8
There is something I would like to say or add about the
white man's school. This is what we call these schools. Yes,
they think they teach our children and educated them. They are
trying to educate our youngsters and to educate their boy
(referring to the other Indian's son). I am not going to complain
against the school.
When a person has not completed his education they are
not on the same level of the students who have gone through
school and have graduated from universities. They are the ones
who become teachers. They are the ones who are lawyers. They
are the ones who are doctors. They are the ones who are governors.
So if the children are not disciplined, the children must
be somewhere else besides school. (In essence he was saying when
a child is sent to school, make sure he is mentally prepared to
learn, and that he is physically there. Because if these found-
ations are not laid for him, it is not the school's blame entirely
for the lack of discipline.) Unlike others who say that when they
send their children to white schools, they become uncontrollable
and hard to discipline, I do not share this feeling. I also send
my children to white schools, but I do not say that. I don't
believe that.
The way I see it is: the school is over there, the child's
home is here. Between the home and school, the child is drifting
away somewhere else when there is a lack of discipline. That's
just the way it is. Again, I want to emphasize that I cannot
complain against the school.
C: Mr. 0. said he suggests to his people that when they decide
to send their children to school to be educated, they should
be very concerned with the child's attitude by helping to develop
it. At home the parents should teach them ethics, and encourage
them to utilize them in school. He stressed talking to the
children. He tells them to feed the children well before sending
them to school, and make sure their clothes are ready for them
to wear to school. Show interest and keep reminding them about
the importance of an education. This is his prescription of
taking care of the children and watching over them. If this
parent-child relationship is developed, he feels that there
would not be a reason for the child to become disinterested
in school. However, after providing all the care and attention
the child needs, still becomes disinterested, then the parent has
the right to feel as though they had done the best they could,
but the child chose not to follow the plan the parents wanted
fulfilled through a better education. In this situation, the
parents' responsibility was carried out. Therefore, the parents
can derive some satisfaction from this. Certainly, the child
cannot truthfully point a finger at his parents and accuse them