PLATOON SCHOOL, a work-study-play school organiza tion found in the educational system of the United States. It was originated by William Wirt who started the first school of this type in Bluffton, Ind., in 1902. When he became superin tendent of schools of Gary, Ind., in 1907, he organized all the schools of that city on the work-study-play plan. By 1917, 25 American cities had schools so organized, and by 1928, there were 153 cities in 38 States which had over 85o platoon schools.
We begin with the theory that modern cities are extremely bad for children since they deprive them of the healthful work and play which are as essential elements in a child's educa tion as study. The platoon school returns to children opportuni ties for work and play by providing schools containing not only classrooms but well-equipped shops, science rooms, drawing and music studios, cooking rooms, auditoriums, playgrounds and gym nasiums. The traditional public school is operated on a "peak load" plan of operation, i.e., on the principle of reserving a school seat for the exclusive use of one child during the entire year. When the children leave these seats to go to shops or playgrounds the seats remain vacant. Under such a plan there are seldom
enough seats, playgrounds or shops to accommodate all the chil dren in a city at one time.
Under the platoon plan, on the contrary, all facilities in the school—classrooms, auditoriums, gymnasiums, shops and labora tories—are in use every hour of the day. The school is divided into two parts, each having the same number of classes and each containing all the eight or nine grades. While one of the schools is in classrooms, the other is in special activities, audi torium, playgrounds and gymnasiums. This means that only half the usual number of classrooms is needed. Since the cost of a classroom (1928) is approximately $12,000, this means that in a 30-class school only 15 classrooms are needed, instead of 3o, with the result that 15 times $12,000 is released for all other activities in the school. Under this "balanced load," the special facilities add nothing to the cost of the school. According to tests, the children in platoon schools rank as high as the children in non platoon schools in tests of accuracy; in comprehension and reason ing tests they rank higher.