Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-14
School Hours.

without discussion or division, the Sem
ate yesterday adopted, on motion OF MT.
Burkett an amendment to the District ap-
proprlation bill fixing the range OF pubic
school hours in this city from U O'CLOCK
am. to o'clock pm, an extension OF one
hour for the graded schools and two hours
for the high schools. 1t Is assuredly 10 De
hoped that this amendment will be stricken
out when the conferees adjust the bill. Tor
1t Is distinctly opposed to the wishes OF
the parents of Washington and it involves
certain possible changes In domestic ar
rangements of serious household import
Very soon after the present superintend-
ent of schools arrived in Washington from
Paterson. n. j., where most OF the people
are employed in factories, he announced
his dissatisfaction with the local custom
of noon hour lunches for the school chill
dren. and proposed that the system De
changed to enable the youngsters to obtain
hot dinners In the middle of the day. He
was either ignorant of or Indifferent to the
fact that fully nine-tenths of the people OF
Washington are lunch eaters, owing to the
employment of some $1,000 of the men ana
women in the government departments
and the adjustment of domestic arrange
ments to that condition. 1t Is reliably re-
ported indeed that one of his own chill
dren was removed from the public school
system and placed in a private school De-
cause of the impossbility of obeying the
school rules against hardness after noon
recess on a hot dinner basis The new su-
perintendent's plan was to extend the re-
cess to two hours and to lengthen The
school day correspondingy. Pending for
NAL authorization to that effect. he under
took to try the experiment in the lowest
grades, causing some of the very little tots,
Of the halliday schools to be temporarily
dismissed at IL o'clock and to return to
school at / for an additional hour. This
ARRANGEMENT has caused great distress of
mind among many mothers, who md IT
necessary to keep the children dressed for
school until late In the afternoon and being
put otherwise to much Inconvenience.
IL Senator Burketts amendment is de-
signed to facilitate DR.. Chancellor's noon
dinner project 1t will meet with vigorous
opposition on the part of the fathers and
mothers of the District. who do not want.
and many of them cannot AFFORD, to change
the domestic routine to include hot,
heavy meal at midday. 1t will interfere
seriously with the enterprises of many chill
dren out of school hours by means of which
they are able to assist in the maintenance
the family purse. 1t will Shorten the after
noon play time of those who have no work
to do when school closes Even If the ad-
dition of an hour means no more actual
school room time, in the Chancellor
plan. it Is a grave question whether the
health of the child will be so we'll con-
served as under the present system of
final release from all school responsibility
at O. clock
II the Burkett amendment means the ad-
dition of an hour to the school work with
out compensatin lengthening of the recess
1t will most emphatically be resisted The
hours spent in study and recitation are
long enough now. and their extension by
sixty minutes would heavily handicap the
child in the fight for health.
The modern tendency on the part OF
far-seeing educators Is toward shorter
hours and the encouragement of whole
some physical exercise. They have learned
that the child has a body we'll as
mind. and that 1t is a bad investment to
weaken the body while packing the mind.
The Burkett amendment runs counter to
the prevailing disposition in the most pro-
gressive and constructive pedagogy, and
should be dropped ny the cOnferees as an
unwise and unnecessary innovation.