Evening journal., 1915-01-26
WOULD ADD Spanish
TO ". HIS. studies
Superintendent Scott Also
Thinks Industrial Courses
Would Be Profitable
RECOMMENDATIONS
GO TO BOARD.

the city pubic schools, at the mcelluS
OF the Board Of Education last night
submitted several recommendations in
tho way of new studies, including the
study of Spanish. and the arranging OF
a 2-year course for the pupils not able
TO attend the regular four-year
courses. The recommendations were
adopted and the superintendent di-
rected TO put them in effect as soon as
possible.
Tho recommendations follow:
MANY business concerns of Will I
mington. as wcll as elsewhere. arc /
seeking markets for their products in |
the countries of South America. In !
consequence tho business houses of i
our city will need office assistants and !
statesmen who can speak and write the |
Spanish language. Since II is the bus
mess of the public high school to serve |
any educational need of our cOmmun- !
ity and also to connect whenever pos /
sible the work of the school with the
life needs of the pupils. ! recommend
that Spanish be placed on the high
school curriculum whore II shall be
required Of all students of the com
mcrcial course and offered as an cleo
tive TO students Of tho general course.
"1ho present European war leaves
the United States as the one great
power from whom the nine Spanish
speaking countries must buy. The
! Spanish language is spoken by APP
prONimatciy 50,0G0,000 people on the
South American continent. The great
| est requisite i'm our contemplated
/ trade promotion with South America
the study of the prevailing language
has been neglected i'm our schools
4 II is now tho urgent duty of the
schools and colleges throughout our
, country to cmbody i'm their history
courses a study of thc formation OF
the South American republics
and their rise in the family
OF nations. together with a study Of
the customs and character of the i'm
habitants, to give special attention 10
the study of the commercial geogra-
ply of South America, and to teach
the language which is the necessary
channel through which we must build
up our trade with out Latin neighbors.
These studies can be added to the
work of our High School at a very
small expense since we have instruct
ors who are familiar with the Spanish
language. With your approval we
will begin this work February first
There arc a number of pupils in
our schools whose educational needs
are not met by the present courses
of our high school We now have
four excellent four years courses
which equal i'm variety and content
and extent the courses offered in
most first class high schools. How
ever there are many pupils complet-
ing each year the grammar schools
who cannot stay i'm school four more
years and who now drop out Of
, school. They would enter the high
school and remain there two years
il they were offered two year courses
meeting their special needs. II is
just as much the duty of our high
school TO serve the needs of these
pupils as II is to serve needs of more
fortunate ones who can stay four
years. At present our courses here
and elsewhere are planned only for
the pupil who can spend four years
In high school. II a pupil can spend
but two years in high school II is
not making the best use Of his time
to assign him the first two years Of
a four-year course.
There are pupils who have gotten
from the grammar schools all they
arc capable of getting but who have
not developed the power Of doing the
/ work required in the regular courses
Of the high school. Because nature
, did not endow them with the abil'
, TO do all that high school requires
for graduation, we have no right tr
deny TO those pupils the privilege Of
getting what they can from our high
school They should not be told they
cannot enter and remain in high
school unless they take the regular
four year courses. and which We
know they can't successfully do. That
Is making the boy or girl exist for the
school and not the school for the pu-
l pill. There are some subjects which
such a pupil can successfully carry
, and which II properly organized
, would make a worthwhile two year
/ course Through such an arrange
ment the school would be of service
, 10 pupils not now reached and who
have as just a claim for an education
meeting their peculiar needs aud abil-
= tiles as has any other group of more
fortunate pupils. Our schools should
= meet the educational needs of every
- child OF every home in Wilmington
or they do not justify a universal tax
levied for their support.
"Tho two special courses mention
ed must not be open 10 anyone who
J chooses them. Some might choose
, them because they are shorter or less
n difficult Only those will be allowed
= to enter them who have convinced
the school management that such
J. courses are the only ones which meet
-. their requirements. One Of the
Is courses will be made up from sub
y jects Of the present commercial
K course and the other from the sub
u jects of the present general course.
r "These courses can be added to the
r curricula Of the high school at nC
4 added expense to the school district
: except as "A slightly larger enroll
ment requires additional cXpendi
lures. With your approval thes'
: courses will be ready and established
\ February first A diploma will no
- be granted for the completion o
= these courses but a certificate of at
= tainment will be given.
y Knowing that you share with m
= the opinion that we should establis
= in our schools the best form of in
= dustrial training g-prevocatiOnal stud
= les. cooperative industrial courses
= and continuation classes-but hav
z not the funds to carry on in full sue