The
Report Card
Arithmetic.A
Reading.A
Writing.A
By CONRAD H. POTTER
Superintendent of Schools
Parents Can Help Boost
Child's Grades
Even if Pop’s science education
did end when he learned how to
wire a doorbell, educators agree
that he still exerts a lot of in
fluence on how his youngsters
< fare in school. And Mom may not
be able to help in diagramming
ionic and covalent compounds,
but shq still has a big hand in
her children’s progress in school.
The National Education Asso
ciation has put in a good word for
Mom and Pop — and what they
can do to help their offspring
make the most of their school
experience.
Among the obvious ways, of
course, are provision of a quiet,
secluded place for study, aiding
with homework assignments, and
offering encouragement by prais
ing the child’s accomplishments.
But probably more important
are the subtler, yet more pervas
ive influences of the home, which
condition the atmosphere in which
the child grows up. Dinner table
conversation, for instance is not
usually thought of as having any
direct bearing on formal educa
tion. but it can be directed so j
as to stimulate the interest of the
child, enriching the discoveries he
is makine in school, or laying the
, ground work for school experi
ences yet to be encountered.
Parents Can Help Boost *
With teenagers particularly,
the educators urge that table talk
should be guided into the realm
of substantial ideas. Teenagers,
they say, love “bull sessions” and
learn much from them. Often,
they point out, developments in
current events have their roofs in
history and simply putting the
dav’s news into perspective as it
is discussed around the dinner 1
table can add measurably to the
child’s knowledge of such subjects [
as history and geography.
An atlas, a globe, an almanac
and a dictionary might be kept
conveniently close to the televi
sion set so that they can be con
sulted during news and documen
tary programs. And, of course
there are many times when par
ents can help the child most sim
ply by turning of the television
set. But when the reference ma
terials are at hand they often in
vite checking on some controver
sial or doubtful point. This may
not only clarify the matter imme
diately at issue, but may lead to
further exploration of the sub
ject, expanding the child’s know
ledge beyond what appeared in
the program itself.
This procedure also helps the |
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Bronson, Hopson Ask
\EC Report Blast Plans
To Northwestern Residents
JUNEAU, UPI — An Alaska Sen
ator from Barrow and another
from Nome have joined in spon
sorship of a resolution asking the
Atomic Energy Commission to
make full disclosure of its plans
for a nuclear blast at Cape
Thompson.
Senators Eben Hopson of Bar
row and Lester Bronson of Nome
said the citizens of the area on
Alaska’s far northwestern coast
have expressed a wish to be in
formed more thoroughly and
added:
“It would be a grievous breach
of public faith and trust not to
comply with the wishes of the
people so deeply concerned.”
Specifically, the two legislators
asked for information on “all the
potential and possible effects of
the proposed nuclear explosion at
the Cape.”
The Village Council of Point
Hope, the nearest community to
the site of the proposed 1961
blast, last month opposed the
plan and said it was opposed to
any explosion at any time.
child to practice the scientific
■ method in acquiring knowledge
— the tracking down of observed
and provable facts, leading per
haps, to conclusions about other
facts, which were not immediate
ly apparent.
The innate tendency of every
I child from six to sixteen to be a
collector of something can be en
couraged. An orange crate or soap
box in the young child’s room can
become a treasure chest for stor
I ing collections of rock specimens,
j shells, postage stamp, insects and
the like. The collector naturally
wants to become an “expert” in 1
the field of his collection, and is
drawn irresistibly to acquire
knowledge about it.
The Younger Child
For the younger children, games
like “Scrabble,” “Third of a
Ghost,” and even Dominoes and
Bingo have their educational uses,
although these are sometimes ex
aggerated. But the word games
tend to increase vocabularies and
improve spelling, and games like
Dominoes and Bing are likely to
improve facility with numbers.
When a birthday or Christmas
comes along, it might be well to
consult the librarian, or teacher,
about books which would make
suitable presents. Or the choice
might be a science kit, an ant
farm, an easy-to-assemble radio
set — something, in any event,
from the almost infinite variety
of truly educational toys, games
and such that are available in
i the shops these days.
The educators have a word of
caution for those parents anxious
to have their children get a head
start in school, who are tempted
to teach them such things as read
ing, writing and arithmetic before
they actually start school. In most
cases it is not a good idea. It can
lead to frustration of both parent
I and child, and seriously handicap
the child in his school work.
State Budget ‘Most
Adequate,’ Ever
Offered, Say Solons
JUNEAU, UPl — A proposed
fiscal 1961 budget the Senate Fi
nance Committee chairman termed
the “most adequate ever sub
mitted,” received close scrutiny
from the Legislature yesterday.
The 36M>-million-dollar spend
ing program proposed by Gover
nor Egan for the fiscal year start
ing July 1 would leave, according
to the Chief Executive’s figures,
a 3Vt-million-dollar surplus in
the state’s general fund at the
end of fiscal 1961.
Added to general fund expen
ditures will be some 5million
dollars in federal transitional
funds, which, along with the anti
cipated surplus, brings the actual
state budget to some 46 million
dollars.
On top of this, the state will
handle more than 50 million dol
lars additional in federal funds,
for federally-financed programs
in the state.
More than 11 million of Egan’s
36Vfe-million-dollar general fund
budget is earmarked for educa
tion. Health and welfare costs
will take some 5 million more and
throughout the state will take
more than 2Vi> million more.
Along with a budget described
by some lawmakers as much
lower than expected, Egan pro
posed two motor fuel tax increase
bills, the only tax bills he said
would be submitted by the Ad
ministration this session.
One of the bills would boost the
motor vehicle gas tax from five
to seven cents a gallon. The other
measure would raise the marine
fuel tax from two to three cents a
gallon. The two bills, which
would become effective April 1
if approved by the Legislature,
are designed to raise one million
dollars a year, Egan said.
House Speaker Warren Taylor
echoed the thoughts of most of
the legislators when, after hear
ing Egan’s budget message, he
said he was “agreeably surprised.”
Rep. Peter Kalamarides, House
Majority Leader, offered con
gratulations on the proposed bud
get, but was quick to say he felt
the proposed budget could be
trimmed.
Sen. Robert Giersdorf of Fair
banks, said he felt the Governor
was conservative in estimating the
return from existing revenue
sources.
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