Evening star., 1934-07-03
Statement of Pupils Prog
reSS Will Be Given Under
Character System.
SPECIAL QUALIFICATIONS
REQUIRED OF TEACHERS
Miss Backus Announces Effort
Will Be Made to Ally Par.
ents and Instructors.

When the new character education
project is launched in District public
schools the present report card sys-
TEN embracing the "A" B." &C"
and ID" ratings will be passe.
No longer will a child be given
merely a lettered insignia for his
accomplishment in his various sub
IectS and consequently no longer will
the exceptional student be able to
boast that he got all AS" on a par
ticular month.
The new report cards will carry
statement to the parent on
the pupils precise standing in his
various subjects. In other words. in
stead OF receiving a mere "B'' in
arithmetic, Johnny's report card
might carry something like this:
Shows advance over last month.
but needs further work in mental
calculation"
Ally Teacher and Parent.
In other words, it was announced
today by Miss BERTHE Backus. new
assistant superintendent of schools In
charge of the character education,
every effort will be made under the
new character development program
TO ally the teacher and the parent In.
the pupils welfare and training IN
his school life In announcing the
new type Of report card, Miss Backus
explained further that teachers chosen
for the character educational expert
ment will be selected for their ability.
health, attitude, personality, expert
ence and progressive educational
philosophy. They should be persons,
Miss BackuS said, who have demon
strated their ability TO establish
effective personal relations with
pupils, parents, teachers, officers and
the community at large
Understanding Is Aim.
In the formal report of the ele-
mentary school group on centerlnR
the resources of the school upon the
character education project made pub
lie today, it was disclosed also that
special emphasis will be laid on the
organization OF relationships with
parents. Sympathetic understanding
and confidence of the parents will be
sought through conferences and oc-
caslonal reports on the progress of
the character education undertaking.
The curriculum itself will be entirely
reorganized and the courses of study
VIII be analyzed, evaluated and eX-
tended so that they will contribute
most to the new character-centered
program.
In framing the new curriculum the
real interests of children which offer
the greatest possibilities for social de-
velopment" will be discovered and in
corporated. New material will be
added to the curriculum which will as
slst pupils in the solution of real life
situations as they arise"
Activities to Be Watched.
Extra curricular activities will be Or
ganlzed, so that the school life of the
child will be enriched in order to
broaden the educational, recreationaI
and social experiences of the pupil"
the report continues. Playground sc-
tivitieS, assemblies, clubs and all So
cial experiences and contacts will be
regarded by the schools as fields In
which the characteristics of the child
will be revealed and utilized in his
development. Community and civic
interest and attitudes will be fostered
through well planned excursions to
oulld up new interests and avenues of
experience. The report points out here
tnat the success OF these phases of the
project will depend largely upon the
intelligent Cooperation of all teach
ers in the school building.
Besides its outline of the project
as 1t affects the pupils and as it
embraces closer cooperation with
parents the report of the elementary
school group in the character edu-
cation study. which is a part of the
current character education institute
being conducted daily at the Frank
lin Administration Building. set I'D
specific requirements for the train
ing OF teachers participating in the
project.
Principals to Be Leaders.
The principals of the various school
buildings will be expected TO exer-
else the leadership in helping the
teacher in planning her studies and
procedure for the project" All other
school officers will be required to CO.
operate with the principal in mi
tlatlng, interpreting and evaluating
teacher training plans. The teach
ers, on the other hand, will be re-
qulred to make use of all resources
for self-help, such as reading, con-
terences and independent investiea-
tlons in the field of child develop-
ment. The educational agencies
which will assist them in their work
Will include the Districts own teach
ers' colleges, the Federal bureaus, the
research groups and the libraries.
The entire character education pro-
gram is being conducted on a COM
paratively small scale in the Wash
1ngton school system as an experiment
TO which the attention of the Nation
is being directed. The work was in
ltiated largely by Senator Royal S.
Copeland Of New York, chairman of
the Presidents Committee on Crime
and Its Causes. The Senator's COM
mittee concluded that the great ma
Jorlty OF criminals were young per-
sons in the late teens and that.
therefore. crime was an ailment of
youth. Hence, he advocated an ex-
tens1ve character education program
similar to the clinical methods used
IN the medical profession for disease
prevention as means of coping with
the crime problem of the coup+rv