Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1910-02-17
THE TREND IN
SCHOOL WORK

the proceedings of the convention of
city and borough superintendent held
at Harrisburg last week. The report
is most Illuminating, showing the gen
eral trend in high school work toward
greater efficiency and elimination of
out-of-date subjects with waste of
time and energy that goes with them.
superintendent Dieffenbacher has add
ed to the interest of his report by in
Producing figures to show how the
local schools compare with others of
the State in certain important rela-
tions.
Superintendent Grant Norris, of
Braddock, in a paper on Educational
Trends, " read at the opening session,
Tuesday morning, made his position
very clear. He declared that Latin
and Greek have no place in the prac-
tical work-a-day education for the av-
erage child, who has to earn his own
living and that the man who quotes
either of these languages does so for
effect. Science, he declared, is much
more important, for it is the graduates
of the scientific courses that are build
ing our bridges, our subways, our tun-
nels, our steamships, etc. He recon-
mended science in all its branches as
it applies to medicine, law, agricul-
ture, and other professions as a substi-
tute for the mass of waste educational
matters. The cry today is for higher
standards, closer supervision and bet
ter organization. The people are be-
coming weary of intrusting their chill
dren to teachers who have had no
training and who work by the clock.
In discussing the above paper Sup
erintendent Scott of Uniontown fuIth-
er carried out the view of Superin-
tendent Norris by observing that the
meat question and its boycott are more
interesting than the rations of Napo-
Icons army" Rather train the pupils
on present vital affairs than on husks
of the past.
Leonard p. Aryes speaking ON the
subject of child hygiene claimed that
medical inspection in the schools is
saving the State considerable amount
of money, which otherwise would be
wasted on efforts to educate pupils
who by reason of reno vable physica
defects are unable to profit by their
instruction. He declared that about
sixty per cent. of school children have
decayed teeth and that these pupils
require SO years to complete a course
of study that a child without defects
would complete in years. About one
school child in every seven has defec-
tive breathing. Such child requires
s G-l0 years to complete the year
course. Other physical defects that
cause backwardness in school children
are enlarged tonsils and adcuo;ls.
About one-fourth Of all the children
are afflicted with enlarged tonsils ud
about one child oat Of eight has al
enoids Nearly one-half Of all ;a
pupils suffer from enlarged glands.
The speaker urged that systems ,f
medical inspection be placed in opera
tion wherever possible Medical in
spection costs about % cents per
pupil per year and about s. for every
one treated. whereas the retardation
caused by physical defects costs the
district about $50 per year.
In a subsequent address on "Retarda-
tion, Its Significance and Cure, " Mr..
Ayres pointed o. that only about one
half of the children of Pennsylvania
who enter school complete the eighth
grade. In Philadelphia only one child
out of every five in the elementary
schools reach the eighth grade and
only three out of one hundred COM
plete their high school course.
In this connection Superintendent
Dietfenbacher showed that in Danville
last year l52 pupils entered school for
the first time. Fifty graduated from
the grammar school and thiIty-three
from the high school; thus one
out of three complete the grammar
school course, and, eliminating non
resident pupils, one out of seven the
high school course.
The reason for the "dropping out"
is attributed by Mr.. Ayres to the COM
pulsory education law, which permits
pupils to leave school at the age of
fourteen and to congestion of grades
caused by retardation. The speaker re-
marked: "What must we think of a
system in which there is a leak of one
half every year? Only small percent
age receive diplomas from the high
school. They are lauded at commence
ment, but nothing is said of the other
half, who have "leaked out-gone ont
the back door and are lost. "
The above summary embraces only
a few of the addresses, features of which
are calculated to appeal to the general
reader The report throughout is most
excellent and is most highly appreci-
ated by the school board