The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1910-12-30
THROTTLES PROGRESS
or TEXT BOOKS
OPPOSED BY EDUCATORS.
Fixed Standards and Prices Mean
ok-step-Farmers DO Not Want
cheap School system.

Marion, lnd.-The important SUB
iect OF uniform school text booka IL
discussed In the current issue Of The
Teachers Journal. one Of the leading
educational publications OF the eoun-
try. The paper takes an emphatic
stand againat uniformity on tho
ground that fixed standards and
prices stand in the way Of educa-
tional progress. The Teachers Jour
nal says;
THE trend IN educational thought
today is away from fixed courses Of
study and rigid classification and
toward greater freedom In everything
that has TO do with the development
Of the individuality Of the child. For
years, an immense amount of energy
was expended In working out 4 Rys-
tenn and perfeoting machinery by
means Of which the child was fitted
TO the system-the lock step method.
During the reign Of the idea that
all children in indiana ought 70 be
doing the same thing at the same time
IN the same way, the uniform text
book idea sprang up, How could all
the children In Indiana OF the same
age be reciting the same thing at the
same time IN the same way unless
they had the same books, hence uni
formity. But since we have awaken
cd to the fact that the development
Of the child Is the central purpose In
education and not the maintenance Of
particular system, a good deal of
the elaborate machinery Of former
systems has been relegated TO the
scrap heap-the one prominent relic
remaining being the uniform text
book It is true that no city that pre-
tends to be progressive in its work
has much 10 do with the adopted
books. They are purchased to satisfy
the letter OF the law, but not used to
any great extent.
Cities eseape by using supplement
tRry books, those that are modern
and up to date, the best in tha mar
ket, those adapted to the needs Of the
child and adjusted to the kinds of
work done In the schools. But In the
country and smaller towns teachers
and children are held to the adopted
books, though some of them have
been In the schools for almost a quar-
ter of a century aud others are in
ferlor and not adapted to our present
needs"
Farmers Not Cheap.
The Teachers Journal points out
that economy was the argument for
uniformity, and adds:
"HUt is the farmer clamoring for
the cheap for his child? Not at all.
He is not obtecting to the concentrar
tion of schools, and yet that costs
four dollars per year for each pupil
more 'dan under the old plan A
large ger cent of the students In Nor
NAL schools are farmers. The farm
ers about cities are willing to pay the
extra tuition that their children may
have the advantage of city schools
where they use the books that best
suit their needs. Many farmers move
to town to secure better educational |
advantages for their children, though !
the FAX rate is twice as high as It Is |
In the country. SO the economy |
theory IS without foundation.
quite a bit Las been said about |
personal liberty. the right Of the IN
dividual to eat what he wants, drink |
what he wants and az much as he
wants, no matter what the results |
We have had 1t proclaimed from the |
housetops that we should have gov |
NJ NV fha yNnnnla tho INIT hnfner /
small, the township or the ward.
III the principle of local self gov |
ernment Is SO sacred that 1t must be I
though 1t results in the |
and maintenance OF |
saloons In every city and town in the |
state, why is 1t not just and right !
that city or county should have the !
right to choose its own text books I
and attend It's own local educational |
affairs? Why personal liberty and |
the small unit in the establishment ,
of crime centers, and the state wide |
idea on matters that pertain to educa~
ton and the enlightenment Of the peo-
ple2
Wien The law requiring uniformity |
was passed there was some cause for I
IT, But conditions that may have, in |
a small measure, justified such a law,
no longer exist. There is keen com
petition among the book companies,
enough to keep the price Of good
books at a reasonable rate. Under
the uniform law we have had some
good books an6 a good many inferior
ones; and that is the condition now.
THE absurdity of making a fixed
price on an article, every element Of
which changes In value according to
the law Of supply and demand, is
clear 10 any one who cares to give the
matter any attention Why not fix
the price of bacon when hogs are low
and sustain that price by Legislation
when hogs double in price?"
Within the past few years, the
county superintendeDts have petition
cd for change in the law and the
city superintendents have recently
expressed themselves as against GER
tain changes In books made possible
under the law These men are IN
close touch with the schools and
know their needs. The uniform law.
with fixed price on books, stands In
the way OF educational progress"