New-York tribune., 1908-12-09
SCHOOLS CRITICISED
CIubscomen Think Three RS" IRE
WofulIy Neglected in This City,

-l,are 7ree,,+ much left of the public schools by
the time the Society for Political Study got through
with them at its meeting at the Hotel Astor yes
terday afternoon. Mrs. Frank Cronise said she hao
had Irish immigrant girls in her kltcheh WIZ
could write a better hand than the average grad
nate Of New York public schools. Mrs Belle de
Rivera said the school authorities were going al
together in deprivng little children OF uei'
tonsiIs without their consent. and an ezcied mel
rzr in blue attacked the fads in the schools. de-
claring that If the Pilgrim Fathers had had the
etf,rf cramn1ed into their heads that is put into
the heads Of poor little New York school children
to-day this country would have gone to the DOW
vows" before it began.
Mrs Austin Norman Palmer read the paper ot
the day on "Our Public Schools 1t was milo
gentle and chockful Of complimentary statistics
But it vas the calm before the storm
We're too apt 20 bow down and worship said
Mrs de Rivera. jumping up as Mrs Palmer sat
down. There's great CO. Of mismanagemenl IN
dren by the doctors IN being run into the ground
Why should there be a hard-and-fast rule that Chi
dren can't be educated unless they're tonsllless =:
don't believe these operations should be performed
unless the parents and child give their full con-
sent Vaccination too-why should the children
have what MANY Of Us consider impurities injected
into their systems, wIllynilly? What has Vaccina-
ton 10 90 with education? I never heard that II
developed the brain.
Another evidence Of misnanaSement is the loca-
fortunate as TO ride in automobiles instead oG
lodging them may have noticed the fine big school
, buildings in the upper part Of the city, where
there aren't children enough 10 FIJI the sittings.
There are some fine schools in The lower East
SIDE too but not naf enough TO take in the chill
dren there If We c]ubwomen had the manage
ment of this thing we'd have fewer schools IN The
Bronx-wherc they're half empty-and more in the
cougested districts"
There's a school near my summer heme-a fine,
| large, new public school which took four con-
tractors to build ana cost lot ot money. and II
has never been opened except for a little while
last summer" SAID Mrs. CIonise.
Where IS that asked curious one.
L snsn't tell; I live there three-fouEths Of the
year. and ! might get into trouble" said Mrs.
Croniso.
Now that Tm up" she added, 81 want TO re
mark hat we're badly In need nf a little common
: sense in school matters. well as in most other
: things believe - birds ana b-ic-a-brac and the
higher education, but first Of all our children ought
to be taught read and write and spell-and they
are not. ASK Of your children read aloud,
ard what you get. I've seen letters written
by public school graduates which disgrace
in the matter OF handwriting and punctuation.
What do YOU think or public school boy wanting
10 enter the College OF the City Of New York and
not knowing enough 10 begin a sentence with "A
capital letter. Yet I know Of such instance"
a member in a gray hat wanted TO know 'f
people weren't being too much educated-the COM
mon people, that is. We need people to dig