Evening star., 1925-09-24
Demonstration School
Plan Proves Progress

To the Editor of The Star:
The fact that school officials at the
National Capital are on the qui Vive
with respect to educational progress,
safely and sanely accomplished. was
never more clearly shown than by
| their decision this Summer to estab-
lish the demonstration" school.
Teachers of eminent superiority
| supposedly, will demonstrate here the
soundness or the unsoundness OF
many new educational procedures;
will prove the most effective methods
OF lnstruction-in short. will exhibit
and emphasize superiority along all
, lines or school work, Including admin
lstration and supervision. Otherwise,
what will be the "occa SION for other
teachers to visit? 1t seems a fair
assumption. therefore. that here not
! only will students be skilled in study
ing better and better. but teachers
| will be taught TO teach likewise. At
other points in the system, the intro
| duction of these innovations will be
| delayed, pending experimentation and
| result. Human experience sometimes
| proves a certain course so much wiser
J than that which has hitherto been
| followed, that one wonders why the
! former was SO belated.
/ IT seems an odd coincidence that the
| very day that The Star brought news
| Of the establishment at ashington
| Of this order of school. a group OF
! students in attendance at a Summer
! graduate school of educat ton was dis
! cussing educational progress in the
| past. This seemed to be the gist of
the .group-thought: Having in mind
| the tortuous and uncertain progress
| in the past of new courses of instruc-
ton and new orders of departments s
] "a H.
and rea sonable provision could have
made success thereof more certain
| and resulted in avoidab BILE friction.
| Three stages in this sort of procedure
! were pointed Out--D Many within
! and without wax enthusia site. some
/ overenthusiastic; ~ some adopt. TO
keep in fashion, others on merit; and.
| t3) after storm and stress. or calm and
| peace. as recollection serves. an edu-
| cational problem or product emerees
or perishes-all the better, one
! might say. for the experience. But,
! must all elements Of this experience
| be endured, out of which TO wiring
| success? Are not time and money
, and lives, officially-lost, that could
| have been saved TO the unquestioned
| advantage of the movement? Would
! IL not, then, be an entirely feasible
| proposition for representative body
| or educators 10 seek an appropriation
| from one of the foundations toward
| the establishment of one or more
| demonstration" centers, strategically
| located and independent of State or
| national control-preferably under
| the management of the proper depart
! ment of the NEA-to the end that
| experimentation might be carried on
there only. by general agreement. the
! other American cities marking time,
| if it might be put that way, until
| through bulletin or notification other
| wise, they are made acquainted with
| the success or failure OF educational
| innovations? The alternative has
! oeen pointed out: what of the future?
Is the stage fast becoming set in
| America. from which an educational
| playwright may shortly announce a
| work of art-an educational doctrine
as fully meeting requirements as
did that of Herbert, in another day
| and generation?
! Perhaps Judd has something OF this
| in mind in Some Constructive Princi-
| pies Of Reorganization, Elem. Sch.
Jour, %: 4l3-422, when he asked, lis
] there not enough intelligent Vigor in
| American schools TO canvass the
| whole problem from the bottom to the
| top? Is there not some way of sys-
! tema tizing school development SO
| that il viii not depend on internal
friction for It's salvation?"
The demonstration" school a Wa sh-
! inston would seem to point one
method. at least, Of solving the
| problem.
FRANCIS LEWIS CARDOzO.