Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1913-04-13

ly, and, for the most part. they ar,
those who drop In from other schools
Early in the school term ! stated 4,
you that improvement Of the work ina
arithmetic would be one Of my aim
The conviction that there has be,u
some Improvement Is shared hy u.
teachers in the grades report surn
Improvement, and everyone VINO b..
taken advantage Of the systcmutl.
drill and method work offered a..
ports satisfactory results.
Other Subjects.
have also felt IL worth Whit Il.
emphasize the teaching OF langua
language, particularly in the flower
grades, in distinction from fo,m4I
grammar, 70 this end, methods and
outlines for story work, memory
poems, anecdotes, letter writing, u,.
tlre study and many other forms off
! language exercises have been intro.
duced. Exercises have been given I'm
both oral and written expression
throughout the grades, and in the
higher grades grammar as such has
| been emphasized. We have reorean-
lied, TO some extent, the work I'm
geography in history and govern.
mept, and in spelling. In an tno4.
| subjects Improvement has been
shown, and this statement is verified
! in every instance by more than 30
per cent Of all the teachers teaching
the subjects.
importance Cf Proper study.
]
Whether or not it Is pleasant to
be reminded of it, it is nevertheless
true that few adults study as they
should ana that school children
waste much of their time In almlo,4
| effort and in wool gathering" study
involves thinking, and not only
thinking but thinking with II pu.
pose. There can be not real study
without definite aim in yiow with
ont problem to be solved, without
a question 10 be investigated ii a
sometimes said, and rightly so. THAT
interest is an essential element i'm
the accomplishment Of work. lul in
terost does not come from lh pur-
poseless coming Of the printed page
as the too common practice is. 10
comes rather from a feeling of need
in the solution of some problem To- bo
investigated or the accomplishment
of some definite piece Of work. When
the boy realizes that in order for him
to accomplish some task that his
heart is set upon it is nece ssary for
him to learn fractions, he takes hold
Of the process of learning fractions
with an interest born Of his needs
an interest rarely seen in the boy
who has no definite aim in view.
Now there are certain definite cle-
mcnts involved in study but unfor-
tunately they have been given little
attention in the past ana it has re-
suited in loose thinking in school
life and in business life. 1t is better
that a child should leave school with
little knowledge Of books, but with
keen interest in books and in life
and the power to study effectively,
than that he should possess all the
knowledge of a college curriculum
and be helpless and ineffective in
methods of study and of work
Children fail in school, not because
of their inability to apply themselves
effectively while they do work. The
problem of home study will be effec-
lively solved when children learn to
study as they are capable of doing
under proper guidance. This task
Of teaching pupils to study effectively
is one on which we have made be-
ginning this year. 1t is, in my judG
nent the most vital thing in school
work. and one that is capable of won
lcrful results as the teachers become
more expert in this phase of the
work. If we succeed in making ad
vanc6men in this one thing we have
done that which touches every vital
part of the school system, and should
be sufficient in itself to command
the work OF the school. If there has
been improvement in every depart
ment of the school, as | believe there
has been, and as the teachers say
there has been,l attribute il very
largely to this one thing that the
teachers are doing more to help the
pupils to help themselves. Toward
this all the machinery of the school
should be directed.
The teachers who report on this
phase Of the work, and nearly all do,
are unanimous in saying that i'm
provement has been made in meth
DDS of study, and more than 80 per
cent of the teachers are very en-
phatic about it. This is really better
than my fndest hopes had led me
to expect. To know that large
percentage OF the children in this
city has, in q single year, been start
ed in better methods of work which
will influence them throughout life
is sufficient reward for one whose
heart is in the work
Teachers report that children are
more able to set things for them
selves" that they notice an increase
in independence OF pupils that
concentration Is mich better" that
there is increase in independence %
md efficiency" that children study
With purpose" One principal says,