Evening star., 1925-01-13
TWO SCHOOL PLANS
GET ENDORSEMENT
Platoon System and Building
Program to Be Supported,
With Qualifications.

The platoon school and the five
year school building program, the two
principal subjects bearing on the tu-
ture of public education in the Dis
trict over which school officials ana
the District Congress of Parent
Teacher Associations have split. were
discussed thoroughly at joint meet
ing of three committees of the PUBIC
School Association last night in the
Franklin School
AS a result the committees indorsed
unanimously program laid down by
Brig. Gen. Samuel T. AnseN, presl-
dent of the association, which urges
the organization to support the hNe-
year building program I'm principle
rs well as the Zihlman resolution pro-
posing a scientific survey of the
school system looking toward the
adoption Of the platoon plan in the
public schools.
Approves Plan As Whole.
1.-The fve-year program appears to
me TO be unnecessarily inelasttc and
unwisely restricted to a particular
type of building; yet on principle and
in its larger aspect, it makes an APP
peal" said Gen. Ansell. Il cannot see
that the pendency or the enactment
of this program should detract in the
least from the current maintenance.
administration and Improvement of
our schools if officials who are
charged with such matters are zeal
ously interested in schools rather than
personal hobbies.
Il should confidently expect 20 see
this program, if it were enacted just
as it is written, almost Immediately
begin to undergo modification. Pro-
grams cannot and ought not 10 be
inelastic; and what one Congress does
another may and frequently does
modify.
Il myself believe in the so-called
platoon system. as il seems to me to
be method of giving better atten-
tton to each child and of administer
ing to greater number Consider
able reading Convinces me that a very
great weight of educational authority
is on the side of the platoon system,
not as a mere makeshft to meet an
emergency. but in many situations, as
a desirable, advantageous program.
Survey Is Endorsed.
"To the Zihlman resolution for a
survey there can be no intelligent op-
position. Such a survey, far from con
hicting with the five-year program. is
In my judgment necessary to it. | am
certain that we are all suffering from
lack OF authoritative information
as to the actual conditions Of our
schools-Congress school officials.
school and civic associations and
parents generally. None stands in
greater need of this survey than Con-
Eress itself. | think the school au-
thorities ought TO have requested
such survey long ago and would
he acting wisely and helpfully if
they insisted on it now"
Dr william c. Ruediger. dean of
the Teachers College of George Wash
p ION fraGr=
tees that Federal Commissioner of
Education John J. Tigert had forbidden
Alice Barrows, the Bureau Of fduca
ton platoon school expert, to speak
In the District, because Supt Of Schools
rrdhk w BalIou was opposed to the
platoon system. II see no reason" =" he
declared, why the commissioner Of ed
ucation should forbid a representative
to speak in the District" d"
The proposed survey of the school
Dean Ruediger said, would do no
harm, although it probably would
have no influence on Sunt. RaIlou.
There's no use installing platoon
schools in Washington with school
ohcials opposed to them, for they GER
talnly could kill them" he said.
Sees Teachers Inundated.
Dean Ruediger also voiced the
opinion that majority of the people
In Washington as we'll as the teach
ers favor the platoon plan The
teachers, however. he added are
afraid to discuss the subject openly
Mrs. William T. Bannerman pre-
sided at the meeting. Those in at
tendance were members of the asso-
ciations committees on school ex-
pansion, legislation and educa tionaI
methods and progress. \ special
meeting of the organization was an
nounced for Thursday night at the
District Building.
Gen. Ansell's program. which was
adopted by the committees, also
called for the support of the com
puisory education bill and legislation
providing for the election OF the
Board of Education by the citizens of
the District