Page 41 - 1916 February - To Dragma

1 2 0 TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

system of state government. The result was a creditable volume
and a better knowledge of the Volunteer State.

Different clubs and organizations furnished me w i t h another varia-
tion. On "Clean-up Day" the City Beautiful Club offered a prize
f o r the best essay on " H o w I Can B e a u t i f y Chattanooga." The
Manufacturers' Association gave a prize f o r the best paper on " W h y
Use Chattanooga-inade Goods?" and the Garden Club presented
seeds and cuttings f o r the finest set of "Reasons f o r Home Gardens."

So that, w i t h the quarterly newspaper, the invitations to the
various school meetings and entertainments, and the Resolutions
to the Graduating Class. I found all the material that I had time
to utilize, and a l l o f i t seemed to be of lively interest to the pupils.
A n d I think there is some merit i n anything that w i l l make children
look forward to composition day, don't you?

THE VISION OF T H E TEACHER

Head ROCHEI.LE G A C H E T , IT '09 Technical

of Mathematics Department. Alabama Girls'
Institute, Montevallo, Ala.

There was one particular afternoon when I had not long been
a teacher that a most discouraged moment came, but that moment
also brought me a friend with an idea of such true and deep en-
couragement that I now cherish that day as one of the most valuable
of all my teaching experiences.

A t the time I was teaching i n a small town where the high school
had not long been established, and where the spirit o f the town was
hardly up to high school standard. M y college ideals were fresh
and urgent w i t h i n me f o r immediate realization. But at every t u r n
I found myself forced by misunderstanding and prejudice to bide
my time, or arouse unavailing hostility. M y pupils were learning a
few rules and mechanical operations, but these seemed to me hardly
worth while, and they were so f a r , f a r short of the ideal I had of
what I wanted to accomplish! A n d that particular day it seemed
as i f neither the rules nor the operations were going in very f a r , nor
sticking very fast!

Then i t was that the thought was given to me o f the vision required
of the teacher. This vision meant the power to look into the future,
and, to a very real and great extent, the power to live in the future.
It brought up the question of whether when Mary and Jack do not
learn their algebra lesson today, nor tomorrow, nor f o r a whole term,
must I needs ponder whether I am f a i l i n g as w e l l as they? Per-
haps I am, i f the algebra lesson i n itself is what 1 am t r y i n g to