Evening star., 1931-12-27

It. During most CT the last century we
we're mainly an agricultural people
Boys and girls who went to school ac-
luired mainly knowledge Of reading,
writing and simple arithmetic. Most
Of them needed little more, because at
lome the boys fitted themselves for their
future occupation by learning to pillow,
to cultivate, to take care of the farm
stock. to do necessary jobs Of home
carpentry and masonry. Tho girls at
the same time were learning at home to
sew, mend, cook, tend the poultry. The
comparatively few boys who were to
become lawyers, ministers or doctors
had layer" Of cultural subjects added
at private academy.
But wher industries began to develop
in towns, cheap land became scarce,
farm machinery made less hands" nee
eSsary and labor movements restricted
child labor in mills and factories, more
education" had to be added to the
school system. The cultural subjects
were the natural addition-Latir, other
languages, simple physics, elementary
chemistry, higher mathematics. 1t was
assumed that certain number Of years
Of schooling, Of definite, fixed pattern,
was education.
Attendance Compulsory.
In most States now children must
attend school until they are Is years
old; In some States until the age Of 1s.
The tendency is to raise the minimum
age limit No longer can a boy leave
school at IL or Is to become a shoe
apprentice or printers devil"
and to fit himself adequately for a life
occupation by the time he is 81. Scores
OF occupations have disappeared utterly
hundreds OF new occupations have been
born, calling for highly specialized
training and knowledge.
We are wisely recurring bows and
girls to invest more years in school.
Those who are charged with the admin
istration Of the schools must make sure
that the investment Is a sound one,
We have given the schools new func-
tions; great, important ones. We have
placed upon the school system the duty
OF preparing our children for life, re-
lieving the parents and the home of
much Of that responsibility We are
calling upon the schools to teach our
children how to take care Of them
selves physically; how to safeguard
their own and the public health. We
are asking the schools to furnish our
children with ethical training, with
knowledge OF government, with
mental resources that will result in
wise use of greater leisure time.
Today, when boy leaves high school
at IL, with a diploma, his parents
usually expect him to be prepared for
the tasks Of life. When young man
or young woman receives the degree
OF great university, after four or six
years of study, at an age not far from
25, there Is a natural expectation all
around that he or she Is especially
qualified for meeting the problems Of
mature life.
System Needs Cranking.
Those expectations are not fulfilled to
a sufficient degree. They will not be
adequately fulfilled until we individ-
ualize our educational system to q con-
siderable extent. We will have to cut
our educational clothing to fit the boy
or girl, not the whole school body. We
need to crank up our traditional edu-
cational system, to revivify its opportu-
mites. to try well grounded expert
mentS in every domain Particularly,
We need to look forward and not back
ward in educational methods.
One OF the greatest assets our Nation
has had, one Of the great factors that
has influenced our growth and develop
ment, has been the public school sys-
tenn. Our schools are open to the chill
dren of the rich and the poor alike.
They serve to equalize opportunities
But they must be kept moving forward
TO keep abreast Of the
changing world of affairs.
Various business organizations have
set up their own schools to train young
men and women for specific tasks. A
greater amount Of this vocational train
ing should and could be done by the
public schools. 1t is a waste of tax
payers money and, more important, a
waste OF boys limited time for prepa-
ration for life, to require memorial
ton of long passages of THE Mer-
chant Of Venice" by a student whose
life occupation will be automobile re-
training with appropriate cultural con-
tent in school he may do something
really worth while for the world in his
chosen line of work.
He needs something more than elabo-
rate technical equipment in the school.
He needs able teachers who are given
the opportunity to instruct according to
the special needs and capabilities of the
pupils. l am reminded Of a prominent
whom member of a local
Board of Education proudly conducted
through a new million dollar high
school, The visitor was shown the
latest cooking devices in the cafeteria,
the pipe organ in the vast theaterlike
auditorium, the ventilating system, the
specially equipped gymnasium, and told
time and time again: This is the
finest school in the State"
Debated for Days.
When the tour of inspection was
over the visitor asked: What changes
have you made in your methods Of in
struction and how have you selected
your teaching staff?" The answer was
Why. We are sorting out from the
teachers applications those who have
the best degrees, and we figure they
can handle the job of laying out the
courses and so on" Yet this same
member of the board had debated for
days with others about details Of the
the finish of the interior
walls and the kind Of classroom seats
to be provided In the new school,
At the threshold Of the schoolroom
stands that new instrument Of human
service. the radio. 1t is possible that
through it there may develop a COM
plete transformation Of our whole edu-
cational scheme. With it. If the me-
chanical forces are provided, one superb
teacher can reach every classroom Of
Through it. unity of attack
upon our minds and those Of our school
is possible, regardless Of age,
race, State lines and economic or other
prejudices. Experiments already made
are most hopeful. The introduction Of
radio sets into the homes of illiterates
in some of the Southern mountains
shows what can be done also In adult
Now that we recognize that educa-
ton is and should be a lifelong proc
ess, the linking up of the school sys-
tenn and Of our teachers with the ra-
dio needs manifold trial. There Is al
ready a struggle to preserve a certain
number of radio stations for educa-
tlonal purposes. There is a growing
tendency on the part of the established
broadcasting stations to give more solid
material to millions of listeners. There
is still much static in educational
broadcasting, but the outlook is highly
stimulating to the iroapiOatia,, of +boco