Arizona republican., 1912-09-12
SCHOOL SYSTEM
 |S COMMENDED
Dr. Kirk, Himself a Notable Educator, Pays Glowing Tribute to Arizona Schools With Special Praise for Phoenix High.

president of the state normal school and teachers college at Kirksville. Missouri. spent Wednesday afternoon with Supt Loper visiting the public school buildings or Pnoenfx.
 President Kirk has made a speciality of school architecture and equipment for many years and has himself de- signed some of the best school build ings in the Mississippi valley He ex- pressed great admiration for the school buildings of Phoenix pronouncing them among the most comfortable conven- tent and healthful in the United States He especially approved the plan of the One-story structures for elementary schools.
 But it is the splendid new high school scheme that excites President Kirks enthusiasm most.
 Speaking of the high school, Presi- i dent Kirk among other things, said: T do not think there is another city i the size of Phoenix in the United | States that has high school facilities equal to those of Phoenix. Very few cities of fifty thousand population have
 
 | all compare with yours.
 1 Tt strikes me that Arizona is mak- 1 ing unusually good provisions for her l public schools I found in Douglas 1 last week exceptionally gooi facilities 1 for industrial and commercial educa- l ton. much better than can be found in a majority of the cities and towns in the east and in the middle west. Sup erintendent Lutz of that city has his 1 schools in an excellent state of organ l ization
 But the high school here in the 1 Capital city sets the pace for them all. ! It will be the pride of your city and ! the people of your whole state-when l they realize it's relative excellence. 1 There is one rich capital city of a Pa | cific coast state that has almost eX- l actly the same population as Phoenix but it's high school equipment could not be valued at half that Of Phoenix. And yOur hlsh school principal and l the board supporting him have done a l most sensible, practical and courage ous thing in their plan of administra- : tion and in the adoption of a curri- culum. In the many forms of business education and industrial education they are close to the heaI of the pro- 1 cessiOn.
 Education was always vocational But the old scheme provided for only three or four vacations for the men and none at all for the women. Here you have high school providing for many vacations for both men and wo- men, especially in the industrial vo- cations. And we now see that industrial education bears also all the fruits of the so called culturaI educa tion and more. For it is human effort based upon purpose that gives culture as we'll as capability for service
 industrial education alters the trend of school life. It rescues boys and girls from indolence and indif- ference. It opens their eyes to the possibilities of a life worth living Ii l awakens q motion to do things that have value to the doer and to the com 1 munity. It stimulates the construc- tive activity It transforms dull dream CTS into active producers 1t vitalizeS
 the school community.
 Most of the girls and boys above
 the sixth grade have no object in life 1 They have no idea of doing anythine
 or being anything. They see no defin- ] l ite good in the school studies They
 live in a land of dreams Industria education gets hold of them. Bodily
 exercise affects brain action Acquire
 ment of skill in doing things modifie.
 the nerve centers.
 Industrial education is not routine
 not a mere exercise, not copying, no 1 f ic , hard and energizing thought work. I , keeps the boy and girl making com. parisons for themselves and by them selves. It hits the slow laggard witt things that he can not avoid, evade O. dodge. His work is visible, tangibl, and measurable It can be got at H, must do his own thinking and inven avenues out of his own difficulties "The typical farm boy always out
 does the typical town boy in schoo
 studies, because the farm boy has ac
 uuired skin in meeting difficulties an,
 the habit of tackling without hesi
 tancy the job that comes next wheth Q CT it is easy or difficult.
 f "Through industrial education w . propose to give the farm boy and gil more serviceable knowledge and ski in the things that need to be know 1 and done We propose to inject mo :. tive into the town boy and girl II industrial education so stimulate
 the capabilities that pupils may giv : to it about one-fifth of their time an 7 i energy and stir1 be able to carry thei | other studies somewhat better tha | they did under the traditional schem
 when they had no motive for study.
 But commercial education does fo
 some fully as much as industrial edu
 cation does for others.
 : Meanwhile your new organizatio ' leaves ample room for all the old an - well established studies such as Latin Il mathematics, etc. You are therefor . able to appeal to and utilize all tn = capabilities of all the girls and boys. $ 'I predict for your high school n thousand students inside the next fiv