1931 - Annual Convention

              S E V E N T E E N T H A N N U A L C O N V E N T I O N 39
O U T L I NE
Standing Committee on Education and Better Schools, 1931- 32.
A. For the mothers of pre- school age children, I would suggest:
I. That they endeavor to get more joy out of their association w i t h their
c h i l d r e n by teaching them habits of obedience, promptness, honesty,
bravery, unselfishness, fair- play, honorable dealings with others, considera­tion,
etc., b y:
( 1) Reading to them from Bible Stories, Mother Goose Rhymes, Fables,
A n i m a l Stories, O l d Greek Heroes, etc. Children respond so readily
to the story method of discipline.
( 2) P l a y i n g games with them— even if there is only one child, make
believe that you are a child, too. Use old fashioned games, such as
our mothers used to play; no better games have been produced.
" Hide the thimble," " J o l l y is the miller," etc. In these games, check
t a c t f u l ly any tendency to cheat or to take unfair advantage. The
principles of right l i v i n g taught throughout the first six years of a
child's life, are the foundation rock upon which the child's character
is built, and the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y rests mostly w i t h us mothers.
II. That c h i l d r e n be taught to memorize beautiful bits of poetry and to r e - t e ll
stories that they have heard. Plan little afternoon programmes in which
they may do the entertaining; several mothers who are interested in this
k i n d of c h i l d developing can get together with these programmes. The
children can be helped to dramatize some of their stories; they love to
" dress up" and " act."
I I I . That every c h i l d be taught to help in the marketing for the home; to run
errands and to deliver messages accurately. F r o m an early age, children
can be taught to do simple purchasing for you— thread, matches, yeast
cakes; such things as do not require too much judgment in the selection;
and they can be taught to handle money and get correct change. As a
rule, children develop much independence of character through being
trusted to help in this way. The errands may be to b r i n g a hoe or rake
f r om the barn, hunting the eggs and keeping careful count of the numbers
found— errands simple yet fostering a sturdy capability for assuming re­s
p o n s i b i l i t y . Delivering messages is very important as the power to listen
to a message and to repeat it accurately is i n v a l u a b l e ; and a child thus
taught is a wonderful help to its parents, and is laying a foundation of
attentiveness and r e l i a b i l i t y that w i l l be most useful in actual school work.
B. For the mothers of older children. I herewith suggest that more careful
attention be given to the reading material which falls into their hands.
Our Federal Government has seen fit to tax many magazines— and if
mothers would put the stamp of their disapproval upon the questionable
ones ( The True S t o r y or Cosmopolitan, for example) they would be help­i
n g to safeguard the minds of their children that they might the better
absorb the studies set before them by our curriculum. If we are to pre­serve
the p u r i t y of the E n g l i s h language, we should pay more attention
to the so- called " Funnies," the most popular section of the papers— the
E n g l i s h as well as the moral teachings of many are atrocious.
C. For the Institutes, I respectfully suggest:
( 1) That we study the N e w School Act carefully. The changes may or
may not prove to be beneficial. Let us compare and study the results
of the change.