The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1921-10-15
SATURDAY, OCTOBER IS, 1921.
srANpAsnlzlno MANKIND

|
STANDASDIZlNo MANKIND
There can be no future for Am
erica without great and radical i'm.
| proVement in existing systems of pub.
nc education" declared Hon John 7 |
Figert, United States commissioner
Of education, before the annual con
lvent.on Of the Vermont State Teach |
efs' association Mr.. Tigert is also
reported TO have said: The war
showed US the truth about our Hitter. |
acy, We thought it about ~ per |
cent Draft records show it to have |
been 25 per cent One.fourth of the |
people of this nation unable to read
or write We must unite on our
big national program that we mas
educate our people so that the mex
war, II 1t comes, will find us pre-
pared In another part of his adj
dress tho speaker remarked. Going
one step further. education is the
power which perpetuates nations. An
educated citizenship is of greater
/ value than a vast standing army.
! Germany's real strength was founded
| upon system OF education Just as
thorough as the Fun system Of arma
ment"
1t Is always misleading to quote
one part OF a mans remarks or writ
Iings without the rest OF the text In
which he may have qualified his state
ments or so have Illustrated and
turned them to a different actual
meaning, and for that reason It is not
fair to Judge finally from few frag
meDts
\ 1t seems, however, to many obsery
ers that there is at the present time a
tendency toward the Prussian system
in the schools OF the United States
This tendency is shown in the in
creasing effort toward centralized
control, the effort to fix system and
lay down rules by small federal
bureau at Washington and then to
send agents and inspectors abroad
over the land TO er,5see the DEGREES,
regardless of how trey fit or misflt
Education of the best sort is not a
mill through Which children are to be
run and turned out like TIE legs OF a
table Just as nearly alike as IT is pos
sible for the standardized mill To
make them,
a few standard essentials may
properly be insisted upon but beyond
these the most valuable education as
the children grow in years, Is to aid
them in developing any useful talent
they may possess. regardless of
whether it may be in tho textbook or
not
In the schools or out Of them. we do
not believe in trying to govern the
progress Of humanity by any stand.
ardized system fixed and agreed upon
by small group OF men trained in
one single profession. If We are to-
have standardized system of eduea.
ton tire plan should he formulated
and the rules written by group rep
Preventative OF workers, employers.
bankers merchants, farmers, preach
ers and others, aided by trained teach
ers who may assist but not control
No one group of mankind is wise
enough or unselGsh enough to fix the
plan under which all OF us shall live
and learn. The world is full Of eff.
forts of this kind and they are all
alike dangerous even Wien prepared
and presented by men personally
above reproach.
In this connection we also desire to
say that we do not believe that
! twenty per cent. of the American
young men called for military service
during tho great war were or are Tilt.
crate We haven't much confidence
In Official statistics at any time and
any alleged figures indicating that
one quarter of the adult population
of the United States is unable to read
and write are not entitled to serious
consideration without further investi-
cation.