Essays One essay each month should be written on some topic of interest on government or community life. In no case should the essay be written until the pupil has made some observations or done some reading on the subject and has something to say. A few topics are here suggested. Visits. A visit: to a court house, to a postoffice, to a park, to a county fair, to a football game, to a college or normal school, to a farmers' institute, to a teachers' institute, to a picnic, to a newspaper office, to a telegraph office, to a hospital. How Some Things Are Done. How men vote. How mail is sent. How roads are repaired. How taxes are collected. How a deed is written and recorded. How contracts are made. How candidates are nominated. How a silo is made. How disease is spread. Needs. The need: for good roads, for rural telephones, for groves, for a public hall, for literary societies, for good health, for skating ponds, for taxation, for a beautiful school room, for ventilation in school, church and home. Other Topics. Our debt to the pioneer. Prevention. of accidents. First aid to the injured. The care of the teeth. Home life in the city compared with home life in the country. Country sports and city sports. When grandma was a girl. When grandpa was a boy. A talk with the oldest settler. Some good habits and some bad ones. Cheerfulness. What I want to be when a man. The games I like to play. A Flag Salute The flag salute, which is used in most schools of this country, is given as follows: At a signal from the teacher every pupil stands erect and faces the flag, which is usually draped on the wall back of the teacher's desk. At another signal, generally made by raising the hand, the military salute is given by the pupils. This is made by lifting the right hand, palm downward, the forefinger touching the forehead above the eye. Standing thus, all repeat together slowly: "We give our heads and our hearts to our country; one country, one language, one flag." At the words, "our hearts," the right hand is placed over the heart, then placed at the side. At the words, "one flag," the right hand is extended gracefully, palm upward, toward the flag, all eyes being directed toward it. Another flag salute is given as follows: "I pledge allegiance to my flag and the Republic for which it stands; one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." At the words, "to my flag," the hand is extended toward the flag and remains in this position until the end. A pleasing variation is made sometimes by giving the "silent salute." The pupils form in a line, or in two lines, facing each other. The flag is then carried in front of the line, or between the lines, and the hands remain at salute until the flag has been placed in its position, when, at a signal from the teacher, every hand is dropped. Professor Willis E. Johnson. Northern Normal and Industrial School, My dear Sir: Half a century ago I was sent by President Abraham Lincoln to organize the territorial government of Dakota, which then comprised a vast extent out of which four states have been created. These states, by reason of their healthfulness, material prosperity, general intelligence, and educational advantages, take equal rank with the most favored states of the whole Union. After travelling over the vast prairies of that land, which had been marked in school maps as the "Great American Desert," I thought I could see what wae to be ir the future, as the white settler came to make a home and build a great civilization in the place to be left by the retreating footsteps of the Indian and buffalo. To the boys and girls of your great commonwealth I wish to extend my congratulations upon their having homes in a land of freedom and plenty. May they be inspired by the sacrifices which others have made for their welfare; may they bẹ grateful to almighty God for their abundant blessings; and may they grow up to be citizens who are worthy of such a country and such a civilization. Surely "South Dakota, A Republic of Friends!" this is an inspiring name for a book for these young people. After fifty years of watching the growth of your territory and state, I wish to say that my last wish for her will be that she may soon become what her name signifies, "a republic of friends. William Jayne |