The Washington herald., 1921-11-24
INADEQUATE SPACE
BIG HANDICAP TO
DISTRICT PUPILS
Children Forced to Play
In Streets Because Play
grounds Are Small.
FIRETRAPS EXPOSED
Inquiry of Herald Reveals
sOvercrowded Grade Rooms
And Other Evils.
Continued from Page One.


from principals and teachers Ev-
erythins was visited from over
crowded grade rooms to dimly-
lighted, unsanitary toilet rooms
children were found tucked away
In corridors and Railways. in port
aoles and IN all kinds of rented
quarters Children were found
riaying in the street because their
limited playground space was oc-
cupled by portable buildings; others
were found playing in narrow area
ways, in small dingy courtyards.
and nowhere was there found ade-
auate playground space about a
building.
It was a sad panorama of the
accumulated failures of Congress to
appropriate funds for school build
ings. Condemned. unsafe buildings
were patched up thirteen years ago
when they should have been re-
placed with modern buildings at a
third of the present cost of con-
struction. Firetraps that had been
severely condemned by the school
house commission were left without
giving the helpless children the
protection of a modern fire escape.
Not a Mere Statistical Survey.
What these visits revealed will
not be told in the form of a report
OF survey. Complete reports show
ing the appalling conditions in the
r-Nr % Gnh
have been made yearly by the su-
perintendent of schools to the
school board and to Congress Re-
Gently at the request of the Dis
trict Committee a survey of the
Washington schools was made by
the Bureau of Education. All of
these reports and surveys tell in
figures and statistics the sad plight
into which the school building pro-
gram has fallen. But the Man in
the Street and the Woman in the
Home have neither time nor incli-
nation to read reports or surveys,
though they may be deeply stirred
by the fact that their children are
housed in unsafe school buildings
or placed on part-time sessions
Therefore. The Herald's articles
will tell the story of congestion in
the schools OF the District in simple
terms of human values. The aim
will be to show the average reader
what over-crowded rooms, part
time classes. inadequate play
grounds and unsanitary conditions
mean to pupils and teachers. There
will be no attempt to be sensa-
tional, the plain facts are sufficient
ly revealing.
Flaws Are Manifest.
Those who planned and developed
the courses of study for the Wash
ington schools evidently intended to
give to the children the hand skill.
the head work and the cultural de-
velopment considered essential in a
well-balanced curriculum. But
their plans are failing to function
because of lack of buildings and
equipment. The school officials have
added all the diversified subjects OF
an up-to-date school system, but
Congress has failed to provide space
enough to teach even the three Rs.
In other words, Washington is run
ming a twentieth century school
system with a nineteenth century
equipment. There are special de
partments with excellent programs
that cannot be carried out efficiently
because OF lack of room. For in
Lstance, the head of the physical
training department may have fine
ideals and good methods, but can
not carry them out in classroom
crowded with desks, in cold base
ment playrooms and on Inadequate
Fairgrounds. The head of the man.
ual training department may want
to make it a homogeneous part of
the school system and not a tackled
on sppendage. but II cannot be done
when the limited shoproom will
only allow manual training for