Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-27
Tribute to Teachers Who
Develop Reasoning

To the Editor Of The Star:
wish to express my appreciation
for the manifold benefits which have
received from the hands of teachers
and co. workers in the system Of public
schools Of Washington. I am thankful
for. the high order of learning and
understanding Of the teachers In whose
classes ! have been and particularly
for their fundamental form Of teaching.
This form Of teaching TO which I
refer IL that In which the English
teacher has one learn the thought of q
poem rather than the words; In which
the mathematics teacher has one learn
the principles on which the the formulate
are based, rather than the formulate
themselves; In which the science teach
er has one learn the relation Of ali
things In the cosmos rather than gen.
era. numerous laws and formulate or
branches OF study, too numerous TO
mention. the prime motive in which is
to make the pupil think, to reason for
himself. No motive could be more con.
structive to personal and world hap.
piness than that one.
Notwithstanding the worthiness Of
the principle of teaching and It's graft.
flying results in many cases, the scholas-
tic records show that those students
this opportunity to apply their reason
ing faculties constitute o minority in
many schools. q pitiful one
Surely 1t Is not true that the ma jority.
are mentally incapable or do not have
the same teaching as those who achieve
scholastic honors. But the fact re-
mains, and I believe from my ex-
perience in those schools that these
pupils are given q problem for which
they are not equipped, and, therefore,
lack ability and consequently effort
for achievement. They are as babes
before Herculean task. Their illative
successfully master exercises in reason
or even take satisfactory interest in
them when its first principles have
not been instilled In him. Nor would
We, who have succeeded in some meas
ure, have attained what we have in
thought had 1t not been for our forth
tude in cleaning from the most hap
hazard, indirect teaching . working
knowledge Of logic. Only the most
jealous Of students are able to obtain
1t, imperfectly, for themselves.
think there Is nothing more con-
ducive to world peace, mutual sincerity
among men and search for truth than
the fellowship Of thinking, understand
ing minds. / would that every grad
uate Of the high school know the Joy
Of association with intellectual COM
panions. Yet the ma jority are turned
out with an atrophied intellect into the
world to take their own blind and
narrow ways in falsehood, insincerity,
superstition, susceptibility to propa-
ganda, imprudence. prejudice. selfish
ness and resistance to law, science, art
and religion. These are not for the
most part the product of a bad will,
but Of bad, poorly trained, diseased
brain.
AS a graduate Of the public schools
honestly express my opinion Of them
by saying that there should be incor-
porated in the scheme of education
the subject Of logic from the time the
child learns to add and subtract in
order that more men and women may
have what but few have 30 far got
ten unconsciously from some happy in
cident in their youth or childhood or
diligently searched from pure love of
1t. This, believe. would produce
ma iority Of real students and create
universal fellowship. which would. In
turn, cease wars, elevate the standards
OF the world. and lead to o better race
Of men than now exists, the most of
whom have been raised without knowl-
edge OF logic, truth.
CHARLES CRITCHFIEI,D.