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Glass & Glass-Making 27 of 28
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A Teacher Speaks
AST fall I obtained a position as teacher of
intermediate subjects in a large private school. I accepted with fear and
trembling, as it was five years since I had graduated from high school, and
I had little experience in teaching to build on.
That first day at school, I shall never forget. I
was asked to talk to a class of twenty-five girls on Russia. I was totally
at a loss as we had no text-books, so I worried through the period by talking
about war conditions in Russia. At noon I went home discouraged, feeling
that I could never "carry on."
Suddenly I thought of "THE MENTOR" on "The Story
of Russia" that I had seen at a friend's house. I borrowed it, and, on
the following morning, was able to give my class an intelligent talk that
won their interest immediately. In accomplishing this I was greatly aided
by the six beautiful gravure pictures.
At once I realized what "THE MENTOR" would mean to
me in my school work; so sent in my subscription for a year. With my
first number came a complete list of "THE MENTOR" subjects, and then I
decided that I could not afford to miss a single issue. As my salary
is small, it has been a drain to me to pay back the money I was obliged
to borrow with which to buy all the back issues. However, I have
acquired a library of knowledge in a concise and convenient form, that
would cost hundreds of dollars to duplicate in book form. The total
cost has been about $30.00, and it is the best investment I ever made.
Every day I use "THE MENTOR" in connection with
my History, Geography, English and Reading Courses. I have several of
the gravure pictures hung on the walls of my class-room, but change
them frequently, to coincide with the subject matter of the daily work.
The children like "THE MENTOR" quite as much as
I do, and have bought many numbers on subjects that were of particular
interest to them. Several of the girls have subscribed to your magazine,
and together we have formed a "MENTOR CLUB" in my class. As a result, I
devote one period to it, every other week, on the day following our
receipt of the magazine. We then read and discuss the subject of that
issue and it is a veritable recreation and most instructive. The variety
of subjects that "THE MENTOR" covers opens up many new interests for the
children.
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