The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 14

TWJU4 MOV. 4. MO. How About the Fella Under the Tree? Future of the American High School fflp litotes Beaigkr Published every weekday morning: by THE REGISTER AND TRIBUNE 713-715 Locust Des Moinei 4, la. REGISTER RATES.

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Daily W.IlTtH AND 358,104 TRIBUNE .144.349 PaiTr P.er.eter Daily Tnouce MTMBra or THE ASftnciATfD rr. li th um ir of alt newe printed Oiepairtiaa. Xsi e( republication of all other The Democratic Victory. Kennan Plan on Containing Russians Speech by Expert on Soviets at Herald Tribune Forum Studied. New Methods Needed for suranc company indicate that high school enrollments will rise by ap proximately three million between 1945 and 1960.

In 1890 the enrollment In secondary schools was barely above one-third million, while by 1934 six and a half million crowded Into our schools. Divergent Groups Now. The tremendous upsurge in high school population is only one of several major social movements with which the secondary schools have been faced in the past several years. In 1890 the high school population was a select group representing less than 8 per cent of youth of high school age. Seventy-five per cent of this group continued on into college.

Today over 75 per cent of youth of high school age attend high school, and of this group only about one- fourth continue on into college. Today's schools, rather than dealing with a select, comparatively uniform group, are dealing with children of highly divergent economic, educational, and occupational backgrounds as well aa with students who vary tremendously as to mental ability, and personal, and avocational Interests. In the past 60 years the American population has changed Xrom a predominantly rural population to one in which less than 20 per cent of the population is classed as rural. Our population is now largely industrial and business. The industrial revolution has brought about a tremendous social upheaval the effects of which are not even as yet fully discernible Suffice it to point out briefly some of its implications for secondary schools: 1.

A great stress has been placed on family life. The family Is no longer basically an economic unit. Children no longer work with parents in earning a living and family ties have been loosened. 2. Leisure time for everyone has been greatly increased.

The proper use of this has become a major problem. 3. In our economic machine individuals have become highly interdependent, rather than independent. Security has become a collective matter. There have always been "wars, and rumors of but no wars in the history of western civilization have been as widely destructive and have affected the personal and family lives of as many people as so called World Wars I and II.

The atom bomb promises far more destructive wars and it appears that man must now learn to live together or not live. This is a tremendous challenge to and responsibility for secondary schools. What To Teach? What then should the high schools teach? This question has been debated up and down the country and there are many answers; but upon two major premises there seems to be agreement: The schools should teach those things which will satisfy the needs and interests of youth, and the schools should teach those things which will satisfy the needs of society. Large as these orders are, educa tors and laymen are trying to define these two sets of needs. To suggest the direction that studies of these needs are taking, a tabulation of one conducted by the National Association of Secondary School Principals, and entitled Planning for American Youth, is indicated here.

The Common and Essential Needs That All Youth Have in a Democratic Society. 1. All youth need to develop sal able skills and those understand ings and attitudes that make the worker an intelligent and produc tive participant in economic life. 2. All youth need to develop and maintain good health and physical fitness.

S. All youth, need to understand the rights and duties of the citizen of a democratic society, and to be diligent and competent in the performance of their obligations as members of the community and citizens of the state and nation. The Family. 4. All youth need to understand the significance of the family for the individual and society and the conditions conducive to successful family life.

5. All youth need to know how to purchase and ud foods and Bert-ices intelligently, understanding both th values received by the 6. 7. 8. 8.

10. of of of a Iowa School Man Thinks BY GLENN II. DARLING. Principal, Carroll, Public Schools. The American high school is a strange and wondrous institution baf-fliug to the educator nnd concerned Uymitii alike.

Of tho vnrlcty of high schools there seems to foe no end! Here is a high school whose whole organization is built around the function of preparing children for college, and there is one which emphasizes vocational training, while In the same county a third school compromises between these extremes, a fourth high school emphasizes "general and the course offerings of most of the high schools socm merely to represent an accumulation of subjects added over a period of years. Next door to a school with a high degree of student government is one highly administrator-dominated. One school goes all out for "extra-curricular" activities and the next one minimizes these in favor of "academic" subjects. The American high school seems to be going in all directions at once! Why this confusion of aims? Increase in Enrollment. For each of five consecutive decades from 1880 to 1930, the high school population has doubled itself.

That population continues to increase rapidly and statistics recently released by the Metropolitan Life In- affairs to a head" as Mr. Churchill and in this country Mr. Walter Lippmann have proposed. There is, however, a State department element which is tempted by the idea of pro posing simultaneous Four-Power termination of the occupation of Germany as a propaganda coup which the Soviet would have to refuse. Mr.

Lippmann has argued that such a step, leaving a power vacuum in Germany, would be succeeded at once by a neo-Nazi domination there which neither we nor the Russians could afford, for which reason he thinks the Soviets would instead "come to Confronted by this tenuous chain of reasoning diplomatic observ ers here throw up their hands helplessly. London Observer Foreign News Service.) WHAT DO YOU THINK? Question: Are you for or against radio give-away pro grams? Why? Aniwere obtained la the loop.) Sam Kissien, 26, of 4333 Pleasant manager of window cleaning com pany: "They would be all right if the people who really needed the prizes won, but usually they don't. I'm against those quiz programs on which you have to have a good education' to win." 1 SAM KISSIEN. E. R.

WALKER. E. R. Walker, 41, of 512 S. E.

Hughes assistant custodian: aon see anything- wrong with them. They're interesting and I enjoy them. I espe cially like 'Stop the Music even if there isn't much of a chance to win." Shirley Wells, 15, of 4017 Sixty- seventh "I'm for them. After all. I might win something some day.

There's always a chance you can Mllltl.KV WKI.I.N. HOH I.I Bob I.iicaM, 17. of 415 Virginia student: "I think they are all right. People always enjoy trying to win, ven it tney don nave mum or a chance. I especially like the 'Slop the Music' program." Mrs.

Mary Hodat, 25, 930 Jarvis st. housewife: Tm neither for nor against them, but they certainly don't appeal to me at all. I never listen to that type of program." MRS. MARY SODA Tat Williams, 15, of 6768 Roseland drive: "I'm for them, because they are fun to listen to. Of course, it is true you don't have much of a chance mm I fiSL I TAT WILLIAMS.

Changed Conditions consumer and the economie eons quences of their acts. All youth need to understand th methods of science, th Influent of science on human life, and th main scientific facts concerning" the nature of th world and of man. All youth need opportunities develop their capacities to appreciate beauty, in literature, arts, music, and nature. Leisure Time. All youth need to be able to us their leisure time well and to budget it wisely, balancing activities that yield satisfactions to th individual with those that are socially useful.

All youth need to develop respect for other persons, to grow in their insight into ethical values and principles, and to be able to liv and work co-operatively with others. All youth need to grow in their ability to think rationally, to express their thoughts clearly, and to read and listen with understanding. During the past decade hundreds schools and perhaps 40 of th states have entered into an examination of their curriculums in the light present day needs, and have revised those curriculums in varying' degrees. Accrediting agencies and th universities have shared in this activity, as have lay groups. Curriculum Revision.

In 1944 the Iowa State Department Public Instruction embarked upon statewide secondary school curriculum revision. The final results of this study in the form of a new secondary school curriculum has as yet not been published; but considerable portions are presently in the print shops. The new curriculum, although not mandatory, will strongly influenc curriculum revision throughout th state. Booklet Published. In 1947 the State Department of Public Instruction published a bulletin entitled, "A Proposed Design for Secondary Education." For Iowans, at least, this booklet represents a pret ty clear cut answer to the question, "Where are the high schools going?" The answer.

In this case, is likewise authoritative, for the methods used in arriving at the objective "-of a new curriculum were highly democratic. Involving modern polling procedures as weU as wide- spread consultation with lay and educational group throughout th state. The faculties and administrators of over 200 high schools wer polled on 35 issues of curriculum. Here have the collective ideas of Iowa teachers and administrators who sr In constant touch with youth and society. The history of th American high school in the past 60 years has been one concerned largely with the sheer problem of expanding facilities rapidly enough to cope with the swelling' high school population.

The effect of the new social and economie force ia play have become so great that the high schools can longer aegtecft them. There are many areas of disagreement in curriculum revision; but four areas of pretty general agreement stand out. Suggestions. In general, the high school as now designed takes care of the pre-col-lege student, but forces the 75 per cent who will never go to college through the same mold. More vocational training needs to bt offered and mors needs to be taught that will fit high school graduates for useful citizenship.

i It is imperative that the high schools do a better job teaching useful family membership and responsible citizenship on the local, national, snd international levels. The high schools must improve the teaching of the "basic skills" reading, written composition, computation and conversing. Th revision of curriculum must th combiasd function of laymen and educators workinr under th American tradition of local the busses It is doubtful that the cost is sn important factor. Possibly the discipline involved definite time of lesv-ing, necessity of returning immediately after the game and presence of chaperones may be an important discouragement. Many students prefer to ride with their parents.

A number hav cars of their own. Another deterrence may be th necessity of signing up by 1 p. m. the day of th game. At any rate, students' Interest in making use of these busses has been low and there are not enough who have no other means to make bus transportation fessible.

Perhaps th school could male a greater effort to interest students in going to games by bus, but a certain amount of th responsibility rests with the parents. If parents required their children to ride th bus Instead of going by private car, more than enough to fill a bus would sign trp. The use of school busses for outside activities is a privilege, not an obligation. If students take more interest in this means of transportation it is likely that many more will have an opportunity to attend out-of-town games and support of thera will proporttonateljr frestetv Sunday1 "500,651 la Mninea. Daity RectHer and Tribune Sunaay Rrguter 62.043 Th Aaeoelated Praia ta entitled exclusively In (hia newapaper.

as well aa all newa matter publuhed la ihla newspaper are alio with tha Democratic party and Harry Truman. In spite of the fact that many labor leaders have begun to feel less bitter about the Taft-Hartley act, in spite of the fact that labor has been able to bargain effectively under it, in spite of the fact that polls have shown a majority of workers in favor of individual features of it nevertheless, the Taft-Hartley act unquestionably was a rallying point for anti-Republicanism. Labor leaders, committed in opposition to it, could not back down. Truman vetoed the bill and spoke sharply against it in the campaign. Dewey spoke vaguely of "modifications" in the labor relations law, but he endorsed its general content.

Th Taft-Hartley issue was not necessarily determining in itself. But Dewey obviously did not succeed in destroying labor's concept of the Republican party as a party of owners, employers, and managers. He was content to rely on the "throw the rascals out after 16 years" feeling. The probability is that any party, i to win a national election hereafter in our "laboristic" society, must have an appeal for the employees who now predominate in it. It must be able to convince these voters that it has their interests deeply at heart.

This does not mean that our economy is drifting inescapably toward "class" war or even "class" political parties. As Professor Slichter himself adds: The economy is not developing a proletariat in the sense of an oppressed and prop-ertyless class. The view of Marx that industrial revolution would produce greater and greater poverty among workers, and greater and greater concentration of wealth and Income in the hands of employers, has turned out to be contrary to fact. The gains of technological progress have not gone in the main to the capitalists but to employees. Technological and business change are making increasing demands upon the knowledge, skill, and responsibility of workers.

This fact is in conflict with a widely held popular superstition that technological progress has been reducing men to automatons or robots. A large and growing proportion of the people own property. There is every reason to believe, therefore, that our system of two mass parties neither one a "labor" party In the European sense wilf continue. But the increasing importance of employees in our society probably does mean that a successful political party can no longer be based primarily upon self-employed persons. MURDERS THAT ADD TO WORLD TENSION.

A series of murders have served to increase tension around the world within the last few months: George Polk, American newspaperman slain in Greece, Count Folke Bornadotte, U. N. mediator assassinated in Palestine, and latest, Irving Ross, economic administra tion official, brutally beaten to death in Vienna. None of the murderers of the first two men have been brought to justice. In the case of th four Russian soldiers accused of Rom' death th situation probably will be th same.

Th Russians hav several thousand men in their Vienna sector, and it is improbable the culprits will be found. Diplomatic protocol demands that something of a gesture be made. An exchange of notes between this country and Ruseia will probably occur. This may provide the dead man's widow and children with the proper type of official condolence, but its value in discovering and punishing the criminals Is doubtful. Our tendency is to blame the responsible government of the area: the Israeli government, the Greek government, the Russian army.

Eut with the best of intentions it is impossible for any authority in an unsettled and high-strung situation to completely prevent murders like Moreover, it is often difficult to distinguish between the spur-of-the-moment killing by irresponsible neurotics and the political killing as a result of a carefully-prepared-plan. The former is the more likely cause. But we usually interpret a murder of one of our representatives as a dark political plot by our enemies. What we don't need and never expect to use again we put in the closet, then in the attic, and finally in the garage SHELDON MAIL. One of the characteristic of a democracy is that it accepts the judgment of the majority with loyalty and good humor.

A people who did not do this would soon be-ce-ae factionalized and crippled by dissension. So no matter how stunned roughly hal of the American population may have been by Governor Dewey's loss of the presidential contest and "stunned" is a fairly accurate adjective it will of course adjust its thinking promptly and soon be looking ahead again. As for the administration, there Is one change inherent in this new situation and another which we hepe will evolve. The inherent one is that Harry S. Truman ceases to be an "accidental" occupant of the chief executive's chair, and becomes instead the leader of the nation in his own right and by the people's direct choice.

From every standpoint this is a healthier status for a man bearing such enormous responsibilities to have. It is just not humanly possible for a president thrust into the role by chance to command in every detail, either at home or abroad, the same respect that a president does who has been chosen deliberately by the electorate. i President Truman has now passed that hurdle. He has achieved automatically a new stature. The charge which we hope will evolve is this: Governor Dewey put his major emphasis during the campaign on the urgency of American national unity in these times.

He was talking about a national spirit that transcends partisanship, and it was a note that wanted sounding. Of course Mr. Dewey believed that the respect which he genuinely felt for this high principle would contribute to his political victory and no doubt it did add to his prestige, even though other factors brought about another result. Mr. Truman, for equally good reasons of political strategy, put his emphasis on the contrasts between the two major parties.

He reiterated constantly and even exaggerated the breach between them. The technique was, in fact, extremely effective, apparently. But in the interest of the nation's welfare, in the interest of his coming administration and even of his party, President Truman, must surely recognize the urgent need for a maximum cf the very national unity for which his opponent spoke. Mr. Truman now has it in his power, more than any other man, to restore this sense of common Americanism, of solidarity as a people.

We think it would be tragic indeed were he not to strive earnestly for this. We think that if he shows an anxiety for it, it will appear promptly. For no thoughtful American, regardless of party, is unaware that the times cry for it. Since the division of the country was so dose. The Register considers it a fortunate thing that all three segments of the executive-legislative control of the national government went to the same party.

The chaos otherwise, as Governor Dewey pointed out, would have created problems that we can ill afford to have troubling us at this moment. "Explanations" of ths startling Democratic strength, nationwide, will cf course be numerous and exhaustive in the weeks ahead. We are disposed here to suggest only one, though we do not mean to imply at alt that it contains the whole story. To elaborate it, we q.iote frcm a new book. "The American by Sumner Slichter, the Harvard economics professor: "Tha American economy is a laboristic economy, or at least is rapidly becoming one.

By this I mean that employe are the most influential (roup is tha community, and that the economy is run in their interest more than in the interest of any other economic group. Employee- have great and growing influence, because over three out of four persons who work for a living in the United States are employees, and less than one out of four are self-employed. "Although their Influence has been growing for several generations, not until the political revolution resulting from the -reat depression of the thirties did employees become the strongest single influence in the ommunlty. Rightly or wrongly, labor in this campaign identified its interest alternative to give in and abandon Berlin; or a fifth to make the straight humiliating deal proposed by Mr. Molotov in Moscow and accept Soviet permission to remain in Berlin while agreeing to halt creation of a Frankfurt regime and open Four-Power discussions on Germany, on the basis of Mr.

Molotov's Warsaw proposals. Thus it may be concluded that sur render was not considered an alternative, although when the Berlin crisis first arose it was widely sup posed in Britain that the United States underestimated its import and there were some influential public voices then raised in favor of abandoning the German capital. If surrender was never contemplated and if the United States has this time seemed so keenly aware of the uselessness of the kind of cynical horse-trading which Mr. Byrnes once identified with diplomacy, it is probably because Mr. Kennan's policy has been kept in mind.

Con' tainment as a policy must above all be firm, or it is nothing. The siege wall must never be broken. It would mean, for one thing, too great a loss of confidence among the Allies. Implications. It has perhaps been an unfair lest of Mr.

Kennan's containment policy that Berlin, where the Soviets contain the Western occupation forces very handily, should be the place where it proves itself. Mr. Kennan's concluding paragraph has drawn most attention of all because of its implications. He said, "Either we must find means to bring wisdom to those whose thoughts are today oriented solely to the pursuit of political greatness in the form of world dominion, or, if we cannot do this and if those people remain stub bornly unwise, then we must persuade them in their own interest to stand aside and permit other peoples of the world to proceed at last with this business of the development of inter national association which has been so long Aim of the Kremlin. Taken at its face value the pro posal to "bring wisdom" to the Kremlin seemed somewhat prim to some observers, but what Mr.

Kennan was suggesting was reflected in the words of one experienced diplomat: "What we are driving at In Berlin Is the aim which we don't by any means consider hopeless of convincing the Russians that It is to their advantage to come to a settlement with us over Germany." He acknowledged that it was pat ently the Soviet aim in precipitating the Berlin crisis to convince the Western Powers of the same thing and that the difference was one of terms, but that there was a hope that th test of strength In Berlin would convince the Kremlin as past struggles in conference rooms, in elections, or In strike-torn Industrial cities have done that they ar "con tained" and must accept th fact. Parallel Problem. la the United Nations clearly the problem Is a parallel one, only con tainment Is expressed in terms of ma jority votes and, as things sre developing, quite probably of regional alliances under the aegis of Article Fifty-one of the Charter. It appears from this that Mr. Ken nan does not believ in "bringing With Cornpickers injuries that were not reported to his office.

The most common cause of injury was found to be performing unsafe operations such as cleaning out the snapping rollers while the machine was running and stepping over uncov ered power take-offs. Other errors found by Wardle wer the fallur to us safely devices and too much hurry. Wardle says never clean out the snapping husking rollers while the machine is running. Stop the machine before lubricating. Keep the power take-off covered and make sure there are no children around when the ma chine is started.

Reports show that some of the op erators who were seriously Injured had escaped with only minor injuries before. BY PETER WHITNEY. (Written for the London, England, Observer. Special to The Register.) WASHINGTON, D. That excel lent newspaper, the New York Herald Tribune, annually conducts a forum addressed by numerous men of first rank on subjects of public interest.

No less a figure than Gov. Thomas E. Dewey, the Repub lic a presidential candidate, concluded the program. Although he spoke in polite platitudes and risked no opinion more controversial than that soil erosion is a bad thing. KENNAN.

he necessarily stole the headlines for the day. Diplomatic observers, however, paid a great deal more attention to the address of Mr. George Kennan of the State department. Mr. Kennan is one of the department's two leading ex perts on the Soviet Union.

He is now chief of its planning division office. set up when General Marshall took office as secretary of state, to cor respond, it was assumed, with the military staff to which Mr. Marshall, as United States army chief of staff, was accustomed to turn for plans of war. Marshall's Policy. Before he took this job Mr.

Kennan wrote anonymously an article for "Foreign a quarterly mag azine which advocated for the United States a policy of patient, alert containment of the Soviet Union until its leaders should be persuaded of the folly of attempting to break out into Europe or Asia by force or subversion, This, it has been assumed, was the policy which Mr. Marshall has been following ever since. But Mr. Kennan himself has meanwhile retreated be hind an unapproachable barrier high in the State department's ugly new monolith on Virginia Avenue; he has never been quoted and is not available to the press. His Herald Tribune speech, therefore, is his first full-dress public utterance.

Peace Not Yet. Mr. Herman addressed himself to the problem of the United Nations which he admitted now played nothing like the role that was intended for it, because the expected peace that should have followed the Second World War has not been made and the great nowers have not aereed. Until it can piay us mieriucu roie, lie saw, uie i i.i i i. 1 United States proposed to keep the United Nations alive "in the hope that some day it will be But it was in defending the handing of th Berlin problem to a United Nations so handicapped that Mr.

Kennan cam to th point. Although "aware that this would constitute a severe test which we would have preferred to spare Mr. Kennan said 'we had no alternative other than to meet the threat of force with sction in order to break the blockade of Berlin, or to do nothing and thus permit this threatening situation to develop in ominous silence and Tho Choices It is interesting to note that Mr. Kennan did not even mention a fourth Playing It Safe (Clear Lake Mirror.) Iowa farmers should never bet their life, hand or arm unless they are willing to lose it, Norval J. Wardle, farm safety specialist at Iowa State college, warns mechanical corn picker operators.

Wardle points out that there isn't a safe method of cleaning out a corn picker while it is in operation. Many farmers are lucky and escape injury but 184 Iowans were not quite so fortunate last year. In 184 corn harvest accidents last year, 144 were traced to the elevator. Four Iowans lost their lives due to corn harvesting accidents. There are more than 60,000 mechanical pickers in Iowa.

Wardle says that 184 accidents for the number of machines Is low, but thera ar numerous 8 School Busses and Sports Events (iAike Mtlls Graphic.) During the past week there his been considerable discussion regarding transportation of school children to and from football games. The school administration has, in some cases, been accused of refusing the us of a school bus for that purpose for the game at Britt Oct. 15. Actually, use of a bus, or two or three if necessary, was not Instead, only a handful of students signed up for the trip, not enough to make it possible to provide transportation at reasonable cost per student The school is restricted by state law in its use of school busses, which are operated in part by funds paid by the families of rural students. In every case the cost of outside trips, such as to out-of-town games, must be borne by the passengers; otherwise tho rural families would face th additional expense.

If less than a busful of students wish to go, either the cost per student must be raised or the trip cancelled. The usual charge when the bus is filled is 35 cents per passenger. Another stipulation of the law is that only students, school faculty members and approved chaperones can be transported in school busses. don't more grade school snd high achoolrstudenta desire to rid on a ia..