= & www ea ew = € c.B258656 ” SEP 20 9912 American Geacher Democracy in Education; Education for Democracy. —_ ——— — Vor. I No. 7 NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER, 1912 50 Cents A YEAR The Letter and the Spirit . = te T was known of old that the letter killeth, whereas the spirit giveth life. All our organizations and systems, all our supervisions and plans and syllabuses are matters of form, merely letters thru which to spell out what- ever spirit we still have to express. If we have no more to guide us in our work, we are lost indeed. It is the business‘ of the teacher, as it is the business of the supervising and administering official of a school system, to seek his guidance not in the tule book, nor in the course of study, nor in the annual report, but in the nature of the child and in the needs of the child. He who teaches in this spirit may feel compelled at times to ignore the syllabus, to forget the book, to break the rules, aye—and to challenge authority. BREAD WITH EDUCATION A. V. ArmstronG, St. Louis, Mo. THE SLOGAN, “Bread with Education,” adopted by the promoters of the move- ment for providing nutritious food for those children in the public schools un- able to obtain it otherwise, calls to mind Charles Lamb’s “Grace Before Meat.” “It is a confusion of purpose,” he says, ‘to mutter out praises from a mouth that waters. The incense which rises round is pagan, and the belly-god intercepts it for his own.” So is it a confusion of pur- pose to attempt to pour intellectual stimulants into the mind of a child when this “belly-god” is crying out for food. Educators are just beginning thor- oly to realize that at least one way to a child’s brain. is thru its stomach; for the matter has recently been investigated and the resultant figures show a large per- centage of underfed and insufficiently nourished children among those attend- ing Uncle Sam’s institutions of learning. It is not fair, say those who have made a careful study of the problem, to make laws compelling children to go to school, to force them to sit all day and have facts and ideas poured into their ears and brains, to brand them as “incom- petent” or “backward” if they cannot accept them, when all the time their poor little bodies are crying out for nourish- ment; and that persistent wail is drown- ing the sound of the teacher’s voice and dimming the eyes so that they cannot see ihe books before.them. With this cry of the children for in- centive, a movement has recently been started in the United States to get on the right road, and its momentum is increas- ing rapidly and becoming irresistible. It operates under the caption of School Feeding, and its slogan is, “Bread with Education.” Altho but recently agi- tated in the United States, the idea of placing nutritious food within the reach of children who are otherwise without it, is not a new one. For years in a number of foreign countries lunches have been provided in connection with the schools, the work in some being under the admin- istration of thegovernment. ThePsycho- logical Clinic is authority for a short history of the origin and growth of school lunches in Europe, from the first municipal soup kitchen opened in Munich in 1790, which was designed as a step in the campaign against vagrancy, but to which many school children were sent tc get a warm meal at noon. “This ante- dated compulsory education,” says the writer, “and was unorganized for a long time but was never abandoned, and now there is a municipal ordinance in Munich requiring that every new school-house shall have a kitchen and a dining-room.” In France since 1849, and in England since 1866, there have been movements en foot in this direction until only there is scarcely a country which has not some provision for children whose parents are unable or unwilling to provide sufficient and nourishing food. Again quoting the seme magazine, “School feeding has been made the subject of national legislation in France, Bavaria, Denmark, Switzer- land, Holland and Great Britain. It is rational in scope with support by the municipalities in Germany, Italy, Swe- den, Norway, Austria and Belgium. It has been started in Spain, Russia and the United States.” The last statement is hardly a fair recognition of what has been accom- plished in our own country because a number of cities have already established systematic methods and have a good working basis for operations. It is diffi- cult to say just where the movement started in the United States, as there have been unorganized attempts in some ef the eastern cities for a good many years, but only within the last few years has it become systematic and is now a real educational issue rather than a char- itable and philanthropic one. According to Louise S. Bryant of the University of Pennsylvania, general public interest in school feeding began with the publication in 1904 of Robert Hunter’s book, “Poverty.” In it he made the statement that there must be “very likely sixty or seventy thousand children i i = 62.0, 09 tn © tt eh So & A. Aw wee eae et elm ee, THE AMERICAN TEACHER 87 in New York City alone who often arrive at school, hungry and unfitted to do well the work assigned to them.” Following vp his revelations, investigations were instigated by various physicians and or- ganizations. One or two will serve to ilustrate. John Spargo, author of “The Bitter Cry of the Children,” gathered re- liable information in regard to the break- fasts of 12,000 children in sixteen differ- ent schools. The following figures were obtained: of 12,000 children, 987, or nearly 8 per cent., had no breakfast; 1963 others, or more than 15 per cent., had inadequate breakfasts ; making a to- tal of 23 per cent. of all children in those schools who were poorly fed so far as this could be judged by breakfast alone. He further ascertained that many of the children did not go home to lunch, some having none at all and those (anywhere from 10 to 20 per cent. of the children) who were given pennies to buy some- thing to eat, purchased unwholesome pickles, bologna sandwiches and cheap candies. Statistics without number have been compiled by various persons vitally in- terested in this somewhat startling state of affairs and they all point to the one need—Young America must be safe- guarded. “In Chicago in 1908,” says Miss Bryant, “of 10,090 children in twelve schools, 825 were found by medi- cal inspectors to be suffering from mal- nutrition, due to deficient food.” In ad- dition, 353 others were found who were undernourished, but for whose condition other causes than inadequate food might be responsible. This means that a total of 1178, or 12 per cent. of those exam- ined were badly nourished. In Philadel- phia, in 1909-10, a special investigation of 500 children in one school in a poor district, including a medical examination and a visit to the home of each child, re- vealed serious underfeeding in 119 cases, forming 24 per cent. of the whole. In Boston, the routine medical inspection of all children in 1909, revealed between 5,000 and 6,000 cases of underfeeding and anemia, among a total of 80,000 chil- dren. In St. Paul, in 1910, Dr. Meyer- ding, head of the Medical Inspection, made a special examination of 3,200 children in schools directly chosen from the poorer districts. He found that 644 or 60 per cent. of the whole, showed marked underfeeding. In Rochester, in 1910, Dr. Franklin Bock examined 15,157 children. Of these he designated 752 or 5 per cent. as showing evident lack of nutrition, and 1,285 as anemic. “As a general conclusion from these in- vestigations,” says the Psychological Clinic, “it seems fair to place the prob- able number of seriously underfed school children in New York and other American cities, at 10 per cent. of the school population. This number doubt- less includes many who might be able to pay for an adequate lunch at noon if the opportunity were provided. Miss Alice C. Boughton sums up con- ditions in Philadelphia in a few words: “There are approximately 170,000 chil- dren in the primary schools of Philadel- phia. Over one-third of this number come from homes below the poverty line, one-third more are just above it and the remaining one-third are comfortably sit- uated.” As an example of what effects the sort of food the children in the first two classes have, Charles Keen Taylor, M. A., has gathered some figures on the reaction of coffee drinking on the system oi a child. In round terms his conclu- sions are these: , “The children concerned in this test who drank coffee regularly, averaged from one and a half to more than four pounds less in weight, from a half inch to more than an inch less in height, and all the way to three pounds less*in hand- strength than those who never drank coffee. These differences may not be startling,” he concludes, “but it is evident that there are differences.” And now a few figures on the other side to show results of school feeding. The experiment was tried in Philadel- phia and both physical and mental im- provement was very marked. Measure- ments were taken and recorded of 362 children in two schools, of whom 114 took fifteen or more dinners during the six months’ period of the test and 248 took no dinners. The average number of dinners per child, of those taking din- ners, was 50.6. Both groups of children 88 THE AMERICAN TEACHER were tested at the beginning and again at the end of the six months’ period. The accompanying table speaks for itself. Ss _ 4 oO ' oF ge ge = & €8 ge ad < Ibs. in. Ibs. cu. in. 114 “diners” .....3.44 1.36 3.43 12.55 248 “non-diners”. 3.21 1.07 4.18 10.46 In favor of "Oe acccae ae .29 2.09 In favor of “non-diners”.. 75 A second test made under similar conditions showed the following results: Ibs. in. Ibs. cu. in. Children fed...... 1.78 90 4.13 11.96 Children not fed.. .80 68 , 3.19 5.40 In favor of chil- dren fed...... .98 .22 .94 6.56 Evidently the school lunches are not in vain. Persons well versed in food values and with an intimate knowledge of children are in charge in every in- stance where the experiments are being made. The menus vary somewhat in the different places but not materially. One hot dish is furnished every day, baked beans, soup, spaghetti, cocoa, with a cake, or Irish stew. To any one of these which are furnished for one check, are added wholesome cakes, butter cake, milk, sandwiches, dried peaches, fruit and such good food stuffs, any one of which may be had for another check. Pure candies are for sale after the more substantial food has disappeared. One problem after another comes up 0: course in connection with the lunches. Not only must the children be offered nutritious food, but it must be attractive —it must tempt their appetites. A child eats with its eyes first and if they are not satisfied, the trouble is all for noth- ing. Little black-haired, black-eyed Mas- ter Italian wants his spaghetti. Keen calculating Master Jew his kosher meats —all must be appealed to. Once let the little urchins turn up their noses and all is lost. In one school for colored chil- dren which the writer visited in St. Louis, the attendant said: “No use to offer the little dusky kiddies spaghetti any more. They turn up their noses and keep their pennies. They want meat.” The “little white wagon” is the Neme- sis of school feeding everywhere, and the cheap lunch room is almost as bad. At these places children are able to buy stale cakes, cheap candies, and ice creams and they get “lots for their money”— more than at school. That the cakes are stale and the candy perhaps made of poi- sonous material means nothing to them. So to the task of providing is added the necessity of educating little ones up to appreciating and demanding that which is best in the long run. Nor does it take a bright little young- ster long to feel the responsibility and te recognize the advantages, and they seon come to be perfectly satisfied with what they can get at their own school and even grow to demand it at home. The simple rules of etiquette are ob- served where the teachers can suggest by a hint here and there. One tiny tot in Chicago writes, “You can always tell a new child because he doesn’t know how tc behave. He takes too big bites and wants to go away before he is done.” Very little restraint is exercised over the children while they are at their lunch but the influence is in the air and they feel it. The dear little kiddies are unconscious of their need, but it is all the more poig- rant for that very reason. They do not know what makes them feel “all cross” or “just like fightin’ somebody,” but they hate teacher when she calls them back from their dreams and asks them to tell ker how much two times two is. Their small bodies have been stimulated in the morning perhaps by a cup of hot coffee or they have been sent off to school by an anxious and worried mother with a couple of cents to buy something to eat; but there is nothing to build up real “brain and brawn’—nothing to make a vigorous body and a keen wide-awake mind, anxious to learn, impatient to be fed. One visit at the noon hour to one of these lunch rooms will make as many converts as there ave visitors. To see the tiny tots and the larger boys and girls teo, rush to the counter, survey its con- — ot ee el a ae a a a ee rls n- THE AMERICAN TEACHER 89 tents quickly and make their choice, then run off to a seat and begin devouring the food ravenously, to know that this is the kind of food to round out the thin, scrawny arms and to build up the hollows in the sunken cheeks, to smoothe away the black circles round the big staring eyes, and to sweep the cobwebs out of the brain, is to see a bright future for Uncle Sam’s coming nation builders. The older children help the younger ones, some even earn their tickets by helping to serve. Almost without exception are they ready to stand by their “penny lunches.” If after careful investigation some are found who cannot obtain money for their tickets, checks are pro- vided for them by some charitable insti- tution, but they are exactly the same as the others, so there is no way of telling which are free and which are paid for. Time was when these lunches were con- sidered entirely outside the province of education. But that time shall be no more. They have earned their right as a funda- mental principle and as such they have come to stay. The ultimate and ideal goal is “municipal ownership” or an en- dowment fund sufficient to meet the de- mands, with the Board of Education be- hind the management. The government health department is at present gather- ing statistics on the numbers of children who are likely to be in need ot tres proper food and they will be available in the near future. That is the first step. Rapid progress is being made in our d\merican cities, and this year is far ahead of last. A few new schools are added gradually and the work becomes simpler and more firmly established with each passing month. Ere long, we hope, it will be a national movement. SOME ECONOMIC OBSTACLES TO EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS BENJAMIN C, GRUENBERG. SOME OF THE OBSTACLES to educational progress are irremediable; but economic obstacles will persist only as long as we let them, as long as we are willing to submit. And by economic obstacles I do not mean merely such facts, for example, as that New York City has not the ma- terial resources to provide seats for all of its school children; or that in the same city more than half of the school children are herded in classes of over forty each. The obstacles I have chiefly in mind are those consequences of our economic system which interfere with education-—considering education as a machinery for securing to society cer- tain ideal ends. With the growth of democracy, espe- cially during the last hundred and fifty years, there has grown a demand for the extension of the benefits of education— along with the extension of other ad- vantages—to all. To those educated un- der the old régime education meant cul- ture and the enjoyment of leisure, re- finement, aesthetic uplift. But to the uneducated, the unwashed, thrown un- der conditions of political democracy and social and industrial fluidity, education meant opportunity for success. And suc- cess meant prosperity under the condi- tions of commercial, competitive efforts in the arts of appropriation. Education taken over by the public has expanded to mean preparation for civic relations— good citizenship, patriotism—and even- tually for social service. We have then at present a three-cor- nered conflict in the aims of education: There is the traditional humanitarian demand for culture; there is the indi- vidualistic demand for general success; and there is the social demand for serv- ice and citizenship. In this struggle the economic pressure threatens the other aims. So long as industry is conducted for profit, all considerations must yield before the demand of the workers for the opportunity to earn wages, and the demand of the employers for wage- earners. According to the ideals of democracy, whatever advantages may accrue from public education must be advantages for 90 THE AMERICAN TEACHER all the members of society. Democracy forbids that its children be trained to ex- ploit one another. Humanity demands that each child shall get whatever is best for him, not whatever it is best for some- one else that he should have. In other words, education should be directed to the benefit of the individual being edu- cated, and not to the benefit of some third party. Society demands that edu- cation shall direct each child into those activities, and shall prepare him for those activities, that will enable him to render society an optimum of service. But our economic organization de- mands that children be sent to school as little as possible, in order to be free as soon as possible to enter the service of the employer; it demands wage-earning at the earliest possible moment in the life of the child. And these demands over- shadow all the others. We distribute our children in the schools, beyond the elementary grades, not, as we should, ac- cording to their capacities, not according to their interests, not according to their varying vitality—but according to the economic status of their parents, and the immediate economic interests of the employer and taxpayer. The question, “How long should this child be kept in school?” and the ques- tion, “To what special kind of school should this child be sent?” are answered, not, as they should be, by reference to the child’s capacity to benefit by the school- ing processes, not by reference to so- ciety’s needs for the special talents of the child, not by reference to the child’s needs in the way of personal develop- ment—but by reference to the parents’ proximity to—bankruptcy. This gauge is purely fortuitous, extrinsic and irrele- vant; but it is one forced upon us by the practice of conducting most of our af- fairs for profit and exploitation, instead of conducting them for use and human happiness. This practice, developed in our industries, dominates our schooling and our politics as it does everything else. In the interests of the individual, as a human being, and in the interests of so- ciety, of which the child is to become an integral part, our education should aim on the one hand to adapt the pupil to the common life, and on the other hand, to adapt its methods to the personality with which it has to deal. But our schools, under the influence of economic press- ure, have become commercialized. By this I do not mean that the man- agement of the schools is motivated by an itch for profit, as is implied, for ex- ample, when we speak of the professions of law and medicine having become commercialized. I mean merely that our educators have yielded to the temper of their surroundings, which are distinctly commercial. The organization and the methods of the schools have taken on the form of those commercial enterprises that distinguish our economic life. We have yielded to the arrogance of “big business men” and have accepted their criteria of efficiency at their own valua- tion, without question. We have con- sented to measure the results of educa- tional efforts in terms of price and prod- uct—the terms that prevail in the fac- tory and the department store. But edu- cation, since it deals in the first place with organisms, and in the second place with individualities, is not analogous to a standardizable manufacturing process. Education must measure its efficiency not in terms of so many promotions per dol- lar of expenditure, nor even in terms of so many student-hours per dollar of salary; it must measure its efficiency in terms of increased humanism, increased power to do, increased capacity to appre- ciate. Both the cost and the products of education are incommensurable with the factors that determine commercial suc- cess in the narrower sense. So long, however, as we conduct our education under the auspices and under the domi- nance of men whose guiding principle is derived from an economic system that makes “profit” the chief end of existence, our education must bear the handicaps suggested. It may be that we can build better streets and bridges and city halls—for the money—by employing the kind of men that you can get by letting them bid against each other for the jobs, the kind of men who are driven by necessity to ac- cept jobs for wages that approach the margin of mere animal subsistence. It 1S VS (FW oe ONS ee Te a, a a a eh Oe Cam =rye | Ori ew PHY | THE AMERICAN TEACHER 91 may be that we can get good-enough steel and clothing and furniture and ostrich plumes—for the money—even if the workers who make these things for us are more concerned with keeping the jobs than they are with the quality of the product; even if these workers have but slight enthusiasm for their wages and none at all for their work; even if they are too tired for recreation that reaches the spirit, when the day’s stint is done; even if they never travel, except in search of another job. But you cannot get bet- ter results for your children in the schools—even for the money—by em- ploying the kind of men and women that you can get by the methods of the market-place. You cannot get good enough results from the school—even for the money—if the workers are obliged to think too much of the matter of jobs, and too little of the quality of the re- sults; if they have but little enthusiasm, and not all of that for the work; if they are too tired for recreation that reaches the spirit, when their day’s task is done; if they have to spend a large part of their “leisure” in supplementing the money that you think you can afford to pay them, not merely to be able to travel—but to be able to meet routine expenses on a very modest plane of liv- ing. And so other people’s children suf- fer at the hands of the perplexed teacher —he has things on his mind that serious- ly obstruct his work for these children; and these obstructive apprehensions and perplexities are direct products of our economic organization of things. The same influences show themselves in the commercialization of the schools on the side of the pupil. Every teacher must have observed that the attitude of the student of his work. is increasingly that of the merchant. The pupil comes more and more to work for a “pass.” The Harvard aphorism, A pass is a gentle- man’s grade, reveals the bargain attitude of mind. This bargaining attitude is coming to be a matter of course in our schools, notwithstanding the earnest ef- forts of educators to counteract it. Work- ing for a pass is of the very essence of our economic system, actuated as it is thruout by the principle of buying cheap and selling dear—the principle of profit. The influence of the prevailing eco- nomic mode shows itself in the adminis- tration of our school system. Aside from the fact, already referred to, that the selection of teachers from out of the general population is in too large an ex- tent affected by the economic considera- tion of cost, we have the fact that in many positions women are employed, where men would be more desirable— because women are cheaper. The assign- ment of teachers to this grade or to that, which should be altogether determined by considerations of special fitness for special work, is made a means of reward- ing the faithful, or punishing the in- surgents, since—such is the perversity of systems—in many cities the salary of the teacher is graded not according to the ability of the teacher, but according to the age of the pupils! In numberless cases men and women are retained in the schools who never should be in the schools at all, because, in spite of the models set up by the busi- ness man, we refuse to throw anyone to the scrapheap; unemployment is some- thing too terrible to think of—for cul- tured men and women. In every large city you can find from a dozen to a hun- dred or more teachers whom the public could well afford to retire on full pay, tho they are far from “old.” I do not mean that these cities have overflowing treasuries, or that these teachers have rendered such excellent service in the past that they deserve the extra leisure and the extra money. I mean simply that it would be true economy to pay these peo- ple to abstain from teaching, even if they cannot be provided with other occupa- tions. But altho such a course would be true economy educationally, under exist- ing economic conditions that would be unthinkable. Another series of obstacles to educa- tional progress, one that has received rapidly growing recognition on all sides for the past dozen years, is that made up of the relation of the physical condition of the child to the efficacy of the teach- er’s work. Even the most obtuse tax- payer can see that it is a waste of money to show pretty pictures to blind children, 92 THE AMERICAN TEACHER or to offer classical music to the deaf. By the same token a large part of our educa- tional activity has been quite unproduc- tive. Nay, it has been worse than non- productive: for instead of merely failing ‘to give the children in question something worth while, it has given them an aver- sion to all that has to do with schools and teachers. I refer now to the fact that we have offered the same “educa- tion” indiscriminately to all children without considering the state of their serse organs or of their nutrition; with- out noticing adenoids or cold feet or sheer exhaustion. If we acknowledge the state’s con- cern in the child as a social asset we may not defeat the major purpose of ed- ucation by a formal compliance with the technical requirements for instruction, while we shut our eyes to the essentials. The important thing is not that our con- stables keep the child in school so many hours, so many days, so many years. The important thing is that the raw little sav- age shall be converted into a healthy, happy and efficient citizen. If for this purpose books and blackboards suffice, well and good. If, however, galoshes and gruels are also needed—then galoshes and gruels we must have. But at this point we run afoul not only of the tax- payer’s plea of communal poverty— “financial inability” it is called technical- ly—but also of all the ancient and honor- able traditions as to the legitimate limits of the activities of a society founded on contracts. Another obstacle that springs directly from our economic relations is the low social status of the teacher. This is in- timately connected, on the one hand, with the fact that the prevailing measure of values is a commercial one, and on the other hand, with the fact that the eco- nomic status of the teacher is so low. Both of these facts are integral parts of our economic system. The lower social status of the teacher reacts upon educa- tion in various ways. In many classes of our population (and it is perhaps un- necessary to say that these are not the “lowest” classes) and in many communi- ties or districts, the respect accorded to _the teacher is so scanty that it directly affects the discipline and the effectiveness of the work. Connected with the eco- noinic status, it affects the self-esteem of the teacher and again interferes with good work. It denies to a large part of the teaching body opportunity for broader associations and so deprives the school of the intellectual and moral and aesthetic advantages that such associa- tions could bring. And finally it deprives the schools, and so the public, of the best services of hundreds of splendid, eager young men and women who are prepared to make the economic sacrifices involved in teaching, but who are not willing to make the sacrifices involved in the teacher’s social status. The aims of education and the eco- nomic order are incompatible. To which it is proper to reply that education is not an end in itself. That is true; but neither is the contract relationship or the prin- ciple of profit an end in itself. The spirit of democracy and the spirit of business are incompatible. Again, de- mocracy is not an end in itself, and neither is business. Education is a device for advancing human welfare; so is de- mocracy; so is business. These are all means to a more remote end. How then can we accord preéminence to one set of means to a common end over other means? We cannot. We can only ask, Which of the conflicting ideals today promises best to further the major end? Or, Which of the conflicting ideals can best be spared? From this point of view, I do not hesi- tate to say that the ideals of democracy, the ideals of the professional educators (with all their mistakes, which are many), the ideals of humanism—in har- mony with one another—hold greater promise for the future of this country, or of the human race, than do the ideals of our economic system—with which none of the others is in harmony. Education is not an end in itself; but it embodies the major purpose of con- scious civilization. Whatever stands in its way stands in the way of mankind's deepest interests. The prevailing eco- nomic order must pass, if for no other reason, then for this: It is the greatest obstacle to educational progress. _ Obe American Ceacher Democracy in Education ; Education for Democracy Published monthly, except July and August, by THE MOODS PUBLISHING COMPANY, 134 West 29th Street, New York. GEORGE SYLVESTER VIERECK, P» esident, Max R, HINeB, - - - - Treasure. HENRY R. LINVILLE, - - Editor-in-Chief. BENJAMIN C. GRUENBERG, - Managing Editor. Address all manuscripts and other communica- tions to THE AMERICAN TEACHER, 134 West 29th Street, New York. Subscription price, 50 cents for the year. Copyright, 1912, by THE Moops PUBLISHING COMPANY. SS" Entered at the Post Office of New York as second-class matter. Vor. I. SEPTEMBER, 1912. No. 7. It is the aim of this paper to better the working conditions of the teacher, thru sober criticisms of present edu- cational administration, and thru dis- cussions tending toward a general reali- zation of the democratic ideal in all maiters affecting the schools. A CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM WHEN THE SUGGESTION was made in these columns some months ago that teachers should be consulted in the selec- tion and grading of principals, it appear- ed to many as not only impracticable but too absurd to discuss seriously. A num- ber kindly pointed out the unsoundness cf the suggestion by carrying the argu- ment to the extreme, asking us “Why not consult the children, why not ask them what should be taught, why not ask them to pass upon the teachers, why not consult them on the management of the school?” These questions certainly carry our position to an absurd extreme and were thrown at us with an air that in- dicated that they are quite unanswerable. And yet the suggestion is not so ab- surd as it seems. For if we select our course of study from the point of view of the experts in the subjects, without consulting the interests and the capacities of the children, our work will be in vain. If we select our teachers upon the basis of excellent records in college or univer- sity examinations, we may bring to- gether scholarly and “able” men and women ; but if we ignore in this selection the tastes and the susceptibilities of the children, our corps of teachers will be as the weeping willow tree—abundant in foliage, but bearing no fruit. If we plan our school management on _ excellent models of efficient military or industrial plants, but fail to consult the nature of the child, our good order will be an empty mockery. And indeed, it is universally recogniz- ed among all who have given any thought to the matter that the nature of the child must be consulted at every step. That is the meaning of our child study and our experimental pedagogy and our courses in psychology and all our un- asy questionings about the final effi- ciency of our schools. It is because what a child needs to do, what a child is capable of doing, what a child likes to do ere vital bases for all schoolwork that those who have studied their subjects and courses of study and book of rules while ignoring the child systematically fail to do the right thing. The absurdity in the situation is not that children should be consulted in the erganization of and management of schools, but that grown up men and women who are getting paid for running schools should imagine the views and the character of the child irrelevant in school business. It is absurd that grown up men and women can think of no other way of consulting children than by ask- ing a class: “What would you like to do now”; or, “What kind of a teacher would you like next term?” Those teach- ers who systematically and conscientious- ly consult their children, and try to teach in accordance with what they thus learn, will be successful teachers. Those teach- ers who systematically and _ conscien- tiously consult the wishes of their princi- pals and supervisors and conduct their affairs in accordance with these wishes 94 THE AMERICAN TEACHER will undoubtedly be rated as good teach- ers; whether they really be good teachers or not is another matter. Should a body of high-grade teachers ever arise in this country, or anywhere else—this will only come to pass when a child shall lead them. YOURS TO SERVE WITH THE BEGINNING of the present school term the Board of Superintend- ents of New York City will be so organ- ized as to put each of the officials in charge of certain specified departments of activity, instead of certain geographi- cal divisions of the school system. This change is in accordance with recommen- dations made by the Hanus Committee on School Inquiry.; and it bears possi- bilities of far-reaching significance. It may be the beginning of a complete revo- lution in the organization and in the ideals of all our public schools. This change in organization is signifi- cant because it marks the transition from the “line” to the “staff.” The meaning of this distinction may perhaps be made clear by an illustration. There is inspection of the regiment. ‘the colonel and the inspecting officers parade down the line; every major stands at attention, facing the higher of- ficers, and in every detail of face and equipment is to be read Yours to com- mand. Each captain, backed by his lieutenants, stands in the same stiff posture, eyes riveted on “the man higher up,” and silently but eloquently salutes him, Yours to command. And so the sergeant to the lieutenant, the corporal to the sergeant, and the private to all above. The military organization is based on command from the highest down the line to the lowest, its chief virtue is obedi- ence, from the lowest to the highest. This is the principle of line organization. By this theory of organization most of our industry and commerce, most of our gvernment, most of our school adminis- trations have been guided. The pupils must obey the teachers, both must obey the principal, all three classes the super- visor, all four the superintendent. The new point of view reverses the relation. When the teacher comes into the room, she comes to serve the pupils. The main business of the school is the children’s business, not the teacher’s. Certain superior teachers (let us hope that they are superior) are appointed heads of departments, or principals. It is their business to serve the principals and the teachers, to facilitate the work of those “beneath” them in rank; for the important business of the system is not what goes on in the supervisor’s office, but what goes on in the head of the child, and all above must serve all below, all the way down the line. And the super- intendent, too, is not an end in himself; he is supreme because, having wider vision and deeper thought, he can best serve all the rest. This illustrates the staff organization. Instead of the stiff attitude of conven- tional respect and the generally insincere pass-word Yours to command, embodied in the traditional soldier, the new ideal calls for a human relaxation and the motto Yours to serve. To assign each teacher and each superintendent to the task wherein he may best serve the major purpose of the whole system, where he may best assist those with whom he is to cooperate in forwarding this major pur- pose, should be the aim of those whose task it is to appoint and promote and as- sign teachers and supervising officials. The result of adopting this ideal would be to establish the functional form of organization in place of the military; it would give to every member of a school system the benefit of the experience and thought of all the others, whether above him or below him in rank. The change in the organization of the Board of Superintendents in New York is but the latest step in the direction of democratizing the schools—tho one may well doubt whether any of those chiefly concerned thought the matter in this way at all. The step was taken in the in- terest of efficiency; but we shall find that wherever considerations of efficiency take account of the human element the solution lies in the direction of greater democracy. Slowly, for the most part unconsciously, those entrusted with the OD wie YD wee OD OD el ele —- « - THE AMERICAN TEACHER 95 ad:ninistration of the public schools are being forced to the adoption of more and more demucratic methods of operation of equipment and treatment of teachers and pupils. We should further and hasten the process by making it con- scious. We must work systematically to- ward the substitution of the staff prin- ciple of organization for that of the line principle, in the interests of efficiency as the “taxpayer” understands efficiency ; in the interests of the half-million teachers who do the actual work of the schools; in the interests of the children who have most to gain or to lose; and in the inter- ests of that society which is always ar- riving but never here. THE WELFARE of a nation ob- viously depends on the quality, as well as the number, of its school teachers. The men and women who have control of children and young people for a large fraction of their lives—who di- rect their opinions about the facts of the world and form many of their habits of thought, feeling and action, who fit future lawyers, physicians, clergymen, engineers, accountants, nurses and the like for their profes- sions, and who are assuming a larger and larger share of the work of fitting the next generation for all its duties and privileges—should obviously be themselves first-rate in intellect, morals and skill. A nation which lets incapables teach it, while the capable men and women only feed and clothe or amuse it, is committing intellectual suicide. Conversely an enormous fu- ture gain is made by taking an Eliot for Harvard College rather than for a cotton factory; or by letting William James discover truth and teach our sons, instead of curing their ailments as a medical practitioner. Of the gen- eral problem of utilizing every indi- vidual’s original capacities so as to have each do his most for the common good, there is no more important part than saving to teach us those who can do it well. From Edward L. Thorndike’s “Education.” THE PRICE OF PEACE War IS HELL. We assert this on the best of authority—the authority of men who have experienced it. The honest men and women of the world, those who nave to work for a living, are tired of war, they are sick of war. The thought- fix] men and women of the world, those of clear vision who can look thru tradi- tions and see beyond to-morrow, are dis- gusted with war, with its folly, its cruel- ty, its unspeakable cruelty and folly. The teachers of France have commit- ted the indiscretion of resoluting against this ancient and honorable, but worse than stupid method of settling interna- tional disputes. As leaders of the young they evidently felt it incumbent upon them to give voice to the commonplace of all enlightened minds—namely, that war is in all ways undesirable. But this kind of resoluting, it seems, falls in the category of the unpardonable -—in France. For at a recent meeting of the Cabinet the Minister of Educa- tion was directed to dissolve the thirty- odd teachers’ organizations that repre- sent the thought and devotion of the best citizens of France. If this had happened in Russia—well, it could not happen in Russia. Last summer the teachers there planned to have a national convention, but the Gov- ernment would not permit this to take place. If this had happened in Ger- many, we should attribute the action of the Cabinet to the fact that in a mon- archy liberty of thought and expression is restricted. . But France is a Republic—our Sister Republic! France is also the land of the free and home of the brave, as witness her motto: “Liberty, Equality, Frater- nity!” But France has maintained, in spite of the republican political forms, a thoroly reactionary military organiza- tion in all departments of public life, and it is this that has made impossible a healthy development of democratic rela- toons in her bureaus and ministries. France, under the third Republic, admin- isters her affairs in close imitation of the German Empire—and for the simple reason that her leading citizens are in close commercial competition with those 96 THE AMERICAN TEACHER of Germany and of the other principal nations. No nation can become demo- cratized unless all her neighbors are pre- pared to do the same; no department of life can become free while the rest are in chains. Our education is intimately bound up with our life, in the end edu- cation is life; and education cannot be free while the men and women who carry it forward, the men and women who pay for it, the men and women who direct it, are one and all tied by tradi- tions, frightened by formulas, and crushed by competition. It is impossible for any cabinet minis- ter in this country to dissolve our teach- ers’ associations because of any resolu- tions we may adopt. But we may not yet boast of our liberties. ETHICS .might be inculcated through answering questions on chil- dren’s own daily problems. Each child is continually grappling and trying to solve the right and wrong of certain acts. Questions could be submitted by the pupils and the solution could be made a matter of discussion. No names or personalities «eed be intro- duced so that each question would be considered on its own merits. OUR GERMAN TEACHERS ON A VISIT Tue Teacuers of German who re- cently returned to America from spend- ing their vacations in traveling thru Germany, speak in terms of the highest appreciation of the courtesies of their official and professional hosts. The Em- peror and the Empress and all the long line of officials and plain citizens thru the land joined in the cordial greeting to cur compatriots. Altho the mayors of cities wel- comed the guests, the real hosts were the teachers of the Fatherland, a splen- did body of respected and self-respect- ing men and women. Think of being entertained in a teachers’ club house! And better still, think of simply having a club house, and using it as a source of inspiration for full social and civic existence! Many of the larger cities of Germany have teachers’ club houses that are models of convenience and architectural beauty. Among those especially men- tioned by the visitors are the club houses at Berlin, Hamburg, Diisseldorf and Frankfurt. The last is a club house for men and women. QUESTIONS ON QUESTIONING Do I CALL on my pupils to recite in a fxed order, according to alphabet or seating, so that they are warned not to attend until their turn comes? Do I name the pupil who is to answer before I place the question? Do I ask direct questions, or Do I ask alternative questions, which can be answered without knowledge or thot? Do I ask chiefly fact questions? Do I ask leading or suggestive ques- tions ? Do I repeat my questions, so that the dear children who are cloud-chasing may have a chance to know what it’s all about? Do I change my question after it is asked, so as to confuse the pupils, or to show that I am not quite sure what I do mean? Do I answer my own questions? Do I ask fool questions that no one can answer? Do my questions make the children think? Do I follow up an answer with suit- able questions ? Do my questions lead to new organ- ization of knowledge on the part of the pupils? Do I repeat the pupil’s answer? Do my questions reach all the mem- bers of my class? Do I pursue a slow pupil in lawyer- like cross-examination ? Do I make the recitation an inquisi- tion, or am I content occasionally to lis- ten while pupils express themselves freely and naturally? ek be GC a Ba ats Ge a Ges THE AMERICAN TEACHER 97 VITALIZING THE CLASS ROOM Exvras LIEBERMAN. THE TRUE TEACHER is the enginecr. From the point of vantage which his ed- tcation and experience have given him, he studies the forces under his control and seeks to apply them. He turns his classroom into a community in which every citizen is pursuing the fascinating study of his surroundings in relation to himself. Each pupil learns the sources of his peculiar strength and the value of his individual contribution to the life of his exacting community. All the colors of the spotlight of popu- iarity play about the doer; the darkness of communal contempt settles about the sluggard, the shirker, the egotist, the parasite, until he mends his ways. All this when the teacher is the controlling power that he should be, when under his direction every human dynamo is throbbing away at the unique task to which it is best adapted. But it is a far cry from the closet of the theorist in education to the workshop of the classroom. The vision is dulled by chalk dust, and the regenerator of humanity suffers from reports, examina- tions, marks and kindred visitations. How can the dream of the dynamic class be made an actuality to-day? Let us assume for the sake of definite- ness that we are dealing with boys whose ages range from twelve to fifteen. The live teacher will be able to see for him- self how much of what follows is appli- cable to the conditions under which he works. Immediately after the routine of pre- liminary organization has been attended to, an election for class president is held. “he teacher explains what qualities of initiative, reliability and scholarship the boys should look for. He encourages discussion. This, if not done mechan- ically—for mere mechanism is death— develops community spirit and a feeling of responsibility among the pupils. Class colors and a class motto are then chosen. A vice-president, a secretary and an ex- ecutive committee are elected. The duties of these officials are regulated by the teacher. A member who can print (and what class has not at least one boy who enjoys such work) is requested to prepare motto cards and also a list of officers. When all this has been done, the class is ready for its official organ, the Class Journal. A few weeks after the begin- ning of the term is the best time for the initiation of this important class activity. By that time the teacher should know his class. He can guide the selection of the editorial staff. The active fellow who has already begun asserting himself in the control of public opinion is elected editor-in-chief. The class is not likely to choose a weakling; but if it does, it is sure to profit by its error. Under the editor-in-chief works a staff of assist- ants. The following departments are as- signed to various boys: Athletics; Class Notes and News; Editorials; Stories and Poems (original, if possible); Current Events; School News; Humor, and others that may suggest themselves to the individual teacher, for no two classes are ever exactly alike. Not the least negligible factor in the array of talent which helps to produce the paper is the artist. He makes the cover and whatever inside decorations are required by the editor. The latter is made to feel that he has a difficult com- munity to please and that upon him rests the burden of interesting, instructing and guiding the class. What a powerful force this Journal can be made on the side of order and progress! Aside from the Journal every class- room may with profit have two bulletin Loards in charge of their respective com- mittees. One of these can be devoted to class news, announcements and current events; the other to artistic reproduction of master-pieces and interesting views grouped about a specific topic and changed frequently. A mere suggestion will stimulate a class into hunting for these clippings and pictures, especially if the feeling of unity for which the teacher has been striving is already making itself fit. The cleanliness of the room is in charge of a committee responsible to the president. Other duties adapting them- selves to a similar form of treatment are 98 THE AMERICAN TEACHER ventilation, care of plants, care of the aquarium, the tutoring of weak pupils by the strong for the sake of class stand- ing. The athletic manager is also a per- sonage whose work, properly guided, may serve to build up a stronger phy- sique in a puny, timid classmate. Enough has been said to show that it is possible to organize a class into a com- munity. Of course the teacher’s person- ality is an indispensable aid to all this. Without him at his best nothing will work out properly. But there is no short cut known to man that will lead to re- sults worth while without the expendi- ture of brains and effort. The reward is tremendous. If only one child has awak- ened to a sense of his own peculiar bent, what a success the teacher has been! Among the misfits of the world there is one less, one discord less to mar the music of the spheres. IS IT FAIR to confine “superior merit” to New York City High School teachers? Why not adopt a uniform “merit” scheme for all the teachers in the system? Does the study of the historic “hu- manities” as carried on in a modern atmosphere, produce the humane man —the man who, as in olden view, saw profoundly, thought deeply, sympa- thized widely, and became a blessed source of high ideals, correct thinking and benign sentiment? Are our high school graduates liberally educated to utilize and thereby to improve service in the making of books, the preaching of sermons, the nurture of children, the policing of cities, the administration of charity, and the presentation of plays? Is the organized training of the aver- age college of liberal arts (not college life, since often by chance or design, this is unquestionably liberalizing) such as to produce high grade ap- preciation and effective powers of utili- zation in the fields of citizenship, art, social intercourse, religion?—David Snedden in “The Atlantic Month- ly” for January. BOOK REVIEWS THE MONTESSORI METHOD. By Maria Montessori; translated by ANNE E. Georce. 800 pp. xiii—377, illustrated. 1912. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company. $1.75 net. The Montessori Schools at Rome, or the Casa dei Bambini (Houses of Childhood), as they are called, have aroused a wide interest in educational circles. Not only has this in- terest been aroused on account of the remark- able progress of the little people who attend these schools but also on account of the funda- mental principles underlying the work done there. Madame Montessori, who is the creator of the Casa dei Bambini, believes that a scientific pedagogy should be established in order to in- sure educational progress, and that the schools themselves should offer the oppor- tunity for educational research. A careful study of the child must be made before we attempt to educate him, and only in doing this shall we arrive at scientific pedagogy. She would have the teacher a scientist, not only in the letter, but also in the spirit, and she would make ready the schools for his observa- tions. In order to insure the teacher time for such observations and experimentation the spirit of the schools themselves must be changed, and the child must be allowed full freedom in order to create an atmosphere in which the child will truly reveal himself. The formality of the ordinary school room vanishes; desks and stationary seats are abol- ished and easy chairs and sensible tables take their places.) Madame Montessori herself de- signed the furniture, having it made scientific- ally, and light enough to be easily carried by the children when desired. Places are pro- vided for wash basins with little pitchers and soap, so that the children may learn to care for their small persons. Low cupboards are made for the didactic material. Ample black- board space is provided. Attractive pictures are hung on the walls. In this environment the children learn to conduct themselves with poise and sureness. Madame Montessori has invented . an- thropometer with which measurements of che children are taken at regular intervals and a record kept for each child. A physician is kept lui THE AMERICAN TEACHER 99 in close touch with each child and when neces- sary with the home of the child. It is clear that the discipline in these schools is far different from that demanded in our own class rooms. And yet visitors are struck with the order in the Casa dei Bambini. The children are all busy and happy, the teacher quiet and unobtrusive. Perfect liberty is al- lowed the child, within the limits of good breeding and with respect to the rights of others. A quiet orderly atmosphere is main- tained, for each child is at work. This work is self-chosen. It is work that the child really wants to do, and wants to do at that particu- lar time. He thus becomes absorbed in his task and discipline is nil. This order of things does away with class work, the lessons are in- dividual by necessity. The teacher’s task is passive rather than active. Her duty is to observe the child at work, note what interests him and how long, offer sug- gestions now and then, encourage what is worthy and discourage what is futile. Some- times for hours not a word is spoken. The first idea that the child must acquire, in order to be actively disciplined, is that of the differ- ence between good and evil. The task of the educator lies in seeing that the child does not confound good with immobility, and evil with activity, because our aim is to discipline for activity, for work, for good, not for immobil- ity, not for passivity, not for obedience. The Montessosi schools are in session the greater part of the day, the time including luncheon and the nap hour. The program for the day is as follows: g-10o—Entrance. Greeting. Inspection of per- sonal cleanliness. Exercises of practical life; helping one another with aprons. Inspecting the cleanliness of the room. Language. Conversation period. Chil- dren give an account of the events of the day before. Religious exercises. 10-11I—Intellectual exercises. Objective lessons interrupted by short rest periods. Names of things. Sense training. 10-11.30—Simple gymnastics. 11.30-12—Luncheon. Short prayer. 12-I—Free games. 1-2—Directed games, if possible in open air. General inspection for cleanliness. Con- versation. 2-3—Manual work. Clay modelling, design, etc. 3-4—Collective gymnastics and songs. Exer- cises to develop forethought. Visiting and caring for plants and animals. The gymnastics follow the child’s natural movements, walking, marching, salutations, movements for attention, placing objects gracefully, etc. The children exercise on swings, on the stairs, on rope ladders and do broad jumping. They learn to throw, to kneel, to rise, etc. They have the rhythms and many of the games of Froebel. They also play with numerous toys. Included under the head of gymnastics are the sense frames of the didactic material. There are respiratory gymnastics and drills in articulation as well. Gardening and caring for animals come under this head. Vase making, house building and other plas- tic work are important features of manual training. The educational feature that makes the Mon- tessori method unique is the special emphasis placed on the training of the senses. “Between the ages of 3 and 7 is the period for the formation of the sense activities as re- lated to the intellect. This is the time when we should methodically direct the sense stimuli. The education of the senses makes men ob- servers. Multiply the sensations and develop the capacity of appreciating fine differences in stimuli, and we refine the sensibilities and multiply man’s pleasures.” Madame Montessori has designed and has had manufactured certain didactic material which is used in the education of the senses. This material has an added value in that it is so constructed as to make auto-correction and auto-education possible. “This material at- tracts the spontaneous attention of the child, and second, contains a rational gradation of stimuli.” The results obtained by the Montessori method of teaching reading and writing have astonished educators. Madame Montessori teaches her four year old children to write in a month or a month and a half. “They be- come experts after three months.” She saw that “preparatory movements could be carried 100 on by means of repeated exercises not in the work itself bet that which prepares for it.” some of the The following are steps lead- ing up to reading: ist, Tracing geometric inserts with the fingers. 2nd, Tracing sand paper letters with the fingers. ard, Placiry wooden letters on correspond- ing letters printed on cards. The names of the sated while tracing. Consonants vowels in red. letters are rep are in b'ue. the ath, Learning different letter combinations trom cards. : ing simple words from cards. 6th, Reading from the blackboard. played to test ability. that in 7th, Games Madame Montessori saw writing THE AMERICAN TEACHER there were two things to master, the letters and the pencil. The letters were learned they learned to read. Facility with the pencil was gained by drawing around geometric in- serts and by filling in geometric figures with crayon. Later letters were traced. Then a movable alphabet was provided with which the children made words as the teacher articulated them. Numeration is taught through the counting of money and with certain special didactic material. Trays are furnished divided into compartements, with numbers pasted to the bottom of each compartment. The chil- dren place the corresponding number of beans, peas, in each division. Games are played impressing different number com- seeds, pegs, etc., binations. ADELE MILN LINVILLE. IF YOU IMAGINE you are familiar with every really first-class magazine, you’re mistaken. Among whose iw have appeared in symposia published THE INTERNATIONAL are the following Booker T. Washingten Elbert Hubbard Hon. Champ Clark pton Sinclair Ex-Pres. Charles W. Elliot W. B. Burkhardt Dubois Prof. John Dewey Jobn + Edith Wynne Matthison Hutchins Jack ndon Reginald wa ke Kauffman Robert Herrick Rheta Childe Dorr Charlotte Perkins Gilman THE INTERNATIONAL, is remarkable for the a and stories which it prints in every number, or the exceptionally high standard of its poetry, criticism and political and literary essays. EDITED BY B. RUSSELL HERTS RICHARD LE GALLIENNE AND GEORGE SYLVESTER VIERECK Oy the hosts of letters from subscribers that have been received, the following are a fair selection: Rev. P. Gavan Duffy writes: ‘I think Tue INTERNATIONAL has set up a distinct standard which reflects credit, not merely on those directly responsible for it, but on American effort and literary capability. I am ge. that we have such a publication—it was needed Charles Ferguson, efteshs writer, Hearst Morning Papers, says: ‘No better editorials are appearing at this “moment than those in THE INTERNATIONAL. You:should be happy by the R. Ll. S. test for you ‘have done good work’."’ The International, e100} ial Price for The American Teacher, .50 $1.15 THE MOODS PUBLISHING CO. 134-140 West 29th Street, New York MAKE YOUR READING COUNT Read This Course (Thirty-fifth C.L. S. C. Year) Progress in Contemporary Europe. tte y Austin Ogg, A. M., Ph. D., Assistant Professor of History, Sim: mons College, Boston, author ‘Saxon En bn wie he ee Mornings with Masters of Art. H. H. Powers, Ph.D., President Bureau of University Travel, hoston. 125 illus- IS 6 ck he © Re ee 2.00 The Soup. of French Letters. 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