Milford chronicle., 1919-11-21
DELAWARE SCHOOL
FAULTS LAID BARE
bRS. ABRAHAM FLEXNER AND FRANK
P. BACHMAN POINT OUT GLARING
DEFECTS IN OLD SYSTEM.
AN INTERESTING DOCUMENT
LIES IN THE OFFICE OF THE STATE EDU-
CATION BOARD, PREPARED BY TWO
RECOGNIZED EXPERTS.

While politicians of both big parties,
backed BY selfish voters, are demand
ing the repeal of the new school laws
upon the grounds that the old ones
were good enough. there lies in the
office of the State Educational Board
an interesting document prepared by
two disinterested parties, both OF them
recognized experts.
This document is the report Of Dr.
Abraham Flexner and DR.. Frank L.
Bachman. both OF the general educa-
tion board of New York. who made q
thorough survey of the school system
Of this state at the instance of Gov
aruor Townsend This report is the
oficial arraignment and condemnation
Of the old system. The reason why
these men were called upon to make
the survey was because of similar
work done by them in the State Of
Maryland which has resulted in the
adoption there OF an up to date State
school law very much like the one that
is now the subject of controversy here.
Some OF the glaring defects which
these two experts point out in the old
law here are the inability of officials
TO enforce attendance; incompetency
Oh teachers AANtAEAuANe VI nNOha anu
learning facilities: unhealthy and dill
apidated condition of school buildings;
and penuriousness of persons in
charge of rural schools in matters Of
repair and improvement
Compulsory Law Dead Letter
Laying their fingers directly on one
of the reasons why Delaware today
stands at the bottom of the white
States in the matter of literacy, Drs.
FleXner and Bachman wrote: "The
compulsory education law is practic-
ally a dead letter"
Indeed. they point out that while
Delaware had law on its antiquated
statute requiring ,children to have a
sertin amount Of schooling, there was
aOt an attendance officer in the State,
and that the law was utterly impOssi-
be of enforcement
Furthermore, they call attention to
The fact that while the old law CON
tanned a general provision for five
months attendance at school each
year, it vested the local school boards
with authority to reduce the school
term to three months a year. and that
AN astonishing number" took advan-
tage of this provision.
The report states that when the fig
ares were compiled last year, more
than half of the white school districts
of the State had reduced their terms
TO less than five months. and that 115,
or 30 per cent Of all the white schools
OF the State, had voluntarily reduced
their yearly term to three months.
It also shows that there was no
school census on which to ascertain
how many children were escaping
training. The school clerk was sup
posed to report all children of com
pulsory age in his district, receiving
; for every hundred names or fraction
thereof that he turned in. This. the
experts found, furnished a list incom-
plete and unreliable.
Medical Inspection Lacking
Many schools, it was discovered, had
been closed for weeks at
4 time of whOoping cough, measles,
and other contagious ill
1esses, and this was ascribed to the
tact that no provision was made for
medical inspection.
"At New Castle" reads this report,
made just before the adoption of the ,
new law, "the public schools are hous-
ID partly in the City Hall. partly in
he old United States Arsenal, partly
n the old academy building and part
y in a two room building tone floor |
sboVe the other).
Not one of these buildings is fit for .
ichool use. Similarly at Newark, the
primary school occupies an old brick
structure with inadequate lighting and I
while the high school oc-
.upies the old academy building, long I
iince outgrown, which is a fire trap, I
poorly lighted and ventilated.
Continued on tenth, page)