The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-26

Even as the MOnteSSOrl system Sprdns
from small beginning in little Italiar
school, so the modern school system has
evolved from the old fashioned school
where methods were crude and ideas
vague. and the demands of the chile
were as foreign to the teachers mind
as the north pole is to the south.
Most of us recall how we hated to sc
to school, and how much more we dread.
ed to study.
Few children are studious by nature
and unless their studies are made at
tractive to them. unless their school life
is made pleasure instead of a bore;
unless their surroundings are agreeable
and afford them some interest they are
laggard and slothful, and have a ten
dency to shirk their duty and chuck
their work.
Nothing can be more important than
education, which gives puoyancy and joy
to the child; nothing more destructive
than education which is irksome ano
unappealing to the young mind
The modern school system undoubt-
edly has many advantages over the old
time method of education.
That they are as different as black Is
from white, is an acknowledged fact and
just how this evolution has come about,
is an interesting subject-one SO far
reaching In its scope that 1t would take
volumes to relate the many steps by
which progress and perfection have been
reached.
Birmingham is very proud of her pub
lie schools.
DR.. j. II. Phillips Is today a national
figure in educational circies.
His splendid executive ability, his rare
forethought and insight into conditions,
the clarity with which his brain grasps
situations and the master mind that he
puts into use in the solution of difficult
problems, have crowned him with a sue
cess which comes to few.
Yesterday morning, just as school was
taking in (as we used to say, when |
went to school at the high school, and
hundreds of rosy checked, bright faced
girls and stalwart. strong young lads
we're rushing to their studies, dropped
in to see DIR. Phillips for few moments
l-sandwiehing in bit of an inter-
view with this busy man between his
many duties and chatting with him about
some topics which will make a direct
appeal no doubt TO almost everyb body in
this big city.
1.-The idea of the child not studying at
home these days. | suggested by way of
Initiative, .'is a theme that / hear many
parents discussing nowadays"
DR.. Philips thoughtfuly replied:
THE modern idea of giving the child
little home work. in a measure, has come
from demand made more essentially
by parents. We have found that 1t is
an excellent idea. 1t has proven very
successful in ITS purpose. For instance,
take two grades under one teacher; one
of them, say. four and a half months in
advance of the other. While one of these
grades is reciting the other has its study
period. Now then the idea is this: sup
pose the children who are studying, are
diverted by the grade which is in reci-
tation, as has been suggested, what is
the result? The child who Is listening
to the recitation, in many instances,
learns as much from the recitation as
he would from his own recital of the
lesson. The consequence is, that the
pupil has an opportunity to be promoted
and make an advance which otherwise
might have been retarded had he been
in different grade and under different
teacher. There is a tendency on the part
of some teachers not to promote the
bright pupil. 1t is sort of an emotional
attitude, l admit; the teacher is loathe
to part with bright pupil, and send
him on to another teacher, but II he is
in lower grade. under her Jurisdiction,
1t is very natural for her to promote
him to a higher grade and still have him
under her control.
From the fourth grade up there is
considerably more home work given to
the pupil than is generally understood" :"
DR.. Phillips continued. I'm the high
school, a great deal of study is neces-
sary at home. OF course what one pupil
could master in an hours time, others
take two hours to master. so that the
time set for that sort of thing can only
be estimated according to the individual.
Under the fourth grade comparatively
little work is given the child at home.
The parent often demands this because
as they say they have so little time with
their children when they are out 1f
school, This isn't universal, you UNDER
stand, because many parents would pre-
fer that their children be MAIDS to study
at home, but the majority prefer free
dom for them when they are out of
school | warmly advocate the parent
assisting his children with their lessons.
think it is an excellent plan for the
child to read his lesson aloud at home;
not have the parent read to him, but
the child read to the parent. Often the
teacher doesn't have as much time to give
to having the children read aloud (hear-
ing 40 children in class daily as she
would like to give TO each Individual
pupil and the idea of the child reading
at home, Is an excellent one.'
and does the parent who demands that
her children study at home have in mind
that recreation is necessary to the child
after long school hours?" | asked.
lone of the important items in mod
ern school affairs is the brevity of the
session. said Dr. Philips. Formerly
we had two distinct and separate ses-
sions at school. the morning and the
afternoon. long recess was given,
whereas now the school session convenez