Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-03-21

| Unhealthy Competition - The Use
Made Of the Percentage Markings-
Oral Instruction Taking the Place
| OF Text-Books-A List Of Subjects
Studied.
There IL nothing In our system 10 excite an
unhealthy competition among the school child
rem said Mr.. Ben. u. Lovejoy, OF the board of
public school trustees, when asked by STAR
reporter what grounds there were for the charge
that injury was being done the pupils by a sys-
tenn OF competitive examinations. "They are
not seated in the school-room according to
scholarship, and their names do not appear on
the teachers oll-book according TO their stand
| ing, but alphabetically; nor is their relative
rank indicated or brought TO their attention in
any way Percentage markings are not de-
signed to awaken competition; they are intended
and are necessary, especially in connection
with written examinations, TO accomplish two
ooJects-hrst. to enable the teacher to find out
the capacity, the application to study and
attention to instruction of each pupil; secondly,
| TO enable the two superintendents and the SUI
pervisfng principals to find out the capacity
| and industry OF the teachers. A teacher has
from so to 80 pupils. 1t is impossible TO reach
every pupil in each oral recitation so rs TO cover
the whole ground, but at the end OF week or
| questions covering the lessons gone over, and
each pupil Is required TO answer in writing. So
long as the pupils know that they must. AT some
| time, give an account of their time and labors.
| they will study and pay attention to the recta-
ton: These written examinations in this way
are invaluable, besides enabling the teacher TO
| ae9ualnt parents with the progress of their
at seems" continued Mr.. Lovejoy, .'that our
system and methods are either misunderstood
or misrepreSented. In the first place. there has
been going on for years past a gradual reform.
1 fewer textbooks are now in use than for
| merly the case, and more dependence is placed
upon the ability of the teacher to impart oral
| instruction on certain subjects. This is mainly
due to the fact that our teachers are, as class,
cultured, conscientious, industrious and pro-
What is embraced in the course of study"
| 1.-THE course of study for the first nine years.
answered Mr.. Lovejoy, THAT is, in all
following subjects: English language, penman-
snip, arithmetic, geography, United states his
tory, drawing, vocal music and algebra. In
these subjects textbooks used Oral in
struction. 1. e., instruction without textbooks,
is given with the aid of diagrams, experiments
ana natural objects, in physiology, especially
with reference to teaching children the laws of
health; also In physics, animal life, minerals.
The simplest form of bookkeeping has been re-
Gently substituted for the use of the sampler
In which children copied original compositions
or selections from English classics. English
sic are introduced in the first year, and con-
tlnued through the course. Oral lessons in ge-
ny given e the second and third
or that subject. In the fourth year geography
| Is taught with the aid of textbook. History
is not begun until the sixth year: Algebra is
studied In the last year. Penmanship, drawing
and music are subjects where the study is con-
| fined to the school-room. They are in one sense
| oral studies, in another merely manual or prac-
| tlce studies. In relation TO other studies they
are rather restful incidents to school life than
laDorlous occupations. They studies, the
| comprehension of which depend upon the ca
pacity of teacher for imparting and attention of
pupil In receiving, principles and in applying
The only studies in which the eighth grade
pupils are examined and marked for percent
ages in their two years course are English lam
guage. arithmetic, geography, history of the
United States drawing, vocal music, physiology,
| with reference to hygiene, and algebra, making
by ingenuity be subdivided into many branches
or things Penmanship may be divided into
small letters capital letters spacing, etc:
arithmetic into oral written abstract de
graphy into mathematician physical .poifti-
| CAL, moulding, 'map-drawing,' etc. The other
subjects may be so divided and the public
lead their Judgment and excite their apprehen-
"Will our schools stand comparison with
those of other cites?" asked the reporter
The real friends of the District public schools
g ,adhby invite comparison With systems and
| appeal from fault-finders at home to expert
enced educators I'm the states, who have visited
| troduced in other systems methods which have
mad their origin here. Not the least grounds
LOT self-congratuation on the part of The Dis
| trict people is that our pupils cost about SIS
per capita year, including every expenditure
save that for purchase of sites and erection of
buildings, whereas figures elsewhere show an
esoe nding scale which in Boston reaches S2S42
A TN regard to reform, especially in school
system, think there are two important con-
sfderatons which should govern us-first. the
time when: and second, the manner how The
MIDDLE of schoo lyear does not seem to be an
appropriate time for agitatfng the question of
rsdfcal changes, and the true spirit OF reform is
satisfied IL "a living spring flows into the stag
nant waters If innovation is conservative.
with regard to the temperance pledge pro-
posed to be submitted to the children i'm the
schools" added Mr.. Lovejoy, "my opposition is
based mainly upon the ground that a school
trustee does not stand in loco p0rents to the ex-
tent OF encouraging child to take this pledge
1t would be an invasion of parents right Tor
US to decide upon the propriety of having this
pledge submitted to child. The father or
mother alone has the right to say whether or
not a child shall exercise an independent iudg-
ment in such a matter The board long ago
adopted rule directing the teachers to fncul-
cate principles of temperance, which is intelli-
gently done by them, and we believe with the
best results"