The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1917-02-02
TEACHERS REORGANIZE.
Elect Officers-Dr Goucher of Goucher College, Delivers
Interesting Address-Prof kolb spoke Broad
ening Vision of the High School Age-The Pro-
gram Prepared Was Carried Out.

vi course you udy NduL W eACGpL LIE
great number of home makers, but af-
ter all their work is vocational. The
vocation of home-making is a funda-
mental sort of thing for a great many
of our girls and it must be recog-
nized and dealt with. 1t seems to me
that the high school teacher, the high
school principal, the standard in gen
eral, and the whole organization and
theory Of our country, have to be
modified to meet the demands and
needs of our community life. These
notifications must depend upon the
individuals of the home from which
these children come, upon what kind
of occupation these children are
probably going into, and it may mean
in time that instead Of having a great
many high schools we shall have
modern high schools specializing up
on certain types of vocations and oc-
cupatiOns. All high schools should
be able to do something for the voca
tion of home making. The CONNER
cial activities, commercial industries,
training for colleges are all different
questions and they are going to be
very big questions in the future. Some
time ago the story came to my notice
of a very ardent lover who had been
pressing his claims and who was very
much disappointed at his lack Of sue
cess. He said, Il cannot seem to get
you interested in my welfare" She
said, You reverse the syllables in
that last word and I am very much
interested" Has not the high school
at times been interested in the fare
we'll but not the welfare Of the pupil?
, Perhaps legitimately so; but it seems
to me that the future high school to
a large extent, must consider tha.
these children are going out to make
a living, and it must be concerned
with that as much as with any one
: thing; this makes the problem of the
schools a real problem.
What about the social civic aim
r Well for one hundred and fifty years
in this country we have been talking
about good citizenship, the idea being
, that an elementary school education
r was fundamental for citizenship. How
can you expect a man to be a good
, citizen who has not a good body to
build on. Can we expect a man to be
a good citizen who has not been pre-
pared in some way to make a salts
factory living? 1t is not COM
paratively easy to be a citizen
in the United States of America
1t seems it is growing more difficult
to be intelligent on a good many
questions we have to think out One
or them might be this matter of mill
tary training. Some of them SOphO-
mOres, we are told by an advocate of
military training, have the idea that
military training would bring on
war. Here on the other hand, is the
fact that most of our present day
educators advise not military train
ing but training for Peace. l am in
cllned to think that any high school
can afford to be without most of the
other subjects it has until it has a
good course of community ciVics.
These subjects are here for cultural
purposes. We want a child to have
sound body either for leisure or
work. We want him to be able to
make good living. We want him to
be good citizen and we must look
to the question as to whether we have
training for goOd-citizenship in our
high schools today. Some one has
said that we are so liable to forget
that we are teaching John and not
the different studies, and | find il
makes vast difference in many ways.
We must train pupils to find them
selves This is a vague term, this mat
ter or helping pupils to find them
selves, but unless we see that our
first problem is with the child | do
not believe our modern high school
is going to advance very far. In the
second place it seems to me there
must be a great amount of attention
given to the direction of the social
instincts. | should not want to ad-
Vocate any particular form. But to
get social instincts into the pupils is
all that is needed in the fundamental
system of the high school. I do not
know how largely we can organize
our curriculum, and no one knows at
the present time. We only have so
many hours a day to teach. and it is
for the purpose of talking over some
OF these problems that we are all
gathered today. | do not think it
makes any particular difference
whether we are dealing with minds in
the high school, minds below the high
school or minds in a college,"
4. Music by the Orchestra.
Adjourned at y o'clock until af-
ternoon session. Afternoon session
called to order at 1.30.
>. Address by Mr.. Chas. Fl. Kolb
on the Broadening Vision of the High
School Age.
MIR. Kolb's address was most inter-
estlng, and the points he brought out
were very clear and we'll put. His dis
cussion of the different methods in
teaching pupils between the young
age and the adolescent period was
very instructive
Another point which has caused
much serious discussion was brought
forth by Mr.. Kolb; namely, the fact
that special training should be given
to High School teachers as apart
from elementary teachers
An interesting discussion on this
subject by Mr.. Edw. X. Coughran,
Mr.. Wilbur L. Koontz, Miss Julia D.
Roeder and Mr.. E. w. Craumer fol-
lowed. 4
6. The Proper Studies and Curri- !
culum to be offered in a small town ]
High School, or the Adaptation of the
High School to the needs of it's |
Pupils, was the subject of a. most in
teresting address by the President,
Mr.. F. R. Young. Without seeming
to be at all radical in his ideas, he !
gave very convincing statements {
which tended to prove that our pres I
ent Curriculum contains some studies s
S0I Il g.