Newark post., 1910-11-09
SOME EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS
Address Delivered By President Harter Of Della
ware College Before The New Century
Club Of Wilmington

yard or in any unused plots of grounc,
each i'll its proper season will arouse
the school to the desire ior work and
convert il from tresdnill into a
81 OWING body of happy youth. Tact
is great gift, and is needed more in
the teachers profession than any
where else. We owe much to the lad
les of the Century Club for their aid
and encouragement inl putting tie
various auxi.iaries into the activities
1t our schoo.s, and when &. rlmes
yul. eel discouraged and disheartened
by the slowuess with which your plans
are adopted, remember that under
he influence OF your efforts the
schools of the State have been vastly
improved and the lesven will spread
IRON the more favored districts
throughout the whole lump OF the
educational machinery Of the COM
monWealth
The movement TO have physician
make regular visits to examine the
children and see that they are in good
physical condition, not only looks to-
wards preserving the health Of the
school, but ofttimes it shows some
weakness or defect in the pupil that
may be remedied by treatment. In
mnay cases, What is termed laziness is
the effect of disease A child in one
OF the Wilmington schools with
slight defect in his teeth, was changed
from an irritable. peevish boy into a
bright, cheerful disposition by atten-
ton to such tritling cause. Many a
boy or girl gets reputation for dull
ness or moroseness from imperfect
wilson that could be remedied with
intelligent oversight hope you
will have the schools of Wilmington
under the care of medical inspector.
Every teacher feels that from unequal
capacities OF the children the work is
much hindered by the necessity of
keeping the instruction down to the
level OF the average boy or girl OF the
class. In many cases the difference
OF powers OF the poorer pupils is due
| to, some minor defect that will Yield
to treatment and they will have the
same ability as the rest OF the physi-
cal trouble is removed. Those who
are less favorably endowed than their
fellows should be given such instruc-
tion as they can readily master in sep
arate Classes. 1t is unfortunately the
case that small percentage of child
rem are weak minded in various de-
grees, and it is manifestly wrong to
make the vast majority mark time
| while struggling to get all to keep
| step.
1t is gratifying to know that the edu-
catonal committee of this Club is
! agitatng the question of the estab-
| hshment OF Juvenile court which will
| have jurisdiction over those minor
| violations of the law in the case of
children which are wont to grow into
| criminal acts if left unchecked The
| youtl1fulness f the offenders rem
ders it wrong to bring them into con-
tact with the violators of the laws that
they would meet in the ordinary courts
and kindly judge could often direct
the energies OF the mschievous boy
into channels of usefulness and respect.
have not time to say more than that
Wilmington, which is growing into
metropolitan properties, should take
the leadership i'll this movement for
the preservation Of the respect for
law and order among our people
| Some one has said that our cities
| are the concrete expression OF the
social forces that build them. In Eu-
rope there are many traces OF the
walled towns that were built for pr o.
lection and some of these walls are
kept for picturcsqueness or other SEN
timental reasons, Just so our laws
are the expression tt the aspirations
OF the people, and still many of their
early imperfections have been retain
ed for one reason or another, even
when we see how imperfectly they fit
the times. When little more than
a decade ago Mr.. Henry Ridgely, Of
| Dover, undertook to collect the school
laws of the State, and purge them of
Inconsistencies and of imperfections,
you remember with what consterna-
ton it was received when he pro-
posed to change the system of taxa
ton for schools. In rural De aware
the school district is the unit of taxa
ton and was the unit of organization
and administration until the school
law of 1897 was adopted 1t is true
that before 1880 there was State
superintendent of schools and soon af-
terwards the plan OF having three
county superintendents went into ef-
feet but there was not and could not
be school system with such an utter
lack OF cohesion among the parts of
the fabric Laws had been passed
from time to time, all we'll meant, but
which we're SO mischievous in opera
ton, or SO local in application that
they were hindrance and obstruc-
ton TO the progress of the schools
Mr.. Ridgely entered upon the Her
culean task with energy and sought
advice and information from every one.
He presented a bill to the General
Assembly and succeeded in having it
passed He did not offer it as his
best thought but as bill that would
pass. When he talked OF charging
the unit OF taxation to include hun
dred he was met with the cry from
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