Durango semi-weekly herald., 1901-12-23

'sts Il lem. Once get them interest
ID in some subject and the impelllng
,ower from within will do the rest.
WhI le the free elective system ap
pears on its face the antipodes of the
liked course system. there is actu
ally m uch less difference between the
lctual results 30 far as the kind OF
work 9s concerned than one without
sxpsrie nee with both would believe.
In most cases members Of the enter
ing his:h school class choose nearly
the same subjects ~ they would have
taken under prescription. And this
Ia more or less true Of other high
school pupils. But the spirit with
which they work is different. 1t is
the difference between the middle and
the passive voice. between loading
ones self and being loaded.
In the paper read before the Ma
tional Educational Association at Its
meeting in this city six years ago.
Mr. Oscar D. Robinson. principal OF
the Albany. New York, high school
said "On the side of electives
there is, as we have shown. nothing
but argument and prophecy. On tha
side Of the fixed courses we have thJ
experience OF all our past history W"
point to results which We believe
could have been attained in no Other
way. Any facts supporting the the
ory of choice by electives In second
ary schools are as dificGit to find as
the traditional "dentes gallinaruni."
among the prominent educators In
the country we know Of only one who
unreservedly advocates the aboli-
ton OF all courses Of study in high
schools"
All this has been changed today.
Chicago and Baltimore under Super
lntendents Nightengale and Van Sick
lie have adopted In substance the Den
yer plan OF election. and Boston is ex
perimsnting along the same line, hav-
ing received it's inspiration from the
same source.
| | quote few records OF actual ex-
perience: At the meeting OF this de-
partment In 1897, summed up our
three years experience as follows:
1--WE have noted the following results
OF allowing pupils to make their own
courses; !. They do more work.
Statistics show gain OF from 20 to
25 per cent more periods per week.
Formerly Is periods of prepared and
5 periods of unprepared work were
required: an average 9f the work
elected by 275 pupils showed IS 1-2
periods of prepared and periods Of
unprepared work. 2. They do bet
Il 10 YArt
put forth, and there ars better re-
suits obtained, Our difficulty now is
to prevent pupils from everworking
rather than to get them to work. g..
They do not elect the easier subjects
to the neglect Of the more difficult.
Taxing the languages, for example, 1t
is found that S-5 elect Latin, is
Greek, $40 French, Us German, and
IA English. These figures do not DIFF
fer materially from those under the
tsystepa. a. The work is done with
a better spirit. because it IL self i'm
jposed. II one finds he has undertak-
en- too much work, more than he can
do successfully, he may drop it. 8.
More pupils endure to compieto a
course and receive a diploma. Fig
ures show 2 gain Of SO per cent more
graduates, based on the enroilment
for the years since this plan has been
!, in effect than formerly, According
to the old ratio we should have had
36 graduates, but we have had 5S. in
!, the last two classes, and the ratio OF
this years class Will be even greater
g. Election allows expression Of in
dividuality and avoids repression Of
natural talents. No two OF these So
graduates have pursued exactly iden
, teal courses. Z. But the one fea
turs which seems TO mo the most val
uabl0 In educative effect is the re
sponsibility devolved on the pupil
Choice is the essence of living. The
best discipline comes through de
, creasinglyslimitsd responsibility. The
pupil may make mistakes, but he ilay
. lproht by them"
i Superintendent Steele of Galesburg
Illinois, at the Columbus meeting o.
: the Department of Superintendence
! In 1899 gave ths following testimony
, of their four years experienced "Un
der the elective system the Gales
burg High school has grown from 234
To Els pupils, Rn increase Of 12l pei
cent During this tims the grades
from which the high school is fed
have increased only per cent II
has been shown that the purely elec
tive system IN the high school gives
all the people the kind OF an educa
J ton they desire for their children,
that 1t increases the number that pre-
pare for college, that the pupils dc
more work than is ordinarily done
under the non-elective system; and
best OF all. that 1t brings the spirit
of the home into the school"
Mr.. Edward l. Brown. principal o,
the North Side High school, Denver
gives this experience up to last year
The elective system has been in
operation during the past fiye years
As 3 result OF the plan, have noticed
that the pupils do more and better