The Washington herald., 1908-06-29

gogues For Cleveland is 90 have the big
gest old-fash!oued spelling bee ever pulled
of IN the history of Webster's blue
backed spelling book. Selected teams OF
fifteen pupils, representing the common
school grades from first to eighth. will
come from a dozeh of the prlncipal cities
OF the country. They will line up after
the manner OF their grandparents. and
they viii spell against each other and
against the perversity of the English die
tionary until but one remains-the mas
ter Of syllables and the pride Of some
city
From baker" and ''a-er-iaI' 70 the
labyrinthian mazes Of those jaw-break-
ors In the back OF the book. teachers OF
tho National Education Association will
follow their favorites through tho most
exciting contest OF the school year. II
Will be a noble battle. and Il some little
Girl from Boston shall win. II is not i'm
possible that she may whisper TO the Lad
from Atlanta, last OF the vanquished.
I'm sorry that spelt the word.
l hate 20 90 above you.
Because (the brown eyes lower felD
Because. you sec. I love yUu.
Such things will be the fun OF the n. Z.
A convention; its business Is more serious
and moro important The most remark
able educational development In the his
tory OF the human race Is that Of the
growth Of the public school system OF the
United States IN the last seventy years.
For sixty-one of these years this national
organization. which viii hold its forty
sixth meeting at Cleveland. has been at
the head and front OF the educational
advance. 1t was organized In 1857 at
Philadelphia. under the name National
Teachers Association" In 1871 the name
was changed 20 "National Educational
Association" In 1906. when reincoporated
by Congress- the name was again changed
10 National Education Association. -
Meetings have been held annually ever
since the civil war, with the exception CT
1861. 1873. 1898, and 1906. The meeting OF
1893 was merged into the Worlds Con-
gress at Chicago. and that OF 1906 was
not held on account OF the San Francisco
earthquake, the convention having been
called to meet in that stricken city.
The membership Of the N. E. A. (the or
ganlzation is usually designated simply
by its initial letters). includes school
teachers. schools school boards. and rep
resentatives OF every class which has TO do
with the actual work OF managing the
great educational system Of the country.
Tho association includes the National
Education Council and seventeen depart
ments. These subdivisions are at work
all the time. and their reports 20 the
annual meeting are OF great value.
Everything that Is said and done Is pre-
served In permanent form. The proceed
ings OF the y. r. A. for the past sixty
years form a complete history OF the
growth Of Education in the United States.
When the organization was first launch
ed there were only sixty-nine public high
schools IN the country. The privately con-
Quoted academy was stin the main de-
pendence for secondary education. Boys.
and sometimes girls were given the ad-
vantage of the study OF Latin and Greek,
q little history. little mathematics and a
little English. The physical and voca-
t!onal training OF the modern high school
was not dreamed of. and the very idea
that education was a good thing for
practical purposes was frowned upon.
The old order passed away, but the new
order Is not established. Il must make
way for the improvements Of progress.
The teachers Of the country are not con-
servatves; they believe in doing things
the new way. II the new way Is better.
II is through the influence of the N f..
a. that the discovery OF new and better
methods in one section OF the country is
made the common heritage Of the whole
country. Not one OF the thousands OF
teachers who attend this year will leave
Cleveland without new ideas 10 put in
practice back home, despite precedent and
despite conservative school boards.
The most remarkable features OF the
progress Of the school systems OF the
States are the extension OF the rural
high school territory. the increasing at
tention being given to the physical train
ing of the children, and the increasing
emphasis on vocational education. In the
large cities the high schools turn out
boys and girls thoroughly equipped for
business or home-makng. not only with
good academic education, but further
fortified with a knowledge OF business
methods and domestic science.
Tho city lad does not have the educa-
tional advantage over his country cousin
which he once possessed. The ancient
and classic Hoosler school boy would not
recognize the township high school OF a
prosperous Indiana community OF to-day.
Such high schools as these teach stenog-
raphy and banking, so that the boy may
go TO the city ready for the battle with
business: they teach soil chemistry and
scientific agriculture, so that the boy
may stay on the old farm and make twice
as much of the same land as father did;
they teach the girls the science OF cook
ing and the philosophy Of keeping the
body clean and well. They are enemies
OF sloth and dirt, the agents OF industry
and cleanliness. One can find such rural
schools in California. in Georgia, in Okla
homa, IN the DaSotas. The day will come
when they will cover the face of the
country.
The Cleveland convention will devote
much attention TO the discussion OF The
mart the school must take IA the physical
training and care OF pupils. New YORK
City found that OF 1900 public school
pupils. one-third had defective eyeslght.
The correction OF visual defects by ad-
1ustment Of proper glasses means the
quickening of mental faculties. OF. at
least. an increase in the power to acquire
knowledge New York Is solving the prob
lem OF detectives, incorrigibles, and un-
usual children by providing special schools
In which the physical supervisor has "a
great deal 10 do.
sixteen years ago the Boston schools
blazed the way for medical inspection of
children in the schools. Early this year
the Massachusetts legislature enacted a
law requiring that sll school children in
the State be tested for defective hearing
and oyesight Boston has gone farther.
and has employed a corps of twenty-one
school nurses. These trained nurses are
assigned 10 districts. and they go into
the homes and take care OF the sick
school children. Boston will tell about its
advances at Cleveland; the teachers will
leave with the advantage Of Boston's pro-
gressiye experience.
There Will be earnest discussions Of the