El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-12-07

"CICAGO, Ill. Dec. IA day in the
Gary, IND, schools and a half
hour with William A. Writ, edu-
cational wizard, has just been my priv
ilege.
The day began at and ended at 3.
the regular school period Of a Gary
child. and came away filled with an
almost reverent admiration for this
quiet, simple man Of accomplishment.
7 could understand why his revolution
OF Gary schools had urged his name
for superintendent Of Chicago schools
10 succeed Mrs Young. and why New
York City begged his advice to the tune
Of $4,000 recently.
Standing in the warm family atmos-
phere Of this Gary model place. 7 know
that / had hated the stereotyped school
day: the stiff. standing shoulder to
shoulder in line 10 march TO class; the
everlasting sameness of that morning
assembly; the clang of the bell: the de-
preston Of that watch upon whisper
ing-I always did have so much to say
children-straight'- was so comfy
10 lounge a bit; could think better)
and all the rest Of it that still endures
and inks child numerically.
The Old and the Newe
How can the grade teacher with her
compete in interesting child. with the
tutor who, though specializing. is thor
ough, retrospective, lhtuitiTe and re-
sOurcefui?
It isn't the grade teacher who is TO
blame It's the system.
1t came over me so suddenly, so re
freshingly IN the Emerson trip, that L
confess / was ratified when William A.
Writ, superintendent of schools at
Gary. said he was ready for q talk
~ H- hot H- nnar 2 d 7a-
place that fits one like a rocking chair,
made 10 Order?' I wanted TO know.
And the quiet answer came pat: ITS
the family spirit
Children Not OverwOrked.
mentioned the long period from
until 5 o'clock. Let nobody imagine
there are overworked children in the
Gary schools Primarily, the extra two
hours from to >, are meant to keep
the boy and girl out Of the street It
Is crime, according to Mr.. Writ, TO let
those two hours be wasted. when they
can be put in with interesting play in
the school.
For there is no work in the Gary
schools 1t is all play, meant TO be so.
And by the appearance of the children,
you know this to be so. The Emerson,
like the bigger FroebeI school. accom-
modates the high school pupils the
grade children and the kindergartners,
all at the same time Again it is the
family idea The younger ones have
constantly before them the example OF
the older children
The Incentive TO Work.
For instance a kindergarten room
may be placed next TO the botany room 4
OF the physics laboratory. How the big
eyes stare into those more dignified /
quarters. how the little fmaginations i
plan to reach there some dayt And ] /
saw high school pupil racing along
corridor with a little tot in tow, when
classes changed one hour
As to the changing there is no set /
order, no rule, no stiff lining up In I
class and out pupils are not subjected /
70 the constant SIR ACCOMPLISHMENT. !
The teacher is more like the mother of /
the flock or the big sister. and down 4
In The shops the boys appear TO be /
working with father IT is just because I
there are no set prison like rules. that 1
there is no noise and no disorder
Play for some All the Time. /
And some group is playing all Of the \
time There are about five acres Of i
playground about the school and a 1
vrading pool and garden for the spring /
and summer And the auditorium, gym
nasiums and swimming pool are seldom
empty Some group is always playing.
When one or three groups return for 4
arithmetic or drawing. another group
goes out TO romD or 10 music in the
auditorium or down 70 the city market.
And things are so arranged that if the
parents Of child so desire. a play hour
may be put in at the family church for
religious instruction The churches
have cooperated with Mr. Writ in this (
Peeping into the class rooms I saw
arithmetic pupils sitting about as they
pleased. whispering il they chose,
handling objects freely In the shops (
in most cases. presided over by a union
man by the way nobody appeared to
be instructed by the instructor alone.
4 boy appeared to be learning forge |
work. for instance. as well by consult
Ing with more advanced student. as
from the teacher
Not RuIe-Made
IN drawing class, seventh graders
were lined up al easels with fourth
graders and one high school boy was (
working there with charcoal This
whole rOOm- by the way, had been
painted by the painting boys, had been
stenciled and filled in by others:
window that Offended by its stark OBJ
long, had been changed TO stained glass
and ITS casing was made in the shops
At the Froebel school, by the way, all
the tables and chairs. the cupboards
and cases were made by the boys. A
boy working in the shop gets his time
-ard and is paid $3.50 an hour. At The
md OF the week he is given check
which ne deposits IN the school bank
and when he has saved $50 he has made
2 credit toward graduation.
Pupils Have n Bank.
went into the bank. which is run by
ne pupils, and one Of the clerks, a boy I
q about 16. showed me around He