Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1907-12-19
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with undated interest the proposition
put forward by Thomas L. Burr recently
in the Independent, namely, that the
schools should be open all the year round,
Sundays and the few public holidays
alone excepted. Mr.. Burt's idea is that
this would leave about 800 school days.
which would vary in length of session
from three hours in summer to five or six
in winter He says that no educator VIII
deny that this distribution of school time
would enable the pupils to cover more
ground and make much create progress
than under the existing plan. One of the
principal objects gained would be, in his
opinion, to keep the children off the
streets in the summer time aud to make
/ heir development steady and continuous.
| The fact that most parents are glad to
send their children to summer schools is
regarded as favorable. He proposes to
make the pay of the teachers accordingly
higher" in money and not In holidays
md vacations. He argues, further, that
short hours, Saturday and Sunday holt
days and long vacations, instead of pro-
ducing the habit of study among teachers
probably increases laziness." According
to this proposal, no teacher would teach
all day, but two or even three should
occupy the same room during successive
sessions.
In the revised course of study which
has been adopted for the public schools of
Boston, says the School journal, Eng
fish has been made the central feature.
Arithmetic has been simpliied, and made
practical in its relation to practical life.
In geography stress is laid upon human
life, commerce and industry. Commercial
geography is given a prominent place.
More time is given to spelling than be-
fore. Physical training has been almost
revolutionized. Hygiene has been given
precedence over physiology. Weight is
given to knowledge of the health Of the
home and the community. Beginning with
elementary personal hygiene, pupils are
taught correctness in food, exercise, pos
ture, sleep and habits. In the next grades
personal hygiene, that teaches how to
make the body beautiful, strong and
graceful, has place. In the seventh grades
comes. for the first time, a little physiol
ogy; then more personal hygiene, together
with home hygiene. In the eighth grade
attention is given to public hygiene.
Under the guidance of Principal Glib
son of the Agassiz school, Boston, the
boys of the sixth grade are devoting five
hours a week to practical industrial work,
at present being engaged in making paste
board boxes but later to advance to wood
and metal work. The course extends over
three years, and the object is to give
the boys practical apprentice work in
various trades. The time taken in the
making of every article will be noted and
the record of the workers thus kept before
them.
Eleven teaching fellowships have been
established at the University of Kansas
for graduates of special merit. Each fell
lowship entities the holder to $3.50, and
he is obliged to teach not more than
seven hours a week. The remainder of
the time is to be devoted to investigation
leading to an advanced degree.
Announcement is made that Columbia
university has received an anonymous
gift of 100000 to establish in memory of
the late Henry Bergh foundation to in
culcate a spirit of kindness and consid-
lONdIu tut lONcI
A sem-official Endorsement of Esper-
anto as an international language has
been given by the College de France of
Paris, at recent general congress, repre-
senting 80 learned societies. 1t having
been proposed to study the various inter
national languages and to adopt the best,
the congress selected Esperanto, owing to
its relative perfection and extensive use.
Prominent professional and CLUB women
are taking issue with the recent opinion
advanced by the president of Harvard to
the effect that higher education in future
must recognize the fact that the majority
of women take up the occupation of
training children, the married ones as
mothers and many of the others for the
mothers. He said that this normal oc-
cupation of women had not been duly rec
ognized because it had not been regarded
as an intellectual pursuit, whereas in
fact it was the most intellectual occupa-
ton in the world, calling always for great
moral and carefully trained mental pow
erS.
President Winston of North Carolina
State university is reported to be dis
appO1nIeu Win Inc IeouiIS VI HIS IeNeul
advice TO the freshmen and sophomores to
flight like men in the OPEN rather than
underclass men engaged in series of
hazing Taking him at his word, the I'M
derclass men engaged in series of brawls
or rushes on the college campus. in which
several students were seriously hurt.
Class hostilities were intensified, rather
than lessened, and hazing was not aban-
doned.
The trustees of the Catholic univer-
sity at Washington has voted TO send to
the Pope, declaring its adhesion to the re-
cent encyclical on modernism"