The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-04

If 1t cannot support two schools, or II haVlng the rare good fortune to have two schools it is still wise, even neces- sary, to send a grammar grade pupil to the high school teachers it cannot he done. John is in the high school. His | little sister Jane is in the grammar grade IL IS most inconvenient to separate the l two. It is impossible, let us say tc separate the two If separated, Jane can. not go to school at all. The high school teachers have plenty of time to teach Jane and maybe some other grammar l graders They are anxious to do so Hei patronage will strengthen the finances ot the school. But she cannot be admit. ted unless the high school will employ a fourth teacher which the good peo. pie of the neighborhood cannot affort and which is not fin the slightest de. I gree needed to do the work
 If she is admitted without employins another and needless teacher the school | loses its power and privilege of giving the. units necessary for college entrance I And so do the sacrifices of the parents to building the preparatory school come to naught. Gentle people. you would not have believed so unrea sonable a thing if you had not seen it with your own eyes, now would you? If this rule were rigidly enforced. there is no telling how many children in Alabama would find them selves without a school this very day. | I am in perfect accord with our educa- tors in the earnest desire to raise the standard of schools in our country, but as one looks at the matter from the standpoint of actual conditions, he cannot help asking the question, "are schools made for children or are children made l for schools?'
 We know that the bane of our educa- fat,a le
 and that many measure the merit of A school by this false standard. and that to secure numbers not a few schools will bend many rules almost to the brea king point. was talking one day to college president about these matters. "Oh. '' | said he when one comes without units we must use common sense about admit tIns nm. Inls means either one or two thinSs-that college authorities sometimes wink (wisely, maybeO at a violation of the law, or that the exercise of common sense Is the utter rout and confusion of the unit system, for it seems that after all common sense and the unit system cannot dwell together fin peace
 UT course the matter of entrance examination affords some relief for the nonunit student, but for reasons 1 that need not here be mentioned. that does not and cannot correct all the evils of the situation. nor relieve the student who has ability without units am among those who believe that a pupils entrance to college should not depend so much upon the scope of ter ritory he may have previously trav- ersed, but chiefly upon his ability to do the work required by the curric- ulum of the college and if examina- tions are given they should not be primarily to ascertain how much ground has been covered in the past and how much information a student may possess on certain desirable sub- fects. I believe we are overloadins s cur curricula and cramming pupils in. stead of educating them. "We are flut. tering in all directions and flying in | none"
 I said must talk timidly about this but. after all I do not know that need to be so much afraid, for have talked with many great educators who fee as do about the matter and who live In hope that these rules may be abol. ished or radically modified before many years are gone. or much more mischief done. Because there are not theoretical quibblings. but actual con dltions based on many more than ex. L coptional cases.
 Tuscaloosa June 20. 1913