USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Palmer > Town Annual Report of the Officers of the Town of Palmer, Massachusetts 1924 > Part 6
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"I consider knowledge to be the soul of a republic, and as the weak and the wicked are generally in alliance, as much care should be taken to diminish the number
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of the former as of the latter. Education is the way to do this, and nothing should be left undone to afford all ranks of the people the means of obtaining a proper degree of it at a cheap and easy rate .- "John Jay."
"The most striking manifestations of progress in modern civilization are found in the extensions of educa- tional facilities to the masses of the people; in the estab- lishment of scientific, physical, mechanical, and all poly- technic schools, and in the discoveries made and results wrought by educated and enlightened industries .. . . "Modern progress is chiefly, if not entirely, found not in the advancement of what are called the learned professions but in the education and elevation of the masses ; in the discoveries and appliances of the physical sciences; in the establishment of schools of science; and in the promotion, enlargement, and results of all depart- ments of industries.
"Education is the one subject for which no people ever yet paid too much. Indeed, the more they pay, the richer they become. Nothing is so costly as ignorance, and nothing so cheap as knowledge. Even under old civilizations the States and people who provided the greatest educational dissemination and advantages were always the most wealthy, the most powerful, the most feared and respected by others, and the most secure in every right of person and property among themselves. And this truth will be tenfold more manifest in the future than it has been in the past. The very right arm of all future national power will rest in the education of the people .- "Benjamin Harvey Hill."
Education-Yesterdays, To-days, and To-morrows
Better Schools League, Inc., is getting out some strong material bearing on Education.
"Education is the connecting link between our Yesterdays and To-days. Yesterdays: - We rode in wagons; plowed with oxen; harvested with the cradle;
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threshed with the flail; read by candle light. To-days :- We ride in automibles and airplanes; upheave the fields with tractors; harvest and thresh with the same opera- tion; read and acquire knowledge by electric light and radio. Education has developed our Yesterdays into Todays.
"If there are schools and communities which are still in the Yesterdays educationally because of lack of facili- ties, such as trained teachers, modern buildings, adequate equipment, improper safeguards and concern for health, morals, thrift, safety and citizenship, then these condi- tions exist because of lack of local initiative and senti- ment.
"Such handicap is unfair to the child, unnatural to the ambitions of parenthood and un-American in its very existence.
"In the gratitude of your prosperity, let your in- quiring mind determine the Educational Opportunity of your community and pledge your influence and support to officials that your schools may be placed in the very To-day of To-days and ready to meet the demands of the To-morrows.
"For To-morrows Education will furnish :- (1) The Foundation of Progress; (2) the Backbone of Morals; (3) the Enemy of Crime; (4) the Conservator of the Home; (5) the Essential of Citizenship; (6) the Capital for a Livelihood (7) the Inspiration for Living."
"EDUCATION SPEAKS.
"I AM EDUCATION. I bear the torch that enlightens the world, fires the imagination of man, feeds the flame of genius. I give wings to dreams and might to hand and brain.
"From out the deep shadows of the past I come, wearing the scars of struggle and the stripes of toil, but bearing in triumph the wisdom of all ages. Man, because of me, holds dominion over earth, air and sea; it is for
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him I leash the lightning, plumb the deep and shackle the ether.
"I am the parent of progress, creator of culture, molder of destiny. Philosophy, science and art are the works of my hand. I banish ignorance, discourage vice, disarm anarchy.
"Thus have I become freedom's citadel, the arm of democracy, the hope of youth, the pride of adolescence, the joy of age. Fortunate the nations and happy the homes that welcome me.
"The school is my workshop; here I stir ambitions, stimulate ideals, forge the keys that open the door to opportunity. I am the source of inspiration; the aid of aspiration. I AM IRRESISTIBLE POWER."
"What's Right with the Public Schools?"
So much has been written and spoken within recent years on "What's Wrong with the Public Schools ?" that the National Education Association has deemed it wise to issue a bulletin on "What's Right with the Public Schools ?" To properly discuss this subject would require the use of many pages. One knowing the subject well would find it hard to limit himself. Some of the facts brought out-and they are facts-are so telling and timely that it seems wise to incorporate them in this report. They will be simply stated as facts, with little said in substantiation of them, not because of a lack of material, but because of lack of space. After every so- called fact will appear merely a line or two of proof. Full proof can easily be obtained by talking with the Superintendent. No personal credit is taken for the statement of these facts. They are stated by older and more experienced people than the writer.
Criticism.
There is nothing easier to do than to criticize the schools. They have always
been held responsible for every ill or ailment that has appeared upon the horizon. Much is said about "the good old days when I was a boy," espe-
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cially in justification of the schools of old-the little-old- red-school, so called. In 1884, the following newspaper editorial appeared :-
"Our present educational system unfits young peo- ple to deal with actual necessities. It takes away self- reliance, begets conceit, and draws attention to what is ornamental rather than what is fundamental."
This editorial caused sufficient jar to bring from the President of the National Education Association com- ment on the same. Many who were boys in those days may, perhaps, be shocked to know that those schools were criticized. The common schools have always had their carping critics since the very days of their incep- tion. Attacks, sweeping, unsupported, and unsubstan- tiated, have met them in every generation.
They have been knocked as strenuously as have the Fords. Like the Fords, every knock seemingly has been a boost. The Ford is the most successful car manu- factured from the standpoint of quantity and financial return. It is one of the greatest business organizations in the country. None other has grown like it. The public school system has increased in educational efficiency, opening wider its doors to more and more children and gaining more generally in public esteem, in a ratio almost equal to that of the Ford.
These are some of the facts relative to the public schools :-
(1). The American School is a School
Facts. for All the People. (America is unique
in one thing-she has but one public school system. In most countries there are two-one which educates those who are to rule; the other which educates those who are to be ruled. Under this last-named system, the educational opportunity of a child is usually determined by birth and social position. The "high- born" attend one school; the "low-born," another. In America, the ideal is this :- "What the best and wisest
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parent wants for his. own child, that must the com- munity want for all its children. Any other ideal for our schools is narrow and unlovely; acted upon, it destroys our democracy.")
(2). The American School is Free and Open to All. (This is an idea of recent origin. Even in our own early history, a good education could be obtained only by those who were able to pay for it. In spots, a child who attended a free school was stigmatized as a "pauper." That time has passed. Every community now maintains free schools, sufficiently good for any parent to send his children to. In 1922, nearly 23,000,000 children were enrolled in free public schools. One (1) person in every five (5) in the United States is at present attending a free public school.)
(3). The American Public School Is Supported by Public Taxation. (The American public school is our greatest productive institution. Most of our wealth would be impossible were it not for the trained intelli- gence, the foundation of which the school lays. Nothing is more proper than that a small part of the wealth which the schools are so directly responsible for creating should be set aside for their maintenance. One hundred years ago, when this policy was advocated, it was con- sidered rank heresy to think of taxing one man's property to educate the children of his neighbor. To-day, such a spirit would be ridiculous in the extreme. Everywhere, the local school tax is levied as a matter of course. In many places, the States have a state-wide tax and even now the Nation, in part, is contributing toward the support of education with a national tax. It is now a recognized principle that the education of the future generation should constitute a first lien against all wealth.)
(4). The American Public School is Controlled by All the People. (No "upper class" dictates what shall
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be taught in America's classrooms. The dictation comes from all the people. Thus controlled, it has the support and confidence of the great mass of the people. It is essential that it shall always be controlled by all the people; that it shall never become an instrument for any kind of propagation of thought or knowledge of any factional group.)
(5). The American School Offers a Complete Education. (An elementary and high school education are available to all. In some states, even college training is provided. This is as it should be in a democracy. One hundred years ago, people argued against free elementary school education; fifty years ago, against free high school education. No state can make a better investment than to provide a complete free education for all who have the capacity and the desire to secure it. Industry and brains, not caste or wealth, should be the requisites for free educational opportunity in a democracy.)
(6). Increasing Attendance Reflects Growing Con- fidence in the Schools. (In the United States, many parents have always made sacrifices that their children might enjoy the benefits of a complete education. Today, more parents than ever are doing this. In 1870, six (6) out of ever ten (10) children from five (5) to eighteen (18) years-of age were enrolled in a public school. In 1920, eight (8) out of every ten (10) were so enrolled. In 1870, all public elementary and secondary schools provided 539,053,423 days of schooling; in 1922, 3,022,882,932 days of schooling. Had the general popu- lation increased as rapidly as school attendance between these dates, or these years, the present population of the United States would be 216,227,633 instead of 109,248,393. In 1890, three (3) out of every one hun- dred (100) children of ages fourteen (14) to eighteen (18) were enrolled in high school. In 1922, twenty-four
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(24) were so enrolled. The growth of the public school enrollment is a clear indication of a growing realization of the value of the service rendered by the public school, both to the individual and to the Nation.)
(7). The Public School has Lifted the General Level of Education in the United States. (In 1880 there were 6,239,958 illiterates-those who had no schooling whatever. In 1920, there were 4,931,905. In 1880, one (1) out of every six (6) people was without schooling ; in 1920, one (1) out of every seventeen (17). Other agencies enter into the elimination of illiteracy. The work of all educational agencies is super-imposed upon that of the school. The influence of the library, the newspaper, and the magazine would be meager, were it not built upon the foundation laid by the school. In the final analysis, every advance made possible by the increasing intelligence of our general population is the result of the work of the public school.)
The Objectives of the public school have Objectives. always been sound, but never more sound than at the present time. Could a full attainment of these objectives be secured, most of our great national problems would be solved. The public school is unique in its set of objectives. Other great educational influences-the newspaper, the magazine, the motion picture theater-have, as a primary purpose, the making of money. If they fail to make money, they cease to exist. The schools, as a constructive educa- tional force, have no such primary purpose as money- making. They exist for the setting and obtaining of sound educational objectives.
They are the one great constructive institution with a purpose sufficiently broad to touch every phase of liv- ing and with an influence sufficiently wide to touch every citizen. In 1922, 22,652,169 children came under the instruction of 727,119 public school teachers. One (1)
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person in every five (5) in America devoted half of his waking-time to school activities. The remainder of our 110,000,000 people-parents, taxpayers, or citizens- have a less direct but no less important stake in the school's accomplishments. £ America can find no more promising institution into which to pour its super- abundant energy and tremendous wealth than the public school.
(1). The Public School Recognizes as its First Aim the Development of a Character through Fixed and Right Habits of Conduct. (Such habits are funda- mental to moral integrity. Preachments of moral virtues too often miss their mark. A child in an environ- ment, nevertheless, in which it is pleasant to be honest, to co-operate effectively with his neighbors, to reverence things that are reverend, has made progress in the development of real character. The development of character rests primarily upon the creation of an environment in which right conduct is made easier than wrong. The virtues that make up good character are the results of right conduct continued over a period of ¿years until it becomes a habit. Were the home, the motion picture theater, and other forces that influence character development in children working as intelli- gently and faithfully as the school to keep children constantly under the influences that result in sound character, there would be no worry about the Nation's moral ruggedness.)
(2). The School Aims to Give All Children a Command of the Fundamental Processes-the Three R's. (Over half of the time of children in the elementary schools is devoted to work in the Three R's. Com- parative tests have been given, all of which have shown pupils of the present-day schools to be superior to those of the schools of a generation or more ago. This is
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because of the fact that teaching methods unknown then are to-day used.)
(3). The School Aims to Give Children the Health Habits and Attitudes Essential to Healthful Living. (Our organized school system recognizes this as a very fundamental aim. This aim may be well summed up, as recently stated in a report on Health Education :-
"1. To instruct children and youths so that they may conserve and improve their own health.
"2. To establish in them the habits and principles of living which throughout their school life, and in later years, will assure that abundant vigor and vitality which provide the basis for the greatest possible happiness and service in personal, family and community life.
"3. To influence parents and other adults, through the health education program for children, to better habits and attitudes, so that the school may become an effective agency for the promotion of the social aspects of health education in the family and community as well as in the school itself.
"4. To improve the individual and community life of the future; to insure a better second generation, and a still better third generation; a healthier and fitter nation and race.")
(4). The Public School Recognizes the Develop- ment of Good Citizenship as One of Its Primary Tasks. (School organization is better shaping itself every day to produce good citizenship. Knowledge of a govern- mental form and organization are not sufficient for good citizenship. Participation in actual practice of the activities of a good citizen is necessary. The child is imbued with the right habits of action and attitudes toward his duties as a citizen while in the formative stage of his existence.)
(5). The School Aims to Give Training Essential to Effective Home Life. (The school has been compelled to include in its curricula certain activities designed to give children attitudes that will make them better co-operators in the life of the family, because of the loss in influence
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of the home. Activities that encourage children to accept responsibilities as members of the family are basic, if later, as parents, they are to possess a proper sense of home responsibilities.
The acquisition of skills essential to a well-regu- lated home can be imparted to children. Such know- ledge as the preparation of food and the care of young children is badly needed in millions of American homes. In may systems such knowledge is successfully imparted. The school should continue to implant in children's lives a vision of, and a desire for, better homes.)
(6). The Foundation for Vocational Efficiency is Laid in the Public School. (The first question asked by prospective employers is "How much schooling have you had ?" It is a recognized fact that the successful completion of a public school course guarantees the basic general training and many of the specific skills that are · essential to quick aptitude in any line of work.
Statistics show that the workers in States that have maintained strong school systems during the past generation are now earning nearly twice as much as those in the States which have given less attention to public education.
More and more youths are being enrolled in classes whose principal objective is training for specific voca- tions. As America's natural resources diminish, voca- tional education will increase rather than decrease in importance. The skill of the Nation's workers rather than the exploitation of natural resources will be the basis of future economic prosperity. This fundamental fact justifies the increased importance given to vocational training in the upper levels of the public schools.)
(7). The Schools Aim to Train Children for the Effective Use of Leisure Time. (The general tendency to shorten working hours causes an increase in the hours of leisure. This leisure may be a blessing or a curse
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to the Nation. depending upon the use made of it. If it is used to satisfy simple and wholesome tastes that make for moral and physical progress, increased leisure is an asset to a Nation. If used for indulgence in the ener- vating pastimes that undermine a Nation's moral and physical well-being, and unfit it for effective work, leisure. time is a liability.
The great question confronting us as a Nation is to determine how this leisure time is to be used. In youth, the tastes of most men are determined. The school must, therefore, instil proper habits and ideals for the use of leisure time. Her success in doing this will largely determine whether this time is to be an asset or a liability to the Nation.
There is a wider attempt being made to inculcate the habit of reading. The school should not only teach a pupil to read, but should give him the habit of reading.
Proper training in wholesome physical recreation is essential. Playgrounds, athletic sports, etc., are movements in the right direction. Appreciation of good music should be given. The school is the most effective agency for continuing and strengthening these tendencies in our life until they prevail over the cheap, commer- cialized forms of recreation so freely offered on every hand.)
(8). The Public School Aims to Increase the General Mental Efficiency of All Children. (Mental efficiency may be increased through training in habits of study and encouragement in independent thinking. There is a wide difference in the innate mental capacity of children, but all children may, through training, be taught to use their native mental equipment with greater efficiency. The teaching of how to think is far more important than the teaching of what to think.
The late war showed that the greater adaptability of men who had enjoyed high school and college training
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was recognized in all branches of the service. High mental efficiency is the most valuable form of National wealth.)
From the foregoing, it is evident that the
Strengthening American public school is founded upon
the Schools. democratic principles, that its objectives are fundamentally sound, and that it has made possible the great America of the present-day. If America is to continue to be the America of to-day, she must look well to her public schools; she must see that they are properly strengthened; she must see that they are properly financed.
The primary essentials to strengthening the public schools are :-
(1). Better Teachers. (These can be secured by offering a reasonable economic return - one that will attract and keep capable and trained people in the teach- ing profession. It is also necessary to submerge all other conditions, such as politics, "pull," etc., in the selection of teachers. Base the selection solely upon their ability to effectively teach children, for, after all, it is the child who is the chief one concerned. He is the one who must have the "square deal.")
(2). Equalization of Educational Opportunity. (This means that the child in the country must have the same opportunity as the child in the city school; that the child in one state must have the same opportunity as the child in another. This raises, of course, the "question of the unit of government, wherein enter the strong "pro's" and "cons" for local control, state control, and national control. Whatever the unit may be, it seems like an accepted fact that every dollar of wealth, no matter where it exists, should bear its fair share of the burden of 'educating the children of the Nation, irrespective of their place of abode.)
(3). Modern School Curriculum. (Such a curri-
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culum must be based on the results of educational research, wise thought, and proved practice. It must train for effective living, not in the past, but in the present and future.)
A strong indictment showing the direct result of failure to provide adequate school facilities in thousands of communities is here given : - 4,931,905 confessed illiterates with "no schooling whatever"; 3,084,733 native-born illiterates; 1,242,572 native-white illiterates; 1,340,625 men, a little more than one in every five rejected in the draft as physically unfit for military ser- vice ; 1,437,783 children between the ages of 7 and 13 not attending "any kind of educational institution"; $825,000,000 annual economic loss due to illiteracy ; $3,000,045,000 annual economic loss from preventable disease and death. (These facts were taken from Federal Census, Bureau of Education reports and Waste in Industry.)
In discussing proper financing of public
Financing schools, the most natural question, the Schools. particularly when taxes thruout the entire country are high, is "Can we afford it?" The first reaction to this question upon the part of most people is "No.". The consideration of a few facts will convince all who are reasonable that the answer should be emphatically "Yes." What are some of these facts ? The total national wealth in 1922 was $320,833,862,000; the average yearly income was $65,000,000,000; the expenditures for luxuries in 1920 were $17,361,000,000; the amount in savings accounts in
1922 was $17,331,479,000; all government costs in 1922 were $9,000,000,000; public elementary and secondary educa- tion costs in 1922 were $1,580,671,296. The yearly cost of public schools represents a levy of less than one-half (1/2) of one (1) per cent. of the Nation's total wealth and requires less than two and a half (21/2) per cent. of the Nation's average annual income. We are spending
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many times the cost of the schools for purposes less important to the general welfare than is education.
With our modern civilization, we have a large supply of human energy beyond that necessary to provide the bare necessities of existence-food, shelter, and clothing. The wisdom shown in the use of this surplus energy determines the destiny of a Nation. To-day, education does not receive its just share. Our power to provide every facility that wise educational procedure demands is very ample.
The question involved is not one of ability, but one of priority. The problem is one of social values and choices.
A careful analysis of the way in which the American people spend their income shows the following per- centages :- Church, 3/4%; schools, 11/2% ; government, 41/2% ; crime, 814%; investment, 11%; waste, 14%; luxuries, 22%; living costs, 2412%; miscellaneous, 131/2%.
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