Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-03-24

his want of sympathy, and further than
that L think it is useless for me to say
anything. l think the ground has been fully
covered. / will repeat again that j fully
indorse Mr.. Freeman's statements before
the committee"
Miss Steele-"We feel that Mr.. John t.
Freeman should have the full Endorsement
of teachers for his open, manly way OF
calling the attention OF the Senate COM
mittee to the reasons why we have a low
standard of individual work in our schools.
We are glad to recognize that the curricu-
lum is broad and up to the times, but quail
ity has been sacrificed to quantity. The
work is indefinite and incomplete"
A Boys Idea of Geology.
Miss NJ. a. Carmody, among others, was
before the subcommittee on March 3. Speak
ing of the way geology is taught in tho
schools she said:
Mr.. Powells fourth reader has reading
lessons on geologic work. A child eight
years old was studying. He read about the
coal period and the formation Of coal. and
it was very interesting. He ended by say
ing: "A million years from now We won't
be here, but L hope / will see God" That
was the conclusion of the lesson to him
Mr.. Stephen NJ. Rider, principal Of the
Grant building said in part:
II have today from % to 40 per cent OF
what / term dull children. i do not believe
that they are naturally so. Under the old
system L would have perhaps three or four
or maybe half a dozen in a school Of fifty
who were dull, but under the new regime
the school has been divided into divisions,
classifying the bright on one side and the
dull on the other. 1t II that dull
side thereby loses ambition. loses interest
in their work, and as they come to me.
having been subjected to that all through
the grades, they are very poor material, in
decd -
Miss Ida NJ. Daily Of the Eastern High
School said she had no complaint against
Mr.. Powell, but she fe.t it was her duty To
speak for the schols. Continuing, she said:
Morals of Superintendent.
II want to say something about the
morals of the superintendent. 1 think the
superintendent should be above reproach
if his teachers are to be and the children
are to have high ideals of honesty. L
want to make the point that there is little
confidence placed in the word of the super
intendent: the teachers feel that and IL
can be proven by his instructions regarding
the dropping of the arithmetic this year.
He ordered the eighth-grade teachers to
drop arithmetic this year, and when called
up by the papers he said he gave no such
orders; that it was simply understood that
arithmetic and algebra We're to be alter
nately taught That was the untruth pub
lished in the papers; any eighth-grade
teacher can testify to that. When il was
ordered that grammar be taught in the
schools, two or three years ago. we got
Kerls Grammar, and were told by the
supervising principals that they were to be
put on the shelves. Mr. Janney denied be
fore Mr.. Freeman any knowledge of that
order; but he gave II to his own teachers.
who told me the next day about it. 1t
was two or three years ago. but the fact
remains that the Georgetown teachers told
me that Mr.. Janney told them TO put the
grammars on the shelves. With regard to
this lack of confidence, l would like to say
that the superintendent does not support
the teachers, even in the matter of disci-
pline. The teachers feel that they cannot
discipline any pupil with the assurance Of
being sustained and if the child happens
to be the child of influential parents Mr..
Powell will not support the teacher i'm any
respect. The teacher feels that the gates
of the High School will be open wide. and
in that case she is likely to accept the
situation: that she is compelled un'ess
she is very brave teacher, to be dishonest.
When / went to these public schools /
felt that the child of poor parents was
treated as justly as the child of rich par
ents, with ideals of honesty held un to
them but that, unfortunately, We cannot
do unless are very brave. l want to
make the point. also, that If the head of
the school is rot honest in purpose the
teachers and children must necessarily have
the wrong ideas of honesty. Mr. Powell will
follow no reforms. though he promises to
do so. If he should say now that he would
reform next year, and do what this conn
mittee wants him to do there would be no
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