The St. Johns herald., 1922-10-19
Observations, Deductions and Representations in Educational
 Matters

In my first year of high school re-
 member that I was very much dis
 appointed in some things, especially in
 the course of study and the way athletics
 was managed. was on my own re-
 sources working my own way through
 life and didn't know where all the dol
 lars had to spend were coming from.
 1t seemed to me that the school was
 one thing and life another, and want
 ed to think of them as working together,
 Surely the peoples money spent in an educational way should help us to live.
 wrote long argument for my English class the main theme of which was.
 ''The School prepares us for the school room but not for life. '' My ideas were not received well by the teacher or any of my class mates, but within the last four years have seen the working out of my ideas in every detail.
 It seems that in primitive times in our country the schools were private affairs pretty much, and for the benefit of those principally who had leisure to spend in cultural subjects Later the school was dominated to a great extent by church influence and still later by ideas of patriotism, citizenship and industrialism.
 Up to the middle of the 18th century no important development had taken place in the schools. There is a very thing to me in the evolution of the public school and that, is that instead of being the leading facfor in civilization it has been about the last to receive development in the onward | push. The old assembly attempted to exercise all the functions necessary for school management and it took long time for people to get clearly in their minds the necessary and separate func- tions of organization administration and Then after these functions one by one were made clear by mother 1t took long time to change | laws and get a working system which might become, not child and receiver of benefits. but mother and leader of affairs, as the school system should be. But the schools are coming more and more to exercise this function and to us for life, so that now we are not to he looked up to and to get along without work, but to be bet ter able to serve the world and to help others.
 The process of the evolotion of the schools has been characterized by Q) a of powers from the local mass control of inefficiercy and being tied up with politics and narrow inter- ests. to the highly specialized ability of one man trained for his position and chosen because of his efficiency, (the .ity or county superintendent of schools) oY the school board a small body of men 37 who are chosen by general bal ot because of their success in business md their knowledge of men, and (2) by l partial transfer of control from a small unit such as the town or district o the county or the township in some ,ases, and then to the state as unit of ,antrol. The state should control in iuch matters as certifcation of teach ITS, uniform text books, and in gener- Il constructive policy and a progress i've policy for the deveIopment of the chools of the state, but not interfer- ng with, but rather encouraging local initiative. As matter of fact the state llways has recognized local ability to manage their own affairs. Where it las been within the right policy it has ,iven free rein to such; for example he cities. For it has been in the cities hat these problems have been worked ut first. Indeed the city unit has been he great leader in this respect. There s where the great educational battles lave been fought. and the stat system las been patterned largely after the : ity system.
 Continued next week.