Evening star., 1900-03-23
Revise the Course of study.

In tn, news columns Of this issue of The
Star will be found the major portion of an
official report in which is set forth the
course of study in the graded public schools
of the District OF Columbia The course of
study has been much discussed of late.
Those who believe in it. or think they do,
arr vaguely enthusiastic even when they
are not making converts. Those who are
critical have failed at times to be satisfac-
tortly strong because the so-called course
was intangible and could noe easily be put
in evidence. In the report referred to there
seem to be facts sufficient for Indictment
purposes Careful and equitable analysis
Joined to practical knowledge of results
compels the conclusion that the so-call.d
system is unsystematic. is overcrowded
with high-sounding but non-essential sub
jrcrs is illogical as to its relationship with
real life and throughout its entire course
sacrifices desirable depth TO comparatively
ValLeiess breadth
BY those who advocate the conditions
which have resulted in senatorial inquiry
it is claimed that there has been great i'm
prov .ment in the teaching and requirement
Of language. and to some extert that i'm
provement will be conceded. but in view of
the supervising principals report it is time
~ HllElllT-I tllc 44llpLpN tliltllI mas Dttn
in ratio to the emphasis given the subject;
are not the children being forced through
bewild-ring rnazes Of technical Language
when they should devuce a considerable
proportion of the time thus occupied to
more material inforn1a tiun Of the sort cal
culased to assist them when they arr COM
r-Iled To earn their daily bread?
Throughout all the grades the tendency
is toward mi~ccnreived idealism. To com
pei TN average sixth-Srade child to study
LongfrlIuW'- '-Evanseline'' is little less
ti.ar folly. the youthful mind is not equal
to The task Says the report:
Many II the words needed special prep
flr7tlHu before the first reading was at
tempted As with all other reading in the
rs'uFS'.. the children Were taught to pre- pare
their work with the dictionary and atlas for
constant reference and they were as con-
StaHtly held responsible for correct spelling.
pr"nunS!sgti"H. punctuation and the trans
formation a< these elements appeared in all
their speech and writing
But If speIling-drin is tabooed-as il has
h-~n-hgw Is the dictionary to be useful?
If 4 grammar Textbook is shelyed-as il
has becn-hOw can there be accurate pre-
nunciati"n. punctuation or transformation? :?
II The written work-the compositions-of
IN" pupils is To be uncorrected and thrown
into the waste-basket how can the repeti-
ti0H Of errors be avoided?
The study Of the parts Of speech was
continued. says the report being taken
up iii a miscellaneous way as thev were en-
countered- That is disorderly lacks thor
oughness and supports the critical couten-
tiOn that the teaching is indirect and m
mindful Of sequence
ArithmeticaI work starts out very sbow-
lily IN the hrst grade. but IT speedily he
comes involved. diffuse and urarfthuleticaI
The effort to cultivate sixteen-year-oId rea-
soning powers in ten-year-old children by
mystic discussion of '.relativities of perime-
tiers and areas" has supplanted the siusple
ana mechanical processes which business
experience declares are essential in busi-
ness life An interesting scrap of testf-
mOny is the Official statement that The
review in the seventh grade (arithmetic) was
finished by the Ist of November. and tbe
subject was completed in this grade" That
settles all quibbling as to the official inten-
tion TO have no arithmetic in the eighth
grade. and leads to the related fact that al
a meeting of seventh grade teachers. held
last year. notice was given that the ef-
fort would be made TO finish arithmetic in
the sixth grade in the year 1890.
Subject to the same criticism-lack Of sys.
tenn and carelessness as to the truly prac.
tical-is the teaching of geography. There
is science galore. but direct place geog.
raphy'-the location Of countries. cities, etc
is practically unknown. The so-calle6
broad" generalities have usurped the ter,
ritory which rightfully belongs to exact in