The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1933-05-12
Sideline Sniping

Sideline Shipping
No question before the public jus
now is being more widely debate
than that of what our schools Shout
teach and how.
The matter is raised largely by tax
payers who insist that modern edu
cation is costing too much and tn
defense comes mostly from those VIII
spend the money.
Shipping from the sidelines are man
who believe the schools are not meet
ing the responsibilities with whicl
they are justly chargeable or VIII
think they are attempting to do to-
much.
Latest contribution is the remarl
Of an eastern educator that text
book knowledge" and parental dis
cord combined will make million
normal school children at least midi.
insane at some time in their futur.
careers.
Most interesting, however, is thu
debate between H. L. Mencken, ia.
nous writer and satirist. and Johr
Dewey, professor of philosophy at co.
lumbia University, as presented By
1.-THE Rotarian". Some excerpts are
Illuminating.
Says Mencken:
"The New Pedagogy, In fact.
was mainly buncombe. There
was, OF course, some sense in 1t,
but not very much. The psyche
logical data upon which it was
based were absurd and the mir
acles that it was supposed to
achieve were imaginary. Chill
dren came out Of the new peda-
gogical Tai Mahals no better pre-
pared for life than their parents
had come out of the little red
schoolhouse, and the new Model
A pedagogue, with his po1ychrome
graphs and bold hypothesis,
turned out be scarcely as COM
petent as the Model T ma'am of
the last generation, with her
dog's-eared speller and her ready
rattan.
Some Of the more advanced
pedagogueS began to think of
themselves, not only as scientists
Of novel and subtle sort, but
also as prophets. The chief
prophets of the movement went
to great lengths. They built larger
and larger schoolhouSeS, with
fewer and fewer classrooms and
more and more gymnasia, labora-
tories, ateliers, and shops. They
invented multitudinous new spe-
cies Of experts and put them
gloriouSly to work. They sweated
the poor schoolma ans during the
hot summers with interminable
courses in quack sciences.
"They called for larger and
larger contributions from the tax
payer, and damned him boldly
whenever he cried for quarter.
And in their topmost ranks they
dreamed voluptuously Of adding
secretary Of education to the
cabinet"
Harsh words, those, particularly
that crack about "buncombe", but lis
ten to Professor Dewey:
1T Is proposed to eliminate
from the schools such things as
health service, work with wood,
metal, tools, domestic arts, music,
drawing, and dramatics, on the
ground that they are 'frills' and
costly frills at that. do not
question the desirability Of every
legitimate economy in the con-
duct of the schools. I deny alb
solutely that saving money at the
expense Of the lives of young peo-
pie, now and in the future, is
economy.
Economy is something more
than reducing expenditure of
funds. If it were not, it would
be economy to save the money
now spent in buying food, shell
ter and clothing for the millions
Of unemployed. It is as heart
less and as foolish to starve the
minds and characters Of the
young as 1t Is to starve the bodies
Of their parents. The real ques-
ton Is not economy versus waste
but whether things scornfully
named frillS are or are not i'm
portant things In the education
Of mind and brain: whether they
are luxuries or whether they are
necessities in the present state
Of society.
EARLY In its history the United
States committed itself to q sys-
tenn Of education for all, con-
Quoted at public expense. This
was not accidental but was q
manifestation Of our fundamen-
tai national faith. Our educa-
tional system has always had
enemies but they have been those
who had no faith in any part Of
our democratic social experiment.
The economic crisis has en-
couraged these people to come
back to the attack. They make
q great fuss about 'frills'. Their
real opposition Is to the belief IN
human capacity, the belief In the
right Of every human being to
have chance to develop, the
desire OF parents that their chill.
dren shall have better opportuni-
ties than they enjoyed-the be-
neis that created the tax-sup-
ported American public-school
system. Show me man who is
active IN attacking our schools