The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-12-16

Inc Dlame lies elSeWhere-Wlth thu
men who are responsible for the per
! nicious system that has been allowed
. to displace common sense and jude
1 inent and against which a protest ma:
. at last arisen. Not content WIFI
: .rowding and pushing children aheat
and forcing them from one grade into
another before the first has been mas
, tered, the system compels them tt
: study and devote precious time ts
trifles that will be forgotten as soor
as the school door closes upon. them
J The adherents of the system boas,
that under it children are learning
many more things than formerly. Ii
they NEAR that they are acquiring a
smattering OF many subjects without
having learned any one of them thor
oughly they are probably right. But
this does not constitute an education,
not even what was at one time known
as a common school learning.
During the latter part OF the pres
ent month the State Teachers asso-
citation will meet at Helena. AS
shown by the programme one OF the
topics down for discussion is: Can
the Elementary Curriculum be Short
ened?"' Taking this for a text for a
very able and interesting article, the
Independent says, among other things,
the following:
Just what is sought to be brought
out by the discussion OF hat subject
we do not know, but if the shortening
means the nurrying forward OF the
pupil to .. higher grade, with no
greater Eerfectlng in the elementary
branches than AS the case at present,
then the teachers should go on record
tor a frightening rather than a short
ening of the elementary curriculum. |
Further on, the Independent quotes
from a recent article in the Philadel- |
phia Evening Telegraph, contributed
by Randolph Guggenheimer, a former
member OF the New York board or
education, and recommends that the
teachers devote at least a part Of one
session to a discussion of the criti-
cisms of the New Yorker. Here is
what Mr. Guggenheimer has to say or
the public school system OF today.
The truth contained in the excerpt
must be recognized by all parents
who pay the slightest attention to
the school work Of their children:
Our system, aiming to do too many
things, must necessarily fail in their
accomplishment. None but the most
capable pupils can do all the work
laid down. The large majority, thus
accustomed to falling far short OF the
standard, become Indifferent or dis
couraged. For instead of repeating a
terms work and doing it we'll, they
are promoted to make room for others.
In time all attempts to do the re
quired work properly become utterly
hopeless-yet the child must go on.
Trying to do too many things, at.
tempting the impossible, so that moth
ing a be really thoroughly or We'll
done, will be sure to have ill effects
in a moral sense, too. Why r chill
dren not permitted to remain at the
elementary work until they have
thoroughly mastered it before being
advanced to higher grades? Let us
have more elementary classes, if need
be.
THE most sanguine, the most en-
thusiastic advocates of the radical
changes made in the curriculum with
ing recent years admit that the pres
ent course OF study is too crowded.
Why not cut out the non-essentials
and give the child an opportunity to
acquire a more thorough knowledge
of the essentials?
Education should give pupils the
working tools, the ability for future
selt-help. If our schools do not give
this they fail in their purpose. Ii the
child finds himself advanced to the
upper grades without being able even
to add, subtract, multiply and divide
with rapidity and accuracy and to
read 1uently and comprehensively,
when and where will he make up the
deficiency? But this is quite a COM
mon occurrence. Students of high
grades blunder in the simplest figuc-
ing, spell poorly and fail to take in