Show letting tho tail wag the dog fifteen thu osand school superintendents held a natio national ial a convention in washington many progressive progress iye idea ideas were ad one of the most progressive was that it was desirable to articulate the high scho school re costly with the elementary school instead of allowing it to bo be dominated by the colleges colleg eq and universities which demand high school teaching of subjects required only by the minority the present curriculum of the public schools beginning with the first grade and becoming more and more pronounced from grade to grade until tho senior year in the high school is i s based upon the theory that the slate state university is a the goal of every pupil this assumption ie la latterly contrary to the actual conditions taking the country over oa 01 only about five live per cent of those who enter the first grade ever matriculate in college and less than 15 per cent even enter the first lint ar cf U high school while only about 10 per cent graduate from the high school thua thus we have the training of 95 per cent of public school pupils shaped by the needs of only five per cent who enter some university while the great mass go out into the work ork of the world not as well prepared for it t as they might and should be criticism of thia this system of public education has been quite free for a number of cars chiefly on the tho part of thinking men and women who are not in educational work educators having themi themselves elves been educated in ft the university goal idea ba hae a not been pati patient ent or tolerant or 0 such criticism that is what makes this pronouncement by the superintendent both surprising aud and gratifying it presages the time not far distant when the public schools shall have primarily in in MOW low the welfare of the great majority of pupils who will not bo be ble ible i to finish the full course especially those who must leave school and go to work without even entering the high school they constitute the bulk of our citizenship and their education welfare is of tho the most irr importance both to them and to society at large |