402 ILLINOIS STATE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



admire. And in the ten years, not a set of officers has 

 failed. The students know who is who, and no year is 

 going to see its officers disgrace the Bowen Bird Boost- 

 ers. It is an honor to be elected to office, and every fel- 

 low is determined to do his best if given that honor by 

 fellow students. 



The merits of the many forms of student government 

 are still under discussion. It is plainly a fact, however, 

 that when students are told that a club is theirs and theirs 

 alone, they want that club to be the students' in fact and 

 not only in theory. -The wise faculty adviser must al- 

 ways remember that she is an adviser and not a presi- 

 dent of that club. The officers should be confident of the 

 teacher's ability and support. They should regard her 

 as a friend when in office and as a teacher in the class 

 room, relations which are very different. "When high 

 school students want their student organizations to be 

 managed by students, many teachers seem to misunder- 

 stand. Students do not want the faculty advisers to sit 

 back and say, ''All right, if you want to run your own 

 organization we will have nothing to do with your af- 

 fairs." Students simply mean that they want coopera- 

 tion on both sides. The faculty adviser should look after 

 affairs as to preparation and advice and the students 

 should carry such affairs out in their own ways and 

 methods. Teach principles, and let the students apply 

 them. 



If science teachers really wish to humanize and make 

 science work more practical, what better means could be 

 found than a science club? But it takes time ; in the case 

 of the Bowen Bird Boosters it has taken ten years to 

 build up a set of policies and principles making coopera- 

 tion secure. If the faculty advisers wish to manage the 

 business, if they wish to appear on programs, and if they 

 desire to be conspicuous for their work, they cannot make 

 students believe it is a students' club. The adviser's 

 praise must be the club's growth in strength and influ- 

 ence. If the adviser disregards personal prejudices and 

 treats students as equals in the same club, and if the club 

 is founded and run on principles of student democracy, 

 success is bound to result. 



