Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-02-07

in order to choose an American repre-.
sentative, who will later compete
against the orators selected in similar
contests held by other nations.
Such contests not only have a dis
| unct educational value for the con
testants themselves, but may result in
helping to bring about better relations
among nations. through the opportu-
| nifty thus afforded for an exchange of
Ideas and consequent avoidance OF
| misunderstandings arising from strict
| ly national viewpoints"
| Principals and heads Of public
| speaking departments in various
schools have applied to the contest
| manag cement of The Washington Star
| for advice as to the most effective
| way Of putting the national oratorical
contest into operati ton in school
| large or small
Mr.. Leigh's Statement.
Randolph Leigh. national director
| of the contests. whose statements are
| ba Sed up years of experience, in a
| letter to contract managers, says:
+, The most important point in con
| nection with the contest Is that it
! should not he made an extra burden
on teachers and pupils. On the con-
| trary. once teachers grasp it's pos
| sihilities, the contest actually serves
to tighten their work by increasing
/ the enthusiasm of pupils for two of
| the most important school courses
| history and English.
| In the second place, the base
principle OF the contest is 80 simple
| that it's operation is virtually the
| same whether in the Dewitt Clinton
| High School Of New York City, with
it's approximately 5000 pupils. or in
the Senate Pages School in Wash
| ington. with pupils.
| 1T is generally admitted that the
| whole problem of education is to catch
| and hold the interest OF the pupil
| These contests. enjoying the co-opera
| ton Of the greatest leaders and news
papers Of the land and holding out un
| equaled inducements to pupils. have a
dramatic appeal which is highly val
| ia BILE in a classroom.
Let me quote Prof George j
Jones, head Of the history department,
of the schools of the District of Colum
bia. on this point: The oratorical con
| tests have revolutionized our civics
| courses. What was regarded by pu-
| pills as one Of the most bOresome OF
subjects has now become one OF the
! most sought after. We no longer have
| to drag classes through this subject
We build our second-term work around
| the contest and the results are almost
| magical.
| The sa me policy can be followed in
every school. to the advantage of
| eacher and pupil alike. Incidentally
| the classes referred to by Mr.. Jones
have produced a national finalist each
year, one of whom tied for the ma.
tional championship.
Factor In Each Life.
| 1T is not merely the prizes and the
publicity that are imortant. Indeed
| they are secondary. The central idea
of the contest. which really gives IL
punch. is that government is not re-
mote. impersonal problem. but the
/ most close at hand. personal. and i'm
portant factor in the life of each indi-
| vidual-mOre important. ultimately
| than bread, for when government dis
integrates. everything. even down to
| food and shelter. goes with it.
| Furthermore. we try to present the
| drama of Government in terms of it's
most dramatic personalities-Wash .
ington. Hamilton, Franklin. jefferson
Lincoln, etc. Above all, in seeking to
interest pupils in these great person
alties, we try to keep clear the dis
| tinction between heores and gods. We
are not trying to defy the men who
made or are making America. If we
would keep our giants great in their
| capacity to quicken and thrill. we
must keep them human.
| AS to the actual operation of the
contest in school. the plan is sim
pie enough. There should be teach
ers' committee to supervise it-pos-
sibly of five members. better still of
| three, ideally Of one real enthusia st
The bigger the committee. the smaller
the results. This committee should
l 20 hipt0 nd ;.l
! teachers to give credit in their courses
| for really first-class work in the con.
test. This Is entirely proper. beca use
| the contest calls for patient and re-
| tentive research. coupled with terse
and colorful word-power.
| THE teachers committee and the
principal should make 1t clear to all
of the teachers that they really shape
the contest because the initial selec-
tions, which are the ones that really
| determine the character of the contest,
are made entirely by the teachers.
Those selections are made in what.
| ever way the committee for given
| school prefers-on manuscript, by
| speaking tests or a combination Of the
two. The newspapers conducting the
| contest have nothing whatever to do
| with these first selections.
LAS practical matter, teachers
have found it best to make the first
selections on manuscript, particularly
where an entire class or an entire
school is participating. But even then
there should be provision whereby
a pupil who thinks his speaking abil-
| ity offsets his deficiency in literary
! talent should be given the right to
challenge those selected on a manu-.
script basis to a speaking test. In
the large schools those selected from
the different classes generally com.
pete by classes for the right to rep
resent the school. Seven or eight is
a convenient number for a speaking
test.
experimenting the work of the
teachers committee. there should be a
small pupils committee to look after
| publicity in the school publication and
organize cheering squads for impor.
tant scholastic meets
| In The Washington Stars terri
f, tory. which has been extended this
year to include public high schools in
nearby counties in Maryland and Vir-
| ginia. the various participating
schools are grouped into ten districts.
Each public high school in the Dis
trict Of Columbia comprises district,
and each Of these district champions
will receive The Stars district award
| Of 800.
| The three remaining districts in.
clude as distinct groups the private
| and parochial high schools in the