New Britain herald., 1915-11-24
TAFT URGES CHANCE
 IN SCHOOL SYSTEM
Make Education Bureau "A Great
 College for Teachers"
FOREIGNERS AHEAD OF U. s.
England and Germany Teach CEil- dren With Greater ThOroughnesS Says Ex-President Before New York Teachers Association.

York Teachers ASSOcIatlOn.
 Rochester N. Y., Nov. 24-Tbe conversion of the United States bu- reau of education into a national uni- versity for school teachers, was ad- vocated today by former President William H. Taft, in an address before the New York State Teachers as- sociation.
 MT. Taft criticised the present sys- tenn of education in the United States as being in many instances inefficient and superficial, and suggested that the federal government might, through a system of inspection and criticism aid the states in bringing about higher standards, both in re- spect to teachers and methods.
 Incidentally, the former president declared that the boys of England, Germany and France were better edu- cated than their contemporaries in this country because of lax discipline and lack of thoroughness here.
 Scheme of Cooperation.
 Explaining his scheme for cooper ation of the federal and state author ities, MT. Taft said:
 "Through it's bureau of education the national government might help to promote state education by offer ing machinery to the people of municipality, of county, or of 9 state by which they might, if they chose, have the schools they pay for investigated and examined, and the value of the education given treated by survey or representative officer of the United States of education. Such officers would be trained ex- perts.''
 Improve Teachers.
 Referring to his plan for making the bureau of education national university for teachers, MT. Taft said: By searching and thorough teachers examinations the federal certificates would acquire a high value for their holders, and the professional qualifi- cations for teaching would be gen. eraily improved.'
 MT. Taft declared that "There is Q most important waste of valuable hu- man time in the years of life of the boy and the girl between six and fourteen years.
 In Foreign Schools.
 III IHS 1STInan SCnOOlS and Tn the English schools he said, "the amount that boys between six and fourteen are required to commit may well commend our admiration and wonder because it is out of proportions to the amount that we require of our. children. The German youth at fff- teen is as well prepared to enter a college course as our boys of eighteen and nineteen. He has made up three years by harder work, longer hours and fewer vacations. We cannot ad- init that our boys are not as capable of learning, but we must admit that we do not subject them to the same labor or the same discipline. We have too much marking time. There is no reason why we should not make our education as thorough and use | ful for the youth as that in France | or Germany, or England. We, as 1 parents, have been content to follow the line of least resistance. We have l not insisted on home discipline. We 1 have allowed our children to have 1 their way far more than foreign chii- dren have"
 No Sectarian Education.
 While admitting that there cannot | De EcllSlOu ScCIotI SuuCdl1Ou III schools supported by public funds MT. l Taft urged that the study of the | Bible, especially the New Testament is admirably adapted to promote mo- rality and incidentally to stimulate good English style. In order to meet | the objections of those who are op- posed to compulsory Biblical instruc- tions and at the same time supply | moral instructions in the schools, Mr. Taft outlined a plan based on the Gary system.
 Moral or ethical instruction," he might be required for two or three hours of the week and then any parent or pupil might be per- mitted to substitute for these three hours thus required, religious and Biblical instruction for the same pe- rjods by the teacher of any church elected by the parent or student in some of the school rooms designated for the purpose. In that way we for all and religious and Biblical in 'tructions for those who desired it. It would be compulsory in the sense that some kind of moral instruction would nave to be taken. It would be volun- ary in that no religious instruction would be given to any who did not elect to take it."