Evening Star Newspaper, September 8, 1935, Page 73

Universities Part 6—10 Pages INCRE 01 00 PREDICTED NOVEMBER T0TAL Crowding in Coming Year Anticipated as Great as Previously. An increase of approximately 4.000' pupils over last year's enroliment is anticipated for the opening of the District public schools September 23. In the neighborhood of 82,000 chil- | dren will flock back to school on the | first day, according to advance esn-“ mates prepared by Robert Anderson, | statisticlan for the District public | school system. By November, the total probably will have grown to 94,000 students. If this expected in-| crease materializes, schools will be as crowded during the coming year as in | the past, since the principal facilities | added are the new Woodrow Wilson High School and the Anacostia Senior- | Junior High School. ‘ Last year, 78,062 children enrolled the first day, while the year’s peak was 91,358, Estimates Prepared Yearly. Each September, Mr. Anderson care- fully prepares estimates of the num- | ber of pupils who probably will be ne- | rolled and his figures never are far | wrong. His prognostications are based on population studies and shrewd cai- culations of economic and social trends, ‘The unusually large opening day in- | erease expected this year is attributed | to the late opening of school. The opening day last year fell on Septem- ber 17, making it impossible for hun- dreds of children returning tardily to| the city from Summer vacations to | enroll on time. These, however, will | be able to be on hand for this year's| beginning of classes. | Anderson figured that the 1935 sec- | ond day enrollment probably would | reach 87,000, while figures for the | fourth and fifth days would be 89,000 and 89,500 respectively., These totals | are expected to grow to 92,000 by | Thursday of the second week of school. 7,500 to Enter Kindergarten. Last year’s second day enroliment was 83,979 pupils. On the fourth day, | 86,394 had entered school, and 86,737 | on the fifth day. By Thursday of the second school week, the number had mounted to 89,197. Some 7,500 children will enter | kindergarten or the first grade for| the first time this year. New pupils | will be admitted to the kindergartens | #f they are five years of age or older, by November 1, and to the first grades years old by the same da are required to present cer- | fificates of birth. All children not on public school Tolls at the close of last year who wish to enter the graded schools and kindergartens must apply for admis- | sion tickets at the schools nearest their homes. Principals will be at the school buildings September 20 and 21 | from 8 to 10 am, and from 4 to 6| pm. Vaccination certificates must be | furnished. Because of congestion in the senior | and junior high schools, restrictions on the enrollment of pupils from out- side the borders of the District have been ordered. Roosevelt and Eastern will receive no non-resident students; the new ‘Woodrow Wilson High School will take non-residents from Maryland only; ‘Western will bar all pupils from ad- joining States until September 30, when it will be determined whether any can be admitted. Central and McKinley have set September 26 as the date on which they will decide to take in or refuse Maryland and Virginia students. Six Bar Non-Residents. Non-residents are definitely barred from the Paul, Powell, Taft, Eliot, Stuart and Hine Junior High Schools, while at the Macfarland, Gordon, Deal, Langley and Jefferson non-resi- dents will be.admitted after Septem- ber 26 “in such numbers as a proper SCHOOL BUIL Teachers’ Pay Split Shown at Variance With Ideal Di on A recent survey, which in- cluded 2358 teachers with an average income of $2,043, showed the following division of expen- ditures by the individuals: Six- teen per cent to saving’ 13 per ceni to giving, 65 per cent to necessities and 6 per cent to betterments. This distribution was in marked contrast to that recom- mended by the National Educa- tion Association ~ Committee making the study. The proposed allocation was 20 per cent to saving, 10 per cent to giving, 50 per cent to necessities and 20 per cent to betterments. In explanation of the discrep- ancy, the committee remarks: “The failure to attain the goal of 50 per cent for necessities was apparent due primarily, although not entirely, to the inadequacy of incomes received rather than to mismanagement of those in- comes.” G QUARTERNORHAL Serious Housing Problems; Are Cited by N. E. A. Research Unit. School building operations through- | out the United States are moving at only about 25 per cent their normal rate, according to the Research Division of the National Education Association. “This sharp decline in building con- struction at a time when school en- roliments are on the increase, together with a considerable volume of building needs accumulated prior to 1930, is creating serious housing problems,” the organization remarks. Although definite information was | obtained concerning only about 90 cities with populations greater than 30,000, it was found that 687,611 pupils are housed in school buildings which have been condemned as unsafe or unsanitary. 391,748 on Part-Time Basis. Almost an equal number were in portable, rented or other temporary structures, while 391,748 could attend school only part of the time because of inadequate housing facilities. Some 2,300,000 children were attend- ing small schools, which, in the judg- ment of State school officers, ought to be abandoned in favor of larger con- solidated schools. Estimating from these figures, addi- tional building facilities for 2,700,000 pupils would be ‘required merely to re- plare condemned and temporary struc- tures and provide full-time accommo- dations for all pupils. Likewise, about 16,000 consolidated schools should be established for the | betterment of some 5,000,000 rural children now attending poorly equip- ped, inefficfent schools. Less than 5 per cent of the Nation’s school buildings have been constructed since 1930. A third was constructed EDUCATIONAL SECTION he Sundny Staw WASH GTON, SUNDAY D. C, OF 4,000 PUPILS EXPECTED IN D.C.PUBLIC SCHOOLS ‘Two of Washington's newest and shown here as viewed from &he air. School, familiarly known as “Tech” treets northeast. The inset shows Principal Frank C. Daniel. PUPIL CHARACTER WORK T0 CONTINUE Comprehensive Plan-Drawn for Co-operation of School and Home, BY BERTIE BACKUS. Assistant Superintendent_of-Schools in Charge of Character Education ‘The character education experiment | inaugurated last September in the pub- | lic schools at the request of the Sen- | ate's Committee on the Prevention of Delinquency, will be continued this vear. The first year's work was highly succeseful. Research assistants, coun- | selors, teachers and school officials | worked together in setting up the goals tand mapping out the program. The | first year was necessarily one of fact- finding, of thinking and discussion in order to effect a common purpose and evolve a comprehensive plan. | This comprehensive plan implies the co-operation between the public | schools, the home, and other educa- | tional, civic. and social agencies in | Washington, such as the George Wash- | ington University, Department of Pub- lic Health, Juvenile Court and Board | of Public Welfare. Therefore, during | the coming year the work will be | directed toward the development of a practical program within the s schools, but it will also include plans designed to bring teachers and school |officials in close touch with these | agencies. Special emphasis will be placed this | year upon the participation of teachers | and parents in the program. Dr. Cloyd H. Marvin, president of George Wash- ington University, has put at our dis- posal all the resources of the uni- versity for the inauguration of a pro- | | gram of in-service seminars for teach- |ers. A member of the character | education staff will have charge of this program. About 10 seminar groups will be organized, each group studying ! one phase of the program. Subjects Tentatively Suggested. The subjects tentatively suggested for the study are: Problem and de- linquent children, gifted children, be- havior records, health and physical education programs, vocation guidance in the senior high school, character | educatiod through school organization { and school life, character education as |an integral part of school curricula (literature, history and science), char- acter education and the activity pro- gram, character education through programs for recreation, Each seminar group will be made up of teachers interested in the work and prepared to make a contribution to the study, a parent active in parent- teacher organizations, school officials and a member of the staff from George | Washington University. Other educa- | tional agencies in-the city which have expressed a willingness to participate Office of Education, the National Edu- cation Association, the American Council on Education, the Juvenile Court, the Community Center Depart- ment and the Playground Department. George Washington University will credit work done in these seminare toward any degree in education it confers. Another point to be stresced this year will be the development of im- proved techniques of teaching reading, with emphasis on the special needs of individual children and upon methods of study reading in the upper grades. Relation to Success Clear. The relation between ability to read and school success is clear; the rela- tion between ability to read and growth in character has not been so well understood. A moment’s refiec- tion, however, will make the relation- ship clear. Teachers of retarded pupils all paint a common picture. The pupil is not able to do his work does jmmdmhnd,mhmnlz (Continued on Page 3, cohmn.l.) (thqfw in this program are: The United States | most modern high school plants ere On the left is shown McKinley High which is located at Second and T MORNING, SEPTEMBER 8, 1935, On the right is the new Roosevelt High School, on Thirteenth at Alii- son street In the background is Macfarland Junior High School. Both of these institutions are used as “laboratories” for Wilson Teachers’' College in training new instructors for the ci Davis, principal of Roosevelt. In the inset is Allan ~—Star Staff Photos. ity school system. D Urged by ’Mr,s. Doyle Also Terms ed for More Teach- | ers Urgent. Long Range Planning to Effect Economies Also Is Proposed. Editor's mote—Mrs. Doyle. the wife of Dean Henry Grattan Doyle of George Washington University, is the first woman president of the District’s School Board, which stretches back, through its prede- cessor organizations, to a group of school trustees headed by Thomas Jeflerson. In this article she out- lines her aspirations for the Wash- ington public schools. BY MARION WADE DOYLE, President Board of Education. District of Columbia. “Impressed with a sense of the in- separable connection between the edu- cation of youth and the prevalence of pure morality and with the duty of all communities to place within the | reach of the poor, as well as the rich, | the inestimable blessings of knowledge, | and with the high necessity of es- tablishing at the seat of the general Government, proper seminaries of learning, the City Council of Washing- ton do pass the following act—. Such are the words of the preamble of the act passed by the City Coun- cil of Washington on December 5, 1804, which brought into being the public | | school system of the Nation’s Capital. Where can one find a better brief statement of the American ideal of democratic public education? standing American of that day, Thomas Jefferson, then President of the United | patible with the high dignity of the first magistracy to accept the presi- | dency of the first board of trustees of | the Washingtonpublie schools. In his letter of acceptance, dated August 14, | 1805, he said in part: “Sincerely be- lieving that knowledge promotgs the happiness of man, I shall ever be dis- ward its extension; and in the in- | stance under consideration will will- | ingly undertake the duties proposed to | me, so far as others of paramount | obligation will permit my attention to them.” Begin Under Fine Auspices. Few educational undertakings have | been begun under finer auspices than Founded upon ideals so well expressed | by the city fathers, and actively fos- |tered by the liberal and far-seeing | Jefferson, the ¢ Washington public | schools have from the first consistently . C. School Building P It is significant also that the out-' | States, did not consider it incom- | | posed to contribute my endeavors to- | | the Washington public school system. MRS. DOYLE. devefoped a policy of educational op- portunity for all the children of the community. Prom its limited first equipment of two buildings, with about |50 school children, the school plant has grown, in these 130 years, to & problem is on our national doorstep | system of some 175 school buildings. with 95,000 pupils. The teaching staff has increased, in the same period, from two teachers to more than 2900, and | the scope of Washington's public edu- cational opportunities from a one-room school to a comprehensive program of free public education that extends from the kindergarten through the teachers’ colleges. The Board of Education today, like the City Council of more than a cen- tury and a quarter ago, is firmly im- pressed with the right of every child | to an education that will put into his | hands the tools with which he may build for himself a happy, useful and moral life. But education involves more than the individual. To insure the future well-being of our country, | communities must provide for all their children the gneans whereby they may ’be instructed in the duties, responsi- bilities, and opportunities of citizen- ship. The Washington school system . is efficient and progressive, but it has ‘mnny physical limitations. It is to | be hoped that some of the most urgent | needs of the schools will be met in the very near future. More school build- ings are still a major requirement, especially for senior and junior high- school pupils. Crowded schools, with (Continued on Page 7, Column 5.) ‘The opening of the doors of George- town Visitation Convent for registra- tion next week will mark the 136th year that this, the oldest private school for girls In the original 13 Colonies, has been carrying on its work of education. The school’s rec- ords from 1799 onward trace a chron- icle of curricula varying with the changing trends of the times. Another item for that chronicle will be added this year in the form of a course in music appreciation, known as the layman’s music course. The entire course will be conducted by one of the group especially trained in this unusual approach to music by Mme. Olga Samaroff, well known by her long connection with the Juillard Graduate high-school department, physiography is being added to the list of elective sciences. While the Georgetown Visitation Convent Begins 136th Year Next Week lecture program for the year has not yet been published, it is definifely known that Miss Janet Richards will again give her series of current events lectures, as she has been doing for the past 12 years. Returning pupils will find an addi- tion to the school’s art treasures. This is a portrait in oils of Mrs. Joseph F. Fennessy, in whose memory the May Seep Fennessy Memorial Hall was built, The portrait, the work of George Wharton Edwards, was given to the convent by Mr. Fennessy, whose three daughters, as well as his wife, were educated at Georgetown. Notice. Additional mews articles on achools and school plans will be found on Page 6, Part 2. N SCHOLS SEEN Forums Will Play Major Part in Education of Adults. BY J. W. STUDEBAKER. | Unitea States Commissioner of Education Information reaching the Federal Office of Education indicates that the . school year 1935-1936 will be a vear of recovery and progress in education. Schools, like other activities, are emerg- ing from the economic crisi. Many new attempts to adapt education in order that it may better serve its cen- tral purpose, making good citizens, are being reported to the Office of Educa- tion from all over the country. Reports of more than 250 forums have been received. There will be more this coming year. Forums afford one of the most practicable methods of education in citizenship for adults. And when they are operated by a pub- lic-school system they reach large numbers of people. We have naively believed in the past that a high-school education would equip our citizens to | discharge their public responsibilities | intelligently. But new issues come up i constantly that were never heard of in our high-school days. Hence, the growing need for adult civic education, in a style acceptable to adult minds. Youth Problem to Stay. Despite economic recovery the youth and is there to stay for some time to come. The Federal Office of Education | has been working on this problem for more than a year. Using a survey de- | veloped by the Office of Education, one Midwestern city recently studied its | 2,000 young people 16 to 24 years of age out of school. This community found that 1,300 of the 2,000 seeking | work were unemployed. Such condi- | tions are dangerous to the future of | the country and must oe corrected as | soon as possible. To assist communities in solving | their youth problem the Federal Office lof Education is doing two things: First, it has prepared a survey form which communities are using to dis- | cover the nature and extent of the problem; and second, it has combed the | country for methods of meeting the employment, education, recreation and | guidance needs of this group. Promis- | ing methods will soon be made avail- able to communities everywhere through a series of publications. Record in High Schools. { At least one in four Americans is | in the great army of peace that starts back to school as student or teacher in September. Elementary schools, in- cluding kindergartens, will about 20,200,000. Thig number, fol- lowing the trend of birthrate statistics, |is slightly smaller than last year. The high school enrollment of about 6,000,000, wil be a record-breaker. College enrollment, boosted by Fed- eral aid to needy students, will exceed 1,160,000. More than 500,000 boys in the C. C. C. will voluntarily enroll for courses. The number of adults study- ing is difficult to gauge. We used to say that a woman's work is never done. That is truer of education today than of woman's work. The new educational program for the C. C. C. will formally begin on October 1. Last year 77 per cent of |the C. C. C. enrollees voluntarily | registered for education. This year we expect a greater proportion. And | we will be ready to give them better | educational opportunities. Study out- lines for 15 short courses in for- estry, cooking, agriculture, auto me- chanics, and similar practical subjects have been prepared by the Federal Office of Education and are now being rushed through the Government Printing Office for early distribution to the camps. Recent passage by Congress of the enroll | rogram YEAR OF PROGRESS President of Board Two Cities in School Survey Fail to Cut Pay in Depression Of 144 representative cities canvassed by the National Edu- cation Association, only two did not cut salaries of teachers dur- ing the depression. Nineteen of the municipalities which found it necessary to slash their teachers’ pay have restored full salaries for the coming school vear, and 77 cities. have made partial restoration. Full salary cuts have been continued in force by 42 cities and one city has adopted a mew schedule that is contingent upon whether its budget is met. In two instances no determination has been made of the amount salaries will be cut in 1935-6, and one city has met absolutely necessary operating ex- penses and paid the balance of its receipts to teachers and other em- ployes. DISTRICT WILL GET NEW HIGH SCHOOLS !Woodrow Wilson and Ana- costia Structures to Be [ "Added to System. | Two modern high school structures will be added to the District’s public | school system this Fall, providing | much needed facilities to relieve con- gestion in the Eastern and Northwest sections of the city. ’ | The Woodrow Wilson High School, now being completed, is expected to | | be ready for occupancy by September | | 23, the scheduled date for the open- ing of school, but the Anacostia Senior- Junior High School probably will not be ready for pupils until about No-| vember 1. Since this latter institution | will operate only on a junior hign school basis during the coming year, | the delay is expected not to occasion | any great inconvenience. School of- | ficials point out that classes will ve | organized in existing elementary schools and transferred to the new building when it is finished and| equipped. Contains 26 Class Rooms. Besides being one of the two newest | high school buildings in the city, the | Woodrow Wilson will provide as com- | plete a secondary school plant as| exists in this section of the country. Fronting on Nebraska avenue, in the Fort drive section of Chevy Chase, the structure contains 26 class rooms as well as numerous chambers for special | instruction and work. | Although its capacity is estimated | at 1500, not more than 800 pupils are expected to be enrolled this year. | The main building, three stories in | height, and modified English design, |1s 226 feet by 213 feet. Inclosed cor- | ridors connect with wings on either side. One wing contains two gym- | nasiums, and the other an auditorium with a seating capacity of 1,200.| Adjoining the auditorium is a separate building which houses the heating | plant. { Special rooms include space for | bookkeeping. typing and clerical in- structio. There are two biological (Continued on Page 10, Column 3.) L} ! vented or SCHOOLS WILLING T0 MEET CHANGE Yesterday’s Truth May Be Today's Error, Says William E. Givens. Editor’s note—In this article Mr Givens, who assumed his present position several months ago after a life spent in the education field, discusses changes, present and fu- ture, in educational methods and philosophy. He is one of those who would have schools lay greater em- phasis on economic upheavals and their political and social implica- tions. BY WILLARD E. GIVENS, Executive Secre of the ducation Association ‘The September school bell calls children from a world just a little different this year than last. Each year sees a slight change in human living; accumulated changes through the vears make human life anew. Education. too, must change. Yes- truth is sometimes today's Ideas and ideals are refined and improved as the field of knowl- edge expands The fundamental character of the changes in educaticn is indicated in the simple fact that even words—the vehicles of thought—are being in- replaced continually to meet new needs. Our grandfathers measured land in perches. corn in nal | barrels; there are perhaps few readers | who know what a “stone” of butter was. The text books of pioneer schools did not include the word airport, kilowatt or tungsten because the things these words represent did not then exist. The revision of vocabu lary takes piace much faster than most of us realize. Only a few hun- dred words were necessary to conduct an average conversation a generation ago, a few thousand must be at com- mand today. Dictionaries Are - Thicker, In 1900 Webster's Unabridged Dic- tionary contained 175.000 words. The number of words in the present edi- tion exceeds 400.000. Equipping stu- dents with the words with which they must be acquainted is an important problem for educators. First-year high-school students, according to a study made by one of our best-known psychologists, must be master of more than 1800 scientific terms in one course alone. Important as words are, they are only tools. Ideas change, too. Con- clusions once simple and accepted without question are now complex and in dispute. As the world of thought moves on, educational institutions must move with it or become as ab- surd as an ox bow slung over an automobile radiator. It seemed to a great poet that “truth is forever on the scaffold.” Schools do not always find it easy to make the readaptations needed. There are many who find it difficult to abandon habits of thought. There are some who for selfish reasons oppose change. The inertia of ignorance would always keep things as they are. In the face of such dificulties the educational leader must frequently resign him- self to long and arduous effort. If he is prudent as well as ambitious to achieve progress, he will recognize that patience is as great a virtue as persistence. Emergency Focuses Attention. ‘The school studies, methods of teaching and administration, of or- ganizing and supporting schools are at present in the midst of adjustments that parallel and are demanded by present economic and social changes. Some of these changes in society have been in process for many years and are only brought to a focus by the present national emergency. The ex- tent to which the schools efficiently serve the commonwealth in preparing youth for new conditions of living is a matter of great concern to the parents of the 30,000,000 children whe (o;uanim [®) (Continued on age 7, Column 3., \