I have further sought to have
them feel that I am at the institution as their friend and adviser,
and not as their overseer. It has been my aim to have them speak with
directness and frankness about anything that concerns the life of the
school. Two or three times a year I ask the students to write me a
letter criticising or making complaints or suggestions about anything
connected with the institution. When this is not done, I have them
meet me in the chapel for a heart-to-heart talk about the conduct of
the school. There are no meetings with our students that I enjoy more
than these, and none are more helpful to me in planning for the
future. These meetings, it seems to me, enable me to get at the very
heart of all that concerns the school. Few things help an individual
more than to place responsibility upon him, and to let him know that
you trust him. When I have read of labour troubles between employers
and employees, I have often thought that many strikes and similar
disturbances might be avoided if the employers would cultivate the
habit of getting nearer to their employees, of consulting and advising
with them, and letting them feel that the interests of the two are the
same. Every individual responds to confidence, and this is not more
true of any race than of the Negroes.
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