The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1919-05-16
PROF. SMITH At HIGH
SCHOOL
,oosfssEs pARENT-TEAGHER AssOclA-
noN-oTHER BUSINESS TRANSACTED

eating of the Parent-Teacher
the IN held on Tuesday even
ASSOCIATE .a-i1 %. was well attended.
Ing Apa was called to order at
The meh v the president, Mrs. y.
SKY =, w Wantz, and was opened with
rea Iing followed by prayer Dy tne
paT e. T. MoWDray; ,n4 aa+ine
Ke III = minutes of the last meetlng
In7 lad and approved, and the re-
Rele Of the several committees were
heard. 49, ,uos +ban favored
ln0 niano solo by Miss Caroline
- Wantz. eoo+,,ro of tho even-
luz ,rogram was an address by
ms nsoS Eugene R. Smith, of the Park
fI naol Baltimore, upon the subject,
s aSnU Tendencies in Education"
WV, n,o following extracts are taken
t tnT Prof. Smiths address:
~ bnlieve the key note OF the
n,orament going on in education now
u! !no tbo study of childhood and the at
t 70 Of everything done in the
.e to making it possible for
orarv child to develop in its fullest
possibility ah.,a,ooa :
mass We are now able to say with
nnthoritv Just how much a child
obonId weigh. We can tell at once
whether a child is fully developed.
comn children are naturally small OF
stature. We are studying the men
tsIitv of children. There are tests
worked out by French scientists.
These tests are now in such condl-
tion that we know how a normal
child should respond. We can tell by
the scale whether the child is normal
or NOT. The diagnoses is as safe as
most physicians diagnoses. We can
measure attainments in school sub
ipcts, There are scales to test spell
ing; scales to tell how rapidly he
can work examples. In fact there
are 49, scales on file on the different
kinds of school subjects Scales
which tell what children of certain
grades do do.
I'VE can determine the development
Of the social side of the child.
Children are not small adults. They
are not thinking the way we do.
1T is no use for us to know I'M
less we apply it to the individual
child. We have to find out what each
child needs. We are going to see
this. We are going to take this child
and examine him physically. We
will tell you in your home. We are
going to know what kind of mind
each child has. What he cannot do
and what to avoid. Mental indiges-
ten is as bad as physical. There is
no longer the STUPID CHILD"
About nine out of ten stupid children
have no stupidity about them. 1T
can be corrected. Take arithmetic
for example. Suppose he adds the
figures and always gets the wrong
results. He may get and wrong.
If you follow through several tests
you will find this true. He may not
have the ability to carry in his mind.
HTen addition is complicated. He
has something wrong and it is our
BUSINESS to find out what. This can
be done by the use Of these scales.
1t is true in all of the school sub
iects Take child who fails IN
Geography. Any child can learn
Geography. Perhaps he can't read.
You try him at home and you say he
is fine reader. Has he ever been
taught to read properly? We will
test each child in our scale on how
RAPIDLY he can read to himself.
Some children are so we'll taught to
read chat they can't read. They
read ont loud until they have 50 fixed
the habit that they can't get any
idea what they are reading. Taught
to read too well by the oral method.
BY cur standards we can take each
individual child and try to find out
what this child needs and help him.