The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1906-05-29
THE PROPOSED
HIGH SCHOOL
BUILDING
Arguments Against Location and
Size of Plot Selected by
the School Board.

The following communication,
which is self-explanatory, has been
received from Prof. Jos. B. Jockey,
principal of the Pensacola High
! School:
! Editor Pensacola journal:
1t is probably not generally known
| that the School Board contemplate
/ the erection this summer of a High
school building. At present the
| High School is in School No. l, fac
inS Lee Square, but owing to the
rapid increase in the grammer grades
/ the building will no longer accommo-
date both the grammar school and
! the high school. l know that to the
matter of the selection of a site for
! the High School building the School
! Board have given a great zeal of at
| tention; that finally they have decid-
| ed upon a lot $50 feet on Palafox
! street by 275 on BlOunt street. This
/ lot is nine blocks north of Lee Square
I and five or six blocks from the car
| line. Now what were the cOnsidera-
/ tons in the selection of this site?
First. the School Board had to find
suitable lot which was for sale.
Second, the price must be reasonably
! low. Third the lot must be as near
/ ly central as possible. After looking
! the ground over and consid aTing the
! desirability of various lots in differ
! ent portions of the city the board de-
/ cideI upon the site mentioned above.
And although they have about con-
| cluded to build upon this site the
members of the board are by no
means sure that this location, taking
every thing into consideration, is the
/ best to be obtained. For this reason
they would be glad to have the mat
ter discussed by the citizens with a
/ view to the selection if possible of
more suitable site. Let me open the
discussion of this subject by bringing
what seems to me serious objections
to the proposed location.
First, The lot being only 275x150
! feet is much too small to provide
Fairgrounds. The great cities of this
country, have made a serious mistake
/ by not providing Fairgrounds for the
! children, and now that they are be-
! ginning to realize it they are COM
! PEELED to spend immense sums to
! provide them. I think we are all
! coming to see how important a part
Of ones education play is. The i'm
/ portance of physical education is
/ obvious. but the Importance. of play,
As a moral force is little thought of.
Personally, believe the greater part
/ of boys moral education is gotten
on the playground. Under proper
guidance baseball, football. basket
ball and our other excellent games do
more toward developing in a boy a
sense Of fair play, the power of self
control under provoking circum-
stances, and regard for the rights
of others, than almost any other
agency Play is part of every
child's heTitance and should not be-
denied him simply because the center
Of population may be here or there.
| The proposed site then, it seems
to me, is not suitable because it is !
not large enough to provide adequate
Fairgrounds. If the boys used all the
available space there would still be-
by far too little ground for baseball
or football 1t is true a basketball
court might be provided, but if al
part Of the grounds were set apart
for the girls and the rest for the boys.
there would scarcely be room enough
for even basketball. Ana / might
add here that what say in regard to
a boys moral education on the play
ground applies with equal force to the
girls and they of course ought to be
provided for
Second, The plot of ground select
ed does not provide room enough for
the development of a great High
School with a manual training depart
ment. a commercial department. a |
school preparing hUndreds of young
people for the duties of citizenship.
1t may be very well to discuss this
as an idle dream, but if Pensacola !
really wants such an institution she
will have it. There is no doubt of
that. Millions of dollars now accu-
mulating in the hands of a few m IN
are returning to the people through !
henefactjons to the schools. ! have
no doubt but that many a wealthy
man would be glad to give Pensa-'
cola such a school as I have men
toned, if he were only convinced of
the need here and of the judicious
use Of his money Most of the money |
at present given to education is \
given to universities. But as it be-
comes more generally recognized that
the High School is peculiarly the
peoples schOOl-the peoples college
more money will be given to them. |
At any rate, the question Of having
room to expand is worth considering |
in the selection of a site for a High
School
Third. The lot selected is no nearer
the present white school population /
than many plot of ground on East!
Hill where whole blocks may be had
at moderate prices. To get a desira-
bic lot near the center of school pop-
ulation is out of the question. In /
order to get some definite basis for /
comparison I found the average num- I
Der of blocks the pupils now in the
High School would travel daily in 60
ing to the school If it were located
on the proposed site at the corner of
PalafOx and Blount. and the average
number they would travel If it were
located in the Immediate vicinity OF
COrdova square on East Hill In do
ing this I left out the consideration
Of the pupils who live at Baskerville