Lewis, Ivey F.

English

JMU Scholarly Commons (James Madison Univ.)

163 THE VIRGINIA TEACHER [Vol. V. No. 6 almost unbelievably true that hardly a Jun- ior teacher had any criticicms to offer, and there was practical unanimity in the reports that the children responded as they never had before in class work; their thinking on the problems was good, and showed quick improvement in the course of the test; par- ents were interested and in some cases vol- untarily reported noticeable results in thoughtful behavior in their children during the short thirteen-weeks period of the test; attendance was much more regular and aver- aged higher in proportion to enrollment, ex- cept in a few rural schools. (The test was made in January-March, during the worst weather of the year.) Reports from the Primary teachers lack- ed the degree of unanimity noticeable in those from the Junior teachers, and a number of minor difficulties were mentioned. Some of these were traceable to lack of grading—be- ginners were mixed into the Primary classes, and were too young to benefit much by the teaching program. Other troubles were trac- ed to failure of teachers accustomed to other methods to adjust themselves to the new method; many of the teachers lacked peda- gogical training, and attempted to "mix" their methods, instead of following the test as outlined. A portion of the difficulty was due to imperfections in the materials offered —which imperfections have since been largely remedied. Even with all this, a large por- tion of the teachers felt that the plan was much superior to anything ever used before; and these were almost invariably the better- trained teachers. The tests proved that the trained teach- ers, or those who can adapt themselves to the new method, problem teaching is the "best thing yet" for the Primary class; and that it is so well suited to Junior needs that even untrained teachers can hardly help making a success of it if they try. These courses, revised upon the basis of the tests made, are now in print, and will be eagerly sought and widely used, no doubt, as the intelligent Sunday-school teachers be- come acquainted with their sound, sensible method. It seems not too much to say that problem-teaching methods promise a most important advance in religious education. David R. Piper ENVIRONMENT CANNOT MOLD SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING, SAYS BIOLOGIST SPEAKING on "What Biology Says to the Man of Today,'' Dr. Ivey F. Lewis, Professor of Biology at the University of Virginia, is reported as follows in The New York Times'. In introducing his subject Dr. Lewis traced the growth of the interest of the average Amer- ican in the biological aspects of human prob- lems. He showed also that the scientist and the layman alike had come to see that the racial survival was no longer that of the fit- test, but was becoming confined to the less successful. He gave figures to demonstrate that the birth rate among the intelligent members of the commonwealth was on the decrease at an alarming rate, while that of the lower groups of the population was on the increase. "The one clear message that biological in- vestigation has brought as its gift to the thought of the twentieth century is that the idea of environment molding something out of nothing is sheer nonsense," said Dr. Lew- is. "What goes into the heredity mill is what comes out of it. Education and opportunity can do great things. They can bring out the best in a man, but what is in him to be brought out is a matter of heredity. No Such Thing as a Melting Pot "This disproved theory of the creative environment has been put forth in siren tones until the idea of the great American melt- ing pot, into which one can put the refuse of three continents and draw out good, sound American citizens, has reached wide accept- ance. It is simply and perilously false. There is no such thing as a melting pot. "The qualities of mind and body, good or bad, do not fuse and melt in the mixed breed. They may be shuffled and reeombined, but they all come out in the wash unchanged. "The citizen of tomorrow! Is there any problem facing our statesmen to compare in importance with this? Our country will be what it is tomorrow because of the citizen of today. We have undertaken the direction of human evolution. At the present moment we are bungling the job. What is happening in the United States is insuring with tragic fi- nality that the next generation will be less capable of bearing its burdens than the pres- ent one. Since 1875 we have been doing near- ly everything possible to insure racial decay. The falling birthrate has been accomplished among the better classes. Unrestricted immi- gration has diluted our stock with millions of unassimilated aliens." June, 1924] THE VIRGINIA TEACHER 164 Dr. Lewis turned to the history of Greece and Rome to show that "the race In which the best do not reproduce is headed for the rocks." Argument From Example of Jews "The only foundation for an enduring cul- ture is a sound stock of fairly homogeneous races," the biologist went on to say. "It is no accident that the culture with the longest continuous history in the world has been car- ried on by the race which is most jealous of its purity. Furthermore, the greatness of the Jewish tradition has been carried on only by that section of the race which preserved the Divine commands. The ten tribes mixed with surrounding people and have absolutely dis- appeared. "Great races may be formed by the fusion of nearly related stocks. It would ill become us to deny this when we know that the people of our mother country, and therefore, our own people, were the result of the interbreeding of many races or sub-races^ It is of doubtful ser- vice to consider it as superior to other races. But, whatever its virtues and defects, It is our race, and it has built what we have of civili- zation. From two sources there is danger of its immediate deterioration and ultimate de- struction. These are the nature and extent of continued Immigration and prolonged con- tact with a race which may be considered un- assimilable. "The Immigration problem offered no in- superable difficulty when the immigrants came largely from similar peoples. It is a common belief that the recent tide_ of immigration has brought us people who are relatively deficient in Intelligence, in character, and in willingness to enter into American traditions and life. These deficiencies are aggravated by the ten- dency of those people to segregate in foreign colonies. Such a situation is a thoroughly demoralizing one. The Johnson Bill before Congress Is a reasonable attempt to prevent its further growth. It is the duty of every good citizen to support restrictive immigration legislation. "The second problem is a familiar one to us all. The negro constitutes what Lord Bryce called the 'one unsolvable American problem.' In the history of the world no two races have ever lived in such close prox- imity without amalgamation. It has often been said that there are only two solutions: one is miscegenation and the other segregatlonj of the members of the negro race now in this country." Before giving figures on the growth of the negro race from 757,000 to 10,463,000 within 130 years, Dr. Lewis paid a tribute to the loy- alty of the Southern negro and to the pro- gress that had been made by the race. He added that the proportion of negroes to whites in Virginia had fallen from 35 percent in 1900 to 29 percent in 1920. The need of legislation to prevent racial intermarriage was pointed out by the speaker, who told of the recent action of the General Assembly which put Virginia In the lead in such matters of forbidding intermarriage be- tween whites and any persons with any degree of negro blood, and which placed the burden of the proof of the race upon the individual. "The cause of racial integrity is of immed- iate and vital importance," said Dr. Lewis in conclusion. "The purity of the white race in America we regard as a basal necessity for the maintenance of the heritage which we have received." FEDERAL COURT WOULD ANNUL FAMOUS OREGON LAW The Oregon law requiring attendance at public schools, to the exclusion of private and parochial schools, has been declared un- constitutional by the Federal Court at Port- land, Oreg. The decision wasl the result of an injunction brought by Hill Military Academy against State officers to prevent them from executing the law. The law was strongly opposed by the private and parochial schools of the State. The court holds that the rights of parents and guardians! were disregarded by the legislation. An appeal will be made to the United States Supreme Court. That New York State boys and girls have improved in bodily efficiency was shown by the results of the fourth annual physical abil- ity tests given by the physical education bu- reau of the State department of education. Tests in running, jumping, throwing, and climbing were given for pupils of the sev- enth to twelfth grades, inclusive. An increase of 44,8!8i in the enrollment of the kindergartens of the United States is reported for the years 1921-22 by the Statis- tical Division of the United States Bureau of Education. The total enrollment is now 550,830. This is 11.7 percent of the child- ren of the country wbo should have the bene- fit of kindergarten training-—that is, those from 4 to 6 years old, inclusive. 

Environment Cannot Mold Something Out of Nothing, Says Biologist

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Environment Cannot Mold Something Out of Nothing, Says Biologist

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