Evening star., 1960-04-22
New Practices
Are Criticized
At Convention
BY ANDREW W. BINGHAM
STA EraN W-5~a-

euuCdtlOn- he lnQlcate0 Lleg
have helped sell good solid
education down the river
In a major address al the
10th annual Florida State
Teachers Association cOnven-
ton in Miami. the supeTIntend-
ent reafhrmed his own con-
vlction that the major role Of
the public school is TO develop
to the utmost the intellectual
potential Of each child.
He said educators should
retain with pride the best Of
the old and tested methods OF
teaching and adapt wisely we'll
tried and tested news ideas
DR.. Hansen made II clear
that he thinks this countrys
educational program Is suf-
ferlng from ill conceived
theories of learning. from IN
terestlng ideas about testing.
from lnnumerable noStrumS Of
varying degrees Of plausibllity.
Views Contrary"
At the outset Of his talk
entitled Quality Education
the superintendent warned the
teachers that my views are
contrary to the temper Of the
prevailing educational winds.
and everything l say Will be ex-
tremely offensive 10 someone
He claimed that everywhere
! survey trends in educational
practice, I find them quite the
opposite of what I am talking
about for the schools Of the
District of Columbia
A recent bulletin from New
York City's schools. he said.
announced a change from
separate lessons in discreet sub
jects to the unit method IN
which planned. co-ordinated
experiences are orEanized
around a central theme or
problem"
DR. Hansen said this Is the
kind of fuzzy curriculum organ-
ization that, in my opinion. has
sold good solid education down
the river, and against which I
have been fulminating-fairly
Ithe Washingtonb
school system"
He said the prevalent prac-
tice Of combining different sub
jects-Such as English and his
tory-lnto one So-called core
program reminds him OF a
delta at the mouth of a great
river-"wide. underlined. shift
ing and bottomleSS.
He charged that an exces-
sive preOccupation with teach
ing only what interests the stu
dent results in courses with
whimsical and transient con-
tent Nothing as important as
the choice of material should
be left to chance. he said. OF
to the free choice of Young
citizens who may be inclined
to favor 'Peyton Place over
Macbeth or that unleavened
literary lump. Advise and Con-
sent. over the odyssey.
He noted that schools often
develop new courses by study
ing what other cities do over
the country. and then striking
an average"-with the result
that "mediocrity becomes en-
Shrined as the ideal level for
instruction"
Reading Scored
He said beginning readers
full of look looks and Oh
have thin. mean
lnglesS content. One first
grade book. he said. proudly
informed the teacher that il
introduced 100 new words. II
would seem to me that with
direct study of new words with
each lesson, even the first
graders could learn at a much
faster rate"
He sharply criticized gen.
orally accepted teaching prac-
tees in elementary schools.
1T is here that the teacher
lost herself in group activity
he said. 1T is here that the
itself became a chaos
Of multiple groupings. It's
here that preoccupation with
method and processes all but
crowded out conscious atten-
ton to subject matter"
To meet the challenge Of the
times, DR.. Hansen said. schools
must stress the direct. precise
teaching Of fundamental dis
,iplineS. Agreement on this. he
said, would permit education
n this country TO move out OF
The wilderness of conflict and
chaos in which il now finds
Itself"