The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1910-03-24


conservation the school will remain
sadly inefficient. Medical, dental and
physical examinations in the leading
cities of the United States show us
that the greater per cent Of the chill
dren who enter our schools are inef-
ficient in some particular. In New
York city 66 per cent of the children
needed medical and surgical care or
better nourishment. Thirty-elght per
cent had enlarged glands in their:
necks 81 per cent had defective hear
ing: IS per cent had enlarged tonsils
Physical inspection in Chicago showed
that SIS per cent of the children had
physical defects of some kind. Den
tai inspection in the city of New York
showed that rs per cent of the chill
dren needed treatment. Thirty-seven
per cent of the children examined in
Chicago showed that they needed dem
tai treatment. The following is the
result of the medical examinations for
the first semester at the normal
school at Cheney. OF the 314 stu
dents VINO voluntarily presented them
selves for inspection, Is had defective
ears; AZ had nasal defects; Sc had
throat difficulties; 10 had enlarged
glands IL the neck; had weak lungs;
| Is had defective hearts. And these
all prospective teache"s-are probably
stronger than the average young peo-
pie. Consider, then, what must be
the physical condition of thousands of
pupils and students throughout the
Northwest. Can the teacher get the
! maximum Of efficiency from such ma
terial?
Curriculum Unsatisfactory.
Our school curriculum is not salts
factory The studies in the seventh
and eighth grades are but repetf-
ton, ploughing an inch deeper, as it
were, of the studies of the preceding
grades Yet this is at the age when
students, repeating the history of the
race, are inclined to leave school and
go out into the world for themselves
In these grades we need such sub
jects as English history, modern lang
uages, English classics, sewing, cook
| ing. wood and lathe work. freehand
and mechanical drawing-in short,
new subjects to provoke the students
interest and hold him, and subjects
that appeal to his practical and utili-
tartan mind.
High School Studies Impractical.
1.-The break between the high school
and the grades is too abrupt and many
! boys and girls, therefore, fail to cross
it. The high school curriculum has not
enough practical subjects in it. Are
we not teaching too much Latin and
! similar subjects to the exclusion OF
! the practical the industrial, the ny
| gienic, the sanitary, the civic, when
as a matter of fact the majority Of
! the students are, or of necessity must
belong to the work-a day people?
Our nigh school curriculum is still too
much determined by the higher insti-
| tutons-by the normal school and the
college professor who sees every high
school student as an embryo fresh
man in a higher institution. Our
school system needs to adapt itself
more and more to the needs of our
pupils We need more and better
medical, dental, eye and physical in
| spection. Japan, yesterday pagan
nation. has for Is years made COM
pusory the medical Inspection of all
school children and all school teach
ers. The United States is far behind
all other civilized countries in the
matter of medical, dental, and ply
steal inspection. All teachers. too,
should be required to pass a rigid ex-
animation in school sanitation, by
giene and kindred subjects.
Athletics Over Emphasized.
| Our athletic activities today are
not the best. We are over-e mphasiZ
| ing the spectacular and advertising
phases, which must be practiced for
under the direction of a highly paid
/ coach, whose efforts are confined to
very small percentage of our students.
| We, therefore, are neglecting entirely
| the great body of our students. We
need constitutional athletics, such
as tennis, rowing, bob shedding, folk
dances, etc, in which all the students
and the weak more particularly than
the strong may take part and thereby
get great value. In short, our whole
system of athletics and play should
be for two purposes-correctlve and
recreative. Therefore, we need spec
ial teachers for. and a well worked
out curriculum in play. We need to
recognize the necessity Of this care
fully differentiated curriculum in play,
which is as important as the curri-
cuum in mathematics, science or the
languages, with an equal educational
! value.
The Value of Work.
I'VE need to recognize work, too as
a great factor in the education of our
children and should cooperate with
parents as much as possible. urging
them to see that the children are
given the right kind and amount OF
labor to suit their ages and develop
ment, and thus give the children
themselves that very necessary phase
Of education.
we need to use our school system
and school equipment more than at
present With proper curriculum our
school system can run at least 10 or
II months in the year, as do factor
les and business concerns Why should
millions of dollars, invested in school
plants lie idle one fourth or more
Of the time? The normal school at