Washington Night High School - Annual Yearbook (Cincinnati, OH)

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HOME EFFICIENCY - Continued the housewife ought to know about how much is required to provide for the material side of the home in a week 01- month 01' year. However, a healthful home atmosphere with intelligent parents presiding, is what chiefly challenges our attention just now. able attention to this aspect of the question and have doubtless Our schools and mother's societieS have given consider- done much good. XYise mothers are in these days utilizing their- opportunities for securing such information as makea possihle a more intelligent conduct of the domestic life. But right here thei'e is a danger. It seems difficult to center one's activities mlnewliere near the golden mean. Friom the old fashioned practice of always staying at home and living the life of a recluse. some women have swung all the way over to the Other extreme of scarcely ever being at home. Between alwaya' being in or always being out there is but little choice. When motherls societies and women's clubs occupy so much of the mother's time that She has none to spare for her children. she allows those organizations to defeat the very purpose for which they were instituted. It is very well for the soldier to study his manual of arms, but if he should thus devote all Of his time he is not likely to aseist much in the winning of battles. The mother who gives the major portion of her time to the mere getting of information must not be surprised if her children get farther and farther away from her, in spite of the fact that She knows better how to hold them than ever. But do not mistake the thought here. There is no desire to disparage mothers' societies and Wonieuls clubs as such; on the contrary we believe in them and helieve their advent marks the dawning of a better day. The thing feared is. that the real object of thee organizations will be so far forgotten that weIl-meaning mothers will devote so much time to them a: to 40 gradually cause an extinction of the domestic life; this, of course. would he a calamity to society. Mothers need expert training and carefully wrought-out information for theirs is a task that requires tact and skill of a brand that no other work demands. But the getting of these aids should be limited to certain days so that ample time may be had to practically apply the principles acquired. Parents ought to make it their aim to be their Children's companions. and in order to do this they must at least keep up with them in their progress, if not ahead. That in many instances parents have lost control of their children is not in the. least surprising, Children cannot be controlled by parents whom they do not respect. and they cannot respect tlehcient or unreasonable parents or those whose inconsistency of conduct resolves them into a farce in the presence of sagaeious childhood whose eyes quickly penetrate any veneerng of sham 0r pretense. Parents cannot exact respect that their own conduct does not merit. The ease of the boy who, when he was reproved for certain conduct simply replied. Papa. does it, illustrates the point. It always strikes one rather strangely when he sees a parent so very careful about the conduct of her Child and so careless about her own. Children are naturally imi- tative. and will more readily do what the parent does than what is merely asked to be done. It is more effective to set the proper example and say nothing them to give explicit directions and do nothing. Respect is not inspired by law but by merit A pErROH with some mentality and moral excellence does not have to demand respect: he has it. Perhaps it seems rather harsh to say so, but doubtless it is fortunate for some children that they do not obey their parents for by them they would simply he hampered. Does it not seem a real tragedy to see bright children who would make a mark in the world if they were

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HOME EFFICIENCY HE home is an institution whase management must be carefully studied it there woulcl be efficiency. ll crop-raisihg and hog-raiging, machiue-building and houseebuiltling state- making and law making, medicine and theology 43$? must be formulated into sciences whcse laws must be caiefully obsewetl, how much mote must home-making be thus furiiiulated. As human character surpasses in importance every consideration of a mere material nature, so the home is pre-emincntly first as compared with all other institutions. Even the church whose function i9. avowedly epiritual primarily, must allow the interests of the home to determine largely its mode of procedure in Christiauizr ing society. Whatever is inimical to, 01' destructive of the home is anti-Christian, and therefore antirmoral anti ahti-Social. VVheh an institution faces the test of efficiency one of the first essentials to be considered is, what is the product desired? The shoe establishment exists for the purpose of producing shoes. 01- at least ought to. There may be some such 1113111? dollars while shce-making is a mere incident in the process. But for sake of illustration we will suppose the case of an ideal shoe plant, Its chief business is to produce shoes. ment wishes to attain the highest efficiency possible consistent with honesty, justice and the best moral and physical interests It, therefore. studies every branch of the factories existing for the purpose of producing the The manage of its employes. business as it relates to the ultimate product, shoes. durable shoes, handsome shoes, comfortable shoes; shoes that will create a demand for themselves. Moreover, it wishes to produce such shoes at a minimum cost in harmony with fair wages. It wants 39 The extent to which that management succeeds in attaining its desired end determines the degree of efficiency the plant attains. What should be the goal of the home? Should it be the constructing of a mere brick and mortar house the family can call its own? Or an accumulated bank account Of considerable Or social rank as determined by mere wealth, which of Or should it he the rearing ol' Rize? course involves the foregoing? men and women who shall he presented to society strong in large in Vision, determined in with 3 maximum ability for useful service? Numerous examples might be given of Iamil'es who started life with the primary character. purpose, and ultimate purpose of buying their own house and getting a large bank account. Every effert was bent toward the reach- All else was made secondary. The children Books and magazines were listed among things which it would he 21 waste The young people were deprived of a proper money expenditure: ing of that goal, were early taken out of school and put to work. of money to buy. social life because it involved a possible while the shortest of vacation trips were prohibited for the same reason. The struggle covered the very period in which the children should have gotten their best mental and moral development. The family did hnally realize the owner ship of their own house and the possession of a large bank account. but at what a cost! Here. indeed, there was efficiency as it related to the goal, but who would say that the goal was a worthy one? The chief object of the home should he to contribute to society the highest type of men and women; any consideration of home efficiency should x: vitally related to that object. Yes. there should be care and system in the expenditure of money:

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HOME EFFICIENCY e Continued but given the Chance, fetterecl socially, intellectually and morally, all because of the lack of intelligence and understanding on the part Of those who preside over the home? The home may be made a community complete in itself. Father and mother and children form a circle in which conven sation, reading. work, and various diversions may all have their part. The childrem. in whom there is a natural and free mental unfolding. with no suppression of life in most cases are those whose fathers are companions of the buys and the mothers of the girls and both parents jointly of the family. What unfold- ing life needs most of all are not rules and regulations which in many homes are arbitrarily laid clown, but the right sort of suggestion and inspiration which a WE'lleOHlETEd domestic activity furnishee, thy show more sense in training the family parrot than in rearing our future parents, teachers. preachers and statesmen? That there are many parents who, by the lack of means, are so hampered that they cannot give their children a square deal. a little investigation would make evident; and it is to be hoped that the clay will come when our whole economic system will have been so adjusted that every worthy family may have the means to live in a tit dwelling and every mother will be in a position to employ help in her home when it is necessary. so that she may give proper attention to the lives entrusted to her care. When that day comes; home efficiency will not be uncommon; and where it is lacking. society will not be to blame. But the very fact that under present conditions there are so many disadvantages with which to cope, necessitates a more assiduous application of the parents to the home efficiency problem. Under no circumstances ought the intellectual and moral and spiritual life of the home be made second to any consideration. liy natural and moral and divine right human life should always have first place. Here, then, is the burden of this essay. The function of the home is the developing of strong character out of the raw material. Entering into this process are work, play. reading. social life, church attendance, the system that all this demands, and the example and companionship 0f the parents. Each one of these separately and all of them collectively must be considered as they bear upon the character of the members of the family. Norma lVet'ss.