Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1911-03-20
"OLD RED SCHOOL
NOT As GREAT As
PEOPLE THOUGHT"
DIR. CHARLES $. CHAPLIN
Normal School Head and Assoc
ciate Lecture on Changes in
Education in MOntCIair.
DIR. CHARLES $. CHAPLIN

There was a large attendance despite
Montciair, last night, to hear DR..
Charles S. Chaplin, principal of the
State Normal School, at Montclair
Heights, and Professor VIII S. Monroe,
of the same institution. discuss "The
Modern Emphasis in Education 1t
was the ninth meeting of Unity course
in the Problems of Today" now going
on at that church, and those who ven-
tured out were well repaid. DR.. Chaplin
had for his subject Some New Aspects
of Education n Professor Monroe's
subject was Changed View of Child
hood in the Light of the New
Psychology"
Professor Monroe, who was the first
speaker, told of what psychology was
working out for the child. During the
last fifty years." he said, these studies
have been productive of great results.
The fact that a child reasons out prob
lens in geometry, how far does that
teach HIM whether he should study
politics or IN certain profession. 1t
has been demonstrated that working
over a piece of cloth in a loom does
not help In doing some other thing.
Improvement in one special thing sell
dom, If ever, improves in anything else.
A physician may be high in his profess
sion, but an idiot in any other matter
he might undertake.
Man Is q machine and a child grows
by degrees according to his environ
ments and lives very largely the life
of an animal, n are often alike. The
instinct in children does not grow as
fast as In animals. Take a very young
dog Inc throw 1t in the water and 1t
will drown, but If it was a little older
instinct would have caused it to swim
ashore. Take the average boy and
throw him in the water and he will
swim If he has had the proper environ
ment, whether he was taught to swim
or not.
DR.. Chaplin caused laughter several
times by the humorous Illustrations he
drew of the average boy. He said he
had two of them himself, and, there
fore. knew what he was talking about.
He said: Education is what a man
thinks and forms in his own mind, and
he canont be satisfied with the educa-
ton of our fathers. There will be a
newer education a hundred years from
hV0f IA1o ~ VIII SOAAlAIlIO ~
We do not believe that the boy is an
angel (although his mother may) OF
a little rascal. either. They are little
aavages at first.
The boy Is a fighting, noisy, quar-
relsome and sometimes q lying little
animal, but he must go through it. It
would make you shudder to think Of
the punishment melted out by your
forefathers on their children. It is not
so now. The atmosphere of the school
has changed 1t. It Is full of good feel
ing and love, and is as near a good
home as 1t is possible to make 1t. The
child is a developing human being, and
evolution is at work and Is bringing
him from his savage state. Our bust
ness Is to change the tendencies of the
ehild, and our new education is trying
TO do that.
He compared the readers Used IN
former days to those now used. III
you are led away by the old red
school, he said, "I want to tell you
II wasn't the thing of power that 1t
was thought to be-" He referred to
the introduction of technical schools,
which he aid were expensive. "Prac-
tical and technical education Is ex-
pensive, while book education is cheap.
We believe that education is a sweet
ening of life. 1t is claimed by some
that you can make a man good by
environment, but environment alone
never made a mar or good, or
any better, unless the good has been
fmbued into them in their youth.