THE
CHEMAWA
AMERICAN
3
develop into a broad-m inded, ideal m an. Of course I do not mean to
say th at ju st th e children of this class become ideal men and w om en, b e
cause m any others from th e other four classes, as they m ature, strive
for a higher life and develop into the finest sort of m ankind.
T he child of Class II may be a good scholar, but is often morose and
th in k s this is a very u n ju st world. He is anxious to get th ro u g h school,
as love for learning has never been im pressed upon his m ind, and lie
often leaves before having finished the gram m ar grades.
I he child of Class I I I has m any hard lessons to learn. H e m ust learn
th a t everyone has equal rig h ts in the school and on the playground; th at
other ch ild re n 's views and liberties m ust be recognized. T his child is
seldom bright in classroom and never a favorite am ong his classm ates.
He cares little for study, as he th in k s he “ know s it a ll” , and studies
only because he wishes to pass. T h is g ro u p of children will surely be
an y th in g but good law -abiding citizens, when grow n.
T he child of Class IV is usually good in the classroom, if he is n ’t a
dunce, and gives the teacher very little trouble. T hey are very good
w orkers and grow up to be scholarly men and women. T hey may be
com pared to the “ w orkers” in the beehive.
riie children of Class \ have the fewest chances of becom ing well
educated.
1 hey have been steeped in vice from th eir earliest days and
have parents who care n o th in g for learning. T h ey do not like the o r
derly schoolroom . W ild, restless street life is in th eir veins and they
care little for stu d y . T en-cent detective stories fascinate their young
m inds, and the resu lt is th a t they try to im itate the characters in these
books, th u s developing into wicked, dem oralized m en. who are c o n tin
ually filling our prisons and asylum s.
In the above p aragraphs I have separated the children into classesfor
convenience sake, but there is in reality but one large class of children,
all more or less alike, who are strangely different because of their en v ir
onm ent and home life.
T o the influence of th e home is added the influence of the school and
com m unity. A t th e present day all schools are very nearly alike. T h a t
is, they seek to im press upon the m inds of the children the value of
learning and try to excite a natural desire for study and higher morals.
Of course rural schools are different in form from the city schools, but
th e ir teachings ought to be the same. I do not mean the ’ same studies
exactly, but they o u g h t to fit the child for life and show th at ideal life
can be obtained only in the sam e m easure as the individual desires it.
\\ hat we m ake our children love and desire is more im portant than
w hat we make them le a rn .”
An undesirable com m unity is alw ays detrim ental to the child, as the
z