The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1916-02-01
THE GARY PLAN.

When scheme is proposed by
which existing school buildings may
accommodate two sets of pupils, it is
no wonder that wide interest is
aroused" declares Supt j. H. Van
Sickle of Springfield, Mass, in de-
scribing the spread of the Gary plan
of school organization in a report
just issued by the United States
bureau of education of the depart
ment of the interior.
ANY plan that will lessen the ex-
pense of housing school children
makes a strong appeal to boards of
estimate, school boards, and the
press School boards are not willing.
however to be hurried into adopting.
for exclusive use in situation quite
different from that in which it origi-
mated. plan so radically different
from the customary one without care
fully testing its applicability"
Arguments for and against the Gary
plan are presented by Superintendent
Van Sickle. He says:
''The Gary plan is advocated large
ly, but not exclusively, on the ground
of lower cost. There are those, how
ever, whose approval is based upon
the claim that by means of longer
school day it affords to the children
and play; that it distributes the bur-
den of teaching more evenly over the
entire teaching staff; and that it af-
fords prevocational training to all
children in AL of the grades instead
of combining such work to small
group of children in the seventh and
eight grades.
The Gary system has commended
itself to students of education for
various reasons. 1t promises:
1. An enriched school life for
every pupil
2. A coordination of all existing
child welfare agencies and a fuller
utilization of all facilities in present
public and private recreational and
educational institutions.
lem.
4. A double school plan by which
each school seat serves two children.
5. A wider use OF the school
plant.
An increase in the school day
through a coordination of WORK. study
and play activities.
7. A program that would invest the
child's non-academic time to greater
profit and pleasure.
& A socialiZed education in har-
mouy with progressive thought OF the
day.
ION the other hand, those who op-
nose the immediate and wholesale
| adoption of the duplicate plan for the
| elimination Of part-time express doupt
| as to certain novel features OF schooi
administration which it embodles,
such as departmental teaching for all
| children from the first year through
| the EIGHTH. instruction OF groups OF
| children by pupils instead OF teach-
ers. the grouping together or younger
! and older pupils for auditorium, laDo-
ratory. and workshop exercises, the
substitution of an auditorium period
! y.r Classroom instruction, the omls-
sim of formal physical raining. sup
ervised NAV with only four teachers
for twelve classes, the deferring OF
scholastic work for fist-year chlIdren
until late in the afternoon. ines
urge that sufficient time mas nol
ELAPSED to test the worth OF Tue
schemes.
"a further criticism is that OUTSIDE
instruction in the home or IN tne
! church Is permitted, but that no
means is provided for seeing that
isuch instruction is the equivalent OF
regular schooling.
"To this criticism the reply is mace
that it would be very unfortunate II
the school undertook to insure tha'
! such instruction should be the equiVa,
lent of regular schooling, for IN ina
case the school would be supervising
religious instruction which the f1W