The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-28
The Committees Report VIII No
Doubt BE Approved at the
Meeting This Morning.
A PAPER READ BY MR.. SOLDAN
sUPERINTENDENT OF ST. LOUIS
SCHOOLS TALKS OF "FADS."
During the Day Two Interesting ses-
sions Were HeId-Papers Read
and Discussed by Teachers.

meeting OF the Indiana state IeacnerS
Association approached its elimination last
night with the announcement Of the names
of the officers who will preside over the
affairs of the association for the coming
year. The nominating committee ap-
pointed Thursday night, composed of one
member of the association from each con-
gressional district, met yesterday afternoon
in Engiish's Hotel and made its selections.
The nominations OF the committee are
equivalent to election. Chairman w. Il
Hershmsn, of the committee, made his
report last night TO President II. b.
Brown.
G. A. Prosser. OF the New Albany public
schools, a teacher whose reputation as an
educator is not confined to this State, was
chosen president as the successor of II.
B. Brown. In accordance with the custom
of the association he will not take charge
Of the office until the 1902 meeting. At
that time he will be introduced by Mr..
Brown, the outgoing president, and will
deliver his inaugural address.
w. P. Hart, of the Covington schools,
was named by the committee for per-
n. Peck. OF Princeton. was chosen for
six new vice presidents OF the State Asso-
citation will be: superintendent w. f. AK
tell. of Washington: superintendent c. NJ.
Mcdaniel, of Madison; Superintendent w.
d. Kerlin, Of Knightstown; Superintendent
J. B. Pearcey. of Anderson; County Super
intendent l.. H. Hamilton, of Rensselaer,,
and ]. w. Hostetler, of Shipsewana
The members of the executive committee
for 1902 will be the following well-known
educators; superintendent w. A. Hester,
Of Evansville; Superintendent II. B. Will
cox, of Salem; superintendent Charles
Waites. of Terre Haute; Milo II. Stuart, of
indianapolis; E. A. Huff, of Veedersburg;
Il. II. Andrews, of Peru, and George
Miss Leva Foster, of Edinburg. was nomi-
mated for recording secretary. Miss Foster
served in the same capacity during the
preceding year.
A MAN FROM ST. LOUIS.
The feature of last nights meeting of the
association was the address of F. Louis
Sedan, superintendent of schools of St
Louis. The subject of Mr.. Soldans ad-
dress was "Fads.' and he discussed with
force and originality a few of the fads
which have here and there crept into the
schools of the country to their detriment
on account of the mistaken zeal of some
teachers 10 Keep UP with what they DelieNe
TO be the march OF the times.
Superintendent Sedan prefaced his adj
dress with the following Introduction: 'All
of us have noticed when travelling that at
some of the larger stations along the rail
road employees OF the road will go the
length Of the train peering at the wheels
and tapping them with hammers to see if
they are sound enough to carry the train
the rest of its journey. L believe that in a
similar way we teachers should occasion
ally carefully tap the wheels of the train
of education to see If they are free from
defects and are stout enough to carry the
precious burden which must be conveyed"
Passing 10 the subject of his address
Superintendent Sedan proceeded to tap
the wheels" by pointing out some of the
fads which are dangerous to proper educa-
tiOnal progress In part he said:
There has been a widespread discussion
in regard to what has been called 'fads in
education The charge is made that pub
lie schools undertake to teach too much
of what is not necessary, and thereby
neglect the essentials. While all agree that
fads should have no place in the public
schools. there is the widest possible differ
ence as to the question What is a fad?'
a school fad might be defined as per-
sistent departure from common educa-
tional sense. Single errors constitute no
fad. A fad Is a defect which is systema-
tized. 1t is an error masking as an achieve
msnt for progress.
There is, in the first place, the fad Of
superfiuity' or nOnessential studies. Some
weIl-meaning and intelligent critics charge
that education has run mad by crOwding
the course of study with superfiuities The
so-called newer studies, namely, music,
drawing, nature study and art, have 10
bear the brunt of these attacks. A presi-
dent of an association of parents recently
wrote this: The first school superintend-
ent who rises to the occasion and has these
fads discontinued in the public schools
Will win fame for himself. He explains
that he alludes TO music and drawing
chiefly.
Now. these studies are not fads in any
sense of the word. Such criticisms assume
that il is the business of education TO pre-
pare a child for some special business in
life. and since only a few will ever become
artists or professional singers these studies
are thrown away on the great majority.
However, education does not prepare for
any special vocation; il prepares for life.
The cultivation of eye and hand and taste
is of Importance in all callings. The edu-
cational universally of these studies is
their defense. But 1t is possible for these
studies TO become fads by a failure to adj
just them TO the claims of other educa-
tional work. They become fads If they
step beyond the line of general educational
usefulness.
There is another class of fads-'fads of
eccentricity. L can best illustrate by a
story. A few years ago some person sug-
gested that daily rotation of the various
studies was Objectionable and that instead
of an hour in arithmetic followed by an
hour in geography and perhaps an hour in
history. a different division of time was
prefera BILE Consequently. a teacher I know
undertook 10 crowd all the arithmetic of
the school term into five weeks solid arith-
metic at the rate of five hours a day. The
idea underlying fads of this class seems to
be that of fashionable ornamentation in
contrast with plain dress.
THEORETICAL FADS.
There are, too. 'fads of theory Their
existence in modern education is by no
means discouraging. Zeal and enthusiasm
are in evidence in all of them. a few of
them arise from a wealth OF educational
thought and an abundance OF ingenious
theory. One phase of this fad appears in
the necessity of telling some teachers con-
stantly that all play and no work will not
make a man Undue attention to those de-
partments of school work called observa-
ton lessons come well within the meaning
of the term 'fads of theory
'Fads OF expression are not uncom-
mon. A fad in this sense of the term is a
practice which carries some valuable idea
beyond reasonable limits and proper pro-
portions. Children are thinking beings and
IL is not necessary for teacher to take il
for granted that everything needs TO be
visualiZed or aurized or Objectified. OBJ
jective teaching carried TO extremes is a
er who tried TO objectify the perfectly
plain story of two goats who tried 10 cross
from opposite directions a plank bridging a
creek and began 10 butt against each other.
The teacher visualized the story by Sc
lecting two children TO act the parts of the
goats Absurd as IL may sound. she actual
~ had the children walk a chalk line on
against each other. Here Is another illus
IfZin A