Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1933-11-19
CONTINUED From First Page,

intelligent citizens with a knowledge
of some of LIES problems and with q
desire to do something about them.
The educational policies of this
school are built upon the premises that
the high school of today should meet
certain present needs of our social
order. They are the needs for voca-
tional competency, for constructive use
of leisure, for a high type Of citizen
ship and for the building of character
and personality The activities of the
school day are built about these aims.
There are four types of curricula.
They are the commercial, the technical,
the general-acadenic and the college.
In the last named you will find all the
old familiar faces. -Four years of Latin,
three years of French, two years of
algebra, one year of geometry and so
on; all the requirements of the con-
servative New England are met. But
there are more liberal electives by which
the students may round out q narrow
academic training Less than one-f1fth
of the students take this course. High
marks are encouraged and preparation
for college is the dominating objective.
This is all right, too. These boys and
girls are going to institutions of higher
learning. where they win later taste the
The commercial curriculum is chang
ing. 1t is now recognized that there
are other jobs in the business world
besides stenographers and typists. An
attempt is being made to provide train
ing suitable to the range of ability rep
resented by that of the average filing
clerk to that of private secretary;
from the bookkeeper to the certified
public accountant; from the Office boy
to the executive. Foundations are laid
which serve as the basis for later train
ing in higher institutions of commerce
and business administration Elective
courses In social studies and science
help to balance the narrow vocational
training.
Trade School System.
The college course and commercial
course are old-timerS dressed I'D in new
garments The technical course, as 1t
is planned here, is newcomer It is
primarily vocational, too. The State of
Connecticut maintains trade schools in
certain cities, among them Bridgeport
and Stamford. Boys enrolled in the
technical course attend one of these
schools for half day. During the other
half they attend high school in this
city. They commute back and forth and
the city pays the fare. At the trade
school they may study carpentry plumb
ing, electricity. mechanical drafting,
printing, machine work and other trades.
They learn in the shop and on the job.
In the high school they study related
mathematics, English, social studies
science and other liberal subjects. At
the end OF three years they have
achieved double success They have
a broad, well-rounded secondary eiuca-
ton and they have learned a trade
They have learned to become self SUD-
porting, useful citizens.
Between 40 and so per cent of the
students in the school, however, are
interested neither in commercial train
ing, trade training or preparation for
college. This group has gradually ex-
panded in the last Is or 20 years from
minimum to its present Significant
proportions. These are the bows and
girls who formerly went to work upon
graduation from the elementary schools.
They learned business from the bottom
up. Some went into their fathers shops
and stores. Some worked in factories
or on farms. 1t is the group now whose
parents see in a high school education
the prime requisite for a start in life
which perhaps they were denied. It is
the group for whom high school training
means complete education. These stu
dents have sometimes been called "the
new so per cent"
New High School Purpose.
1t is in meeting the needs of these
boys and girls that the high school
takes on new significance. Formerly
the high school was merely that part
OF the educational ladder Immediately
below the college. Its aims were sub
servient to and dependent on the die
tates OF that institution just as the lat
Ter was forced to consider the demands
OF the graduate professional school. The
American tradition of the educational
ladder has long delayed the indie
pendence of its educational institutions.
Each one has been merely pathway to
the one farther on, and that pathway
mas become gradually more and more
narrow. The needs of those who have
stopped on the way were neglected in
the blind worship Of higher learning.
The high school must now give to
the many who enter its doors that in
sight into the meaning Of life which
was acquired formerly only by the few
VINO were fortunate in going to college
The new curriculum given here in
Norwalk Is being built around the needs
OF these people, who will comlete their
education in the high school. 1t is
called the 'general-academic course. y
IL is inaccurately named, of course, De.
ing neither very general nor too aca-
oemic. Its name is a concession to the
conservative element who viii condone
change If labeled in terms Of their
vocabulary.
The backbone of this curriculum is
the study OF the English language and
literature, social science and natural
science. Elective work may be taken
IN other fields, such as business, home
economics or the academic subjects.
In the study of English formal gram
mar has very small part. The student
reads and appreciates the fine Iitera-
ture of past and present. He finds in
1t the social, economic and political
trends of the period in which it was
written. He no longer must diagram
long sentences from Burke's speech or
conjugate all of the verbs in the first
paragraph of page 40 of THE Tale of
Two Cities" He writes from his own
experience and gets the satisfaction
that comes from bit of creative effort.
He learns to speak well and properly
through constant practice in class dis
cussion of the subjects under consid-
Grafton. Oral English becomes an in
tegral part Of the whole program, not
a separate activity, to be carried on
for half hour each Friday.
Social science win be part Of each
students program throughout the high
school course. World history. early