Evening star., 1938-09-11
TEACHERS URGE
! COURSE CHANGES
Report on TWo-Year Study
Holds Many Traditional
Classes Useless.

Latin courses and let the schools of
the country have q try at saving the
world for democracy. '>'
That's the advice given by . COM
mission Of high-ranking teachers after
. two-year survey Of education.
Teach boys and girls what they
should know to be good citizens, mari
tai mates and members OF commun-
ity. they urged. Even II few equa-
tions and history dates have to be
traded in on the deal!
Ripping to pieces the traditional
subject matter given pupils of different
tastes and abilities in the public
schools, the Educational Policies Com
mission called for a reconstruction Of
school courses.
The commission, appointed by the
National Educational Association and
the American Association of School
Administrators. drew a contrast be-
tween the world of today and what
the boys and girls who live in 1t
learn every school day.
And What Do They Learn?
They described America as "a de-
mocracy struggling against strangu-
lation" in an era Of unemployment,
unnecessary Ill health, unhappy home
life foolish spending, high crime rates
and bad housing.
In that setting, they said. here's
what thousands of American high
school students of 1888 will study:
In history-"The capital of Hon
duras is Tegucigalpa" -. There
were two Peloponnesian and three
Punic wars"
History, the teachers said, Is too
often taught as a distant dream
unrelated to present-day problems,
despite the fact that American
democracy is troubled by wars and
threats Of wars.)
In language-"Latin verbs meaning
command. obey. please, displease,
serve, resist and the like take the
dative."
CThousands studying both an
cient and modern languages, the
commission reported, will never
develop enough skill in them to
translate a page or carry on
simple conversational
Basic Arithmetic Enough.
In mathematics-"Thes square of the
sum of two numbers equals the sum
Of their squares plus their product"
(Many boys and girls, the teach
ers said. should learn only basic
arithmetic and other mathematics
as it applies to everyday life. leav-
ing advanced courses to those who
specializeD
In English-"A gerund is a neuter
verbal noun used in oblique cases Of
the singular and governing the same
case as its verb"
English as now taught, the ex-
perts said, puts too much empha-
sis on formal grammar and dis
section" of the classics. Most Amer
lean boys and girls, they added,
should have more reading for en-
joyment and fact-finding)
Science, they reported, is too often
taught as if it were preparation for
an engineering college. Much of the
instruction in music, art and manual
training is aimed at preparing crafts
men rather than Installing apprecia-
ton.
"All these conditions do not exist in
many schools; some Of them exist in
almost every school; the trend Is dis
tinctly hopeful" the commission
said.
What Should They Teach?
AS for the items Of information
listed among things children are
learning, the commission said they
were entirely suitable for study by
some children"
What should American schools
teach?
When the school gets through, the
commission said, the child should
know not only how to read, write and
speak his mother tongue and how to
solve his problems Of counting and
calculating. He also should be able
to listen and observe; to protect his
health; to relax and enjoy leisure;
to love beauty.
He should know how to get along
with other people. He should know
how to choose mate and live happily |
with her and their children.
He should be willing to work. He |
should know how to pick out the
proper job and to succeed and improve
IN it. He should know how to budget
and buy.
He should have defenses against
propaganda. He should be tolerant !
Of other persons opinions. He should
respect law and accept his duties
as a citizen
That's the ideal, the commission
said. There are handicaps which will,
prevent its complete realization. But
the school should point their programs
that way instead Of sticking to the /
courses that have always been taught.
SERVICE ORDERS