Evening star., 1905-10-16
CASE OF MRS. COOPER
HEARING BEFORE THE BOARD OF
EDUCATION TONIGHT.

The board of education will resume the
hearing in the case of Mrs Anna J. Cooper
principal of the NJ street high school, to-
night Since the meeting of Friday, Octo-
Der g. Mrs Cooper has been engaged upon
her brief. which, it is understood. will be
presented tonight although the statement
is made that she has waived her right in
favor of several committees which desire
to be heard.
At a meeting OF the Second Baptist
Lyceum yesterday Mr. George II. White,
late representative in Congress from the
second district of North Carolina, spoke
on the topic. Our Education" in which
the curriculum which he regarded as best
suited for the education of coiored youth
was presented. Discussion of the question
followed. which was participated in by Mr..
Jesse Lawson. Mr.. George Murry and Mrs.
A. NJ. Curtis. The invitation of the board
of education to the National Sociological
Association to send delegates to the meet
ing tonight was accepted. and committee
Of two-Mr Jesse Lawson and Mrs. A. M.
Curtis-will represent the lyceum tonight
Meetings of the colored women of the Dis
trlct and the mothers and guardians of the
children in the M Street School, held last
week, resulted in the election of delegates
instructed to appear before the board to-
night in defense of Mrs. Cooper. The wo-
men in general will be represented by Mrs.
Annie F. Waddleton and M IS +. G. Merritt;
the mothers by Mrs. l.. NJ. Hershaw and
Mrs. A Nj. Curtis. Many other citizens have
sent letters to the board petition,ng to be
heard in favor of Mrs. Cooper. All the
members OF the board have been seen by
individual members of the Civic League and
a committee of seventeen has waited upon
President Gordon and Mr. Needham indors-
ing the administration of the principal and
requesting that she be sustained.
Alleged Attack on Race Rights.
The colored people have been urged, 1T
is said, to awake to realization that the
investigation is not personal to Mrs Coop
er, but it is declared TO be an attack on
the educational rights of the colored race.
The tendency OF the reports of Director
Hughes to the board of education Is said to
be in the line of limiting their opportunities
for higher training. One person said:
1--WE will have no southern restrictions
here Our children must be allowed to
choose manual training, If they wish It,
teaching if they prefer that. or such studies
as shall properly prepare them for college.
Read the reports of the board of edu-
cation" said another "and you will un-
derstand that Mr.. Hughes does not sym
pathize with the school," His report of
I903-Oi. which upon issue so incensed the
colored public that it was withdrawn and
expurgated, reads as follows:
Report of Mr.. Hughes.
''In my annual report for 1923 1 made
the following statement:
a." In the NJ Street High School, which has
heretofore followed the scheme of work
laid down for the other high schools, GER
tain changes have been made 1t was early
apparent that the pupils of that school
needed a surer grounding in certain lines
in order TO do profitably the advanced work
OF the high school. With this in mind
notifications were made IN the Ensilsh ana
algebra requiremtnts of the first year with
very satisfactory results. \ further revi-
sion and modification of some of The other
lines of work ought to, and l believe will,
result in very desirable improvements"
'Scme persons, l am informed who
claim to be deeply interested in the welfare
of the NJ Street High School, have seen
in that statement the premonition Of an at
tempt on the part of the scnool authorities
to deprive the coored people of the district
of Columbia of their opportunities for high
school training. Nothing of ..ie sort was
contemplated in writing the statement It
was simply a general presentation of the
conditions existing, and what l deemed the
most effective way of remedying the evil
Situation Explained.
"The facts are these: While the pupils
of the NJ Street High School have had laid
down for them the same course of study
as IS followed in the Central, Eastern and
Western high schools. and have professedly
been aiming at the same results both IN
kind and extent, the work has not been
satisfactory. as compared with the results
in the other schools. Many of the stronger
teachers of the school realized the condl-
tion of things and depIored the weakness
of the work. which weak simply be-
cause many of the pupils were aiming at
things the proper foundation for which
they lacked.
FOR the boys to pretend to go through
a course in advanced mathematics without
having done thoroughly, and possessing the
power to do again, elementary algebra or
plain geometry, was not helping the boy,
but was simply making sham of so-caled
high school education and cultivating
spirit of dishonesty.
''In order to help the pupil to be honest
with himself and in his work and to give
him the real strength which should come
from education, l have insisted that from
the beginning to the end of the school
course we shall have honest work thor
oughly and carefully DONE and that pupils
who are either incapable of doing or indis-
posed TO do the work of any year well shall
not be promoted or graduated-in other
words that work done and power attained,
just as is the requirement in the other
high schools of the city, shall be the only
ground upon which any pupil of the NJ
Street High School shall be advanced"