Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1922-12-24
By A HEAD MASTER.

BY A HEAD MASTER.
TIME time has come, 1 think it will
be admitted, when the teachers
4 in charge Of secondary educa-
ton should take some notice Of the
open and covert criticism Of prepare
tory schools which is pretty frequently
made nowadays. Not that the bold or
concealed attacks say anything new,
for they don't, but there are plenty of
people, as every head master OF a
prep" school knows by the letters he
receives, who wonder why we do not
reply to them.
Before collect my thoughts to make
such a reply, although they are on the
tip Of the tongue, permit me to explain
why l do not frankly aff1x my name TO
it. I would not ask for anonymity IL
it were actually the system or my con-
duct of It that needed defense; in that
case I should Immediately demand my
day in court. The system is not per-
feet, human things are not expected
TO be, and a head master has many
problems, not all Of which he solves
wisely. But the outstanding obstacle
to q complete success of school pri-
vate, public, secondary. collegiate-is
not the curriculum, not the system:
It Is nothing inherent in the idea, but
1t is the attitude Of parents. Without
intending TO obstruct q method OF ed
uoation, indeed, they would indig-
nantly deny that they had ever done
so, nevertheless many Of them do SO
by example and precept. No school Of
my kind gets a boy until he Is at
least IL years old, and then 1t does not
have him the year round; In vacation
time he falls once more entirely under
the influences which have made him.
It must not be forgotten that the years
from 6 to - are plastic years and in
them a bent has been given which
EOIlGLlilieH CttllilDL DC tO&ANCNCdi Va ~
painfully corrected,
Time for "Prep" Teacher
To Talk Out in Meeting
Already 1t will DO seeii that can
not discuss this question without talk
ing right out in meeting, saying
things which, true as they are, could
not be sufficiently yelled by diplomatic
language without giving a good many
fathers offense, as II | were DELHI
erately insulting them.
/ know that smart" readers who
always detect an Interior motive will
say that it would not be good busl-
ness" for a head master to offend his
patrons by language plain enough to
hurt. Readers of this smartness do
not realize that long waiting lists
frame an answer to them and render
any head master of we'll known school
practically independent. But in an
other and higher sense it is not good
business" to hurt our patrons feelings.
We are always trying to get them to
help us with the boys. We need their
help and we get it by molasses and not
by vinegar.
That is why do not sign my name
to this article. But affirm that face
to face with any father / have ever
met / would say 10 him all that
shall write here.
Subtly intertwined with this fire.
quent criticism is the remark often
made in bellttling sense:
"Oh, that prep school caters only
to the sons Of rich men,"
To this I reply: IF we do educate
and train rich men's sons to be honor
able members of society, culHvating
in them simple tastes and standard
by which they can correctly Judge life
and their fellows. then we perform a
great and even a wonderful task. l
know of no set of boys who need these
things so badly as the rich mems sons
The poor little rich boyl Often by
force of conditions neither his father
nor his mother can take his training
In hand. The teacher can and does
I could point to many instances where
good and worthy men have been made
Jul VI DOyS WHO III the uduQS OIL
servants would have had no earthly
chance.
My plea, therefore, must be made
to rich men whose affairs are 80 en-
crossing that they can give no ade-
quate time to the first years of their
sons lives. Afterward, when the
boys have left preparatory school far
behind them, when they are far along
In the college course or have grad
uated from 1t, the fathers take up their
belated task. Well for both fathers
and sons IL the head master and his
assistants have done their duty by the
youngsters. guided them to the deep
truths of life. led them to the shrines
Of literature and told them why they
should worship there, prepared the
boys, in word, to educate themselves.
For that is all prep" school and coll
lege can do. But It's a great deal.
Refutes Charge That PREP"
Schools Are Aristocratic
Before leaving this phase Of the
subject must say few words more