The Washington herald., 1913-03-24
BASIC PRINCIPLESO OF
EDUCATION neglected
Dr.. L. R. Klemm Says Supposed Ad.
vaneement Is Merely One of
Appearances.
FRILLS NOW PREDOMINANT

4 criticism of public school education
and methods in the United States was
voiced in an address on Drills and Frills
| in American Schools" delivered before
the Washington Secular League at
Pythian Temple yesterday afternoon. by
Prof. l. b. KIemm. Phi. D.. formerly a
superintendent OF schools in the West and
later a specialist In the United States
Bureau of Education.
Dr. Klemm declared that from a retro
spective view Of more than forty-five
years of educational work in Europe and
this country he was forced TO the con-
viction that nothing is as constant as
change" in educational methods. and de-
clared that In this country the thorough
going drills of former days, by which
pupils were well grounded in the funda-
mentals OF education. have been displaced
gradually by what were termed the
''frills' and "furbelows'' OF education.
and that the efficiency OF the educational
system has suffered very greatly as a
consequence.
Among other things the speaker said:
THE elements of beauty. of culture.
OF refinement of finish, of mere varnish
at times have entered the schools, and
the fundamental branches have suf-
fered. The bone and sinews of education
are now looked upon with less favor
than in times gone by. This is natural.
II We consider the composition Of the
teaching body Of the land. The great
majority OF teachers are women Tin
cities the percentage Of women teachers
is from IS to 9s), and since to a woman
the appearance OF things is valued as
highly as the inner worth, IL stands to
reason that the course OF the education
of the nation Is changed to express the
woman's preference. do not depreciate
t,,a, IT,, Nha aho ,tnsr 80 Hha
course Of study and in the management
Of schools. but I desire to point out that
there is danger ahead.
II deem 1t my duty as an observer.
who watches what Is going on in educa-
ton all over the country. to state what
the tendencies are. Public education in
this country is not improving in the d.
rection OF necessities, but only in that
Of appearnces The courses Of study are
topheavy: their completely 10 amazing
They still contain reading. writing. and
arithmetic. but the ornamental and the
supplementary branches are increasing
to an alarming extent. The frills and
furbelows are increasing at the expense
Of the garment. The garment itself Is
getting more and more fiimsy.
"A modern American course of study
Is a thing of beauty. but not Of strength.
That our elementary schools all over
the land fail in the fundamentals. how
ever successful they may be In the frills,
is seen from the complaints Of high
school teachers. college and academy
professors, and business men everywhere,
who say that the students of higher
branches are not sufficiently grounded
IN the fundamentals.
The examinations for admission to
West Point and Annapolis prove that the
candidates cannot spell correctly. that
they cannot think in numbers or handle
figures satisfactorily, and that they can
not express their thought in correct Eng
lish. My own experience as an exami-
ner In the State Of Ohio and for the
Civil Service Commission here in WASH
ington, has convinced me that many Of
the candidates for office are lacking in
all the fundamentals: that their Ian /
guage is coarsely faulty in grammar and |
that their knowledge Of
simple but important arithmetical pro- |
cesses is woefully weak: that the power |
to think and logically express thoughts |
has not been developed"