The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-02-23
THE GARY PLAN.


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. ANY plan that will lessen
the expense of housing school children
makes a strong appeal to boards of
estimates, school boards, and the
press. School boards are not willing.
however, to be hurried into adopting,
for exclusive use in a situation quite
different from that in which it orig
mated, a plan so radically different
from the customary one without care
fully testing it's applicability"
Arguments for and against the Gary
plan are presented by Supt. Van Sickle
He says: 1.-The Gary plan is advocated
largely but not exclusively, on the
ground of lower cost. There are those,
however, whose approval is based
upon the claim that by means of
longer school day it affords to the
children wider opportunities for work.
study, and play; that it distributes the
burden of teaching more evenly over
the entire teaching staff; and that it
affords prevocational training to all
children in all of the grades instead OF
combining such work to a small group
of children in the seventh and eighth
grades"
The Gary system has commended
itself to students of education for
various reasons. 1t promises:
An enriched school life for every
pupil.
A coordination of all existing child
welfare agencies and a fuller utiliza-
ton of all facilities in present public
and private recreational and educa-
tional institutions.
A solution of the part-time problem.
A double school plan by which each
school seat serves two children.
A wider use of the school plant.
An increase in the school day
through a coordination of work,
study, and play activities
! A program that would invest the
child's nonacademic time to greater
profit and pleasure.
| A socialized education in harmony
with progressive thought of the day.
"On the other nand." continues
Supt Van Sickle, chose who oppose
/ the immediate and wholesale adoption
of the duplicate plan for the elimina-
ton of part-time express doubt as to
certain novel features of school ad-
ministration which 1t embodies. such
as departmental teaching for all chill
dren from the first year through the
eighth, instruction of groups of chill
dren by pupils instead of teachers, the
grouping together of younger and old
er pupils for auditorium, laboratory,
and workshop exercises, the substitu-
ton of an auditorium period for class
room instruction, the omission of
formal physical training. supervised
play with only four teachers for Il
classes, the deferring of scholastic
work for first-year children until late
in the afternoon. They urge that suf-
ficient time has not elapsed to test the
worth of the schemes. A further criti-
cism is that outside instruction in the
home or in the church is permitted,
but that no means is provided for. see
ing that such instruction is the equiva-
lent of regular schooling. To this
criticism the reply is made that it
would be very unfortunate If the
school undertook to insure that such
instruction should be the equivalent of
regular schooling, for in that case the
school would be supervising religious
instruction which the law expressly
prohibits. The program simply pro-
vides that the child can be excused
during the day to take private lessons
at home or attend religious instruc-
ton, If the parent so desires. These
periods are never taken from the
academic work and therefore do not
Il
school. AS in the case of play and
auditorium, IT is simply time which, in
the traditional school, the child would
spend upon the street. What is taught
in these outside classes and how it is
taught is not and should not be the
!, concern of the school"
Interest in the Gary plan is by nc
means confined to the larger cities
. Supt. Van Sickle finds. Even in com
munities where the part-time prob.
lem is either less acute or else non.
existent, and where the expenditure.
for schools have not become SO bur.
densome as in New York, there will
= be decided interest in the Gary dupli
, cate plan. This gigantic experiment il
= education, now in full operation in one
of the smaller cities and in partia
operation in the largest American
S municipality, is unquestionably of vas
= importance, yet the changes required
s in installing the system in existin;
s schools are so radical and so expensiv,
n that school authorities will be dispose,
to await the result of an adequate
trial in New York city before depart
= ing from the present policy which re
n serves seat for every child"