Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-05-30
AS ONE WOMAN SEES TT
Necessity Of Stopping to Visualize
Progress, illustrated by School Pro-
gram, Indicates Duty Of cItl-
zens to Philadelphia
BY SARAH ID. LONRIE

School.
You cannot always judge much of scholar 4
ship or of grade accomplishment from pro
gram exhibition, but you can tell everything
about school spirit, about discipline and
about the type of culture of the teachers BY
the sort Of program they make and the way
they put IL through with the materials s-at
hand.
Now in that great school building at Sew
enth and De Lnncey streets Miss Margaret
Mcguire and her staff are undertaking the
Americanization of hundreds. Of children
whose parents can barely speak the English
tongue-Russian, Polish. Jewish. Italian,
German, Slavic and Greek. They have to
blend this blend with still another mixture
of the Irish and Scotch Irish Americans and
the English. They have every sect Of the
to teach history to without offending, and.
every shade of political or sociological creed
to discipline without antagonizing. The
children are. most Of them, at an age when
and when no language, however simple, can
always safely carry an idea from the school
room to the home.
Yet somehow those children have been
taught and have learned to pronounce in
unison great words and greatly expressed
truths from the Psalms Of the Bible to the
last wartime poem with such reverent, COM
plete understanding, such beautiful enuncia-
tion and accent, and such a slow, rhythmic
tone quality that nothing have ever heard
~
thrilled me more.
The thrill Of it came from the children to
us. They knew perfectly well what they
were about and of whom they spoke when
they began their grave, beautiful recital:
The earth is the Lords, and the fullness
thereof; the world and they that dwell
therein"
1t was like the opening chords of great
symphony.
&C ND ppoo>,p ,.u,.s ,,x..,
"A dressed the school, the program was full
OF very interesting surprises. But from first
to last the tone of fervor and enthusiasm
was never lacking, and always, whether it
was a solo part or the recital by whole
class or grade, the finish and dignity Of the
and enlightened drill that made 1t possible.
Certain things are evidently accented in
the Mccall School alertness without waste
motion, responsiveness without self asser-
tlon and a sense Of fitness. The personal
dignity Of the children is quite evidently
recognized as right, and with all her ex.
pansiveness and enthusiasm the woman who
has stamped them with her personality has
very quiet sure touch with them.
l once heard great teacher size up one
of her fellow teachers as being born for the
task because she was gentle with flash of
steel to her. Perhaps behind that slight
motion Of her hand there Is flash of steel
in Miss Mcguire, the perception of which
slightly lifted hand as though it held the
Decalogue, from any words on the subject.
LNVEN though a program Of recitations and
IL songs and drills and oratorical themes
is in one sense only pleasant interruption
Of long, patient drill on things that have
to be acquired without any showcase for
exhibiting them, a program day has its i'm
mense value, because. we all need to produce
now and again a finished product. If for
nothing else than to encourage ourselves and
our audience with the knowledge that we are
getting on toward our goal.
l was listening to some men talking the
other day about this necessity of the human
animal to stop every once and so often and
to exhibit his high mark Of excellence. focus
for once the eyes of his fellows on the hours
| result of his progress. They averred it was
| this moment OF triumph which spurred him
on and concentrated his forces to gather new
| impetus
If this is so of an individual and Of
| school 1t must be equally so Of community
even of great community as city.
Perhaps that Is what our Centennial did for
US. In focusing the eyes of our world on
Philadelphia, not in pity because of some
| great disaster, but In interest because of an
| achievement, the Centennial of 1876 gave
| the city an impetus which for many years
added zest and ambition to all her industries
| and arts. For that summer she was lifted
| out of her provincial ways Of thinking and
| made a hostess to the world. Her galleries.
which were very poor were filled for the
time with treasures of Europe and Asia !;
| her manufactures, which were very good and
| abundant, were made to compete before the
eyes of her citizens with the even finer prod
ucts Of other towns and nations; her parks
| and hotels aud shops and streets and public
utilities had to meet the demands of the
| citizens of other cities whose parks and
hotels and shops and streets and public
utilities were no larger perhaps, but better
organized and better built, better conceived.
| And into our midst, living with us as neigh =
bors for the better part of a year, were the
| artists. scientists, mechanicians, organizers
| OF other States and other countries who,
during the great loan exhibition from the
world, were given the freedom of our best.
| CURELY It is time once more for Phila =
| - delphia to rise up and make herself fit
| TO receive the great and beautiful things of
art and of science and Of commerce for n
season, and welcome as her guests the men
and women who care for these things.
If there are / 800, 900 and more citizens
in this town, it would not only be possible
but profitable il each gave a dollar to begin
this great enterprise, and in time another
dollar to help complete II.
II the sick eyes of the world could be
focused on a city of welcome for all great
ideas-cven though 1t was city built ia
possess them but for six months out of half a
century-and If the sick mind OF the world
could be stirred to hope, by the knowledge
OF what has been created for good in world
in the last ten years wherein SO much ha,
been wrought that has seemed i'll, could no
there be more than chance that the turnln,
point Of threatened disaster to society viii
have been reached and passed?
Nowhere else than, In America could sucl
n chance 70 review the good and discard tn
bad in another great worlds fair be posi-
BILE. and in no city of America could it hap
pen so tittingly as in this city.
We have plodded slowly on; we have plan
for better future; we have the potential
ties of a great future; why not give our
selves another chance to quicken our life, t
raise our stapdards, 10 compete with our da
and generation, to give the oncoming gen
Grafton what our plucky and daring father
gave to us-a great moment in which tn
eyes of the world are focused upon us?
There are some years 10 do it in, ther
are nearly 2OO0, 900 citizens 10 do it with