The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1910-12-22
THROTTLES PROGRESS
UNIFORMITY OF TEXT BOOKS
OPPOSED BY EDUCATORS.
Fixed Standards and Prices Mean
Loek-step-Farmers Do Not Want
Cheap School System.

Cheap School System.
Marion, Ind.-The important sub
ject of uniform school text books is
discussed in the current issue Of The
Teachers Journal, one Of the leading
educational publications Of the cOun-
try. The paper takes an emphatic
stand against uniformity on the
ground that fixed standards and
prices stand in the way of educar
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 mas to do with the development
OF the individuality Of the child. For
years, an immense amount of energy
was expended in working out a sys-
tenn and perfecting machinery by
means Of which the child was fitted
to the system-the lCck step method.
During the reign of the idea that
all children in Indiana ought to 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
ed to the fact that the development
of the child Is the central purpose in
education and not the maintenance of
a particular system, 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. 1t is true that no city that pre-
tends to be progressive in its work
has much TO do with the adopted
books. They are purchased to satisfy
the letter of the law, but not used to
any great extent.
"Clties escape by using supplement
tary books, those that are modern
and up to date, the best in the 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 century and others are in
ferior and not adapted to our present
needs"
Farmers Not Cheap.
The Teachers Journal points out
that economy was the argument for
uniformity, and adds:
But is the farmer clamoring for
the cheap for his child? Not at all.
He is not objecting to the concentra-
tion Of schools, and yet that costs
four dollars per year for each pupil
more than under the old plan. A
large per 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 tax rate Is twice as high as it is
in the country. So the economy
theory is without foundation. a
Quite q bit has been said about
personal liberty the right of the in
dividual to eat what he wants, drink
what he wants and as much as he
wants, no matter what the results.
We have had it proclaimed from the
housetops that we should have gov
ernment by the people, the unit being
small, the township or the ward.
IF the principle of local self gov
ernment is so sacred that 1t must be
safeguarded though it results in the
establishment 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
and attend its 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-
tion and the enlightenment of the peo-
pie?
When the law requiring uniformity
was passed there was some cause for
| 1t. But conditions that may have, In
a small measure, justified such 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 and 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 to any one who cares to give the
matter any attention. Why not ffz
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 superintendents have petition
d for a 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 II
the way of educational progress"
Cure for Scratches.
Scratches are caused by exposure to