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Show DEFENDS SCHOOL I AGAINST CRITICS I System of Education Cannot Be Held Responsible for All I Human Shortcomings SALT LAKE, July fi Insufficiency. not Inefficiency, In dealing with pu-Pits pu-Pits not gifted with academic ability la the gnat fault of .vmorlca'a public school system. Will C. Wood. Calif or-"tin or-"tin state superintendent of public tn-structton, tn-structton, declared In an address at the National Education association convention here. Defense of the school system against Its critics was oleed by Mr. Wood. Criticism, he declared, came from bus-inesn bus-inesn men. who said some school grad-lati grad-lati COUld not read and write, from LB manufacturers, who charged bovs lack seneo of responsibility and even from the universities, which alleged many high school graduates lack gen-lntelllgence. gen-lntelllgence. "It Is a broad indictment and I make no sweeping denial." Mr. Wood said. "1 would declare, however, that the Mchool cannot be held responsible tor uli tho shortcomings and frailties of human nature. We are attempt-ing attempt-ing to educate all the children and a considerable portion are not an-dowed an-dowed with minds capable of academic LLfl development. The school can develop brains but cannot supply them." Mr. Wood declared his answer would be an unequivocal "No" to the ques-tlon ques-tlon "Are the schools a failure con-Udered con-Udered In the light of their relation to our national life " i me reason he gave for his belief was that the school WSS 'the great and fundamental rea-son rea-son for the success of thw American ; people for It kept open a pathway of opportunity for all the children of LH common folk" Another reason he said, was that ninety jk! cent of our 1 wartime soldiers, who turned the llde j to victory, wore products of the schools. "A nation th.it can turn from Peace 10 war so successfully in seven-teen seven-teen months as we did, cannot he said LH to liave a falling school system." "Faults of the school are faults of LH insufficiency," ho said. "There has 1 been Insufficiency of vocational ed(i-I ed(i-I cation, Insufficiency of physical d -velopmeni irui Insufficiency of meri- LH canlsm," he declared. "The national commission on the emergency ln education, has mapped a Plan to help overcome Insufficiency ,111 our schools. It Is planted on the LH giound that America'a hope Is her kH ; public school system It has attempt- LH ed to provide federal aid for Ano ii-canlsatlon, ii-canlsatlon, for overcoming IlllteracS Laaaaa for iih.;)ic.il education, for teacher LH ti;iltiing and for equalisation of odu-catlonal odu-catlonal opportunities in the schools. It remains for us teachers to take this rar-reacnlng program to ihe Amen-can Amen-can people, not for the sake of our-selves, our-selves, hut for tho sake of tho fchJl-idren fchJl-idren we teach and the country we LssS j serve nnd love." no v I I |