Evening star., 1912-09-12
AUTO COMBINE FAILS |0|L SCHOOL WHEELS
United States Motors Com District Officials Prepare for
pany in Hands of Receivers. Opening of Season.
is HOLDING CORPORATION FACE SEVERAL PROBLEMS
Concern Controls Several Automobile NoRident Law Cupid Make
Manufacturing Plants Teachers Needed Unknown.
CAPITAL STOCK TO LOSE ABOUT 1000 PUPILS
Liabilities 225oO00 supt Explains
Petition tials"
ton Expected tenn.
District Officials Prepare for
Opening of Season. !,
FACE SEVERAL PROBLEMS
Non. Resident Law and Cupid Make
Teachers Needed Unknown.
TO LOSE ABOUT 1000 PUPILS
Supt. Davidson Explains Essen
tials" and Diversions" in
Local System.

Although no one can hear the wheels
buzzing and the gears grinding in the
| machinery OF the big public school sys-
| TEN OF the District of Columbia, never
theless the engines are working at high
speed. humming along merrily to finish
the big work OF organization, which will
be at the up-top of perfection on the
eventsul morning of Monday. September
"3. when 44.0O0 school children in their
tanned faces and best frocks and
breeohes will march into the schoolrooms
and start another year
The figure mentioned is an off-hand
| guess OF DR.. William NJ. Davidson, super
| intendent of public schools who is up to
his smiling face in all sorts of problems
| at present.
| One OF the problems which will be hard
| er to solve this year than in previous
! years is just how many teachers to APP
point. Every year the sharpened darts OF
| Cupid make inroads I'm the ranks OF
| teachers.
| Summer vacations end In wedding btfls,
which mean that many teachers resign
| to take UP career OF marriage; and
there are several teachers who are wear
| ing solitaires who will resign some time
| within few days. but who have not as
| yet taken the formal step I'm divorcing
themselves from the school service.
Non-Resident Law Problem.
| Added to this exciting and romantic
phase of the problem is the more pro-
| sale question Of what the new non-resi-
dent pupil law will do to the school at
tendance. This law was passed June 2G
| In effect it makes all children residing
| outside OF the District pay tuition fees OF
from $40 to $138 year. the exceptions
! Pupils who reside in the District OF
Columbia during the entire school year.
| (Residence from Monday to Friday only
is not considered q residence for the pur-
pose Of exemption from the payment Of
tuition charges.)
! Pupils whose parents are employed by
the governments Of the United States or
the District Of Columbia and discharge
/ the duties Of their ofices in the District
Of Columbia.
Pupils who themselves are employed by
| the governments of the United States or
the District OF Columbia and discharge
the duties OF their Office In the District
! Of Columbia
Pupils who pay taxes levied by the
| government Of the District of Columbia In
excess OF the tuition charge.
| Pupils whose parents pay taxes levied
| by the government Of the District of Co
lumbia in excess Of the tuition charge.
| The parent of a nonresident pupil is
\ the Ia W1ul fatnor or mother, ana not a
guardian or custodian.
All other pupils are required to pay
| annual tuition charges at the following
rates:
Normal schools. slss: manual training
| schools. $71: high schools. $6S: eighth
grade. 343: seventh grade. s32: sixth
grade. $40: third grade. sis: second
sartens. ssi: ungraded schools. $50.
May Lose 1000 Pupils.
The action Of this law is already noted
| in the case OF the school at Chevy Chase.
Md. More than a hundred pupils who
| attended schools within the District last
year, will go to the Maryland school this
year. School officials in Alexandra
| county. Va, expect a tremendous in
crease in their school population be
| cause OF this new law. and have been
the District Of Columbia for portable
| schoolhouses to take ca.re Of the In
crease. They want to borrow or buy
some In hurry, but there are none here
to be disposed Of
DR.. Davidson has been in touch with
his various lieutenants in an effort to
compute in advance the number of for
mer District pupils who Will attend the
Maryland and Virginia schools this year
and the present guess Is that 1000 Will
drop from the Districts rolls. That
means the new teachers will not all ne
appointed until after the first day or
schools and 1t probably means that tie
appointments from the Normal School
class OF 1912 will be smaller than usual.
Dr.. Davidson explained to Star re-
porter today exactly what would De the
KEYNOTE of public school education in the
city this coming year. 1t Is not a change
from previous conditions, but Or. David
sons explanation puts to rout the oft-
heard criticism that the old-time homeiy
in r.
have been cast into the scrap heap in
favor of a more fluffy style Of education:
Explains Two Sides in Course.
II would like 1t distinctly under
stood" he said. that in every course
OF education there must be Two sides, or
two elements. One of these includes
the essentials and the other side must
include the diversions. as you might
call them. We hear SO much these
days to the effect that the schools are
paying too little attention to spelling,
for instance, and we hear OF college
graduates who cannot spell. Now. per
hans. the truth Is that people spell
better than ever before. but the criti-
cism comes because parents probably
do not understand the modern school
education.
I'm every course we must pay great
attention to what l term the essentials,
and what you GILL TIE lhfcc II
viii name the seven essentials OF the
school education In this city. They are
reading, writing. arithmetic. language.
history. geography and spelling. We must
give children a definite immoyahle m
groundwork In these subjects. They
correspond to the routine OF life and of
business We must give our scholars
course in the routine OF education. For
instance, take the multiplication table as
an example.
..ChiIdren must know how to manipulate
figures Quickly and accurately and must
be drilled in them. Otherwise. when the
time for criticism comes II will be said
their work Ia diversified too much. In
the same way we must get them well
founded in the underlying principles or
ianguaEe, OF history and geography. the
latter OF which In important because 1t
brings the child into more phases oS
human life than any other study.
Expression Held Essential.
"And 90 on through the list Of seven
essentials. Children must know those
things.
..It must be the rout1no Of their edu-
- xSo0. hsrt On thA 0khoP hand n fhev