The sun., 1919-06-01

rangements for next fall. The way In
which In the very last week Of every
Liberty Loan and IN the Victory Note
Campaign the American people pushed
over the quota, indicates clearly, how
ever. a national trait for quitting things
ON to the final moment
This Is all very we'll In many matters,
but where the education OF a boy or girl
10 concerned. II 10 mighty poor policy.
The whole future Of one or more human
beings frequently hangs upon the wiz
dom or the lack OF II In the choice of
school. Fairness. at least, would there
fore seem to dictate the utmost care
but Il IL the experience OF principals
everywhere that UP TO the day OF open
ing school In September. and sometimes
: far into the fall. fathers and mothers
: come. under the pressure OF the eleventh
hour, and choose hastily. BY this prao-
3 tice the schools themselves are also out
! at . disadvantage, for they miss the
J opportunity to understand enough OF the
applicant 10 know whether their peculiar
circumstances are those through which
the best development 10 likely to accrue
: TO the boy or the girl In question.
Singularly enough, this is not mat
ter only OF the private schools; II also
concerns the public schools. for where
to arrange at this time the course likely
TO be most advantageous for the pupil.
Details Of transfer are left to those rush
weeks In September when the careful
attention which any pupil deserves. 10 al
most impossible.
Granted. then, that this IL the time OF
times for making school arrangements,
II 10 worth while for parents to have in
mind the basis for n choice of the right
school.
The first question is why there
should be change. The desire Tor
something better is. OF course, the pri-
mary impulse. Those who most feel
themselves yearning, in large cities. at
least. are. of course those whose chill
dren have only the public school fscil-
tiles. There 10 no question that In the
public eystems are to be found as ca
pable. as well prepared. and as earnest
Q group of-teachers and administrators
as any in the land. This is true In
spite OF the persistent lack Of apprecia-
ton shown by the public In these
schools, the very foundation of our de-
mocracy. Scarcely q roader OF this
article viii fail to think Immediately OF
several teachers whose lives exemplify
the spirit of service which dominates
the profession. Cnderpaid. overworked
socially neglected. constantly struggling
for existence. these brave men and
women. nevertheless. continue to give the
best they have. and they are thus the
saving grace In countless lives.
4 Unfortunately. however. we have so
neglected, in a public sense. the whole
great subject OF education that we have
. permitted tbs influence which these
great teachers exert to be dissipated.
When a man or a woman OF this type is
given group Of reasonable size, the
power to be exerted for right methods
= OF study and Of thinking Ia OF incalcu-
liable value. When. however, forty, fifty,
rsixty or even seventy children are
crowded into such a sphere OF influence,
the teacher can scarcely scratch the
surface Of the real live problems pre-
scented In the phases Of development of
almost every boy and girl. The reflex
Is exceedingly serious. for the teacher
OF fne sensibility must constantly rally
nervous force and energy to throw Off
the disbursement inherent in such q
situation. The result is the tragedy
which one sees on every hand. OF fine
men and women broken in health and
spirit. continuing. as they feel, to beat
the air. and achieving so small a pro-
portion OF results which are profession
ally satisfactory. that the end of teach
ing proficiency comes only too soon.
tremendous debt to pay for attempting
In education the factory methods which
T dominate our crowded cities, and unless
something immediate is done TO reduce
the class unit so that It approximates
thirty. and in practically no case is over
forty. the consequences will become in
y creasingly great Personality Is, after
/, all. the chief factor in education. and II
this cannot be given some Individual
consideration. little can be expected In
the way OF well balanced citizenship.
Thoughtful parents realize this 90
. clearly that In the interim, while public
Il opinion 10 being reused to an apprecia.
ton OF the situation In the public schools
q they are unwilling, II by any possible
sacrifice they can avoid the necessity
10 have their children lose the opportun-
ity for intimate contact with the fine
type Of teacher.
They therefore turn to the private
school. They do this particularly in the
period when the boys or the girls mus,
come from what perhaps Is a good ele.
mentary school In the neighbprhood
with classes of reasonable size TO the
great high schools, almost none OF which
has adequate facilities for the hordes OIL
eager youth who seek secondary educa.
ton.
The name private school" is perhap.
more frequently misunderstood than any
other term in education. To the grea
majority OF people 1t probably connatei
something socially exclusive, an atmo
sphere In which the boys and girls fee
themselves set apart from the rest o.
their generation, a place In which the
name OF ones father or grandfather car
: ries considerable weight Whereas THU
reputation may, in some Isolated in
stances, be deserved. It Is too bad fol
any such reason that consideration
should not most carefully be given Il
this general type OF school. In the firs
place, IL should be remembered tina
these schools have existed from the yer!
beginning because parents have beer
willing to make sacrifices IN order &
give to boys and girls the very best the!
can. 1t 10 just as true In education al
in almost every other field of science
that advances are made chiefly through
individual effort. based upon the idea
Of a leader. Thus II Ia private SCHOOL,
which have contributed to public educa
ton subjects now being commonly used
such as the kindergarten, manual train
ing, physical training in a great variet!
OF new forms. and laboratory work. !
is In the private schools. also. that Their,
have been chiefly carried on those ex
periments which are opening that en-
tirely new field OF the measurement o
mentality through psychological tests
BY this advance teachers have no longe
10 guess at the capacity OF pupils The.
know almost absolutely what II IT, an
they are thereby enabled to give to tn
boys and girls of unusually high intelli
gence or 10 those Of average intelligence
or TO those OF less than average intelli
NNAa amt frIn haN