The sun., 1919-11-03
EXPERTS SHOW
UP DELAWARE'S
SCHOOL FAULTS
Drs. Flexner and Bachman
Expose Glaring Defects in
Obsolete System.
RELIC OF COLONIAL DAYS
Strong Arguments Against
Repeal of Law Providing for
Muchs Needed Reforms.
BY STAT Correspondent o, THE sus.

Nv sfd1 Correspondent Of THE Sun.
DOVER, Del. Nov. 2.-While people
who cannot write their own names are
protesting that Delaware needs no
educational reform: while politicians
Of both big parties. backed by selfish
voters. are demanding the repeal Of
the new school laws upon the ground
that the old ones were good enough"
there lies in the office Of the State
Educational Board an interesting doc
ument prepared by two disinterested
parties, both Of them recognized ex-
perts.
This document Is the report Of DR..
Abraham Flexner and DR.. Frank p.
Bachman. both of the General Educa-
ton Board of New York, who made
a thorough survey Of the school sys-
tenn of this State at the instance Of
Gov. Townsend. This report Is the
Official 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 had resulted In the
adoption there OF an M to date State
school law very much like the one that
Is now the subject of controversy here.
Some OF the glaring defects which
those two experts point out In the old
law here are the inability OF officials to
enforce attendance: incompetency of
ttschers: inadequacy OF books and
leaning facilities unhealthy and dilap-
fdated 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 to-day
t. ST. rds at the bottom of the white"
States In the matter of literacy, Drs.
F,exner and Bachman wrote The COM
pulsory education law is practically a
dead letter"
Indeed. they point out that while Della
aware had law on its Anticipated
statute books requiring children to have
certain amount of schooling, there was
not an attendance officer in the State.
and that the law was utterly impossible
Of enforcement
Furthermore, the. call attention to
the fact that while the old law contained
a general provision for five months at
tendance at school each year. II vested
the local school boards with authority
to reduce the school term to three
months a year, and that IAN astonishing
number took advantage Of this pro-
vision.
The report states that when the hg-
ures were complied, last year, more than
half OF the white school districts OF the
State had reduced their terms to less
than five months and that lis. or 80
per cent. of all of the white schools of
the State. had voluntarily reduced their
yearly term to three months.
1t also shows that there was no school
census on which to ascertain how many
children where escaping training. The
school clerk was supposed to report all
children OF compulsory age in his district,
receiving 81 for every hundred names or
fraction thereof that he turned in. This,
the experts found, furnished a list In
complete and unreliable.
Medical Inspection Lacking.
Many schools. 1t was discovered. had
not infreQuently been closed for weeks
at time of whooping cough, measles.
chickenpox and other conta gious ILL
nesses. and this was ascribed to the
fact that no provision was made for
medical inspection.
AT Newcastle" reads this report made
Just before the adoption of the new law,
''the public schools are housed partly in
the City Hall. partly In the old United
States Arsenal. partly in the old acad-
envy building and partly In a two room
building Zone door above the other)
Not one of these buildings is fit for
school use. Similarly at Newark the
primary school occupies an old brick
structure with inadequate lighting and
ventilation. while the high school oc-
cupies the old academy building, long
Eince outgrown, which is q hretrap,
poorly lighted and ventilated.
THE situation In Sussex county Is
quite as critical. For example, at
Georgetown, Laurel and Seaford the
buildings are old. rambling wooden
structures. which have been added to
from time to time. Lighting and ven
tilation are bad and the hre hazard
serious"
In order 10 ascertain the degree OF
qualification of the teachers throughout
the State the experts sent questionnaires
broadcast asking information about the
teaching certificates held and the train
ins and preparation which the teachers
had undergone.
Out of 734 teachers SO made no reply
whatever. OF the 65l who made re-
turns only 20 per cent he'd normal or
college graduate certificates; 80 teach
ers held provisional certificates and ass
held limited elementary certificates. that
n the lowest grade Of certificate issued
All Responsibility Evaded.
Many Of the evils OF the old system
which certain interests are fighting to
retain are attributed by Drs Flexner
and Bachman to the chaotic condition
under which Delaware's educational In
sttutions have been run in the past
The old laws provide for one board
upon another and one committee upon
another. until one hardly knows where
70 place responsibility for anything. 1t
u survival OF the old school system
Of the colonies, in which each little dis
trict ran its affairs to suit itself.
There were State educational officers
with no authority and there were county
educational officers also with no author
lily. In the end. the only person who had
anything to say about the affairs of a
school was the member OF the rural
school board.
These rural school officials were In
many cases utterly incompetent or in
oinerent They were required by law
70 rails 500 annually by taxation for
the support OF the school in their dis
trict. to which the State has been adding
tZss. IL they needed any more than
1898 year TO pay all the expenses of
running their school. including teachers
salary reDaiFs