Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-27
New Ideas i'm Educ
BY Frederic il Haskin

| is arranging to hold its annual conven-
ton in st. Louis this summer. It was
there, under the patronage of the late
commissioner of education, William T..
Harris, that the kindergarten was first
made an adjunct of the public schools.
The movement has since enjoyed a
phenomenal growth, with the result
that the child who attends knows as
much at 6 as the average schoolboy
used to know at 10. The National
Story Tellers' league also will have a
convention this summer. Hamilton w.
Mabie is president of the organization,
and it is growing rapidly. The effort
is to revive the gentle art of story tell
ing, and each community is expected
to organize a local club. The league is
now able to support a journal in the
| interest of the movement, and high
schools everywhere are being invited
to found local clubs.
Newton, Mass, has brought the card
index into it's schools. A card is en-
tered for each pupil when he starts to
school, giving all the information
about him that is important for the
teacher and the superintendent to
know. As he progresses through the
succeeding grades his record is kept
carefully on this card, and in this way
his credentials always can be known
wherever he goes. Massachusetts cities
and towns are famous for their ad-
vanced educational ideas, and Lynn
has one that is equal to the best. The
federation of women'S clubs of that
city has undertaken to maintain q
juvenile restaurant. 1t aims to keep
a bill of fare suitable for the needs of
school children. Coffee Is left off the
bill as being too stimulating for them
A sardine sandwich may be had for
cents, tomato soup for cents, a
glass of milk for cents, and other
things in proportion. Chicken sand
wiches and ice cream, at b cents each,
have the call, though the average
lunch is said to cost only cents. Some
500 lunches are served each day, and
the business is self supporting. Much
of the work is done by the girls in the
cooking classes, who are paid for their
services.
Young America will hail Inspector
James L. Hughes of Toronto as
modern John the Baptist crying in the
wilderness of education. He predicts
the bookless school. He thinks that
each child must be taught by diff
ferent method and that the whole thing
must be done by the teacher. other
educators are being converted to the
idea that the best learning for the child
comes not from books but from the
minds of good teachers.
Chicaeo's new woman superintendent
of schools, Miss Ella Flagg Young, has
inaugurated many new departures IN
school work since she assumed the
reins of school government. One OF
these innovations is to secure the con-
sent of factory owners to the employ
ment of boys in pairs, one boy to work
one week and the other the next. IN
this way the factory suffers no deple-
tion in it's force, while the boys are
enabled to go to school. In this way
MANY a poor family in Chicago can
send it's boys to school, the While nav
ing an income from their work The
children's playground movement mas
reached its highest success in chicago,
where $780, 900 is spent each year. New
York second among the cities in total
expenditure, gives only $123,000 to play
grounds. Chicago gives as much to
the playground movement as all the
other important cities together.
Someone has been gathering statis-
tics concerning college and non-college
women More than 1000 random IN
oulries were sent out and answers re-
ceived thereto 1t was found that col
lege women have better health than
non-college women, IT'S out of each 1000
enioying excellent health, and only
eight out of each 1000 being in poor
health. The average college woman
was found to marry later in life, but
her family is slightly larger than that
of the non-college woman. The formN
also has the advantage of the non-col-
lege woman in height and weight, due
nerhaps to her athletics. On the other
hand. college men are less inclined TO
marry and have smaller famlnes than
non-college men. Statistics of Harvard
graduates show that training there fur-
nishes the young man with KIND OF
armor against Dan Cupid's darts, ana
that in most cases this lasts for
number of years.
Perhaps the two most learned boys
in the United States are both sons OF
Harvard professors. The work OF
Young William James Sidis, who rattles
off philosophic discussions OF the fouTth
dimension. and other things no less IN
volyed. with the ease of a Mohamme-
dan saving his prayers, recently passed
the Harvard entrance examination. he
ends a rival in Norbert Weiner, VINO
Graduated last summer from Tufts col
1eee while still on the sunny side or ID.
At 1S months he knew the alphapet, dl
2 years he could read and write, and py
the time he was 10 he could give the
average high school graduate tlShL
educational Wrestle. AT 12 he entered
Tufts college and found it easy salllng'
finishing the four years course IN
three years. With all his education ne
has not lost his boyish love for sports
and athletics.