Читать книгу The Goslings: A Study of the American Schools онлайн

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Q. May I ask why you considered it an unwise assignment? A. I think the reason was that it was a little bit, in the nature of the wording, inclined to lead boys who were either pacific, I think is the real trouble, or were unpatriotic—this boy unquestionably was unpatriotic, I think—to express themselves very freely, which I do not know whether it is very wise for boys of that age to do.

Also you will wish to hear Superintendent Tildsley upon this same grave question. Dr. Tildsley was very sure that Schmalhausen had made a mistake in assigning such a theme. He explained in detail why the boys of the DeWitt Clinton High School were unfit persons to address imaginary letters to Woodrow Wilson. He said:

They are very much interested in the social life and the political life of this city; they are exceedingly fond of discussion and they have developed a rather high degree of critical ability and critical tendency, and the only thing that they like more than anything else I should say, is a discussion on social, political and economical topics; they are more interested in that than they are in being good or even than they are in athletics.