1939 - Convention Report

              T W E N T Y - F I R S T PROVINCIAL CONVENTION - 10
lunch requisites, while in some cases a sum of money was put at the disposal
of the teacher to be used at her discretion in unobtrusively assisting- needy
or underprivileg- ed children.
School picnics, school treats, Christmas trees, school fairs, musical festi­vals,
amateur nights, with several schools competing, and inter- school
dramatic contests have been sponsored or assisted as well as youth training
classes. In one instance the W. I. provided and paid for the services of the
matron for girls attending a two- weeks' youth training school. Another
Branch each year sends a War Veteran's wife as their guest to the Farm
Women's Week at the School of Agriculture. Another Branch encouraged
a young girl to take the course in the making of cosmetics and the young
lady later " did her stuff" at a W. I. meeting! Several Institutes assisted
materially in making it possible for many school children to see their Maj­esties
the King and Queen.
Gradually the W. I. women are seeking to place the responsibility for
Better Schools, in the material sense, where it properly belongs, i. e., on the
school boards, and are devoting their energies towards developing a better
understanding and closer co- operation between the school and home. Teach­es
are being entertained by the Institutes and are in turn invited to visit
the school to see " Culminations" of enterprise activities when the proceed­ings
are under the management of the children themselves.
Pre- school education under various titles has been a subject of discus­sion
in many Branches.
Time does not permit mention of further details. Congratulations to
all the Branches for what they have done. Maintain your interest in your
rural schools and your teachers— they are still your schools and your teach­ers,
and more than all, they are still your children who are in them, and
you have a right to say what they shall be taught. Your continued and alert
interest is imperative for their sakes.
It is encouraging- to note the growing and active and conscious interest
in many phases of adult education, nutrition, health— with a view towards
prevention and detection of symptoms of ill- health— handicrafts and physical
training. Libraries are maintained and new ones established sometimes by
the W. I. alone and sometimes in conjunction with other organizations.
Thirty- five papers and addresses have been sent out from this Branch of the
loan collection and your Convener has sent out material for over a hundred
other papers and discussions. All requests have been answered promptly
both from the Institutes and other clubs asking assistance. This work has
been a pleasure.
One member writes on " The School of Life" in which she says the fees
are always high and are always paid in full; the colors are black and blue,
and the college yell is " Ouch!" No one ever graduates for no one ever
knows it all.
It is a fine thing to be concerned with the education of your children.
T r y to educate them wisely. . . . Our colleges are overcrowded to- day largely
because the mothers of these young people have been obsessed with the idea
that their children must have white collar jobs and many an excellent farmer,
carpenter, plumber and artisan has been turned into a very mediocre pro­fessional
man because of his mother's unwise ambition and loving but
misguided insistence on forcing an unwilling boy into the wrong niche in
life.
Take time out for your own education . . . it will repay you fourfold
in interest, pleasure, achievement and a richer, fuller life.
Thank you all for the opportunity you have given me to serve you the
past two years. May success and happiness attend all your efforts for Edu­cation
and Better Schools.