The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1914-11-23
D HOLD PUPILS
N SCHOOL THE
REAL PROBLEM:
1T Be Made to See They're
! Really Accomplishing Some
Thing, Ssvs Noted Educator
RUANTS REFORMED
WHEN INTERESTED
Iational League of Compulsory
Education Officials Ends
TwO-Day Session
ELLA FLAGG YOUNG.

Ella Flagg Young. superintendent
~ schools In Chicago. was scheduled
~ talk on The opportunities of mod
'orn education" before the second
lays session OF the .ourth annual
<convention of the National League OF
<Compulsory Education Officials in
=Contral high school, Saturday morn
|Ing. Instead. she delivered an address,
<lhe title Of which might we'll have
bsen what is the matter with our
Educational system."
F Mrs. Young declared that the real
<ochool problem Of the day is not how
no get children TO school, but to as
<<ortain why they could not be kept
there, and insisted that there would
have to be a general revision in teach.
ing methods TO provoke real interest
among all types Of children.
& III i were speaking for the press
;oo1d the noted educator, "or for those
not well informed, should begin 10y
;tolltng them or the marvellous oppor-
{uu1ties which our educational sys-
<om offers to the halt, the lame and
<tho blind, to the mentally deficient,
10 The sub-normal, TO the anemic AMI
|oven to those infected with yenersal
45geases, very small number | am
lad to state. Inasmuch, however, as
am speaking to educators. 10 men
md women well acquainted with
fneee things, ! am going 10 approach
~ subject In another manner.
IN going to put before you The ques-
Lon OF why, when a truant officer
wings In youth to the school, he
4omains for a day. perhaps, two, or
wen three days, then leaves again. Is
(cturned by the officer. then plays
Eoant again and again. In short, the
11estion which should be placed be-
tore teachers, and all sorts of school
D1lcials, Is Why can't we HOLD this
TYPE Of boy or girl?' What is the
natter with our system?
III you will conduct thorough in
|yostigation among those persons VINO
have left school at the ages of from
[I4 TO IA, quitting probably during the
bird, fourth or even nth grade work.
you win md that few, IL any, of them
|fan really read. What Is the reason?
I'm this connection am reminded
- something which happened while
Et Was q principal Of small Chicago
ochooL was visiting in one OF the
rooms one day when truant officer
fought In q boy probably Is years
1d, great, hulking. dirty. careless
1T OF fellow, who sprawied into q
ut while the class was reading.
ne story was that of Hiawatha, and
E noticed that as the story OF outdoor
Ne progressed. the lad began to
now signs Of interest. Finally, a
little girl offered him her book and
~ took Il, pored over It and fol-
lowed, ~ best he could, the story on
he printed page. I could see that IL
VAS all Greek to him.
The teacher, who was a woman OF
'9ense. spoke to him and asked him II
~ would like to try to read II. 1
thought she had made a grievous mis-
fake. To my surprise he said he
would like to try. never heard a
vorse reading lesson In my life.
When he had finished the page, the
|1oacher, to my surprise, asked IL he
would like to try II again. Again I
feared she had made q mistake. but,
10 my further surprise, the lad start
"a over again. That time he read Il
Through with but two mistakes. That
teacher had taught that boy more
about How to read and read under
'Dtandingly In that one lesson than she
could have done In a whole year Of
'parrot-like lessons OF DO you see the
man. Yes, see the man
Then and there was impressed
with the lesson that what Is lacking
IN our modern school system is force
'of direction, some concrete basis to
which boys and girls may work;
something at which they may work
and really SEE for themselves that
they have accomplished something.
"Broadly speaking. there are three
types Of school children-those who
read and understand. who are able to
reason from the abstract 10 the con-
crete: those who get but a superficial
knowledge OF the thing that Is placed
before them. but who do not trouble
70 get into the real facts, and those
who must have facts, concrete things,
placed before them at the beginning.
The last class Is the one from which
truants are recruited. They cannot
become Interested in endless repeti-
ton OF seemingly meaningless things,
they cannot understand that they are
getting anywhere. .
The idea that children must be
kept In the same sort OF classes, must
not be placed into vocational and
technical educational work until they
have reached the age OF IL years is
m absurdity. -.
The, school systems OF this coun.
try can never hold on TO the boys and
g1fls until they have learned that
children are not all alike, that they
10 not all develop at the same time,
that Individual cases require special
trcatment. and that. there IA no set,
mechine-system TO which all may be
oubjected. You. teachers. cannot ex.
pocf success IL you insist upon giving
them all the same dose.
|>@f have satisfied myself, through OBJ
beryation In the schools OF Chicago,
that those few children who have
been advanced into vocational or tech
nfcal training before the usual age
and have devoted only a part OF their
time 20 the study OF book knowledge,
advance even more rapidly I'm the real
Understanding OF those text books
than do those who devote their en-
e1<o time TO the book work.
The real question before us as
0cners 10 this; Can the truant Of
-. when he brings In the delin-
1T boy, bring him into the school
- I'D place him under our care
- fuIl knowledge that we ars
Uke that boy and develop
ne Ne FULLEST measure OF maj.
- ~ largest possible sphere