THE PLACE OF ATHLETICS IN INDIAN SCHOOLS

W. H. WINSLOW, SUPERINTENDENT, GENOA INDIAN SCHOOL, NEBRASKA

It is now a well-recognized principle that the first requisite of success in life is to be a good animal. Physical health aids in mental and moral health.

The first requirement is to develop bone and muscle; to develop sound, strong lungs that will purify a large blood supply; to secure a healthy stomach; to train a heart that is regular, and strong enough to supply every cell with pure blood. This is needed as a basis upon which to build manhood and womanhood that will stand hard work. Girls should be given the training equally with the boys.

The

Indian boys are too liable to get a wrong idea of the importance of games. applause of a good play in baseball or football is taken for more than it means. Again, games as at present very largely conducted do not serve their proper purpose. Only the physically perfect, the strongest, can hope to win a place. Of necessity, the boy that needs the training worst must be left out.

Running, jumping, vaulting, etc., should be a part of the regular training. But the school should direct them ail, and none of them should be allowed to assume control of the institution. Too great ambition to meet those of an entirely different class should be carefully curbed. Games in the school are of prime importance, and the best games for our purpose are those which put the greatest number in training.

THE NECESSITY FOR MORE AND BETTER EQUIPPED DAY SCHOOLS

CHARLES E. BURTON, SUPERINTENDENT, MOQUI INDIAN SCHOOL, ARIZONA

The Indian day school is like the common public school of the white people. It touches the pulse of the Indian village, and uplifts, to a greater or less extent, the public conscience and public pride of the adult Indian.

The Indian mother gets lessons of thrift and cleanliness from the teacher and his family. The father gains ideas from the teacher which benefit him along the lines of better farming, better stock raising, better clothing, better living. Many savage practices and ceremonies are abandoned because of the proximity of a Christian teacher and family whose sense of modesty and propriety would be shocked. I believe that a man and wife should preside over each day school. The man reaches the men of the village, and his wife reaches the women.

It is an undeniable fact that a large majority of the people of the United States get all the education they ever get in the "little red schoolhouse," and so the great majority of the Indian youth will be educated in the little day school or forever remain without education and practical training which will fit him to take his place in the American citizenship-the goal of all our efforts.

THE NEED OF BETTER EQUIPPED INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYES CHARLES L. DAVIS, SUPERINTENDENT, FT. TOTTEN INDIAN SCHOOL, NORTH DAKOTA When the native Indian child enters school it is necessary to begin at the bottomto instill habits of industry, to impart skill and readiness in work and the use of appliances, and oftentimes to break down native prejudices which a child may bring with him against doing certain kinds of work. All this must be done that each child may be prepared to earn an honest livelihood in later years.

To accomplish the desired result requires employes of the utmost patience and of ample skill. I would not recommend that the schools seek the services of professors,

but they should be thoroly skilled workmen in their particular line of work, and be able to teach others.

To promulgate any rule by which to select suitable employes would be quite impossible. But when we meet with an industrial instructor who within a few months enables his pupils to do with their own hands work such as he does himself, and can tell why they do it, then we know success has been obtained. Girls who cut and make their own clothes have been instructed by a competent seamstress. The cook who can take a day off, leaving girls in charge, and without the other pupils observing her absence, has shown commendable skill as an instructor. When the boys on the farm detail can tell you when and how to plow to preserve the fertility of the soil; can distinguish between different breeds of cattle as to their suitableness for dairy or beef purposes; can and do keep the work going and look after the multitudinous duties of that department when the farmer is absent-such boys prove the efficiency of the instructor better by far than a diploma from the best agricultural college.

THE ADVISABILITY OF MORE PRACTICAL TRAINING FOR THE INDIAN WILSON H. COX, SUPERINTENDENT, PIERRE INDIAN SCHOOL, SOUTH DAKOTA There must come a time in the history of the Indian when he must be placed upon his own responsibility. Many Indians are offering their services to work on farms, thus showing that they are beginning to realize that self-support is the ultimate condition to which they must attain. The present great demand in Indian education is industrial education, a training that will bring self-support, learning how to do those things which will furnish clothing, food, and shelter. The central thought in all our school work should be to impress upon the minds of the pupils the dignity of labor. This they do not learn at home. Each pupil should be taught at school that he has duties of his own to perform, which are necessary to his own success; that thru his and others' successful performance of duty comes the success of the school. Teach this so practically that the lesson will be carried into home life.

THE BEST WAY TO TEACH ENGLISH TO INDIAN CHILDREN

MATTHEW M. MURPHY, TEACHER, MARICOPA DAY SCHOOL, ARIZONA

If I had my own way I would begin with the Indians' own home. Reforms may be introduced into small communities that would be inapplicable to large ones. For that reason I would divide every agency into communities of a few hundred each. In each community I would place a day school corresponding to the white district school; I would place there a teacher and such other employes as conditions indicated; I would place the community in charge of the teacher or other employe, and make him responsible for the community as well as for the school. Then I would begin the teaching of English. It would be to the interest of every family to learn English, as discrimination would be made in favor of those speaking English. Returned students would be welcomed into the homes and would be looked up to, instead of being ridiculed, as at present. In the Kingman Day School I encouraged my pupils to teach the little children at home in the camps. The children told me they were doing so, and the policeman corroborated their statements. The result was that every new pupil the second year could speak enough English to be understood, and could understand what was said to him. I know it was the work of the other children, because the new ones had such sentences as, "Please, may I leave the room?" " Please, may I have a slate pencil?" etc. Besides the children said that many children too small to come to school had been taught to speak English.

STOCK RAISING AND DAIRYING

GEORGE W. NELLIS, SUPERINTENDENT, PINE RIDGE INDIAN SCHOOL, SOUTH DAKOTA

Farm life, and particularly that part of it which pertains to stock raising, is the ideal life for the Indian. His life has been one of freedom, and he loves animals. His chances of success are much greater in such work than in the professions or trades.

The course of instruction need not be extended, but it should be thoro and practical. Pupils should be taught the distinguishing characteristics of different breeds of cattle, so that they may be able to select intelligently stock suitable to the localities in which they live, and for the purposes for which they are to be used, whether for dairy, for beef, or both. The value of cattle in comparison with Indian ponies should be made clear to them. They should be taught the necessity of providing shelter, of putting up sufficient quantities of hay, the proper method of rearing calves, etc. I see no reason why in the larger reservation schools, where sufficient hay and pasture land is available, this industry cannot be developed to the extent of at least furnishing all the beef needed for the subsistence of the school. I am confident it would prove a good investment from a financial as well as educational point of view.

Sheep raising can be made a profitable business for the Indians, and should be given attention in the schools. Many of the reservations are peculiarly adapted to this industry. It is a desirable occupation for the Indian, because it can be entered upon without a great amount of capital.

Poultry raising should be a part of the industial training of every school. It should be carried on by the girls under the direction of the matron. The girls take to it with delight. The poultry yard is valuable, not only because of its educational worth, but because of the much-needed variety of food it furnishes for the school table.

To get the Indian interested in dairying will go very far toward the solution of the home question. He can raise cattle for beef purposes and still do a great deal of roving about, but he cannot keep cows for dairy purposes without remaining quite closely at home. To be profitable they must be sheltered, and they must be milked and fed regularly. A herd of good dairy cows, with suitable buildings for their care and protection, and with facilities for the proper care of milk and the making of butter and cheese, should form a part of the equipment of every school. The boys should be taught how to care for and feed dairy cattle so as to obtain the best results, and both boys and girls should be taught to milk, and to do so in a cleanly and sanitary manner. Girls should be carefully instructed as to the care of milk and the making of butter and cheese.

TEACHERS' CONFERENCE

HOW MAY SCHOOLROOM EXERCISES INCULCATE HABITS OF THRIFT AND ECONOMY?

MISS CARRIE A. WALKER, PRINCIPAL TEACHER, WILD RICE RIVER SCHOOL,

MINNESOTA

The underlying principles of thrift and economy are: A place for everything, a time for everything, cleanliness, and thoroness.

Example being greater than precept, teachers should see that their own desks and belongings are kept in order. Each child should have pencil, pen, tablet, books, etc., and be held responsible for each article and the general appearance of his or her territory. A friendly spirit of rivalry will tend to make care of personal property a pleasure.

Beginning with the lowest grades, see to it that each task is done to the best of the child's ability. Follow this plan in all grades, and a habit will be formed that will prove a benefit to the child always. Show that a piece of work, no matter how trivial, if well done, is in itself a recommendation for the doer. All excellence depends upon thoroness. Commend all good work. A word of praise or a look of approval costs little, and is worth much to the pupil.

In the sewing lessons economy in cutting should be clearly demonstrated. Small pieces left over are just what are needed by the thrifty little people who are making quilts, rugs, or carpets for the doll's house.

In our nature-study lessons in the fall we note the preparations made everywhere for the winter. We see the farmers gathering their crops, storing what is needed for the family and for seed the next spring, and taking the remainder to market. In talks we bring out the need of saving part of the income thus derived. In our own little garden beds we see the application of our talks, for we gather and save seeds needed for use the coming spring, and thus avoid an expenditure for new seeds. The child learns to save by saving.

In number work take problems from real life with which the child is familiar. Give practical problems in buying, selling, and saving to put in the bank. Require pupils to bring in original problems involving a bank account. Higher grades should learn practical lessons along the same lines.

In all schoolroom exercises the teacher must be the living pattern which the child unconsciously imitates. If she practices true economy the children will tend to form right habits. If she is wasteful, they will be more so.

TRAINING of the INDIAN BOY AND GIRL FOR LIFE ON THE RESERVATION AFTER LEAVING SCHOOL

MRS. LAURA H. RATLIFF, OMAHA INDIAN SCHOOL, NEBRASKA

When the pupil goes home he goes from superior to inferior surroundings and conditions; he goes from the preparation for a task to the task itself; he goes to a very real and to a largely degenerating environment. The teacher should consider first the home, the surroundings, influences, conditions, and appliances to which the pupils return, and then consider how to prepare them to approach these conditions to the best advantage. As habits form the greatest bulwark against adverse influences, we should give our earnest attention to cultivating right and strong ones in our Indian pupil. Those which he will need most are habits of industry, forethought, and character, and when he has fully acquired these the pupil will be well fitted to lead a successful life on his allotment.

METHODS OF INSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT

MRS. TAMA M. WILSON, TEACHER, CANTONMENT INDIAN SCHOOL, OKLAHOMA We ought not be content with fair, or even good, results, but ever watchful for the very best. Observation and habits of industry should be cultivated, good books and educational journals should be read and studied, with an endeavor to pick something out of the thoughts and experiences of other educators that we can make our own, to the advantage of the Indian boys and girls intrusted to our care. The employment of some of our leisure time in original thinking and planning would add much to the practical value of our work.

Careful attention should be given to the arrangement of exercises in which the teacher has not full control. In the presence of the children the instructor should not be careless in anything, but methodical and especially accurate and right in all things; setting an example that all would do well to emulate.

THE PRACTICAL ADVANTAGE OF MORE ORAL WORK

MISS LYDIA E. KAUP, PRINCIPAL TEACHER, MT. PLEASANT SCHOOL, MICHIGAN

It is not implied that written work is of no value. It is a necessary part of a pupil's education, but Indian pupils need a far greater amount of oral than of written work.

Oral work is necessary to teach language correctly. Being of a quiet disposition, Indian pupils are quite contented to work for hours at a written discussion of some subject, which, when finished, will have some words poorly arranged, unnecessary words added, and many necessary ones omitted. The fault lies in the fact that they do not understand the English well enough to arrange the words in a correct manner and to give a pleasing expression.

Oral work also creates self-confidence, which the Indian pupils need so much. Every class-room teacher knows how reticent they are. The whispered low-toned monosyllabic answer is a general characteristic. The Indian must come in contact with the white man in order to progress. The better he commands English the more rapid will be his advancement. He will, however, keep aloof to the degree measured by the difference in ability to express himself orally.

A valuable means by which oral expression can be secured from the older pupils is discussion of historical and current events. They are especially interested in the events of the day, and will discuss them more readily because they are occurring at the present time.

MORE PRACTICAL AND LESS MECHANICAL WORK IN THE GRADES MRS. ELLA H. GILMORE, TEACHER, CHEYENNE AGENCY, S. D.

Spencer says: "Education should develop the power of providing for one's family. It is the basis of good citizenship." If this be true, how important it is that the Indian child should be taught those subjects which will be of most value to him in providing his livelihood and making him a useful citizen! The conditions from which the child comes and to which he must return should be thoughtfully studied. The teacher should know something of the tribe, country, and probable occupation of his future life, to be able to direct his thoughts, work, and study in such a manner as to arouse a desire for a selfsupporting, intelligent manhood.

Practical everyday problems should be taught thruout the grades. Girls should learn to measure cloth and estimate the cost of a dress or other article of clothing; to measure milk, vinegar, and oil in gallons, finding cost by the pint and quart, and the Boys should measure corn, beans, potatoes, and other farm products, and ascertain the cost at the market price. They will be surprised to learn the cost of potatoes used in the school for one year.

reverse.

Let them measure the wood-pile, not only in cords, but in fractions of the cord in the higher grades, and tell how many there are and find the value of the same. They will be interested and work with a will very different from the spiritless way they plod over problems in their books.

INDUSTRY AND ECONOMY ARE NECESSARY TO THE INDIANS, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS A RACE

MISS ALLIE B. BUSBY, PRINCIPAL TEACHER, INDUSTRIAL BOARDING SCHOOL,
CROW CREEK, S. D.

By frequent talks in the class-room on this subject, I have endeavored to impress this thought on the minds of the pupils by referring to Indians, and other persons known to them, who have well-stocked and productive farms and comfortable homes as a result of