The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1904-12-29

READ BEE0RE TEACH
ERS' MEETING
Is An Ably Written Dis
course Bringing Out
Good Points.

l)r. Ernest Bynufu, u the university
at Norman uefore the teachers asso-
citation in the Rrooks opera house yes.
terda,
When was invited to treat the sub
iect of text book uniformity in the
schools Of oklahoma. in view Of my
Ignorance Of all local conditions affect
ing the Issue. since ny residence
among you dates only from sei ten'ber
last I proposed a subject which | feli
more conf petent to discuss Il was Ia
sisted however that nclens vclens J
4 ,eat the subject assigned, and 50 pro.
ceeling npon the ASSUMPTION shat an
6xtranems judgement was wanted
have designedlv failed TO info'm my
self uron any conditions whatever
winch may be peculiar 10 the school
question in this state, 'ping thereby
To he able to approach the discussion
with the greatest possible Impartial
:ty end tt!ectivity My conclusions
therefore, have proceeded frcm rea
sonine whch H. largely speculative
and 3riori, supplemented only by
such empirical knowledge as | have
incidentally gathered when an inter
ested observer CT ehcrts put forth ir
other states to solve this perplevins
problem
Nest states it would seem. hive
wrestied with the question loi,g and
lrduously, only fos those at leas' which
have lnbo' ed lorgest and achieved
most satisfactory results. to fnd them
selves IN the ord content to remain
Just where they began that is to say,
ws;h no uniformity at all All-of tl-e
New England states and in fact all OF
the states north of the Ohio and e,ST
of the M.ssissinpi rivers have, after a
DISMAL experience in Efforts to secure
uniformly on large scale, been fore
ed to the conclusion that such uni
formity is undesrable. Some Of then.
notably Indiana and California in ef
forts almost frantic u solve the prob
lem. have undertaken at immense cost
to erect publishing plants and thus
supply their own necessities. but for
'eaaas of a practical nature which
shouia lr,ve heen obvious at the be
ginning sneh attempts have proven
abortive or al ieast unsatisfactory and
expensive. Indiana has abandoned it
already
From what information have gath
cred incidentally IL would seem that
text hook uniformity is but an epoch
N the educational development OF the
iadividual states OF cur union Wheth.
er this is an lnexorable law imposed
ty natural Necessity by which VIC are,
perforce to repeat the failuies and
disappointments OF older communities
who have struggled as we are strug-
gling, or whether by abandoning once
for all ,hs whole wretched idea OF
state uniformity We may now emerge
from this transitional stage and take
our stani alcns side Of those who
have learned better things in the
school II experience, is in my jvig
ment the crux and import Of The prob
lem we are str,y.ns to solve.
That our schools should be provid
ed with the best texts and that tho
selection OF sucl. texts might be dc
termined witk greater certainty by a
commission of competent experts
would surely atpeai 10 he but postu
lates Of reason and common sease
such a svsten would seem als7 TO IA
sure economy in various ways, anC
then. TOO ir tte very conception of ue
lformity there is something which
sounds enterprisins and therefore at
tractive When examined more close
lly, Aelis,e all these arguments fcl
uniformity may be Shove to be spec
ious and nnsourd in the light Of prac
tice
The prevalent conviction that taer'
IS an apprevahle. nay vital and alb
sohte difference in pathological vals'
J between standard text books Issued b.
rival publishers, and that this differ
ence. esotorio ia character. may be di
Sined hy the initiated, Is ia niy opin
ion resrcnssole Ter much Of the clamo
on this SUBJECT Few things appea
more hieh'y improbable to my minI
than that With the enterprise an
= competition existing among rival pub
fishing aosses ,ext books OF a yiciou
or even defective character would b
offered y the trade contend tina
such diGe~enccs In pedagogical yalu
as there may he SAY between tw'
.tandard raani1.z lonls-dNInLle lnl