Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-03-25

Lane Disc|ainls
Army System

Brig. Gen. Thomas A. Lane.
District engineer commissioner,
last night denied seeking to i'm
pose military school methods
on Washington public schools.
Gen. Lane recently urged
Tightening city school standards.
including demoting tagging pu-
pills.
John B Gillilland, president Of
the District Congress of Parents
and Teachers. last week in a
letter to Gen. Lane referred to
military academy and private
school methods" fin criticizing
the Lane proposals. Gen. Lane is
Ia graduate of West Point.
Asked on the weekly WWDC
Commissioners Report" pro-
gram whether he considered this
Ia fair criticism, Gen. Lane last
might replied no.
II think there is no basis at all
for such an inference" he said.
What I am proposing in the
school SYSTEM" he said. "has no
relation at all to what happened
at the Military Academy, in fact
i'm some respects I'm moving
away from it,"
Taught At Point
Gen. Lane, who taught for sew
eral years at West Point as well
as being trained there himself,
cited his own earlier schooling
in connection with his comments.
He went through Boston (Mass)
public schools, he recalled, add
ing that he had "the highest
regard for many of his teachers,
The commissioner has a son
in the senior class at Archbishop
Carroll (Catholic) High School
here.
Gen. Lane took issue with one
point made by critical educators.
Asked what he thought about
"a report last week that District
high school students had OBJ
jected to his demotion plan on
the ground it would hurt student
morale, Gen. Lane declared:
Il personally have a very high
opinion of the psychological sta
bility Of our school children. and
4 don't think they're nearly as
tender or as easily injured as
some of our educators apparently
feel"
Cites Alternative
The engineer commissioner
suggested that the alternative
to demotion was ito have a
child remain in a higher class
where he cannot understand
what the teacher is talking
about"
II would be inclined to think
in most cases you would do more
psychological damage to the
child by putting him in the
higher class" he declared,
Gen. Lane expressed doubt
that the school system could
handle all tagging children in
special classes with the available
staff of remedial teachers, al
though he said there was mo
question" that as far as possible
1--WE should do that"
This means that some pre-
|sumably will have to be in reg
ular classes, and the only proper
way to organize those under the
circumstances is to group more
closely by achievement he as
serted.
A committee Of II principals
and supervisors on Friday
strongly opposed the Lane de-
motion plan. calling for provi-
sion Of more teachers to set up
special remedial classes and re-
Iduce regular class sizes, instead.
The engineer commissioner
commented also on criticism of
his vote to override a Police
Trial Board decision to dismiss
Ia private found guilty of being
drunk last New Years Eve.
Gen. Lane said persons re-
Iportedly molested by the police
man, Pvt. Austin A. Meyer, had
failed to lodge charges and that
he had felt the trial board rul.
ing excessively severe" He also
explained that he feels it is the
Commissioners clear obligation
to make sure justice is dispensed
with an even hand" and that
the Commissioners regularly re-
view trial board cases.