West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1906-04-12
NEW CENTURY SCHOOL. .
A DisCussioI Of Certain Educational
Questions
BY A MODERN.

suggestive OF schOolhouse. II stood well
back from the road, and was not dwarfed
to" mech by the shade trees in front The
gtaeefclly undulating landscape was that Of
handsome and rather pr 50, rous farming
community There was no certain sign to
indicate whether the nearest town were~hve
miles away OF only one mile.
''Nes. sir, my name is Dent" was the
friendly response OF the man on the front
porch. II am p'iucipal of this school, and
will take pleasure in telling you of t.; come
inside"
The apartment we went into dill no, look
much like schoolroom except for the slate
blackboards. In place Of desks there were
chairs and small tables, with nothing to show
which we're the ones used by the instructor.
The walls were pnPered in a very appro-
pirate color
"You see this looks much like a sitting
ROOM" remarked the principal. II, is
cheerful and inviting, neither luxurious nor
| repulsively plain The floor has an oil
| finish, so that it may easily be kept clean.
Carpet or mating would harbor dust. and
when soied or frayed would look worse than
| the naked floor. We American indulge in SEN
imental gush over the little red schoolhouse, -
and yet we continue to regard the school as
thing apart from the actual life of the COM
muni,y; as little else than a mere appendage.
The conventional school house has neither
| grace, beauty, nor pleasant surroundings.
and the conventional schuolroom is repulsiye
TN It's baroness, and prison-like monotony.
The pupil detesis his quarters, and the
patron looks upon school and house rs Two
phases of an unavoidable nuisance, which he
will ignore as much as he can. Something
is wrong when the institution Is almost
dreaded as moral scourge. Repellant sur
roundings are conducive neither to good
work. good thoughts or good conduct Not
only should the schoolhouse have as pleasant
an outlook as the neighborhood can provide.
but the pupils should not be asked to recite
IN rooms less inviting than those in which
their parents live. Furthermore, the school
work of the future is destined to be broad.
ened and to become more intimately associat.
ed with the everyday life of the community
than Is the case at present" As the prin.
eipal now led the way to a small room used
as office and library. l asked il the build
ing had been designed for school purposes.
'No sir, it was once dwelling house
We leased II. We take the school into
partnership, and not only keep the yard in
good order but cultivate The rest of the
ground. The students feel an interest in
the plan and not going TO allow il to
look like skies and seveas. We have flower,
in the lawn. The benches under those shade
trees are the result of our own labor, and SO
is the fine walk to the front gate"
"You seem to prefer the country"
"Coueel, my friend. Living is cheaper,
and that Is an item in n school supported by
tuition. / would choose large town in
preference to small village with It's idlcrs
aud IT'S gossip and with every store aud shop
a loating point"
''You call this New Century Schuul?'"
''Tha is uur title. We do not pu, on airs
by calling ourselves a college, a seminary, ~
an academy. Neither is the term professor
used here. We will not be party to deprad.
ing tina, title by applying it to teachers In
disc Intimately. We do however claim to be
in line with the hest educational thought.
aud this eNplsins the title we use So far as
present opportunities permit, our school hes
| industrial features, both outdoors and
indoors. l, Is a lop-sided training which
recognizes only the train aud ignores the
hand. By neglecling The hand, you consigu
your SUDDEN, ip partial idleress. This is
irksome {" the normally constituted person,
and il leads TO undesirable activity; in Other
words, nischevous Depreciation"
"what The particular purpose IF your
school7"
To answer negatively, this is no; a techni.
cal institution; it is not exclusively a normal
school, business school, OF a trade school
Nor yet do we make any special effort to fit
our students for college The young people
we try 10 reach are from The 90 percent OF
Americans who never go TO college and very
few Of whom attend other schools of high
grade 1t is practically out Of the question
for any great number Of persons to secure a
higher education. The matter of expense Is
only one Of the obstacles in the way. But
there is a tendency TO neglect this large class
speak Of, and such ough, not TO he the
case. The college is all right in lis way,
but u must not claim the entire earth"
aaNNF.m-.. l.. l.. -
Partly with those men Of the world who
cannot see anything, unless the object hap.
pens 10 be big, catchy, and pretenlious.
But You are aware it IS fashionable %
blame the boys for quitting school eatly
and yielding 10 the commercial spirit Of the
age Now the fact is, greater share of
them would prolong their school DAYS. II
] only they could see that their training more
nearly met their instructive ideas as 10 yba,
% ought 90 be. Those ideas may be crude.
bu' They run in HE right direction When
the word 'pacGca' IS spoken q On connection
with education, there are people who say a,
once it means something deeply tainted with
commerciaiism Bot education which is mo-,
practical is counterfeit. Even that educa
lion which IS noa merely ornamental wss AT
/ one time practical. Because me American
boy doe, not ike dfy hash, wc have trusn,
officers and we hear cry for more teeth in
o1r aaf 20 compulsory attendance Hs
has sense enough fl recognize the true article
when Ehar '.n. Goo ss .hs case stand.
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