New Britain herald., 1927-05-13
SURVEY OF STUDIES
 INPUBuC SCHOOLS
"NeV SubiSts0 Bedeged Jusd-
 fed I Aid to Three R'S

Parents of children attending the public schools of New Britain who have witnessed the ingress of new subjects of study. such as drawing. music. shop-work. sewing. cooking. etc.. oftentimes are moved to ponder seriously on the question of whether three R's-reading, writing and arithmetic-are being sidetracked in the interests of fads and frills.
 Educators guiding the destinies of schools have here anticipated the existence of such 8 question and have met 1t by having a survey of the system and its results. taken simultaneously with similar surveys in S4 American cities.
 Out of this survey have come the following reports on the teaching of so-called fundamental subjects:
 Reading-Al grades in the city are up to or above the standard for their mental ability.
 Writing-In both speed and quail ty the New Britain score is above the standard score-for all grades
 Arithmetic-The city score for each grade is above the standard score for the grade--in the upper grades the scores in each case ex- ceed the standard score for the next higher grade.
 Spelling-The average spelling ability Is equal to the average spell ing ability of the S4 cities.
 Language-The city score for all grades exceeds the standard score
 Three R's Are Fundamental
 Reading. writing and arithmetic are the subjects commonly under stood to be fundamental in acquiring even the simplest kind of an educa- tion. They furnish the keys that open the door to the printed page, whether 1t be the newspaper. the book perused for entertainment or to while away the hours, or the volume scanned for sought-after in- formation: they make possible the conveyance of messages from one person to another through the medt- um of letter. and allow an under standing of the contract which binds the actions of a person or insures him the right to hold his property: they make possible accuracy in measure and financial dealings and make safe the more exact sciences.
 The three R's. then. have an un- challenged right to be known as the fundamental of education.
 In New Britain. the children's ad- vancement in these basic subjects is studied carefully from term to term and from year to year. This, to- gether with the elimination of part time attendance. only recently ac- complished. should insure more nearly uniform progress and the general average should be decidedly raised, members of the school con- mittee believe.
 The Little Red Schoolhouse' gave instructions in a limited num- Der of subjects, little more than the fundamentals" Little time was given to the study of health. There was no plan in operation to train pupils in citizenship or offer experi- ences in social life. General in- formation was gained almost entire ly out of the school.
 Modern schools as typified here, stand for all the good features of the old system, glorified with the intro- duction of new ideas and new sub- jects. School buildings are made more comfortable, safe and sanitary and are better equipped: teachers are required to meet g higher standard than ever: the subjects taught are more varied and are de- signed to promote the development of healthy, well-informed and useful citizens. It is in the introduction of these subjects that the apprehension of fads and frills comes.
 Why They Arc Taught State laws require two and one half hours of physical education 6 week. Under the old scheme o1 things exercise and health education were considered to be subjects fol pursuit after school hours. In ex- planation of the other so-called new subjects. the school depart ment has the following to say:
 "Music-The person who can ap- preciate music enjoys one of the satisfying pleasures of life. We do not aim to produce expert musi- clans, but we do teach music with the hope that our pupils may appre- ciate good music and dislike bad music.
 "Art-Art education increases the pupils appreciation and Judgment of beautiful things. A knowledge of color creates good taste in the selec- tion of clothing, furniture and decor ative ornaments for the home. This education prepares children for modern industry where greater stress is now made for more at tractive articles of utility.
 Science Every person who wishes to be considered we'll inform cd must know about common things. Children constantly ask how things work and why one thing differs from another. They find answers to most of these questions and gain knowl- edge of common things as they study science.
 Geography - Every intelligent person needs geography every time he reads the daily newspaper or studies history. Modern methods of transportation and communication draw the people of the world closer together. Children study geography to know how and where other peo- ple live. American business de- ponds to . large extent on foreign trade. We should All know the