Evening star., 1934-10-20
=BALLOU TO REPORT
. ON NEW TRAINING.
Declares Character Educa.
ton Involves Principle of
"Changed Attitude"

tQTOuSn Tile OdAAJ ACWSPoPCAS va eAAS
progress and the problems of the
character education experiment now
being conducted in selected public
schools was promised by DR.. Frank
w. Ballou, superintendent of schools,
in an address to the d. C. Congress of
Parents and Teachers last night in
the Wilson Teachers College Audi
.torium.
DR.. Ballou had reviewed the educa-
.tional experiment-its aims and its
.methods-and was answering ques-
tons put to him by the audience
when he was asked whether he and
his associates planned to advise par
ents generally of the experiment as
1T progressed.
"Yes," the superintendent replied
,emphatically. LAS a matter of fact
We already are preparing a series OF
releases for the daily press on just
what this character education expert
sment is. And we plan to give to you
and to the public generally weekly
VI OuA dCGANASACo SAh SNe AA
the daily press"
Changed Attitude Called For.
The character education program,
DIR. Ballou told the parents and teach
ers in his audience, calls for COM
plete change of attitude" in education
I'VE know much about the things
we teach" Ballou said. but we know
too little about the boys and girls
whom we teach"
: Children, the superintendent de-
-clared, are entitled to happiness in
their schooling, and that right. he
said, called for a change of attitude
in the teachers.
II am in favor of happy children
in our schools" he said. They should
have happy teachers and good-looking
teachers. and their teachers should be
possessed of the right mental attitude
to deal with them. 1 realize that
there is unhappiness among our
teachers and that one of the prob
lens before us is to improve that
situation"
Based on Ten Principles.
DR.. Ballou explained, is based on 10
different fields or principles: Health
activities, intellectual activities, voca-
tional activities, political activities,
sex, parenthood and family life;
social activities; aesthetic activities,
and religious activities. Through
these-it is hoped to produce six char
acter traits, the superintendent ex-
plained-intelligenc honesty, friend
illness, efficiency, co-operativenesS and
forcefulneSS.
Attainment of success, DR.. Ballou
pointed out, is dependent upon and
can be secured only by the helpful
cooperation of the home with the
school. He asked the mothers and
fathers in his audience to help the
teachers and character education
councillors all they can to build the
strong characters that the program
envisions. One hour of motion pic
lures, he said, can undo what it
takes a month of schooling to do.
Re-Education of Teachers.
Summarizing the program, DR.
Ballou said:
This experiment in character
training requires a shift of emphasis
in our educational thinking, from
subject matter to be taught to the
development of personalities in those
being taught. This change of point
of view respecting the educational
process must necessarily be gradual
because it involves a re-education OF
the present members of the teaching
profession, not only in the purpose
of education but in the subject matter
and in methods Of instruction. As
instruction becomes more individual
lied, the individual needs. capacities
and future careers of young people
may be more clearly and more
definitely provided for in SO far as
systematic education is concerned.
The final success or failure of the
experiment will depend to large de-
gree upon the success OF the teacher
in the class room in putting into ef,
feet a modified philosophy of educa'
ton and a modified technique II
teaching. The full measure of The
success of failure of the experiment
can be observed only in terms Of the
character and conduct produced In
the young people who participate ir
the experiment, observed years hence
when these same young people are
the citizens of a new social order III
which better living conditions abound
happier individual lives are lived, anc
a higher degree of social justice pre-
walls"
Parent-Teacher Head Aids.
DIR. Ballou was introduced by Mrs
L. B. Castell, president of the Dis
trict of Columbia Congress of Parents
and Teachers, who presided. Mrs
Castell followed DR.. Ballou's address
with an urgent appeal for the support
and cooperation Of parents in the ex,
pertinent.
The experiment is being conducted
in one white and one colored ele'
mentary, vocational, junior high, da!
senior high and night senior higf
school. 1t was inspired by Senator
Royal S. Copeland of New York, whit
as chairman of a special committee
of the Senate named by the Presiden
to investigate crime and its causes
discovered that the majority of crimi'
nails are young men and young women
He advocated the experiment in char
acter education in the District schools
ax a tast of the value of claraCte