Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1917-08-18
ARE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
RETROCRAD|NC?
Ohio Paper Comments on Capitals
Editorial
SOMETHING LACKING In YOUTH
Why Increased Percentage Failed For
Naval Academy Too Many
School Fads and Faueies
SOMETHING LACKING IN YOUTH


The New Lexington Tribune, 2
published at New Lexington, Perry
County, Ohio, under date of August
16, contained a comment on a recent
editorial in this paper, on the topic
Are Public Schools Retrograding ?'
showing how far the Capital sheds
its beams.
The comment follows:
A recent editorial in The Evening
Capital and Maryland Gazette, pub
lished at Annapolis. Nd, suggests
that there may be something lack
ing in our youths of today" and
states that out of 1,400 who took the
test to enter the Naval School but
90, ur- r---aant passed. Are we
retrograding the editor asrs----us,,,,,,
he proceeds to question the value of
our public school system and declares
that there are too many fads and
fancies taught in the average public
school, where once upon a time more
attention was given to the old fash
ioned three RS"
There must be a reason, the editor
continues, for the increase of failures
to pass the entrance examinations.
Formerly 40 per cent were able to
pass. The tests have not been made
more difficult yet today there are is
per cent fewer successful candidates.
After passing the examination, he
says, not more than 20 per cent COM
plete the course to graduation, the
rest falling by the wayside" A
large number of the 375 successful
applicants will be unable to pass the
physical test and still further con-
siderable number Twill scarcely COM
plete the first academic year. much
less the four years course"
He concludes that there is not suf-
ficient time given by the public
schools to the rudiments-to spelling,
history, geography, arithmetic, alge-
bra, grammar" I'VE believe that
school time everywhere is frittered
away regardless. That in these lat
ter days fads and fancies have driven
out such common things as spelling,
grammar and history, of which the
average youth today knows absolute
ly nothing"
The writer might well have en-
phasized arithmetic again. Question
ing will soon show that the average
school boy and school girl know
practically nothing about fractions.
Why? Because the average teacher
knows little about the subject and is
unable to teach it. have heard more
than one school teacher answer that
one-half plus one-fourth equals one
sixth. The teachers are frequently
tions when taken outside the book
that they have studied and asked to
apply their knowledge to something
not specifically dealth with in their
school arithmetic.
The school child's lack of knowl-
edge of geography is also ridiculous.
Out of more than twenty children be-
tween ten and fifteen years old who
were asked where is Paris ~ not more
than one or two answered correctly.
Most of them declared that Paris is
in London. large number said that
London is in Paris
But what can be expected of the
children when teacher pronounces
Yosemite as il it were spelled Yo-ze-
might? This happened in a Perry
county high school. Moreover, when
pupil pointed out the correct pro-
nounciation as given In the dictionary
this same teacher brazenly declared
that one is the French and the other
the English pronunciation! How
can the pupils of such a teacher be
expected to pass the reasonably stiff
test given as an entrance examination
to Annapolis? How can such teach
ers pass the county test? This be-
longs to the things iRscrutable.
Can we wonder at young peoples
inability to spell when we read the
following sentences quoted from the
test questions given to pupils in a
Perry county high school?
"Show how it (civilization) effect
ed the Caucasian and Ethiopian
races Distinguish between igne-
Gus and aequeous rock as to origen
and Appearance Distinguish be-
tween latitude and longitude. "
What is the origenal home of the
plants?" In what way has the
dandilion as to seed, etc" ''Distin-
guish between the appearance and
structor of a mono and dictoledon
stem."' Give the life history of the
misquito.- How can it be erati-
catedg-
Comment is unnecessary. This
fully explains the increased percent
age of failures to pass the Annapolis
test. Certainly there is something
wrong with our schools and it is time
for the people to wake up. A citi-
zen of Columbus tells me that the
complaint against the schools is
heard all over the State of Ohio. It
is evident from the Annapolis paper
above quoted and from other sources
of complaint that dissatisfaction with
our educational system is more than
statewide-it is nationwide.