Perth Amboy evening news., 1912-03-21
NOT
i SELFISH ONE:
MIR. Bawden Again Discusses
High School Hours.

of the Board OF EQuCati0n OtOi -
phone. it was stated that my CHIEF
objection, as formulated in my com
munication published last Friday
seemed a selfish one, in that the
parents of the city were unwilling TO
suffer an Inconvenience in connection
with the dinner hour for the sake OIL
their children. I do not think the
parents of our city are much diner
emit from those elsewhere in their
willingness to suffer much In every
way, If thereby their children may
be benefited. While we may be open
minded on the subject, there nave
been as yet no reasons furnished
why we should not make objection
merely on such grounds.
But reference to the communiea-
ton In question shows that stated
nv objection to be twofold, and IN
addition to the inconvenience I'M
posed upon the parents urged an
other objection, namely, the ent!re,y
too long single session, especlaiiy
since it continues over the ordlnary
midday meal hour. we do not o
q moment doubt tina the board, IN
making the change, was py
a desire to benefit the pupils. IL
was stated in this conversation re-
ferred to that the object OF the long
session was to enable the pupils the
better to concentrate their energies
upon their studies, and that the ex-
perience of the teachers was that the
first period after the dinner hour
a a poor one, because the pupils
were stuffed full"
/ seriously question whether the
pupils who have had 0 an nour
to an hour and a half IN Whlcn 70
walk home, eat dinner and walk
back to school, are too "stuHed ruli
to do good work. III such is the Case
some of us have two-footed hogs Ior
children. The business man. the
clerk, the factory hand, not 10 men
ton others. find hour ample Ior
dinner, n do not ordinarily com,
plain OF not being able TO 90 good
work Immediately upon their return.
Indeed, many of US would very mucn
like to have the entire hour. | Will
wager that the pupils who return to
study after a square meal are In far
better condition to study than dur
ing the last period of the single long
session, when little or no lunch has
been eaten.
Now as to the matter OF concen-
tration. The college student, who is
far more able to stand a strain than
the ado1escent high school student,
In choosing his electives Is always
careful to avoid choosing more than
four straight hours of Rotations,
and prefers three to four. Why?
For the simple reason that he finds
by experience that too long hours OF
concentration result in a mind
stuffed FULL" which is more fatal to
mental digestion than a body stuff
ed full" There is many a young
man and young woman in our city
school simply because they could not
stand the pace. Now we propose
making 1t a still hotter pace! Too
long continued concentration is hard
upon the grown man, let alone his
adolescent son and daughter. That
It Is being done In S5 per cent. OF
the city high schools throughout the
makes but little difference, be
cause everywhere the cry Is against
the practice, n 1t Is time to call a
halt. While the various boards or
may have adopted it, the
foremost educators n psychologists
are against 1t. Where are our physi-
that they do not lit their
voices against 1t?
NOW l DO not want TO say or DO
anything to emDarfass our Board OF
Education. Iney stand for progress
sion, and believe them to be aetu-
ated by the best OF motives. | also
stand for progression, but do not be-
that the present step is real
progress. although open to conviction
on the matter. ! regret exceedingly
that before ordering so radical a
change they did not give more pub
licity to 1T. Seth Low, twice mayor
OF Brooklyn, first mayor of Greater
New York, and for ten years presi-
dent OF Columbia University, al
ways advocated taking every impor.
tant measure to the people. Cover
nor Wilson, who may be our next
President. outlines as his program
the restoration of true representative
government, which means making
the government more directly re-
sponsive to the people. I know from
experience, as a member of an or
~ganization than which there is no.
where to be found a more truly
democratic body. no matter how in
terested I may become in a measure
and believe it to be the very best
possible, 1t is unwise to proceed until
a majority of those concerned agree
with mo. nor have r found T. avan