Evening star., 1934-05-13
CHARACTER CLASS
COST IS $4,000
Copeland Says School Plan
Would Check Anti-Social
Tendencies.

Establishment on a strictly expert
mental basis of the plan of character
education proposed recently by Senator
Royal S. Copeland of New York would
cost $84, ,460 in the local public schools,
DR.. Frank w. Ballou, superintendent
of schools, disclosed at the Senate
hearings on the Districts 1885 appro-
priation bill
The question of the Copeland plan of
discovering and then seeking to correct
anti-Social tendencies in school chill
dren was introduced in the hearings by
Senator Copeland himself, there being
no item in the regular school budget
for the experiment. Senator Copeland,
who is anxious for his plan to be tried
in Washington for the close observa-
tiOn of the entire Nation, asked DR..
Ballou what was being done to combat
anti-social and non-social traits in
pupils. In reply. the superintendent
advised the Senate committee that he
and the Board of Education itself had
slNCll SCl lOllo NOllolNCl oblOAA w PlO-
posal Copeland made at the Winter
convention of the National Education
Association in Cleveland. He read a
resolution adopted by the board eX-
pressing its interest in the development
of character training and offering CO.
operation with Senator Copeland in
the promotion of his plan.
Plan for Experiment.
DR.. Ballou then outlined his plan.
He said it involves the selection of one
white senior high school and one COL
ored senior high school, two junior
high schools, two elementary schools,
two day vocational schools and two
evening high schools. The experiment
with behavior records of pupils. and
discovering and correcting their OBJ
jectionable traits, would be under
taken, he explained, in these selected
schools The work would be handled
by competent persons who, besides
regular teacher training, would be
equipped with additional qualifications
in special fields. The total cost esti-
mated for the various types of schools,
including personnel and equipment,
DR.. Ballou told the committee, would
be S84,460.
Senator Copeland, in his own discus
sion, said "the most dangerous man in
the world is the educated criminal"
THE more educated he is, if his in
stincts are criminal, the more danger
Gus he is, and I think we have disre-
garded in our public school system the
real objectives of education" Senator
Copeland declared. The ideals of edu-
cation, he continued, should be, first,
to fit for parenthood, to make this
young person decent person, and his
body a decent and clean body, and to
make his mind decent and clean; to
fit him for a livelihood is our second
consideration; in the third place. it
should be our ideal to give him a sense
Of social responsibility.
I'VE are not doing that now in our
schools" Senator Copeland said. I'VE
have turned our children over to the
schools, and We not only expect the
schools to teach them the three RS,
but also how to enter room, how to
be introduced, how to set table and
how to fry eggs. We turn our children
over absolutely to the schools, and We
have, perhaps, slouehed of our home
responsibilities. Nevertheless we can
not reach the homes, and I do not have
any right to criticize any church but
To Save Children
However, If through the schools
we can do something to save these
young people, to keep them from
forming evil associations, and to keep
them from becoming anti-social in
their natures, we shall have accom-
plished a great thing. 1t is pathetic
that in the largest degree of criminal
offenses, the average age is %; that
in the next degree it is 10, and that
in the next it is 10.
I'VE have not accomplished any
thing, and we should have. That Is
the desire of my committee and the
desire of great groups of people. We
have called together educators, priests.
Protestant ministers, and rabblS, So
cial leaders, labor leaders; and there
is no difference of opinion among
them-they are unanimous in be-
lieving that we ought to make a
better effort through our schools.
And, if you please, there is no bet
ter place to make this effort than in
the Capital of the Nation. If we
can make test I think it will mean
much to the Nation. I am very
anxious that the schedule proposed
by DR.. Ballou shall be included in
our records and possibly in our ap-
propriationS.'
During discussions of items sought
by the Board of Education, the COM
mittee addressed itself to the diff
culties attendant upon school build
ing construction. Senator Gerald P.
Nye, citing delays in beginning work
on the new woodrow Wilson (Senior)
High School, and the almost impas-
sable approaches to the Alice Deal
Junior High School in the same
neighborhood, charged that there are
too many departments involved in
school building matters.
Senator Nye had asked when the
Woodrow Wilson High School would
be ready for occupancy and Maj.
John c. Gotwals, Engineer Commis-
sioner, said assurances had been given
that the structure would be ready by