Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-09-06
Keep the Child in School

Cant l have them now"
Whats the trouble? Anything
wrong at home? Got a good job? Why
are YOU in such hurry to leave school
at the close of a term? What's the
matter?"
Nothing" said in the child in a
tone that meant everything"
Don't you like school?"
Il like it we'll enough"
HIM. Where's your last report
card?"
Here I have C in algebra
Pretty good card, seems to me. Just
that one mark. C isn't so bad, but it
can be made better. eh?"
Il can't do algebra"
"How's that? You can do arith-
metic."
"Oh, sure" the boys eyes glowed
Il can do long division in my head.
Seventh-flve into twenty-Six twenty-five
goes thlrty-five times. How's that?
have system. I can do arithmetic
all right. but no algebra"
is that why you want working
Instantly it was as though a screen
had dropped between the boy and the
teacher behind the desk. The light left
the lads eyes and all the color faded
from his voice
Il have to take out my working pa
pers. l have to leave school"
Determined to Quit.
You haven't job. The folks don't
cause you can't do algebra. You are
afraid of the regentS?"
L can't pass the regents in algebra
and If take the examination I'll spoil
the class average"
The lad set his mouth in hard line
and stood twisting one leg about the
other
These working papers can wait If
you could pass regents algebra with a
good high mark, would you still want
to take out your papers?"
NO. but couldn't pass"
"A boy who can do long division in
his head can do algebra Just as easily.
Now let's make bargain. You come
here every day during 'math' periods.
I II show you system that will work
algebra as easily as yours works long di-
vision. Then you needn't care about ex-
aminations. You can pass them ALL"
Every day after that the child re-
ported promptly and eagerly set to work
TO learn the system" that would help
him master algebra. The teacher dis
covered that the boy did not understand
the use OF signs nor the meaning of ex-
ponents. After explaining the System"
the boy could do anything his grade
work required.
Tomorrow you take the test with
your class. You'll pass hands down"
ana ne did. The wise old teacher had
saved him.
The class room teacher, anxious to
nave good record, anxious to save her
sell from the criticism of her superiors,
mad broadly limited that boys who could
ilot pass the regents tests ought to
leave the class SO as not to lower its
record-and the sensitive boy had de-
termlned TO leave rather than handicap
MS classmates and lower the standing
OF the school
That. l beg to state. is not the func
tion OF the school and the teacher. It is
thelr junction to keep the child in
School. To place him so, to treat him so
as TO make him wish to learn. wish to
work. wish to achieve. Driving a child
out OF school because he is ignorant is
IN direct violation of the agreement be-
tween the public and the schools. The
people established the public school in
tne nope IL might educate all the chill
oren. They trust us to do this. And
we can do 1t by shifting the school to
meet the needs of the children. bv rec
ognlzlng that the course of study is not
maj document but survey of the
coHmunltys activities Sifted and or
ganlzed and used in teaching the chill
dren how to live in the Community
where these activities are a major part
of life. '0- p"1'
Like in Foreign Land.
Do you ever find yourself in a for
elgn land unable to make yourself I'M
oe[stood because you thought in an
oener language, spoke in another
Tongue, behaved in another traditions
II you have you know something of the
ieellng OF the child who finds himself
IN a school which was set up for the
Scno!ariy sort of child whereas nature
ntted him for life of labor.
heSltated about writing that last
WORD, so foreign in its meaning to the
tradltlonal school, so Stunned in its in
depreciation by the people whose chill
9len go TO the public schools. Labor
nol my cnlld? Never. He shall not
not on labor: 1t is on the misuse Of
LABOR and only the laborer can remove
IL; His only chance for lifting the load
on his back is through education in hic
own held. An intelligent laborino
group, and I am including all workers
IN tnlS group, can hold its own Thev
pecome more intelligent by DEVELOPING
tie power they possess, never by ate
.emptlng to develop what they cannot
At the end of the last term we 70.
celved an indignant note from a father
whose boy had failed in French. IF
you mad checked up on him ali term "
ne wrote, IF you had taken anv mains
WIN MIN, treated him as an individ,Iai
ne would not have failed. Your neglect
threatens to cost my son. his higher
education" e11ei
We would have been bowed in bu-
imitation had his fathers charge been
true: The facts are to the contrary
AT the end of the first three weeks the
teacher knew that learning French or
any other foreign language was going
to be a difficult task for this bow He
seemed to be deaf to all languages save
Els own and he was none too good in
that. With infinite care the teacher
worked out series of lessons to suit
the boys need. He sat beside the bow
and coached him daily. He gave him
extra lessons. He invented devices to
aid him in pronunciation. He provided
him with series Of cards for written
work and translation. Still the boy was
deaf to French. Each month the re-
port went home and was signed.