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Show ROAD COURSES ' III CURRICULUM WILL HELP TRAFFIC There are few better Illustrations, p rhaps, of the manner In whi h ihoa charged 1 1 li the ooducl of modern and up-to-date sc hool systems recog. nice and respond to the necessity for keeping pace withjn the school room with the progress constantly heinc made In the practical facilities of life than the recent action of our board of education in providing for giving the "rules of the road'" for automobiles automo-biles a plce in the department ecu; - of study The day has bpen In the memory -, us all when such action would havn been considered revolutionary and absurd, ab-surd, a foolish attempt to upset ill" entire establishment system of edu j ration, and to substitute for the age hallowed methods of the fathers those of the machine shop Now the lnno vation, suggested by the California State Automobile asociation, is nc- ' cepted, and nothing could be suggested, suggest-ed, perhaps, which would be more certain to receive general public approval. ap-proval. As President George E. Oallachrr of the board of education, In submitting submit-ting the resolution providing for the! new feature, well stated, the universal employment of motor vehicles upon the streets and highways of the state create", a necessity for familiarity on j ihe part of the public with the state rules regarding motor traffic, bbvl- ously in the interest of public safety and the facilitation of BUch iraffic " t It is scarcely necessary to state thnt his resolution had the heart support of his colleagues, and I may add also thnt the superintendent has accepted with most hearty good will, for him-sell him-sell and his staff, the duty of framing those additions to the existing course of study which shall proide for this new and most important instruction. I take satisfaction in believing that this additional instruction will be not I onlj important in itself, but far-' reaching in its influence We do not propose to rest content with giving the boys and giris now attending school that information necessary to make them "safe and sane" in their handling of motor vehicles The new feature in the course of study will go much farther than that. n important part of the duly of th teachers Imparting the additional instruction in-struction to the pupils of our schools will be to see that through such pu-; plls It also reaches the entire parent , body of our community. Everyone knows that in matters of practical in- struction such as this there is no ' more effective Instructor ban the son 1 or daughter, well taught and eager to transmit the information so acquired ; The clay is not distant, I hope and confidently believe, when ignorance ot the "rules of the road" will be an "un- ' known quantity" in our city and state. Nor is it my idea that, in adding in the manner proposed o the scope of our course of stud, we should con-fine con-fine ourselves narrowly to the one feature of proper conduct In connection connec-tion with automobile traffic I hen is the broader questio.i of the proper use of streets in general, with others connected therewith Years ago 1 pointed out the need of more park 1 and playground space for our chil- ! dren, that the proper opportunities for recreation in the Open air so neces-sar neces-sar to their health and general well-being well-being might not be lacking, thereby bringing about, the alwas dangerous misuse of 'he city 's roadwas for play gTound purposes. But whil parks and playgrounds continue io be a vital necessity for the well-being of our youth, a well as ( fur that of the adult population, 1 1 should not be lost sight of that the t progress which I rejoice to see our city continually making in this respi i makes more and more needless that dangerous misuse for play purposes of our public roadways We cannot too sfrongllv impn SS upon our children, therefore, in school and out. ihat the streets of our i " from curb to curb and between cross - ; ings, are vehicle roadways and not j footpoths; that they are not pla-gn pla-gn unds, nor skating tracks, nor toboggan to-boggan slides, and that the realization ; and observance of these simple facts maj m an something measureless in keeping suffering and care, bereave , j ment a. id desolation from their own I homes. Instruction such as this may well ' be given, in my opinion, along witu that which we are now to give in our schools in the interest of safety m I street traffic, since everything of this character must work to the sami vitally important end, the preserve, tlou of human life. The nearer we some, as time jops on, to teaching not only the wisdom of books and bookmen, but also true ' life and true living, embodying as thift t will, not only necessary care of our-I our-I selves and our own interests, but a propor recognition also of the rights . of others, the nearer will our schools. , excellent as they are already ap proach to that perfection for which i we must ever strie. |