The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-10-27
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TWELVE YEAR
OLD PRODIGY
Youngster Who Has Just Entered
Columbia University Tells How
Project Method Was I'M
pressed Upon Him.

rThe writer, IL year old prodigy,
who has just entered Columbia univer-
sity equipped with a knowledge of
| twelve languages and with better
fund of general information than most
college graduates possess, was asked
by the United Press to tell in his own
way how he acquired his unusual ed
ucation. His parents, by the way,
said today they considered him only
normal while most other children are
subnormal, owing to a faulty educa-
tional system.
The following was not edited, even
as to punctuation
I[By Edward Roche Hardy, Jr., Writ
ten for the United Press.1
/ NEW YORK, Oct. 27.--What have
done is caused entirely by two things.
The first is Horace Mann. From the
kindergarten until the present day |
have had the good fortune of being in
contact with remarkable good teach
,ers. Already while still in kinder
Igarten, the project method was i'm
lpressed upon me. For instance, we
were. all asked to walk like bears,
and that afternoon found me in front
of the bears den in the zoo. II we
were studying birds, esquimos or In
dams. | was down at the Natural His
tory museum. During all these years
iof elementary work, l spent two days
a week at the Metropolitan museum OF
art
AT six was admitted as regular
student in the Roof school of Horace
Mann, For several years | worked
lamong the clouds. Sometimes the
Temperature was six degrees below
zero, To this fact OF working out OF
doors I attribute the ability to COM
plete several grades in one year.
l. When the teacher called for auto
mobile clippings went to Detroit and
F,.rd's factory was open to me. When
!, were studying the stock yards L
rnt to Chicago, but in the sixth grade
II was most desperate. We were to
make a boat that year. / had visions
of failure. But could learn how it
was done. 1 went to Pittsburgh and
saw the Duquesne steel plant.
When we studied the beginning or
the revolution, l took charge OF the
troops with Washington under the elm
IN Cambridge, visiting Longfellow's
Ihouse at the same time. l joined the
minute men at Lexington and Con
cord. / saw the belfry tower where
Paul Revere hung out his lantern. l
cav Runkerhill where battle was
fought on the anniversary of my birth.
IOf course. I had previously stood on
Plymouth rock.
Three separate times went into
Virginia, visiting Jamestown. When
we studied the civil war l went down
tn Richmond and was shown how II
held a strong position on it's plateau
T saw the place where the Monitor ano
the Merrimac had their engagement
FINALLY there came that great visit tc
lGettvsburg which l shall always re,
member
/ Civicsi / went three times tc
Washington, saw both houses of con
gress in session, and shook hands VIII
President Wilson when he was not
speaking to other people. l wen'
to our state legislature just in time
! to see both senators and assembly
men rushing for the quarter OF hVe
train I visited the board of estimate
and apportionment, the board OF al
dermen. and even helped to install
Mayor Hylan.
During my high school course
which occupied the full four years
there wasn't time for so many jour
news hut when we were talking abou
tho panama canal at school, l wen
nm to Troy and saw a ship go through
the locks which are only four feet low
or than those at Panama. But th'
: greatest trip of all was my journey tt
Denver in 1918 to see the grea
eclipse.
oh, how good it was even to stant
on the observatory grounds, and wha
Feelings came over me when the SUI
was blotted out.
The two great factors helping M
in doing what little l have done wer
Horace Mann school and the applying
LOT the project method which Learned
there.