Evening star., 1935-01-19
All Other States and Canada.
Destroying the Test Tubes.

Character Education" as an expert
ment in the Washington public schools
has now become a matter TO be fought
out between the Senate and the House,
with members of the Washington
community standing on the Sidelines
as interested spectators.
The case history of the subject Is
interesting because it is more or less
typical of some legislative processes
applied to Washington. Last April when
the Senate subcommittee on District
appropriations was holding hearings
on The District bill as it came from
DR.. Ballou about the readiness of the
Board of Education 10 cooperate in
an experiment in character educa-
ron" DR.. Ballou responded bv read
ing resolution passed at a board
meeting, which stated in part:
That the Board of Education is
greatly interested in the development
OF better procedures in character
training, and the Board of Education
will gladly cooperate with Senator
Roval S. Copeland and his committee
in undertaking in our schools an ex-
pertinent which may be OF value not
only TO the District of Columbia but
to the entire Nation.
Senator Copeland explained to the
committee that while the Nation is
spending millions to fight crime, we
are doing very little to make use OF
the schools in the protection OF our
Youth against criminal tendencieS-
The idea was 10 begin in a small way
with a selected group of teachers IN
a few schools and to record the prog
ress of the experiment over period
of wears. To be worth anything the
experiment would have 10 proceed for
q number of years. The Senate COM
nnittee and the Senate itself were con-
N1nCtu ol tllc vi tllC PAOROooi
and the conferees on the bill also ap-
proved it. The money proVided-tn
the District bill-was approximately
600 to cover the cost of additions
teachers and the services Of experts
in the current fiscal year.
The work got under way last SUM-
mer with the specialized instruction
OF teachers. II was followed up during
the present school term with desjgna-
lion of ten schools-tWo elementary
schools, two vocational schools, two
Junior high schools, two senior high
schools and two senior night high
schoolS-for the experiment, Or. Bal
lou explaining that within these
schools "as reasonably excellent facili-
ties and resources as are available are
provided with a view of creating as
favorable conditions as possible, -
which was TO be continued over q
period of at least three years, with
consistent application to other schools
of principles which were found to be
beneficial.
This year an appropriation of ap-
proximstely sS7 900 was asked to con-
tinue the work during the second
year. Chairman Cannon of the House
Subcommittee on District Appropris-
tions and Representative Blanton i'm
mediately sentenced Character Educa-
ton TO the block and called for the
executioner. 1t was beheaded without
more ado. Representative Differs ef-
fort to have the appropriation rein
stated on the floor was futile.
Now the matter goes 10 the Senate
where Character Education may be
put back in the bill as a trade for
something else. If Character Educa-
tion is ended after the first year. the
100000 already spent will have been
wasted, Just as the cost of any other
experiment is wasted if the laborat tory
is torn up and the test tubes thrown
away before the findings are re-
corded. And the District will paw
the bill.