New Britain herald., 1930-02-11

ministering of the high school, He
 spoke of the principals fine spirit
 and credited MT. Slade with being
 the biggest factor in the progress
 of the high school. He said he would feel confident his boys would be in safe hands if he were under the guidance of the high school principal.
 Address by Dr. Meredith Dr. Meredith spoke as follows:
 "Mr. President, Ladies and Gen. tlemen:
 Tt is very great privilege for me
 to be here this evening, to bring you
 as ] have the honor to do, the greeting and congratulation of the
 State Board of Education. In behalf
 of that body, charged as it Is under | the law, with the general supervision 1 of the educational interests of the state. l extend it's sincere best wishes and I presume also to do the same ! for the secondary schools Of the 1 state, upon this expansion of your facilities for secondary education.
 We arc assembled in a magnifi- cent building, equipped with all that
 makes for educational opportunity to
 the youth whom 1t would serve. Not only have the material assets of the city been increased but those Of the 1 state haYG been expanded. for the influence of the civic pride and re- sponsibility for the welfare of the pf ,It to; by it's citizens will extend through
 out the state. and be an encourage mcnt to other places within the linn its of their financial ability 10 pro- vide, more generously for the CduCa- ton of their boys and girls.
 Buildings such as this arc an out ward expression of the civic con- sciousncsS of the citizens Of a com- munity. and rcaffirmatlon Of their
 faith in public education. beyond
 that given in the primary or clcmcn-
 tary grades.
 "Thc provision for high school cd ucation is q realization that the pro- cess of formal education in the schools are necessary for adolesccnt youth who if ever, in thcir lives need at this time guidance and care. Tho public high school has caught the ina asination of the American people. and is q distinctly American institution. There is no institution in Europc which exactly compares with it although beginnings arc reflected In recent congratulations both in England and Germany In order to suggest the popularity of the high sch hool. have but to point out that in the United States since 1890 the number Of pupils has increased 20 | times as fast as the population. the increase being iron. 357 ,000 10 B. | 9ll,27o pupils. This increase in the number Of schools in that period has | been 452go or about one school day 1 for the past "S years. In Connccticut | today there arc enrolled 45.201 or an | increase Of over l05Co in ten years
 or a growth five times that of the | population.
 These figures are impressive,
 They mean something to the people
 of the state and they suggest money. Last year we spent in this state alone on our high school operation $7.23I, . | c24O0. The total of this cost is start l ling but even so, it is far less per ! capita, than is spent in private sec
 ondary schools for tuition alone, by
 many of our people. It is said that
 when d congressional appropriation | exceeded q billion dollars, and con 1 rress was criticized there for that, l Speaker Thomas c. Reed then in the l chair, remarked, "YCG, but VIC arc q 1 billion dollar people" We as pco- | pie believe in the peoples college, 1 the public tax supported high school. Notwithstanding tho growth in
 numbers and in esperSe practically only 50Co of our youth who are eli
 ~ihlc for post elementary schools are 1 today taking advantage of the oppor- | unity. We are still in tho pioneer
 stage. so far as our being able 10 adapt our educational process 10 the needs of youth and to the social and economic demands of the present or
 der arc concerned. We are not sure l yet, that our elementary course
 should be one of eight years and our | high school course one Of four years. 1 In fact there is scientific evidence
 rapidly accommodating, to show that