New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-09-16
PART TIME CLASSES.
MORE OPINIONS Ry STUDENTS OF
CHILDREN On SHORTENING
school. HOURS

ton of New-York parents with the part-time class
system introduced into the public schoois 'iiiS
fail That parents generally whose chiioreh con1-
pose these classes find the new arranse"eh' us
pleasing shown pretty clearly by the ADVERSE
criticisms freely expressed. both in the press anu
IN private conversation. The American latiie ON,
mother know that good public schooi e
is their chdren's birthrisht: of the nrst ssis
OF the Amercanizing of the foreign porn p"ie'
is manifested by his appreciation OF 'he
benefits of the public school system Inc
mat leading physicians and educators u'se @
advantages of the shorter school Gay as oeiiie
more hygienc for the pupil promoting greater
intellectual activity during school hours anu %
ing him larger margin Of personal hoertE' uoeS
not seem TO weigh with the parent VINO peie
mat his boy is being deprived of someIhiiie 'n0t
belongs to him. Has such a parent rlsii' ~
aSsrieved? Does the shorter school DAY Oh 'ile
part-time class work as detriment or ncneht
10 the pupil? The Tribune has interviewer Se'
eral wen known persons relative to theSe 9"e
nons that are vitality interesting so man! vi
its readers.
While my personal experience leads me 10 laNoi
a long schoo! day." said DR.. Josiah Strong, Presi-
dent of the League for Social Service, i am we"
aware that there is tremendous dlflerehce
tween the country school of a generation ago anu
the city school of the present day. Modern Guy
chlidTen are apt TO be nervous in Temperament
because many of the conditions of city lie are
stimulating and artificial. Artificial children re-
quire artificial special training, so that "hat
was once good for country boy living cioSe "
mother earth would be the reverse for them Inc
average city parent is confronted by cnolce
OF Observation-Disclosures to sacrifice the moral lie
81 ao fnf enid by letting it run in the stTee in
aId tbf ana schooroon1 In saving LiS u,here
ada that the city child with country home %neIe
He is the exception
There can be no doubt that in tremendous
morally for the child than either its home or the
stIeets 1t might be said in reply that the contact
1t Is q
preparation for life the instruction of the school
the street gamin Of either sex"acuteness shrewd-
ness, Tesourcefulness in general-but do they pay?
they cost? No. Twenty-Five years ago when
looked the matter up. in Sandusky, Ohio. FOUND
mar almost without exception the leading success
Iul men were country bred. In Springfield, Mass.
he true; people who krew said it also held here In
MEN, o1k City What the city boy gains IN
The exact PROPORTION to be observed between
he left to educational experts and physicians to
determine: Both the physical ard the mental must
ne taken into account in the solution of this prob
lem AS a fact. we more the city in the
country. more of the country in the city. More
termining just the number of hours schooling that
ent best suited to the New-York child of the pres
Charles L. Brace, secretary of the Childrens
Aid Society, of the opinion that the public
school is the only civilizng influence in lives
of many New-York children, and that for these
especially the full school day is too long.
Il believe in a good, long school day, said he
THE severest mental work of the curriculum
should be done in the morning session, and part
time pupils. whose classes in the forenoon,
have an advantage over pupils who work during
the afternoon in this respect, that children
keener and brighter in the morning. Much is
said about the nervous pressure that is brought
10 bear upon pupils in the public schools but for
the poor child school is often the only cvilizng
influence that into his life. AS this class
of pupils generally leaves school to go TO work at
the age of about thirteen. the regular five hours
Of school is hardly long enough instead Of being
too long. Nervousness. which is said to be induced
by the so-caled nervous tension under which teach
ers and pupils work: Is much more marked in
East Side children of foreign extraction than in
nervousness in the East Slider. but really it is a
strange kind of excitability that appears to be
ences The modern child has 50 much to learn
not only from books but In other ways to fit him
school being often the only place where he can re-
s e4an Of peor ham and
are in school only half the day they are apt to
ihence is as strong as the fo1meryes Stronger
pacity is not the fault Of the, present Board of
Educa ton, but of the authorities in past years
yearly ncresse of pupils was 400 Vet instead
2 6H SCHOOLS or en to k s qR this with f
have been added each year hence the accumula-
ton of pupils this year for whom there is no ac-
commoda ton"
When asked to express an opinion regarding the
and superintendent of the New-York Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty Children. declined to
express an opinion. That he said. is mat
ter for the Board Of Educa ton look after They
know a great deal better what they do and
what children need than an outsider IKE me
Considering the strength of the child. should say
the less number of hours he studies a day the
better off he is
Duff G. Maynard. general agent OF St Johns
Guild, said his experience had lain exclusively
among sick children and young persons that he did
not feel like expressing opinion on the subject.
AZ was never in q public school in New Ork City
in my life" he said There be no doubt
that very many children under better infiu-
ences in school than. they are at home, so from
that point of view it injury to cut these short
of school by hour day. On the other
hand. a I understand il. the present part-time
system is merely temporary makeshft de-
signed to overcome the insufficient school accom-
moda lions. Now. surely half loaf Is better than
none. do not in my work see any or those dele
terious effects OF the pushing and nervous strain
III the public schools which to others seem so
fraught with danger. SO far as / have observed.
dren nor is the native American child who Is gen
orally the offspring Of 8 long line OF ancestors
reared in public schools under hve or SIX hour
schedule more nervous. as rule. tflan the chlId
Hebrew. II anything. the weight of evidence is on
the other side. In animal eXuberance. III the play
instinct and love Of fun the american leads but
the foreigner is apt to be more irritable and on
the whole TO possess d nervous nature less well
balanced and poised than the American