The Palatka news and advertiser. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1908-19??, 1915-11-12
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/ FLORIDA'S SCHOOLS. X
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What's the matter with Florida's
schools?
Probably the same things that take
from the fullest efficiency of schools
in other southern states, if not in
every state in the Union. In the
main, it is a lack of adaptability to
the physical and mental capacities of
the pupils, which detracts from their
highest usefulness.
1t must be evident to students of
psychology that the same methods Of
training do not fit all children equally
well, and the inelasticity of the COM
mon school system requires that the
child be accommodated to the sys-
tenn rather than the system to the
child. Much responsibility remains
under this system with the te
especially the teacher of the younger
pupils, that the individual necessities
be studied out and met.
In the first place, the child of av-
erage mental capacity and physical
activity should not be sent to school
before it is seven years old. To
this time of it's life, knowledge is ac-
quired by observation and not by any
processes of reasoning. Up to this
period the child is an initiative little
animal, whose chief occupation as
growing, eating, sleeping, growing
and playing, and undoubtedly this is
of natures planning.
When it has completed its first sep
tennium and from then to the tenth
year, it begins to differentiate from
other animals into the human. with
its reasoning powers more or less in
embryo. but ready for the careful
training of the schools.
But the modern school system ig-
nores the physical needs as well as
the mental capabilities of the average
youngster. While it fails largely to
estimate the mental capacity and to
adapt the school room work, it also
guages the powers of bodily endur-
ance by that of the teacher. usually
a person of adult years. The ten
dency is to overtax the mental recep-
tivity of the child, perhaps to foster
the budding genius of the Swear old
by making it keep pace with that of
the child of dozen years or more.
Genius of the budding size should be
depressed, not encouraged.
And in the earlier years of school
life the physical should be watched
more carefully than the mental, for
physical exhaustion spoils mental
work, even makes it worse than use
less.
The daily sessions of Florida
schools in the city or country, are too
long for continuous work, in other
words, recesses are too few and in
many instances, too short. No child,
boy or girl from seven years up to
the college time should be confined
continuously in the school room with
out relaxation for more than two
hours. Two shorter sessions, with an
hour for lunch between, are vastly
better, more healthful, than one SEES
sion a dav that stretches from $3.50 a
M, to 1:30 or 2 p. M, and defers the
noon lunch an hour or more beyond
the proper and usual time.
Grown men, especially those en-
gagged in office or mental work, often
boast of going without lunch. That's
their lookout and they are responsi,
BILE for themselves, but no child should
be punished that way. Relaxation
and recreation should never be inter
fered with by school work or hours.
They should be provided before the
of physical inaction be-
numbs the body and dulls the mind.
To keep child gin at recess" should
not be within the authority of anv
teacher, for it is an unwarranted
abuse of power.
And for the growing, active
the lunch and meal hours should be
fixed. No school work should be al
lowed to displace them. You don't
expect your horse to do his best if
you don't take care of him, and care
means proper food at the proper time
and plenty of it, and full hours of rest,
Don't ask more of your child than of
your horse.
Floridas school schedules need re-
and they must be changed
before the material ben
eft from them shall be on par with
the excellence of the equipment that
has been provided in the most pros
porous and advanced counties and CT
ties of the State.-Bulletin of State
Board of Health.