Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1916-04-13
The Matter With Our
Public Schools as
Seen by Prof. Miles
Professor j.. M. Miles, Redfield, Tells
About the Obstacles in the
Graded Schools.
Editor Saturday News.

Editor Saturday News:
/ thank you for your courtesy in
giving me permission to state some
of the reasons why we are often in
clined to criticise adversely the free
public schools. We all agree that the
results are not as great as we de-
sire. Our first impulse is to com
pare the work of today with that of
u generation ago, or the days of our
childhood. We. have all done this
and generally the comparison has
not been favorable to the present
work. This is done probably more
often with the matter of spelling. 1t
is boldly asserted that pupils cannot
spell Is well as those of the same
age used to do: that the old-fash-
l0ned spelling schools made a better
class of spoilers than the present
system does. | am not prepared to
admit this statement unchallenged.
That there we're brilliant spoilers
then no one denies, but outside of a
few champions the average pupils
were from fair to very poor spoilers.
The same is true of arithmetic. A
few prodigies were developed and
we compare II average or second
grade achievements now with them.
This is not a fair comparison. But
it is the usual method.
However, what / desire to call at
~tention to is something which is now
at work in society that offsets the
best school system in the world, and
crippIes the efficiency of our schools.
| am in close touch with the public
| ca hnn1c and haun =hna, For n onoI
many years, and | know that the
schools suffer because of our allah
sorbing complex social life. Going
to school should be a regular business
affair, and to make a school life sue
cessful nothing should be allowed to
interfere. But in the majority of
cases outside work and influence gov
ems the pupils. We know that no
person can think of two things at
The same time, and that the pupil who
goes to the movies" three or four
times a week cannot get them out of
mind so as to concentrate his mind
on his work. Then there are many
other outside attractions till it has
come that scarcely any of our pupils
do any school work at home. The
mother of a young girl complained to
her teacher that the girl must be
having too much TO do in school as
she was very bright but kept failing
in her examinations. The teacher
went over the situation and found
that this particular girl played in an
orchestra two or three evenings every
week, attended dances and was up
late about every other evening. AT
ter going over the whole ground the
teacher said that the girl vas doing
or trying to do, only the regular work
and could not graduate with her class
if she dropped any of her studies,
and that it was up to the mother to
decide Which vas Of more value to
her daughter, the school work OF the
outside work. And there is about the
whole situation. If people think it is
worth more to their children to be
irregular in their attendance al
school, to become entangled with
movies, orchestras, dances, and the
scores of other things which they
know makes it impossible for then
to do good work, they have no right
to blame the. schools. But just the
same they do.
u While | agree that the young PEG
pie who graduate from our higt
schools r not as efficient as WI
wish they were, we must admit they
are better than they were a genera
ton ago in general information, ant
/, have had mental discipline that en-
ables them to comprehend new ques
tons and conditions more quickly thar
young people Of any former genera
} tion.
The only hope r see for it is tina
something may be done to arouse par
ents to the importance of making i
the exclusive business of their chi
dren to be in school and have thei
work done every day. This done, i
will then be in line to suggest change
in courses Of study if the young pee
pie. who graduate are not fitted 10
life. But the first duty is, no mat
tef what the course of study, to hav,
the work done thoroughly.
j. NJ. Miles
II Redield. April 10. 1916.