The Augusta herald. (Augusta, Ga.) 1914-current, March 29, 1914, Home Edition, Page FOUR, Image 28

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FOUR All communlestleng for this page should b# addreaaed to thg "School Editor" not latsr thin Thurgday for publication on th# following Sunday TUBMAN GETS HAPPY NOTE FROM CONVERSE President Pell Writes of Au gusta Girls "Their Spirit Be Asset For Any School." CONVSttSC COLLEGE. Robl. P. Pell. ITaaldent. Spartanburg. H. C. Principal T 14. Garrett, Tubtnan High School. Auguata. O*. Hv Daar Mr. Garrett: It qartaln ly I* moat gratifying to hoar that your experience* at Converse were ■o satisfactory. I nnty hop* that some day we may have thoae won derful baaketball players her* with u*. for, apart from their *kni In ih# gam*. I think thai their spirit would be a aplendld jaael for any arhrrol. To go straight to a thing and do It promptly and artistically i* on* of Ihe moat deairutj * result* of educa tion. We *\on enjoy defeat at the hand* of such girl*, and »* wish to assure all of yen of a warm wel mma wbanevat you .an come to **• us. Respect fully RORT. P. PElele The shove 1* » copy of * letter Just received which shows the eplendld im pression the Tubman girls made at Cnn verae. "We even enjoy defeat at (h<* hende of aiich girls" Thle certainly •peak* well for U»e friendliness and con eidet at on shown by the baaketball team —vlctore and Hot boaster*. II waa one of the primal nhjeeta of Mr Osrreil, ae haa hren elated before, to have the Ttibmnn girls. In Inking eueh trip* to college* aw*y from the city, get a touch of college if* —an Insight or what many of them are shortly to experience. And this Inalght could he gotten In no olher way than through a personal vlelt. A hnaketball game afforded Just the op portunity. 'nien In addition to the en joyment the girls got out of the eport the trip was of an educational value to them. Grammar School Boys’ Athletic Test Comes Off Here on April 14 The general announcement 1* made by Mupcrlndendent Kvene that on April lttli, 4 p. m at the Richmond Academy grounde the "Athletic Hedge Contest" tor the Atlenta Constitution's priae will b« he d. % A* brunae-allver medal will ha given every Tlh or Bth grade grammar school boy aho comes up to the foduwing teat. I.—Run ltki yat da In 14 seconds ) J\ mp islanding Inoad) ti feat, ( luc lira I—Chin the lair ala (*> times The madula will be given through Prof Jon b Stewart. University of C'aorg a, Athena. G* . and the name* of oil eucreaaful applicant* are to he pub lished in the Constitution. A sltnllir teal wilt be held htrs on tha Annuul Field Day In May The Little Red Schoolhouse /T OUGHT to bo pretty well under stood by this time that the one-room rural district school beloved of our grandfather* la inoatly a scandfloua in stitution. The typical teacher la a sin just out of normal school, much under paid. sometimes overworked and some - timer with only half a doaen pupils of assorted sees. A Vermont report covering thirty-two eucli schools shows that In three years j there were one hundred and seventeen different teachers, of whom- on an t«iv*ra*e—more than half served leas than two terms. A great majority of these sehoots arc .pooly housed and hardly equipped at all —Just a bar.- t.ttle room with a desk. .1 .rostrum, a blackboard and a polaonoua csstlron stove That efficient Instruc jtion esn be had under such conditions Is put of the question. And there Is leas and less excuse for (the typical one-room, ungraded rural district school Our grandfathers could have that or nothing ill their day the t nearest town was ten miles or more sway and the road all but impaaaabio half th# year. / Now— all over the Middle Weet at 1 least — there are few rural districts that | are not within easy haul cf a Tillage graded school: still fewer thst might 1 not have a fairly equipped graded school within easy- haul by consolidating the districts. Already In some localltes a wagon to bring In the cmmirv children la as much a part of the educational equipment as the traditional blackboard Itself Like some other poor Institutions the little red eohoolhous- subsists maltilv on prejudice and mere Inertia If educat ing children ta worth all this effort, to give them tolerably efficient teaching ir worth all thla effort, to give them tol erably efficient teaching la worth just a little more effort —Saturday Kventng Post MARRIAGE INVITATIONS Reception and Visiting Cards CORRECTLY AND PROMPTLY ENGRAVED. SEND FOR SAMPLES AND PRICES. J. P. STJSVENS ENGRAVING CO., Forty-seven Whitehall St. Atlanta, Georgia WITH THE AUGUSTA SCHOOLS TEACHERS’ CLUB DISCUSS PLAN OF CRAIG CHILDREN Backward Scholars Should Be Classed to Themselves. They Sav —Plan Could Be Put Into Operation in Auqusta With Little or No Additional Ex- Dense At the lm»t regular monthly meeting of the Teachers* Club of Richmond county, held at the Tubman High Hchool, the program for the afternoon wu "Open Air Herceitlon for Teach ere." a euhject that waa ably handled by Mlaa Kthcl Young and Mias Pauline Radford. A new feature haa been recently Intro duced Into the club- dlacuaaiona of local educational problems. For this purpose a ape rial committee la eleced, wl)lch has charge <>f all qeaafloaa auhmltted for discussion. The problem discussed at the last meeting was "Maximum and Minimum grading, and the best way to handle backward pupils." The dis cussion waa the Uveat that haa been hebi glace tha dab waa founded, and was participated In by a large num ber of the members. In brief, the ground covered was as follows: In Classifying Children. In dasslfylng children, some atten tion should-** paid to their working . apa* iti. V* hftfc a child of working/mind may In the end accomp lish aa much as or more than the child of quit k-working brain, yet he neoes ,i er to do it it is tl ■ fore unjust to both classes of pupils to put them Into the same cluaa where they must be Assigned the same work to be done In the same length of time, it im unjust to the quicker child, be cause held hack to accommodate the slower pupil.the work soon palls, and ns he has not enough to do to keep his mind Interested and occupied, he gets Into mischief, or falls Into bad h&blta of thinking It is unjust to the slower child, because being able to keep up only with the greatest difficulty, or not being able to keep up at all, he becomes discouraged and self-distrust ful. and fulls. The plan proposed by those who fa vored a maximum and minimum sys tem was am follows: That ns soon us the working capac ity of h class Is determined, that class bo divided Into two sections: One In cluding those who can easily accomp lish the work of the grade, and the other of those who find It difficult to do so. The standard of promotion Is to be limited to the actual amount of preparation necessary to do the work of the nex grade. The pupils of the mtnitinum grade will probably barely meet the iwtsstng requirement, but It Is believed that a far larger number of backward children will win promo tion under this system than under that now In force. Under the present sys tem a chihl who falls to make his grade In one year Is required to do tha work of the same grade a second year, hut If, at the end of the second year, ha still falls of promotion, he Is passed anyway, since there Is no other place for hln This has become so thorough ly understood, that many pupils who fall to make their grade, simply Idle through the second year, conscious that they will he promoted at the end of the year. The mlechtef or such a system Is apparent. If a child cannot do the work of the lower grade by what sleight of hand can he possibly accom plish that of the higher, for which the lower is a prerequisite? Almost na great an evil Is lo keep a child more than two years In the same grade, as Is occasionally done, for If he has not done the work In two years he will never do It It has become a tread mill task, loathsome to him. The advo cates of the new system propose, that pupils who fall to do the work of uny one grade the second year, be placed In a class especially prepared for ex ceptional children, where the course Is adapted for those who do not take to the education planned for the average child, and where less of academic work will he given, and the child's produc tive powers will he particularly train ed. No Additional Expense. It Is believed by the advocates of the new system that hy adaptation and modification, the plan might he put In to operation with very little If any ad ditional expense to the Board, with the result of a vast gain to the chil dren. and a lessening of the waste of energy on She psrf of teachers. It was brought out, during the dlacuslon. that some Individual experiments rs this kind hnd been made from time to time. In the several schools, with suf ficient success to venture to enoour rgi confidence In its general effi cacy. 7,500 School Children Will Help in City's Great “Spring Cleaning" Campaign BEGINNING NEXT WEDNESDAY, APRIL Ist In a constructive series of nrtbies which th's well-known inveatlgstor :a writing for pictorial le v 4 * ghe tads why she thinks our public schools are no? nil that they should be we quota the fob - v «.f the publisher. In arithmetic J would have the begin ner count up to f»fty, by ones uni twos, handling objects !•» *l<* this At m s school at Atlantic City we find bench pehhics Invaluable for this purpose much mors so than an abacus, as the child may keep his own store and use ihem nt iny time. Hometlmes we ill go to the bead? and use them there. Out of threw or similar objects, the chill builds his tables At the end of two months he should be able to count for ward nod backward to fifty by ones And twos and threes know the varloug mul tiplication tallies to fifty; be Able to find fractional parts to twenty, and so well that he can recite them. lie will not have written arithmetic. A pencil is a good tool* but the mind Is still better. The longer the time that arithmetical processes can be kep mental, the great er the Mhility to compute will be. The child of eight will have no teg:- books. He will have no desk and bench; but <* chair that Is adjusted to his height and later, when he needs It. a table. He will not be requited to "f* rni In line;" there will be no lines. He will not lie Asked to **Bl t with his hands New Course in Reading For Next Five Years is Just Announced Special Committee of Teacher b, of Which Miss Ethel Parka Was Chairman, Carefully Selects List of Books For Use. Course Adopted is Fine One. Below ip given a ropy of tha ap prove*! course of reading for tha city white public achooip, made for five years, effective at tho opening of the It 14-15 session. Tha liat of book a given herewith waa carefully selected by a committee of tcachera chosen from the city schools by Superintendent Kvana. The Committee. The committee consisted of Mlaa Wthel Parke, chairman; Mlaaea II I* Young, Joale Gow, Mabel Abernathey, Cecile Durban, Clara Wallace, Joule Bodekor, Mattie Pournelle, Flewellyn Goodrich, Ruby Tommlns and Eleanor Goodrich. All teachers in nped of euppltmentary reading will report to their principals making selections from the list appoint ed for their grades New Course In Reading. The new course In reading Just an nounced Is as follows First Veer. Aldtne Primer. Aldltie First Reader lYactical First Reader. Hhort Stories for l.tttle Folk*. Second Veer. Aldlne Second Reader l'rsclleal Second Reader. Robinson Crusoe Header (Cowles.) Fifty Famous Fables iMrMurry.) Third Year. Aldlne Third Resder Practical Third HeudeV. Great Ajuvr cons for Uttle Americana Fifty Fiumuis Siorlea (Baldwin.l Fout-.h Year. Graded Idtemture Reader. Book Fair Good Books Better Than Text Books (By Miss Elia Frances Lynch) (Cotirto*. of Pictorial Itevlew Apr. 191t> In English use the Autobiography of Henjamlu Franklin nn.l make It a text book from which many nuTnls may be drawn. This In the bunds of a good teacher can be the hart* for talka on »a»tc. expenditure and economy tn prac tical matter*, on gas. coal, food*, etc. The "Silk* and Satin*" proverb will give opportunity for sensible talk* on sensible clothing, and on the vital mat ter of living within one * Income Such work will require a toucher of experi ence. judgment and much wisdom, such teacher* a* we sorely need. Fine char acter* In literature and In history should be set before the children Great Sroblem* of community good, should be scusae.l Informally, the need for clean streets, for protection agamst contagion, the proper disposal of house w aste A* these children have had a thorough THE AUGUSTA HERALD. AUGUSTA, GA. Public School Examinations Unfair? Ella Frances Lynch Oives Reasons Why She Thinks So. Courtesy Pictorial Review, April, ltll. the hands will lie too busy to be folded He will neeti btic disciplin ing as Its will ho very busy. Hs will have no marks, no averages, no reports, no reviews, no examinations. Examinations are the itmst unjust 3rd unfair exaction placed upon , a pubV.e school pupil. They demand a knowl edge of trivial detail that Is unimpor tant in Itself, and of little value. If any. In mentd discipline Capacity f«/r unre lated material Is very limited In the ordinary human being and all of It Is needed for vital Information. Examina tions are emphasised to a degree that puts an acute nervous strain upon any but ft thoroughly Indifferent pupil; too. they are planned to come at the end of the school year when the pupil Is tired and feels the need of a vucaton. If a test were needed, the test of what re mained As the year's instruction upon the return to school In September, would be the most enlighten ng one. These attempts to measure develop ment have n humorous aspect. A young girl wlieni I knew was absent two weeks from her class on account of Illness. Her report card for the month following showed h mark of seventy for spelling Heretofore It had been o?ie hundred, and th«» gin could not remainMf having missed a word. Her father asked for an explanation and ths teacher obliging- Hans Anderson’* Fairy Tales Stories of Ancient Greeks (Shaw ) Stories of American Ufa and Adven ture (Baldwin.) Fifth Ytar. Graded T.lterature Readers, Book Five. Young Maroonera. Hwtss Family (Robinson.) Arabian Nights. Htory of Robin Hood. Old Horse Stories (Hradish.) Sixth Year. King Arthur Stories. Story of Little Nell Held!. CLEANING VP The schools are welcoming the general movement to clean up inside and out, and move all the dust and soil of the winter months. Our schools are already reasonably clean, but there never was anything so clean that it did not need to be kept so every day. The schools are easily soiled; dust, chalk, the tramp of many feet, soot, the con stant sweeping, the high walls and many windows, make it difficult to keep a school room clean. The floors are oiled to keep down the dust and the janitors are sup ply with brooms and cloths to sweep and wipe. But a general house-cleaning, every now and then, with a window washing, paint scouring, yard sweeping and raking, flower planting, is a most desirable thing. The schools will join the town in a “clean-up festival,” a carnival of cleanliness. Nothing helps goodness like ap pearances. Looking clean goes along with being clesn, and a man who looks dirty is dirty. A housekeeper is known by the house she keeps, and a school teacher is known by the school room she keeps. A clean, dainty, decorated school room may not make a good teacher, but it generally indicates one. Young: Marooncm Tanglewood Tale*. Seventh Year. I.nnib'a Tale* from Shukenpeare. Plckenn* rhriHtnm* Stories. Hound the World in 80 Days. Ivsnhoe. The Numbers Stove nnd the Dog; of Flanders. Eighth Grade. Church’s Stories of the Old World. David Copper field. Dickens’ Christmas Stories. Note:—Short storlf* and poems will also be supplied after the above list Is exhausted. SUPERINTENDENT EVANS IS OUT OF THE CITY ——4 — Superintendent l.nwton U Evans of tin- schools left Augusta Thursday for Nashville, Trim., where he will he gone for several days on school business. training In literature they can take It In stiff doses and enjoy It. "The Mer chant of Venice," "The Tale of Two Cities.'' "Kvaueeltne if they have not already had this great poem, may he mentioned as examples Tit* spelling lesson and ihs use of the dictionary will In this year, and In every other, occupy a good part of the time given to Eng lish. The child can use a dictionary before the sge of ten years. On* hour a day should be given to eaeh of taro groat subjects. English ana mathematic* One hour dally may mao be given to history, and geography, and this should Include mip drawing, neatly and exactly done ns much for the train ing In workmanship as for ths purposs of fastening the fact* tn the memory. The remaining hour daily will be given to physics and chemistry ns Indicated, to mechanical drawing, to natural sciences ly exp! lined that although ths girl’s spelling hud been one hundred during her attendance at school, her absence hud reduced the mark to seventy. There: fore a g4»od speller became a poor spell er becauo# she w«s n way from school for two weeks’ Had she stayed away four weeks, probably the report card by a mark or xero, would have stated that *h* rouM not *p*ll nt nil. although ac tunity *h* could Spell every word In th* year's text hook. Development nan b* measured In just on* wny. Kit tier h child Is living up to his Hbllltle* or he I* not. If he I* not, lie needs, not a lower mark, but the stmulus or discipline. scrordlng to tn« nature of ht* p»Vs'rial case, to mnks him do the best he ran. And the elim ination of marks, report* and exainlni tior would actually so reduce the w*rk of the teacher that she would havs much more energy to put Into the real teaching In making out thirty promo tion cards, one teacher made over 21 005 records of standing*. In voder to .mow whether a pupil had passed or not. *tvr had to record 700 murk* of recitation*, review*, and examinations. 8e did not tell the number of hour* required for the ta*k nor estimate the amount of energy put Into It. hut It !* safe to say that these hour* could havs been turned Into quits a little teaching. Think Sheep Stolen By Men Who Operate By Auto London.—Farmer! and sheep rais ers of the fe'ussex district are con vinced that the sheep stealing which has recently depicted their stock is blng carried on by a gang of thieves who operate with motor cars. For the past week armed guard* have pa trolled the flocks at night, but the Hheej) have been disappearing with the same regularity. Many motor parties pass through the region at night and the owners of the flocks have come to the conclusion that the thieves mingle with the motorists and while stopping on the road under the pretext of mending a tire, smuggle sheep into the cars and drive oft with them. t ANNA GOULD'S HUSBAND WINS. Leipsic, Germany —The supreme court today upheld the action of the Duke He Tallyrand, husband of Anna Gould, who In 1910, renounced his rights to the crown fief of Fagitn In Silesia In favor of his son, Prince Ja son Howard of Sagan. The Duke De Tallyrand’s German creditors attacked the validity of the transfer by which they were rendered unahli to attach revenues of the fief. r ■ *■■ 1 WON’T RECOGNIZE UNION. Depew, N. Y.— Negotiations between the Gould coupler works and its strik ing employes were severed today by Geo. \V. Hayden, general manager of the plant, who said: "I have submit ted a proposition to the men and they may take it or leave It." . The company declines to recogflize the union. —and to the subjects suggested by com munity requirements, which may wen Include alt the science taught. The other half of the day should be spent In active, useful employment. Every town and city will have to solve Its own particular employment problem. In some cities, they have already don* It, and .lone It well. The boy <* girl who leaves school at fourteen, should under this or some bet ter rational system, possess the quali ties of mind and character that we now look for only In the college graduate. He should know how to work, how to study, how to concentrate. He should be able to go on educating himself with little If any help from outside, except tn technical Instruction. He would. In so far as It Is possible at the age of four teen. be fitted in some measure to di rect hts own destiny. Thus the school would have fulfilled Its function. MORE TIME TO PRODUCTIVE WORK; LESS TOOT “Schools Should Provide Some Kind of Instruction For the Children Through What is Now. in Most Cities, a Long Wasteful Vacation,” Says Dr. Claxton Washington—While denying extreme statements attributed to him. Dr. P. P Claxton, United Stales commissioner of education, yesterday reiterated hi* belief In continued school activity of Home kind In summer months for most children. "The schools should provide some kind of Instruction for the children through what is now. in most cities, a long, wasteful vacation." declares Dr. Claxton. He points out that school takes at most 900 hours a year out of 6,110 waking hours—assuming 10 hours of sleep for children every night; the average child spends about 600 hours in school and the remaining 4.510 waking hours out of school. Dr. Claxton sug gests that summer work last not long er than four hours—from 7 or 8 o’clock to 11 or 12 o'clock In the fofenoon. School of the Future. According to Dr. Claxton the school of the future, both In summer and winter, will give less time to Inten sive school study of the ordinary type —probably about three hours: and four or five hours to productive work su pervised by the school, done In shops, outdoor gardens, or In the home. "With this kind of an organization,’’ he declares. "It would be very easy for children to do ordinary school work Superintendent and Principals Want Fewer Holidays in Augusta Schools May Be Regular Session on Good Friday This Year. No Action Will Be Taken Until Members of City Conference Board Are Heard From. An Inquiry has been made of the City Conference Board by Superintendent L. B. Evans and the several school princi pals of the city regarding fewer holidays In the Augusta public schools. •'We are having too many holidays now,” stated Superintendent Evans last week. "The teachers think so, and the parents think so, nnd if the conference hoard acts favorably on our recommen dations there will not be as many holi days given our school children in the future as before.” GRAND—This Afternoon at 4 O’clock LAST SUNDAY CONCERT SENOR JOSE ANDONEGUI and his' ORCHESTRA Np Admission Charged. Grand—Tomorrow,Matinee and Evening The Greatest Show on Earth, “ZEIGFELD FOLLIES’’ Seats Selling Tomorrow. Prices, Matinee and Evening: $2.00 —$1.50—51.00 —50c Grand—Saturday, Matinee and Evening The Mirth-Provoking Comedy, “BREWSTER’S MILLIONS” The most enormously successful play of the century. A laugh in every line. Seats on sale Thursday. Special Bargain Prices: Matinee —Adults 50e, children 25c. Evening—2sc, 35c, 50c. 75c, SI.OO. SUNDAY. MARCH 29. Edited By h.J.S. SUMMERVILLE SCHOOL joihs'W’piiiii Pupils of 3rd and 4th Grades Are Organized Into “The School City Club.” The pupils of the third and fourth grades of the Summerville school have nrgs nixed a club which Is to be called "The School City Club.” The object of this organisation Is to help children realise their own person'll obligations as little cltlsens and to show them their opportunities fig- rendering civic service. The motto of the club Is: "Pick It Up." The president, Gene Greneker. state* that all the members will gladly co operate with the Board of Health, the \yomsn * Club, and all who are Inter ested In the "All Together for Clean l*reml*e» and Clean Street*" program. three hours a day, six days In the week, through 11 calendar months In the year, and at the same time con tribute largely to their own support by well-directed productive education al work, either at home or In the school, thus making it possible for the great majority of children to remain in school throughout the high-school period. Teachers and Vacation. "The cost of adding the three months of school would be comparatively lit tle. There would be no cost for fu,\ the cost of attendance would be less, and the addltonal cost for teachers would not be In proportion to the number of days added. Whatever may be the terms of the contract, teachers are In fact employed by the year. Comparatively few of them tise the vacation months In any profitable way. An average addition of Il’OO to the annual salary of city school teach ers would require a total of less than $10,000,000, or about three per cent of the total annual cost of the schools. For most teachers the additional months would not be a hardship, es pecially If the school days were short ened. Certainly this Is true If teach ers could be relieved of a large amount of the unnecessary bookkeeping, re port making, and examination reading with which they are now brudened.” If ths recon mendations of the super intendent and jmincipals are catried out school will continue in session on "Good Friday" this year. Before, this has al ways been one of the regular school holidays. However, no action will be taken until all of the members of the City Confer ence Board have been heard from. Mr. Evans states that It will be known some time this week whether Good Friday will he declared a holiday.