Rural School Leaflet 137 i 



important. Many persons have been handicapped through life because 

 their teeth were not taken care of in childhood. A salt solution has been 

 recommended by a good dentist as a very valuable mouth wash in country 

 districts where children do not have some of the preparations now of value 

 in keeping the teeth in good condition. 



Habits. — Teachers often have better opportunity to observe the habits 

 of boys and girls than do their parents. The entire future life depends 

 largely on the habits formed in childhood; and because of this, those who 

 are constantly with children, must take some responsibility so that each 

 day the good habits strengthen and the weak habits gradually decrease. 



It is important for children to form the following habits: (i) Habits 

 that lead to good health: cleanliness; ventilating living and sleeping 

 rooms; cleaning the teeth; caring for the eyes; taking exercise; standing 

 erect; and the like. (2) Habits that are of value in personal association 

 with others: thoughtfulness of parents and older persons; courtesy; a 

 quiet voice; good manners; an aversion to gossip; avoidance of petty or 

 unjust judgments; punctuality. (3) Habits that strengthen honesty: 

 playing the game straight. (4) The habit of finishing a piece of work in 

 detail. (5) The habit of committing good literature to memory. (6) 

 Habits of close observation. It is important for children to appreciate 

 that a person of culture is always able to see the other person's point of view. 



Good manners. — The teacher might express at one of the meetings of 

 parents her willingness to aid in teaching the children good manners. 

 Many parents will appreciate such help, realizing as they do the importance 

 of social fitness. Loud voices, boorish ways, lack of consideration of 

 older persons, and rough, boisterous habits of intercourse, will often defeat 

 young persons in many opportunities for growth and for pleasure that 

 might otherwise be theirs. Children should be taught the reasons why 

 definite social forms are observed. If this work is done with earnestness 

 and with sufficient frequency, the children will soon realize its importance. 



Nature study and agriculture. — If the plans of the teacher include in- 

 struction in nature study and agriculture, parents should understand the 

 place that these subjects now have in the educational world. Many parents 

 will say that they know more of agriculture than does the school-teacher. 

 This is doubtless true, but all lines of endeavor are dignified when made a 

 part of the educational system; and when boys and girls work out with 

 the teacher some problem in farm practice, the lesson may be connected 

 with other school subjects, such as geography, language, arithmetic, and 

 the like. Some parents object to nature study because they have not fully 

 realized that all boys and girls on the farm need for their best success a 

 natural-history background. Many farmers possess this without knowing 

 how it was obtained. Since natural-history subjects have eduQ^-tjonaJ 

 value, they may well be presented with other school work. 



