Evening star., 1941-12-22
Sees Soft Education
Halted by Emergency
Authority Insists Traditions
In Culture as in Hisotry
Are Precious in Wartime

Are Precious in Wartime
To the Editor Of The Star:
If there are any compensating factors
whatever in anything so terrible as the
war that has been thrust upon us, one
such beneficial result undoubtedly will
be the eclipse-let us hope the perma-
nent eclipSe-of soft" education, as
preached by some of our soft" educa-
tionists. I have in mind particularly
that delightful discovery, "Captivating
Education" advocated in the manifesto
of educational futility known as What
the High Schools Ought to Teach" pub
lished a year or so ago under the spon-
sorship of the American Youth Commits
sion.
According to this educational MASTER
piece, lone should select for the ninth
grade the most captivating studies that
can be found" while the program Of
the present traditional" first year Of
the four-year secondary school is char
acterized as vicious" and "uninviting."
Included among vicious aspects OF the
ninth grade" according to the educa-
tional deep thinkers who prepared this
reporter who at least signed it-are
required courses in English composition
and algebra, and two or more courses
from the following: Foreign language,
science, history" Even vocational edu-
cation fails to get the Endorsement of
these apostles of the inviting" and cap
tivatinp" in edllcation
q resist the temptat ton to discuss the
interesting way in which some educa-
tionists contrive to give damning
connotation to the word "traditional"-
nor will I discuss the implications Of
this technique as regards the "debunk-
ing" Of American history, and the be-
littling OF American traditional heroes,
from Washington down, by some OF
our educators. Some critics believe
that this movement is all part Of an
organized effort to condition" our young
people for living under a totalitarian
regime. 1t is curious to note, for in
stance, in the reams Of material about
democracy" that educationists have
been turning out recently, how infre-
quent are references to American democ-
racy, or to the blood and tears and
sweat that went into the building Of
our particular American form of democ-
racy. Perhaps, that, also, is regarded as
too traditional" 1t, likewise may even
be "uninviting," or vicious" or not sum-
ciently captivating" to some of our
educationists)
What the war and the national
defense effort have already done is
justify the traditional" program Of the
vicious" ninth grade. Exact knowledge.
mastery Of such fundamental intellec-
tual tools as mathematics and language
(native and foreignD. together with thor
ough training in science, again have
been shown by the logic of events to be
essential for the maintenance and pres
ervation of our American way Of life"
In other words, the wisdom Of the
traditional" educational program, de-
veloped out of the experience of genera
tions of the human race, again has been
clearly demonstrated. The pity of it
is that those responsible for American
educational policies during some years
past have allowed themselves to be
beguiled by the ''lunatic fringe among
professors of education into accept
ance of the half-baked philosophy that
anything 'traditional' is somehow
wrong, or backward, or disreputable, or
mot quite nice" Tor shall we say mot
sufficiently 'captivating'?D.
It has taken a shock to awaken
Americans to the permanent values Of
their traditions, whether in life. in poll
tics, or in education. Let us hope that
they never again will lose sight, even
temporarily Of those values, whatever
left-wing educators, frontier thinkers" t"
ultra -progressives," in short, the COM
bined "lunatic fringe in education, may
advocate.
Two of the bubbles of the "Captivating
Education" on which soft" educators
seem to dote, already have been effec-
lively pricked. I mean their proposals
that foreign languages be replaced By
something called General Language v
and algebra and geometry be replaced
by vague something else, called Gen
eral Mathematical Principles"
This much is obvious to any reason
able person. You cannot turn out engi-
neers, and physicists, and chemists, and
mechanics, and airmen, and Navy and
Army officer personnel, on the basis OF
General Mathematical Principles
they must have training in exact,
honest to- goodness, sequential mathe-
matics
You cannot communicate by means OF
General Language" with a German
prisoner, or "Free-French" collabora-
tor, or Latin American good neighbor"
you must know German, or French,
or Spanish, or Portuguese.
General Language" never will give us
the thousands Of interpreters, or the
radio listeners, or translators, or speakers.
or writer's, or intelligence operatives ex-
perienced in foreign languages that we
shall need.
And If someone argues that war condi-
tions are abnormal conditions, the an
swer is that for many years, perhaps
generations, after the war, we shall have
to help the world, and in that task too,
mathematics and language will be funda-
mental tools, as indeed they always have
been basic tools of all human progress.
For it is language and number sense, to-
gether with the capacity to remember
opd record ond profit nv mast eYperience