The Washington herald., 1915-10-14
Educational Engineer" er" I las Made
School System Of Gary Famous
William A. Writ Has Provided Children Of Steel City with
an Efficient, Economic, and Popular Educational Plan.
Result of Nine Years Efforts

Among Americans who are doing great
constructive work for tn, benefit Of
generations to come after them the ma ne
OF William a. Writ is not often men
toned. Yet those who have seer the re-
suits Of his efforts at Gary. Ind. and
elsewhere regard Mr.. Writ as one Of the
greatest educators of the age.
1t has been customary for the Ameri-
can people to regard their public school
system as one Of the wonders OF modern
civilization, whereas 1t has in fact long
since grown antiquatcd and wholly out
Of touch with the needs Of the age. Mr
Writ. the Educational Engineer" Of IT,
diana's "steel city," had no such hallu-
cinations, and he accordingly proceeded
to build up for the children OF the mill
operatives and other Garyites school
system that Is unequaled throughout the
United States for efficiency. economy and
popularity with the pupils. As result
Mr. Writ awoke to find himself famous
and his Gary system an object Of IN
terest to educators AMI municipal bodies
in all parts of the tni-ed States.
Superintendent Writ looks and acts
more like an efficient h2nll president than
a school man. There Is no lost motion
of body or mind. Doubte-5 quickly learn
tnat he knows just what he is acing and
CdI tell WHY ne IS uOlHs H. ne Is
farmers son, born in Markle, Ind: at
tended public schools. was graduated
from De Pauw University, took post
graduate work there and at the Univer-
sty of Chicago and later went to Eu-
rope to study the school systems of Ger
many, France and England. He intro
duced the whole-year idea Of four terms
into the public schools OF Blufrton, Ind.
before his call to Gary. At Bluffton. too.
he found his wife, Bertha Ann Koch.
and they have three children, two boys
of school age and an infant daughter.
Both knowledge and imagination equip
the man for accomplishment.
A Two-shift School.
The Writ plan has been developing in
Gary for nine years. Here you can see
what Mr. Writ calls a ''school-plant'-
that is, a school building with an audi
torium. clasSrooms, laboratories, kitchen.
shops. library. gymnasium and swimming
pool. menagerie, playground. park and
garden plots-in use all through the year
in daytime and many evenings as well.
It serves children from kindergarten to
high-school age under one roof all day,
and serves adults chiefly at night. Each
school-plant in the city accommodates
twice the ordinary number of pupils. be-
cause two sets are alternating every hour
between use OF a classroom and use OF
playground, shops or garden. This
schedule not only doubles the capacity
of the plant to handle pupils. but the
alterations make school life interesting as
real life.
Conceive Of school day Of eight hours:
two for the standard common branches;
two for manual training. science, draw
ing or music in laboratories. shops and
far evarctcog and
instruction: one for lunch: and two for
play. physical training and free activities
in gymnasium, swimming pools. play
rooms, Fairgrounds. etc. Gary children
do not mind II the heightened school pro-
gram is called "education'-the combina-
ton Of learning. working and playing
proves to be the kind OF life they like.
Superintendent Writ succeeds in directing
their self-activities along the lines Of the
pupils chief interests rather than trying
to fit them to the successive stages Oh
the rigid standard grade system gen.
orally fixed.
Getting the Work impulse.
Flexibility and stimulating variety are
obtained by employing grade teachers
for common branches who teach nothing
more and other teachers Of special sub
jects who are specialists. The children
pass from one teacher to another all day
long. Union workmen conduct such
student work as carpentry. plumbing.
painting. The engineer Of the heating.
lighting and ventilation plant gives prac-
tical lessons In those subjects. Account
ing for school supplies of all kinds is the
basis for the commercial courses. Real
workmen help the children to make real
things In real shops, from cages for birds
up to adjustable desks. bookcases and
other fittings Of the school building.
Students have painted q whole school
building; indeed, by repairs and making
and selling things made the vocational
work OF the schools became self-support-
Ing. Roughly the school day is devoted
half to the regular studies and half to
the special activities. But no pupil Isl
forced Into choosing the vocational