New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1917-11-20
FOREIGN LANGUAGES
IN Lower SCHOOLS
But Few Superintendent Favor
Course in Elementary Grades

Washington, Nov 2O-Only 10
cities out of 1853 of $4,000 population
or over reporting to the Bureau of
Education teach foreign languages
mentary school, according to state
ment just made public. In u of
these cities German is the foreign
language taught; in three cities
German, French and Spanish are all
taught in the elementary grades; in
one city German, Italian and POLISH
while in the three remaining cities
the languages taught to elementary
school children are French and Span
ish, alone Or in combination. In
few cities the foreign language is
taught in all grades, from the first
to the eighth; in others the instruc-
ton does not begin until the fifth OF
sixth grade. The number of elemen-
tary school children taking German
ranges from 40 in one city to $4,000
in another.
Few Of the superintendent who re-
piled to the Bureaus inquiry favor
the tea ching of German or any other
foreign language in the lower ele
mentary school, though many of them
believe thoroughly in foreign language
study for students in higher schools.
A California superintendent says: II
was in doubt before the war. I am
becoming convinced now that our
public schools should teach one ma
ton, one language, one flag. The
-:
the seventh grade is a sentimental
hold of the old country on Americans
of the second generation" An H.
linois superintendent says: THE
public schools should not assist il
perpetuating foreign language in
the home and foreign view points in
the community" An Iowa superin-
tendent is careful to explain that {
man is taught in the elementary
grades in his school because German
American grandparents and many
parents demand it."
A typical condition is that in Balti-
more, Maryland, where the introduce
ton of German as a subject of in
struction in elementary schools in
! 1874 was partly due to the fact that
there were a large number of Ger
man private schools in which the at
mosphere was entirely German BY
the Introduction of German into the
public schools the private schools
were eliminated and the children
gradually came under the influence of
! American ideas. In this city the SUI
perintendent reports that 1.-The num-
Der of pupils taking German has
been reduced so that now German is
!, taught only In a few instances in the
seventh and eighth grades" In St.
Louis instruction in German in the
! elementary schools was discontinued
/ in the SOS. In Cincinnati agitation
| against the continuation of German in
the schools has resulted in the reduc-
! ton of the number of children study
, ing German in the grades from 49,
! 500 in 1916-17 to 1000 in 1917-1S
/ German has been taught in all grades
/ of the elementary schools of Cincin-
natl for 76 years.
/ In its statement regarding the sit =
uation the bureau makes the follow
| ing suggestions: "There is general
! agreement among educators and pub
! lie men, both in this country and
abroad, that there should be no in
| reference with existing High school
| and college provision for the teach
| ing of German; that a knowledge of
the German language is more impor-
| tant now than it was before the war!
| The upper elementary grades es-
pecially where organized in the junior
High school, may quite properly offer
| foreign languages. including German,
| but educators generally look upon the
teaching of foreign languages in the
lower elementary grades as Of very
! questionable value"