VOL. X, No. 2 JANUARY, 1931 


BULLETIN 


OF THE 


Department of Elementary 
School Principals 


Greetings—Crozier . . 67 
The Future of the E lement irs School Principalship—Morgan 68 
Curriculum Revision Program—Griggs oe i-—s 2 we 





Let Us Magnify the Early tink fl, ; -' 2 tg 
Extent of Socalled Aree ta Activities in » the Elemen- 


tary School—Borgeson . 6 4 ee a aoe 
Books You Will Want To Read Hubbard 2 x tae pee 
Our American Speech—Meader . . cat te a ee ee 
Local History as a Teaching Uni it—Allen — 2 a ee 


Vitalized Group Study and Faculty Meeting—Blake ic 6 eye 
Are Bilingual C ‘hildren Able To Think in Either L anguage with 


Equal Facility and Accuracy ?—Rodriguez . . » 
Committee on Health of the New York City Principals Asso- 
ciation—Leland . . i oe 
Health and Physical Education in the Detroit Elementary 
Schools—Sherman . . .; <4 2 a 
The Present Status of the Platoon School—Masters cts 
The Home and the School—Welch .. . . i + ae 
Some Phases of Administration and Supervision ‘Basic to Suc- 
cess—Donnelly ... . ye ke as ee 
Cultivating Constructive C Sommunity Contacts ae a eee ae 
When the Roll Is Called—Ritow ........-.,.. 10 
Pees CO CR I it wt et wh we eet ee ae 
oe en eee eee ee a ne 








PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BY THE DEPARTMENT OF ELEMEN- 
TARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS OF THE NATIONAL EDUCATION AS- 
SOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES, 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET 
NORTHWEST, WASHINGTON, D. C. ENTERED AS SECOND-CLASS 
MATTER NOVEMBER 20, 1922, AT THE POSTOFFICE AT WASH- 
INGTON, D. C., UNDER ACT OF AUGUST 24, 1912. ACCEPTANCE 
FOR MATLING AT SPECTAL RATE OF POSTAGE PROVIDED FOR 
IN SECTION 1103. ACT OF OCTOBER 3, 1917, AUTHORIZED 
DECEMBER 18, 1922. 



































BULLETIN 
of the 
DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 
Frep H. Durry, Editor, 1616 Ridge Avenue, Steubenville, Ohio 

Published quarterly in October, January, April, and July by the Depart- 
ment of Elementary School Principals of the National Education Associa- 
tion of the United States. 

The payment of $3 active membership dues entitles a member to attend 
all meetings of the Department, to hold office, to receive the Bulletin and 
Yearbook. 

Two dollars of each membership fee is for a year’s subscription to the 
Bulletin. 

Subscription to nonmembers is $3 per year; single copies, 50 cents; Year- 
book, $2. 

Members are requested to report at once any change of address, giving old 
as well as new address. 





Entered as second-class matter November 20, 1922, at the postoffice at 
Washington, D. C., under act of August 24, 1912. Acceptance for mailing at 
special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, 
authorized December 18, 1922. 





Executive and Editorial Offices, 1201 Sixteenth Street Nesthweet, Wash- 
ington, D. C. 





OFFICERS OF THE DEPARTMENT 
1930-31 
President, Cassit F. Roys 
2609 Bristol Street, Omaha, Neb. 
First Vicepresident, Herpert C, HANSEN 
315 Plymouth Court, Chicago, III. 
Second Vicepresident, EArt R. LAING 
Burt ScHool, Detroit, Mich. 

Third Vicepresident, Mrs, Cora S. RUSLING 
4416 South Normandie Avenue, Los Angeles, Calif. 
Fourth Vicepresident, GeorGe D. TAYLOR 
392 Augustine Street, Rochester, N. Y. 

Fifth Vicepresident, JuLiA A. SHEEHAN 
Hunnewell School, Wellesley, Mass. 
Secretary, Frep H. DuFFy 
1616 Ridge Avenue, Steubenville, Ohio 
Executive Committee 
ELizABETH McCormick, Howe School, Superior, Wis. 
(Term Expires 1931) 

James R. FLoyp, 717 Garden Street, Plainfield, N. J. 
(Term Expires 1932) 

M. EMMa Brookes, Miles School, Cleveland, Ohio 
(Term Expires 1933) 

Eva G. Pinkston, 5652 Belmont Avenue, Dallas, Texas 
(Term Expires 1934) 

National Chairman, Enrolment Committee 
HERMAN Rirow, Fort Sheridan, III. 




















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GREETINGS 
N. R. CROZIER 
President, Department of Superintendence, National Education Association 


S THE presiding officer of the Department of Superintendence, I bring to 

you greetings and extend a cordial invitation to each of you to attend the 

next meeting of the Department in Detroit in February, 1931. Of the fourteen 

allied groups, the Department of Elementary School Principals is second to 
none in importance and in service. 

During the past several months my most serious thought has been given to 
the preparation of a program that will prove inspirational, entertaining, pro- 
fessionally significant, and beneficial in some way to all who attend. The only 
way to determine with what success these efforts of mine have met is for you to 
attend. 

It is easy for administrative and supervisory officers as well as those in the 
instructional corps to lose sight of that for which the schools have been organ- 
ized. All of us may fall into the error of believing that the schools have been 
organized to give us jobs. We may become so highly professionalized in our 
associations that we establish objectives to displace the main objective of all 
schools. The general theme of the convention therefore will be “Working 
Together for the Children of America,”’ with sub-themes for the various gen- 
eral sessions in harmony with the general theme. 

The City of Detroit, the fourth city of the nation, will throw its doors open 
for our reception. It has been tifteen years since the Department held its con- 
vention in Detroit. Even a year makes a difference in the growth of this magic 
city, so what will fifteen years bring to you who have not seen it in that length 
of time? 

The general sessions will be held in the beautiful Masonic Temple, and the 
section and group meetings will be held in smaller auditoriums, conveniently 
located in the central section of the city. Superintendent Cody has left nothing 
undone in his desire to put the facilities of the city at our disposal. Dr. Paul 
Rankin, director of research of the Detroit Schools, will be in charge of the 
local arrangement details. Mr. Fowler Smith, supervisor of music, will be in 
charge of musical entertainment. 

One outstanding feature of the convention will be the National High- 
School Chorus, in charge of Dr. Hollis Dann, which will make its first appear- 
ance before the Department of Superintendence. 

I am divulging entirely too many secrets, so I'll say no more now until the 
time comes for the official release of the program. All I ask of you is just to be 
there. 





EADERS will wish to note the announcement of the program of 
the Department of Elementary School Principals at Detroit as 
arranged by President Cassie F. Roys. It is printed on page 126. 








[ 67] 








THE FUTURE OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 
PRINCIPALSHIP 
Joy ELMER MorGan 
Editor of the Journal of the National Education Association 


HE terrific onslaught of the machine is creating worldwide hunger and 

unrest. Evidences of this unrest are suggested by the rapid growth of the 
mental hygiene movement and by the striking increase of crime in all civilized 
countries. The adjustment will come about gradually through the efforts of 
many agencies and forces. People will get all the machines they want, or at 
least all they can use, and will then turn their attention to the development of 
the spiritual and intellectual phases of their lives. ‘They will perceive that one 
grows in wealth not by getting but by becoming. ‘The desire to develop the 
inner forces will inevitably lead toward a greatly enriched neighborhood and 
community life. The center of this life will be the school. 

This common school will be quite different from what we now know. It 
will be, in a generous sense, the community school for both children and adults. 
It will be freer, more informal, human, and effective. With the 25-hour week 
and the 5-hour day there will be many extra hours to be spent in play, in study, 
and in happy social companionship. Since children will have time and oppor- 
tunity to study after they are grown, there will be less cramming and forcing 
in the lower years—more attention to the quality and direction of mental 
growth. 

This new type of school and community life implies for the principal a new 
type of training and leadership. That this new type of training and leadership 
is just around the corner is suggested by the remarkable achievements of ele- 
mentary principals during the past ten years. One of the great advances in 
American education during the decade has been the creation and development 
of the Department of Elementary School Principals of the National Education 
Association. It is no small achievement to start at the beginning and to develop 
within a decade literally a new profession with an enlisted membership of 
nearly 5000, supported by a program of special training, research, and publica- 
tion. The influence of such a group working itself out in the basic school makes 
an immediate difference in the quality of American life which is beyond cal- 
culation. Against this background of change and professional awakening the 
writer proposes to discuss certain qualities which seem especially needed in the 
principal of tomorrow. There is no effort to cover all the qualities, as some are 
well discussed in existing literature, but the following inevitably come to mind 
when the civilization of tomorrow is considered. 

The principal as a learner—When one reads such a book as Ernest Dimnet’s 
Art of Thinking he feels that the learning of tomorrow and the learning of 
yesterday will be as far apart as the noisy, clumsy, frictional oxcart and the 
speedy, silent, masterful automobile of today. The new pedagogy will discover 
ways of overcoming the friction of the human mind, so that we shall preserve 
in our learning activities something of the eager joy and freshness with which 


[ 68 J 








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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 69 





children reach out to discover and conquer new worlds. That the principal 
shall have this quality is supremely important, since it is a contagious trait and 
underlies the whole concept of education as growth—constant, guided growth. 

The principal as a master teacher—To teach is almost as instinctive as to 
learn. The principal whose life is full—who is a keen observer, a broad reader, 
a student of men and affairs, a lover of nature—will profoundly affect the 
mental and spiritual lives of teachers, children, parents, and citizens. He will 
be something of an artist in making others think. He may or may not preside 
over formal classes, but he will be opening doors and windows to new horizons. 





The principal as a sociologist—We shall see in sociology during the decade 
ahead a sweeping development such as has occurred during the past decade in 
the field of mental hygiene. Causes and relations as they operate in the new 
world will begin to appear. The principal will be so broadly trained in this 
field that he can study the social factors which operate around the school and 
direct the study of teachers and parents. Among such factors are housing, 
parks, recreation, community ideals, criminal tendencies, and the relation be- 
tween crime and schooling. That this relation is close is indicated in a remark- 
able book, 500 Criminal Careers, by Sheldon and Eleanor T. Glueck, pub- 
lished by Knopf, which shows that of the 454+ Massachusetts reformatory 
inmates about whom reliable information was obtainable 2.4 percent had never 
attended school ; 42.6 percent had only fifth grade training or less; +5.8 per- 
cent had training only from the sixth to eighth grade ; 4.6 percent some ninth 
grade training; +.4 percent one or more years of high school; and only two- 
tenths of one percent had completed high school. 

The principal as a pioneer—New occasions teach new duties. The principal 
who is to bring his school into harmony with today’s needs must undertake new 
things. He must re-create in the minds of citizens, teachers, and pupils the 
spirit that has made America great. A’ pioneering factor of perhaps five or 
ten percent would not disturb the equilibrium of any school, but it would 
greatly add to the zest of learning, the joy of teaching, and the satisfaction of 
being a principal. Let one worker out of each ten in the school be given to some 
new enterprise—a fulltime librarian ; a special worker to serve the adult pop- 
ulation who will study their needs as teachers study the individual needs of 
pupils ; a new course on housing, community planning, some art not heretofore 
included in the curriculum; special work in leisure—any one of a thousand 
things that minister to individual and community needs. 

The principal as a prophet—If prophets were needed in the olden days they 
are more needed today. The second industrial revolution has gone far enough 
for the major trends to become apparent. It will be possible within a few years 
to produce for all people as much of the material things of life—food, clothing, 
transportation, shelter—as anyone can use to advantage. The center of gravity 
must be shifted from the conquest of power and the pursuit of wealth to the 
conquest of self and the pursuit of the finer and more enduring values of life. 
While this change is taking place there will be many abuses and gross inequal- 
ities ; much human life will be destroyed ; old safeguards will be broken down 











70 NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 





before new ones can be built up. There will be no simple solutions, but the 
supreme need will be informed intelligence, and the principal who is thor- 
oughly familiar with the literature of prophecy based on facts can anticipate 
the trends and can perform for his community a priceless and indispensable 
service. 

The principal as a reformer—Every social worker and teacher who studies 
the failures and breakdowns in human life becomes conscious of the importance 
of a wholesome atmosphere. The crime figures published by the Department 
of Justice of the United States show fewer policemen in communities having 
a high level of education. Crime is most prevalent in those areas of cities where 
housing conditions are worst, where politics are most corrupt, where there is 
collusion between the police and the underworld, where police have had no 
special training, where standards of law observance and law enforcement have 
not been developed. There is no way to meet these conditions except through 
reform. The principal cannot perform his full duty and escape responsibility 
to work for better conditions, especially for the children. He is a reformer by 
virtue of his office. His principal method will be through the process of educa- 
tion and interpretation. He will develop a passion for facts. He will under- 
stand that in every heated reform movement there is a tendency to misrepresent 
on both sides, and he will make reasonable allowances, but he will not beg the 
question. He will deal frankly and fearlessly but kindly with such problems 
as the Eighteenth Amendment, knowing that right will ultimately triumph. 

The principal as a humanist—This mechanistic age tends to ride rough- 
shod over the human values. A rapidly moving age tends to leave the old 
humanities by the wayside before the new humanities can take their place. The 
principal of tomorrow will be a champion of the human values and the new 
humanities. He will magnify the importance of the individual, the value of 
happiness, the necessity for health, the creative aspect of play, the arts, and 
above all literature, for literature is the supreme art. He will value especially 
the literature and the history of the locality around the school. There is a 
heroic quality in American life which can be found almost everywhere and the 
school which fails to capitalize this heroic quality, which fails to garner and 
dramatize the historic and literary materials which lie at its door is missing an 
opportunity to vitalize learning and to make it significant. Do you know the 
history and the literature of the place where your life is spent ? 


The principal as an idealist—The great teachers have always been idealists. 
Their lives are abundant proof that ideals are the most abiding and permanent 
things with which we have to deal. They outlive buildings and monuments. 
They survive nations and races and even languages. They come echoing down 
the corridors of time long after their original sources have been lost in the 
twilight of antiquity. Ideals have power. They lift life out of the petty and 
the sordid and the narrow. They dignify the individual by associating him 
with great causes. They give the sense of satisfaction which comes from asso- 
ciation with great enterprises. They are the saving element in a democratic 





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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 











civilization. They are an imperative element in a machine civilization which is 
destined to be worldwide. 

The principal as a philosopher—This is considered a scientific age. The 
passion for science has probably never been greater. A byproduct has been the 
movement toward agnosticism and atheism found at its height in Soviet Rus- 
sia. This is but a passing phase. The pendulum will swing back. The best 
scientists realize that all their discoveries are but a pittance in the face of the 
great unknown, and that philosophy and religion have a large place in human 
life. —The very existence of a school implies such a faith in the improvability 
of man and in his high destiny. A principal who lacks that faith lacks the first 
qualification for his task. ‘There have been plenty of people through the ages 
ready to deny opportunity to the common man; ready to point out difficulties 
and limitations ; ready to say that it can’t be done or that it isn’t worthwhile. 
But there have always been a few who kept the faith ; who knew in their hearts 
that the individual is worthwhile, that he has possibilities; and as these few 
have won their way and new opportunities have been brought to the masses of 
men, they have risen in the scale of life. —The story of human progress is a story 
of faith. There is no place in the schools for those who deny democracy or 
belittle human worth. The principal of tomorrow will understand these larger 
aspects of life that reach beyond the year, the decade, or even the century. He 
will be something of a timethinker—to use the phrase of L. P. Jacks as 


developed in his book on Constructive Citizenship. 





To secure principals capable of the broad human engineering implied in this 
discussion will not be an easy task. One way to approach the matter would be 
to create within the Department of Elementary School Principals a licensing 
committee which would register all principals as fast as they meet reasonable 
standards. These standards could be moderate at first, with a progressive pro- 
gram which present principals, now in service, could reasonably meet. Prin- 
cipals licensed under this system would enjoy high standing and would be in 
demand by boards of education. They would be free to move from state to 
state without the limitations of legal red-tape. The elementary principals 
could thus lift their profession to the highest plane of public service. The prin- 
cipalship of tomorrow is in the hands of the leaders among the principals of 


today. 

The elementary school principalship will increasingly prove to be one of the 
most attractive posts in American education. It will command higher salaries ; 
it will be stable in tenure; it will be freed from petty routine; it will attract 
leaders who know that building life is the highest form of engineering. The 
community school with its noble buildings, its playfields, its gardens, its labora- 
tories, its libraries, and shops, will be the clearinghouse for the neighborhood 
and the community. The principal of tomorrow will be a leader in an enriched 
American life—respected and honored for what he is and does. The biggest 
job of the principal is to make his job bigger—to become in a higher and larger 


sense a master. 











CURRICULUM REVISION PROGRAM! 
O. C. Griccs 
Principal, Whittier School, Tulsa, Oklahoma 

N THE fall of 1929 Tulsa launched a curriculum revision program. Mr. 

Will French, the associate superintendent, was put in charge of this work, 
and is directly responsible to the Superintendent of Schools. All responsibility 
for modification in present curriculum practise is referred to him. In addition 
he bears the full responsibility for organizing and administering a systematic 
program of curriculum revision and development. 

Two organized bodies were set up for the purpose of advising and guiding 
the development of this program. The curriculum organization consists of the 
Curriculum Council made up of the Superintendent’s staff. A Curriculum 
Board, consisting of the Superintendent’s staff, directors and principals, was 
created for the expressed purpose of advising and guiding the development of 
this work. ‘The Curriculum Board is made up of the Superintendent’s staff of 
directors and thirteen principals and is the major policy-controlling body in the 
curriculum program, although we are to have the expert guidance of a con- 
sultant in each subject field. 

The first subject undertaken by the Curriculum Board was mathematics. 
Six elementary teachers, seven junior high teachers, two senior high teachers, 
four elementary principals, and the director of mathematics, constituted the 
committee on the course of study for mathematics. Dr. F. B. Knight of the 
University of lowa was selected as the consultant. “Throughout the school 
year of 1929-30 this committee met at various times for the study and con- 
sideration of the problems involved in the program ahead. 

In the summer of 1930 the Board of Education of the Tulsa city schools sent 
this committee to the University of lowa where it might be near the consultant 
and have access to the laboratory as developed and assembled by Lowa. It was 
here that the actual writing of the course of study was done. 

Before the actual writing of any course of study, certain basic features of 
the curriculum development must be decided upon. Experience has shown 
that courses of study developed in central offices without teachers participating 
in an important way, seldom affect classroom instruction to any great extent. 
The professional teacher will accept and use courses of study only when they 
have been evolved through a process which his scientific training in the profes- 
sion causes him to respect. It is for this reason that the Tulsa plan of develop- 
ment involves large numbers of teachers. In fact, nearly all will participate in 
some important capacity within the course of a few years. 

Articulation between the senior high school, junior high school, elementary 
school, and each of their grade levels is a problem which has been receiving 
considerable study. The Superintendent of Schools in Tulsa, Dr. Merle 
Prunty, has instituted “vertical” supervision in the main fields, each with a 
~ *Practically all of the material in this article is taken from the various Tulsa Cur- 


riculum Bulletins with the full permission of Mr. Will French, associate superintendent 
of schools in Tulsa. 
[72] 


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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 73 


director responsible for all levels of work from the primary through the senior 
‘over-departmentalization,” which sometimes 


‘ 


high school. As a check on the 
results from vertical supervision, the Associate Superintendent sits in on each 
group to help in reviewing the work of the various courses of study in the light 
of what is being done by committees in other subjects. Moreover, in the ele- 
mentary schools work is not to be too highly departmentalized, but rather 
unified around an active program in the homerooms. 

There will be three stages in all curriculum programs. Stage one will be a 
preliminary period of study and preparation, stage two, the actual writing of 
a tentative course of study in a subject, and stage three, the period of test and 
trial. This last stage begins when a tentative course of study is ready for trial 
in classrooms. It continues through observation, try-out, test, and revision 
until the committee in charge is ready to recommend general use of the ma- 
terial as a regular course of study for all schools in the system. This regular 
course of study in turn will be subject to periodic revision. 

As a means of determining what educational ideas, theories, and practises 
Tulsa teachers think ought to be given weighted consideration, and what 
should be lightly stressed by the course of study committees in their work of 
curriculum revision, a survey of the educational attitudes of Tulsa teachers 
was made. It was designed to show what educational ideals were subscribed 
to, what educational practises were countenanced by each of the teachers par- 
ticipating, and with what degree of feeling each of these attitudes was main- 
tained. Each teacher was asked to indicate which of thirty-two opposing and 
contradictory pairs of statements relating to education he preferred. In addi- 
tion, in order to show, not only his position with relation to these fundamental 
issues in education, but also how strongly he held to that position, he was asked 
to register upon a five-point scale how important he considered that point of 
view to be. A vote of five indicated major importance and a vote of one, little 
or no importance. The survey as a whole revealed what Tulsa teachers as a 
group think about certain issues in education, and how important each issue is 
considered to be. Upon some there is almost unanimous agreement. Upon 
others, Tulsa teachers fall into two almost equal opposing groups. Each reg- 
isters on the five-point scale that he considers the position he takes as highly 
important. 

With one school year’s study and preparation behind it, the Mathematics 
Committee spent the first term of the summer of 1930 in Lowa City, where it 
developed a course of study which is now in the third stage as previously in- 
dicated in this article. 

In the Bulletin of the Tulsa Public Schools, under date of September 16, 
1930, we find this preliminary introduction of the new mathematics course of 
study in Tulsa schools. 

This curriculum is clearly in its experimental stage. Both the content and form of 
the units doubtless will be considerably changed in another year. These tentative 
courses of study are the work of teachers. Their modification and adjustment will 
depend, largely, upon teacher reactions and critical observations in their use of the 


courses in the classroom. The committee has tried to produce a workable, as well as 
scientific, curriculum. Teachers in the classroom will determine whether it will work. 











74 NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 


Their judgment must be constantly capitalized as improvements in it are gained from 
time to time. ‘Teachers are urged to study the curriculum in its entirety, including the 
course of study, the keyed text, reference text, sequence chart, and work book before 
putting them in operation and during the actual teaching process. A fair trial of any 
course depends upon the teacher’s viewing it in perspective as well as in immediate, 
concerned detail. 

An original piece of work—Though the Tulsa Curriculum Committee for 
mathematics could not help but be influenced by extensive reading and study 
in the field, the final results of their productive efforts are by no means a piece 
of patch-work. It is true that the state-adopted textbooks are used extensively 
for instructional and drill material, and other books are designated for specific 
and suggestive references. Supplementary and replacement drill exercises and 
inspection test materials are, however, all original organizations. “hese were 
developed after careful analyses of the various processes and an analysis of the 
instructional and drill materials provided in the adopted texts. ‘The plan of 
organization of this curriculum is a new departure in curriculum construction. 
The field of mathematics was studied carefully and the processes, skills, 
abilities, and information determined and analyzed. Following this study and 
analysis the subjectmatter of each of the fundamental processes or other phases 
of instructional material was developed in separate, complete units. 


The underlying theory—Vhe Committee has made a sincere effort to make 
valid use of all available scientific investigation and the best of modern thought, 
where research is pending or non-existent, in the development of the philosophy 
and material of this curriculum. The major thoughts underlying the develop- 
ment of the computational mathematics section of this curriculum are: 


I. Those of subjectmatter 

A. That any process is a hierarchy of unit skills which skills must be carefully 
determined and either specifically taught both in isolation and in relation 
with the other units, or that instruction and drill are consciously omitted 
because inferential thinking ability is obvious. 

B. That there should be properly distributed practise on the various skills in- 
volved in any ability or process. It is the purpose of this curriculum to dis- 
tribute practise so that all necessary skills will receive sufficient drill and 
so that the practise will receive effective time distribution. 


Il. ‘Those of instructional procedure—Every unit of subjectmatter is to be 
submitted to a four-phase program of presentation. 


A. Instruction and first learning: (1) That instruction should be pedagogically 
as well as mathematically correct; that it be recognized that instruction 
may be mathematically complete and yet omit many steps of detail that are 
pedagogically indispensable. (2) First learning by the child should be 
active, aggressive, and independent so far as possible. A passive audience 
attitude of the child when the teacher is carrying most, if not all, of the 
load of presentation must be avoided. Teachers of mathematics must be 
directors of learning and not lecturers, if genuine learning is to take place 
economically with least possible waste of motion. 

B. Diagnosis—Following instruction and drill, testing must be provided which 
will make possible diagnosing weakness of instruction and pupil learning. 

C. Remedial instruction—Remedial instruction and drill of a specific nature 
will be provided where diagnosis shows need of further work.. 

D. Maintenance—It is reasonable to anticipate breakdowns and forgetting of 
skills unless periodic drill and use of such skills is provided, and therefore 
this curriculum calls for a systematic maintenance program. 














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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 75 


Ill. Character training 

Mathematics is not only a means of developing specific skills and abilities 
within itself, but also has a great deal of value as a means of developing char- 
acter; and, therefore, the subjectmatter and instruction should be so organized 
as to contribute to the accomplishment of this important objective of education. 
The development of thrift as a character trait is an important part of the 
curriculum in Tulsa. Much of the problem material in this mathematics cur- 
riculum specifically correlates and applies thrift ideals and practise. The pro- 
visions which makes for efficiency, thoroughness, economy of time and adapta- 
tions to individual differences yield extensive opportunity for the development 
of thrift habits as well as attitudes of thrift. The thrift program of the schools 
is to be closely correlated with mathematics teaching. 

The child should be held responsible for the correction of much of his own 
work, so that he may develop habits of honesty under circumstances which 
make cheating a possibility though not a probability. This will tend to make 
him actively honest and not merely passively so. He should be given oppor- 
tunity to develop selfreliance through independent selfinstruction where he 
carries the burden of learning. Too much failure in school develops a general 
attitude of carelessness toward accomplishment. Instruction, diagnosis, and 
remedial work in arithmetic, when properly done, tend to reduce failure to a 
minimum by anticipating wrong practise or locating error without too much 
repetition of practise in error. Correction of error immediately following the 
making of it will prevent much failure in later mathematical effort. The child 
learns that error is a possibility but not a permanent necessity and frequently 
not at all necessary. 

Converting theory into practise—The following provisions of this cur- 
riculum will make the theory underlying it become a reality. 

The materials of instruction have been carefully prepared and arranged in 
grade placement and sequence in accordance with all available research and 
the best of modern psychological and practical thought. 

A series of inspection tests is provided which runs throughout all computa- 
tional units at various points of progress, for diagnosing pupil difficulties. As 
soon as a unit of closely related skills, within any process, has been taught, a 
carefully prepared test in those skills is to be given in order to determine the 
success of learning and possible need for further instruction. 

A program of standardized diagnostic testing following the teaching of a 
complete unit or process is recommended. 

Teacher problem solving—lt is held that problem solving ability correlates 
highly with intelligence and certain reading abilities. —The problem is, then, 
the chief vehicle of correlation between arithmetic, reading, and other sub- 
jects, but especially reading. In fact the teaching of reading must carry part 
of the burden of developing problem solving ability. Regardless of where it is 
done, the definite teaching of problem solving technic is essentially a work-type 
reading task. To the extent that the problem is used merely as a different form 
of presenting drill practise it is essentially arithmetic, providing that reading 
difficulties are on a level sufficiently below that of actual pupil reading accom- 
plishment as to eliminate reading, as such, as an interference factor. To the 
extent that logical reasoning and analysis as well as comprehension enter into 
problem solving, the problem is no more the responsibility of arithmetic than 
it is of reading, language, geography, industrial arts, or some other subject to 


which the problem is directly related and within which it arises. 











76 NATIONAL EpucatTion AssoclATion 





The problem and arithmetic time allotment—The above attitude toward 
the problem is not presented as a plea for more arithmetic time. Arithmetic is 
to receive no more time in Tulsa in the future than it has heretofore. In fact 
it is anticipated that the amount of time allotted to computational arithmetic 
may be reduced by doing a better job of teaching the skills and knowing when 
they have been taught. The arithmetic problem, (that is the problem involv- 
ing the use of arithmetic skills), as well as all other problems having social 
utility and their solution, should be the heart and life of the school program 
and is the only justification for teaching the skill subjects. Let us teach, 
diagnose, remedy, and maintain the skills so that children will really have 
them to use. Alert, progressive teachers teach problem-solving where the 
problems arise and seek to make problems of a real nature arise so there may 
be a felt need for producing their solution. The problem materials in this 
curriculum have been determined carefully and are indicated throughout the 
text by references to the adopted text and to the Standard Service Arithmetics. 
The Unit Sequence Chart shows the sources of the problem materials appro- 
priate to instruction of the processes at various stages of their development. 
Problem solving practise cards are provided for remedial instruction in this 
phase of the work. Let us not defend a poor job of teaching skill in the use of 
the fundamental processes by saying that we are obliged to spend too much time 
on problem solving. 


Provisions for individual differences—The discussion under diagnosis and 
remedial work pointed out how individual differences within a class are to be 
provided for. Where there are two or more divisions of any grade further 
accommodations for class differences are provided for in the requirements of 
amount of material covered and quality of work done. Normal progress can 
reasonably be expected from the “2” groups. The “1” groups may do more 
work by making more applications in problems, by doing special ‘‘adventures”’ 
indicated here and there in the various units, and by attaining superior accom- 
plishments. The ‘3’ groups will be able to do less of the problem work in 
arithmetic time ; a poorer quality of work will have to be accepted ; and slower 
progress than that specified in the Sequence Chart may need to be planned for 
such groups. Subsequently additional sequence charts will doubtless need to be 
developed ; these will provide particularly for variations from average progress 
as experience with this material in the Tulsa schools shows the way. The child 
and not the curriculum is the important consideration, and it should be assumed 
that there is ample elasticity in the curriculum to enable it to serve its funda- 
mental purpose. 

Objective supervision—This curriculum reaches farther than merely to the 
teacher in the classroom. It provides specific help for the supervisor. Through 
the reports on inspection tests and maintenance drill tests, which are tran- 
scribed in part on the supervisor’s cumulative chart, the supervisor has a per- 
manent inventory of close accomplishment on which to build his supervisory 
program. In fact a large part of this program is built for him; much of his 
job will be to apply it or to determine desirable variations. 











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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 77 


Oral drill and diagnosis—Since so much of this curriculum is devoted tc 
written work, there may be a tendency to underestimate the value of oral drik 
and diagnosis. The value of oral initial instruction above second grade is con- 
sciously minimized. Oral drill as an incentive to better work, as a means of 
creating interest, and as a means for diverting the mind from other activity to 
arithmetic at the beginning of a period, has a distinct place in class procedure. 
For the accomplishment of these purposes flash cards are furnished with a 
caution to use them judiciously. But the value of oral drill by the entire class 
as a means of learning all that is drilled is very doubtful. For diagnostic pur- 
poses oral work must frequently be resorted to. The oral statement of com- 
putation units in the successive steps of a long division example, for instance, 
may show source of error which the written work could not show. 

Tulsa standards—TVhough the standards established for various formal 
tests are suggestive for comparison of work of any class with that of the work 
done in other cities or the country at large, this curriculum is not built to fit 
tests and their standards. Standards are to be determined for Tulsa by Tulsa. 
Standards will be derived for the inspection tests and maintenance drills after 
they have been used in Tulsa enough to justify the establishing of such stand- 
ards. 

Critical observations and evaluations from other than Tulsa teachers who 
may examine the curriculum not only will be welcome but are sincerely 
solicited. 





~~. suggests to teachers that they remain learners as well 
as teachers. As for superintendents, nobody dreams apparently 
that they still have the capacity to learn anything. And this is not 
because suggestions as to their conduct are not made. They are sub- 
ject to a million reminders of their professional duty about teaching 
and administering, to one of their personal duty to go on learning. 
They endure twenty times more exhortations to do well in their pro- 
fession than the members of any other calling in life. Doctors would 
rise in a body and throw their chairs at speakers who continued to 
tell them year after year to try hard to cure the sick, or to talk senti- 
mentally about the glorious usefulness of their profession. What 
their speakers tell them is, “Here and here and here are new things 
which you must learn or your colleagues will disown you.” But 
teachers rarely receive from the outside any stimulation to keep 
moving intellectually themselves, as well as to push other people 
forward.—DorotrHy CANFIELD FISHER. 

















LET US MAGNIFY THE EARLY YEARS 


STANLEY F, FINK 
Principal, Tyson-Schoener School, Reading, Pennsylvania 


HE chicken fancier usually makes the “brooder house” the center of his 

attention. He examines the construction of the house, keeps the tempera- 
ture just right, insures the baby chicks an adequate supply of food, and shelters 
them from “chickhood” enemies. If you were to ask him the reason why this 
portion of the farm required such attention he would reply: ““T'ake care of the 
chick and the hen will take care of herself.” 

Educators will recognize that the chicken expert’s suggestion applies with 
equal force to education. The elementary school is a “brooder house’’ where 
children acquire the mental and physical strength to meet future problems. 
Upon the elementary school experience all future education must rest. For 
this reason, the elementary school should be adequately housed, equipped, and 
staffed. Superintendents and schoolboards cannot afford to make secondary 
education luxurious if the losses in the elementary school are too great. 


The principalship—One of the first places to examine in the ‘‘brooder house”’ 
of education is the principalship. How many persons enter this calling simply 
as a stepping stone to more lucrative positions? How many promising young 
principals are discouraged by inadequate salaries in the elementary school field ? 

The writer believes that the elementary school principalship demands first- 
class ability. The principal needs to know little children, teaching methods, 
personnel management, and a thousand things which challenge the best think- 
ing. At no distant day persons entering the principalship will be required to 
meet certain standards. Pennsylvania’s state elementary principal’s certifi- 
cate, although not mandatory at the present time, suggests some possible re- 
quirements : 

1. College degree. 

2. Permanent teaching certificate, obtained after three years of teaching experi- 
ence and upon the completion of six advance units in professional courses. 

3. Two additional years of teaching or supervisory work. 

4. Twelve additional college credits in elementary school administration and 
supervision, 

School organization—Given a teaching staff of high caliber and a principal 
with initiative, the next important thing is a proper school organization. That 
is to say, an organization which will expose the child to a life of happy and rich 
experiences. 

In 1928 the writer was appointed to a new elementary school in Reading, 
Pennsylvania. The school included 1300 children and forty teachers. The 
foreign character of the district was reflected in the twenty-four or more 
nationalities found among the school children. During the first year the writer 
studied and experimented with departmentalized plans of school organization.” 


‘In this connection see the Seventh Yearbook (1928), Department of Elementary 
School Principals, p. 151-54, 367-401. 

*Principals usually owe much to the encouragement and advice of their superinten- 

dents. The writer aknowledges his debt to Amanda E. Stout, superintendent of schools. 


[78] 





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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 79 





This article describes some of the procedures which we are now using. 


Weare trying what we term the “three type system” or “traditional-platoon- 
departmental system.”’ It is a plan of gradual transition from the traditional 
organization to a form of departmentalization. Under the old system or tradi- 
tional plan the child remained under one teacher all day for a semester or more. 
If this teacher were the best type all was well and good for the child, for he 
profited at the hands of a mother-like or master-like person. If the teacher 
were a poor type, who had little knowledge of the work, whose influence was 
bad, whose discipline was undesirable, whose very person was unfit to mold 
culture in the child, then the system was all wrong. 


Children often failed under the one-teacher system because their work did 
not conform to the “standard”’ which the teacher had set. Personal dislikes of 
the teacher played a great part. Johnny often never had a chance. One teacher 
alone determined whether or not Johnny should be promoted. Sometimes a 
pupil was pushed on to another grade because he was a behavior problem! or 
he was held back for the same reason. 

Educators and others agree to the dangers of the one-teacher plan, but many 
are not yet convinced that children in the primary grades should be taught by 
several persons. Some administrators bitterly oppose departmentalized in- 
struction in the first grade. Our experience at the Tyson-Schoener School 
does not support the contention that first-grade pupils are confused by several 
teachers. We found the “little folks” better able to meet the various teachers 
than older pupils. The young children had no difficulty finding the various 
rooms during the first few weeks under the guidance of older pupils. Under 
ordinary circumstances the programs were difficult because no class met on the 
same period any two successive days. To the amazement of all of us these little 
ones found their way quicker and in better order than the older children. 


Under the one-teacher type of organization pupils were promoted from the 
sixth grade to the junior high. These pupils found difficulty in adapting them- 
selves. ‘The change was sudden after being for six or more years in the one- 


teacher type grades. 

Under our plan of gradual transition pupils make the change easily. In the 
first grade the pupils remain under the “mother” teacher all day except when 
special teachers or supervisors give the specialized work. This first year under 
the one-teacher type gives the child ample time to orient himself to the school 
environment. 

In grades two and three the pupils study the three R’s half of the day with 
the homeroom teacher and the other half of the day is divided equally among 
five socalled special subjects. Table 1 is a sample program for a pupil in the 
second and third grades. 


*Should a child ever be failed or promoted simply because he misbehaves? How 
can principals eliminate the “conduct halo” from marks which are supposed to repre- 
sent progress in skills and knowledge? 





| Exp. {Study 





| ship 


80 NATIONAL EpUCATION ASSOCIATION 
TABLE 1—DAILY PROGRAM FOR SECOND AND THIRD GRADE PUPILS 
MornNING AFTERNOON 
Period 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 a a ee. 7 8 5 10 
—-—- |- | | . 
Frome | Ef. fama | ace | § 3 
2 | Aud.| Art | & | o | Pen 
, Home | Home | Home | @ | A |+> | Hlome | Ilome | & . 
. > | Oral | Nz |Z] ~ | Gym at 
Subject | Rooin | Room | Room | = | Music ral | Nat. | Room | Room = ro 
| | 


| 





Above the fourth grade we have the departmentalized program similar to 
the plan used in junior and senior high schools. “The day is divided into seven 
periods. ‘The child’s proctor or homeroom teacher meets him for roll-call and 
during the morning and afternoon recesses. “he homeroom teacher frequently 
teaches a child one or two subjects for two to eight periods during the week. 
While the homeroom teacher is the child’s official adviser and his influence 
counts for much, he is never the sole determ‘ning factor in deciding the pupil's 
grade placement. ‘There are other teachers who know the pupil because they 
meet him once, twice, or even eight times in a single week. For example, he 
may meet the art teacher only twice a week, while he may meet his geography 
teacher eight times per week because this teacher is also his instructor in pen- 
manship. 

In the fifth and six grades boys and girls are taught gymnastics separately. 
While the girls of 6B, for instance, are in the gym under a female instructor, 
the boys are receiving health instruction under a male instructor. Meanwhile, 
another group of boys may be taking the weekly shower bath with one of the 
janitors in charge, while the girls’ shower is under the control of the janitress. 
Table 2 shows the weekly schedule of upper grade pupils. 

Special instruction—We have an opportunity class for girls who are ortho- 
genically backward, and a class for girls who are clinical cases of social or 
physical maladjustment. There is another class for boys and girls who have 
unusual difficulties in their studies. 

A new “sight saving” class was organized this year. This is a citywide class 
for all children in grades one to six, whose eyesight is failing or seriously 
impaired. Home visiting teachers help those children who cannot attend 
school. A teacher for corrective speech spends four half-days per week in our 
school. 

Where pupils are weak in one or two subjects, but not sufficiently poor to 
warrant assignment to a special class, we place them under coaching teachers. 
We have one teacher for the primary and one for the upper grades. 

Special provision is also made for the over-bright or talented children 
through extended time classes meeting after school. ‘These classes are usually 
in art, music, physical education, and dramatics. Children also find an outlet 
for hobbies through the many kinds of weekly club meetings. 


The school nurse, the doctor, the dental hygienist, and the school dietitian 
also take care of the various physical needs of the children. The school psy- 
chologist helps take care of many mental needs. “he Department of Research 





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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS $1 








coéperates with this school in testing pupils from time to time in order to deter- 
mine progress. 

Even though financially poor, our pupils eat substantial food. Out of forty 
or more buildings in our city the pupils of this school stand third in weight, 
while children in the economically superior sections of the city stand near the 
bottom of the list. 

We do something for the adults through (1) a welfare station in the school 
for babies and expectant mothers, (2) a class for illiterate parents during 
school hours under a special teacher, and (3) special club work and activities 
in our school gymnasium. Other schools use our gymnasium under proper 
supervision. These socalled foreign children appreciate the building, for there 
has never been a dollar’s worth of damage of any kind done to the building. 

The criticism is often made that children finish the elementary school, grad- 
uate, and the school forgets them. We have an evening recreation center for 
working people, which is open five evenings a week from six to ten. This work 
brings the school in direct contact with these working people. The center is 
under the direction of the Recreation Bureau of the city, the Board of Education 
furnishes the building, and the Junior League furnishes the funds. ‘The pro- 
gram includes social dancing, tap dancing, boxing, wrestling, and games. From 
the beginning the attendance has crowded the facilities which are provided. 


TABLE 2—WEEKLY SCHEDULE FOR THE UPPER GRADES 









































Periods 
DAY ; oa 
—_ ool aot 2 | S$ za = 6 7 
| 
: Pen Read . . 
Music cae | | : Geog. Eng. | Art Arith. 
N Spell. | Lit 
anety 210 rem ry a 205 211 204 
— a Boys | Boys 
‘ Gy Gy 
' oe | Arith. Girl: = le Eng. Hist. Geog. 
Tuesday Spell. 204 viris Girls 207 
| 204 | Health | Health 205 201 
| =... aD 
Read. | ‘ . 
’ | Eng. Ph sa | Hist. Music Geog. | Arith. 
Wednesday! 29s “704 | «= 206~=«|« 2 210 207 204 
an a a 
| Boys 
se Eng. | Hist Art | Geog. | Arith. Se nell po den 
ener 205 | 201 ~- ta | 204 204 Health 
| 201 
2 ~ 
| Boys | | 
9 bo a 7 Eng. | Arith, | Hist. 7 Geog. 
Frida 3 | Library . 1 
y | Health | 205 | 204 | 201 | 906 207 
| 203 | | | 














82 NatioNAL Fpucatrion Assoctation 

Our school is fortunate in having a parents’ club. This group not only helps 
with many problems of the day school, but it supports the evening recreation 
center. 

Conclusion—After all, school organization, teacher personnel, methods, 
and administration exist for one purpose—to provide the child with progres- 
sive and enriched social experiences. How well are we succeeding in the ele- 
mentary school ? 

At the Tyson-Schoener School we provide learning experiences in a depart- 
mentalized form. Children come to know and are influenced by many teach- 
ers. Pupil government gives many opportunities for individual and group 
responsibility. Club work tempts talents to fruition. ‘The physically and 
educationally handicapped are given every possible encouragement. After 
graduation the alumni and other interested adults crowd our recreation center 
in search of wholesome amusements. 

The results are clear. Our average attendance is over ninety-seven percent. 
Sick children beg to be allowed to come back to school. Fewer children are 
dropping out before the junior high grades. Discipline cases are fewer in 
number and less serious in consequences. Our elementary school magnifies the 
importance of the early years of childhood. Surely we are a preventorium and 
a clinic for many social ailments! 





E are glad for the vision of childhood that can see the fairy 

sitting on a silver chair in the tulip blossom, glad for the vision 
of childhood that sees the place where goblins dwell, but it is the older 
person that prepared the soil and planted the tulips. We are glad that 
children see the bright and charming things instead of the dead limbs 
on the trees, and the weeds; but unless older persons prune the trees 
and keep away the dead wood, the trees will die. Unless older per- 
sons note the weeds and pull them out the flowers will die. The 
teacher is the interpreter of the past, the preserver of the present, and 
the determiner of the future —DANieL L. Marsu, president, Bos- 
ton University. 

















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EXTENT OF SOCALLED EXTRACURRICULUM ACTIVITIES 
IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 
F. C. BoRGESON 
Associate Professor of Education, New York University, New York, N. Y. 


OW THAT the term “extracurriculum” in the title has attracted the 

reader to the contents of this article, he is asked to join the thousands who 
disapprove of it’s use. Terminology should not sharpen the division between 
two types of activities such as the curriculum and extracurriculum, both of 
which are important educationally and which should dove-tail harmoniously 
into one unified and progressive program. The writer therefore proposes the 
term School Life Activities to connote those pupil experiences, be they ‘“‘cur- 
riculum” or “extracurriculum,” in which assuming responsibility, making 
decisions, activity, and pleasure for and by the children themselves, are of 
major importance. 

Extensive programs of school life activities have been launched in many 
secondary schools of the land. Much has been written and said about these 
activities and their educative value. In a recent survey of elementary school 
life activities the writer finds a large number and variety of activities but finds 
on the other hand a general lack of carefully planned programs. Likewise, 
very little has as yet been written or said about this type of activity in the ele- 
mentary school. The next five years will bring an awakening as to the value 
of elementary school life activities comparable to that of the past five years in 
the secondary school. 

Ample support for the following theses held by the writer are found in 
current practise reported by 524 elementary school principals' and in the 
evaluation many of these principals make of the activities: 

1. Elementary school life activities (extracurriculum activities), are more signifi- 

cant educationally than are traditional curriculum activities. 

2. School life activities taken collectively or individually more specifically meet 
the cardinal objectives of education than do traditional curriculum activities—they 


are more closely related to the objectives. 
3. School life activities must therefore be at least as scientifically planned as the 


distinctly curriculum. 
EXTENT OF CURRENT PRACTISE 


In the reference mentioned above the writer presents the first cross section 
picture of the extent of elementary school life activities in the country at large. 
An inquiry blank in the form of a combined checklist and questionnaire was 
sent to 1017 elementary school principals, members of the Department of 
Elementary School Principals. Of these, 524 or 51.5 percent replied in time 
for use in this study. The replies came from two hundred cities. All but five 
states are represented. 

As a cross section of better practise, not merely general practise, was desired, 
the study was limited in general to schools directed by members of the Depart- 





‘Borgeson, F. C. Elementary School Life Activities. A Statement of Current Prac- 
tise Including Socalled Extracurriculum Activities. A. $. Barnes and Company, Feb- 
ruary, 1931. 

[ 83 J 











84 NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 





ment, and of these, chiefly those principals located in cities of thirty thousand 
population and up. All better practise is not found in large cities, but in the 
main we find there more capable and progressive principals and teachers who 
are usually better trained. 

The checklist contains 253 activities on which to report. In addition to 
these, several hundred other activities are reported by one or more schools. 
Before commenting on the activities themselves a few general observations 
might well be made. 

It is significant that in the schools not having seventh and eighth grades, the 
pupils of the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades assume leadership in the activities 
otherwise directed largely by pupils of the upper grades, i. e., they become 
officers of the school council, editors and managers of school publications, offi- 
cers in clubs, and assume other roles of school leadership. 

The type of community a school happens to serve is in no wise an index of 
the prevalence of school life activities. We are just as likely to find a thriving 
and comprehensive school activities program in a poor, industrial community 
largely populated by a foreign element as in a middle class or wealthy com- 
munity of the finest American homes. 

One cannot expect a very comprehensive school life activities program in a 
school until it has five or six hundred pupils enroled. ‘The amount of assist- 
ance a school principal receives through assistant principals, secretaries, or other 
office aides bears no relation to the extent of an elementary school life activities 
program as indicated by present practise. Such assistance might presumably 
be used to advantage in initiating, administering, and enriching a program 
of school life activities. It is evident that the attitude and effort of an inter- 
ested and codperative teaching staff under the aggressive leadership of a 
sympathetic, tactful, and understanding principal account for the presence of 
educationally sound school life activities in elementary schools. 

Of the 524 schools reporting in this study, eighty-four were organized as 
platoon schools. In a comparative study made of these schools it was found 
that the percentages of occurrence of the many activities reported by them 
correlated so highly with the percentage for all the schools, non-platoon and 
platoon, in the case of practically each type of activity, that in general it is cor- 
rect to say that as platoon schools are now administered they do not provide a 
more extensive program of elementary school life activities than the non- 
platoon schools. 

The activities in the checklist were thrown into eleven classifications. A few 
of the findings in several of these classifications are reported here. 

The most commonly occurring home-room activities are those in which 
pupils aid the teacher in the management of the class, such as monitors, atten- 
dance committee, and housekeeping committee. On the other hand, activities 
which contain more specific educational values for the child, such as home- 
room organization, publicity committee, activities committee, and social service 
committee, occur much less frequently. While both types of activity are im- 
portant, the above situation is the reverse of what it should be and is evidence 





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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 85 


of the lack of a carefully planned program. Of the preferred type of home- 
room activities reported, those occurring most frequently are library commit- 
tee (38.4 percent of the schools) , and home-room organization (35.3 percent). 
No doubt the schools reporting home-room organizations are likewise those 
reporting school councils (32.6 percent). 

Virtually all of the 524 schools reporting in this study have pupils assisting 
in the management of the school in one way or another. Practically three- 
fourths of the schools have traffic squads and almost one-half have assembly 
committees of pupils that make major decisions regarding assembly programs 
and playground committees that assist in supervising playgrounds. Only one- 
third of the schools have school councils. Principals who do not have a cen- 
tralizing pupil managerial organization should be aroused by the fact that a 
larger number of principals report school council activities as “that phase of 
their school life activities program which is succeeding best and over which the 
school prides itself most” than report on any other aspect of the school life 
activities program. This fact would seem to indicate not only the expediency 
but the educative worth of the school council idea. As traffic squads or coun- 
cils are frequently the first step toward the realization of school councils, the 
ratios submitted above probably betoken the trend of practise. 


A large variety of activities were reported that involved school service and 
safety and health, organized both on an all-school basis and within the respec- 
tive home-rooms. Space permits but the mention of one, library assistants. 
Champions of the school library hold that the library should be and is the heart 
of the school. Almost one-third of the schools (31.5 percent), report that 
pupils assist in the administration of the library. In some schools they are 
virtually in complete charge. Through pupil aid have many schools overcome 
the handicaps of space limitation, inadequate equipment, and financial limita- 
tions. 

The assembly is potentially one of the greatest educative factors in the ele- 
mentary school. It is gratifying to note that of the several types of school life 
activities reported upon, assemblies and special day celebrations have been more 
extensively developed than has any other school life activity. Most schools 
recognize such special occasions as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Washing- 
ton’s and Lincoln’s birthdays. School exhibits are found in 62.4 percent of the 
schools reporting, while only 17.2 percent of the schools indicate that they 
definitely plan dramatizations and assembly displays of curriculum and school 
life activities. The writer found that over two hundred different assembly 
programs reported by one-fourth of the schools may reasonably well be clas- 
sified into the following groups: social science, nature study, health and safety, 
special days, dramatization and display of other curriculum and school life 
activities, and miscellaneous. 

In an earlier paragraph the point was made that in general platoon schools 
make no better provisions than non-platoon schools for school life activities. 
One might expect that platoon schools would be superior in assembly activities. 
As for special days there is no significant difference in the two types of organ- 











86 NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 





ization. Furthermore, while 17.2 percent of all the schools, platoon and non- 
platoon, report dramatization or display of curriculum and school life activ- 
ities in the assembly, only 9.5 percent of the platoon schoolsso report. However, 
60.7 percent of the platoons and only 38.0 percent of all schools report 
operettas in assembly, and 42.9 percent of platoons and 30.0 percent of all 
schools report radio programs in assemblies. 

School trips and excursions provide children with first-hand knowledge of 
their environment. A wealth of instructive material is to be found in local 
environment and events, in fact there is much that the child can learn only 
through direct means of carefully planned observation. American schools 
have used this educative medium to a limited degree. One-third of the schools 
make use of museums or conduct field trips. The other two-thirds may or may 
not have access to museums but “field trips” of some description are possible. 
The importance of safety in the minds of elementary school people is again in 
evidence. Aside from general trips like those above, the only trip reported by 
30 percent or more of the schools is that to the fire department. From 10 to 15 
percent of the schools report trips to the bank, courthouse, greenhouse, ice 
cream plant, postoffice, and dairy. Every third school reporting took the 
trouble to add one or more trips or excursions to the suggested list of thirty 
appearing in the checklist. These additions of over 140 different trips or ex- 
cursions may be classified as follows: public buildings and utilities, commerce 
and industry, education and pleasure and nature study. The following items 
were reported by a relatively large number of schools: airports, bakeries, birds, 
historic sites, museum of art, newspaper plant, soil, state capitol, trees, water 
works, and wild flowers. 

Clubs and club activity usually represent spontaneous and deep-seated pupil 
interests. “Ihe great variety and extent of club activities in elementary schools 
seem to indicate that this type of school life activity is already well established. 
Twenty-two of the fifty-three clubs appearing in the checklist are present in 
20 percent or more of the 524 schools reporting. ‘The current events club is. 
most popular, and appears in 49.4 percent of the schools—the citizenship club 
idea has attracted 40.8 percent. A few clubs appear in all but two or three of 
the schools. The number of clubs per school ranges from one or two up to 
fifty-two. While the club idea is more or less general throughout the country 
at large, it is more prevalent among western and southern states. 


Elementary school publications, particularly the newspaper, are on the in- 
crease. Their values for children of all ages are being recognized. ‘The mim- 
eographed newspaper is more common than all other kinds of newspapers 
combined. This medium of duplication has many distinct advantages. While 
as yet only 28.6 percent of the 524 schools report mimeographed newspapers, 
it is notable that 42.9 percent of the western schools have this type of paper. 
Newspapers are printed in 10.1 percent of all the schools and magazines are 
published in but 7.8 percent. The types of topics treated in elementary publica- 
tions, in the order of the amount of space generally allotted to each, are as 
follows: 





non- 
Ctiv- 


ver, 
port 
F all 


e of 
cal 
nly 
001s 
d0ls 
nay 
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) in 

by 

15 
ice 
the 


rty 


i? 2) 








ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 87 








Club activities. 
Other school life activities, e. g., trips, assemblies, athletics. 


Class notes. 

Creative writing and drawing of pupils. 

Personal, pupil and teacher. 

Humor. 

News items, local and general. 

Advertisements. 

A great range of activities is found in such classifications of school life activ- 
ities as athletics, drives and campaigns, music, social activities, and activities 
sponsored by cooperative organizations which cannot be but mentioned here 
because of space limitations. Each of these in its own way is serving to make 
the life of the elementary school child richer, more complete, and more pur- 
poseful. In fact these activities as well as those briefly referred to in this state- 
ment have as their underlying purpose that of character building. 

The general objective of character as the important outcome of a program 
of elementary school life activities may well be stated in terms of the first four 
of the six Cardinal Objectives in Elementary Education’, namely, 

“Tt is the function of the public elementary school to help every child: 


To understand and practise desirable social relationships. 
To discover and develop his own desirable individual aptitudes, 


To cultivate the habit of critical thinking. 
To appreciate and desire worthwhile activities.” 


A sane program of elementary school life activities involving the kind of 
activities referred in this article is the most effective instrument in “growing” 
character in normal boys and girls. High standards of right and the tendency 
to act accordingly appear normally in children when they are made responsible 
for their own decisions and actions. A peculiar joy accompanies such experienc- 
ing. Only as children experience the joy of self-expression, initiative, creative 
activity, and directed group living, do the finest personalities emerge. 


Fen 





‘Committee on Elementary Education, New York Council of Superintendents. Car- 
dinal Objectives in Elementary Education, New York State Department of Educa- 


tion, 1929. 





UR children long to express the beauty of the world about them ; 

some in music, some in stone, some in color, some in motion, 
some in beautiful words. So be it. We will teach music that is fine, 
with the soul of the artist winging through it. We will teach motion 
and color and dramatics. We will teach literature that shall be an 
inspiration to the children all their lives. We will teach so that there 
shall be no ugliness in America, neither ugliness of body nor of spirit. 
—ANGELO Patri, School and Home. 




















BOOKS YOU WILL WANT TO READ! 
FRANK W. HubBBARD 
Assistant Director, Research Division, National Education Association, 
Washington, D.C. 
UST A book on the improvement of instruction have the word “‘super- 
vision” in its title? If so, then Dr. John Dewey’s little book on The 
Source of a Science of Education® cannot so qualify. Yet it contains a wealth 
of specific suggestions and wholesome philosophy for the principal who does 
supervisory work. Dr. Dewey calls for poised re-thinking of many current 
educational viewpoints and practises. 

Another challenging volume for principals is Learn or Perish® by Dorothy 
Canfield Fisher. She calls upon teachers to let their personalities grow, to 
strike out among broad, social contacts, and to bring themselves in contact with 
new thoughts. Mrs. Fisher urges teachers to shake off those “school-teach- 
erish” mannerisms which come from dealing with inferior minds. Principals 
should find this little book more searching and more stimulating than a dozen 
teacher-rating scales. 

Now and then a professional book appears which seems to be ideally suited 
for a particular group. Kyte has given principals such a book in his How to 
Supervise.*| The bulk of the text is given to the specific technics used by prin- 
cipals in directing instruction. All suggestions are practical in nature and fully 
explained. Frequent reference is made to the yearbooks of the Department of 
Elementary School Principals. 

There is widespread discussion among principals as to the treatment which 
should be given to the bright pupil. Some administrators urge ability groups, 
others insist upon no segregation. Since most teachers agree that a type of 
curriculum enrichment is necessary, the following book will be helpful: T’each- 
ing the Bright Pupil® by Fay Adams and Walker Brown. 

There is much “food for thought” in an intensive analysis of +00 textbooks 
in common use in American schools. No principal can read this careful study 
without asking the questions: How can we teach world-mindness to children 
when so many of our textbooks are unfair and critical toward other nations ? 
What will our pupils select as the important civic attitudes if we give the major 
portion of our textbooks to the military phases of history? A partial answer 
to this last question is given in the replies of 1125 high-school children to the 


*Our Headquarters Staff at Washington comes in contact with so many recent books 
that the Editor asked Frank W. Hubbard to prepare this review. The reader will 
understand that Mr. Hubbard presents his personal, not an official opinion, on the 
books cited.—Editor. 

*Dewey, John. The Sources of a Science of Education. Kappa Delta Pi Lecture 
Series. New York: Horace Liveright, 1929. 77 p. $1.50. 

*Fisher, Dorothy Canfield. Learn or Perish. Kappa Delta Pi Lecture Series. New 
York: Horace Liveright, 1930. 43 p. $1. 

“Kyte, George C. How to Supervise. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1930. 
468 p. $2.40. 

°Adams, Fay, and Brown, Walker, Teaching the Bright Pupil. New York: Henry 
Holt and Company, 1930. 249 p. $1.36. 

[ 88 ] 








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“he 
Ith 
oes 
ent 


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to 
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als 
en 








ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 89 


query: “What is patriotism?” Every child mentioned “defense of country,” 
twelve percent listed “voting,” and four percent gave “paying taxes.” The 
book is Civic Attitudes in American School Textbooks by Bessie L. Pierce. 

What principles and ideas have shaped the evolution of American educa- 
tion? Dr. George S. Counts has given us a most readable answer in his book 
The American Road to Culture2» Among the chapter titles are: Faith in 
Education, Government Responsibility, Local Initiative, Individual Success, 
National Solidarity, Mechanical Efficiency, and Philosophic Uncertainty. 
Each chapter could be the basis of a thought-provoking teachers’ meeting. 

If you have read the first book of Mark Sullivan’s Our Times* you won’t be 
likely to miss the two latest volumes. Volume II gives an interesting account 
of American education. The whole series is a curiosity-provoking review of 
American life from 1900 to 1910. 

Principals who are interested in pupil government will find many practical 
suggestions in Pupil Citizenshipt by George W. Diemer and Blanche V. 
Mullen. Another recent book along the same general line is Tomorrow’s 
Americans’ by A. O. Bowden and Ida C. Clarke. 

Finally, there is much to interest principals in Dr. Edward Reisner’s new 
book, The Evolution of the Common School.® Although the author does not 
deal directly with the principalship, shadows of old school masters linger in 
the background. Dr. Reisner tells of the struggle upward of the common 
school from its medieval beginnings to its modern aspirations. 


"Pierce, Bessie L. Civic Attitudes in American Textbooks. Chicago: University of 
Chicago Press, 1930. 2697 p. $3. 

"Counts, George S. The American Road to Culture. New York: John Day Com- 
pany, 1930. 194 p. $2.50. 

"Sullivan, Mark. Our Times: I, The Turn of the Century; II, America Finding 
Herself; and III, Pre-War America. New York: Charles Scribners, 1928-30. $5 per 
volume. 

‘Diemer, George W., and Mullen, Blanche V. Pupil Citizenship. World Book Com- 
pany, 1930. 339 p. $2.16. 

"Bowden, A. O., and Clarke, Ida C. Tomorrow’s Americans, New York: G. P. Put- 
nam’s Sons, 1930. 200 p. $2.30. 

"Reisner, Edward H. The Evolution of the Common School. New York: Macmillan 
Company, 1930. 590 p. $2.25. 





_ or logical study is not aimless mental activity or a passive 
reception of ideas only for the sake of having them. It is the 
vigorous application of the mind to a subject for the satisfaction of a 
felt need— McMurry. 




















OUR AMERICAN SPEECH 
EMMA GRANT MEADER 
Russell Sage College, Troy, New York 


OMEONE is always trying to tell Americans what they need. We Ameri- 

cans are a sort of jolly, good-natured folk, very well fed, fairly well clothed, 
comfortably sheltered, and able to transport ourselves about the world in more 
and better conveyances than most Europeans. We accept almost any kind of 
advice, smile, say ‘““Thank you,” and even try out some of it. One adviser 
suggests that Americans need more of three C’s, that is, contemplation, cor- 
respondence, and conversation; a second has added another C to these three 
and says that we need more courtesy ; a third suggests that we need more walk- 
ing, reading, and thinking; a fourth would have us learn to relax, especially 
when we listen, when we wait, and when we ride. 

Now all these bits of instruction and advice are taken by most Americans 
with good grace, common sense, and a delightful sense of humor. Until re- 
cently, however, let someone start giving an American any suggestion, advice, 
or criticism concerning his speech, and the first thing that he lost was his sense 
of humor; the next to disappear was his temper. Suggesting any change in his 
speech was like suggesting a change in his religion or his politics, both of which 
were often bound up with sacred memories of family life. 


It is very difficult for America to grow up. Once a pioneer people does not 
mean always a pioneer people. A rough exterior, overalls, old clothes, do not 
mean a rough nature. Exquisite grooming and beautiful clothes, on the other 
hand, do not always mean a beautiful or sensitive spirit. The fact remains 
that when America was a pioneer land, she often associated rough clothes and 
blunt speech with sincerity and earnest purpose. She was skeptical of fine 
clothes and fine speech as somehow representing affectation and insincerity. 
At least in America’s thinking, democracy and overalls went together. Cul- 
turally speaking, however, America is growing up. Go down into the Smoky 
Mountains of Tennessee or to Berea, Kentucky, and you will see some of the 
finest examples of the weaving art of America. Go to the Navajo Indians and 
you will find an unsurpassed beauty in their workmanship. Go to Mrs. Frank- 
lin D. Roosevelt’s furniture factory at Hyde Park, New York, and you will 
find both sincerity and beauty in the reproductions of our early American 
furniture. If culture, to be genuine, must spring from the lives of the people 
themselves, surely America has a culture all her own. We are beginning to 
see the beauty in our native industries, in our Indian and Negro music and 
folklore, and in our recessional architecture. Our pioneer days are swiftly 
passing. In one respect, however, we are just about as pioneer as ever, and that 
is in our attitude toward our speech. 


What we need in America today is a new attitude toward our language; a 
belief that our mother tongue is a rich and ancient heritage, that it is as beauti- 
ful a language as has ever been spoken by civilized man, and that to it we owe 


[90] 





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re- 
Ce, 
ise 
lis 
ch 


— 


| 


— SS let 








ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 91 
our loyalty, our respect, and our reverence. If this be patriotism, we are not 
afraid of the word. Furthermore, Americans need to be taught that we have 
an American speech which is just as beautiful as British speech ; a speech which 
will pass muster in any international court where cultured English-speaking 
people gather. 

Who can blame Americans for failing to have this high vision of their Amer- 
ican speech, when instead of the beauty which comes from speaking in the 
mouth, we hear the nasal twang, the back-throat guttural sounds, the tired and 
nervous “quack” in the back of the throat, and the loud, raucous sounds which 
indicate to Europeans that the tourist season has started ? Some doubt exists 
in the minds of many Americans as to whether or not the rest of America ever 
hears any of these sounds. In America one may receive the highest degrees in 
our universities and colleges and still speak with a nasal twang. One can say 
oi in “work,” “idear” for “idea,” flat a in “can’t” “yelluh” for “yellow,” 
“father-r-” for ‘“‘father,” ‘“‘taown”’ for “town,” but diplomas or degrees will 
never be withheld for these reasons. Perhaps they should not be, but in a 
country where everyone has a chance at a college education, such a drastic 
measure would work speech miracles in a single year. It is very difficult for 
Americans to hear speech. There is, however, a great deal of speech in Amer- 
ica that is agreeable, effective, pleasing, and good. Ideas, interesting thoughts, 
and the meat of the matter will always be more important than a rounded o, 
or a beautiful Italian a, but now that America has proven to the world that she 
is full of ideas, that she often gives them forth in beautiful literature, would it 
not be well to prove to the world that we also have a beautiful speech that is 
all our own? 

Where and at what point shall we start? Let us start with the attitude 
toward speech in the average American community. If there is an attitude at 
all, it is likely to be a negative one. While a visitor from the outside may come 
into the community and speak a very different speech from that of the natives 
of that community, it is not well for those who intend to live there to adopt 
this different speech. If the community uses flat a’s and inverts its r’s, then the 
line of least resistance, the mores of the community, is to continue flat a and 
inverted r. The tendency is to ridicule any kind of speech that is new or dif- 
ferent, especially if it seems affected or British to the natives. The idea that 
good speech should not betray the geography of the speaker is a new one, and 
does not coincide with the old theory of state’s rights. It has always been just 
as well to say “cyar” for “car” in Virginia, ““Ohiuh” for “Ohio” in that state, 
“mini min” for “many men” in Texas, and ‘‘raound” for “round” in Ken- 
tucky. 

In a large number of these communities, if you discuss better speech with 
parents or teachers, they jump to the conclusion that you are talking about 
better grammar. If you tell them that it is possible to speak grammatically and 
not speak well, that it is possible to speak correctly and not speak well, you 
arouse their curiosity, and you are often asked to explain what you mean by 
good speech. It would be excellent if we could assume good grammar in 








92 NATIONAL EpuUCATION ASSOCIATION 





America and, as a matter of fact, we are doing such a good job in our public 
schools that the time will come when public opinion will be so strong for good 
grammar that one will be considered an uneducated person if he does not obey 
its simplest rules, such as no “‘ain’ts” and no “I seens.” ‘To assume that good 
grammar and correct verb forms have much to do with a loosened jaw, an 
open throat, a resonant quality, is simply assuming something that is not true. 
In discussing politeness, an English headmaster was once asked how he was 
able to secure such universal politeness among the children in his school. His 
answer was that in England “politeness was assumed.” “he American visitor 
asked him this question, ‘““Suppose you assume it, and do not get it. What 
then ?” He replied, “Oh, but you see, in England public opinion is for polite- 
ness.” The time will come in America when public opinion will favor beauti- 
ful Amercan speech so strongly that we shall assume its existence in all com- 
munities in which parents are anxious to give their children the best education 
possible. 

Would it not be possible for the people in these American communities to 
substitute a bilingual for their present uni-lingual attitude toward the English 
language? This has been done in England with such farreaching consequences 
that the National Course of Study states that it is necessary for almost every 
child to become bilingual in English. This means that for some time the child 
will have literally two English languages, one his native speech and the other 
his “‘received”’ or acquired speech. If his native speech is that of a Yorkshire or 
Lancashire dialect, with r’s that are rolled in the back of the throat, and with 
two o’s for one when he says “‘coom”’ for “‘come,” or if he lisps or stutters, it is 
assumed that this native speech must gradually be supplemented by another 
speech of an entirely different kind. It may be as difficult for a child to acquire 
this new speech as it is for him to acquire the French language, but by the time 
he enters a secondary school, he must be just as proficient in his new English 
speech as if he had spent the same time learning French. 

What stands in the way of the American acceptance of just such a bilingual 
attitude as this? First of all, there is that old fear of aping British speech, and 
the only answer to this is that the only kind of American speech which we wish 
to make popular, is the kind of speech which we have already accepted on the 
American stage as spoken by Walter Hampden, Edith Wynne Matthison, 
Otis Skinner, Julia Marlowe, and others. We have accepted this because we 
have already given these people medals for using it. We have given two medals 
for this accepted American speech over the radio, so we must consider Mr. 
Cross and Mr. Bok worthy representatives of a speech that our children 
would do well to imitate. We are rapidly making victrola records of the 
speech of our best American speakers. Surely we can become bilingual, we can 
rid ourselves of ugly speech, we can retain our quaint expressions, without 
becoming British. 

Perhaps there is a greater obstacle to be overcome in accepting this bilingual 
attitude in America than this fear of imitating the British. It is the fact, pre- 
viously noted, that America, in many ways, is still a pioneer country. In the 











lic 


od 


ey 
od 
an 
ue. 
"as 
lis 


or 


— 


‘ey 











ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 93 


transition from native to acquired speech, the person who is making the transi- 
tion is going to suffer. He will be accused of being affected, ‘“‘high-hat,”’ snob- 
bish, ‘‘high-brow,” or superior. Recently a girl returned to her home after 
one year at Smith College. Smith College has perhaps one of the finest depart- 
ments of speech in this country, in which a serious attempt is made to give 
every student a pleasing, and if necessary, an acquired speech. This girl came 
to her home and decided to practise her new speech on her family. Although 
her mother was a college graduate, she was horrified at this attempt of her 
daughter to speak in any way which, as she said, was not natural. She forgot 
that for many people speaking naturally was about the worst thing they could 
do. The bilingual idea will have a long and hard road to travel before it has 
anything like the universal acceptance that it has in England. Nevertheless, 
it is one very definite answer to the question of where we shall start in our 
program of speech education. 

Many forces are at work in America today to bring about the acceptance of 
this bilingual attitude. The little theatre movement in communities where the 
little theatre organization is willing to employ a speech teacher has assisted 
materially in changing the point of view of the community toward speech. In 
the July, 1930, number of the Theatre Arts Monthly, Mr. Windsor P. Dag- 
gett has an interesting article called “The Art of Speech in Texas.” 


I found myself in the Little Theatre of Dallas. The diction of the actors was so 
delocalized that placing them geographically was mostly guesswork. In the best com- 
panies in New York it is often difficult to tell an American actor from an Englishman 
and so it was in Dallas. Inquiry after the play revealed that two members of the cast 
hailed from outside of Texas, a New Yorker and an Englishman. A stranger in the 
audience would have no cause to single out the Englishman as an importation. A 
detective might have discovered a New York “city accent” in the “firm” and “first” 
of one speaker in contrast to any other, and occasionally he probably would notice the 
o-sound of the juvenile, as suggesting Texas speech, firm lipped and sonorous. But 
occasional tags of this sort were entirely over-shadowed in the ensemble of a diction 
that came as near to standard as one is likely to hear except in the most carefully 
chosen companies on Broadway. There were no “mini min” and no “farmer” for 
“former” pronunciations. In the doubtful words on the contrary, ah had the same 
preference it has in the pronunciation of Walter Hampden and Mrs. Fiske: ah in 
“advantage, after, ask, bath, castle, chance, glasses, granted, last, pass, rather.” 

This is evidence in itself that actors of the Dallas Theatre cultivate the same con- 
sciousness of speech that professional actors cultivate, until English without an accent 
and somewhat above the common level is easily acquired. After six years of audience- 
actor education the diction in Dallas runs smoothly. How this development has 
reacted as self-education on audience and actor is interesting. When the theatre was 
cutting its teeth, if a local boy stepped onto the stage on an opening night and said ah 
in “can’t” the audience laughed. Audience and actor have grown up since then. The 
boy expects to say ah in “can’t” long before he joins the company, perhaps says it at 
home now, the audience expects to hear it, and the reviewer has his pencil out if the 
standard is forgotten. 


Another strong force for better speech may be found in the well-established 
speech departments in our institutions of higher learning. They are introduc- 
ing gradually the study of the international phonetic alphabet. It is possible 
for a few well-taught courses in phonetics and diction to have as much influence 
on the speech of the students as all the courses in debating, argumentation, 
dramatics, story-telling, and public speaking combined. May the time soon 








94 NATIONAL EpucATION AssocIATION 





come when the work of the voice and diction teacher will function in the 
courses in public speaking and debating. At present, there seems to be scarcely 
any more transfer from a voice and diction course to a course in mathematics, 
than from a voice and diction course to a course in debating. It is due at present 
to the fact that Americans are less interested in beautiful speech than in mathe- 
matics or debating. 

Here and there we find a few teachers who are becoming thoroughly aroused 
over the fact that so little is done with the speech of the child in the elementary 
school, aside from grammar, or from urging him to talk at almost any time 
about anything. When these teachers are more in number and when their 
voices are raised a little higher above the clamor, we shall begin to save our- 
selves much time and energy which the high-school and college teachers now 
expend in overcoming the neglected speech of the child in the elementary 
school. 

Other forces in American life are playing their part in this less pioneer 
attitude toward American speech. Inter-stimulation and inter-communica- 
tion, as a result of the automobile and the radio, are helpful factors. The 
beautiful speech of Walter Damrosch as he tells the American children of 
musical masterpieces is bound to have great influence when we can once arouse 
American teachers to the fact that Walter Damrosch speaks a beautiful Amer- 
ican speech. Children in our American high schools who do not have the oppor- 
tunity of hearing our great actors and actresses are sitting in auditoriums and 
listening to the victrola records of their speeches. 

What is good speech in America? First of all, it is American speech; it is 
American speech that is pleasing, agreeable, and effective. It is spoken in the 
mouth rather than in the throat or the nose. Forces are at work today in our 
community life and in our schools which will make this type of American 
speech the popular and accepted kind in the not far distant future. 





ROM the beginning of life, the child is copying the sights and 

sounds about him. Both consciously and unconsciously, he im- 
itates the language, mannerisms, and emotional reactions of his asso- 
ciates. What we imitate, we become. What we practise with satis- 
faction, we make our own. Rudeness begets rudeness, deceit begets 
deceit, just as surely as gentleness begets gentleness, and truth begets 
truthfulness—Cuas. E. GERMANE, in Character Training. 














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LOCAL HISTORY AS A TEACHING UNIT 
ANNA D. ALLEN 
Principal, F. A. March School, Easton, Pennsylvania 

DUCATION like charity properly begins at home. This is an old doc- 

trine, always and everywhere true, because all education when meaning- 
ful and real is but a widening of the circle of personal experience. To under- 
stand one’s own stamping ground structurally and historically is to have 
possession of a base from which other and larger worlds can easily be con- 
quered. 

It is appropriate, therefore, that local history be taught, and the latter years 
of the elementary school present a good opportunity to teach it. It is naturally 
an introduction to historical study ; yet it nevertheless must be presented with 
essentially the same reliable technic used by the research scholar. Original 
sources must be investigated, and the truthfulness of all accounts must be 
painstakingly verified insofar as possible. The account should be written up 
with dramatic flavor. Above all, the work must be the child’s own—“an ill- 
favored thing but mine own.” 

When this work is properly done, it gives the child a clear and realistic 
understanding of the history of important events in the growth of the com- 
munity that he knows best; it provides him with a nucleus of knowledge that 
will be useful in interpreting historical phenomena where conditions are 
similar ; and it equips him with a method that is one of education’s most power- 
ful tools of learning. 

The writer prepared an outline for a teaching unit dealing with local his- 
tory. The following adaptation may be used for communities in general. 


MAIN OBJECTIVES 

To develop social, political, and economic phases of local history as it is commonly 
known to be. 

To provide a setting for the historical study of one’s country. 

“To train pupils in the type of thinking most utilized in everyday life.’”” 

To develop a curiosity for fact finding. 

To guide pupil activity, encouraging initiative, originality, selfreliance, and self- 
expression, 

To have a definite aim in the development of each phase of the work. 

To believe firmly and attempt to convince them that “It is advantageous that all 
concerned feel themselves as pioneers working together in a joint social venture.’” 

To realize that social needs vary historically within the same community. 

To bring the pupils to the realization that the development of natural resources, of 
transportation, of manufacture, of commerce and trade, have practically made the 
United States what it is. 

To remember that learning takes place from within and subjectmatter must be or- 
ganized in terms of the learner. 

To give an insight into chronological sequence through concrete material in the local 
community. 

SUGGESTED PupiL ACTIVITIES 

To learn to write a book. 

To write their own history of the community as found by them in their study. 

To illustrate it by pen sketches and camera studies. 


*Denver Course of Study. 
*Kilpatrick. [95] 








96 NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 





To enlist codperation of the chamber of commerce or board of trade for distribution 
of these true accounts of the city as written by its future citizens. 

To bring to class clippings, magazines, books, etc., that have to do with the local 
community, to test the truth of these statements, and to learn how they contribute to the 
information and interest in one’s community. 


CONTENT DEPENDS ON THE GRADE 


Fourth-grade content should include the most obvious facts concerning important 
local buildings, monuments, and landmarks. Plan “leads” through clippings, snap- 
shots, visits to prominent places to create an atmosphere. As soon as the state of 
readiness appears, launch the subject by following the pupils’ leads. They may be 
interested in finding out why this particular church was known or still is known as an 
historical church; why this monument was unveiled recently; why the name of this 
mountain, a part of the Appalachian chain, is kriown by an Indian name. 

Fifth-grade content is expanded to include a much more detailed study of these 
places. Pupils will have begun to be interested in transportation, matters of publicity, 
and the story of the original inhabitants. (In this community there is an excellent. 
opportunity to study the Indian.) 

The sixth-grade course pertains mostly to municipal affairs. Now, under the hands 
of trained teachers, the idea of genuine research must be imbedded. Pupils begin with 
the story of the original grant, bring the facts of local history and municipal affairs 
uptodate, and record the results of their findings in some permanent form. 

Now that matters about the city have been learned, we hope for interest that will 
lead them into many other fields—climatic conditions, soil and glacial deposits, indus- 
trial life, and many more which may be developed in the junior high school. 


THE METHODS OF PRESENTATION 

The method of presentation will depend upon the phase of the work being inves- 
tigated and the degree of satisfaction manifest by the pupils. 

When the appreciation stage is fully launched, hasten to so guide that each child can 
exercise his powers to make some part of this experience his own. Your ability as a 
guide and manifest interest in encouraging worthwhile effort will determine the 
success of the unit. Make him feel the thrill of success that accompanies the doing of a 
difficult task well. 

Well-planned study lessons will be the biggest factor in the success of the teacher’s 
job, and many, many opportunities will present themselves for this type of lesson. 

The drill lessons perhaps may not savor of the old idea of drill, but will best be 
brought about by making graphs, and writing stories and poems that will make impres- 
sions lasting. This phase will be the natural outcome of the expression of appreciation. 
These expressions may be compiled into some form (selected by the class) for per- 
manent records of class achievement. 

At least three fifty-minute periods per week should be devoted to this work for the 
length of the school year. Outside preparation depends upon library facilities and 
home conditions. Some children may have been interested in local history and if so a 
tremendous impetus will be furnished. 


RESULTS 

To enable the child to value facts and to distinguish facts from opinions. 

To be able to proceed to satisfy speculations that may arise in his mind. 

To acquire the spirit of testing authority rather than simply giving or accepting an 
opinion. 

"To acquire careful training in observation under controled conditions. 

To fully realize that “activity leading to further activity,” is the only sure sign of 
growth. 

When a child has probed into the heart of his home community and finds 
that it throbs with interest, he will be tempted to feel the pulse of the world 
beyond his immediate horizon. Soon he walks;with adventure, as a knight of 
old through land and sea, returning happily again to “Home Sweet Home,” 
the center of so much that really is important in his world. 





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VITALIZED GROUP STUDY AND FACULTY MEETINGS 
ETHEL BLAKE 
Division of Publications, National Education Association, Washington, D. C. 


MERICA and the civilized world are passing through a great industrial 

revolution which profoundly affects our lives at every point. So power- 

ful are the influences in industry, business, national and international affairs 

that an awakened teaching profession is a necessity. We cannot wait to train 

a new generation of teachers to meet the new conditions. Growth while in 

service is the answer which thousands of schools are making to better serve 
the children and life of America. 

Dorothy Canfield Fisher says “I may truly claim that I was bo’n and bred 
in the academic briar patch.” Her writings show a sympathetic understand- 
ing of educators and their problems. How important she considers it that 
educators should have continued mental growth, is shown in the title of her 
recent book Learn or Perish (Horace Liveright, N. Y.). With clearness and 
humor, this little book, addressed to educators, shows that learning is a joyful 
experience as well as a necessity. 

These two factors are characteristic of vitalized group study and faculty 
meetings. The movement for vitalized teachers’ meetings is growing fast. 
Its rapid spread is due, in large part, to the fine professional spirit of princi- 
pals. They know that it brings understanding and a unity of purpose between 
them and their teachers. They recognize that it broadens the outlook, vita- 
lizes classroom teaching, and lightens the load of administrators by helping 
every teacher to interpret the schools and education to the community. 

THE JOURNAL of the National Education Association carries in every 
issue a page of helpful suggestions for vitalized group study and faculty meet- 
ings. Many principals keep a permanent file of these pages. They contain 
details important in planning and conducting vitalized faculty meetings. They 
bring out the difference between vitalized faculty meetings and the other kind. 
Here are two basic characteristics: 

(1) The leadership of principals in encouraging teacher participation ; 

(2) The use of vital, current material as a basis for discussion. 

Principals today are rich compared to those of only a decade ago in the 
excellent material which it is possible to obtain, some of it in their own special 
field. Outstanding in this educational literature are the nine yearbooks of the 
Department of Elementary School Principals of the National Education 
Association ; the quarterly Bulletins of this Department; the Bulletins of the 
NEA Research Division; and THE JouRNAL of the National Association. 

The great contribution of THE JOURNAL is that it keeps educators in- 
formed on the larger problems of education. It supports the program of the 
Association and the work of its departments. It is one of the most quoted 
periodicals in the world. 

THE JouRNAL and other professional literature to which reference has 
been made are being increasingly used for vitalized group study and faculty 
meetings. Every reader of this educational literature may feel that he is 
growing professionally through its medium. 


[97 ] 








ARE BILINGUAL CHILDREN ABLE TO THINK IN EITHER 
LANGUAGE WITH EQUAL FACILITY AND ACCURACY ? 
ANTONIO RODRIGUEZ, JR. 

Principal, Training School, University of Porto Rico 

HE Porto Ricans, a people of Spanish extraction, who have been develop- 

ing during the last thirty years a bilingual system of instruction in order 
to preserve their mother tongue (Spanish) and to acquire the language (Eng- 
lish) of the country of which they are citizens, offer a unique situation for the 
study of the problem raised by the title of this paper. 

The educational system has been patterned after that prevailing in con- 
tinental United States, with a predominantly linguistic curriculum. 

The mother tongue (Spanish) is the medium of instruction in grades I-1V, 
and the second language (English) is taught as a special subject orally in the 
first two grades, while reading is postponed until the third grade. From the 
fifth grade on all instruction is in English; while Spanish is taught as a special 
subject. Spanish, being the native language of the people, is spoken by every- 
body, while English has been acquired and the present educated generation 
has the ability to speak it with sufficient facility to make themselves understood. 
The teaching is done almost entirely by Porto Rican teachers who speak both 
languages, being more proficient, however, in their vernacular, as might be 
expected, although they use English almost exclusively during school hours. 

The data in this study are the scores made in the testing done by the survey 
commission in 1925. The tests used were the Stanford Achievement ‘Tests, 
given to more than 9,500 school children, in English and Spanish. The tests 
were adapted to meet the Porto Rican conditions. ‘They were given from 
grades two to twelve inclusive. There were not less than 2,000 tests given in 
each grade. The graphs on pages 104 and 110 of “A Survey of the Public 
Educational System of Porto Rico” have been used. “The median scores made 
in each grade were reduced to grade equivalents according to the norms for 
the Stanford Achievement Tests for 1925. 

1. How do Porto Rican children compare in the extent of Spanish and 
English vocabularies?—The same test on word meaning was given in both 
languages. The scores made were translated.into grade equivalents. ‘Table 1 
shows the results. 

There is a very significant difference in the English and Spanish vocabu- 
laries. Though the medium of instruction from the fifth grade on is English, 
yet all differences are in favor of the mother tongue. The testing shows that 
there is a difference of two years in the elementary school and three years in 
the high school. The Porto Rican children in their mother tongue compare 
favorably with the vocabulary of continental children. 

2. Are bilingual Porto Rican children able to read in both languages with 
the same facility and accuracy ?—The same tests were given in the native and 
second language to Porto Rican children. The composite scores in the differ- 


[98] 





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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 99 





ent grades on the tests on ability to get meaning from paragraphs, sentences, 
and words were reduced to grade equivalents. ‘Table 2 shows the results. 


TABLE 1—COMPARISON OF THE SPANISH AND ENGLISH VOCABULARIES OF 
BILINGUAL Porto RICAN CHILDREN 


CG ; Mother Tongue Second Language | Difference in Difference in 
irades (Spanish) (English) } favor of _ favor of 
| Mother Tongue | Second Language 
Elementary | 
V } 5.7 4.0 iy SR ne ers epee 
VI | 6.3 | 4.8 1.5 
VII at 4.9 1: ne (rer cece 
VIII 7.4 5.6 1.8 i” \ni Santee baatincled 
High School | | 
I 9.5 6.5 | 3.0 oo 
II 11.00 | Pum 3.8 ee 
Average difference in favor of mother tongue in elementary school................ 2.0 years 
Average difference in favor of mother tongue in high school....................-.-.-. 3.04 years 


No comparison could be made in the primary grades inasmuch as no tests 
were given below the fifth grade in reading in the second language. The tests 
reveal conclusively that there is a very significant difference in reading in favor 
of the mother tongue. In no instance was there a difference in favor of reading 
in the second language. The average difference in reading in the elementary 
school is almost two years and, in the high school, three years. ‘The reader 
must understand that the tests were the same except that they were in two 
languages. The Porto Rican children cannot read with the same facility and 
accuracy in both languages, not only because of lack of practise and usage, 
but also because of language interference. 

TABLE 2—COMPARISON OF THE READING ABILITIES OF PorToO RICAN 
CHILDREN IN SPANISH AND ENGLISH 











ar Mother Tongue Second Language | Difference in Difference in 
srades (Spanish) (English) favor of - favor of 
Mother Tongue | Second Language 
Elementary | 
V 5.3 3.9 Oe | ee ee 
VI 5.9 4.4 ee Ske Pee 
VII 6.9 4.7 | 2.2 i ES 
VIII 6.9 5.3 1.6 rears 
High School | | 
I 8.7 6.0 2.7 
II 9.8 6.6 3.2 
Average difference in favor of mother tongue in elementary school................1.7 years 








Average difference in favor of mother tongue in high school 3.0 years 





3. How do Porto Rican children compare in the mastery of the Spanish 
and English language?—For the purpose of this paper, language consists of 
the ability to get meaning from paragraphs and sentences, extent of vocab- 
ulary, ability to recognize correctness and incorrectness in language, and spell- 
ing ability. The same tests were given in both languages, Spanish and English. 








100 NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 





The average composite scores in each grade were reduced to grade equivalents. 
The results appear in Table 3. 


TABLE 3—COMPARISON OF THE STANDING OF Porto RICAN CHILDREN IN 
THE MASTERY OF THE SPANISH AND ENGLISH LANGUAGES 





























— a a weer = a ag eta in ier seo in 
(Spemee (Znghsh) Mother Tongue | Second Language 
—_——_ ——— - ame foc — ——— 
Elementary 
V 6.6 4.2 2.4 ea 
VI 7.5 4.9 2.6 S ebapietam cae 
VII 8.4 5.4 3.0 > ‘i 
VIII 8.5 5.9 2.6 | watt ece antes 
High School 
I 9.6 6.7 2.9 ne 
II | 
Average difference in favor of mother tongue in elementary school....... seaceeenass 2.7 years 
Average difference in favor of mother tongue in high school................. seth tie 2.9 years 








In language attainments there is a very considerable difference in favor of 
the mother tongue. In a general way the average sixth-grade child in Spanish 
has a third-grade achievement in English. Spanish is a powerful tool as a means 
of expression and communication among Porto Rican children. The tests so 
far reveal that thought-expressing is dependent upon language power, and that 
Porto Rican children are very proficient in the use of Spanish. They have not 
reached that state of bilingualism where they master both languages with the 
same facility and accuracy, and it may well be questioned whether they will 
ever reach that stage. The main difficulty is the fact that English is taught in 
a monolingual environment, where the people in their everyday life activities 
are continually called upon to use Spanish. The English learned in the elemen- 
tary school is used almost exclusively in the classroom. It lacks the element 
of practise with native English-speaking people, which is so necessary in the 
mastery of a foreign language. The English spoken by the Porto Ricans is 
highly affected and influenced by the Spanish accent, expression, intonation, 
and construction. 

+. Conclusion—As evidenced in the language situation in Porto Rico, the 
following points seems evident: 

1. Thought-getting and thought-expressing are dependent upon language 
power and Porto Rican children are unable to think in both languages with 
the same facility and accuracy. ‘Though the medium of instruction from the 
fifth grade on is English, yet all differences are in favor of the mother tongue 
because it is the tool which functions in the community life in Porto Rico. 

2. In bilingual systems of instruction there are several factors which ac- 
count for the lags in the standing of the children in the mastery of both lan- 
guages, namely, degree of affinity betaveen the mother tongue and second lan- 
guage ; extent of the time in which the second language has been introduced 
into the school system ; the extent to which both languages are used, heard, and 
spoken in the community ; and teaching factors. 











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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 101 








3. It makes very much difference when the testing is done in the mother 
tongue or second language. When the second language is used as an instru- 
ment, what is tested is a partial amount of the child’s knowledge, and the 
child’s ability to use the second language. 

4, The differences in vocabularies, reading, and language are due to langu- 
age insufficiency, and it must be inferred that when the second language is 
used as an instrument of instruction, there is very much waste because of the 
child’s unfamiliarity with certain terms and idiomatic expressions. 

5. There is transfer because language is simply the tool in assimilating 
meanings. Children have a good receptive power and a poor expressive power 
in the second language. 





TOOK a piece of plastic clay 

And idly fashioned it one day, 
And as my fingers worked it still 
It bent and yielded to my will. 


I came again when days were past 
The lump of clay was hard at last. 
The form I gave it still it bore 

And I could change it nevermore. 


I took a piece of human clay 

And gently fashioned day by day 

And molded by my power and art 

A young child’s soft and gentle heart. 
A 


I came again when years were gone, 
He was a man I looked upon. 

The form I gave him still he bore 
And I could change him nevermore. 























COMMITTEE ON HEALTH OF THE NEW YORK CITY 
PRINCIPALS ASSOCIATION 
ApBy Porter LELAND 
Principal, John Hancock School, New York, New York 

HE New York City principals recognized so keenly the need of a good 

health program in the elementary and junior high schools that they voted 
in December, 1928, to make the study of the school health program its major 
project and authorized a committee on health. The principals realized that 
they were not clear as to just what this school health program should be, or 
how it should be undertaken in their respective schools. ‘They recognized, how- 
ever, that by nature of their position they are the main vehicle through which 
new ideas penetrate the school system, that they are as responsible for the 
direction of the health program as they are for everything else in their schools. 
Partly because of the great number of schools and the large size of schools, the 
New York City principal is in a more independent situation and has a larger 
responsibility for the execution and administration of the health program than 
is usual in a smaller city. 

Only a limited number of the city schools have as yet reaped the benefit of 
the training in school health work that has recently been introduced in the 
teacher-training schools and universities. ‘This fact intensifies the handicaps 
under which the principals are working. Even before the school health pro- 
gram was developed, principals were having to assume heavier and heavier 
duties. Nevertheless, they realized that they must assume a large share of 
leadership in their health program in spite of all handicaps. 

The activities which the principals are undertaking do not involve a duplica- 
tion of the efforts of any of the already established school health agencies, but, 
on the contrary, the New York Principals Association, through its Committee 
on Health, is aiming to effect without duplication, a degree of codperation that 
has not as yet been attained by individual principals in their relationships with 
these agencies. ‘The members of the Committee on Health have had sufficient 
experience in their respective schools to realize the need of the counsel of health 
experts (1) from the Department of Health Education of the Board of Edu- 
cation, (2) from the City’s Department ‘of Health, (3) from experts in social 
agencies interested in the health of children, and (+) from other recognized 
authorities in the field of health education. The principals further recognized 
the need of the close codperation with such outstanding experiments in health 
as the Bellevue- Yorkville Health Demonstration and the East Harlem Health 
Center. 

The following are some of the objectives which the principals wish to accom- 
plish: 

(1) Assembling facts relating to the needs of individual schools so that they will be 
readily available to principals and other school health administrators. The New York 
Principals Association should be able to present the needs of the school so as to obtain 


more effective help for schools, not only from the Board of Health, but from various 
other agencies in the community. 


[ 102] 





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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 103 


(2) Helping in the establishment of a central clearinghouse of information for 
school health matters in which principals are particularly interested; e. g., the latest 
and best accepted standards for school health procedure, reliable sources of health 
education materials, preparation of suitable bibliographies, information about health 
services available for individual schools, information about the schools of their 
colleagues where sound health teaching can be observed by teachers, contributions to 
health education through local experiments or experiments anywhere in the country. 

(3) Studying methods of evaluating the possibilities, limitations, and needs of the 
health program as carried on in individual schools; e. g., evaluation of health instruc- 
tion, of textbooks, of materials used in instruction, including much of the free commer- 
cial material distributed in schools. 

(4) Studying methods of coérdinating the various elements in the health program 
in individual schools; e. g., the health education department, special teachers, school 
nurses, medical inspectors, school health centers, work of voluntary organizations, and 
home cooperation. The principals recognize the need of studying and understanding 
the best methods of articulating all forces within the school which affect the health 
education of the child. 

(5) Making better use of community resources and of voluntary agencies in the 
individual school health program. 


As the work of the Committee on Health develops, the body is gradually 
being organized into working subcommittees that are utilizing the interests, 
abilities, and experiences of the various principals. ‘The subcommittees include 
the following: 

(1) Co6peration with universities and training schools re courses in health 
education for teachers; (2) opportunities for research in health education ; 
(3) preschools, an aid in health education and in parental education; (4) 
coéperation with the health department, medical associations, etc.; (5) health 
of teachers and supervisors; (6) mental hygiene; (7) safety; (8) codrdina- 
tion of health work in individual schools. 

The Committee on Health of the New York Principals Association will be 
glad to learn of any studies that other local associations of principals are under- 
taking in the field of health education. It would be helpful if the New York 
principals might have the contributions of their colleagues in other parts of the 
country. 





HE average man, caught in the maelstrom of current events, is 
4 swung now this way, now that, by fads and movements of the 
day. He is like a weathercock, whose position reveals the direction in 
which the wind is blowing at the moment, but which itself neither 
controls the blowing nor senses the meaning of the constant change in 
direction. Many teachers and principals serve in similar humble 
capacity, and the best of us do at times. —The wise man, however, stops 
now and then to bring before him in orderly array the events of the 
past, and in the light of such a survey attempts to plan intelligently 
for the future.—S. A. Courtis, Second Yearbook. 


























HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION IN THE 
DETROIT ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 


EsTHER SHERMAN 
Health Education Department, Detroit Public Schools, Detroit, Michigan 


UT AWAY everything on top of your desks. Class ready to stand. Class 

stand—one, two! Class atten-shun! Class about face—one, two. That 
wasn’t good. You'll have to do it until you all get it right. Put your left toe 
behind your right heel on one and hold it. Stop fidgeting, Mary. Who threw 
that ? Class atten-shun! Now you can stand there until someone tells me who 
threw that!” 

Apparently cowed and fearful, in their rigid, eyes-front, uncomfortable 
positions the children stand and stand and stand—at attention. After ten 
minutes they are one two-ed into their seats and ‘‘Physical Training” is over 
for the day. 

There is not always a “discipline problem” like the throwing of a wad of 
paper. Sometimes they have what the teacher calls a good day. Then they 
may pass an eraser down each aisle, and perhaps back again, if there is time. 
Such recreational excesses often “excite the children” too much and it is pref- 
erable to end the lesson with deep breathing which calms them. 

On occasion formal gymnastics may be used to tire out and conquer an un- 
ruly class, as some top sergeants used drill in the army. The children with 
incipient heart disease or tuberculosis or bad tonsils are the unfortunate victims 
of the system-—what is good for one is good for all. 

I write about such stupid procedures not only because they offer a contrast 
and a background for the presentation of a modern program of health and 
physical education, but I also recall such tortures and crimes because, in cer- 
tain parts of the United States, they are prevalent practise. 

Bad teachers, you will say, given the best of methods to follow and the best 
of equipment to use, will get bad results. That is true, although I believe the 
bad teacher is himself a behavior problem who could be helped by our doctors, 
dentists, and psychiatrists. However, a good administrator can make sure that 
certain opportunities are available for the individual care of the health and 
wellbeing of his school children. He need not succumb to a traditional mass 
procedure. 

Dr. Rogers of the United States Office of Education says, “The task of 
bringing about these practises that make for health is comparatively simple if 
you go about it in a human common sense way.” 

Every principal has heard much about such essentials as sanitation of the 
school plant, ventilation, heating, lighting, seating, physical examinations, 
followup of physical defects, study of causes of absence, cumulative health 
records, height and weight and mid-morning milk, outdoor play and athletics, 
health clinics, health clubs, health plays, health talks, health days, and health 
weeks. All these things have their necessary place but I shall not dwell on 
them as subjects for detailed consideration. 


[ 104 ] 








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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 105 





In the past most teachers (except Socrates and a few others, including such 
moderns as Dewey, Kilpatrick, and Russell) were the drill-masters of a sub- 
ject. Today we work and plan and study that we may all become leaders of 
children. Education is no longer a matter of decreeing that every child must 
learn to eat spinach or to play baseball, or an arithmetic teacher decreeing that 
every child must learn about the least common divisor. Education is a living 
flexible process in which we agree to treat children as individuals with vary- 
ing needs to be met. We agree, whether we call it character education, mental 
health, or working for integration of personality, that no child shall be fright- 
ened into telling tales about others, or shall retire baffled and unhappy into 
social disgrace. 

On such a premise I shall present to you a program of health and physical 
education as it may be found in the elementary schools in Detroit. To do so 
I shall not write about the administrative procedures, the organization, and 
the course of study as such. I shall give you the case histories of two children. 

James Harris is the six-year-old son of American born parents. He lives 
in an attractive, moderately wealthy neighborhood. His father is a lawyer. 
Both his mother and his father are intelligently interested in their home, their 
family, and community affairs. Jimmy has a brother nine and a sister four 
years old. He has had one year in a public nursery school. There his physi- 
cal examination and psychological tests showed him slightly above average. 
When his mother talked with the school doctor, she was advised to have the 
family physician give Jimmy a Schick test for diphtheria. This was done. ‘The 
school nurse added to Jimmy’s record in his individual folder in the school 
files a brief statement about his good home conditions. She obtained this 
report from the nutrition worker who had made a home visit. The visit was 
made in the interest of Jimmy’s older brother to discuss a co6perative plan 
for improving his nutritional status. By paying for milk and crackers at school 
and having a rest period in the open window room, the brother’s condition has 
been improved. 

Jimmy, free from any sort of physical defect or handicaps, has no such extra 
attentions. He does have the attention and protection of the older boys, who 
make up the school safety patrol, at the cross streets where traffic is heavy. 

Jimmy has an excellent teacher. He is guided in his play, as well as in all 
activities, so that he is sometimes a leader and sometimes a good follower. 
The teacher is interested that he shall make his own decisions about sharing 
equipment such as the chinning bar and the slide. In innumerable ways he 
is guided toward a healthful, characterful, personality. : 

Jimmy is happy when the class listens to music and skips or runs or slides 
as the rhythm changes. Sometimes he is the one to choose the special rhythm 
which he likes. (He does not know this as eurythmics.) He has a wonderful 
time playing that he is a prancing horse with head high and his chest arched. 
(He does not call this posture training.) He likes to help when the class goes 
to the cooking room to prepare and serve a fresh vegetable. (As he enjoys 
eating some of it he does not recognize health instruction. ) 








106 Nationa, Epucation AssoclATION 


As we leave this case history of James Harris, or this picture of Jimmy, 
think of him as a normal six-year-old with a fortunate background. Remem- 
ber him turning somersaults, running races, and feeling a glorious thrill of 
accomplishment when he masters a new “stunt.” 

The second child is named Mary Kroscoviak. She is eleven years old. Her 
parents are both Polish. Her father works in the Ford factory, when he has 
work. Her mother and her father revere Polish traditions, speak English 
with difficulty, and read the Polish newspaper. ‘There are eight children in 
the family. The department of public welfare and the visiting nurses’ asso- 
ciation know this family well. They have made little impression on a rather 
solid front of opposition and prejudice based on superstition and fear. Mary, 
in her first year of school, has intelligence tests and a physical examination. 
She is about average in intelligence and has several physical defects. ‘The 
notices which are sent home regarding these defects of teeth, tonsils, and skin 
are ignored. ‘he parents have never responded to an invitation to be present 
at the annual physical examinations. The school nurse after one visit to the 
home has talked with the city agencies interested in the family. Mary’s teeth 
have been given the proper attention by the public health dental clinic. Finally 
her parents were persuaded to sanction a tonsillectomy. But the family diet 
and lack of standards of cleanliness mean that the skin trouble persisted. 


Mary is a child who did not enter unreservedly into the spirit of freedom 
and play in the school gymnasium and on the playfield. For some time there 
was little interest in games and stunts and dances. Mary is now in the fifth 
grade. It was when she was in the fourth grade that a definite change took 
place in her attitude. She began to hear in different departments of the school 
about Polish customs. In the social science class they talked and found pic- 
tures and articles about Poland. In the music class there was, at this same 
time, an appreciation of Polish composers and music; in the sewing room they 
saw Polish dress; in the English class they read stories about Poland. Finally 
in the gymnasium Mary asserted a new independence of action. “he class 
was learning a Polish folk dance. The teacher, at the piano, played several 
folk songs. Suddenly Mary, the retiring one, stood up from the group seated 
on the floor. “I can dance that” she said. As she finished a spirited folk dance 
of her people the children and the teacher applauded. Being questioned she 
said, ‘‘My mother and my father can do it better than that. We go to the 
Dom Polski and sometimes I dance with everybody.” A few weeks later in 
a play in the auditorium, Mary, in native costume, danced alone and with a 
group. Her proud family were all in the audience, including a year-old baby 
in the mother’s arms. . It was the beginning of more selfexpression, confidence, 
and happiness for Mary. Now in the fifth grade, she no longer is indifferent 
in the children’s activities. She is eager to improve. The most surprising 
change of all is the coéperation of her parents with the school and their readi- 
ness to follow the suggestions of the nurse. The children come to school 
cleaner. Milk takes the place of coffee at the children’s meals. Recently, to 








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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 107 





the delight of the school, Mary led her whole family into the parent-teacher 
meeting ! 

There are many other case histories which show different phases of the 
working out of a health and physical education program. There is a child 
whose parents thought nothing could be done for his paralyzed and crippled 
condition. He was a victim of an infantile paralysis epidemic. The specialist 
in orthopedics, working in a school district, referred him for examination to 
the orthopedic surgeon of the department of health who went to the school 
and examined him. At one of the clinics, supported by the community fund, 
it was arranged to accept the small payments the parents could afford. A 
muscle transplanting operation was performed followed by care in the chil- 
dren’s convalescent home during one summer. ‘Then, at the public school 
for cripples, while his studies continued, hydrotherapy, exercise, and massage 
completed a cure. ‘The boy has returned to his own school. He won second 
place last year as a member of the relay team in a field day planned by the 
children. This field day is conducted in each school in anticipation of the 
annual Belle Isle meet, in which last June, thirty thousand boys and girls 
competed. The story of that meet, of the Pentathlon contest for girls and of 
the Decathlon for boys is each a story in itself. 

The Department of Health and Physical Education in Detroit, working 
coéperatively with the city Department of Public Health, has a splendid 
organization, excellent community support and a heritage of progressiveness 
from its past leaders. 

In this city of machines and mass production, of industrial stress and strain, 
it must continue to believe that men are more than machines. It must con- 
tinue to realize that each child is a variable personality with varying needs. 
It must continue to work codperatively with all departments, all parents, and 
all teachers to meet those needs. And in the doing of this it must strive to 
guide children to “‘so live” that life will have richer meanings and in increas- 


ing joy. 





N 1929-30 the principals in the supervisory club of Oil City, Pa., 

were all members of our Department. Recently, Miss Adele 
Harper, secretary of the Oil City Club wrote: ‘““We hope to have 100 
percent in 1930-31.” 

Why should not all local clubs try for 100 percent membership ? 
Investigate the many ways in which the national organization may be 
helpful to your local group. Appoint someone to determine how close 
your club is to a 100 percent status. If it is close, write to Chairman 
Herman F. Ritow, National Enrolment Committee, Ft. Sheridan, 


Illinois. 




















THE PRESENT STATUS OF THE PLATOON SCHOOL! 
H. G. MAsrTers 
Former Principal, Allen School, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 

ly 1929 the writer circulated a printed inquiry blank among superinten- 

dents in cities where the platoon school had been established. ‘The inquiry 
blanks did not call for statistics as frequently as they did for estimates based 
upon the superintendents’ experience. In the final tabulations data has been 
used from 100 cities representing cities of various population groups: 42 cities 
under 10,000; 21 cities 10,000 to 30,000; 18 cities 30,000 to 100,000 and 19 
cities over 100,000 in population. 

Beginnings of the platoon plan—As early as 1902, William Wirt, then 
superintendent of schools at Bluffton, Indiana, began the experiments which 
finally emerged in 1907 at Gary, Indiana, as the ‘““Work-Study-Play” school. 
It has since come to be generally known as the “Platoon” school. Mr. Wirt 
laid down the fundamental philosophy that children learn through work, 
through study, and through play. These activities are to be carried on in 
natural life situations and through normal activities of childhood. With these 
as a basis, he worked out an organization in which three groups or platoons 
rotated through the three basic activities of the school. —TThe Gary schools and 
some others continue to operate on this original plan. Other cities have modi- 
fied the plan to meet local conditions. “The modification most frequently made 
is the reduction in the number of platoons from three to two. This modifica- 
tion was first made by the late Dr. William M. Davidson, superintendent of 
schools, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, when introducing the plan into the Pitts- 
burgh schools in the beginning of the year 1916. This modification is also 
found in such other representative cities as Detroit, Birmingham, and Port- 
land. However, the fundamental philosophy and plan have not changed. 

Growth and distribution—The first adoptions came in the five-year period 
covering the years 1910 to 1914 when four cities adopted the plan. Three of 
these were in the population group of 30,000 to 100,000 and one in the popu- 
lation group of over 100,000. The next five-year period, 1915 to 1919, thirteen 
cities adopted the plan. These adoptions spread over all population groups 
from the smallest to the largest. In the next five-year period, 1920 to 1924, 
the number of adoptions was more than double the number for the previous 
five-year period, being thirty-two in number. The population group includ- 
ing cities below 10,000 led in this period with thirteen adoptions, which equals 
the total adoptions for the period 1915 to 1919. The last five-year period, 
1925 to 1929, shows a total of forty-eight citiés adopting the platoon plan. 
Cities below 10,000 population again led with twenty-seven adoptions. 


*We asked Mr. Masters to summarize his master’s thesis prepared at the Uni- 
versity of Pittsburgh in 1930. It is with regret that we are unable to publish more 
of this interesting study. The publication of this article does not mean that the De- 
partment of Elementary School Principals sponsors the platoon plan. The Bulletin 
welcomes contributions from persons who are experimenting with all types of admini- 
strative organization.—Editor. 


[ 108 ] 





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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 109 








The records of the National Platoon Association in Washington, D. C., 
show that platoon schools are distributed over thirty-eight states and the 
District of Columbia. The same records also show that the total number of 
cities having platoon schools is 162. 

The geographical areas adjacent to Gary lead in the number of cities hav- 
ing platoon schools. The north central states, the area to which Gary belongs, 
have thirty-six cities or 22.2 percent of the total number of the cities having 
platoon schools. ‘The south central states, being next in point of nearness, have 
thirty-nine or 24.1 percent of the total number. The middle Atlantic states 
come next in order and have thirty-eight or 23.4 percent of the total. The 
southwestern states have seventeen cities or 10.5 percent of the total. The 
New England and southeastern states each have eleven cities having platoon 
schools or 6.8 percent of the total. The northwestern states have ten such 
cities or 6.2 percent of the total number reported by the National Platoon 
Association. 

Reasons given for the adoption of the platoon plan—Two reasons are 
usually given for adopting the platoon plan. Its friends say it is adopted for 
its educational value, while those who are opposed to the plan say it is adopted 
to relieve congestion. Of the one hundred superintendents, sixty-two per- 
cent say they adopted the plan for its educational value alone; thirty-three 
percent say they adopted the plan both for its educational value and to relieve 
congestion. Thus the data show that ninety-five percent of the adoptions 
were wholly or partly for its educational value. A small number, four per- 
cent, say they adopted the plan solely to relieve congestion. If thirty-three per- 
cent is added to this number there is a total of thirty-seven percent who have 
adopted the plan wholly or partly to relieve congestion. It is to be noted that 
the greater part of this number also considered the educational value of the 
plan. One superintendent of one percent of the total number adopted the 
plan for a different reason. This superintendent says he adopted the platoon 
plan to justify a longer school day together with the gymnasium and audi- 
otrium activities. 

Summary-——Material gathered through the questionnaire shows that: 


There are platoon schools in 162 cities located in thirty-eight states and the Dis- 
trict of Columbia. 

Years one to six are most frequently mentioned as being in the platoon plan. Years 
three to six and one to eight are next in order of frequency. 

The platoon schools range in size from three to forty-eight classes. The range in 
the median is from seven to twenty-six classes. 

Most cities have the same length day for both types of schools, 

The Dalton Plan, the Winnetka Plan, the Morrison Technic, the Unit Plan, and 
others are used in platoon schools. 

The auditorium and library are new departments peculiar to the platoon school. 
The plan has caused other departments to be changed and expanded. 

About two-thirds of the platoon schools are in old buildings and only about one- 
third are in new buildings. 

Special equipment is placed in special subject rooms. The cost is greater than 
for similar equipment in non-platoon schools, 

Superintendents agree that the platoon plan has produced an enriched subject 
content. 

Every subject is classed as a special subject somewhere in the country. The 














110 NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 


“Three R’s” maintain their place and only the usual preparation is required to teach 
them. The special subjects are so classed and special preparation is required to 
teach them. 

Of all pupils 48.9 percent are in platoon schools. Of all teachers 46 2 percent are 
in platoon schools. Of all principals 45 percent are in platoon schools. 

The same report card forms and the same bases for promotion are used in both 
platoon and non-platoon schools. 

Partime education classes are attended by teachers and principals in both types 
of schools in about equal numbers. However, superintendents are agreed that the 
platoon teacher does tend to become a specialist. 

Platoon principals are thought to be equally goed supervisors, but better adminis- 
trators than are non-platoon principals. 

Supervision is given to both types of schools in about equal amount. 

The cost of operating a platoon schooi is not greater than for the non-platoon 
school. 

The major values of the platoon school are better teaching, enriched curriculum, 
socialized and democratic atmosphere, development of character, flexibility, integra- 
tion and correlation, better use of school plant, increased holding power, better educa- 
tional results, specialized equipment, economic and better supervision. 


Conclusions—The data would seem to justify the conclusions that are 


here presented: 

I. The platoon schools are widely distributed and are growing. 

2. They have the support of a large number of administrators, 

3. There is a definite trend toward making the plan include grades one to six. 

4. The platoon plan is flexible and is adaptable to school situations of every 
kind in communities of every size. 

5. In many instances the size of the building or architectural faults prevent com- 
plete organization. 

6. Minor adjustments are no more necessary in the platoon school than they are 
in other types of schools. 

7. The flexibility of the platoon organization makes it possible to take into the 
platoon school new and progressive ideas. 

8. The plan develops new departments and greatly expands others. 

9. New buildings are not necessary to the success of the plan. 

10. Equipment for special subject rooms in the platoon schools probably costs a 
little more than similar equipment for non-platoon schools. 

11. The curriculum in the platoon school is more comprehensive and richer than 
the curriculum in the non-platoon school. 

12. The same amount of preparation is required in platoon and non-platoon schools 
for both teachers and principals. The exception to this is that in platoon schools 
special preparation is required to teach the special subjects. 

13. It meets the educational needs of almost half the pupils in cities included in 
this study. 

14. An outstanding contribution is an increased emphasis on auditorium and 
library activities with an expansion of others. 

15. It seems to require better administrative ability on the part of the platoon 
school principal. 

16. The data do not show an increase in the burden of work placed on the teacher. 

17. Emphasis on supervision in the platoon school is no greater and in some in- 
stances it is slightly less. 

18. The trend with respect to operating costs seems to indicate that there is no 
difference. 

19. People most familiar with the platoon school emphasize richer teaching, curri- 
culum, social, and democratic values rather than the values of the organization 
as such. 

SELECTED REFERENCES 
1. Barrows, Alice. “A Bibliography of the Work-Study-Play or Platoon Plan.” 
City School Leaflet No. 10, United States Office of Education, 1923. 
2. Deffenbaugh, Walter S. “Growth of the Work-Study-Play or Platoon Schools.” 
Bulletin No, 27, United States O'ffice of Education, 1925. 
3. Spain, Charles L. The Platoon School, Macmillan. 1924, 





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THE HOME AND THE SCHOOL 
ELIZABETH WELCH 
Principal, Fairview School, Flint, Michigan 


HE subject of the relation of the home and the school is as old as the 
school system itself, yet there still seems to be a great gulf between them. 

In the later years of the educational work of the Hon. W. N. Ferris he was 
addressing a large group of educators, teachers from villages and rural dis- 
tricts. He said, “If I could bring into effect one law in the State of Michigan 
by raising my right hand it would compel every teacher to ‘board around’ as 
they did in the pioneer days.’ As might be expected, this statement was re- 
ceived with an exclamation from almost every teacher present. Behind this 
startling statement there was, in the mind of our much loved friend of the 
schools, something which he felt most keenly—something which seemed ever 
to be uppermost in his mind. He felt as many have felt and still do feel, that 
in order to be of greatest service to the child, in order to bring out the best 
that is in him, we must know his home and his parents. 

If we consult a physician, this physician finds out all that it is possible to 
find out about our past history. In fact, this is the most important part of 
his diagnosis. Would it not seem unprofessional and unreasonable for a doc- 
tor to say as he faces his patient, ‘‘Here is my patient; I will start here; the 
past does not concern me?” Yet we, as teachers, have before us forty children, 
each from a different environment, a different heredity, and often even from 
different races, and with no compunction of conscience we make no effort 
to know the child’s home; we make no effort to know his past history, or what 
has gone into his life to make him what he is. The task that the teacher sees 
for himself is to produce like results in each of these forty children—to send 
them on to the next teacher uniform in mental stature. 

To be sure, we pride ourselves in taking into consideration individual dif- 
ferences, but, true to the reputation which our profession has acquired, we are 
too conservative to make very noticeable progress in this direction. 

The readers of this article are already saying, “Is there to be another burden 
added to our already overburdened shoulders?” The answer is this, “No, this 
task of knowing the parents and the home is going to be the means of lighten- 
ing your burdens.” 

The parent-teacher meeting is one means of bringing the parents and 
teachers together and yet this seems far short of being the contact that is most 
desired. The parent meets the teacher among a group of people. If he is for- 
tunate enough to get a word with the teacher, it is with a line of people behind 
him waiting to get in their word. Nothing could be a much more unnatural 
way of getting together two people who have a really important matter to 
consider. 

Without a doubt, the parent-teacher meeting has its place in our educa- 
tional program, but it is not primarily to acquaint parents and teachers in 
the most satisfactory manner. 


[111 ] 











112 NATIONAL EpucaATIoNn AssocIATION 


The visiting teacher is a great asset in many systems. He is chosen because 
of his personality ; he is carefully trained ; he is conscientious and hard work- 
ing. Much of his work is satisfactory. However, in this day of ‘business 
recession,” it is well nigh impossible to add a visiting teacher to our staff. 
In any case, it is only, at best, a substitute for the real thing. If repeated 
contacts have to be made, help may be obtained from the visiting teacher 
which may prove to be most satisfactory. 

The wife of a professional man said to me recently, “How I wish I might 
know my children’s teachers better. I have not been in a physical condition 
to invite them to my home. I cannot get acquainted with them in the few 
times that I have been able to attend parent-teachers’ meetings. I would love 
to have them call at my home.” 

I believe that this is the attitude that nearly all parents take toward the 
public school teacher. They feel that they are not sufficiently acquainted with 
the teacher to codperate with him in the most effective manner. How true it 
is that the teacher goes to the parent only when he has some unpleasantness 
to relate. 

Some report cards which are excellent in most particulars are sent home 
twice a semester. If, however, the child is not doing good work, a printed 
form is filled out and the parent is notified of the child’s failure. Does it not 
seem that if the child is doing good work we should take the time to send a 
little note, saying, ‘Mary is doing fine work in school this year. | am sure 
you will be as pleased with her report card as we are. We are very proud 
of her.”’ 

Why should we not make an effort to send pleasant messages to the parent 
instead of always sending something which will add to their already over- 
burdened lives? Is not our psychology all wrong on this subject ? 


No time can be better spent than in visiting the home in a friendly manner. 
A day may be taken from the regular school time, more than one day, if neces- 
sary. The parents know that you will be there that day. They have a right 
to be ready for you, to put the best side out, which often is none too good. If 
the right attitude has been established with the children, teachers will be 
received kindly, the visit will be altogether pleasant and you will have the 
support of your patrons in whatever is undertaken in the school as long as this 
friendly attitude is maintained. With the idea established in the child’s mind 
that you are going to report as many really pleasant things as possible to the 
parents, the morale of the school is noticeably raised. 

Many are going to say that this program is far too idealistic, that it is well 
nigh impossible to do these things in many localities. Granting this to be true, 
it is not impossible in a large majority of locations. If we have not lost our 
vision, if we are striving to “go the second mile,” then these things seem sim- 
ple and pleasant to do. 

In conclusion, a review of the means used in Fairview School for bringing 
parents and school into a close relation may be of interest, although probably 
not particularly outstanding in many respects. 








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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 113 





The school is in a foreign district. Twenty-five racial groups are repre- 
sented, Hungarians being in the majority. Early in the school year, one day 
is taken from the regular school work for a visiting day. Teachers arrange 
names of pupils according to streets, and by making best use of the time all 
parents may be called upon. The teachers are very well satisfied with the 
day’s work, and parents are delighted with this opportunity to meet the 
teacher. The teacher often feels that his attitude toward certain children has 
entirely changed after this contact with the home has been made. A child‘s 
indifference is often understood when we learn of a sick mother, poverty, and 
squalor in the home. 

Following this, an evening session of school is held. The regular work of 
the afternoon is carried on in the evening. No work is done in the afternoon 
for the children need this time out of doors that they may be ready for the 
extra work of the evening. 

It is well nigh impossible for parents to visit the school during the day 
when there is a large family, but in the evening one of the parents may care 
for the children while the other visits the school. It is impossible for the 
father to visit the school at any other time and he is only too glad to avail 
himself of this opportunity. 

As a part of the parent-teacher association work, a meeting especially for 
the mothers is held once in two months, in the afternoon. Children of pre- 
school age may be brought and are cared for by teachers while the mother 
enjoys the program. Refreshments are served and a social time follows the 
program. 

Since cooking classes are now held only in junior high schools, a cooking 
club for older girls is formed. They are taught how to cook vegetables, cereals, 
and many other of the most simple kinds of cooking. They always practise 
the cooking lesson at home, and these simple lessons are the ones most needed 
in a cosmopolitan community. 

People are encouraged to come to the office of the school with their diffi- 
culties, to ask advice, and to get information. If a costly school building is 
not used as a community center, where a community center is needed, then 
it is falling far short of filling its place in the community. 

Community parties are held in the building. Young people and parents 
enjoy the dance together. They appreciate the opportunity of using the build- 
ing and are made to feel that it is there to be used at any time. These social 
gatherings afford opportunities for teachers and parents to become acquainted, 
as the teachers also enjoy these gatherings. 

A picture library from which framed pictures are taken home by the chil- 
dren to enjoy for two weeks appeals to both children and parents. ‘These 
pictures may be obtained with small expense to the school and is a very simple 
way of bringing home and school close together. 

An evening school appeals to a large number of people. The building is 
built and maintained at considerable expense by these people, so why should 
it be idle if there is any desire on their part to use it? —The young people of 











114 NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 





the community are allowed to use the gymnasium at any time. It is more 
wholesome than the neighborhood poolroom. 

Rummage sales are held weekly in the building. This means much to the 
mother of a large family. She is thus able to clothe her children in a very 
comfortable manner with very little money. Teachers contribute monthly 
to a fund from which clothing is bought for needy children. At monthly 
gatherings in the evening they sew for these people and report that it is more 
fun than playing bridge. 

In this day when adult education is in great demand, in the future when it 
will be in still greater demand, the grade-school principal and the grade- 
school teacher have a large part to play. The first and most important step 
is getting a close contact between home and school, and when this is estab- 
lished the demand for all kinds of education will most certainly follow. 
Especially to those who have had limited advantages we owe our best efforts. 

William James said that we all have within us depths of latent powers 
which only a few of us use, and of which most of us go through life knowing 
nothing. Henri Bergson says the same thing, that we have layers and layers 
of life within us which await unfoldment and use. But before the unfolding 
begins, the old in us—stiff and selfconscious in its incompleteness—must lose 
its rigidity. In other words, ignorance must give way to intelligence ; mono- 
tony, which life hates, must be broken up by play. 

It is within our power as elementary school principals to have a large part 
in this contribution to the life of our community. 





HERE is no more inspiring chapter in the history of American 

education than the growth of elementary principals in personal 
character, in training, in professional leadership, in civic influence, 
and in devotion to their many opportunities. The immense importance 
of this growth is in the fact that the elementary school reaches life 
and learning at its roots and determines in large measure the success 
of all the years that follow. The principal has a creative task of the 
first magnitude. By working at that task, he himself grows nobler in 
his own life and personality—Joy ELMER MorcGan. 

















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SOME PHASES OF ADMINISTRATION AND SUPERVISION 
BASIC TO SUCCESS 


May I. DonNELLY 
Principal, Pomeroy School, Burlington, Vermont 
HAT are some of the fundamental phases of administration and super- 
vision basic to success today in the operation of an elementary school ? 

First, a principal must be thoroughly grounded in the theory and practise of 
education. He must have an underlying philosophy of education that is sound. 
It must have come to him through his studies in psychology, sociology, and 
biology and have been made workable by his experience. 

Second, because this philosophy of education is sound and guiding, teachers 
and community will look to him as a leader and have confidence in him because 
what he does and says will work. He will formulate and reformulate basic 
principles which are an outgrowth of this philosophy. He will be able to 
diagnose teachers’ successes and failures in terms of principles, so that they 
may consciously and intelligently build on their successes, and substitute right 
processes for the wrong ones which cause failure. He will have the social 
intelligence to make his community and teachers follow him whole-heartedly 
and absorbedly. 

A principal can go only as far as he can take his public with him. This being 
so, how may he secure the confidence of his community which is so important? 
He will know his people, mingle with them, talk with them, speak at public 
meetings whenever there is an opportunity. He will be able to talk about 
education in plain terms, free from pedagogy, and easily understood by the 
average laymant There are always key citizens in every community who 
should be informed of what the schools of today are doing. Educators, as a 
rule, keep too much to themselves. The writer has used parent-teacher asso- 
ciation meetings for this purpose. Teachers have talked on their work and 
demonstration lessons have been given. Modern equipment for schools and 
its use have been shown to the parents. The parents have been greatly inter- 
ested in these programs and are anxious to discuss the suggestions made or the 
problems that have been raised. It has been the writer’s experience that 
parents, after visiting a modern school where children are busily working and 
living together, are surprised and impressed by the happiness of the children 
in their work and the fine, wholesome spirit of growth evidenced. They leave 
with a strong feeling of loyalty for the presentday school. 

A principal in talking with a parent must always be able to appreciate the 
parent’s point of view. Dr. Kilpatrick’s concept of “respect for personality” 
holds for the principal in dealing with his parents and teachers just as surely 
as it does for the teacher in dealing with children. A principal must be ap- 
proachable, affable, and interested in many things. The writer established close 
contacts with parents through small group meetings which individual teach- 
ers had in their own rooms. There were not more than twelve in a group. 


[ 115] 








116 NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 








They came to visit in the afternoon, the children planning the school activities 
they wanted their parents to see. It was a motive for some excellent work. 
After school the little girls served tea. In this small, informal social gathering, 
the parents talked unreservedly with the principal and teacher about their 
children and their school. Consequently, the parents gained confidence in the 
teachers and now support the school whole-heartedly. 

How may a principal secure a oneness of spirit with his teachers so that they 
will follow where he leads? He will inspire confidence by his ability and so 
make the teachers’ attitude right. He will by his own spirit of codperative- 
ness, break down any feeling or prejudice against supervision. ‘lhere is no set 
rule. As with a child, we consider the individual, so with teachers it must be 
the same. As a teacher studies his schoolroom problems and thinks how he can 
best teach the subjectmatter from the standpoint of motive and activities, so 
must the principal study his particular problems concerning his teachers. In 
planning a program of supervision, 2 supervisor must take into account the 
interest and ability of each teacher. 

Carefully planned teachers’ meetings are an important aid in supervision. 
They must be planned, as teachers plan, for more than one day. The year or 
half ycar’s work should integrate around one problem growing out of a com- 
mon need as seen by teachers and principal. As the program for the meetings 
progresses, smaller problems will evolve to help solve the larger one. Principal 
and teachers together may make out plans, the principal being the leader. 
Mimeographed bulletins of progress, and of questions to be solved, should be 
made from time to time to guide and to keep thinking to the point. As in the 
classroom the teacher often revises his plan as he goes—because of children’s 
questions, so will the principal, because of suggestions or ideas that have been 
injected into the meetings. These meetings can be made very effective and 
there will be much professional growth on the part of the teachers. It means 
seeing through the whole problem, then dividing it into smaller ones. It 
means that he must be able to refer each teacher to the references and materials 
that teacher will particularly need for the part he is working on. It will mean 
hours of work on the part of the principal, but it will pay rich dividends. Each 
meeting must be so planned that there is sustained interest throughout, and 
this depends wholly on the principal. He must arouse constructive discussion, 

‘hold it to the point, then summarize it. 

Demonstration lessons illustrating a point in question may be given. Every 
teacher excels in some one particular phase of his work. He is encouraged to 
choose a part of the work under discussion which he is willing to demonstrate 
during the year. Classes may be dismissed early and groups of teachers attend 
this demonstration lesson.. The children are then dismissed and the lesson is 
discussed constructively in terms of the problem under discussion at the meet- 
ing. Questions are asked, opinions are expressed, and statements summarizing 
the whole are made. 

The individual conference is another means of helping the teacher and of 
gaining his confidence. A lesson should be discussed in terms of principles and 








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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 117 





always from the standpoint of the teacher’s purpose. There should never be 
an argument. The principal must see the teacher’s point of view. If the teacher 
is wrong he must make it his problem to correct the teacher’s thinking. —The 
principal may give to the teachers his written reactions to the work observed, 
with outlines of constructive help, keeping a copy himself. This constitutes 
one part of a principal’s record. 

Grade meetings are profitable, as a supervisor often finds it difficult to help 
a teacher on certain points of his work in an individual conference. Teachers 
particularly efficient in the work along the line of difficulty lead this meeting, 
the principal being more or less in the background. These meetings are care- 
fully planned. The point that the principal was trying to make with the in- 
dividual teacher often comes to him much more quickly in a group of cowork- 
ers, than in an individual conference with the principal. As a teacher judges 
the effectiveness of his teaching by the operation of laws of learning, so may a 
principal judge his teachers’ meetings and his various activities of supervision. 

If a principal were to make a change in administrative procedure, he would 
first present it to his teachers and talk it over with them. He would be sure that 
they understood it thoroughly and were willing to try it out with him. Ifa 
princival were to introduce some new work into his school, for example, a 
program of elementary science, he would know the subject thoroughly him- 
self but he would not at once ask every teacher to attempt it. He would present 
the program, then start the work with the teachers who wanted to try it. He 
would make the work of those teachers so contagious that all would soon be 
following with much enthusiasm. 

Summary—The writer feels that success in administration and supervision 
is due to two things: first, a philosophy of education evolved from study and 
experience, based on. the needs of life today; and second, winning the con- 
fidence of his community and teachers by having that philosophy work. 





¥ HE Department of Elementary School Principals of the Na- 

tional Education Association was born of necessity. It met a 
real need, and that accounts for its immediate and continued success. 
It will continue to grow so long as it progressively meets that felt 
need. Its organizers had a great ideal in mind, and we are keeping 
that ideal constantly before us. That ideal is the betterment of ele- 
mentary-school education, a service to all the boys and girls of our 
great country.—W. T’. LoncsHore, Third Yearbook. 

















CULTIVATING CONSTRUCTIVE COMMUNITY CONTACTS 


HE Editorial Committee summons the members of the Department to 
help with the 1932 yearbook. Here is an opportunity to tell others how 
you are giving your,community a far-sighted type of leadership. 

The Tenth Yearbook of the Department of Elementary School Principals 
will present problems in community leadership. The title of the yearbook is 
The Principal and His Community. The Chairman for 1932 is Aaron Kline, 
Pullman Public School, Chicago, Illinois. 

The great characteristic of American education is that it is close to the hearts 
of all citizens. The elementary school, in particular, is the center of civic faith. 
Here we find the children of all the people. These children are living now in 
the midst of many non-school social forces. The school has no choice. It must 
join with these non-school agencies so as to give every child the best start 
under existing circumstances. 

How can the principal give his community a high type of leadership? The 
members of our Department should know. Every day finds elementary school 
principals guiding and controlling community forces in the interests of Ameri- 
can childhood. Let the full story of community-school relationships be told 
with all of its technical and human-interest qualities! 


PRELIMINARY OUTLINE—TENTH (1932) YEARBOOK 


I. Contacts with the home 

A. Impersonal (Form letters, bulletins, reports, etc.). B. Personal (Visiting 
teacher, nurse, truant officers, etc.). C. Ete. 

II. Parent and teacher organizations 
A. Preschool examinations and summer health drives. B. Adult study pro- 
gram. C. School legislation support. D. Supplementary school activities. 
E. Ete. 

III. Community center activities 
A. Adult education and recreation. B. Playground leagues and games. C. 
Scouts and Girls Reserves. D. Libraries. E. Ete. 

IV. School publicity 
A. Public exhibitions and entertainments. B. Open house. C. School news- 
papers and letters. D. Local press, E. American Education Week. F. Etc. 

V. Service clubs 
A. Meeting outside of school hours (improvement clubs, etc.). B. Meeting 
during school hours (Rotary, Lions’, etc.). C. Ete. 


VI. Social and charitable agencies 
A. Children aid agencies. B. Charities. C. Lodge movements. D. Etc. 


VII. Excursions 
A. Vocation guidance and information (Industrial exhibits, etc.). B. Instruc- 
tional materials (Museums, zoos, symphony orchestras, etc.). C. Ete. 

VIII. Governmental 
A. Juvenile court and probation work. B. Fire department. C. Traffic 
patrols. D. Clinic and health, E. Etc. 

IX. Non-school and semi-educational activities 

A. Types (Clean-up week, Thrift systems, Theater, etc.). B. Limitations of 
school participation in non-school events. C. Etc. 


[ 118] 








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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 119 





The Editorial Committee presents this preliminary outline to the Depart- 
ment. While the topics given are not final they should suggest a problem upon 
which principals will wish to write. Start now. Send your manuscripts to the 
committee by November 1, 1931. Address: Editorial Committee, Depart- 
ment of Elementary School Principals, 1201 Sixteenth St., N. W. Washing- 
ton, D. C. 


IsABEL “TUCKER AARON KLINE 

Chairman, 1931 Yearbook Chairman, 1932 Yearbook 
Shenandoah School Pullman Public School 
Saint Louis, Missouri. Chicago, Illinois. 


Ear R. LAInc 
Chairman, 1930 Yearbook 
20710 Pilgrim Avenue 
Detroit, Michigan. 





WHEN WRITING FOR THE YEARBOOK 


(1) You should select a specific topic; (2) remember you are writ- 
ing for someone miles away from your school and background; (3) 
use the minimum of quoted material, write things in your own words; 
(4) organize your article with space for introduction, presentation, 
and conclusions; (5) type your article double space; and (6) send 
your contribution, before November 1, 1931, to the Editorial Com- 
mittee, Department of Elementary School Principals, 1201 Sixteenth 
Street, N. W., Washington, D. C. 

















WHEN THE ROLL IS CALLED 
HERMAN RITOW 
Chairman, National Enrolment Committee, Goethe School, Chicago, Illinois 


HEN THE membership roll is called this year where will your state 

be? In the membership report of last year the five leading states in total 
membership were: New York, California, Michigan, Ohio, and New Jersey. 
These same states are fighting hard to hold their places in 1930-31, but IIli- 
nois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Texas are in hot pursuit. 

The main purpose of this article is to call attention to the members of the 
National Enrolment Committee. Under the Constitution the President ap- 
points a chairman for each state. In the following paragraphs we shall list the 
names and addresses of the state chairman. Immediately, after each state’s 
name we shall give in parentheses the 1929-30 membership of that state, fol- 
lowed by the 1930-31 enrolment up to December 6, 1930. 

Alabama (51)*' 17’°—Joseph T. Vaughan, Bush School, 1112 25th St., Birmingham, 
Alabama. 

Arizona (18) 5—Salome Townsend, Roskruge Platoon School, Tucson, Arizona. 

Arkansas (19) 9—J. A. Day, Junior High School, Fort Smith, Arkansas. 

California (348) 229—Irwin O. Addicott, Jackson School, Fresno, California. 

Colorado (83) 70—Mrs. Margaret M. Smith, Ebert School, Denver, Colorado. 

Connecticut (91) 67—Katherine Brennan, Ive School, New Haven, Connecticut. 

Delaware (9) 5—Elva M. Dugan, 210% Jefferson St., Wilmington, Delaware. 

District of Columbia (58) 43—Mary H. Llufrio, 1457 Park Road, N. W., Washing- 
ton, D. C. 

Florida (48) 34+-—-No state chairman has been appointed for Florida to date. 

Georgia (42) 40—Maude A. Rhodes, 185 Westminster Dr., Atlanta, Georgia. 

Idaho (14) 11—No state chairman has been appointed for Idaho to date. 

Illinois (265) 178—Mary Margaret Roach, 439 W. Wood St., Decatur, ILilinois. 

Indiana (91) 94—Cecelia Galvin, School No, 3, 23 N. Rural St., Indianapolis, Indiana. 

Iowa (70) 59—Earl E. Bovee, 4315 Orleans Ave., Sioux City, Iowa. 

Kansas (80) 45—Mrs. Mary J. Singer, 341 N. Topeka Ave., Wichita, Kansas. 

Kentucky (44) 35—R. J. Bell, 121 S. 41st St., Louisville, Kentucky. 

Louisiana (22) 20—Mr. L. §. Rugg, West End Grammar School, Alexandria, Louis- 
iana. 

Maine (9) 9—Grace Teague, 173 College St., Lewiston, Maine. 

Maryland (58) 39—L. Adele Talbott, School No. 69, Oakford and Granada Aves., 
Baltimore, Maryland. 

Massachusetts (230) 166—Effe C. Higgins, 27 Marianne Rd., Waltham, Massa- 
chusetts. 

Michigan (346) 148—Earl R. Laing, Burt School, Detroit, Michigan. 

Minnesota (123) 60—Helen Mather, 2011 3rd Ave., S., Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

Mississippi (15) 13—No state chairman has been apponted for Mississippi to date. 

Missouri (176) 96—Isabel Tucker, 3412 Shenandoah Ave., St. Louis, Missouri. 

Montana (16) 17—Mrs. Zella K. Flores, Box 1902, Lewistown, Montana. 

Nebraska (44) 45—Stella Holmes, Bancroft School, Omaha, Nebraska. 

Nevada (3) 4—K. O. Knudson, 600 S. Third St., Las Vegas, Nevada. 

New ao (11) 9—No state chairman has been appointed for New Hampshire 
to date. 

New Jersey (308) 214—James R. Floyd, 717 Garden St., Plainfield, New Jersey. 

New Mexico (9) 11—Stella Kiker, 240 S. Fifth St., Raton, New Mexico. ; 

New York (383) 274—Jackson Gallup, School No. 23, Rochester, New York. 


*The number in parentheses is the 1929-30 enrolment for each state. 
*The second number is the 1930-31 enrolment up to December 6, 1930. 


[ 120] 








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a. 








ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 121 





North Carolina (45) 53—E. T. McSwain, Central Junior High School, Greensboro, 
North Carolina. 

North Dakota (17) 13—Mrs. Sadie A. Walker, 730 9th St., N., Fargo, North Dakota. 

Ohio (328) 236—Belle Torrey Scott, Fulton School, Columbus, Ohio. 

Oklahoma (52) 41—B. E. Koonce, Robert E. Lee School, Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

Oregon (105) 43—Carl S. Zook, Gregory Heights School, Portland, Oregon. 

Pennsylvania (277) 184—Roland T, MacLaren, 685 4th Ave., Williamsport, Penn- 
sylvania. 

Rhode Island (15) 6—Herman G. Patt, John Clarke School, Newport, Rhode Island. 

South Carolina (11) 12—George D. Grice, Julian Mitchell School, Charleston, South 
Carolina. 

South Dakota (22) 21—Jean Welker, Irving School, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 

Tennessee (37) 25—No state chairman has been appointed for Tennessee to date. 

Texas (146) 106—James T. Whittlesey, 317 S. Marsalis, Dallas, Texas. 

Utah (37) 30—J. B. Driggs, Hamilton School, Salt Lake City, Utah 

Vermont (2) 3—May I. Donnelly, 323 Pearl St., Burlington, Vermont 

Virginia (49) 32—Forbes N. Norris, Robert E. Lee School, Richmond, Virginia. 

Washington (122) 93—Lester L. Reeves, University Heights School, Seattle, Wash- 
ington, 

W est Virginia (27) 17—Ernest L. Markley, Ritchie School, Wheeling, West Virginia. 

Wisconsin (80) 48—Elizabeth R. McCormick, Howe School, Superior, Wisconsin. 

Wyoming (10) 7—No state chairman has been appointed for Wyoming to date. 

Alaska (1) 0—No state chairman has been appointed for Alaska to date. 

Hawaii (36) 19—No chairman has been appointed for Hawaii to date. 

Philippine Islands (13) 10—No chairman has been appointed for the Philippine 
Islands to date. 

Porto Rico (18) 6—Isolina del Toro, Baldorioty School, San Juan, Porto Rico. 


Upon the above committee and the National Chairman falls the respon- 
sibility for organizing the membership campaign. But upon all former mem- 
bers of the Department there falls the necessity of spreading “the word” to all 
principals and viceprincipals. 

With the object of reaching the many thousands of former members who 
have not yet re-enroled, it is planned to send each state enrolment chairman a 
list of former members from his state: It is suggested that the state chairman 
send to each local chairman the names of those principals who are in his ter- 
ritory. Also, that the local chairman by personal appeal, telephone call, and 
by letter get in touch with each former member and point out to him the in- 
creased advantages (Research Bulletins, etc.), now enjoyed by our Depart- 
ment. 

If you have gained much from your membership write immediately to your 
state chairman. Lend a hand in enlisting the principals of your community. 
Let us reach a membership of 5000 persons before the Detroit Convention. 





MERICAN elementary school principals have formed a strong, 

compact organization for research in their own problems which 

has accomplished one of the most significant educational transforma- 

tions of the decade.—WILLIAM JOHN Cooper, United States Com- 
missioner of Education. 























NEWS FROM THE FIELD 


The Flint, Michigan, Principals and Supervisors Association elected R. H, 
Bechtold, principal, Longfellow Junior School, president, and Miss Fanny 
S. Bradley, principal, Kearsley Elementary School, secretary. This group 
meets as a single body in October, January, and June. For other meetings 
the club is divided into two sections, one composed of elementary principals 
and the other of high-school principals. The latter section is divided into five 
working groups. 

The Wisconsin Department of Elementary Principals met in annual session 
October 31, 1930, in the Milwaukee auditorium. Dr. George W. Frasier, 
president, Colorado State Teachers College, and Marion L. Telford, field 
secretary of the National Safety Council, addressed this group. Harold 
Peterson, Milwaukee, is president, and Sarah H. Fahey, Fond Du Lac, 
secretary. 

The Canton, Ohio, Principals’ Club has outlined programs for a series of 
meetings for October, December, March, and May with a committee in 
charge with topics assigned for each session. The topics as outlined show 
that this group of principals is making every effort to meet the real needs of 
the elementary schools of that city. This organization is one of the pioneers 
in the work of improving the elementary principalship. M. E. Gilmore is 
president. 

“For Men Only” reads a sign on the door of the study laboratory of the 
Fortnight Club out in Tacoma, Washington. This club meets on alternate 
Wednesday afternoons at 5:30 and is ushered in with a dinner. This is not 
a formal group and opportunity is afforded for the discussion of very minute 
happenings and problems. A member is appointed to prepare a paper to be 
used as a starting point of the later discussions. George Gorow, principal, 
Lincoln School, presides over the meetings. Fred M. Gemmel, Park Avenue 
School, keeps the records. 

The Chicago Principals Club has climaxed all of its past issues with this 
year’s Yearbook. It will add to the efficiency of any principal who will make 
an effort to absorb its contents. It is based entirely on health education. 
Herbert Hansen is past president. 

Miss Elizabeth McCormick, a member of the Executive Committee of 
the Department, and long a persistent worker in its ranks, was recently elected 
President of the Lake Superior Teachers’ Association. We predict for that 
organization an eventful year. 

From Kansas City, Missouri, comes the report that the Elementary School 
Principals Association of that city, with H. E. Robinson at its head, will 
study the following: Social science and nature study, Dr. Hosic’s plan for 
school organization, the art of study, codperation between high school and 
elementary school, pros and cons of homogeneous grouping, problems of the 
elementary school principal, educational efforts in Kansas City, types of 


[ 122] 








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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 123 





elementary school organizations, Missouri State Survey. Miss Lenna Goode, 
Frances Willard School, is corresponding secretary. 

The Principals Club of Cleveland, Ohio, is limited to women principals 
and supervisors. It has an active membership of 129 members and 30 asso- 
ciate members. Each year this club sponsors a lecture course for the teachers 
of the city. In addition, during the spring of each year the club offers two 
free lectures for all of the teachers of the elementary schools. President, 
Laura A. Johnston. Secretary, Agnes E. McHugh. 


Erie, Pennsylvania, Elementary Principals’ and Supervisors’ Association, 
has outlined a series of nine meetings the subjectmatter of which is very well 
chosen by its president, J. L. Coughlin. Miss Lenore Murphy is secretary. 

The Nebraska Department of Elementary School Principals is now three 
years old. During this time the question of increasing the membership in all 
the districts of the state has been the major concern. For the next it is pledged 
to the support of teacher-retirement in that state. With Miss Edna Reap, 
Omaha, as president, Miss Florence Brooker, Omaha, as secretary, and six 
vicepresidents in various regions of the state they should become an effective 
agency in behalf of any progressive movement. 

One of the finest yearbooks that has come to our desk is that of the Dayton, 
Ohio, Principals and Supervisors Association. It is a professional and me- 
chanical work of art. President Frank C. Stanton is receiving many con- 
gratulatory messages of fine comment on the book. 

A. J. Hamilton, president of the California Elementary Principals’ Asso- 
ciation, resigned recently to become head of the teacher-training work at 
Pomona College. C. A. Pugs'ev. his successor, has also resigned to accept 
a professorship in State Teache.. College, at Buffalo, New York. The state 
organization is now publishing its third yearbook devoted to creative learning 
and the activity program. O. D. Enfield, Los Angeles, is secretary-editor. 

Mr. M. P. Watts, principal, Worley School, Canton, is the new secretary 
of the Department of Elementary School Principals of the Ohio Education 
Association, succeeding Fred H. Duffy, Steubenville, who resigned upon 
assuming the duties of secretary of the Department of Elementary Principals 
of the National Education Association. Katherine Mansfield, Canton, is 
president of the Ohio Department. 

Jackson, Michigan, elementary principals are making an extensive study 
of public relations, the rating of principals and teachers, and planning ways 
and means how best the schools can serve the needy with clothing and food. 
They are ably assisted by the local newspapers in all of their work. Eliza- 
beth Perrot is president, and Frances Cartright, is secretary-treasurer, This 
group is a unit in membership of the state association. 

Space forbids the publication of the very fine plan and set of objectives 
which have been set up for the present year by the principals of Greensboro, 
North Carolina. Four general objectives are given as follows: Under Ad- 
ministration we find four specific objectives. Under Community, five. Under 


Teacher, four. Under The Child, seven. Mr. H. A, Helm, principal, Lind- 











124 NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 





ley Junior High School, will be glad to furnish more complete information 
on the operation of his club’s activities. 

Miss Shanette Baer, president of the Toledo, Ohio, Principals Club, is 
leading her organization in a study of “The Organization and Use of the 
Elementary Library?” “Character Training Through Student Participa- 
tion in School Control,” and several other topics of high aim. Mr. ‘T. Keller 
is the secretary. 

What appears to be one of the most progressive steps in the activities of 
elementary principals is that of the Columbus, Ohio, Elementary Principals 
Round Table. On November seventeenth Mr. ‘Twentyman, visiting pro- 
fessor from London, England, addressed the Club on “The Modern Trend 
in European Education.” A Christmas party was planned for December 
fifteenth. Dr. Laura Zirbes addresses the Club January nineteenth on “The 
New Challenge to the Principal.” For April thirteenth affirmative and nega- 
tive teams have been appointed to debate the question: Resolved, ‘“That the 
Dalton Plan is a Distinct Advantage to the Public School Pupil.’ In all 
nine meetings have been scheduled. It concludes the year’s work with a 
social meeting on May eleventh. 

The Association of Elementary School Principals of the District of Colum- 
bia is planning the publication of a bulletin during the early winter of 1930- 
31. Mrs. Elizabeth Peeples, Brightwood school and Helen G. Gantley, both 
of Washington, D. C., are president and secretary respectively. “Che program 
for the vear follows: October, Mr. Frank W. Hubbard; November, Mrs. 
Henry Grattan Doyle of the Board of Education, and Miss Rose Lees Hardy, 
assistant superintendent of schools; December, Mr. Joy Elmer Morgan; 
January, Mrs. H. S. Steinbarger, Mt. Pleasant Library, and Dr. Frank W. 
Ballou, superintendent of schools; February, Miss Rose Lees Hardy and 
Mrs. Joshua Evans; March, Mrs. Robert C. Howard, of the Twentieth 
Century Club, and Dr. William John Cooper, U.S. commissioner of educa- 
tion; April, Mr. Robert Haycock, assistant superintendent of schools; May, 
Mrs. Benjamin Smith, and Dr. Melnor Dorey of the Progressive Educa- 
tion Association. Approximately one-third of the time in these meetings is 
set aside for the discussion of such interests as grow out of the speakers’ 
remarks. 

New officers of the Elementary Principals Section of the Iowa State ‘Tea- 
chers Association are as follows: Mary F. Hall, president, Marshalltown; 
Arthur C. Hall, vice-president, Davenport; W. C. Findley, secretary- 
treasurer, Des Moines. H. C. Hansen, past president of the Department of 
Elementary Principals, N. E. A., was the principal speaker at the Des Moines 
meeting. Bryan Stanley of Christ College, who is making a special study of 
elementary principals throughout the United States, was among those who 
spoke. 

The activities of the Elementary Principals Club of Tampa, Florida, con- 
sist of monthly meetings, each time in a different building. After the meeting 
a tour of the entire building is made for inspection and discovery of usages 








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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 125 





and practises that may be carried back by the visitor and put to use. Recent 
speakers were Dr. James M. Farr of the University of Florida, and Miss 
Blanche Cahoon, art supervisor. Officers, Mrs. Allie Hammond, president ; 
Miss Mattie Jordan, vicepresident ; Thomas Langston, treasurer; J. L. Mac- 
Intosh, secretary ; Miss Mamie Grambling, corresponding secretary. 

St. Louis Elementary School Principals Association has elected H. H. 
Seidell, principal, Marquette School, president; Augusta M. Choisel, treas- 
urer; and A. F. Morrison, principal, Froebel School, secretary. Monthly 
meetings are held in the assembly room of the Board of Education and the 
meetings are strictly professional. ‘There is always a speaker on the program 
who discusses some topic of educational interest or who may give a report on 
some educational experiment that had been conducted in his own school or in 
conjunction with other principals and teachers. 

The Berkeley, California, Principals and Supervisors Association selected 
supervision as their most important subject of study during the past year and is 
continuing the same study again owing to the very fine success of the work last 
year. Under the direction of the superintendent of schools all elementary prin- 
cipals exchanged buildings for one week. This exchange enabled each principal 
to get a fresh insight into the problems of the profession without the prejudice 
of viewing them from an angle of his own particular building. The principals 
were unanimous in their expressions of appreciation of this scheme of observa- 
tion. This week of study of the fellow principal’s building problems was fol- 
lowed by a written report to the superintendent. As a result one of the most 
outstanding programs of study has been worked out that has yet come to our 
notice. It is regretted that space forbids the publication of the entire outline 
of this fine plan. We give here the chief topics each of which is supplemented 
by a number of study questions as follows: 

1. Administration of classroom procedure—four questions. 
Administration of pupils—nine questions. 

Standardization of management—three questions. 
Community relationships—one question. 
Administration of principals office—five questions. 
Improvement of the principal—seven questions. 
Administration of the building—four questions. 
Administration of teaching staff-—eight questions. 

James T. Preston, 1336 Oxford Street, is president of the organization. 
Any elementary principal can profit materially by writing President Preston 
for a copy of this interesting and well-worked-out plan of study. — 

The Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association of the State of 
Texas holds its meetings jointly with the State Teachers Association, which 
meets yearly at Thanksgiving time. This year Eva G. Pinkston, Elma A. 
Neal, W. A. Stigler, Dr. George D. Strayer, and Dr. James F. Hosic ap- 
peared on the program. 

During the year a group of nine members carried on a research study within 
the Texas schools relating to administrative policies of principals. They made 





CONT DN + WD 











126 NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 





their report under three headings: (1) Principals’ responses concerning free- 
ing teachers from unnecessary interruptions. (2) Principals’ responses con- 
cerning office routine and technic. (3) Principals’ responses concerning the 
raising and expending of funds. Officers for the new year are: President, 
Arvin N. Donner, and Secretary-Treasurer, F. M. Mathis. 

The National Society of College Teachers of Education will hold a meeting 
in Detroit, February 24, 1931, from 9:30 to 11:30. Professor F. C. Borgeson 
of New York University, will preside. The topic will be: 4 ppropriate grad- 
uate work for those specializing in elementary education. The following ad- 
dresses will center around this topic: (1) Graduate Work for Elementary 
School Principals—Professor James F. Hosic, Teachers College, Columbia 
University; (2) Graduate Work for Elementary School Supervisors—P ro- 
fessor Ernest Horn, University of Iowa; (3) Graduate Work for Professors 
of Elementary Education—Dean John W. Withers, New York University. 
Discussion leaders will be: Dean William S. Gray, University of Chicago, and 
John S. Thomas, Principal, Detroit Elementary School. 


DETROIT PROGRAM 
General convention theme—Working Together for the Children of America 


GENERAL SESSIONS 
Crystal Room, Book-Cadillac Hotel 
Monday Afternoon, February 23, 2:15 p. m. 
Theme: The Whole Child 

Music 

Detroit Public Schools, Fowler Smith, director. 
GREETINGS 

Norman R. Crozier, president of Department of Superintendence, Dallas, Texas. 
MEETING THE SPECIFIC NEEDS OF INDIVIDUAL CHILDREN 

Herbert E. Chamberlain, director of Child Guidance Clinic, Minneapolis, 

Minnesota. 
How Best TO PROVIDE FOR THE CHILD’s PHYSICAL AND INTELLECTUAL WELFARE AND 
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT 

From the Standpoint of a City Superintendent 

James E. McDade, assistant superintendent of schools, Chicago, Illinois. 
FROM THE STANDPOINT OF AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPAL 

Evelyn B. Hubbard, principal, Montieth School, Detroit, Michigan. 
REporT OF EpIToRIAL COMMITTEE, 1931 DEPARTMENT YEARBOOK 

Isabel Tucker, chairman, principal of Shenandoah School, St. Louis, Missouri. 


BUSINESS 


Wednesday Afternoon, February 25, 2:15 p. m. 
Theme: The Whole Child 

DISCUSSION 

The Principal’s Part in this Coéperative Endeavor. 
Music 

Detroit Public Schools. 
GREETINCS 

Willis A. Sutton, president of the National Education Association, superintendent 

of schools, Atlanta, Georgia. 
PRINCIPAL’s POLICY OF ADMINISTRATION AND SUPERVISION AS A MEANS OF PROMOTING 
ARTICULATION 
George D. Taylor, principal, Public School No. 27, Rochester, New York, 





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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 127 








PuBLic RELATIONS 

Arthur Moehlman, professor, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 
REPORT OF EpiIroRIAL COMMITTEE, 1932 DEPARTMENT YEARBOOK 

Aaron Kline, chairman, principal, Pullman School, Chicago, Illinois. 


The President wil! announce additional speakers of national reputation in the official 
program which will be distributed at the registration desk, Detroit Masonic Temple. 


BANQUET 
Ballroom, Book-Cadillac Hotel 
Tuesday, February 24, 6 p. m. 

This is one of the outstanding events of our Department during the Detroit Conven- 
tion. Dr. Charles L. Spain, deputy superintendent of schools, Detroit, will be the prin- 
cipal speaker of the evening. His subject will be ‘““The Elementary School Principal 
ina Modern School.” All members are cordially invited and urged to attend. Reserva- 
tions must be made before noon, Tuesday, February 24, as positively no tickets will be 
sold later. Price $2.50 per plate, at registration desk, Masonic Temple. 


BREAKFASTS 
Hotel Statler 
Monday, February 23, and Tuesday, February 24, 7:30 a, m. 

The purpose of these breakfasts is to afford an opportunity for elementary school 
principals of the entire country to become better acquainted. Brief committee reports 
will be made. On Monday morning Mrs. Jessie Fink, president of the Michigan Edu- 
cation Association and former president of the Department, will extend greetings. 
Every elementary school principal is most cordially invited to attend. Price $1 per 
plate. 


IMPORTANT FACTS 
General chairman of local committee: Earl Laing, principal of Burt School, Detroit. 


Department headquarters will be at the Book-Cadillac Hotel. A sitting-room has 
been reserved for the use of the members of the Department during the convention. 
All members of the Department are cordially invited to avail themselves of this oppor- 
tunity to meet their friends and to register. 

Detroit hotels—Single rooms in principal hotels are no longer available. All sleep- 
ing-room reservations are handled through the hotel committee of the Detroit Con- 
vention and Tourist Bureau. Inquiries regarding sleeping-room accommodations 
should be addressed to Paul T. Rankin, chairman, Hotel Committee, 1805 Stroh Build- 
ing, Detroit, Michigan. Please state exact time of your arrival and give name and 
address of each person to be accommodated by reservation. If for any reason a 
reservation is not needed, notify hotel immediately. 

Special railroad rates—Round-trip tickets on the identification certificate plan will 
be sold to Detroit, Michigan, at one and one-half fare for members of the National 
Education Association and dependent members of their families. 

Tickets will be on sale February 15 to 23 in the territory of the Central, Trunk Line, 
Southeastern, New England, and Southwestern Passenger Associations. When vali- 
dated at regular ticket offices in Detroit, tickets will be good for return to reach original 
starting point not later than midnight of March 4. Dates of sale in the western portion 
of the United States begin earlier and return limits are later on account of increased 
distance. Details may be had from your local ticket agent. In addition, the carriers 
have authorized one and three-fifths fare for the round trip on identification certifi- 
cates with return limit of thirty days from date of sale. Identification certificates will 
be ready for distribution January 10. Write J. W. Crabtree, secretary, National Edu- 
cation Association, 1201 Sixteenth Street, Northwest, Washington, D. C. If in arrears, 
inclose check for membership dues. If identification certificate is not obtained in 
advance, no adjustment of fare can be made after arrival in Detroit.