The Wrangell sentinel., 1936-11-13

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 which is being built under the Ter r1toraI Commissioner of Education. The standards are high and the de l partment is constantly striving to give even better opportunity to Al askan youth.
 However, the Territorial schools can well take cognizance of the system Of education at Wrangeu In stitute, a secondary school along ] vocational lines, situated five miles l N rangelL. The Institute, built and l administered under the United l States office of Indian Affairs, this lall started its nth year of school The curriculum Is being develop ed eXperimentally along the lines o1 modern progressive education and l the courses are constructed out oi the fabric or the students own en- vironment to teach him how to live i and how to make 6 living in Alaska. 1 There are students at the Institute from each of the incorporated towns ot southeast Alaska, but the majority are from the Indian yil- Iages on islands of the southeast l section.
 Modern Course of Study 1 The Institute system of study IS in a constant state Of growth far removed from the old conventional courses, cut and dried as it were, into so many cultural pellets which required only that a student open his mouth and swallow at stated l intervals.
 The ideals of the school center in the salmon class as originated by George E. Silver who joined the staff as science teacher a few months after the doors of the school were opened to it's first students. MT. Silver is a graduate of North Car olina State College of Agriculture and Engineering, a branch of the Greater University of North Caro- lima with a B. S. degree in mining engineering. He holds also a B. $. degree in education from the same school.
 In developing his science courses at Wrangell Institute he put into practice the fundamentals of pro gressive education in which he had been thoroughly grounded. This made it incumbent upon him to build the courses along lines which would be of practical benefit to the stu dents in their home environment in which they were born and in which presumably they would live out : their span of life.
 Fishing Is Basic Industry
 MT. Silver found that every stu dent in school came from a home whose economic existence was de- pendent upon the harvests of the sea, because the fishing industry predominates in southeast Alaska.
 It was apparent that to be prac- tical the science courses must cen ter upon marine life, and most par ticularly upon salmon. But when. the young Carolinian entered upon his duties at the Institute there were no textbooks available in the whole educational world upon which salmon course for high school students could be based It was, therefore, necessary for a textbook to be written. This MT. Silver ac- ccmplished through working out the l project with the students.
 All sources of information locally and. otherwise were utilized, Gov ernment bulletins and pamphlets on fish were secured, pertinent para graphs and portions of chapters ex- tracted from college texts and tech nical books and files of the Pacific Fisherman magazines Local fisher men, cannerymen, fish buyers, cold storage managers and men connec~ ted in all phases of the fishing in- dustry contributed much valuable information. In some instances stu dents and teachers drove into town for an interview, at other times menI in the industry went to the school and talked to the class. The studentsI secured much valuable information from writing to scientists engagedI in fisheries research such as Dr. Frederick Davidson of Seattle.
 Textbook Takes Form
 Gradually from the well filled note books textbook began toI take form. The students made draw ings and diagrams from life speci- mems of salmon and clans in the laboratory dissecting periods. Other investigations set up for accomplish ment during the year were the life history of the salmon; methods of catching salmon; methods of pre- pairing salmon for market; trans portation and areas of consumption