SEPTEilBEE 11, 1908] 



SCIENCE 



335 



the purposes of the public school law by forc- 

 ing their children, at an early age, to become 

 bread winners. To this end the child labor 

 and truancy laws should he so harmonized 

 that the education of the child, not its labor, 

 shall be made the chief concern. 



9. The National Education Association in- 

 dorses the increasing use of school buildings 

 for free vacation schools and for free evening 

 schools and lecture courses for adults, and for 

 children who have been obliged to leave the 

 day school prematurely. We also approve of 

 the use of school grounds for play grounds 

 and the use of school gymnasiums and bath 

 rooms for the benefit of the children in the 

 crowded districts during summer. 



10. Local taxation, supplemented by state 

 taxation, presents the best means for the 

 support of the public schools, and for securing 

 that deep interest in them which is necessary 

 to their greatest efficiency. State aid should 

 be granted only as supplementary to local 

 taxation, and not as a substitute for it. 



11. The National Education Association 

 observes with great satisfaction the tendency 

 of cities and towns to replace large school 

 committees or boards which have exercised 

 executive functions through subcommittees, 

 by small boards which determine general 

 policies, but intrust all executive functions 

 to salaried experts. 



12. We cannot too often repeat that close, 

 intelligent, judicious supervision is necessary 

 for all grades of schools. 



13. The rapid establishment of rural high 

 schools and the consolidation of rural district 

 schools are most gratifying evidences of the 

 progress of education. We believe that this 

 movement should be encouraged until the 

 children of rural communities enjoy the bene- 

 fits of public education to an extent approxi- 

 mating as nearly as practicable the education 

 furnished in urban communities. 



14. The National Education Association 

 wishes to record its approval of the increasing 

 appreciation among educators of the fact 

 that the building of character is the real aim 

 of the schools and the ultimate reason for the 

 expenditure of millions for their maintenance. 



There are in the minds of the children and 

 youth of to-day a tendency toward a disregard 

 for constituted authority, a lack of respect for 

 age and superior wisdom, a weak appreciation 

 of the demands of duty, a disposition to follow 

 pleasure and interest rather than obligation 

 and order. This condition demands the earli- 

 est thought and action of our leaders of opin- 

 ion and places important obligations upon 

 school boards, superintendents and teachers. 



15. It is apparent that familiarity with the 

 English Bible as a masterpiece of literature 

 is rapidly decreasing among the pupils in our 

 schools. This is the direct result of a con- 

 ception which regards the Bible as a theolog- 

 ical book merely, and thereby leads to its ex- 

 clusion from the schools of some states as a 

 subject of reading and study. We hope for 

 such a change of public sentiment in this re- 

 gard as will permit and encourage the read- 

 ing and study of the English Bible, as a liter- 

 ary work of the highest and purest type, side 

 by side with poetry and prose which it has 

 inspired and in large part formed. 



16. The National Education Association 

 wishes to congratulate the secondary schools 

 and colleges of the country that are making 

 an effort to remove the taint of professional- 

 ism, and other abuses, that have crept into 

 students' sports. This taint can be removed 

 only by leading students, alumni and school 

 faculties to recognize that inter-school games 

 should be played for sportsmanship and not 

 merely for victory. 



17. It is important that school buildings 

 and school grounds should be planned and 

 decorated so as to serve as effective agencies 

 for educating, not only the children, but the 

 people as a whole, in matters of taste. The 

 school is becoming more and more a commun- 

 ity center, and its larger opportunities im- 

 pose new obligations. School buildings 

 should be attractive as well as healthful, and 

 the adjoining grounds should be laid out and 

 planned with appropriateness and beauty. 



18. The highest ethical standards of con- 

 duct and of speech should be insisted on 

 among teachers. It is not becoming that 

 commercialism or self-seeking should shape 



