East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1910-03-25

the term of years during which the
individual could attend school is too
obvious to require comment.
8. The high school act has not only
been effective both in the notable in
crease of the proportion of children
availing themselves of high school
education, and in the stimulation of
the organization of many new high
schools, but also of exciting schools
to better adapt themselves to the
needs of the immediate constituency.
A. The ten cent library law and
the organization of the oregon library
commission have been potent factors
in improving both attendance and
regularity.
5. The compulsory attendance law
may be viewed as the final act in
putting us in full command of u
problem of attendance, so that the
same may now be looked upon as
practically solved.
AL these causes working together
have probably afforded such a stimu-
lus to the quality of school room
work as to make a force for better
ment. much beyond the aggregate Of
their INDIVIDUAL e11ectS.
Work of Teacher and Pupil.
In estimating the work of pupil
and teacher upon the studies n ex-
e~rcises of the school room, it is impos-
sible to arrive at any such definite
conclusions as those presented rela-
tive to attendance and regularity. In
the first place, in the absence Of any
regular inspecting system, the SUI
p~erintendent of public instruction
can only draw differences from the
character of the work in such schools
as he has seen, believing the latter to
be typical of their classes. In the
second place, it is difficult to speak
with assurance Of progress for the
reason that what knowledge Is OF
most worth to one generation ifs apt
to be all unknown to preceding gen.
erations.
It is often stated that our schools
are inferior to the schools of former
days. because the children do not
know so much. The statement is
worthless in any case, because no liv-
ing person has access to data which
would justify any such positive gen.
ordinations, either one way or the
other. The school masters and the
governing boards who preceded us,
left scarcely a scrap from which we
can learn what they taught, or what
or how thoroughly the pupils learned.
Comparisons Not Equal.
Analysis Of the assertion to which
reference has Just been made usually
discloses that the person making the
statement has a conception Of useful
knowledge entirely different from
that which guides the modern teach
err, and Furthermore he Is almost al
ways found to be comparing intellec-
tual giants of the past generation with
the average pupil Of today. For in
stance, he asserts that his son knows
no geography because the latter can
not compete with his father In giving
the names of the capitals Of all the
states or a list of the capes on the
coast of Africa. 1t may be, II asked
to compete with his son as to the
knowledge Of why n W therefore, Of
wind and water supply, of great pop
%ulation c%enters, Of trade routes, etc,
he would at One reply tina they did
not teach such stuff when he went to
S'iP'l' "lCbbt 10 VI thS
most worth?
Again, the father is proud Of his
accuracy as a speller, provided he Is
not put to the test, and OF his past
ability to parse English Sc ntences at
the drop of the handkerchief. He
ayers that the son is poorly schooled,
because he cannot do what the father
thinks he cam. But the boy loves
good reading, knows a host of the
great names of literature, can enjoy
something else than the newspaper,
and can express himself in tolerably
good English.
And so on-with arithmetic where
the father Is likely right, with his
tory, which father committed to men,
DRY, with the study Of the human
body. which father never had" Again
which knowledge is of most worth?
Idle Assertions.
And so 1t In idle to assert that in
quality the best schools of the states