v <-\ , o The MASTEN ?? Pi A R K 7H RON I CLE January Nu mb er 19 0 3 Published by the Masten Park High School, Buffalo, New York ANYBODY FOR $ 1 CAN BUY A COMPLETE BELL OUTFIT, CONSISTING O F \-2% INCH BELL \ BATTERY, 1 PUSH BUTTON, % LB. WIRE AND NECESSARY TACKS ROBERTSON ELECTRIC CO \ 9 0 MAI N STREET Masten Park Chronicle. VOL. IV. JANUARY, 1903. No. 3. CENTRAL—MASTEN PARK DEBATE. Resolved, IT WOULD BE ADVISABLE TO ABOLISH THE REGENTS' EXAMINATIONS IN THE CITY OF BUFFALO. HE evening' of December 13th was very stormy, but a large T audience met in the chapel of the Central High School to hear the annual debate between representatives of the two high schools. There was unusual interest in the debate, largely due probably to the fact that the subject was of personal inter­ est to so many people. The contestants for Central were Louis Fehr, Miss Charlotte Parsons and John Kennedy; for Masten Park, David Brumberg, William Haller and Irwin R. Beiler. The audience was keenly appreciative of the points made by each side and each speaker was roundly applauded by his fel­ lows. The judges were Hon. Daniel N. Lockwood, G. Barrett Rich and Wallace Thayer, who by a vote of two to one decided the debate was won by the negative, Central. The usual scene of jubilation followed. As the topic of the debate was one connected with school-life, and as many of our readers' were unable to attend we publish in full the arguments of the speakers for the affirmative. The schools of Buffalo are under the supervision of the University of the State of New York. In theory this university is governed by nineteen regents, who are elected by the legislature for life. These men have absolute power in all educational matters. The best educators are seldom on this board. THE MASTEN PARK CHRONICLE. So autocratic is their power that they are responsible to no one and there is no appeal from their decisions. They have a large fund, only the interest of which can be used and for its use they are entirely independent of the legislature. They have the right to incorporate a school into the university or reject it. They can say which schools shall have money given them and which shall not. These nineteen men elect a secretary who becomes the actual head of the university. • He is responsible only to the nineteen regents and need not consider even them, for they meet only once a year, and this meeting is a mere formality. All the powers and privileges granted them are actually transferred to the secretary. The secretary is the Board of Regents. The examinations of the Regents do not fit the conditions in our High Schools to-day. Forty years ago cities averaged from 40,000 to 50,000 in population. They were uniform in size and wealth. To-day 50 per cent, of the population of this state is in a single city. There has been a vast movement of the farmers to the city. The immigrants now go not to the farms, but to the cities. The cities are not uniform in size nor in wealth. The constitution divides the cities into three classes accord­ ing to population. It recognizes the fact that it must make different laws for the cities of different sizes. Buffalo is the only city of the first class which has regents' examinations. The Regents give us the same examinations which they give cities of the third class and small towns and villages. The constitution of the university says that no person shall be at- the same time an elective regent of this university, and also a principal or any other officer of any institution belonging to the university. Buffalo cannot have any voice in making out its own examinations. Our students are examined as directed by a man who does not represent our schools. If he makes a mistake, our schools having no voice, cannot require him to correct this mistake. Our schools are under the control of the only really imperial institution in the United States. They no longer exercise that precious right of local self-govern­ ment. The New York State Court of Last Resort announced "the THE HASTEN PARK CHRONICLE. right of local self-government lies at the foundation of our insti­ tution and cannot be disturbed or interfered with even in respect to the smallest of the divisions into which the state is divided, without weakening the entire foundation; and hence it is a right not only to be carefully guarded by every department of the government, but every infraction, or invasion of it ought to be promptly met and condemned." "The reason the United States is the greatest country upon the face of the earth," says Fiske, "is because of local self- government." Each state governs itself, each county, town and school district governs itself. In this country the desired end is good government and each locality has the right to reach this end in whatever way is best suited to that place. That is local self-government. We have not that kind of local self- government in the high school examinations in this city. Most of the information for this debate could be acquired only by interviewing our own teachers and the teachers of other cities in this state. With hardly an exception they insisted before they would answer any questions that we neither directly nor indirectly divulge their names nor even the cities wherein they live. And why were they insistent that not even the name of the city be mentioned? If the schools had representation in the regents' office, they might redress their wrongs, they might insist upon justice, but these teachers know that any paper which is marked from 75 to 78 per cent, may be marked 74 per cent, by a regent's examiner. They know that it is but human nature to resent pointed criticism; and that this resentment would be all the greater if the criticisms were true. In the regents' examination in civics for January, 1901, ques­ tion ten asked for "two privileges conferred upon congressmen and to give a reason for each provision." A student answered this question exactly as it was given in Fiske's Civil Government of the United States and Young's Government Class Book. These two books are used in three- fourths of the schools of this state. The Common Council of this city assigned these books to be used in the Buffalo High Schools. The teacher allowed the answer, and as the paper was 75 per cent., he sent it to Albany. The regents' examiner allowed only one-half for answer ten, which brought the paper to 70 per cent, and rejected it. THE MASTEN PARK CHRONICLE. The teacher referred the regents to the pages in the textbooks and sent the paper to Albany again. James Russell Parsons is the secretary, sent a letter explaining why the answer was wrong. The secretary wrote: "the boy said receiving a salary is a privilege. Receiving a salary is not a privilege, it is a right." The teacher referred him to the Century and to Webster's Dictionary. These authorities declared that the words "privilege" and "right" were synonymous. So accord­ ing to the secretary's own interpretation, the answer should be allowed.- Unable to get any satisfactory answer by mail, the teacher went to Albany to see about the matter. The secretary was not in but his deputy, C. N. Cobb, who was left in charge, signed the following statement: "I have read page 108 Young's Government Class Book, and page 290 Fiske's Civil Govern­ ment of the United States. The pupil has made a 'natural mistake' in thinking from this that 'compensation' is a 'privilege.' "The two textbooks are wrong in saying'compensation'is a 'privilege,' or they are misleading. We refuse to accept them as binding authority for the answer 'compensation' to the question 'privilege.' 'Compensation' is not a 'privilege' it is a 'right.' • "I have read an extract from the Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia to the following effect: Privilege h. 2.—A right enjoyed by a person beyond the common advantages of other individuals. Right' n. 3.—A privilege whereby one may receive something. "The Century is wrong when it says a 'privilege' is a 'right.' We.deny that the Century is authority for interpreting 'privilege' as a 'right.' "(Signed) C. N. Cobb." An assemblyman from Buffalo referring to this matter said: "I can do nothing." A state senator from Buffalo said: "I can do nothing." A member of the Board of Regents said: 'In my opinion the office has made a mistake, but does not wish to acknowledge it." In this case the examiner clearly made a mistake but the Regents would not correct it. Such mistakes are not unusual. These examiners are often girls who have only a high school education. Three months before they were under the instruction THE MASTEN PARK CHRONICLE. of a competent high school teacher, but now they know more than this same teacher. They go over papers examined by him, and if in their opinion he has not properly marked a student's work, they, who do not know this student, correct the teacher and say the student must, or must not take the subject over again. .>?£ ••:: The Regents give the same examination to over 700 schools. They cannot provide for the equipment of each individual school. The high schools of Buffalo are equipped as well as the high schools of any city in the United States.