New-York tribune., 1909-01-16
BETTERING THE SCHOOLS.
Charles ". Eliot Talks to Public
Education association.

The annual meeting OF the Public Education As
ISOLATION drew 4 crowded audience OF members and
friends to Mendelssohn Hall last night. Charles
W. Eliot former president OF Harvard University
spoke. The association, whose president, Mrs
Miriam sutro Price. presided. is engaged in the lay
supervision of the public schools and their condi-
tion and progress.
Committees reported on the work done during the
year. and the character of the reports led President
Eliot to say that the membership should be forty
thousand instead OF four hundred. His talk was
devoted principally TO the improvement of municipal
boards of education, school committees, as ne
called them. The city OF New York. with its cos
mopolitan population and enormous school attend
ance. particularly fine field for the develop
ment OF the ideal board of education he said.
He approved the small board OF education. COM
posed of members elected at large by the people.
and pointed TO the school committees OF Boston and
ST. Louis as examples OF modern experiments in
this direction The apprehension that the religious
and racial differences which existed in large cities.
especially New York. would operate against the
successful administration of the public schools by
a small school board he did not believe to be well
founded.
Asking the question. why couldn't a board Of
seven members be elected at large here, where
there IL such diversity Of religious opinion and
racial attIibutes?" Mr.. Eliot said:
Take Boston, old Puritan Boston, which has now
elected large. is composed OF two Catholics two
PEotestants and one Jew The tiTst chairman was was
who snail saw then that religious differences Will
prevent harmonious cooperation Of great bodies Of
electors in choosing at large the, members OF
school board? And this is no popularity of that old
New England city.
What sort OF a IS IL that has been elected to
the Presidency? Unitarian Protestant TWO
evangelical denominations in the West sought 10
prevent his election because Of his religion but they
failed completely in the attempt Ism there an IN
dication here that religious opinions or MEMBER
shin in any religious organization. no matter now
small, IS not going to stand in the way OF a man
election to Office by popular vote? Ihe Unitarian
denomination is small one, and only u rev years
ago IL was hardly considered Christian, nut nlIohS
OF voters their ballots Tor candidate OF Ihat
denomination. Let take heart and be assured
that we can overcome religious prejudice at popular
elections. particularly where the interests OF
schools are at stake
The suggestion made in one of the com
nlittee reports that high school education should
avoid looking backward a college entrance ex-
aminations but should be concerned with serving
the needs Of the community. Regarding this Dr.
Eliot said:
If the high schools should abandon this prepara5
tion for the college and the technical school and
prepare the student for the activities OF me, IeaV-
Ing the preparatory schools 70 prepaTS IN mem .5e %
college I think great mistake would be mace;
1t would mean that none but the genus Mou.u Mof.
be able to reach the professions ana hlgner "ahs "a i
OF life It the function of democracy 70 Tt aae
is the best thing that democratic schoolS Cdn ~ ~,
and is what private org9Hlzat
organizations have failed to do, and Whlcn any
organization founded race or caste cannot uO'
One Of the activities of the association Is the
maintenance of a school in the Tombs prison IN
a report II was pointed out that the number Oh
nuniIs bovs between sixteen and twenty-one years
Of age had increased at the rate OF about seven
hundred a year. Last year there were 2Ss'.