New-York tribune., 1920-03-08
By
Heywosd Broun

"with keen interest youx column In yes
terday's Tribune. IL pesnts eut-al-
though errine. think. On the side Of
moderation-A grave xnd sven dsnser-
ous tendency Of Amsrican educational
methods.
II returned 60 America last spring
With my two boys, one In hia twelfth,
the other in his tenth year. The elder
had attended school IN Berlin tive and
halt years, the younger one and q
half yesrs, and both had attended
school In Sweden (Sesckhelm) two
years. They have been attending the
local schools since tbs beginning Of
this school year. / have thus had .
rather unusual opportunity to com
pare the educational systsms Of the
two European countries With thst Of
America.
II have bssn astoundsd and shocked
at what is being done With my boys
in tho American school The whole
course Of their training IL toward what
you 90 aptly term 1srgs.seals psodue-
tton.' The Prussian sehssls sought to
inculcate uniformity o1 Ideas as to q
certain narrowly limited clsss Of sub
Jects, but there was Q w&dD faeld in
which students wsxe sneouraesd 70
wander and seek truth for themselves.
Hero any tendency to depart from or
thodoxy in respect 20 anythinr il
rteorously crushed out All ideals and
ideas are furnished fsady-made, and
the student is expected 10 acsspt them.
The eject Of THE kind ID ezainiue 10
already bscomins ayparsht. Beth my
boys u am suss ehis Il aoe 9 fathers
biss) wsre seonsiy srts1ssl thinkers
when I brOughs them aesess. spesuls-
tive, inclined % 1es1e eastr swn 3uds.
nsnts and pssssssing Aistinss lndiviAu-
alitiss. They ass sra6ually Aeeemine
mass.thinksrs, a3raid % hsvs idaae
di6srsnt from 0ess II tas eth>. fl.
Iowa. and their vstdiees, ldsas and
ideals are rapidly besemins merely
those Of their tssehsss. Who. again.
have taken their own idsAs sua ;deals
from the pswsfs that b In our sduca-
tional system. Neither Prussia nor
Sweden (nor yst Denmark, whose sdu-
cational system aioe know fairly
well) does this sort q thing to tn
children.
The American seAooI 10 not even
content with putting uniform upeu
tho chiidrsn's minds In educational
matters. The teachers fssl that IL IA
their province and duty - and it
probably is-to strengthen the Amari-
cans uneasy Inherited feeling that
anything srssardsd BY The community
% vice 10 Necessarily Q crime. aud
that There ought 60 D. . 1av sheut
IT, So Ear my boys natus.i sornsasn-
sense and their aeQua4nsenss With
different pssulss stiII 4sstify them in
their contsmytusus sefssa1 - b i'm
pressed by their tsasAsss' daily hssni-
Hes asainst siunsrs whe drink hssr or
smoke, but fear the ultsnsts ss,.et
OK this insidieus and dssdeninx mass
training.
In the matter Of purs eauc.sien
the American school is Tar behind eAe
schools which We knew abroad, Tho
children have mush lsss essnsst vsrk
70 do, and this despite The 1aet that :
nve-day week ought 10 parnst them "a
work at least - hard - fAe Hrrspesn
children have 70 work ter eix dav. of
every week. Languages, IN easent;.1
Of broad culture, are net TAUGHT IN tha
grade schools. and but isapstfeetly n
the high schools. AritAmstie appesrs
TO be the single subjset tauehe - thor
oughiy here - IA Europe. I think I
know why, but refrain 3rem nssains the
1Dason.
Il am esrtain thse che rsaesn Tor u.
Continuance q the vae Axsearia IN
America 4 - s. sssgAt Ia t1is usss-
training Of e6r sslssla. 1hs vsesin