Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1923-04-21
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out waste of cash. Not until edu-
Gators can agree upon certain funda-
mentals In philosophy and procedure
will We have the absolute backing
of the people themselves.
Our schools, neither secondary nor
college, are good enough. They never
will be good enough. Complete agree
ment would, however, not be con-
ducive to growth and to satisfactory
progress. Perhaps it is not advisable
that there should be complete agree
ment on all educational procedure.
Differences of opinion oftimes squire
progress. | wish to voice warning
against misguided activity in regard
to popular education and any pro-
paganda Which Will tend to set up in
TINS country, among our children,
common and preferred classes. The
tendency to select the five per cent
OF superior mentality as college en-
trants is false theory and the back
wash of the caste system. We do
not want even an educated few to be
known as an educated ariStocracy in
America. We are not, in a country
where all of the people are called
into the councils of the nation, to
give our attention to elevating a few
peaks into the 10 Ids but to the ele-
walton of the general level of the
whole mass. 1t is the history of every
community that brains and effort
must be mixed in order to bring sue
cess and that very often an ounce
, of brains plus a pound of effort will
have as great carrying power as q
pound of brains plus an ounce of
work.
College entrance or. who should go
to college? is one of the most dis
cussed questions ut the present time.
The fact that large numbers are
calling for admission into high school
and college makes this an important
subject for discussion. The tendency
OF college people is to raise the re-
qulremcnts and limit the numbers
by careful selection. This the college
| has u pei lect right to do in self de-
Tense. The growth has been so
fapid that college finance could not
keep pace. with the demand of the
young people and it became a neces-
| sity to establish limitations. The
| situation is much different in high
school The people are demanding
! thai their children have the advan-
| taSe of sufficient education to relieve
| them from that most merciless cast
| Of the world S drudgery. The people
! demand tie rights Of admission to
| high scl".Ci; they pay taxes for the
support OF such schools; they demand
| that the children be given such edu-
| cation as will be of some value to
them in solving life's problem. The
growth of the high school which is
little less than a revolution IN recent
years is the direct result of the UNI
resistable demand of the people that
| their chtl6rnn have nhonno All nf
the people are not willing to sup
| port institutions which benefit a
| favored few. The people are demo-
cratic in their ideals as well as in
their demands. 1t may be said that
the modern curriculum is a direct
result of the popular demand and we
in America have not learned to dis
regard the voice of the people. nor
should we when the voice comes
from a tremendous mental awaken
ing. If the boys and girls of today
are to be limited in opportunity is it
your boy or mine who is to receive
the handicap?
| We need to be protected from the
thcorist who as yet has no means
of proof. We are told that the mental
plane is receding rather than rising
and this makes 1t necessary to limit
tunity. In other words we are to
select those who are to be educated
and the others must pe relegated to
| ignorance. We are told that civili-
zation is defertilizing its best stock
while the lowest mentality goes on
producing weaklings. Too much
quoted army tests reveal that 80 per
cent of our American population is
highly satisfactory with per cent
of superior mentality; that the next
25 per cent represents the great
average citizen group of minds fair
ly well equipped. It is said that this
| group represents mental ages of
| from thirteen to fourteen. The next
| group of 20 per cent Seveals mental
age of twelve. this group should be
happy since it is consigned to the
realm Of perpetual youth. The %