The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-12-10
High School History Teacher Denies She
 Displayed Bias
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cfuTCn 1nQuISelC6S ana In6 dDuSeS 1 that crept into it, and she fails to comprl hend why she was accused of ] that. Furthermore, Miss Sutherland said that she did not make this state ment: You could even buy your way to Heaven"
 ''The Catholic church was the great est thing in the Middle Ages, and I told my students the same" said the teacher. "Of course, could not dwell on the subject long enough to- bring out all its points You must under stand that I have to cover one hun dred years in only 15 minutes. I am supposed to touch upon this subject only very briefly. It was not due to a lack of knowledge that touched on the subject so lightly, as am accused of. I am willing to be tested regard ing my knowledge of the Middle Ages at all times.
 Tn considering the culture of the Middle Ages" said Miss Sutherland, T was enthusiastic in telling my is-
 Continued On Page Three)
 teners that, during this period, there was a rapid growth of literature, de- velopment of modern languages, and VI SdIlOI1 Ol lluIIldulIaTldn 1TSLlIuLlOIlS, such as hospitals. Miss Larmour's as- sertion is erroneous. I did not say, Whatever else we may say of the Middle Ages we cannot say there was any development of new ideas''
 Miss Sutherland is very much of- tended at the accusation against her and denies every accusation made by Miss Larmour.
 Miss Larmour said:
 T have come before you this even- ing to make formal protest against the teaching of history in our public schools as exemplified by Miss Suth- erland's night school classes in Euro pean History.
 Let me first explain what has led | to this step. The members of the l classes referred to are public school teachers. Many of these teachers have taken exception to statements made in the class and have taken | offense at the attitude of the in- l structor. Several of these teachers who had attended a course of lec- lures which I gave last winter, came | to me in protest and asked me to I visit the classes. This I hesitated 1 to do at first, but became convinc-
 ed that 1t was my privilege, as cit
 izen of Bridgeport, to visit any public
 school class.
 ''I shall base my objections on some
 of the statements that I myself have
 heard while visiting the classes ir
 question. While I am thus confined
 to criticism of one instructor, l wish
 it to be understood that I do no
 speak out of any bitterness against | Miss Sutherland or any other individ
 ual teacher. While the protests have
 come most strongly from the classe:
 of teachers, similar protests have ire ] quently come from members of the
 High school classes in history. IT
 fact my experience as a student ant
 later as a teacher in High school anu
 college has forced me to a realiza
 tion that the teaching of history tt
 which I am taking objection, is pre-
 valent throughout the country. Thi
 but makes the problem so much tht
 more serious.
 q am using this opportunity to pu
 the question before you at a tim'
 when 1t is possible to give concret'
 evidence which can be certified by tn
 testimony of intelligent adults.
 First, I maintain that by makini
 inaccurate statements, by distortin!
 facts and by displaying ignorance o vital points under discussion, Mis-
 Sutherland has shown marked incom
 potency.
 For example, Miss Sutherland, il
 summarizing the culture of the Mid
 dle Ages, said on Dec. 2: 'WhateVe ' else we may say of the Middle Ages we cannot say that there was an { development of new ideas" Tn Middle Ages are commonly lhter ] preted as extending from the nth |
 the fifteenth century. During tnes q centuries there was built up syster
 of hospitals, asylums and otne
 means of organized relief, upo
 which our modern methods are large 7 1v modelled. It was Pope Innocen TIT in the thirteenth century who or iginated the idea of a city hospital @ "On the same evening Miss Suther 8 land undertook to discuss the phil 7- osophy of the Middle Ages. She de t fined Scholasticism as peculiar sys ,- tenn of thought by which it was al -- +empted to arrive at all knowledge D n combinations of three statements
 two majors and a conclusion.
 "Condercet has said, Logic, ethlc'
 and metaphysics itself, owe to scholas
 +icisn a precision unknown to tn Is ancien+s themselves' Prof. Saint: f burv of Edinburg University, proba 's blt the foremost literary critic of or r. day, credits scholasticism with fa1 .. reaching educative influence in mer - language, in mere system of arrange '' ment and expression. He continue '- If at the beginning of the career II the modern languages, men ha $ thought with the looseness of moder d. thought, had indulged in the haphai d ards Iovenlines of modern logic, ha d popuIararized theology and vulgarlze ,u rhetoric, as we have seen both popl ,t larized and vulgarized since V :. should indeed have been in evil case The Scotch philosopher Hamilton hs iu said It is to the schoolmen that tf IL vulgar languages are indebted fl 9e what precision and analytical subtle
 they possess
 "On Dec Miss Sutherland took U
 the period of the Protestant Revol !, This led to a discussion of indu U. gances. the instructor showed clear It in the discussion of the subject tn she herself did not understand wh or is actually meant by ar indulgenc w She made no distinction between u CT abuses which developed in the matt
 of indulgences and the authoritati' a teaching of the Catholic church. , '" Miss Sutherland did make an a '. tempt to be fair by opening this al = other subjects for class discussio Now, I ask, is an instructor justifit HI in thus throwing the responsibili eg- ,,ro, +bo r,or,bors of +ba cIaes l