Evening star., 1924-06-27

Less than quarter Of q century
ago there was great hue and cry
because Congress was authorizing a
pllllon dollars year to run the
FEDERAL government. Many members
or the first billion dollar Congress"
were rebuked by their constituents
by non election for the succeeding
term. 1t was declared that the
dollar government"
Next week the National Capital will
be visited by 10000 to 10000 MEM
bers of the National Education AS
sociation, an organization number
ing more than 10000 teachers, de-
voted TO activities so per cent more
costly than the entire government
was in any year prior to the twen-
tieth century.
In 1895 the elementary and high
schools of the United States cost
s175. .sOs,27s, in 1920 they cost 81, ,oss,
l3l,2o9. Two years later the cost
was $1,5SO,671, ,296. The two-vear in.
crease alone amounted to more than
three times the total cost prior to
this century.
One of the highest officials of the
bureau or education remarked re-
centiy that the growth Of attendance
OF high schools had jumped in thirty
years from 100000 up to 1000. 900
l,oOo per cent-but he was even then
lwo years behind the records. which
snow that while the attendance in
1920 was ,2.199,3So. in 1922 II was
2.ba3.009-a growth in two years of
S5l per cent. In 1895 ii cost 3ls.4l
per year per child for his schooling:
in 1920 $64.16, and in 1922 $s5.TS.
America used TO pay teachers an av-
erase salary OF 32S6; in 1920 they
were paid the generous sum OF SS71,-
and in 1922 the teachers became pass
ing rich" on sl,i66 year. The aver
as much to pay for our schools now
as he paid twenty years ago, and it
makes no difference whether he has
any children. or is simply paying to
generation" belonging to his neigh
bors.
Why has the nation so run wild"
on education: Why are boys and
girls SO eager to attend high school
in spite of their well recognized lack
of discipline" like that which devei-
oped the present msteure genera ton?
The commissioner Of education, Or.
TiSert. is authority for the statement
that one who graduated ten years
ago and has failed To keep in touch
with schools since then has no con-
ception of todays educational meth
DDS and ideals. Pestalozzi introduced
new principles of teaching $50 years
ago. and his disciples declare that the
most modern teaching IL along his
lines, which il has taken dozen
decades TO reach appreciation in
America.
One Of the most outstanding re-
forms in education is the total aban-
donment Of the idea that the mind
should be trained by being taught
mething difficult---lilse mathematics
or Latin or trick words in spelling
simply for the sake of achieving
mental agility or mental "discipline.'
so that il will be capable of learning
else. Today the pupil is
taught what is in itself in line to be
of actual service TO him in pursuit of
his life activity. Such a heresy as
selective studies would have shocked
the teacher OF the last generation,
but that is the best explanation in
nutshell OF the multiplication of at
tendance through high school.
MemoriZing is reduced to the mini
mum. The tricky spelling book has
that when a pupil has mastered 1000
words Of an ordinary standard vo-
cabulary, such as found in the
and agazines. he has
reached the end o larnin." SO far
as the spelling class is concerned.
Later. in connection with his life vo-
cation. he will add technical words
as he needs them, or If he tends to
much reading OF literature he will