The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-26
SUPER|NTENDENTS CLOSE CONVENTION Open Air School Discussed
 in Last Session THE HUMAN ELEMENT Efforts Being Put Forth in Handling Compulsory Education, Back
 ward Children and Con-
 tagiOus Diseases
THE HUMAN ELEMENT

Mobile, February 25.-With the closing session of the convention of the depart ment of superintendence,~ National Edu- cationa association. held this afternoon, large majority of the delegates in at tendance left the city, several hundred going to New Orleans. Six special cars left for New Orleans tonight. and upon arrival will be parked while the educa- tors attend the Mardi Gras festivities. Mrs. Ella Flagg Young, president of the national association, left for Chicago, and President Davidson of the superintend- ents, who presided at the last session, left at midnight for New Orleans
 All of the delegates expressed them selves as highly pleased with the results of the convention, and especially pleased with the selection of St. Louis for the meeting next year. There were several brief addresses at the final session.
 Open Air School
 The days session convened promptly on the hour with the theatre crowded to the doors. sherman E. Kingsley, general su- perintendent Gnited Charities of Chicago, opened the meeting with an address on the "open air school" The principal ad- dress of the day was delivered by Leon- ard P. Ayers, secretary of the Russell Sage foundation of New York city.
 Mrs. Fannie Fern Andrews of Boston spoke on the Peace Movement and the Public Schools An important talk was made by Horace H. Cummins, general su- perintendent of schools of Salt Lake City, Utah, who made report for the commit tee on the Mexican centennial.
 The address of MT. Ayers was mainly devoted to the developments in the pub lie school system of the past decade.
 When the convention first met in Chicago Il years ago little attention was paid to school hygiene or con- servation of physical vigor of youth" he said. At that time only eight cities In America had systems of medical in spection in public schools, today the number of such systems Is over 400. Then years ago no city in the world employed a school nurse; today 76 American cities have corps of school nurses, and AS cities employ staffs of sch ool dentists.
 Ten Years Ago
 Ten years ago those who discussed the problems of educating the mentally deficient. the blind. the crippled and the deaf thought and talked only from the standpoint of treatment in special institutions. But today New York city alone has in her public schools 110 classes for mentally deficient children. and the work here is merely a sample of what is going on in the cities throughout our land.
 These changes represent no passing fad or temporary whim, but are per manent, significant and fundamental
 "No one schoolman can claim great credit for these changes; they were forced upon us by compulsory educa tion. contagious diseases, backward children and tuberculosis. The indi- vidual cup has taken the place of the tin dipper and brooms and feather dusters will give way to vacuum clean CTS, so that our schools will be as clean and sanitary as our hospitals. Four years ago Providence, R. l., start ed an open air school for tuberculosis children and other cities are rapidly taking up the open air schools"
 The adoption of the report of the committee for uniform key alphabet has stirred the publishers to action. Several of the large publishing firms nave representatives at the convention, who declare that the adoption of the report was huge mistake as its actual adoption means the destruction of millions of text books as well as plates now in existence, and an expen- diture of $50.000.000. and that the new method of markings for text books and to learn thoroughly.