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

121 страница из 161

Mr. Schmalhausen was on the stand for a couple of hours; and as you read the testimony you recognize a man of culture and fine sensibility, a teacher profoundly conscientious, with deep respect for the personalities of his students. He told how he would have dealt with that theme if it had come up in his class; he would have questioned the pupil and showed him his ignorance, and tried to make him realize that his ideas were wrong. Asked if he disagreed with the opinions expressed in the theme, Mr. Schmalhausen replied:

Oh, absolutely, from head to foot. The subject matter is offensive from every point of view. Part of it is irrational. Part of it is crude and violent, the whole thing is a wrong frame of mind, and in my discussion with Dr. Tildsley, with which I took up a lot of time, I tried to explain clearly what influences in that boy’s social and economical and home environment were responsible for some of his sentiments. So far as I was concerned there was no implication at all at any time that I ever accepted the thought of that letter.