The sun., 1917-01-21

| STIRS INTEREST
Rockefeller Boards Plan to
Drop Useless Studies
ROuses Educators.
MAJORITY ARE IN FAVOR
Many Striking Opinions Ex-
pressed, Even Opponents
FavOring a Test.
ARE IN FAVOR

school to test ways and means of mod
ernizing education. substituting usefu
subjects for useless frills, was greeted
generally yesterday with keen Interest
and with hearty approval. No projec
has 90 stirred educational circles. ir
| many years. The stir of talk was ir
itself a corrobation of the remark o.
DIR. Abraham FTexner. assistant secre
! tary Of the General Education Board
that there is q growing spirit OF revolt
against the traditional curriculum which
produces failures and turns out boys ant
girls III prepared for meeting the prob
lens Of life.
Educators OF advanced notions VIII,
agree with DR.. Fiexner. DR.. Charles w
| Eliot and others that the whole educa
| tiOnal method must be corrected in thi,
country. who agree that the teaching oi
the classics Is a dead waste OF time
| that the talk about mental discipline
In the study OF mathematics, for ex
| ample. is merely cant, the traditiona
patter OF the profession, and that tn,
schools of the future must teach boy.
and girls to use their eyes. ears ant
hands intelligently were delighted witt
the scope OF the experiment as outlined
| by DIR. Flexner
They predicted that It would be sue
| cessful. although most believed severa
years would be required for a complete
test. On the other hand, extremely con.
servativc teachers of the type who
would naturally be shocked at the yer,
suggestion OF casting out Latin and
Greek or algebra or formal grammar
said they were anxious to see the ex.
pertinent tried. II only as a pretty sur,
way to explode fad. Apparently the
General Education Boards project start.
OF by pleasing nearly everybody.
Views OF Leading Educators.
Various well known educators in thi.
| city and elsewhere gave their opinions
to THE Sun yesterday. Dwight r
Meigs. ,headmaster of the Hill School
OF Pottstown. Pa, offered a view tha,
seems to be widely held. He tele.
graphed:
I am delighted thdt the General
Education Board has arranged to
make thoroughgoing experiment of
the modern school as recommended BY
ex-President Eliot and Abraham
flexner. for in no other way can the
possible value of the plan be deter
mined ] do not believe the benefits
can be measured until after four or
Ave years trial, II then. This practi-
cal application OF a radical edura-
tional theory should be given a fair
test despite the strong opposition to
modernst views which exists in MANY
preparatory schools.
There Is unquestionably great need
for evolving some system applicable
TO the nation by which boys and girls
OF IS will be vastly better prepared
for college or business than at pres
ent. / shall be surprised II the new
modern school does not partially meet
this need, although IL Is difficult to
predict the result of the experiment
upon the information now available.
hope you will keep your readers in
formed as to future developments,
meanwhile supporting the new school
editorially.
The Rev S. J. Macpherson. head
master of the Lawrenceville School oi
Lawrenceville. y. j.. had this to say:
"I am glad the General Education
Board Is to try this experiment While
the plan does not seem quite new. the
resources OF the board ought to develoI
1t with thoroughness. II the expert.
ment explodes wrong theories. old and
new. it will relieve the education world o,
!
If 1t practically demonstrates better cur.
ricula and more constructive methods OF
teaching. We shall all become its debtors
1t may even AFFORD help by both its sue.
ccsses and its failures"
The Rev. Joseph II. Rockwell. s T.
president of the Brooklyn College and a
noted educator. was typical OF the com.
paratively small company that denounces
the project as an abSurlity
Il don't agree with any experiments
that attempt to destroy the classics" he
said. while II Is true that modern ne.
cessities should be considered In educa.
ton, nevertheless we must not destroy
or lose hold of the traditions that have
served as basis for the present sys-
tenn
city College Head for II.
President Sidney L. Mezes of the Col.
lege OF the City OF New York very
quickly put himself on record as a sun.
porter Of the project.
1T Is an extremely Interesting experi.
ment.' he said 1T is very we'll worth
trying. People could talk for decades
about matter OF this kind and still
never get anywhere. The only way tr
md out Is to make a test OF the theory. -
Commissioner Arthur s. Somers OF
the Board of Education thought thal
the plan was step In the right direc.
tIon."
Prof. Paul Monroe. director OF the
School Of Education of Teachers College
heartily favors the plan.
TT Is desirable to have an opportunit,
OF testing out new ideas" Prof. Monro.
said. I'm most institutions II is impos.
sible 10 test educational ideas on thei,
merits. There have been a great mum.
Der Of experimental schools started from
time to time. but practically all Of them
have been limited by various conditions
financial or otherwise. New ideas mus,
be tested out In special Institutions be.
fore they can make any great headwa,
In the public schools. or In schools IN
general. The new social demands thai
arise In any period reveal themselves In
the changes In school curricula, and We
must have places where these new de,
rnands may be tested out freely.
This school win have o peculiar ad.
vantage In that children can be educated
Irrespective of the particular demands
made by college for entrance. Tho fac
ulty OF this school will have the priv.
ilege Of educating children as they think
fit. Most secondary schools claim that
they are hampered by college entrance
demA nds."
Dr.l George ID. strayer. PROFESSOR OF
educational administration In TeachSra