University of Southern Mississippi - Southerner Yearbook (Hattiesburg, MS)

Page 27 text:

lqigli Zlhrala Ihr Qlhirf iliartnr in 'ii ' illural Brurlnplnrnt J. J. MELVIN V, FORREST COUNTY HE people of Mississippi are a free, liberty-loving people. It is difficult to give us anything We do not Want, and when a majority of us decide that we WANT a thing it is hard to keep us from having it. But we all know that as a rural people We do not have all the conveniences of life that We need. Our past experience is sufficient to prove that all that is necessary for us to secure a thing is the desire for it--the determination to have or to attain to that thing. This is what makes us a FREE people. If We deny this We assert that we are bound-bound by tradition, igno- rance, indolence or selfishness. This zeal to possess or to attain to a thing, through individual effort, then, We may say is the result of an ideal. The trouble with us as a rural people is that our ideal stops short of what We really need-We are satisfied With less than the best. Now, since We have all that We desire, and have only to desire to obtain, but do not have what We need, and WILL NOT have What We do not desire, it is only for us to realize our needs and desire them in order to obtain them. And it is plain that We will never secure them until We do desire them. The ideal of more home comforts, happiness and contentment, and more com- munity conveniences and blessings is, and, from the nature of the situation, must be the forerunner of everything else that leads to better rural conditions. The material prosperity, the next thing in line needed to bring about these desirable domestic and social changes, will come as the result, and only as the result, of a spirit of dissatis- faction with conditions as they now exist, and a zeal for better thingsfinitheir places. Many rural families begin their careers with no money, but with high domestic ideals, and soon secure ample means, comforts, and advantages, and this is evidence that a great many more could do so if the ideal were present, and it is in communities Where such families as these are found that the highest social, .civic and religious attainments are found. As are the ideals of a majority of the individuals so is the community. J. J. MELVIN.

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Uhr iliural Svrhnul Qlurrirnlum SALLIE STEVENS MCLEMORE ' CLAY COUNTY -ax. HE purpose of the rural school curriculum is not to give the child just practical, helpful, necessary knowledge, but to give him this first to awaken in him an intelligent interest in the various forms of art, which in turn will add a new meaning to the common things of life. What should the elementary school do for the child? The boy finishing the eighth grade should know first of all, how to get from the printed page an understanding of its contents. He should have cultivated a taste for reading and literature, and should have the power to express his ideas, whether original or acquired, in a clear, intelligible manner. He should be familiar with the history of life about him and the progress of civilization, should know the elements of his government, national, state and country, his relation to his fellowman and con- sequent responsibility to society, and his obligations as a citizen. He should know the geography of his home region, including surface, climate, industries, products, and their relation to one another and to adjoining regions: the physical geography of the United States, the industrial and commercial life of its people in relation to climate, surface and coastline, the location of important cities and the cause for their location, the interdependence of our people and other people and countries, and a more general knowledge of other countries. He should know something of the mechanism of his body and the proper care of it, the cause and prevention of the ordinary illnesses and precautions against the spread of contagious diseases, some of the more important facts about bacteria, bear- ing on their relation to food and diseases, the proper sanitary arrangement and care of the home, and should have such mathematics as will serve his practical needs. He should know the science underlying agricultural work and the application of these principles of science, should have a knowledge of nature sufficient to give him a deep appreciation of the pleasures and possibilities of rural life, should know enough music to be able to enjoy it, and should be familiar with some great pictures, so as to have an appreciation of art. SALLIE STEVENS MCLEMORE

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.f:f'm rx, X' X i, - A Safe ani! Swann Fliirat nf April MABEL MlxoN FORREST COUNTY R. Joe Cook, the President of the Mississippi Normal College, knowing the nature of boys and girls, suggested that we change our way of observing April Fool's day and do something original. So after discussing the matter in chapel, we decided to have the usual lessons until chapel, have a rousing time in chapel, then have a general Field Day on the athletic field and a base ball game in the afternoon between the students and the faculty. The plan met with the approval of all and every one was satisfied. April Fool's Day dawned bright and clear. All holidays do, don't they- or do they? This one did anyway. After a glorious time in chapel everybody rushed out to the athletic field. Here the various contests were held: Mr. Cook, fat and short as he is, ran a race with a student and won! We had an egg race, a potato race, a fifty yard dash for the boys and one for girls, a shoe race, a blind hurdle race, and adoughnut contest. The latter caused, perhaps, the most fun. A long string was stretched across the field. From it hung other strings with doughnuts tied to them. The object was to eat the doughnut without touching it with the hands. He who ate his doughnut first won. To see the girls try to eat the doughnuts was worth the price of any first class rnin- strel. As sure as the doughnut was Within reach, somebody jerked the string, and away it went, swinging back and forth in a most tantalizing matter. There were about fifty contestants in every event and the winner was awarded a green ribbon. After dinner everybody went over to the base ball diamond and watched the faculty beat the student bachelors all to pieces. Mr. Cook could steal bases like a veteran-he made the first score. Sheriff Harbison, who umpired the game, said that Mr. Cook ran bases with more determination and less speed than any man he ever saw. Mr. Scott asked the spectators which was left field. Mr. Boland went back to the days of town ball and crossed out his man. O, that game was great. The day was a success in every way. If you don't believe it, try it next year in your school and see what will happen. Your students will scoff at the idea of hiding the bell-and call that baby's play. And you wont be given bites of marsh- mallows covered with quinine-if you will only help your students to be original in what they do. MABEL MIXON