Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-06-30
Defining Issues

Within a few weeks a dozen
or more candidates for the
Board of Education Of Mont
gomery County will declare
their opinions on issues in
education. as part of the
campaign for election in No
vember.
This years race will draw
uncommon interest, because
education is riding the crest
Of a wave of public analysis
and concern. 1t therefore
becomes important that is
sues dealt with be truly sig
nificant ones. May one lay
citizen attempt to state what
they are?
In his judgment they fall
into three categories: commu-
nity-school Citations; the
quality of education being re-
ceived: and the administrative
structure of our school sys-
tenn.
Present relations between
the public and our schools
are far from ideal. Perhaps
some difficulty is unavoid-
able. but there are too many
instances of strained relations
or even of i'll feeling or mutual
diStrust. A finger of accusa-
ton couldp oSsihly be pointed
in both directions. Are the
schools sufficiently respon-
sive to public desires in edu-
cation, or are they too quick
to run for shelter under the
protective cloak Of academic
inviolability? Instruction of
children is still Joint between
home and school: Are parents
failing to meet some of their
own responsibility? Do they
blame the schools with fail
ureS that are really their
own? Are they ensuring in
youth the two essentials for
education, namely. proper be-
havior and respect for learn
ing? These are worth discus
sion during the campaign.
A related question is wheth-
er the Board of Education
itself has been granted
enough authority for finding
and expressing public wishes
with respect to education.
The greatest flow of words
this fall will probably deal
with the quality Of education
being given our children.
While highly relevant, this
often leads to pointless and
improbable charges and coun-
tercharges. Fact is that good
education does not come by
any single or simple route. 1t
requires broad attack, and
one with ingenuity. This leads
to the third category Of issues
for this fall. This is a year
when many innovations in
school administration and
organization will be proposed,
and they deserve to be thought
about and studied. As exam
pies. If we are trying to crowd
ever more into our school
program, should either the
school day or the school year
be heightened? Should sum-
mer school be made more
freely available, and attend
ance be more widely encour-
aged? Also. are school cur
ricula too standardized. or
should they be more specially
tailored to homogeneous pu-
pill groupings? Are we too adj
dicted to the calendar both
in age at which children en-
ter school and in their ad-
vancement? And in instruc-
ton is there adequate ID
counseling of pupils; 90 SUI
pervision of teachers? Final
ly, salary schedules always
are a matter of contention.
We now pay all teachers ae-
cording to a uniform sched-
ule. scaled only by seniority
and academic degree held. Is
it time TO consider setting up
several schedules according
to teachers ability, either by
the so-called merit system or
by assigning broader duties
to the exceptional teachers
and paying them accordingly?
Superintendent Whittier
has done the county a service
in offering new ideas along
some Of these lines.
II this falls campaign
would center on issues such
as are named here. it would
fulfill the highest role of the
elective system Of board Sc
lection. II the campaign
should fail to do this, a grand
opportunity in this year Of
re-evaluation in education
would be missed.