Evening star., 1925-02-25
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

Mrs. A. ". Bassler, a teacher in
the public schools of the District Oh
Columbia, writes me as follows:
May l, as a modern teacher in
the Washington public schools, reply
to your article of February 1S in The
Evening Star? 1 was most interested
in your discussion because your point
of view is the one I have always up
held, that my education failed to
prepare me for the necessary. asso-
Citations of life and that only began
my education when I began to learn
to teach.
"But / am afraid that both of us
have been looking upon education or
tho older order. I know l have
and / have been most delighted In
courses in education that have
taken in the past three years TO hnd
that the modern trend in education
is exactly along the lines you indi-
cate.
even definitions of education
specify adoption to life and train
ing for living Beginning with
Rousseau and his experimental work
with Emile, following through with
Pestalozxi, Herbart, and up to our
present day there has been the germ
of educatio as a preparation ior lie.
But, like good democracy, the
germ has met many obstacles. AT
times 1t has been almost ourleo pc
meath educational Journalism But II
has survived - survived to such an
extent that in this year, 1925, the
greatest battles in education are
being fought for individual develop
ment, not preparing children as
class for an outside world, put
grouping, specializing, Offering OPP
portunity classes to prepare each
child whatever his natural abllltles
and aptitudes, for his particular
niche in the scheme of things
schools are going farther. TheIe
are even follow-up organizations ~
see if promising children nave lui @
filled the task they might perlorill III
the world, or to see IL the unior-
tnnate one, handicapped by birth or
anvironment, has climbed out or the
rut in which he had seemed nxeo.
"ka for health education" continues
Mrs Bassler, pick up any recent teAe
hook on education and see the en-
nhasis placed on strong minos IN
strong bodies AS to finance, look IN
the curriculum OF our public scnoos
for courses in percentage, banking
clerical practice, etc.
Examine some OF the SHOPS aiu
where boys and girls are taught prac-
tical handwork, printing, WOODWORK
ing. mechanical drawing. stenosraphy
and tvbewriting, sewing, millinery
cooking, designing. And 1t Ism | onIy
smattering-an excellent traoe
foundation is offered, the application
demanding upon the Individual
las 70 conduct of living, that's the
basis of life. The underlying prin-
ciples of truth, honor, loyalty 1aIr
NAVAL those Intangible qualities
we want to develop in our boys ana
girls are in the background or the
mind of any teacher worthy OF the
name. no matter what subject she
teaches.
81 am so sorry, Mr.. Tracewell, that
7 have neither time nor opportunity
to cite for you definite texts and page
references to support some or my
above statements. But if you viii
look up some OF the works or some
modern educators I do recall-Dewey,
Ingliss, Cubberly, Monroe, koos'
Briggs Parker, Hall, Terman, Bag
lev, Thorndike-or even visit our
public schools, talk with some of our
teachers, read q preface to one of our
courses Of study. you will get diff
ferent idea of the work we are en-
gagged In.
I'VE are no longer Journalists, or
are we trying to teach the 'amo,
'amat' of 20 years ago. We are no
longer teaching gfish,
history, mathematics, geography; We
are teaching children and trying to
help them to adapt themselves to life
in school as preparation for the larger
life outside of school"
n y X
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