720 ANNUAL REPORli OF THE Off. Doc. 



Row blind we all arc to tho beauties around us. If only their eyes 

 i-ould be opened to these, fewer boys and girls would be so eager to 

 leave the farm. 



One of the gifts parents give their little boys is a great mistake. 

 I mean the air rifle. Sending those innocent children out to shoot 

 our birds, which they should learn to love, will cultivate a f^pirit of 

 cruelty. An exchange says: ''The tide of public opinion in favor of 

 justice and humaneness to the animal creation has been slowly flow- 

 ing in for the last decade." The sympathies of the best people are 

 with the students of animal nature — those who arc trying to under- 

 stand the "lives of the hunted;" not for more skill in conquering and 

 killing, but for justice and protection. When Mr. Thompson, the 

 student-hunter, after a long search, met the deer, face to face, in 

 his own fastnesses and threw down his gun, exclaiming, ''My 

 brother!" he not only voiced his own magnanimity, but gave the key- 

 word to the ideal relation between mankind and the animal world. 

 Let us do our best to help along this "ideal" relation. 



Again, guard most carefully against the tobacco habit. Empha- 

 size at home what all text-books teach in school. As a reward for 

 faithfulness, allow them money and time for a little trip. How it 

 broadens their minds to get away from their own little circles and to 

 realize how big and how wonderful this world of ours is. After 

 they have seen some things for themselves, their lessons become 

 more real. 



Let me repeat what I said in the beginning. Do your best to se- 

 cure good teachers; then help them in every way you can. When 

 the children come home and correct your bad English as "teacher" 

 corrected them in school, do not treat it as impertinence, but try to 

 improve both 3'our own language and theirs. It is a debt you owe 

 them, because it is through your ignorance or carelessness that 

 they have acquired the mistakes. It would be just as easy for a child 

 to learn to speak correctly when he begins to talk, but he imitates 

 you, and so must overcome the bad habits of speech which have 

 l)ecome so firmly fixed or else carry them all through life. Do you 

 not agree with me that you should help remedy them? 



I believe that children should confide in their parents in all things. 

 If eA'erything said in school was repeated to mother, the teacher 

 would have little cause to worry lest any immoral talk was being 

 done. But there is a difference between telling for warning or en- 

 couragement and for mere idle gossip. There is too much gossiping 

 and tale-bearing. Children are antagonistic. Everybody knows it, 

 yet when there is a dispute at school, fond parents are nearly always 

 sure it must be their neighbor's child who is at fault. Let us not 

 worry over these things. The child must be corrected surely, else 

 he would never learn to do better. But do not make an enemy of 

 your neighbor and burden the teacher's life by making a mountain of 

 a mole-hill. Then again, there may be things done at school which 

 the teacher ought to know. She cannot be with the children all 

 the time at their play and it would be a kindness for parents to warn 

 her. Thus, in so many ways the parents can be helpful to the 

 teacher and so doubly helpful to the children. But in order to do 

 nearly all this, they must firs.t learn to know each other. This brings 

 me to your oft-neglected duty — visit the school. How can you know 



