New-York tribune., 1918-02-19
DR.. Shiels Arrives
While Board Seeks
New School Head


Place Has Yet Been Made
to Him
The arrival here yesterday of DR..
lbcrt Shcls. superintendent of the De-
partmcnt of Education of Los Angeles
and former associate superintendent of
the public school system of this city,
coming as it did coincidcnt with the cf-
fort by the Board of Education to find
a successor for Dr. William H. Maxwell,
recently retired superintendent, created
mild sensation among educators here.
Or. Shicls has been frequently men
toned as successor TO Dr.. Maxwell.
Responsible as he is for numerous cdu-
catlonal achievements in New York, it
has been SAID that he is better quail
fed for tho task ahead Of tho new city
supcrintendent than any other man.
Dr.. Shicls stopped in Now York on
his way to Atlantic City. where he will
attend the National Association Of
School Supcrintcndcnts convention.
He was seen in tho Office of Moses L.
Stroock, at 80 Broad Street, and upon
being Informed he had been named by
several leaders in education a inc most
logical successor to Or. Maxwell, said:
"Why. that is complete surprise to
me. had heard nothing of it."
"W ould you consider such an ap
pointmcnt ?" he was asked.
"That is a difficult question" was the
reply. at is hypothetical, and there
fore | do not care to discuss it. You
may say for mo, however, that if it
were made ! should give it the most
careful consideration. was a resident
of New York for half a century,"
Discusses Los Angeles Problems
DR.. Shicls did discuss, however, the
problems confronting him i'll Los An
geles. which are similar to those IN
New York in some respects, and told
how he had gone about overcoming
! them. They arc the problems OF lack
of accommodations for pupils, the
luMchroom question and that oil Amcrl-
oanizaticn Of aliens.
"'Thc question OF accomm odatlons ls
greater. of course in New York than it
is in Los Angelcs,' he said. "Thc en-
tire thing seems to me to be a question
Of farsightcdncss. Just as other bust
ness is conducted, that Of the Board Of
/ Education must be conducted with an
eve to the future The purchase Of
land and buildings is the factor. 1t is
expensive, but education must not be
sacrificed TO cost. Poor instruction
means a loss in educational dividends,
as poor material means 4 loss III imam
cial dividends"
AS for the school lunches. DR.. Shiels
+ told how it was possible for the poorer
pupils to procure their lunches in the
schools of Los Angeles by working for
them. Serving on tables, washing
dishes and assisting in tho preparation
Of food were the tasks assigned.
There also is Il foreign problem of
no mean proportion IN Los Angeles
Most Of the aliens are Mexican poems.
who are exceptionally slow to grasp
American IDEAS and ideals. To over
come this Dr. Shiels has organized
branch librarians, settlement workers
aud representatives, OF the city govern
mcnt and the Department of Education
for the purpose Of procuring adequate
Information as to which localities need
Americanization most.
Classes for Mothers
cre," Dir. Shicls said, "and our teachers
arc rendering invaluablc assistance in
visiting homes in the afternoons. We
also have opened nurseries for the care
of babies, so that the older children are
not required to stay at home and care
for them when they should be study
ing
The most important of tho innova-
tions introduced by DR.. Shiels, and one
L.. L..
entire city of Los Angeles, was his re
organization Of tho schools upon a war
basis Immediately after tho United
States entered hostiltcs. The manual
training classes arc devoted entirely to
the production of war necessities, as
are those in domestic science.
"W hen the Liberty Loan was
/ launched" Dr. Shicls said, "wc made
/ the sale of bonds a course in bond
salesmanship. We have never permit
ted the children to make anything that
was not educational. As soon as they
learn to make one thing, and make it
we'll. they are given something else
to do"
DR.. Shicls urged the people of New
/ York not to be too critical of their
1 school system.
",New York schools. with their diff
celent results he declared. III any
one doubts that, let him gaze upon q
group of immigrants, and few years
later see their children when they have
been graduated"
Edward c. zabriskie. principal of the
Washington Irving High School, when
asked whether he would advocate the
appointment of DR.. Shiels, said that the
selection was entirely up to the Board
of Education. He added that DR.. Shiels
was an ideal type of man for the place.
Bruckner Opposes Cut