Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-25

really teach both arts and sciences il
the early grades. There they learn tc
draw, to paint, to sing, sometimes II
play an instrument, to make little
| plays and act them, to model in clay
And with perfect logic they are taught
at the same time some elements of the
art of living, some principles Of theil
/ personal bearing toward their fellows
and Of their social responsibility.
| If we were to see the youngsters al
work in any good kindergarten today
and If we knew nothing about our col
| lege and university curriculum, we
might we'll be enthralled with the vi
sion of what such an education might
come to when carried to its final
stages. We should imagine the uni
versity student proficient and at home
in the arts, himself. as it were, to some
degree a work of art fashioned by
creative teachers. That's what we
! might expect if We didn't know that
by the time the student reaches the
every one of these activities and force
him to follow them, if at all, chiefly
outside of the curriculum. The excuse
we'll give is that he has to prepare for
college. In college we will see to it,
except in the rarest cases. that he
cannot follow these interests at all, not
even outside the curriculum.
There may be a difference of opin-
ion about the value of different sub
jectS in education. There must be
many educators who approve of the
dropping of the arts as children ap-
proach the college course. But there
can hardly be a question that this pro-
cedure causes waste, not only in the
preparation done in the lower grades,
but in the subjects which many fami-
lies provide for outside of the school
curriculum. And I personally believe
that the abandonment of a subject
after some years of study, but before
the student has acquired genuine pro-
nclency in 1t, causes a serious reaction
against the subject. The fact that the
instruction In Latin and Greek SO often
led to no ability to read either Latin
or Greek caused, I think, exaggerated
antipathy to those studies. The amount
OF time given to modern languages,
unless some ability to speak and read
is acquired, often produces an active
hostility to them.
This is true particularly in the case
OF music. The impression one would
get from a casual observation of college
boys and girls is that few of them have
deep love OF music or even a moderate
taste for it. But if we were to look at
the youngsters in the kindergartens and
lower grades We should get just the OPP
poSite impression - that children have
an excellent natural taste in music and
quite surprising aptitude for perform
ing 1t. What has happened to them in
the interval between the lower grades
and college? Frequently their parents
have provided for them, outside Of
school hours, instruction in the piano or
some other instrument. They have de-
voted hours to practicing, and have
managed to build up a modest tech
nique, which, If carried little further,
would put them in control of an art
which would yield enjoyment for all
their lives.
am not speaking of those individ-
ualS who might become professional
musicians. In these remarks omit
altogether consideration of that class.
am speaking only of general education
for the average citizen.
OF these average students who ac-
quire some competence in music accord
ing to their age, the ADLER find their
way into school orchestras and bands,
into school choral groups. sometimes
into modest operate performances.
They still do not look toward a pro-
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