The Washington times., 1932-05-14
His Own Stuff

GILBERT sELDEs Cohanesque that one could only
sumo little royalty paid But few years ago. Mr.
Cohan wrote and magnfcenty played in little master
piece which, far know has been made into
picture although is movie material in essence and would
have slipped easily the cycle of backstage movies which
began with the broadway Melody" and has continued
almost this day. It "The Song and Dance Man.
A Simple Story
The movies of backsage life always had little comedy
and a little tragedy and ''the show must go on" Mr.
Cohans play had the right elements too but his talents
as commander skillful. Beginning with at
tempted holdup Mr.. Cohan brought starving and
desperate hoofer (hmse who wanted thing in life and
that chance for his sweetheart to make her way
the stage The hearbreak when the dancer also got
his chance-and failed
The American Language
Writing about the play at the time so impressed
that got copy of the script and quoted long speeches
examples of the purest American language There
in particular in which Cohan the hoofer told the
story Of his life The way the words fell meodous
and yet simple they made such strange poetry in prose-
that although cannot remember single word recall
the exact effect the whole speech gavean effect
else writing in America has equaled.
AS the play had perfect movie plot with picturesque
in the honky tonks for background and perfect
language has been neglected Now Mr. Cohan brings his
bright perky assured personality the screen perhaps he
will be driven to providing his material and give
some entertaining pictures.
Little Schools -.....@
black mark for radical methods in education put
the books the other day by the abandoning of 1.-THE
Red School House" This experimental school
red out within the confines of of the regular public
schools of New York. Dr. William j. O'Shea superin-
tendent of schools announced that only were funds
lacking to continue the experiment. but the students had
been found from Is As per cent inferior pupils the
regular in such subjects and written arith-
mehc English and spelling.
2x2-What?
wouldn't put modern education down failure just for
this 1t quite possible that the teachers nearly
anxious to instruct the pupils in spelling and arithmetic
they were to give them certain habits of work which would
last long after the theory of compound fractions had been
forgotten There schools which hardly spelling
ALL as we know spelling and would rather have child love
to read than know how to tear word to pieces And if
arithmetic is what it when first studied quite under
stand why children who aren't browbeaten should not know
1t WELL Mathematics be made fascinatng but the one
thing about which should have learned as child land
could have learned plain until was over 80
Unfair Standards
Dr. OShea says that 'the of the experimental
group will depend the degree which the methods en-
poyed with them conform to the methods that have been
found successful in the regular schools far as acuus
this that have large number of students learning
how to motor and small group learning how to paint
house and test the small group motors and say that
they do not do well the large group they have failed
1t Is not only difference in method but difference in
purpose that distinguishes the methods education from
the DID, And apart from the children there another diff
ference worth nongthat parents who send their children
to modern schools intensely interested in the
well in the progress of their children That in itself
something keenino