Word: cutoffs
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Each autumn the nation's most indignant parents are those with children barely too young to enter school. The cutoff age may be as high as 6½ (in Des Moines) or as low as 5 years 3 months (in Norwich, N.Y.), but thousands of children are bound to miss out by a few days or weeks. In 77% of U.S. public schools, the rules are inflexible; the child simply has to wait another year...
Many educators would like to see the cutoff point raised from the current U.S. average of 5 years 9 months to about 5 years 11 months. They explain that the younger the child the less his chances of adjusting to first-grade work; early failure at the blackboard can induce a defeatist attitude that endures for years. Physically as well as mentally, say the educators, waiting is wise. Studies have shown that four out of five children are still normally farsighted at the age of six, are handicapped in reading until about six months later. But these arguments...
...about 15% of U.S. school systems. "Testing the child and counseling the parent," predicted one school principal, "will some day replace age as the criteria." Last week in Cherry Creek, a well-to-do suburb of Denver, Superintendent Robert Higday Shreve countered the general acceptance of definite cutoff dates in the Denver area by admitting to the first grade a girl just 5 years 3 months old. "I decided my philosophy of education required a more flexible rule," says Shreve. "The psychologist reported the girl is ready for the first grade in every way. She would just be bored...
...program the complete flight of a solid-propellant missile. Shifting sound levels could vary the thrust to give the rocket better maneuvering capabilities; fuel might also be compounded that does not burn at all unless the rocket's cavity is filled with powerful sound, thus accomplishing total cutoff with the whistle. The big spaceships that NASA plans to toss into space will use clusters of rocket engines. If they are solid fueled and equipped with whistles, they could be used to steer the ship; a slight reduction of sound level in one of the outside engines would make...
...individuals and their families will be faced with problems of aging at a grosser, more practical level. The trouble may begin at 65, when (thanks to a chance decision by Bismarck in the 1880s) most pension plans and many compulsory retirement plans begin to operate. For business, this cutoff point may be sound up to a point. Says G.M.'s Sloan, who kept administrative control until he was 71: "The rule is probably sound, because, while some men can stay in administrative posts beyond 65, most may not be aggressive and vigorous enough to do so. But many...