Text
jfcrb ·lball jfcll~s
"
VoL. I.
No. 3.
Jannary 12, 1913.
WAS IT CURIOSITY LARGELY?
Our first i;;sue made a remarlrn!Jle
record-it pnld for ilseH and hacl n
balance left over of $1.85, together
with a number of unsold copies, some
or which mny yet be sold, Are yo11
going to keep a complete file of tliis
paper. from the very first Issue? 'rhen
make sure that you have a copy of
these early issues; tliey will be very
scarce a little later,
It is certaiuly gratifying to us
all to have the flrst uumber of li'ul'tl
}Jail Polk~ so generously welcomed; so
far, very good: But the real test will
come on the second, and third, and
fourth issues. \Vas It curiosity that
led a good many to buy that fin;t number and ls that curiosity now satifled?
Or on the ot11er hancl, are there a goocl
many who clicl not see the fii•st copy,
and perhaps dlcl not lrnow about it,
who will be eager to buy one 'as soon
as the matter Is brought to tlleir attention? Our success hangs on the answer
to these two questions. You can help
ans\\;er the secon cl one by calling the
attention of your friends and neighbors among the Fore] Hall folks to the
fact that a weekly paper is' being published.
Sn!Jscriptions are coming In from
various directions. That is a healthy
sign. -what about getting in touch
with those hunclrnds of people who
want to come to Ford Hall hut who
cannot brave the crowds or wait in
line? Scores of them would be glad
to subscrilJe H they knew whnt we are
doing. Cnn'L you reach some or them
and tell them about IL?
Surely those who heard l\frs. Spencer will want the copy of her address herein contained ancl nrnny who
missed hearing her will be eager to
get a copy, too. It was different from
Price Ten Cents,
anything we have ever hncl before nncl
was immensely appre.ciated,
Young Loudon, our business manager, ls taking hold of the work in
splendid fashion. Help him on every
chance yon get.
tr~~~~
NEXT WEEK'S SPEAKER.
\Ve shall have a red-letter uig!Jt next
Sunday for then Dr. Yamei Kin of
China addresses us on '"l'he A wakening of China," with particular reference, we may assume, to the extraordinary \Vomen-Movement that is now
so clrong there, Dr. Kin ls a fount
of flrst-lrnncl informalion concerning
ev·ery phase of lit'e in this new Revublic of the enst.
THE PRAYER.
{ l)r; 1,•p1li11g· Jl1·x. Npe11<•pt•'s .Ad(lre:-.s.)
\Ve give thanks for the capacity and
the desire to learn wilh which Thon
hast. endowed us. ',Ve rejoice in the
blessings that the Public School has
brought into our Jives, \Ve pray for
an open mind and an .attentive spirit
that we may learn each dny the lessons of life that Thou wouldst teach
us. Help us to cherish Olli' public
school system, to guard it against
every dange1: that threatens, and to
welcome every change that will make
it n more efflcien t servant of all the
people,
It is with glnd hearts that we recognize that tllis great function of giving
a fundamental education to all the
people rests upon the divine pl'iuciple of reqniring from every citizen according to his abillty and giving lo
every child according to its need. With
such a glorious foundation on which to
build, help uii to go on in the same
spirit, not resting content until every
child grncluating frnm our public
schools has received tlle best equipment for n life and for a living thnt it
was possible for thnt child to receive.
Amen.
2
FORD HALL FOLKS
\
ARE OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS DEM•
OCRATIC?
ska! expression from all the 11eople
that shows the great, almost ineal(Add1•p,.;i-4 of ~11·~. A111u1 (:n1·1in HpPlll'el'
culable distance we have moved from·
;II till' )•'01'11 ))11)1 ~l1•pf)11!-(H,
that old iclea that edncation is a copy
,l1111t1111•~• ii, l!l1::,)
Mr. Chairman and Frlen1lf1: I thought of the past. \Ve had something lnlrod11ccd Into our thinking less than a
when Mr. Cole1nan waR going to name
hnndred years ago that changed that
the iirntltntions from which he took his
idea-we began to understand lha t
direct.ion for these Ford Hall meetings
mankind is not a static, but a dynamic
that he would namo 0111· own Cooper
in its life-that we are not Co cancel ve
Union in New York; but he did not so
one genern tion as cop~•lng the 11receedI will say that I sometimes tell our
lng lrnt as hr~ing snpm'ior to the preCooper Union friends, whom I have
cet1di11g, doing something new, somethe pleasme of meeting every winter
and sometimes more than once, that · thing [or its own spiritual advancement; and so the old idea of covying
they have a Cooper Union in Boston.
even the best of the men and women
When I·say that the Cooper Union peothat ever livecl has given place to thede}lle all feel very happy because lhey
volovment of independent and individlhink their Cooper Union is about. the
ual vower, \Ve are making mistakes
best thing there is,
In Olli' aLlministrntion of it and some
l have been asked by vonr director
very crude mistakes and some very
and leader to speak lonlgl;t on the subfoolish mistakes, and we are sometimes
ject of the public school and I venlnre
getting an atmosvhere in whicl1 the·
to })lit my title in tho form of a q11oschild thinks today something far difLion-"ls tho irublic school of America
ferent than does his fat.he!' and mother
<lo111oc1·alic?"
and Lhnl. it must be better because it is
We lllllRt begin Olli' cliHCllRsion with
different. Moveover, we are not yet
reminding ourselves that eVC'l'y special
over the first awkwardness of a beginera in human develovment. has had its
ning in a new field. But we have come
own a\)!iropriale form of education,
to feel lhat this idealism in edncalion,
'Whenever a set of people in savage
this idealism of 11rogress rather than of
life, or in clvilize<l lll'e have set about
copy of the past ls parlicularly the
inRll'l1uling youth they have lrled to
ideal for llS and it is true that it be- Ir'
renlize and to verpetnate lhe ideals
longs to onr era and our civilization in'
they have accepted. E\'ery c11·a has
a peculiar sense, 'l'o he sure Aristotle,
songht to express ilRelf and perpetnate
that l\loHt modern mind of nntiqnlt,v,
itRelf in the education of youth. You
antici]lated onr idealism in edllcatlon
know the great example ol' many
when he said, "TIJvery human mind
churches who have said "Give us the
crnves truth, and the mind grows as
children until they are ten OI' twelve
lhe hocly grows by having Sllitable
~,ears of age and we will know that our
nourishment and uot by being placed
ohurch will remain vennanent."
ll]lon the rack." But then Aristotle
\Ve have to<lay what we call a new
talked tu a wmld in which it was still
educnt.ion and it is new in its pe1·ce11•
believed that you must spiritually
tion of what education should be; and
s111rn1·-im11ose upon youth an absolute
in so far ns it is new it i:; democrnlic
model, and that education meant learnand our object tonight will be to see
ing to copy and to copy nccnrate!y,
\vhether we realize the ideals of this
Then again we have had an incalcnnew education, 'l'here are five J)oinls
lable change in Olli' edncatlonal ideals
lhat I think we lllnst discm1s logelher
and in the scove of edllcalion and of
-five points of the most profound
the edncalional system. All the educachange in educational conceptions and
tions of the vast wm·e chiss educationideals which mal'k this which we have
the formal suhooling was, until very
vroperly called the new education. :
lntely, reserved only for those people
'rhe first is the change in the ideal
on the top of life's opportunity who
of what we wish to arcomplish by eclnhad leisure and chance, who were the
cation. All the old cil'llizations wishecl
favored, as we say, of fortune; but now
to ]lerpotuate themselves by repetition.
we have entered upon a new era and
They selected certain things in Ji[e,
we call it Democracy. \Vhat docs De·
certain charnclerR, certain silna I.I 01m,
mocracy mean in the o<lucallonal llelcl?
certain sets of circumRLances ancl Rot
It means that every human being is a
them up as if a lrnrrior to keop lrnek
pt1lcnlial citi;,;en and therofore it is fair
change, You have had a very radical
that every human being should havo
and line illustration in lho op~ning adan adequate education.
llress on the new way or creating mu-
!l
I
FORD HALL FOLKS
fi'om all the people
lie greal, almost Inca!,·,\ we have moved fl'on1
that education is a cOJJY
\\' e hnd sonrnthing intl'o11 thinldng less than n,
; ago that changed that
:111 to undel'stand that
,1 a static, but a dynamic
VI we are not to conceive
1 :1s copying lhe pl'eceedi 11g; S!IJ)Cl'ior to the rire~ometlllng new, some,, wn spil'itual advance1l,c old idea ot co])ying
111· the men and women
li:1s given place to tllecle1,ilependent and individ,, are maldng mistakes
.\ rntion oE it and some
ii a\,cs anc1 some very
,·,. an1l we are sometimes
1,,spliel'e ln which the
il:1y ;:ometlling fal' tlif- hi;: fathe1· nm! molhe1·
t he better because it is
,·uve1· we are not yet
1 l,wa;·dness of a begin' hl. But we have come
, i1leali~m in educ\1tion,
111 •ogrcss rntller t,an of
,~l h; partlculal'ly the
I it is tl'\le that it lle:illll our civilization in
To )Jc sme Aristotle;
111 mind at' antiquity,
itlenlism in cdncnlion
"\Dvcl'y hnman mind
ii the mind gl'ows as
\Jy having suitable
I n~t by being pll,lced
But then Aristotle
I in which it was still
()l\
mnst spil'itually
,11 youth an alJsolnte
d11ention meant learn\" copy accnl'ately,
1,a ve had an incalcu,111· ctlncntionnl ideals
<>L eclucntion and of
~tern. All the ecluca,, re clnss educationling was, until very
11 ly for those people
,,•s opporlnnity who
1,:1nce, who were the
or fol'tnnc; lrnt now
;1 pon a new era and
:«·y. ·what does De1,c edncntional field?
11· lrnman being is ~
,;I lheJ'o[Ot'C it is fair
\icing shonltl have
tion.
1011
Bnl we hn ve so changed in our conception ot' what education should lie
in scope thnt the old kind of educational function has entirely gone by,
I remember nol so very long ago,
however, henl'ing a man who wns u11on a public platl'orm on au educational
topic say the important thing in edncntlon is how we shall train the leaders of the race and then n voice from
the re,·.r spoke up and said, "How do
we know who al'e going to be the leaders of the race?" (Applause,) 'J'he
revel'end gentleman had no reply lint
somebody else 011 lhc platform said:
"Liberntion at' power in the mass to
develop every human being into n
personality will show us and that is
thu only thing that will show us."
(Applause.) So, so fnr ns our illeal
of educnlion Is concerned, in its scope
it is democrnlic. Thus we hnve hall
a tre1)1(rndous change in our educational ideals leading to n grent ehange
in O11r educational Jll'aclice.
The conlenl ol' education, too, has
!Jeon imrnens11rn1Jly euln!'ged.
Look
up the college catalogues of 100 or
150 years ago and see how l'ew were
the sHbjeels HllJl!IOsc;d to comprise liberal c11ll11re. Now tnke 11p one of O11r
recent college catalogues or even our
high school year-boolrn and see how
8lmost infinitely eulargcd is the area
of hnman knowledge. f<'or that we
are illllelJted to that gl'(sat iconoelast
and (lye-O11e11ur, 'Modern Seience, that
sho\\'s 11s that it is not enough to
lrnow what some ]l(oople thoHght ailll
put in a book ahonl certain subjects,
but that we must lrnow what kind of
a universe we a1·e Jiving in nnd the
relnlion or things helow us. 'What
crin he dono by the p1·ojecl ion of education into wlw{ wern unknown fields
even a hnn1lrrnl years ngo is •SO slupenllom; that. we nrn almost pnrnlyzed.
And that nl'l'ects onr public school In
11 rcrnarlrnhle and often in a tragic
manner.
We shall spenk a little later of the
methods of ou1· Hchools, but I mnst
say this to you; {hat we have hnd
pressing upon us t'rnm !he kindel'gnrlen thro11gh the elementary school
a wholly new scope nnd breadth of
edncation nntl have hnd 1iressing down
lo the high school another great con,
gerie or stmlies thnt seem to be absolutely necessary J'or the student to
know somtithing· nhont; and in the
elementan• school the two things have
come toget!Hw liken lnmbermnn's jam.
Something lw:,; got to give way, we
ennnot hn ve n shorter school day,
more
3
vacations nnd more holidays,
longer sn·mmer vacations; W(l
cannot keep on cutting 011' at every
end our time of study nnd then ponr
in an infinitely increased content of
education. 'l'he lLnchers are getting
nel'vons pruslralion by wholesale trying to do llle impossible-putting n
gallon into a pint; and the children
nre following, loo, in their wild rush
l'or lrnowledge-as wns fully illustrnted by the little girls abrnpt change
from SnlJlinth evening peace to Monday moming lrnrry (refe!'ring to the
demonstration of musical composition
)Jy children given enl'lier in the evenings). Jn the midst or it all we are
canght in this wWening content or
education, nncl in the el'forl to apply it
not only to people whose ancestol'S
browsed nromHl in a lillrary, lint to
those whose ancestors never had nny
formnl 8chooling; and in onr effort lo
flllJl]Y 1hiB mulllplied form of content
lo all the people with all the historic
backgrounds that are mixed in onr
great populnlion we are slrnggling
with lhnl which a]Ji,olnlely requires
the next £,hnnge nnd that is a change
in melhocl. We have achieved a wonderful change in method in some respects. vVc have found that Jr you are
going to develop i111livldnal power and
im11rove !he generations by conscious
el'tor( ns they mnrnh along; i1' you are
going to lake within your :;cope or
ednenlion all faculties nml r11mlilies
and oondiliollB and sortB ot' human
beings; if yon nre going to illcrease
your content beyond the wildest
dreams ot' any e<lncator of the Eighteenth Century, then you must have a
cliffet•enl method, You can not simply
set chiltlnm to rn1rnat and memol'ize,
lo do the mere things that menn the
saying over and over and over again
of something enough to make it so
that it cannot be forgotten, but we
hnve ·gol to have something that altracts the attention and holds the
power at ne<Jllisitlon immediately,· nnd
so 11'0 have come inlo nu era of clomonst l'alion, \Ve have pushed the laborntol'y from the post-grud11ale course
in the university down into the elementai·y school and we !ll'e pushing il
more and more, nud now somebody
snys that we are going to gel (I believe it is Mr. Edison) our education
quick, on the run, by !he moving pieturn that is going to ponr into us as
we stop for a minute bet ween sandwiches nll that we need to know.
\'Ire]], we mny lnugh if we will, but
somehow we have got to grip th(:) at-
Hll<l
4
FORD HALL FOLKS
tenliou of the child more quickly than
er can properly take care of; and the
the old content of edncation required
lower down we go in the school and
-we have got lo hold more vital relathe younger the child and the more
llonshi]l with that system to keep lh'l disastrous this treatment therefore,
child's allenllo11. The method must is, the more we crowd the schoolbe one of demonstralio11-overy child
rooms and the less we supply the
must know that he knows. \Ve can- proper teaching material. But'in spite
not trust in this enormons business or
of that we are lrneping on, and it is
education t~ any sort of acceptance
clear now that what Is wanted is lo
and tradition.
set this pyramid of education that we
When only a few ]leople at lhe top
have inverted on its true foundation.
of !He received formal schooling;
The younger the child the more exwhen it was not considerncl necessary
travagantly we shoulcl supply it with
for manna! workers to read and write;
its educational food and surroundings
when all the commonwealth of (ho11ght
and lhe elder the child the better he
was shut away for the benellt of a
can afford to be crowded and pushed
select few; then ed11calion might be
along. Not that I want to hinder the
a matter of home provision or of
older on(?s, but if we liave got to sacchurch supervision; b11t the fact that
rifice anywhere we must not sacrifj_ee
it has become so enorn10usly extended
with the younger children as we are
in its scope of content emphasizes thb
)H·one to do at the present time.
fact that no institution is strong
Then as to sco11e: iVe say grandly
enough, and rellgious eno11gh, and able
when we are having our Fourth of
enough to reach all the people except
July orations,· and at other times .of
the Slate. So the State is stanclanlizsel!'-complaccmcy, that the American
ing ,education as well as providing it.
Public Schools stand for the open cloor
I have no brief for the ]luhlic school
for every age, yet if we refer to sta·
iigainst lhe private school, bul I betiRtics we find that average children of
lieve the 11rivat.e school is valuable
the United Stat.es have five years and · ♦
almost entirely as a place to try out
a fraction of schooling for ten mouths ,
each with twenty clays in a m,onth.
improvements in education.
There
are certain things so delicate and dif'The Sage Foundation has just brought
llc11lt and expensive in working oul
out a hook containing ·a very careful
these problems of edncallon (hat. we
study of this whole .situation . . . . .
cannot ask the taxpayer lo 111Hlersla1Hl
How many ecl11cators, .however, come
in the first place th[;t thny are nncnsbefore an anclience with any clear iclcnl
of lhis most fundamontal of all quessary, and in lhe second placfl consunl
to the expense involved; and so prit ions in education; what is the Iden!
eclucnt.lon for children, nil children up
vate schools may be great. experiment
to the age of 14? That is the problem
stations in education. I am sorry lo
in American education as it iR in edusay they are nol all t.ha t. They sometimes are very backward, making Jilcation everywhere. iVlrnt shall we do
to develop most perfectly not only one
lie eddies in social progress-they
],incl of a chilcl but every kinµ of child
keep people feeling they arn bet ler
in the early years of life? And right
than other people when they are not;
but they may be of great help in ashere I want to say a word about industrial training. I believe in indussisting our public education, 11ndertrial eclucation. I believe in it with
slancling that their limit is lo show
nil my heart; I lielleve in it for every
the State how to do it.
child; but not inclnstrlal training
Now, let us go over our points again
that. sharpens to an economical choice
and see if they are really as demolhe Iii tie chilcl's lll'e. I would keep the
cratic in realization as they are in
whirr of the factory wheels away from
ideal.
the elementary schools. I would keep
First: The purvose of edncationthe Idea of specialization away from
l.he liberation of power. The father of
elementary education. I would try and
our new ed11cat.ion has said so wisely
devise with all the wisclom we can
"Ecl11cation is not learning this or that,
bring to bear upon it an education that.
hnt finding ont what each child was
shall fit all children to be whole permoant to become." \Ve have not got
sons. Emerson said, you know: "iVe
annvhere near that In our public
want. not thinkers, but men thinking."
school education. -we still put tho
children in lhe hopper and they move . l[ that be true, ancl I believe it. is, it
is a thousand times more true that we
along from one place lo the other, and
want not workers but men and women
we give about three times as nrnn~·
worldng,
children to each teacher as any teach-
so
f
,.
lf
I
I
i
J
FORD HALL FOLKS
take care of; and the
, go in the school und
''-' child and the more
treatment therefore,
.rn crowd the schoolless we supply the
materia L But in spite
1 ►ceping on, and It is
what is wanted is to
I of education that we
111 ils true foundation.
It' c,liild the more excifttuld supply it with
!'t 10<1 and Slll'l'Ollndings
111; child the better he
, crowded and pushed
I want to hinder the
i r we have got to sac11 c must not sacrlfke
· diilclren as W(J are so
11• present time.
111e: ,Ve say grandly
;i ving
our Fourth ot'
1111 at other Umes of
that the American
·,111d for the open c\oor
•t if we ret'er•to sta:it average thildren of
, have five years and
"'ling tor ten months
.1· days in a month.
I iun has just brought
1i11ing ·a very carefnl
,1 o situation. . . . .
•,1 tors, however, come
, wilh any clear ideal
lamental of all ques·,1: wliat ls tl1e ldcrn I
dren, all childl'Elll HP
'l'hat is the problem
,tion as lt ls in edn. \Vlrnt shall ,ve do
,,,rectly not only one
every kind of child
, ol' life? And right
, 1· a word a!Jont in. I bl1lieve in lndus' believe in it with
litivc in it for every
i11dustl'ial training'
11 econoinical choice
t'.
1 wonlcl keep the
1· whculs away from
,'1101s. I would lrnep
li;,atlon away fl'om
,11. I would tq' antl
It' wlsclom we can
ii an education that
11 to he whole per,1 von know: "\Ve
1:1i't men thinldng."
,I I lielieve it is, it
1110Fe true tliat we
11l men and women
Now what are the great forms of indnstr/ on which civilization. rests?
Thay are two. '!'hey are gethng ,the
raw nrnterial ot' food and physical
comfort from the soil and they are
converting that raw material of food
and physical comfort into the home
and its lH'"· ,Ve call these l<'armlng
am! Domestic Science for want of better names, lrnt they are the fundamental prncesses or race activity and
they are the things that all little childl'8n, normal little childl'en, love to do.
I don't mean Farmiug as a science tlrnt
they teach in college; I do not mean
Domestic Science where they take four
years to train a girl for some highly
vaid position as dietician Ol' Urnt sort '
or thing. 1 mean the simple, homely
arts, that is, the fanning and the h01~1e
making of the race which it has bmlt
Its civilization upon.
I believe that }ll(lustl'ial tl'aining in
the elemeutary school should take in
only those thing;; that have made for
race deve.lopment. IDvery school should
have lts garden and its pince where the
little gll'l, before she gets to high
school, may learn the art of tak(ng the
raw material and converting 1t lnlo
food. So my inclustl'ial training w~rnld
be away from the factory, away from
indoors-out at' doors,--and don't let's
wait till the cl11ldl'8n are Incipiently
tuberculous llefore we open the door
and let the air in. Let us have the outdoor school and the inclustl'ial activity
very early in the game. I deplore any
tendency that brings the idea of the
machine-dominated life to the mind of
the chiltl. We should give tlle ehild
the things ilrnt ]Jelong to the education ot' the race. Not until then
shall we be truly democratic. ..When I
hoar people talk alJOut education for
those who al'8 going to be laborel's I
am a little dislmbcd if it means that
clil't'erentialion ii; to begin so low down
that there is !mt little period in the
school whe1'8 all Urn children will feel
themselves er1unl.
'!'hen we come from that to the mat•
ter of method and here I have a very
serion;; word to say. My friends who
al'e 1rnrents and interested in the
scl10ols, do yon ever stop to think what
it ls we want in 0111' iiHlustrial changes
and in our 11rogreBs toward the democratising of industry?
Now tlrnn, \Vhere are you going to
genera'te your cooperative spirit if In
your pn!Jlic schools the competitive
spirit is developed by every ty]le of ingenious appeal to the child? You will
not have coo])erative people when they
grow up if yon check the natural ten-
5
clency of the child to help a comrade
who is lrn,dtatlng for a word and you
vut your child down and punish him
and give him discredits of various
amounts because he has spoken up and
helpetl a little child that he loved to
say the lesson right. You lrnve planted
JJO.ison in the child's !He. (AJJ]llause.)
If every ,a])peal you make lo tile child
is tor i11de11e1ulent achievement no matte!' what happens to the other fellow
yon arn not trniuing people for cooperative activities-you arn trninlng them
fol' the factol'y system of life wilh the
boss al1ead aud everybody struggling
and never mind what becomes of the
other follow.
(Applause.) . . . , ,
If we do not help the children in our
elemeulary and high schools to see
that the greatest achievements are the
achievements that all make together
we cau never have a cooperative commonwealt11, no matter who brings the
story lo you.
Now in the last few minutes that I
l1ave and they are very few, I \vant to
s~y to you what not all of yon will
cal'8 to know even though you al'e usetl
to Fol'tl Hall meetings. I believe that
one of the most undemocratic things in
the 1i1•ofessedly democratic puhlic
school of Amel'ica is its present method
of admiuistrntlon. I believe tllat we
lrn ve in more ways than one fa?toryizerl our methods. You see we are ll1 the
inlluence the tremendous inllnenee of
that ldncl of business elfleieucy which
is snpvosed to inhere in having a boss
cin t11e top and little lJOsses in between
and other little bosses, and then a lot
of somebodies down at the bottom doing Urn work. (Applause.) Now we
have, 1111conscio11s ly I am sure, let the
factory ldnd of Jiving cl'ee]) into our
schools. "\Ve used to get along pretty
well when wo were all neighbors together in a small town and public
opinion was expressed on the ,ba?k
doo1· step and at the frout door and Ill
tlJG church sewing circle, and we 1Jeha ved ourselves very well; but it Is far
dift'erent in a great clty where we do
not frnow our next-door neighbor and
we are in a very complex situation in
all oul' socia I relationships.
In regnrcl to school administration
I have come to certain convictions
and one of them I share with you
~vhich is, that there are two kinds of
people tlrnt oughl to be on the Scho?l
Board-whose l11flueuce ought to be m
every, school. In the first place there
ought to he some fathers and mothers
on the Boal'll.
'l'hen there ought
to he some people who are pro--
6
_,
FORD HALL FOLKS
fessional and some people who are
business people, and some peo11le who
are wage-earners, and some people of
the different classes in life. There
isn't a class of people that is not in,
terested in the school. It is also a pparent that if we want to do the best
for our children we ought to have a
class of educational experts as wellpeople who know something about education, direct education.
These are the kind of people we
ought to have in part on onr board,
bnt I do not lrnlieve that our board
ought to be made up of them entirely.
The third element should be the teachers-the people who are doing the
most work with and for the children
(applause). If there is aiiythl!1g that
is undemocratic in O11r prnlessedly
democratic schools it Is the way we
put the people who are doing the a~tual service iu · education into a position of nonentity so fur as the condnc.t
of the great enterprise in which they
are engaged is concerned. I believe
that every grade of teacher should be
represented by vote of their own pe~rs
on every School Board, und I !111nk
that co;1tingent from the teaching
foi·ce should change every year so that
we might get a very wide rang~ of
n rsl-hand knowle<lge and sngges!Jons
from the teaching force itseH. Then
the teachers themselves wo11ld know
themseh/'es to be as Important as they
really are. If there is a pnsillanimous
set ~f people in the United States,
people who allow changes o[ lhe most
dlsaslrons kind lo go on without lispIng a voice of prnlesl, it Is the teach•
ers in the public schools; and the
men teachers are more cowardly e,·en
than the "·omen (applause). '1'110;>'
are cowardly because they have be~n
shut ont of all responsibllily. It 1s
said, yon remember, that one or the
great causes foi· the decline anrl fall
of the Roman Empire, was the fact
that, arter Rome subjugalPd ~reece,
she took learned G reE,ks for the teachers of her youth and the Greeks
tang ht everything to Homan you! !1. except patrioti~m and a sense of poht1cal
responsibility; therefore, out of the
soul of the Homan patriot went that
fire that had preserved his nation, Imcause In youth he was tanght by those
that had no responsibility. Now we
have ninety per cent. of O11r teachers
in the public school women and thPgreat hue and cry goes out that. we
are feminizing education In sublm~e
unconsciousness or the fact that, Ill
nil ages and all civilizations the worl<l
hns ever known, women have taught
all the girls and all lhe little boys
since teaching began; so it's not a
new thing to have women engage'd In
teaching. nut here in America where
we have the ideal of making every
citizen a great potentiality, we, in the
first place, disfranchise our teachers
and then we deprive men and women
who ure teaching of any sort of responsibility for their work. Now I
say the nrst thing is to flll into that
waitln g niche of our three-sided boards
of edncalion representatives of the
teachers and let the people -who are
doing the greatest social service that
we see, done be recognized. See tile
work tlrnt is being done by them in
O11r JJUhlic schools, poor and inade;
quate as it ls-In that greatest of
mission stations where we are taking
all the things of the earth nnd striving to develoJJ something that shall
yet become inllnential cilizenshi11! .1
say that lo leave that class that directs a specific 1rnlJlic responsibility
out of public representation on the
board of school administration ls a
most undemocratic mistalce.
Again, we shall not be clemocratk
in tl;e public schools of America until
our ideal of the liberation of the power
of all the children is more nearly
reached. \Ve shall not be democratic
in our public schools until the scope
of their leaching reaches every child
everywhere. \Ve shall not be truly
democratic in use of this new content
of education until we develop every
racnlty as we he,anl so charmingly of
the development of the musical facultv. \Ve shall not be democratic in the
11se of om Jlllb!ic school opportunity
until the molhorls that we use-which
are the very inbreeding of our lifeslrnll be wholly co-operative and fraternal; HI](! we shall not be democratic
in onr public school until we have
learned lo take advantage of that vital
experience, that wealth of wisdom
which the average public school teacl1er of many years experfence could:
i',ontrlbute to our noarcl.
*
*
*
*
*
*
Miss Frances Curl.is and Mr. Isaac
Harris, candidates for the single vacancy on lite Boslon School Board,
had been invited to be present and to
nnswer any questions concerning the
local sltnalion which might be addressed to thcrn1. Mr. Harris was
questioned several limes (Miss Curtis_
having- wil hdra wn to keep another engngenienl).
or
Q.
qncsUonc
Harrill, 1
Jilli ty do
having t
I cl
A.
tuachc1· I
does, lw
J)O\\'01'S H
oped, hu1
lhun111eh
I !mt t.o
those sl'h
11 here th
d1c11. I
hoy
111:\'S<
ag~~ of (l'
n myster
who lnni
:c1iic wnnl
111CJ llfl 11
sl1e won!,
show wh
jll 111[),
I
when I 1
i1w tl1eN
to' spcnk.
I am SJ)l'U
WhPn I I
one of' th
go honrn
and lie cl
two.
0
Ill
Q.
lf' t
I he greal
should w
lng,ly?
A.
I h
and I Ill(
is not g,
the worlc
consciPnt
ns wr::'
1111
inasmucl1
mentary ,
person ~
prnressicl!I
should gc
largest R:
Q. Doc
industrinl
A.
Oh,
must do,
that woul
merely ]J,
family, ln
get whnt
pnrnnts cl
l'nlional
Lnw, ·wp
strongest
,iglng om
J
FORD HALL FOLKS
. women have taught
d all the little boys
lll•gan; so it's not a
1·(1 women engage'd in
·rn In America where
1•al ot' making every
11tentialily, we, in the
,111chise our teachers
,rive men and women
1; ot' any sort of rel lleir work,
Now I
1g is to llll into that
,11r three-sided boards
pr;,8entatives of the
the 1rnople who are
-:I social service that
r,•cognized. See the
11g· done by them in
>IH, poor and inadei11 that greatest of
11·here we are laking
the earth and striv«,1llelhing that shall
·1,tial citizenship!. l
· that class that dip1i111ic responsibility
presentation on Uie
;,(l111inistrnijoh is a
Ii: llliHlake.
I not be democratic.
11JIS of America until
11•rnlion of the power
1·,•u 18 more ncarlv
11 1101 be democra l i;:
11uls nntil the scope
1,,aches every chilcl'
shall not be truly
of this new content
I we develop every
rd so clrnrmii1gly of
,!' lhe nrnsical facul11<• democratic in the
}lChool opportunity
I1ml we use-which
,·,·ding of our life' 1-operu ti ve and fra' 11 not be democratic
1110! until we have
1"ntage of that vital
11 ualth of wisdom
1111l1lic school teach:: experience could
l()Hl'd,
*
1J'lis and Mr. Isaac.
i'l>r the single val on School Board,
11 Im present and to
i:11s concerning the·
1kh might be ndMr. 1-lurris was
limes (Miss Curtis
1",kenp another en-
QUTIJSTIONS.
Of all grades of teachers the
queslioner would like to know Mr
Harris, whether lhe greater res,;onsi~
bility does not rest upon the teachers
having the younger scholars'?
A. I do believe that the elementary
teache1· by ,·eeeiving the child, as he
does, before il possesses reasoning
powers simply with its instincts developed, has by far the harder work and
the much greater responsibility. I know
that to be the fact, especially so in
those sc,!10ols in the congested dhit.ricls
where they have the immigrnnt childl'en, I remernber as an irnmigrant
hoy myself when I came here at the
age of ten and the very alphabet was
a mystery to me I had a good teacher
who taught me by visna!bdng--when
she wanted to give the iinpresslo11 to
me as to what the word rnn 111eant
she wonld rnu and when she wished to
show what it was to jump she woulcl
jnmp. I myseH had a lit tie experience,
when I was earning my living teachIng these immigrants that came over
to speak, and I can assnre yon that
I am speaking from rny own experience
when I say thaL after a lesson with
one of those immigrant men I had to
go home after earning that fifty cents
and lie down and rest for au hour or
two.
Q. It' the lower-grade teachers have
the greater responsibility of the task
shonld we not reward them accol'llingly?
A. I lielieve this, that there is not,
and I mean this serlonsly, that there
Is not gold enongh in the mines of
the world to sullleiently reward the
conscien lions t encher, lrn t iuasmuch
~s we must have <1ome stnndarcls, and
rnnsmuch as the teaclier in the elementary Sf/hool is usually the younger
person slurti11g in with the teaching
1>rofession I think perhaps that Rhe
should get n goocl salary, ]Jilt not lhe
largest salary,
Q. Does 'the Chl!cl Labor Law help
industrial education in the school?
A. Oh, certainly, ·we see tlrnt wt
mnst do somet11ing for the children
that would otherwise leave school not
merely ']Jecnnse of the poverty of the
family, but because the children do not
get what seems to them and to the
J>Hrents direct preparation for their vocational work; and the Child Labor
Law, well-ent'orcecl, is 011e of the
strongest reasons why we are encour:aging our vocaj ionnl training,
Q.
7
Q. Isn't it about time that the
State of Massachusetts provided higher education for our children?
A. There should be every opportunity
for those who have 11t>t had the desired chance in their early life every
incentive for nclult education. '
Q. Shoulcl lhe Billie he rend in the
pnlllic schools, Mr. Harris?
A. They told me that before I got
lhrnugh here this evening I'd have to
use 111)' legal wits! I think yon can
all agree with the statement macle by
an eminent authority that if we lost nil
the litc,ra lure in the world tliat has
ever been written since the BiJ1le nn1l
we h,lll the Dible preserved we should
still have a very beautiful monument
of literature. Now at the same time
I believe that there ought to be spiritual nentrnlity in our sehools. A man
or a woma11 may perliaps get far away
from the moorings of their religion ye't
it' yon say one word lo that very person againpt lhe religion in which he
was horn he will lrntlle for the principle of that religion no matter how
l'ar he may Ile removed from it. Now
lrnlieving as I do in the spiritual neutrality in our public schools, and believing as I do lhat the matter of religion should be lel't lo the inflnenee
of the home and the clrnrch, and believing ns I do that our streams can
be crossed by two arches, religion and
democracy-a good .Jew, a good citizen, a good Catholic, a good citizen, n
good Pro.testant, a good citizen-I
wonld say that the teacher might [ll'OJJDUnd the value of the Billie for literary purposes; but I would not have it
rend in the schools.
Q. ·what do you think, Mrs. ·Spencer, of the idea J)revalent in Doston
that the School Donnl should consist
of two Protestants, two Catholics and
a Jew?
A. I am a member of the human
family and opposed to it.
Q. 'l'he speaker of the evening emJ>hnslies the uecessi ty of good cooperative spirit. I want to know if Mr
Hanis, if he is elected, will tlo all h<~
can to prnmote that cooperative spirit?
A. Yes. I believe firmly in everything tlrnt was said by the speaker on
lhis point. I certainly will help it
along.
Q. 'l'o what extent does Mr. Harris
believe the school committee has a
right to control the teachers outside of
school 11ours?
,
A. A J)erson who has risen to the
JJOsition of being· a school reacher
ought not lo be controlled by the
FORD HALL FOLkS
8
school committee at all after the school
hours. · (AJJ11lause.)
Q. Should not the teachers have a
right to exercise ]Jolitlcal privileges
outside the school hours?
A. (By l\lrs. Spencer.) I think every
human being should have a right to
express his or her versonality in a
prover way and I think any attem]Jt to
contrnl the teachers as a class as to
their ]Jl'ivato altillations ls an infringement of ])ersonal liberty.
Q. Does the speaker of the evening
think that the right meaning of democracy ought to be taught in the
schools?
A. Yes, I do. vVhat's more, my son,
I think it should be lived in the
schools.
Q. A little girl wants to know, why
should all the children at school in the
morning bow down their heads at
prayer?
A. Well I should not aslt the children to do that in a public school. (Ap11lause.) I feel that some would have
a training at home which would make
it a hclvful exercise, but others would
have a training at home which would
make It seem a matter of question and
an act of devotion should be under
conditions where all might unite. (Applause.)
Q. Does not the speaker of the evening agree that the teacher in the elementary grades having the most resvonsibility should have the most pay?
A. I said I wanted the present pyramid of education, which was to my
thinking inverted, put on its right,
foundation; and I meant economically
as well as educationally. ,
·
Q. Should the girls be taught by
women [lnd the boys by men?
A. I think the girls should be taught
by men and women and the boys be
taught by men and 'women. (Applause.)
,
Q. ·why does the speaker disbelieve
in the reading of the Bible in th~ public schools in view of the fact that we
all believe in Goel, and in view of the
fact that the reading of the Bible In
the imbllc schools has served us so
well in the past?
A. It was not I that answered that
question, but the gentleman on my
right (Mr. ·narris). However, as in
answer to the little girl's question
a bout the exercise of prayer, I indicated that in a tax-supported school
where the children are Jew and Gentile, Catholic nnd Prntestnnt, bell.ever
and agnostic, all having equal rightswhere the children's consciences aro
developed diversely on this question by
their home influence they should not
be confused by a rerJuirement to engage In any act of devotion. So far ns
the reading of the Bible is concerned I
do not think the Bible should he read
as a devotional exercise; but the liteJ·j,
ary value of the Bible, of all the Bibles
of all the great religions should be a
part of the heritage of every .child.
(Ap[Jlanse.)
"Every time you smile when your
hunch says 'snarl,' you win-'' Qnile
some philosophy, that!
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"
VoL. I.
No. 3.
Jannary 12, 1913.
WAS IT CURIOSITY LARGELY?
Our first i;;sue made a remarlrn!Jle
record-it pnld for ilseH and hacl n
balance left over of $1.85, together
with a number of unsold copies, some
or which mny yet be sold, Are yo11
going to keep a complete file of tliis
paper. from the very first Issue? 'rhen
make sure that you have a copy of
these early issues; tliey will be very
scarce a little later,
It is certaiuly gratifying to us
all to have the flrst uumber of li'ul'tl
}Jail Polk~ so generously welcomed; so
far, very good: But the real test will
come on the second, and third, and
fourth issues. \Vas It curiosity that
led a good many to buy that fin;t number and ls that curiosity now satifled?
Or on the ot11er hancl, are there a goocl
many who clicl not see the fii•st copy,
and perhaps dlcl not lrnow about it,
who will be eager to buy one 'as soon
as the matter Is brought to tlleir attention? Our success hangs on the answer
to these two questions. You can help
ans\\;er the secon cl one by calling the
attention of your friends and neighbors among the Fore] Hall folks to the
fact that a weekly paper is' being published.
Sn!Jscriptions are coming In from
various directions. That is a healthy
sign. -what about getting in touch
with those hunclrnds of people who
want to come to Ford Hall hut who
cannot brave the crowds or wait in
line? Scores of them would be glad
to subscrilJe H they knew whnt we are
doing. Cnn'L you reach some or them
and tell them about IL?
Surely those who heard l\frs. Spencer will want the copy of her address herein contained ancl nrnny who
missed hearing her will be eager to
get a copy, too. It was different from
Price Ten Cents,
anything we have ever hncl before nncl
was immensely appre.ciated,
Young Loudon, our business manager, ls taking hold of the work in
splendid fashion. Help him on every
chance yon get.
tr~~~~
NEXT WEEK'S SPEAKER.
\Ve shall have a red-letter uig!Jt next
Sunday for then Dr. Yamei Kin of
China addresses us on '"l'he A wakening of China," with particular reference, we may assume, to the extraordinary \Vomen-Movement that is now
so clrong there, Dr. Kin ls a fount
of flrst-lrnncl informalion concerning
ev·ery phase of lit'e in this new Revublic of the enst.
THE PRAYER.
{ l)r; 1,•p1li11g· Jl1·x. Npe11<•pt•'s .Ad(lre:-.s.)
\Ve give thanks for the capacity and
the desire to learn wilh which Thon
hast. endowed us. ',Ve rejoice in the
blessings that the Public School has
brought into our Jives, \Ve pray for
an open mind and an .attentive spirit
that we may learn each dny the lessons of life that Thou wouldst teach
us. Help us to cherish Olli' public
school system, to guard it against
every dange1: that threatens, and to
welcome every change that will make
it n more efflcien t servant of all the
people,
It is with glnd hearts that we recognize that tllis great function of giving
a fundamental education to all the
people rests upon the divine pl'iuciple of reqniring from every citizen according to his abillty and giving lo
every child according to its need. With
such a glorious foundation on which to
build, help uii to go on in the same
spirit, not resting content until every
child grncluating frnm our public
schools has received tlle best equipment for n life and for a living thnt it
was possible for thnt child to receive.
Amen.
2
FORD HALL FOLKS
\
ARE OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS DEM•
OCRATIC?
ska! expression from all the 11eople
that shows the great, almost ineal(Add1•p,.;i-4 of ~11·~. A111u1 (:n1·1in HpPlll'el'
culable distance we have moved from·
;II till' )•'01'11 ))11)1 ~l1•pf)11!-(H,
that old iclea that edncation is a copy
,l1111t1111•~• ii, l!l1::,)
Mr. Chairman and Frlen1lf1: I thought of the past. \Ve had something lnlrod11ccd Into our thinking less than a
when Mr. Cole1nan waR going to name
hnndred years ago that changed that
the iirntltntions from which he took his
idea-we began to understand lha t
direct.ion for these Ford Hall meetings
mankind is not a static, but a dynamic
that he would namo 0111· own Cooper
in its life-that we are not Co cancel ve
Union in New York; but he did not so
one genern tion as cop~•lng the 11receedI will say that I sometimes tell our
lng lrnt as hr~ing snpm'ior to the preCooper Union friends, whom I have
cet1di11g, doing something new, somethe pleasme of meeting every winter
and sometimes more than once, that · thing [or its own spiritual advancement; and so the old idea of covying
they have a Cooper Union in Boston.
even the best of the men and women
When I·say that the Cooper Union peothat ever livecl has given place to thede}lle all feel very happy because lhey
volovment of independent and individlhink their Cooper Union is about. the
ual vower, \Ve are making mistakes
best thing there is,
In Olli' aLlministrntion of it and some
l have been asked by vonr director
very crude mistakes and some very
and leader to speak lonlgl;t on the subfoolish mistakes, and we are sometimes
ject of the public school and I venlnre
getting an atmosvhere in whicl1 the·
to })lit my title in tho form of a q11oschild thinks today something far difLion-"ls tho irublic school of America
ferent than does his fat.he!' and mother
<lo111oc1·alic?"
and Lhnl. it must be better because it is
We lllllRt begin Olli' cliHCllRsion with
different. Moveover, we are not yet
reminding ourselves that eVC'l'y special
over the first awkwardness of a beginera in human develovment. has had its
ning in a new field. But we have come
own a\)!iropriale form of education,
to feel lhat this idealism in edncalion,
'Whenever a set of people in savage
this idealism of 11rogress rather than of
life, or in clvilize<l lll'e have set about
copy of the past ls parlicularly the
inRll'l1uling youth they have lrled to
ideal for llS and it is true that it be- Ir'
renlize and to verpetnate lhe ideals
longs to onr era and our civilization in'
they have accepted. E\'ery c11·a has
a peculiar sense, 'l'o he sure Aristotle,
songht to express ilRelf and perpetnate
that l\loHt modern mind of nntiqnlt,v,
itRelf in the education of youth. You
antici]lated onr idealism in edllcatlon
know the great example ol' many
when he said, "TIJvery human mind
churches who have said "Give us the
crnves truth, and the mind grows as
children until they are ten OI' twelve
lhe hocly grows by having Sllitable
~,ears of age and we will know that our
nourishment and uot by being placed
ohurch will remain vennanent."
ll]lon the rack." But then Aristotle
\Ve have to<lay what we call a new
talked tu a wmld in which it was still
educnt.ion and it is new in its pe1·ce11•
believed that you must spiritually
tion of what education should be; and
s111rn1·-im11ose upon youth an absolute
in so far ns it is new it i:; democrnlic
model, and that education meant learnand our object tonight will be to see
ing to copy and to copy nccnrate!y,
\vhether we realize the ideals of this
Then again we have had an incalcnnew education, 'l'here are five J)oinls
lable change in Olli' edncatlonal ideals
lhat I think we lllnst discm1s logelher
and in the scove of edllcalion and of
-five points of the most profound
the edncalional system. All the educachange in educational conceptions and
tions of the vast wm·e chiss educationideals which mal'k this which we have
the formal suhooling was, until very
vroperly called the new education. :
lntely, reserved only for those people
'rhe first is the change in the ideal
on the top of life's opportunity who
of what we wish to arcomplish by eclnhad leisure and chance, who were the
cation. All the old cil'llizations wishecl
favored, as we say, of fortune; but now
to ]lerpotuate themselves by repetition.
we have entered upon a new era and
They selected certain things in Ji[e,
we call it Democracy. \Vhat docs De·
certain charnclerR, certain silna I.I 01m,
mocracy mean in the o<lucallonal llelcl?
certain sets of circumRLances ancl Rot
It means that every human being is a
them up as if a lrnrrior to keop lrnek
pt1lcnlial citi;,;en and therofore it is fair
change, You have had a very radical
that every human being should havo
and line illustration in lho op~ning adan adequate education.
llress on the new way or creating mu-
!l
I
FORD HALL FOLKS
fi'om all the people
lie greal, almost Inca!,·,\ we have moved fl'on1
that education is a cOJJY
\\' e hnd sonrnthing intl'o11 thinldng less than n,
; ago that changed that
:111 to undel'stand that
,1 a static, but a dynamic
VI we are not to conceive
1 :1s copying lhe pl'eceedi 11g; S!IJ)Cl'ior to the rire~ometlllng new, some,, wn spil'itual advance1l,c old idea ot co])ying
111· the men and women
li:1s given place to tllecle1,ilependent and individ,, are maldng mistakes
.\ rntion oE it and some
ii a\,cs anc1 some very
,·,. an1l we are sometimes
1,,spliel'e ln which the
il:1y ;:ometlling fal' tlif- hi;: fathe1· nm! molhe1·
t he better because it is
,·uve1· we are not yet
1 l,wa;·dness of a begin' hl. But we have come
, i1leali~m in educ\1tion,
111 •ogrcss rntller t,an of
,~l h; partlculal'ly the
I it is tl'\le that it lle:illll our civilization in
To )Jc sme Aristotle;
111 mind at' antiquity,
itlenlism in cdncnlion
"\Dvcl'y hnman mind
ii the mind gl'ows as
\Jy having suitable
I n~t by being pll,lced
But then Aristotle
I in which it was still
()l\
mnst spil'itually
,11 youth an alJsolnte
d11ention meant learn\" copy accnl'ately,
1,a ve had an incalcu,111· ctlncntionnl ideals
<>L eclucntion and of
~tern. All the ecluca,, re clnss educationling was, until very
11 ly for those people
,,•s opporlnnity who
1,:1nce, who were the
or fol'tnnc; lrnt now
;1 pon a new era and
:«·y. ·what does De1,c edncntional field?
11· lrnman being is ~
,;I lheJ'o[Ot'C it is fair
\icing shonltl have
tion.
1011
Bnl we hn ve so changed in our conception ot' what education should lie
in scope thnt the old kind of educational function has entirely gone by,
I remember nol so very long ago,
however, henl'ing a man who wns u11on a public platl'orm on au educational
topic say the important thing in edncntlon is how we shall train the leaders of the race and then n voice from
the re,·.r spoke up and said, "How do
we know who al'e going to be the leaders of the race?" (Applause,) 'J'he
revel'end gentleman had no reply lint
somebody else 011 lhc platform said:
"Liberntion at' power in the mass to
develop every human being into n
personality will show us and that is
thu only thing that will show us."
(Applause.) So, so fnr ns our illeal
of educnlion Is concerned, in its scope
it is democrnlic. Thus we hnve hall
a tre1)1(rndous change in our educational ideals leading to n grent ehange
in O11r educational Jll'aclice.
The conlenl ol' education, too, has
!Jeon imrnens11rn1Jly euln!'ged.
Look
up the college catalogues of 100 or
150 years ago and see how l'ew were
the sHbjeels HllJl!IOsc;d to comprise liberal c11ll11re. Now tnke 11p one of O11r
recent college catalogues or even our
high school year-boolrn and see how
8lmost infinitely eulargcd is the area
of hnman knowledge. f<'or that we
are illllelJted to that gl'(sat iconoelast
and (lye-O11e11ur, 'Modern Seience, that
sho\\'s 11s that it is not enough to
lrnow what some ]l(oople thoHght ailll
put in a book ahonl certain subjects,
but that we must lrnow what kind of
a universe we a1·e Jiving in nnd the
relnlion or things helow us. 'What
crin he dono by the p1·ojecl ion of education into wlw{ wern unknown fields
even a hnn1lrrnl years ngo is •SO slupenllom; that. we nrn almost pnrnlyzed.
And that nl'l'ects onr public school In
11 rcrnarlrnhle and often in a tragic
manner.
We shall spenk a little later of the
methods of ou1· Hchools, but I mnst
say this to you; {hat we have hnd
pressing upon us t'rnm !he kindel'gnrlen thro11gh the elementary school
a wholly new scope nnd breadth of
edncation nntl have hnd 1iressing down
lo the high school another great con,
gerie or stmlies thnt seem to be absolutely necessary J'or the student to
know somtithing· nhont; and in the
elementan• school the two things have
come toget!Hw liken lnmbermnn's jam.
Something lw:,; got to give way, we
ennnot hn ve n shorter school day,
more
3
vacations nnd more holidays,
longer sn·mmer vacations; W(l
cannot keep on cutting 011' at every
end our time of study nnd then ponr
in an infinitely increased content of
education. 'l'he lLnchers are getting
nel'vons pruslralion by wholesale trying to do llle impossible-putting n
gallon into a pint; and the children
nre following, loo, in their wild rush
l'or lrnowledge-as wns fully illustrnted by the little girls abrnpt change
from SnlJlinth evening peace to Monday moming lrnrry (refe!'ring to the
demonstration of musical composition
)Jy children given enl'lier in the evenings). Jn the midst or it all we are
canght in this wWening content or
education, nncl in the el'forl to apply it
not only to people whose ancestol'S
browsed nromHl in a lillrary, lint to
those whose ancestors never had nny
formnl 8chooling; and in onr effort lo
flllJl]Y 1hiB mulllplied form of content
lo all the people with all the historic
backgrounds that are mixed in onr
great populnlion we are slrnggling
with lhnl which a]Ji,olnlely requires
the next £,hnnge nnd that is a change
in melhocl. We have achieved a wonderful change in method in some respects. vVc have found that Jr you are
going to develop i111livldnal power and
im11rove !he generations by conscious
el'tor( ns they mnrnh along; i1' you are
going to lake within your :;cope or
ednenlion all faculties nml r11mlilies
and oondiliollB and sortB ot' human
beings; if yon nre going to illcrease
your content beyond the wildest
dreams ot' any e<lncator of the Eighteenth Century, then you must have a
cliffet•enl method, You can not simply
set chiltlnm to rn1rnat and memol'ize,
lo do the mere things that menn the
saying over and over and over again
of something enough to make it so
that it cannot be forgotten, but we
hnve ·gol to have something that altracts the attention and holds the
power at ne<Jllisitlon immediately,· nnd
so 11'0 have come inlo nu era of clomonst l'alion, \Ve have pushed the laborntol'y from the post-grud11ale course
in the university down into the elementai·y school and we !ll'e pushing il
more and more, nud now somebody
snys that we are going to gel (I believe it is Mr. Edison) our education
quick, on the run, by !he moving pieturn that is going to ponr into us as
we stop for a minute bet ween sandwiches nll that we need to know.
\'Ire]], we mny lnugh if we will, but
somehow we have got to grip th(:) at-
Hll<l
4
FORD HALL FOLKS
tenliou of the child more quickly than
er can properly take care of; and the
the old content of edncation required
lower down we go in the school and
-we have got lo hold more vital relathe younger the child and the more
llonshi]l with that system to keep lh'l disastrous this treatment therefore,
child's allenllo11. The method must is, the more we crowd the schoolbe one of demonstralio11-overy child
rooms and the less we supply the
must know that he knows. \Ve can- proper teaching material. But'in spite
not trust in this enormons business or
of that we are lrneping on, and it is
education t~ any sort of acceptance
clear now that what Is wanted is lo
and tradition.
set this pyramid of education that we
When only a few ]leople at lhe top
have inverted on its true foundation.
of !He received formal schooling;
The younger the child the more exwhen it was not considerncl necessary
travagantly we shoulcl supply it with
for manna! workers to read and write;
its educational food and surroundings
when all the commonwealth of (ho11ght
and lhe elder the child the better he
was shut away for the benellt of a
can afford to be crowded and pushed
select few; then ed11calion might be
along. Not that I want to hinder the
a matter of home provision or of
older on(?s, but if we liave got to sacchurch supervision; b11t the fact that
rifice anywhere we must not sacrifj_ee
it has become so enorn10usly extended
with the younger children as we are
in its scope of content emphasizes thb
)H·one to do at the present time.
fact that no institution is strong
Then as to sco11e: iVe say grandly
enough, and rellgious eno11gh, and able
when we are having our Fourth of
enough to reach all the people except
July orations,· and at other times .of
the Slate. So the State is stanclanlizsel!'-complaccmcy, that the American
ing ,education as well as providing it.
Public Schools stand for the open cloor
I have no brief for the ]luhlic school
for every age, yet if we refer to sta·
iigainst lhe private school, bul I betiRtics we find that average children of
lieve the 11rivat.e school is valuable
the United Stat.es have five years and · ♦
almost entirely as a place to try out
a fraction of schooling for ten mouths ,
each with twenty clays in a m,onth.
improvements in education.
There
are certain things so delicate and dif'The Sage Foundation has just brought
llc11lt and expensive in working oul
out a hook containing ·a very careful
these problems of edncallon (hat. we
study of this whole .situation . . . . .
cannot ask the taxpayer lo 111Hlersla1Hl
How many ecl11cators, .however, come
in the first place th[;t thny are nncnsbefore an anclience with any clear iclcnl
of lhis most fundamontal of all quessary, and in lhe second placfl consunl
to the expense involved; and so prit ions in education; what is the Iden!
eclucnt.lon for children, nil children up
vate schools may be great. experiment
to the age of 14? That is the problem
stations in education. I am sorry lo
in American education as it iR in edusay they are nol all t.ha t. They sometimes are very backward, making Jilcation everywhere. iVlrnt shall we do
to develop most perfectly not only one
lie eddies in social progress-they
],incl of a chilcl but every kinµ of child
keep people feeling they arn bet ler
in the early years of life? And right
than other people when they are not;
but they may be of great help in ashere I want to say a word about industrial training. I believe in indussisting our public education, 11ndertrial eclucation. I believe in it with
slancling that their limit is lo show
nil my heart; I lielleve in it for every
the State how to do it.
child; but not inclnstrlal training
Now, let us go over our points again
that. sharpens to an economical choice
and see if they are really as demolhe Iii tie chilcl's lll'e. I would keep the
cratic in realization as they are in
whirr of the factory wheels away from
ideal.
the elementary schools. I would keep
First: The purvose of edncationthe Idea of specialization away from
l.he liberation of power. The father of
elementary education. I would try and
our new ed11cat.ion has said so wisely
devise with all the wisclom we can
"Ecl11cation is not learning this or that,
bring to bear upon it an education that.
hnt finding ont what each child was
shall fit all children to be whole permoant to become." \Ve have not got
sons. Emerson said, you know: "iVe
annvhere near that In our public
want. not thinkers, but men thinking."
school education. -we still put tho
children in lhe hopper and they move . l[ that be true, ancl I believe it. is, it
is a thousand times more true that we
along from one place lo the other, and
want not workers but men and women
we give about three times as nrnn~·
worldng,
children to each teacher as any teach-
so
f
,.
lf
I
I
i
J
FORD HALL FOLKS
take care of; and the
, go in the school und
''-' child and the more
treatment therefore,
.rn crowd the schoolless we supply the
materia L But in spite
1 ►ceping on, and It is
what is wanted is to
I of education that we
111 ils true foundation.
It' c,liild the more excifttuld supply it with
!'t 10<1 and Slll'l'Ollndings
111; child the better he
, crowded and pushed
I want to hinder the
i r we have got to sac11 c must not sacrlfke
· diilclren as W(J are so
11• present time.
111e: ,Ve say grandly
;i ving
our Fourth ot'
1111 at other Umes of
that the American
·,111d for the open c\oor
•t if we ret'er•to sta:it average thildren of
, have five years and
"'ling tor ten months
.1· days in a month.
I iun has just brought
1i11ing ·a very carefnl
,1 o situation. . . . .
•,1 tors, however, come
, wilh any clear ideal
lamental of all ques·,1: wliat ls tl1e ldcrn I
dren, all childl'Elll HP
'l'hat is the problem
,tion as lt ls in edn. \Vlrnt shall ,ve do
,,,rectly not only one
every kind of child
, ol' life? And right
, 1· a word a!Jont in. I bl1lieve in lndus' believe in it with
litivc in it for every
i11dustl'ial training'
11 econoinical choice
t'.
1 wonlcl keep the
1· whculs away from
,'1101s. I would lrnep
li;,atlon away fl'om
,11. I would tq' antl
It' wlsclom we can
ii an education that
11 to he whole per,1 von know: "\Ve
1:1i't men thinldng."
,I I lielieve it is, it
1110Fe true tliat we
11l men and women
Now what are the great forms of indnstr/ on which civilization. rests?
Thay are two. '!'hey are gethng ,the
raw nrnterial ot' food and physical
comfort from the soil and they are
converting that raw material of food
and physical comfort into the home
and its lH'"· ,Ve call these l<'armlng
am! Domestic Science for want of better names, lrnt they are the fundamental prncesses or race activity and
they are the things that all little childl'8n, normal little childl'en, love to do.
I don't mean Farmiug as a science tlrnt
they teach in college; I do not mean
Domestic Science where they take four
years to train a girl for some highly
vaid position as dietician Ol' Urnt sort '
or thing. 1 mean the simple, homely
arts, that is, the fanning and the h01~1e
making of the race which it has bmlt
Its civilization upon.
I believe that }ll(lustl'ial tl'aining in
the elemeutary school should take in
only those thing;; that have made for
race deve.lopment. IDvery school should
have lts garden and its pince where the
little gll'l, before she gets to high
school, may learn the art of tak(ng the
raw material and converting 1t lnlo
food. So my inclustl'ial training w~rnld
be away from the factory, away from
indoors-out at' doors,--and don't let's
wait till the cl11ldl'8n are Incipiently
tuberculous llefore we open the door
and let the air in. Let us have the outdoor school and the inclustl'ial activity
very early in the game. I deplore any
tendency that brings the idea of the
machine-dominated life to the mind of
the chiltl. We should give tlle ehild
the things ilrnt ]Jelong to the education ot' the race. Not until then
shall we be truly democratic. ..When I
hoar people talk alJOut education for
those who al'8 going to be laborel's I
am a little dislmbcd if it means that
clil't'erentialion ii; to begin so low down
that there is !mt little period in the
school whe1'8 all Urn children will feel
themselves er1unl.
'!'hen we come from that to the mat•
ter of method and here I have a very
serion;; word to say. My friends who
al'e 1rnrents and interested in the
scl10ols, do yon ever stop to think what
it ls we want in 0111' iiHlustrial changes
and in our 11rogreBs toward the democratising of industry?
Now tlrnn, \Vhere are you going to
genera'te your cooperative spirit if In
your pn!Jlic schools the competitive
spirit is developed by every ty]le of ingenious appeal to the child? You will
not have coo])erative people when they
grow up if yon check the natural ten-
5
clency of the child to help a comrade
who is lrn,dtatlng for a word and you
vut your child down and punish him
and give him discredits of various
amounts because he has spoken up and
helpetl a little child that he loved to
say the lesson right. You lrnve planted
JJO.ison in the child's !He. (AJJ]llause.)
If every ,a])peal you make lo tile child
is tor i11de11e1ulent achievement no matte!' what happens to the other fellow
yon arn not trniuing people for cooperative activities-you arn trninlng them
fol' the factol'y system of life wilh the
boss al1ead aud everybody struggling
and never mind what becomes of the
other follow.
(Applause.) . . . , ,
If we do not help the children in our
elemeulary and high schools to see
that the greatest achievements are the
achievements that all make together
we cau never have a cooperative commonwealt11, no matter who brings the
story lo you.
Now in the last few minutes that I
l1ave and they are very few, I \vant to
s~y to you what not all of yon will
cal'8 to know even though you al'e usetl
to Fol'tl Hall meetings. I believe that
one of the most undemocratic things in
the 1i1•ofessedly democratic puhlic
school of Amel'ica is its present method
of admiuistrntlon. I believe tllat we
lrn ve in more ways than one fa?toryizerl our methods. You see we are ll1 the
inlluence the tremendous inllnenee of
that ldncl of business elfleieucy which
is snpvosed to inhere in having a boss
cin t11e top and little lJOsses in between
and other little bosses, and then a lot
of somebodies down at the bottom doing Urn work. (Applause.) Now we
have, 1111conscio11s ly I am sure, let the
factory ldnd of Jiving cl'ee]) into our
schools. "\Ve used to get along pretty
well when wo were all neighbors together in a small town and public
opinion was expressed on the ,ba?k
doo1· step and at the frout door and Ill
tlJG church sewing circle, and we 1Jeha ved ourselves very well; but it Is far
dift'erent in a great clty where we do
not frnow our next-door neighbor and
we are in a very complex situation in
all oul' socia I relationships.
In regnrcl to school administration
I have come to certain convictions
and one of them I share with you
~vhich is, that there are two kinds of
people tlrnt oughl to be on the Scho?l
Board-whose l11flueuce ought to be m
every, school. In the first place there
ought to he some fathers and mothers
on the Boal'll.
'l'hen there ought
to he some people who are pro--
6
_,
FORD HALL FOLKS
fessional and some people who are
business people, and some peo11le who
are wage-earners, and some people of
the different classes in life. There
isn't a class of people that is not in,
terested in the school. It is also a pparent that if we want to do the best
for our children we ought to have a
class of educational experts as wellpeople who know something about education, direct education.
These are the kind of people we
ought to have in part on onr board,
bnt I do not lrnlieve that our board
ought to be made up of them entirely.
The third element should be the teachers-the people who are doing the
most work with and for the children
(applause). If there is aiiythl!1g that
is undemocratic in O11r prnlessedly
democratic schools it Is the way we
put the people who are doing the a~tual service iu · education into a position of nonentity so fur as the condnc.t
of the great enterprise in which they
are engaged is concerned. I believe
that every grade of teacher should be
represented by vote of their own pe~rs
on every School Board, und I !111nk
that co;1tingent from the teaching
foi·ce should change every year so that
we might get a very wide rang~ of
n rsl-hand knowle<lge and sngges!Jons
from the teaching force itseH. Then
the teachers themselves wo11ld know
themseh/'es to be as Important as they
really are. If there is a pnsillanimous
set ~f people in the United States,
people who allow changes o[ lhe most
dlsaslrons kind lo go on without lispIng a voice of prnlesl, it Is the teach•
ers in the public schools; and the
men teachers are more cowardly e,·en
than the "·omen (applause). '1'110;>'
are cowardly because they have be~n
shut ont of all responsibllily. It 1s
said, yon remember, that one or the
great causes foi· the decline anrl fall
of the Roman Empire, was the fact
that, arter Rome subjugalPd ~reece,
she took learned G reE,ks for the teachers of her youth and the Greeks
tang ht everything to Homan you! !1. except patrioti~m and a sense of poht1cal
responsibility; therefore, out of the
soul of the Homan patriot went that
fire that had preserved his nation, Imcause In youth he was tanght by those
that had no responsibility. Now we
have ninety per cent. of O11r teachers
in the public school women and thPgreat hue and cry goes out that. we
are feminizing education In sublm~e
unconsciousness or the fact that, Ill
nil ages and all civilizations the worl<l
hns ever known, women have taught
all the girls and all lhe little boys
since teaching began; so it's not a
new thing to have women engage'd In
teaching. nut here in America where
we have the ideal of making every
citizen a great potentiality, we, in the
first place, disfranchise our teachers
and then we deprive men and women
who ure teaching of any sort of responsibility for their work. Now I
say the nrst thing is to flll into that
waitln g niche of our three-sided boards
of edncalion representatives of the
teachers and let the people -who are
doing the greatest social service that
we see, done be recognized. See tile
work tlrnt is being done by them in
O11r JJUhlic schools, poor and inade;
quate as it ls-In that greatest of
mission stations where we are taking
all the things of the earth nnd striving to develoJJ something that shall
yet become inllnential cilizenshi11! .1
say that lo leave that class that directs a specific 1rnlJlic responsibility
out of public representation on the
board of school administration ls a
most undemocratic mistalce.
Again, we shall not be clemocratk
in tl;e public schools of America until
our ideal of the liberation of the power
of all the children is more nearly
reached. \Ve shall not be democratic
in our public schools until the scope
of their leaching reaches every child
everywhere. \Ve shall not be truly
democratic in use of this new content
of education until we develop every
racnlty as we he,anl so charmingly of
the development of the musical facultv. \Ve shall not be democratic in the
11se of om Jlllb!ic school opportunity
until the molhorls that we use-which
are the very inbreeding of our lifeslrnll be wholly co-operative and fraternal; HI](! we shall not be democratic
in onr public school until we have
learned lo take advantage of that vital
experience, that wealth of wisdom
which the average public school teacl1er of many years experfence could:
i',ontrlbute to our noarcl.
*
*
*
*
*
*
Miss Frances Curl.is and Mr. Isaac
Harris, candidates for the single vacancy on lite Boslon School Board,
had been invited to be present and to
nnswer any questions concerning the
local sltnalion which might be addressed to thcrn1. Mr. Harris was
questioned several limes (Miss Curtis_
having- wil hdra wn to keep another engngenienl).
or
Q.
qncsUonc
Harrill, 1
Jilli ty do
having t
I cl
A.
tuachc1· I
does, lw
J)O\\'01'S H
oped, hu1
lhun111eh
I !mt t.o
those sl'h
11 here th
d1c11. I
hoy
111:\'S<
ag~~ of (l'
n myster
who lnni
:c1iic wnnl
111CJ llfl 11
sl1e won!,
show wh
jll 111[),
I
when I 1
i1w tl1eN
to' spcnk.
I am SJ)l'U
WhPn I I
one of' th
go honrn
and lie cl
two.
0
Ill
Q.
lf' t
I he greal
should w
lng,ly?
A.
I h
and I Ill(
is not g,
the worlc
consciPnt
ns wr::'
1111
inasmucl1
mentary ,
person ~
prnressicl!I
should gc
largest R:
Q. Doc
industrinl
A.
Oh,
must do,
that woul
merely ]J,
family, ln
get whnt
pnrnnts cl
l'nlional
Lnw, ·wp
strongest
,iglng om
J
FORD HALL FOLKS
. women have taught
d all the little boys
lll•gan; so it's not a
1·(1 women engage'd in
·rn In America where
1•al ot' making every
11tentialily, we, in the
,111chise our teachers
,rive men and women
1; ot' any sort of rel lleir work,
Now I
1g is to llll into that
,11r three-sided boards
pr;,8entatives of the
the 1rnople who are
-:I social service that
r,•cognized. See the
11g· done by them in
>IH, poor and inadei11 that greatest of
11·here we are laking
the earth and striv«,1llelhing that shall
·1,tial citizenship!. l
· that class that dip1i111ic responsibility
presentation on Uie
;,(l111inistrnijoh is a
Ii: llliHlake.
I not be democratic.
11JIS of America until
11•rnlion of the power
1·,•u 18 more ncarlv
11 1101 be democra l i;:
11uls nntil the scope
1,,aches every chilcl'
shall not be truly
of this new content
I we develop every
rd so clrnrmii1gly of
,!' lhe nrnsical facul11<• democratic in the
}lChool opportunity
I1ml we use-which
,·,·ding of our life' 1-operu ti ve and fra' 11 not be democratic
1110! until we have
1"ntage of that vital
11 ualth of wisdom
1111l1lic school teach:: experience could
l()Hl'd,
*
1J'lis and Mr. Isaac.
i'l>r the single val on School Board,
11 Im present and to
i:11s concerning the·
1kh might be ndMr. 1-lurris was
limes (Miss Curtis
1",kenp another en-
QUTIJSTIONS.
Of all grades of teachers the
queslioner would like to know Mr
Harris, whether lhe greater res,;onsi~
bility does not rest upon the teachers
having the younger scholars'?
A. I do believe that the elementary
teache1· by ,·eeeiving the child, as he
does, before il possesses reasoning
powers simply with its instincts developed, has by far the harder work and
the much greater responsibility. I know
that to be the fact, especially so in
those sc,!10ols in the congested dhit.ricls
where they have the immigrnnt childl'en, I remernber as an irnmigrant
hoy myself when I came here at the
age of ten and the very alphabet was
a mystery to me I had a good teacher
who taught me by visna!bdng--when
she wanted to give the iinpresslo11 to
me as to what the word rnn 111eant
she wonld rnu and when she wished to
show what it was to jump she woulcl
jnmp. I myseH had a lit tie experience,
when I was earning my living teachIng these immigrants that came over
to speak, and I can assnre yon that
I am speaking from rny own experience
when I say thaL after a lesson with
one of those immigrant men I had to
go home after earning that fifty cents
and lie down and rest for au hour or
two.
Q. It' the lower-grade teachers have
the greater responsibility of the task
shonld we not reward them accol'llingly?
A. I lielieve this, that there is not,
and I mean this serlonsly, that there
Is not gold enongh in the mines of
the world to sullleiently reward the
conscien lions t encher, lrn t iuasmuch
~s we must have <1ome stnndarcls, and
rnnsmuch as the teaclier in the elementary Sf/hool is usually the younger
person slurti11g in with the teaching
1>rofession I think perhaps that Rhe
should get n goocl salary, ]Jilt not lhe
largest salary,
Q. Does 'the Chl!cl Labor Law help
industrial education in the school?
A. Oh, certainly, ·we see tlrnt wt
mnst do somet11ing for the children
that would otherwise leave school not
merely ']Jecnnse of the poverty of the
family, but because the children do not
get what seems to them and to the
J>Hrents direct preparation for their vocational work; and the Child Labor
Law, well-ent'orcecl, is 011e of the
strongest reasons why we are encour:aging our vocaj ionnl training,
Q.
7
Q. Isn't it about time that the
State of Massachusetts provided higher education for our children?
A. There should be every opportunity
for those who have 11t>t had the desired chance in their early life every
incentive for nclult education. '
Q. Shoulcl lhe Billie he rend in the
pnlllic schools, Mr. Harris?
A. They told me that before I got
lhrnugh here this evening I'd have to
use 111)' legal wits! I think yon can
all agree with the statement macle by
an eminent authority that if we lost nil
the litc,ra lure in the world tliat has
ever been written since the BiJ1le nn1l
we h,lll the Dible preserved we should
still have a very beautiful monument
of literature. Now at the same time
I believe that there ought to be spiritual nentrnlity in our sehools. A man
or a woma11 may perliaps get far away
from the moorings of their religion ye't
it' yon say one word lo that very person againpt lhe religion in which he
was horn he will lrntlle for the principle of that religion no matter how
l'ar he may Ile removed from it. Now
lrnlieving as I do in the spiritual neutrality in our public schools, and believing as I do lhat the matter of religion should be lel't lo the inflnenee
of the home and the clrnrch, and believing ns I do that our streams can
be crossed by two arches, religion and
democracy-a good .Jew, a good citizen, a good Catholic, a good citizen, n
good Pro.testant, a good citizen-I
wonld say that the teacher might [ll'OJJDUnd the value of the Billie for literary purposes; but I would not have it
rend in the schools.
Q. ·what do you think, Mrs. ·Spencer, of the idea J)revalent in Doston
that the School Donnl should consist
of two Protestants, two Catholics and
a Jew?
A. I am a member of the human
family and opposed to it.
Q. 'l'he speaker of the evening emJ>hnslies the uecessi ty of good cooperative spirit. I want to know if Mr
Hanis, if he is elected, will tlo all h<~
can to prnmote that cooperative spirit?
A. Yes. I believe firmly in everything tlrnt was said by the speaker on
lhis point. I certainly will help it
along.
Q. 'l'o what extent does Mr. Harris
believe the school committee has a
right to control the teachers outside of
school 11ours?
,
A. A J)erson who has risen to the
JJOsition of being· a school reacher
ought not lo be controlled by the
FORD HALL FOLkS
8
school committee at all after the school
hours. · (AJJ11lause.)
Q. Should not the teachers have a
right to exercise ]Jolitlcal privileges
outside the school hours?
A. (By l\lrs. Spencer.) I think every
human being should have a right to
express his or her versonality in a
prover way and I think any attem]Jt to
contrnl the teachers as a class as to
their ]Jl'ivato altillations ls an infringement of ])ersonal liberty.
Q. Does the speaker of the evening
think that the right meaning of democracy ought to be taught in the
schools?
A. Yes, I do. vVhat's more, my son,
I think it should be lived in the
schools.
Q. A little girl wants to know, why
should all the children at school in the
morning bow down their heads at
prayer?
A. Well I should not aslt the children to do that in a public school. (Ap11lause.) I feel that some would have
a training at home which would make
it a hclvful exercise, but others would
have a training at home which would
make It seem a matter of question and
an act of devotion should be under
conditions where all might unite. (Applause.)
Q. Does not the speaker of the evening agree that the teacher in the elementary grades having the most resvonsibility should have the most pay?
A. I said I wanted the present pyramid of education, which was to my
thinking inverted, put on its right,
foundation; and I meant economically
as well as educationally. ,
·
Q. Should the girls be taught by
women [lnd the boys by men?
A. I think the girls should be taught
by men and women and the boys be
taught by men and 'women. (Applause.)
,
Q. ·why does the speaker disbelieve
in the reading of the Bible in th~ public schools in view of the fact that we
all believe in Goel, and in view of the
fact that the reading of the Bible In
the imbllc schools has served us so
well in the past?
A. It was not I that answered that
question, but the gentleman on my
right (Mr. ·narris). However, as in
answer to the little girl's question
a bout the exercise of prayer, I indicated that in a tax-supported school
where the children are Jew and Gentile, Catholic nnd Prntestnnt, bell.ever
and agnostic, all having equal rightswhere the children's consciences aro
developed diversely on this question by
their home influence they should not
be confused by a rerJuirement to engage In any act of devotion. So far ns
the reading of the Bible is concerned I
do not think the Bible should he read
as a devotional exercise; but the liteJ·j,
ary value of the Bible, of all the Bibles
of all the great religions should be a
part of the heritage of every .child.
(Ap[Jlanse.)
"Every time you smile when your
hunch says 'snarl,' you win-'' Qnile
some philosophy, that!
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