New-York tribune., 1922-11-23

Curriculum Curtailed
But what a~e these children offered?
From the schools cited here and
neore Of others visited by the writer
IN the more popalous sections came
the same story overcrowded class
rooms, overworkcd and nerve-wracked
teachers, lack Of discipline, inability Of
the teacher to look after her duller
pupils, lopSing or OF studies because
of the cut in the school day, the pres
once Of lsrge number Of pupils uu
fit TO continue with the work of the
grade, forced promotions st the end OF
the term to make room for large in
coming classes. All OF which means:
That 355,557 school children of the
city's total Of e31.141 are being given
6 partial education instead Of q full
one.
That these children virtually are left
20 their own devices In the classroom
because Of the inability of the teachers
TO give them the attention they should
receive.
That these children ars pushed
through the grades, regardless Of their
fitness to continue with the studies OF
those grades
That these children reach the highest
classes with the most elementary
equipment and are turned out into the
world by the thousands with only
fifth or sixth grade education.
That when these children enter high
school with the scanty store Of knowl-
edge picked up in the elementary
acheols, 5000 out Of every 10000 are
compelled to drop out at the end of
the first year mainly because OF their
lack Of preparation
And, finally. that g deception Is be-
Ing practiced upon pupils and parents
who have come TO regard promotion as
sign Of educational progress.
Going TO Private Schools
There are indications that some OF
Ehe moro eircumspect of the parents
have seen signs of the situation on
their own doorsteps. Among theae is
the great increase of applications for
entrance to private schools in the city
and environs. Particularly among the
primary schools, was told, the enroll
rnents have taken decided jump, in
some instances as much as so per cent
within two years
One Brooklyn institution says it has
had an increase of students of S3 per
cent in the last year and that it was
noteworthy that the young boys appear
TO come from only moderately situated
{ households. Similar reports came to me
from private institutions along the
Hudson, where, it was said, there had
bsen an unusual accession Of young
girls recently from the less fashionable
sections of the city.
Teachers in the public schools have
told me, too, that they are sending
their own children to schools in
nsighboring rural communities such
as Nyack, Tenafy, New Rochelle,
Asmaroneck, Pelham, and to schools in
nearby New Jersey towns.
II should not be assumed, and it is
not contended, however, that the edu-
cational system has broken down in
sections where there are adequate seat
ing facilities and normal classes af-
2ording the teacher an opportunity to
get in personal touch with her pupils
and watch more carefully their daily
progress.
But there can be no doubt, and it
has been definitely shown, that the
great bulk Of the school children in the
congested sections Of the city, where
the makeshifts Of part-time and double
sessions have been resorted to in an
ahort TO overcome the shortage of
school buildings, ara being "put out"
Of school rather than through them.
SS,0o0 Failed of Promotion
Some figures in an analysis Of the
subject were recently made public BY
the Bureau of Reference, Research and
Statistics of the Board OF Education,