Los Angeles herald., 1906-01-21
UNIVERSITY CONTROL Is
OPPOSED ~ EDUCATOR
SPEAKER ARGUES AGAINST THE
SCHOOL SYSTEM
Report of Santa Barbara Superintend-
ent Suggests That the Course of
Required Studies Be Determined
by the Graded Institutions
Special to The Herald.

Special to The Herald
SANTA BARBARA, Jan. 2O.-City
Superintendent of Schools H. A.
Adrian, who has been a prominent
! speaker at the recent state and county
teachers meetings at Los Angeles,
Berkeley and other cities, in making
a report to the city board of education
on the trend of thought and action in
educational matters as evidenced at
recent conventions he has attended
makes some strong statements against
the dominating control Of the common
school courses by the universities. His
report is of a very radical character,
but it carries so much weight and fact,
that it has stirred up a wide discussion
on the subject. In his report Mr..
Adrian says:
1t has always seemed TO me that
the purpose of our common school sys-
TEN was not to prepare specialties for
some particular means of living, but
to help the average man and woman
TO earn his own living and to live in
decent harmony with his fellowmen--
not to prepare a few to be recon-
mended'' to the university, but to keep
the multitude of boys and girls who
are yearly pouring into our primary
schools from becoming paupers, tramps
and criminals. The common school
should get every boy and girl in our
land within it's doors and keep them
there until they acquire the habit of
doing things and doing them some
where near right; until they learn to
stick to job and stick TO 1t until il
is done; until they know how to treat
each other decently and properly.
TO be recommended to the uni
versity a pupil must get so many
credits in certain subjects. all of which
1ata tn, Il
the method of teaching these subjects,
the time given to each, and the stand
ard required are all definitely fixed by
the university or are determined by
multitude of inspectors who come
several times year to size 'en up
Now II the high schools are to meet
all of these conditions and require
ments, then they must have pupils
some of them from the grades who
have been properly prepared; and to
properly prepare them they must fol-
low certain course of study. The
university therefore though not so
directly, determines the course of study
for the high schools and the grades for
its own varied departments.
1T is mere subterfuge to maintain
that no compulsion is used. No legal
compulsion, TO be sure, but it is Just
as effective as though 1t had the sane
tion of law.
"The cart is before the horse. In
stead of the university accrediting the
high schools, IL is high time the high
schools should insist upon and en-
force it's right to accredit the univer-
sity. The fathers and mothers-the
patrons of the local schools-the teach
ers and the principals are the right
ful ones TO do the aecrediting. This
once was but that time is supposed 10
have passed with the passing of the
dark ages, when the elect the wise
few must tell the many what was
best for them. The men and the wom-
en- of the world those who do things,
and the ones best fitted to determine
what is best for the life need Of an
the children. II is time that we should