EDITORIAL 



The Agassiz Association an Important 

 Factor in America's Popular Educa- 

 tion. 



The Guide to Nature recently pub- 

 lished an editorial on the proposed 

 Modern School to be established by 

 the John D. Rockefeller Foundation, 

 New York. The need of that school 

 was first expressed in a paper entitled 

 "Changes Needed in American Second- 

 ary Education" by President Charles 

 W. Eliot. It was claimed in the editor- 

 ial : 



"The gist of that paper is the ideals of 

 The Agassiz Association that have been 

 promulgated into thousands of schools 

 throughout the land for nearly half a 

 century or to be more exact since 1875 

 at which time The Agassiz Association 

 was established." 



It was further claimed: 

 "In the final analysis the ideals of 

 not only this Modern School but of 

 other so-called modern educational 

 propoganda are but one or more of 

 those of this long established organiza- 

 tion in a little different wording or with 

 a special emphasis." 



President Eliot, under date of March 

 7, writes an extended letter of personal 

 explanation and approval. Upon re- 

 quest to publish a part of that letter, 

 he writes (March 9) : "You are wel- 

 come to publish the extract," which is 

 as follows : 



"The efforts you have made in The 

 Agassiz Association, and in publishing 

 'The Guide to Nature' have been parts 

 of the pioneering work in a long, slow 

 campaign on behalf of wiser and better 

 school programmes, and a more natural, 

 effective, and enjoyable method in 

 America's popular education. 



"It looks now as if something large 

 and happy were about to result from 

 that long campaign. The early labor- 



ers in it are all dead. It will be the 

 second or third generation that will 

 sing the songs of victory." 



Not the System but the Teacher. 



Newspapers and magazines are dis- 

 cussing the Modern School and our 

 school systems. Here are words of 

 wisdom from an extended article on the 

 subject in "The Outlook" for Februarv 

 7th: 



"One reason, perhaps, why our 

 schools are not any more successful 

 than they are is that any system, tra- 

 ditional or modern, tends to make those 

 in charge of it impersonal. The cure 

 for that is not by substituting still an- 

 other system, but in getting some hu- 

 manity into those who are dealing with 

 human material." 



These two sentences go straight to 

 the pith of the matter. It is curious that 

 every little while along comes some 

 skilled and enthusiastic teacher who is 

 not content, neither are her friends, 

 with her skill and enthusiasm but who 

 asserts that everything that has ever 

 been done must be undone. The sad 

 part is that frequently, when modern 

 teaching is along the lines which have 

 been established since the days of 

 Socrates, many will hold up their hands 

 and shout in joy of the ideal, new sys- 

 tem, when there is nothing new except 

 the rara avis, the new enthusiasm of the 

 skilled teacher. 



"The Outlook" goes further : 



"In the defense of this experiment 

 the chief emphasis has been laid on 

 developing the powers of the pupils. 

 In carrying this out we hope that more 

 emphasis will be laid on training the 

 pu\V\\ in the use of his powers, in the 

 will to use them, and in the desire to 

 have them contribute to a life of ser- 

 vice." 



"Developing the powers of the pu- 

 pils." Why, certainly; that is what 

 The Agassiz Association has been do- 

 ing for forty-two years. 



