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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 1912)
yjcf -T".- , wrfjJfvFSm DECEMBER 13 1912 will bo a surprise to the most progressive na tions of thd world. How is this to be accomplished? I think it may be brought about by a reorganization of our public school system vitalizing the whole, and bringing it into harmony with the laws of true development. We must organize and bring into closer relation the various forces that have been established for the betterment of health and the social life, and concentrate their efforts in the direction of the home and the public schools. We must change our definition of education. It is not the acquisition of knowledge, nor alone mental and moral development. It is all of these but much more. It is in the broadest sense the process of development or of bringing into efficiency latent possibilities. But our defi nition of education must be broad enough to include the giving of life, health, energy, and such balance of mind and body as will develop the greatest culture and the deepest insight. Besides giving us healthy minds and bodies alive to the finger tips, our education must teach us to feel keenly, to think clearly, and. to act wisely. When we fall short of this we are one-sided and lack the balance which is essential to the best development. The purpose of education is to lead individ uals out of ignorance and selfishness into truth and service. But the process is one of internal change and can not be accomplished through external veneer. To develop virility, the pro cess of education must be one in which the whole organism is simultaneously affected. The phy sical, motor, mental, spiritual are only parts of the same whole and must be developed together and in unison in order that the individual may command himself. Just as breathing, circula tion, digestion and assimilation are continuous processes in the healthy individual so are motor and mental energy always accumulating and de manding expression. In the reorganized school, and I have in mind now especially the elementary grades, the entire boy will go to school. He will leave home in the morning with pleasant anticipations, and re turn in the afternoon with regrets that the day was so short. The school day will consist of from four to six hours, depending upon the grade. The school year will consist of at least ten months. The exercises of the day will be divided into three parts. Beginning with the lower grades the first hour and a half will be devoted to" organized play, with and without music. The object of this play will be to de velop health, energy and efficiency. The teacher and every child will take part. Then will follow an equal period devoted to intellectual, work. The fi'llness of life gained by the teacher and the pupils in the play period will help "to intensify and vitalize the intellectual period. The third period of the day will be de voted to industrial life manual training, do mestic science, writing, drawing, and such forms of science and laboratory work as tend to place the child in living touch with the essential things in the life about him. The upper grades will have similar periods of work and play but in a reversed order. They will begin In the morn ing with intellectual work which will be inten sive and last about two and a half hours never more than three interspersed with change and rest periods. The intellectual work will be followed by motor or industrial work and that in turn by the organized play period. It will be better i" the same teacher leads her children through all these divisions of the day, thus gain ing from each the life and energy that is essen tial to the best teaching. No one can give life and energy to others who has not a surplus. A lifeless teacher makes a lifeless school and what is more an unprogressive civilization. For the sake of our children our teachers need rest and recreation. No one can with advantage and safety devote more than two or three hours to intensive brain labor per day, and the teacher is no exception. I think that all who have studied the subject will agree that a few hours of intensive labor Is worth far more in build ing true character than, innumerable hours of dilatory effort. Such study and exercise is pos sible under the plan I have outlined. Many have recognized the necessity of play and have organized playground movements. But you can never vitalize the teaching until play the deepest and most natural Instinct of the human soul and the various forms of motor activity are made a regular part of the school curriculum. Three separate Institutions, one for the intellectual, another for the physical, and still another for the industrial life will not answer. Such a condition means in time the failure of all. In the development of the individual if we The Commoner. make use of the play instinct to give health and beauty of body, of motor activity or labora tory work to give meaning and accuracy to our thinking and through these give opportunity for the expression of the best in the soul, we will have accomplished more toward vitalizing our schools than can bo done In any other way. The criticism may bo raised that the above plan does not give sufficient attention to the intellectual life. Is it possible to crowd into two or three hours per day the many subjects and facts that are thought to be necessary in the completion of the common school curriculum? I answer yes, and when these subjects are vita lized as Indicated above, they can be taught with far greater meaning and in much less time than is now given to them. The limits of this paper will not permit me to work out the form and nature of the new curriculum. Suffice it to say that the new cur riculum will be enriched and enlarged by reduc ing the number of subjects and vitalizing the material. All facts that are worth teaching will be taught in such a way as to make them live again in the experience and life of the in dividual. No subject is worthy a place in the elementary school that is not equally valuabl i for all. The public school is the only completely unifying factor in our civilization, and for this reason, if for no other, its interests should be zealously guarded. To this Institution we have justly ascribed the term common school, and the work offered here aims to give a common education. What then are the subjects that are equally essential to all? They must be truly founda tional and fit equally well into any scheme that has for its purpose the making of true men and women. The subjects may be designated as fol lows: 1st. Reading under which should be in cluded the study of the native language and such literary, geographical and historical facts and material as are necessary to give meaning and validity to the individual's thinking. 2nd. Writing, including the various forms of written expression. 3rd. Drawing, modeling, and pattern-making. 4th. Music, including acting, drilling and other forms of expression not brought out under the subjects named above. 5th. Mathematics covering only the essentials and all elementary science that can be made vital through the social and industrial life that the individual is at the time living. This Is the lr rlduciblo minimum which every child should know and appreciate, yes and be able to intel ligently execute, before he is old enough to leave the elementary schools. It is essential to life, the birthright of all, and equally important whatever the future of the individual. Vitalize the schools as I have indicated by making UHe of the play instinct and motor activity In con nection with the processes of thinking and ex pression, and you will be able to accomplish all of this and more with ease. For thus we nourish the soul forming true habits of feeling, thinking, doing that enables the Individual to live in the truest sense. You know the thing that fills our alms-houses, jails, and penitentiaries is one-sided develop ment. Early specialization may sometimes make the genius, but it also makes the grafter, the criminal, the thief and the vagabond. The great need of the hour is for men, large men, balanced men. Men who dream great dreams of a higher life, and have the intelligence, courage and energy to put these dreams into action for the good of humanity. Men who would rather suffer than cause others to suffer. It has been shown quite clearly that organized play does more than give health, beauty and versatility to the Individual. It develops morality and religious spirit. I think it Is B. M. Cherrington, of Omaha, Neb., who said: "I have seen a gang of fully seventy-five boys that was a terror to the whole section of the city, and a constant worry and trouble to the police, overcome in the twinkling of an eye by the establishment of a playground in their midst. I have seen them come day after day, and night after night to those grounds, never missing. I have seen them make their own ruleB of conduct, rules that you or I could not wish to improve. I have seen them live up to those rules re ligiously and insist that everyone else do the Rime In short, I have seen such a marvelous improvement In their conduct, their ideals and their standards, In one short summer, as to be almost beyond belief." Secretary C. E. Prevey of the Lincoln, Neb., Charity Organization, says: Tho records of the juvenile court show that boys who were arraigned in the court for such offenses as breaking window lights, smoking cigarettes, petty thieving and general delln nifpncy are those who do not come under the System 'o? organized play, such as that furnished 5 by the playground." Tho prominent Scottish neoroloRlBt, Dr. T. S. Clouaton, In addressing tho Child Study society of England In January said: "No city, or town, or rural community for that matter, is untitled to regard Itself as modern which doos not possess adcquato playgrounds for lu children. Who can estimate tho loss to a nation which arises from tho absence of play grounds, whereby the physical and moral characters of men and women are materially affected for evil everywhere." Similar testimonies might be addd without number. Mow long will wo remain silent and permit this blighting and stultifying process of memorizing without educating to go on, Establish In connection with public education organized play under proper direction, give greater opportunity for motor activity and In tellectual expression along the lines Indicated and we will soon have a healthier, happier, truer civilization. G. W. A. LUCKEY. SriTAUIiti CHRISTMAS GIFTS The following books, a careful selection of the best things from the writings and speeches of Mr. Bryan, are offered as very appropriate gifts for the Christmas and holiday season. These books are all well printed on good paper, bound In dainty, artistic stylo, and will make glfta that will he thoroughly appreciated by tho recipient, or welcomed as valued additions to the homo library: A Tale of Two Conventions. A carefully re vised account of Mr. Bryan's reports of the Chicago and Baltimore conventions, as prepared for a syndicate of newspapers. Added to these are notablp speeches made In those conventions, including those by Mr. Bryan himself, the last being his "Valedictory." An outline of the con vention which nominated Mr. Roosevelt Is also given, with his speech of acceptance and that of Mr. Wilson and comments on these, also the three party platforms, an Introduction by Mr. Bryan, a number of current newspaper cartoons, etc. 12mo. Cloth. Sent prepaid to any address on receipt of price, $1 .00. Mr. Bryan's Selected SpcvrhcH. Revised and arranged in a convenient two-volume edition. Those hooks present Mr. Bryan's most notable addresses and orations, and cover tho chief important phases and features of his career as an orator and advocate. A familiarly intimate and Interesting biographical introduction by Mary Baird Bryan, his wife, opens Volume I. Each volume has a portrait frontispiece, and the two hooks afford a wide range of topics on national and world problems. 12rno. Oilt Tops. The two volumes, hound in cloth, sent to any address prepaid on receipt of price, $2.00. The half leather edition, 2 vols., sent for $3.00, prepaid. The Signs of the Times. To which is added "Faith," an address delivered before several colleges. Mr. Bryan has made several formal and extended addresses, In different parts of the world, since the issue of his "Selected Speeches" in two volumes. None of theso were probably prepared with more care, or were more worthy of preservation and study than "Tho Signs of the Times." And "Faith" happily supplements this, In this dainty book. 16mo., Flexible Leather, Gilt Top. Sent prepaid to any address on receipt of price, 75 cents. The Fruits of the Tree. A notable address delivered by Mr. Bryan at the World's Mission ary Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland, June 17, 1910. A very dainty and acceptable gift book. 12mo beautiful Art Board covers, Illumined with handsome. design In full gilt. Sent pre paid to any address on receipt of price, CO cents. Any of the above books will be mailed to any address on receipt of price stated, and all orders will receive prompt and careful atten tion. A special price will be made for all five books sent to one address, as follows: For $3.90 we will send the entire five books (Includ ing "Selected Speeches" In cloth binding pre paid to one address. For $4.90 we will send the entire five books (including "Selected Speeches" bound in Half Leather) prepaid to one address. Send orders early to Insure prompt delivery in time for Christmas. Address all orders to The Commoner, Lincoln, Neb. WHY DO THEY SMILE? Answering The Commoner's question, "Why do men and women smile when they read of the American Tobacco company's dissolution," Mr. Frank Carroll, of Crolghton, Neb., writes: "For the same reason that causes -the millions of Bryan's admirers to smile when they hear the bull moosers trying, In their arguments, to fit the mantle of sincerity on the shoulders of their chief." 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