The daily Nome industrial worker., 1916-09-02
THE SCHOOLS.


 discussion in the paper and town over the school appropriation and when it was suggested to eliminate the High School, the community de- termned to maintain the $7,000 ap- propriation or whereabouts so that they might have High School whose. diplomas would be recognized in lieu of entrance examination at the outside Universities.
 The situation in Nome is some what different. The appropriation is about five thousand dollars more and they have a High School, but from recent information, some at least of the outside universities de- cline to recognize a graduation in the Nome school as any sort of a guarantee that the student has ac- quired such an elementary know ledge as is required by outside universities.
 We suppose that the Nome School Board has about come to the con- clusion that with the moneys avail- able, it is impossible to maintain the High School at a standard of education which would reach the requirements of the higher institu- tions of learning.
 All of which goes to show that as far as the High School is con- cerned it is unequal to the re- quirements of the average school and as a High School is more or less a failure. It is only right then that parents and public should know that this is the case.
 It is of course relatively few that will ever take up college course even as it 'fs relatively few anywhere who finish the high school (about ten per cent. we be- lieve, is the national proportion) and for this reason it is essential that the greater stress should be laid upon the grade work of the schools.
 We do not see that the literary emphasis that is marked charac teristic of. the school system is at all correct. It appears to us that it is far from being the best, and that today more attention should be given to the sciences and manual training than to delving in dead languages and rummaging among the literary bones of the authors that have come down to us. Almost everyone makes haste to forget the smattering of Latin and Greek that is taught in the schools and al- tough it is supposed to give the finishing touches to an education, that is more or less a fantastic idea which has remained because it was held when science was confined to the very few and the very much persecuted.
 It is hard to understand why a political history should be empha- sized in the schools and an indus trial history ignored. Everyone is familiar with the political names which have emblazoned the roll of history, very few understand the really important economic facts which compelled these men to their actions. History as taught in the schools is national mythology.
 There is not trade or craft to- day which does not fall back upon either physics or chemistry, and in- asmuch they equip us for the strug- gle for existence, their supreme importance should seem obvious.
 But for all that, we find them side-tracked so that some poor brain could cudgel itself through the pages of Caesar or Sallust in order to gain some degree of a ] very superficial culture. What on earth good is it to have mastered the difficulties of Latin gender and Greek aorists as far as making a living is concerned, unless one is en- gagged as classical teacher passing | on this kind of stuff to the next gen. eration for their foolish pains? What good does it do to be able to re- cite the dead languages by the ream and to be unable to get hold of a | job or fill it when one gets one, which will enable one to exist?
 Surely education to be worth !