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About The Chemawa American (Chemawa, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 17, 1923)
3 MAY » The ChemawaAmerican P r in te d a t C h e m a w a , Vol. XXV O r e g o n , a n d D e v o t e d to t h e I n t e r e s t s o f I n d i a n E d u c a t i o n W ednesday, J a n u a r y 17, 1923 A GOOD REPUTATION Y oung people, th ere is n o th in g th a t you should value m ore th an a good re p u ta tio n or a good ch aracter. O u r very g reatest m en and wom en have reg ard ed th eir rep u tatio n s as th e ir m ost precious possessions, and under no circum stances w ould th e y perm it th eir nam es to attach to a proposition of an y k in d w hich w as not of a very h ig h ch a ra cte r. In business g reat sum s of m oney are freq u en tly paid for th e use of a nam e, because th e ow ner of th e nam e possessed a g reat re p u ta tio n for in te g rity and squ are dealing. In o rd er to gain a good rep u tatio n for hon esty , square dealing and all-around dependability one m u st not be satisfied to do th in g s by halves or leave an y job or p ro p osition half finished. N o th in g b u t com pletion will satisfy th e dem and. I t is those stu d e n ts who have th e im perative dem and for th e best in th e ir n atu res, an d will accept n o th in g sh o rt of it, who w ill m ake good in any activ ity , w ho set th e stan d ard s, th e ideals for o th ers, an d w ho stam p th e ir in d ividuality upon those w ith whom th ey associate. N o-one w ith such ideals can be induced to do a q u estionable act or half- do a th in g . Such persons know th a t th e ir success, happiness and satisfaction depend u p o n follow ing hig h ideals and k eeping them selves up to th e sta n d a rd s w hich th e ir ideals d em and. T h e y know th at if th ey should m ake a “ bad b re a k ” it w ould ta in t th e ir ideals, low er th e ir am bition an d m ake an easy path by w hich to ru in th e ir re p u ta tio n . Y oung m en and y o u n g women of the rig h t stuff will allow n o th in g to en ter th e ir lives to tain t th eir re p u ta tio n , d eterio rate th e ir ideals, or low er th e ir stan d ard s of q u ality , eith er by word or action W h a t success in life will our stu d en ts m ake if th ey are satisfied w ith th e cheap, the botched, the slovenly production or achievem ent? A side from lack of am bition, desire, or effort to be good stu d e n ts, th ere are other th in g s th a t help to m ake such stu d e n ts sta n d low—dissipation, bad habits, neglect of h ealth , failu re to stu d y . A boy w eakened by dissip atio n , whose u n d e rsta n d in g has been dulled, w hose grow th m entally and m orally has been stu n ted by self-indulgence, is in leed alm ost a w reck and is n o t even half a m an . No. 13 E very fault you allow to become a habit w hich gains control of you, pulls you dow n, puts you at a d is advantage, and practically debars you from honor, position, prosperity and happiness. T h ere is a great d istinction between a s tu d e n t’s r e p u tatio n and his ch aracter. H is rep u tatio n is w hat people th in k of him , w hile his character is w hat he really is. I t is only in rare instances th a t people are fooled in these tw o qualities, and th en for a very short tim e only. So, really, rep u tatio n and ch aracter should both be of the best and go hand in h and. Bear in m ind th a t no-one can ever hope to accom plish m uch unless he possess th e qualities w hich dem and th o ro u g h n ess and accuracy, and has them indelibly fixed in his life in th e form of a hab it. T he h ab it of d o in g th in g s poorly will ru in a stu d e n t in tim e, even th o u g h he possess a su per-m ind. People who are w orth w hile have a very h ig h sense of the proper way to act as well as th e proper way to do th in g s. T hey well know th a t the only way to m ain tain a good rep u ta tio n is to have th e backbone, the persistence and d eterm in atio n not only to follow up an ideal, and by so doing elevate th e ir ow n lives to a higher stan d ard , but be th e m eans of influencing others Dy exam ple. In all affairs of life you will n o tice th at the dependable w orkers alw ays push th in g s th a t come to th eir hands a little hig h er up, a little fu rth e r on. It is th e hig h er up, a little fu rth e r on th a t counts in th e quality of your w ork. I t is the co n stan t effort to be square w ith yourself th a t co n quers. H ow m any stu d en ts have we at C hem aw a, w ho by th e ir acts are counted m ediocre or w ho lack th e will to be first class, stu d e n ts who apparently only exist and have to be pushed, encouraged, alm ost driven to tak e th eir lessons or vocational w ork, stu d e n ts, who, unless th ey rise above th eir present sta tu s will nevei be a n y th in g but bunglers, who will never fill any position rig h t because th ey are sim ply drifters? T hey take no pains to be first-class, put no conscience into th eir w ork, and are never given any responsible place to fill in any d ep a rtm en t of the school, because of th e ir u tte r u n reliab ility . Such stu d e n ts have ac quired bad rep u ta tio n s.
