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Show I YOUR CHILDREN'S SCHOOL WORK ri j Many parents of this city are asking, about now, how they can :help their children to obtain mere benefit from their studies during the school year now beg.nning. If they were to put that question up to a number of teachers, they might get a reply something like this: "The trouble with a good many children," such a teacher might say, "is that it is difficult to make them see that their school lessons are of great importance to them. When they take up history, his-tory, for instance, some of them will say to themselves that these old days were a very long time ago, and have nothing to do with their affairs now." "These children will sometimes ask how it will help them to sell goods in a store, or run a machine in a factory, to know who the presidents of the United States were or what started the Civil war." . I If pupils can be convinced that knowledge is really important to them, they will do twice as much work. Their heads are full of sport and fun, so that it is difficult for many of them to foresee ; their future needs. Parents should aid the teachers in this effort, J and tell these youngsters what will happen to them if they fall down on their school work. Try them in terms of their own experience. Ask them what they would say if some stranger should come on their football field, j and ask foolish questions about why they kicked that dirty old ball j back and forth, and what good it did them to pile up in a heap in the dust? They would laugh at that fellow, and ask what "rube" town he came from anyway? 1 So it can be said to them, that when they grow up and show ignorance of things that interest intelligent people, the world looks , at them and laughs, and asks where they blew in from. The community com-munity has little use for people who are mentally asleep. j |