Evening star., 1934-12-05
Community Center Director
Calls for Fight Against
Change in Control.
DR.. JOY ELMER MORGAN
ALSO OPPOSES MERGER
Board of Education System Of
Operation Is Declared Most
Economical.

ganization plans which would remove
the Community Center Department
| from under the control Of the Board
of Education was sounded at meeting
last night of the District Education
Association by Mrs. Elizabeth Peoples.
Community Center director, and was
echoed in the applause of the audi
ence, which almost filled the large
Roosevelt High School auditorium.
Let me leave you a slogan" she
said. 1T is this: The public schools
shall operate their own facilities both
for education and recreation
DR.. Joy Elmer Morgan, editor Of
the National Education Associations
magazine, who presided, criticized the
report submitted week ago to the
National Capital Park and Planning
Commission, recommending plans for
| consolidation of the city's recreational
| facilities.
Asks Vigorous Fight.
at strikes me that the survey was
made in New York and not in Wash
ington," he declared.
He urged the teachers to register
vigorously their opinions on the plans
in the report, drawn by L. H. Weir.
and submitted to the National Capital
| Commission.
There would be just as much rea-
son for putting the high schools under
separate Board of Education as
there is for putting this great leisure
time program under a separate
! board" he asserted.
Mrs. Peoples said the present ad-
| ministration of the Community Cen
ter Department by the Board OF Edu-
cation was the most economical plan
She pointed out that the Community
Center work is an integral part OF
education and should come under the
guidance of educators. obabillty
of friction resulting from the use OF
school buildings in the afternoons and
evenings being controlled by another
| agency, was suggested.
| Panel Discussion Held.
The Education Associations meet
ing took the form of a panel discus
sion, participated in by several lead
ing local and national educators.
Among these was DR.. William j
Cooper, former United States commits
sioner of education. who highly praised
the Town Hail." new public forum
He said the Town Hall had great
| possibilities as a vehicle of adult edu-
cation.
He traced the growth of adult edu-
cation and said it had been hoped
that it would develop to a point tc
include latest strides OF science. But
not much has been done along this
line" he added.
In the past Washington has been
the mother OF many so-called insti-
tutions of higher learning. which. iii
not actually fraudulent in character
were at least inferior" declared DR.
George E. Zook, director Of the Amer
ican Council on Education and also a
former United States commissioner OF
education.
Junior Colleges Praised.
He said there is no real Federal
direction of education and attributed
inferior institutions to this deficiency
| The problem is being met by an &C
credited system, he explained, and
this system is now changing from a
quantitative to a qualitative emphasis
The Junior college movement re-
ceived his warm commendatlon
There is an almost unanimous feel
ing that the American high school,
begins something, but doesn't finish
it," he declared. THE opinion is
growing that education received in
both public and private high schools
should be supplemented by two years
of junior college work"
DR.. Zook said the principal problem
is colleges has become one of person
mel selection and guidance. In this
way, he added, an attempted Is being
made to have as college students only
those persons best fitted for the in
struction offered.
| Factual Curricula Backed.
DR.. Stephen E. Kramer, first assist
ant su.srintendent of the District
schools, warned against scrapping
practical factual curricula in high
schools in favor of more general train
ing for higher education, emphasizing
that the great class of students who
will not 60 to college must be given
adequate attention.
Recognition of this need has result
ed in curricula being made more flex.
ible and the addition of great va
riety of vocational subjects, he said.
DR.. Kramer told his audience that
limited accommodations and teaching
force have forced the local high
schools to turn away many prospective
postgraduate students.
Miss Lind Discusses Trend.
Miss Ida Mae Lind, director of ele.
mentary instruction in the DiStric
schools, outlined five trends in ele'
mentary education as follows:
Cd Changes in curricula with great
er emphasis on activity, flexibility, op'
portunity for self-expression ane
growth; CD more scientific study o.
elementary education from all angles
90 encouragement OF definite pro.
gram for health-physical, mental ane
emotional; a. development Of charac.
ter education programs, and (5) {
cooperative move by all education
agencies toward their common OBJ
jectives.
Others who spoke included DR.. Har.
old E. Warner, principal Of the Him
Junior High School: Mrs. Abigail
Veerhoff, chairman of the Education
Committee of the District Federation
lot Women's Clubs, and DR.. Mitchell
Dreese, professor of psychology ant
education at George Washington Uni
versity