The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-04-18
l MAY DROP ALL 1 NON-ESSENTIALS
 l IN CURRICuLU UNI
Supt. Slawson Urges Teach CTS and Pupils to be Ready
 at Nations Call.

QU N0U4O14 D ON44s | A letter to principals and teachers of the public schools of Bridgeport. | calling on them to prepare them selves and their children for demands | that may be made upon them by their countrys need, was distributed yes | terday from the office of Supt. s. J. | SlaWson.
 It will be noted from the full text of the letter which was epitomized in | The Farmer, yesterday, that not only will boys 16 years of age and over be necessary to the proper food cultiva- tion of the city and county but the girls and boys may also be needed for light work in factories and on the farms.
 It is intimated that should emer- gency require much of the ~ocalled non essentials of education will be dropped from the curriculum and the fundamental principles of commercial and industrial energy will receive greater attention. The letter fol- lows:
 April IT, 1917. Dear Principal:-
 Il want to cali your aCL0ntlOn to the Proclamation of the President as published in the papers April 16. believe it would be we'll, in many in, stances, if this Proclamation were read to the children of the upper grades. I believe it is our duty to make the children and the parents see that we are all called upon in some specific way to perform a duty !, PryI, crying need, as indicated by the Pres ident, Is in the line of production and particularly the production of food stuffs; so I wish you to urge the children who are physically able to become interested in such service. This may take the form of A., Service at Homo. ''1. Individual Responsib bility. "(a) Utilizing in their own yards all available space in the growing of vegetables f
 "(b) In the industrial and conner cial activities of the city, if our manu- facturers shall meet their responsibil- ity as the Presidents Proclamation outlines it, there will be a demand for the service, of young men who have become 16 years of age. This need will probably be continuous and the only way that the students may continue their school work and serve in an industrial capacity is through cooperation with their employers to establish a part time employment plan, to the end that the young men shall work half time and give the other half to their school work. It will be our duty to so organize the school plan that we may best accom- modate all such young men who are willing to enlist in this service. There will undou btedly be a demand for the services of the girls, especially in the work of sewing. It has been suggest ed by an industrial commission hay ing this matter in charge that the schools for sewing be continued dur ing the summer vacation. It is also possible that those people who do sat isfactory work in sewing may be call ed upon by local concerns in that ca pacity.
 "2. Collective Responsibility. Groups of children from each school, under F the supervision of the teachers, se- cure a vacant lot that may be utilized for gardening purposes. It may be necessary and advisable that each school make a survey of it's district and report to me such lands as are available for the purpose herein stated.
 .B. Service Away From Home''
 'If the county and state are to make use of the undeveloped lands, as the governor of the state and the President of the United States have requested, then there is going to be a great need, of help upon the farm in the following of the agricultural work on the larger scale and to this work the boys of IA years of age and above should be willing to enlist their ser vices. This work will not be with out compensationa and will be under the supervision of properly authorized authorities. I am not in position at this time to give definite instruc- tions or information. but we want to l be willing to enter upon such service 1 and report the same to me. I advise l you to lay the plan before the chill 1 dren of your upper grades and ask them to consider the matter carefully with their parents. The agreement of any boy to enter upon such service l must be accompanied by permit 1 from his parents. It is evident that the S0rV1C0S OI these young men VIII be required from the first of May until 1 the first of October, or even later, and | it will be the duty of thel school to | grant leave of absence to all such | students without demotion or retarda- tion in their school work.
 t'It is evident that schools are call ed upon to cooperate in services as before mentioned and that it will be- come our duty to eliminate from the curriculum all non essentials and to strike with greater deiniteness the things that are fundamental. We must conserve our energies and speed | up our activities for the accomplish ment of the maximum of work in the minimum of time.
 "This letter is. not an order to ac- tion, but rather to prepare you for action when the command is given. Be ready to respond immediately in all the ways above outlined.
 Respectfully yours,
 IS. J. SIAWSON,
 ''Supt"