Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1910-06-23
THE NEW SCHOOLHOUSES
The County Superintendent Dis
cuSSeS The Choice OF Sites
And What Should De-
termine Them
PENNY-WlSE AND POUND
FOOLISH
A Policy That Places A Public School In
An Uniii Pace Because Lsud Is
Donated

nr. Editor:
Now that we are about TO build several
new district sehoolhOuses. it Is important
that We should clearly understand the
conditions which should govern as in
the chOiceN>of locations and sites. Aud
no selfish motives should be allowed Ia
! determine such choice. On such occa-
! sions there are nearly always persons
1 who are willing TO give sites, some. of
course, from disinterested and public.
| spirited reasons, bat others because they
hope either to enhance the value OF their
! property 10y having the school located on
their places or TO have it as convenient as
possible for their own children. The
solicitations and offers of these latter
persons should never be considered for
a moment. The only determining factor
should be the convenience of the whole
neighborhood; and in growing com
munity, spreading in various directions,
such n site should he chosen as will be
central aud convenient to all possible
parts of such community, when it shall
have reached its limits. whether il be -
or 30 years in 50 doing The wishes of
individuals should be consulted only in
so far as they coincide with the general
and best interests of the community
This proposition seems to me so Self-evi-
dent that it leaves no room for contro-
versy and none should be allowed.
\ second consideration OF equal I'M
portanee is the character of the site it
self; and this should De on high aud
level plain and ~ all eases, situated on
the main thoroughfare. The soil should
be good. 81 that the pupils can be in
terested in the cultivation of flowers
and such vegetables as gan be grown
during the school term. There should
be ample room for play ground. Less
than an acre would hardly suffice. This
seems to me 10 he of capital Importance,
and yet little attention appears to have
been paid, III the past, TO the choice of
schoolh0nse sites from this standpoint r.
presumably ut-tduSt lit ttiut1AiNt anu
ethical value of play, when properly Iii
rected, was either overlooked or was not
given sufficient weight in making the
choice The consequence is that not one
in dozen of the schoOlhonse sites III
the county is fit for the purpose for
which they are used In some eases the
pupils have no place to play except in
the public roads. The Importance of the
question demands that we consider well
where we locate schools in the future.
The very best sites possible should be
dred dollars each To put school in
All unfit place merely because the land
is donated would be a penny wise and
pound foolish policy, as it would be a
plague and an eyesore as hong as it
lasted
Play and physical exercise in the ed
ucation of the young have been domin-
ant forces even from the beginning of
the race 5 existence, but the modern world
has been slow TO yield assent to their
demands, although more than hundred
years ago European writer's on pedagogy
began to call attention to their educa-
tiOnal importance hBgland, Germany
and France may be cited as instances
of what physical training, when held in
subordination TO literary culture, will do
in the production of splendid scholar
ship. There games and sports are in
dulged in chiefly for their value in pro
ducing a healthy mind in healthy body.
Scholarship then follows as natural
consequence Here in America We have
perverted the true end of play, and the
| only object seems TO be to win games.
4 This we must do at all hazard, even to
/ the -rz1ent Of killing or manning our Op-
/ ponents So much has this come to be
regarded as essential. that young man,
when choosing his school for a higher
| education, selects, in ninety nine cases
/ our of a hundred, the college or uni
| versity, which has 10 its credit the great
1 est number of athletic victories. He
/ uttHn ~ W ~ olhhs 1H~ "
/ play, and the result is a woeful falling
off in the scholarship of the graduates
/ of these institutions This phase OF
the question can only be touched on
here. / am only arguing for the neees-
sity of play when properly directed. as
moral and educational factor, chiefly
| ON the score. as the old pr0yerb says,
that all work and no play makes Jack
dull boy Proverbs have been said
10 be the concentration of a nation s Wis.
dom, and the proof Of this saying is
fully justified in this ease. When chill
dren have ample facilities for play, theil
intellectual faculties are awakened anC
frightened. and their capacity for worl
is greatly increased Moreover, ] believe
that, if the schools are rendered more at
traetiye by supplying the best means TO
smussnents during the hours of recrea
ton, one of the greatest Of school evils