Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-11-20
TEACHERS ASK
STATE BUILDING
Educational Congress Calls
For Adequate Structure
in Capitol Park

Educators assembled in the hall
of the House of Representatives last
night for the second general session
of the educational congress unani-
mously adopted a resolution calling
for an adequate educational build
ing to be erected in Capnol park.
This action was taken soon after
State Educational Association, chair
man for the evening, had opened the
meeting. DR.. A. p. Graves, OF the
University of Pennsylvania. present
ed the motion which recited that the
Department of Public Instruction is
now scattered through half dozen
buildings and that it badly needs a
proper structure so that it can be
housed together.
DR.. Pownes was presented by DR..
w. d. Lewis, deputy State superin-
tendent, who asked that all teach
er-s register their names and that re-
ports on conclusions be ready by No
vember "a. DR.. Downes made
strong plea for the teaching of good
citizenship in the schools, saying
that all subjects center in this, the
greatest of all questions of the
time.
DIR. Hart Speaks
"It is the duty of the school to
educate the voter. An ignorant cleo
torate is destructive of democratic
government" declared DR.. Albert
Bushnell Hart, the distinguished
historian, in his address. DR.. Hart
told the educators that every teacher
4IN; nttf lCn hn
schools are not worth keeping open.
He made some references to early
writings of historians, the name of
woodrow Wilson being received in
silence, while that of Theodore
Roosevelt was loudly applauded.
The speaker also stirred up consid-
cradle applause when he said that
the schools must teach girls to vote
as well as boys from now on.
Throughout DR.. Hart's address he
gave opinions of great Americans in
regard to the prime importance of
inculcating the right ideas of citi-
zenship in the children from the
time they entered the school house
door.
Too many Americans, said the
Howard historian, look to the
teacher to give their offspring the
proper idea of discipline, obedience
and right thinking. that the parents
do not seem to possess the capacity
to bestow. But the teachers can take
away the reproach that graduates
go out from the high schools without
any conception of the governmental
scheme. They should be instructed
that they are to be participants, that
it will be theirs to serve the whole
people, to hand something down to
posterity.
BY American Figures
DR.. Hart said that nowadays
American history is studied so rap
idly that only five or six figures re-
main in the child's mind, but he
thanked fortune for Washington,
Lincoln and Roosevelt. Another re-
mark was that it was time to realize
that the American Revolution was
a far bigger thing than separation
from England. 1t served to set the
fires of liberty alight, but the British
got most of the benefit. We already
had a large measure of self-govern-
ment and England learned not to
push dependencies too far" said
he.
The speaker told of the courses
laid down for the school at Moose
heart, which he said was lucky in
that it had no traditions and that
the aim was to teach the children
to know the world they live in In
the course of his discussion he said
that actual government should be
understood, duties of citizenship and
loyalty be appreciated and relation
of political parties. labor unions and
the like be intelligently presented.
Dr. Hart spoke of the infiltration
method whereby government is
Ta1Uht in
raphy and other subjects.
DIR. c. r. Mann, of the War De-
partment, who is connected with the
general plans section of the General
Staff, told how he had organized the
schools at the Army camps and had
been able to get cross section view
of the American soldier. DIR. Mann
urged a universal course in training
that could be made useful in war as
well as enable a man to earn a
living.