon as
the new desks, lately ordered, arrive, our
pupils will be more comfortably accommO-
dated than those OF any other district in the
county. This being the largest, richest and
longest organized district OF any, and hay
ing the greatest number Of pupils, it should
have the model school house and the model
school, But, something else must be done,
before we can establish such claim.
Heretofore, the parents have been altogether
too backward in visiting the school. If
parents could only realize how much it les
sons the care and trouble of teachers, for
them to visit the school often, and how
much the same stimulates and encourages
the pupils, not q parent in the district
would begrudge one hour or two every week
spent in the school room. Parents, your
duty is not done, when you have hurried off
your little ones to the school room, at nine
o'clock, and then rest easy and content, till
four O'Clock finds them trooping home again.
You cannot delegate your care, authority
and responsibility entirely to your sallaried
teacher. You should drop into the school
uncercmoniously and do it often. Watch
the exercises. See the infinite labor patience
and fortitude requisite to control forty or
fifty scholars of all ages and every shade of
disposition. How wearied and care worn
our teachers become often in the course Of
one short term. You sympathizc with
your pastor in his labor for the good of all {;
you pity your physician going to the couch
of pain in the stormy midnight hour. Can
not you afford to divide part of this with
the overtasked guardian of your precious
children. Encourage the little ones by your
occasional presence in the room, where they
restlessly bend over the hard wooden desk,
Try the hard benches you have provided for
them, which often cramp and detorm the M
and hardly ever fails to make every bone and
muscle ache with pain. Make the school
room cheerful, roomy, airy and elegant,
Make it cheerful by your presence. Let
them know you do not send tben to school
for the sake Of getting rid of them and
this is best done by an occasional, informal
visit; by personal inquiry Of how they are
getting on. If something was done to re.
move the tediousness from study, the child
would not as they often do, so dread the
school room and if parents would bear a
part of the heavy responsibility often I'M
justly thrust upon the teacher, instead OF
piling the burden still higher, the profession
of teacher would not he the shortest lived
of all the learned professions as is now the
case. And this can be dOne, by parents tax.
ing real not feigned interest in the scholar,
teacher, the school room and all that per.
tains to it, and manifeSting that interest by
often repeated visits to the school. The pub
lie school in this place can be made more
efficient than it has been, if parents will
but visit the school now at the commence.
ment of the term, they will see for them
selves, just how far advanced each pupil is ;
and they cannot but regret, that with the
many terms and teachers we have had the
last three years, there has been so little ad
vancements, so little thorough teaching. We
do hope no one will look upon thisl article
as a babbers' croaking. The evil exists
Parents. have been apatletic. We shall not
believe you, when you say you feel an IN
terest unless you manifest, by visiting the
school.


E,tbor Chirouse Supt, of the Tulalip In