The San Francisco call., 1897-05-11

plled that he did not use figures, but m ade
private marks in the corners of little
squares IN the register used by him.
Mr.. White called up the subject Of the
announcement by the Board of Education
that no more medals should be given out,
and OF the doing away with the monthly
reports to parents. Since those two
changes, he found that his pupils were
losing interest in the work and were fall
ing behind. He never had so poor class
before.
Mrs. Woods took issue with the position
OF the last speaker. She had found by ex-
pertinent that the abolition of the credit
system was productive of much improve
ment in the class. The pupils were not
envlous or jealous OF one another, and
they got into the habit of ask ing ques-
tions of the teachers, which they would
not do if credits were given.
Two other lady teachers said that they
had abolished the credit system and had
put the pupils on honor. They were
taugh: to attend to their studies as mat
ter of duty.
Miss Connell was of the opinion that
without credits the pupils would not know
whether they had been doing well or
poorly.
Miss Hodgkinson told how she had
heard Professor David Starr Jordan tell of
natures bribes. For instance. nature be-
oeo"So OIL ppStiLe III OTutT 10 poO-
pie to eat Now, if nature offered bribes,
why should not teachers offer the same in
they way OF credits and rank and promo
tions? she asked
The question was greeted with applause.
Miss Conklin spoke against the working
or percentages as closely as 81, 90 and 93.
Her idea was to rate those pupils who had
gained over certain per cent as excel
lent and those who had not attained to a
tou
thus the best as we'll as the poorest pupils
would not stand alone and would not feel
their position so keenly as they would un-
der the old system of percentages.
Richard ID. Faulkner, principal of the
Franklin Grammar School, said that be
was sorry TO see that the Superintendent
and many of the ladies present were
directly opposed to him in his attitude
toward the system of marking credits, an
attitude which he had maintained ever
since he graduated from the Illinois Uni
vers1ty twenty years ago. His son, who
was going to the Lincoln School, had
brought nome report-card naming him
as No. l, and his boy was very proud of
1t, but ne, the father, knew that the boy
was not No. in many things. and the
report card was meaningless to him. He
would rather know how his boy would
stack up alongside of the rough-and-
tumble boys and how he would turn out
twenty years from now.
He had charge of night school in this
City snort time ago, and he sent report
cards to the parents every day. Some of
these reports announced that the pupils
whose names they bore had been absent
on the evening before. and that he had
seen them on a corner smoking cigar
cites Then he would ask the parents to
help him, and they would do so.
Ihe consensus of opinion among the
most prominent educators in the United
States was against those who support ed
the system OF rewards and credits. Pu-
pills don't need to be marked down and
they should not be given medals. He
added:
some OF the most disreputable things
that nave ever happened in this City have
been IN connection with the medals-po-
litlcal connubiation and other disrepu-
table practices. These medals caused
much hard feelings, and placed the prin-
cipals In an uncomfortable position"
Mrs L. X. Burke said that notwith-
standing Mr.. Fauikner's assertions he
seemed to follow the same system as the
rest OF the teachers. He might have sent
more notes to the parents concerning the
conduct OF the pupils and he might not
nave sent reports of their standing SO
often as other teachers did, but his prac-
tice was about the same as that OF the rest
OF the teachers
Professor M. E. Blanchard said that the
extremes In the dispute seemed to be be-
tween decimal system of grading and q
more general system OF rating. He did
not think 1t possible to rate intellectual
ability automatically. It consumed
time and did not decide very much after
all. Grown people are not rated that way,