VOL. XI, No. 1 OCTOBER, 1931 BULLETIN OF THE Department of Elementary School Principals %The President’s Message—Laing ¥%& Critical Times Challenge the Peiniindhe~ tine A Symposium on the Principal’s Administrative Relationships The Superintendent and the Principal—Oberholtzer 6 The Principal and the Teacher—Holmes 9 The Preparation of the Principal—Wesley 14 The Principal and the Public—Bradford 18 Character Training Thru Safety Education—Pollich________ 22 A Plea for the Pre-Primer Class—Woodson 29 The Desirable Characteristics of the Home of the Pre- School Child—Dykhouse ee 34 The Elementary School Sienna. Ribsichecsvicaraccnntamenittics Game Opportunities of the Principal of an Elementary School— WE cticie coer esse ena teak . 43 Amcrican Education Week___-__________--- sg 44 % Radio Enters the Schools—Thomas 46 Radio Development Raises Question of Equipping Schools— % Departmental Plans for 1931-32 The Department's New Special Secretary—Roys -_--_-_- 49 Expansion of the Department—Hansen_-____-__ eee 50 A Message from the Special Secretary—Pinkston The Eleventh (1932) Yearbook—Kline % Secretary's Minutes, Los Angeles Meeting—Duffy Pe OE Se OE Rs ee ceseneneccee *THIS SYMBOL DESIGNATES ARTICLES OF SPECIAL IMPORTANCE TO MEMBERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS. MEMBERS WILL BE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE, THE MINUTES OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETINGS, AND THE MESSAGE FROM THE NEW SPE- CIAL SECRETARY. . e . |. +, as well as new address. _ BULLETIN of the DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS MaAupe A. RuopeEs, Editor, 185 Westminster Dr., N. E., Atlanta, Georgia 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 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, ‘Northwest, Wash- ington, D. C. OFFICERS OF THE DEPARTMENT 1931-32 President, EARL R. LAING Burt School, Detroit, Michigan First Vicepresident, Cassie F. Roys 2609 Bristol Street, Omaha, Nebraska Second Vicepresident, HARLEY W. Lyon 95 N. Sierra Bonita Avenue, Pasadena, California Third Vicepresident, LittiAN M. TowNE Thomas Gardner District, Boston, Massachusetts Fourth Vicepresident, Cart S. Zook Gregory Heights School, Portland, Oregon Fifth Vicepresident, EL1zABETH McCorMIck Howe School, Superior, Wisconsin Secretary, MAUDE A. RHODES 185 Westminster Drive, N. E., Atlanta, Georgia Special Secretary, EVA G. PINKSTON 1201 Sixteenth Street, N. W., Washington, D. C. Executive Committee JAMEs R. FLoyp, Jefferson School, Plainfield, New Jersey (Term expires 1932) M. EMMA Brookes, Miles School, Cleveland, Ohio (Term expires 1933) Joun Lortus, Public School No. 80, Brooklyn, New York (Term expires 1934) HERBERT C. HANSEN, 315 Plymouth Court, Chicago, Illinois (Term expires 1935) — THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE EARL R. LAING Burt School, Detroit, Michigan HE Department of Elemen- tary School Principals has conferred a great honor upon me and my city and state. We en- joyed having you with us as our guests last February and now pledge ourselves to your service during this and future years. However, it must be said that I approach the duties of the office of President of this great De- partment with mingled feelings of gratitude and trepidation. The Department has con- tributed much to my professional life and I have enjoyed beyond description the many friends whom I have met at our meet- ings. We owe a great debt of grati- tude to those who have been in- strumental in the origin and perpetuation of our Department. Ear R. LaInc With the untiring efforts of these and the unselfish contribu- tions of all our members we are sure to continue to accomplish our aims and objectives. While the Department has been organized for relatively few years its growth in membership and influence has been constant and healthful. Now our group promises to be the largest, and I trust, the most resourceful and beneficial, educational organization of the nation. Our meetings have been well attended and our publications have attracted the serious attention of leading educators everywhere. Many thousand copies of our yearbooks are purchased annually for use in college courses. City superintendents and college professors have made very complimentary re- marks regarding our contributions to progressive trends in modern education. Superintendent N. R. Crozier of Dallas, past president of the Department of Superintendence, said: “Of the fourteen allied groups, the Department of Elementary School Principals is second to none in importance and service.” Public opinion and community life are very important factors in the success of any elementary school principal. Our Yearbook, this year, will be pub- lished as usual by the Editorial Committee. This Committee, with Aaron [3] + NATIONAL EpucaTION ASSOCIATION Kline of Chicago as chairman, has selected as a title for the 1932 Yearbook, “The Principal and the Community.” This subject, I am sure, will produce one of the most interesting and helpful volumes of our series. The membership of our Department should go beyond 5000 this year. Every member should consider himself a special committee of one to enrol his friends and associates. Our new special secretary is Miss Eva Pinkston of Dallas, Texas, who was president of our Department in 1928-29. She will work diligently in Washington, D. C., to increase the membership and to promote our program, but she can only serve best when we cooperate to the fullest of our opportunities. We still have the assistance of Dr. Frank W. Hubbard, Associate Direc- tor of Research of the N. E. A. who, has so ably counseled with us in the matters of policy, membership, and with the editing of our publications. Everyone wants this to be an outstanding year. With that spirit and the “Do something about it” cooperation, I feel sure that when we sign off at Atlantic City next summer, it can be truly said, ““The elementary principals of America hold and use constructively their key positions.” HE task of life today, from the standpoint of education, is this: to accept all the world offers in the way of stimulation and release of energies and emotions, but to see that stimulation and release are but part of the process of living; to seek also to find means, in renewed institutions and in community living, by which all these stimulations and releases may be wrought into integrated personality through the years of childhood, youth and maturity.— JosEPH KiInMoNT Hart. om wee tet 4 = ah wee 0k, luce ear. 1rol ton will | to the rece the the * at vals CRITICAL TIMES CHALLENGE THE PRINCIPALS! FLORENCE HALE President of the National Education Association O DEPARTMENT of the National Education Association has been more loyal or more consistently helpful to the Association than has the Department of Elementary School Principals. You have prepared strong programs for the annual meetings of the Association. You have published a constructive yearbook which may well serve as a textbook of educational procedure for elementary schools, and you have done your part loyally in the securing of life memberships, together with the regular association mem- berships. Not only in these definite ways but by your generally wholehearted spirit toward all of the activities of the N. E. A. have you been faithful. Your Department furnished one of our successful women presidents of the National Education Association. Once again the N. E. A. calls upon you to make an unusual effort in be- half of our great professional organization. The different members of your Department are leaders in their own educational circles. Many of the teach- ers in your buildings will look to you for counsel during the coming year. There has never been a time when it is so important for teachers to stand together professionally. The public will watch our attitude with unusual keenness this year to see how far we really are professionalized. In some quarters, there have been efforts made to reduce salaries and to en- large classes for the individual teacher. Of course, this is a mistaken economy and this sort of action must not be allowed to spread throughout the schools of the nation. We can most surely convince the public that the next genera- tion must not suffer for the handicaps of this generation by making ourselves an unusually solid group of educators during these trying times. If the pub- lic sees that teachers are loyal to their organization, that they will make sacrifices to maintain their membership in it, that they believe in the activi- ties sponsored by the Association, then the people will listen to the advice sent out from headquarters and will hesitate to endanger their children by taking these backward steps in education. The superintendents of schools and the principals must be the leaders in this movement for greater solidity in the profession. For this reason, the N. E. A. once more asks you to make an unusual effort to study the situation and to assure your own particular public of the wisdom of maintaining their school systems at a high level, even though it entails a temporary sacrifice. 1In connection with the challenges presented by Miss Hale, principals are referred to the Department's plans described on pages 49-61 of this Bulletin. There isa place for you in our work.—Editor. [5] A SYMPOSIUM ON THE PRINCIPAL’S ADMINISTRATIVE RELATIONSHIPS! THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE PRINCIPAL E. E. OBERHOLTZER Superintendent of Schools, Houston, Texas HERE IS a common expression in legal phraseology, ‘““Time is the essence of the contract,” meaning that “time” is the essential factor in determining whether or not the contract is fully performed. The courts have generally held that the public schools are an arm of the state govern- ment and independent of the local municipalities in matters of control not specially delegated to them. In America the public schools are creations of the state, designed for pub- lic good, promulgated and promoted by the state for its own perpetuity. Being quasi-public corporations, the schools are given enlarged powers, such as the right of eminent domain, which is used in acquiring property and the control of the child, taking the place of the parent, as expressed by the legal term in loco parentis. With this legal conception of the school, one might inquire the determin- ing factor in the ultimate goals which the schools strive to attain. In the early documents of my own state of Texas, the state that has sailed the stormy seas in many perilous adventures for freedom under six different national flags, are found many definite commitments by its patriots. confirma- tions of their faith in public education and predications of the new democracy upon a universally educated citizenship. In the Texas Declaration of Inde- pendence is found this expression: It is an axiom in political science that unless a people are educated and en- lightened, it is idle to expect the continuance of civil liberty or the capacity for self-government. Mirabeau B. Lamar said: Cultivated mind is the guardian genius of Democracy. It is the only dictator that freemen acknowledge and the only security that freemen desire. As one meditates upon the influence of such timely utterances, these words of the pioneers of yester-century, there arises a new conception of the work of the schools. Is there an implied contract with the state and the larger so- ciety which the school is bounden to perform? What is the essence of this contract ? In answering these questions, much depends upon one’s philosophy of life, and particularly one’s philosophy of education. The philosophy of education must be consistent with the type of government served. If the government is 1The articles in this symposium were given at the joint session of the National Education Association and the Department of Elementary School Principals, at Los Angelss, July 1, 1931.—Editor. [6] TIVE is the ‘tor in courts overn- ol not r pub- tuity. , such id the legal rmin- n the d the ferent irma- cracy Inde- d en- ty for r that yords work Tr SO- this life, ation nt is ional t Los ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 7 autocratic, then the philosophy of education should be that of absolutism. If the form of government under which the people live is socialistic. then so- cialism should dictate the educational policy. The people of our nation live under a democratic form of government ; therefore, the prevailing educational philosophy and educational policy must be such that it will train citizens to live wholesomely and happily, prosperously and safely, in a democracy. It is only now that we are beginning to see the full implications of these facts and to bring our procedures into line with them. Doctor Dewey says that the school should be a miniature of society. If so, then the school should come to understand society. The essence of the school should be the essence of society, interpreted in terms of the child, its nature and needs in the learning process, and projected into the service of society by means of consciously determined social functions. The ideal relationship of the superintendent and the principal is based upon that cordial and cooperative spirit so conducive to good school adminis- tration. This relationship must be derived from the functionary aspects of school organizations, designed for cooperative human endeavor, and based upon a telic and workable philosophy of education which is posted in the socially conceived functions of the school. Society of today is sick. With this assertion most will agree, but just what is wrong, or in what stage of this dreaded economic malady is the patient found, there seems to be no general agreement. Both the diagnosis of the cause of the disease and the failure of the patient to recover baffle us. Some leaders aver the crisis is passed and that the patient is convalescing, while others fear the crisis is yet to come. Whatever the status, all seem to be relying on the patient’s endurance or on sheer optimism, thus awaiting the passing of time for a proper perspective or some accidental observations to conclude the history of the case. This kind of watchful waiting is apt to prove the fallacy of unscientific educational practise and theory. Has it not been demonstrated that neither relief nor cure of social ills comes from the ministrations of some mysterious or great physician, posing either as an individual, sect, social or economic group? Such recoveries do come, however, as the result of socially directed educational achievement, effecting integration of ideals and purpose. In such a reconstruction of society, the school must re-direct its efforts to conform to these enlarged social functions. Education designed for maxi- mum child growth and development must come as the result of the ascer- tained needs of society and the shaped efforts of the school if these new social, economic, and ethical aims for reconstructing our civilization are to be achieved. In America, we are fast approaching the professionalization of the position of the superintendent and the principal. With such advances come greater social responsibilities to be borne by these educational leaders. The super- intendent is the recognized chief executive. But nonetheless, in his field of service, the principal has become the recognized chief operator of the educa- tional program. The principal is the line officer of chief command and the 8 NATIONAL EpucATION ASSOCIATION co-partner of the superintendent in all that is finally accomplished. Although there has been great effort on the part of those treating the technical aspects of school administration and supervision to distinguish these fields of service, yet in the field of practise there is no vital demarcation of duties. The prin- cipal is trained to direct progress in a well-conceived educational program. It is his duty to remove difficulties and distractions, and to clear the way for the chief undertaking, namely, that of teaching and learning. Good school administration requires a succinct philosophy of education, a knowledge of certain technics in teaching and learning, and a keen fore- sight, guided by constructive imagination and critical thinking, all of which must bear upon the solution of the highly intricate problems of human engi- neering. Good school administration requires the setting up of a definite aim and the providing of a truly educational program. Responsibility and author- ity must go hand in hand. School administration and supervision become merged in such cooperative endeavor, the machinery and method being subservient to ends and goals to be attained. The principal is the administrative head of a school, or schools; he is the ambassador of goodwill, the interpreter of policy, and the representative of a school program, occupying the same relation to his district as the superin- tendent does to the entire system. The principal should be trained for scien- tific inquiry and should devote his time to the study of the problems of the school. His is the key position in the learning process, for he not only meets the learner firsthand, but also receives and trains the new recruits in the service—the teachers. Although the chief responsibility for the learning results must ultimately rest with the teacher, nevertheless, it is the principal’s stewardship which must condition the process. Since the teacher works directly with the learner, it is axiomatic that all the good that is to come from administration and super- vision must reach the learner thru him, and the efficiency of organization, or the results of the educational: program, must be judged by the contribution that it makes to effective learning. School administration must keep pace with the changing functions of the school. The new outlook in education is focusing attention upon the need for a readjustment of the educational organization. The importance of more scientific treatment of individual differences among pupils; the readaptation of the school to the needs of society; and the readjustment of the school to newer interpretations of the nature of the learning process and the felt needs of the child all challenge us to take new readings and to ascertain our moor- ings, lest we continue to drift into hazardous waters, resultant from trial- error findings, with the fate of society in the balance. A new science of school relationships is needed. The superintendent and principal must become highly-trained experts, capable of interpreting scien- tific findings and applying them in the improvements of learning. ‘The super- intendent and principal must, in their respective spheres, become expert con- sultants, capable of taking the data assembled by the laboratory specialist, the teacher, and interpreting these data, so that the teacher who knows the 7 a oe ae | rn ough spects rvice, prin- n. It yr the ation, fore- vhich engi- e aim thor- come being is the ve of yerin- scien- f the neets n the ately vhich rner, uper- n, or ution f the need more ation ol to needs noor- trial- - and cien- iper- con- alist, s the ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 9 history of the case and has made the diagnosis may receive aid, by way of new facilities, to meet the issues of the case. The school organization must be one in which the entire system recognizes and gives respective opportunities to its parts, contributing to a long series of interwoven activities socially significant. The child and its home, the school and the community, public relations and public welfare, all are bound to- gether and must be reached thru classroom and community contacts made by the teacher and the principal. The principal must be able, therefore, to comprehend the relationship of day-by-day learning situations with the total life situations in which the learner is involved. In all its aspects, from the incoordinations of human individuals to the incoordinations of problems and issues, he becomes a co-partner with the superintendent. In the principal’s qualities of leadership, none become more effectively significant than the sympathetic and intelligent foresight with which he deals with these larger problems of social adjustment. His supervision becomes successful or unsuc- cessful in the degree to which he enters this larger service with the superin- tendent, involving a larger conception of administration. THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHER STELLA HOLMES Principal, Bancroft School, Omaha, Nebraska OMEONE has very wisely said that life is a system of “rathers.”’ Con- tinually we are being faced with the possibility, and more often the neces- sity of choosing between two ways. The one may look more inviting, more promising, more enticing, the other may seem more arduous, more beset with dangers or difficulties. The one way offers a joyous passage, the other much labor, with a possible reward. So much of happiness and success to ourselves, so much of joy and wellbeing to those whom we serve, may depend on our right choice of the way we shall take, that we pray for the wisdom of a Solomon, in our choosing. Every principal and supervisor accepts the Eighth Yearbook as the bible of our profession, representing as it does, the finest thinking of the finest folk of our time. From it I take the statement of my thesis—supervision is a training school for teachers in service, knowing that this will result in improved classroom instruction, and that this in turn “will eventuate into an improved society.” I consider my problem as a supervisor to be fourfold. First—I must establish and know my own philosophy, a changing phi- losophy for a changing world. Here, in the very beginning, I find not two roads diverging, but many, many roads. I must decide what things are worth- while, what are the real values of education. I must know more and more that the school is only one factor in the development of the child; that he learns from the games he plays, the friends that he makes, the places he travels, the books he reads, the movies he sees, from everything that touches 10 NATIONAL EpucaTION ASSOCIATION his life. I must know that school alone does not educate him—that all these things must be added. It is a most familiar, yet most gratifying thing to us when we hear such statements as, “The principal is the key position,” but it is undoubtedly the teacher who turns the key. It is, of course, possible to secure, to perhaps demand, an exact execution of your plan with no joy, no depth of genuine response back of it. But if a wholehearted carrying out of his philosophy is to be brought about, he must in some way be able to transmit to his teachers by the force of his own personality, his own enthusiasm, his own vision. According to Dr. Chamberlain who spoke to our department the past winter at Detroit—‘‘A principal is to be judged not by his executive power over people, but by his executive power with people’’—by just how far he is able to develop power in each teacher. We have advanced far educationally in the past generation. We have sur- vived the throes of the socialized recitation. We have waded thru the morasses of project teaching, we have managed to break the age-old dead- lock between teacher and textbook. We talk glibly today of social sciences, of character education, of integration of education, or of personality. Yea, verily, we have come far. But we have only tapped the surface of the huge reservoir of educational possibilities yet buried in emotion and spiritual things. I am here repeating a section of an editorial, copied from the Daily News of Twin Falls, Idaho. Two sentences from Ambassador Herrick’s foreword to We, Lindbergh’s book about his flight, are of particular interest—‘For I feel with every fiber of my being that Lindbergh’s landing here marked one of the supreme moments in the history of America and France, and the faith we have in the deciding power of spiritual things is strengthened by every circumstance of his journey.” Again, comparing Lafayette and Lindbergh—‘“Both arrived at the critical moment, and both set in motion those imponderable forces which escape the standard of the politician’s mind.” “The deciding power of spiritual things” and ‘““Those imponderable forces” are undoubtedly tremendously important in human life and progress. We know less about them than about aviation and radio, and much of the time we seem to care less about them. We leave them to sentimentalists and dreamers, so we think. What our progress might be in better human relations and in spiritual achievement, if we took more account of these intangible forces, cannot be estimated. Down in our hearts we must know it would be great. Here then at the very start we must decide on the way we shall take. Shall it be the more easy, better known, oft traveled way of academic stand- ards, or shall it be the newer, more difficult, yet more joyous way of “those imponderable forces” ? Second—Having then established my own philosophy, having made my choice between the high road and the low, I enter upon the second phase of my job as a principal, which is the task of training teachers in service. Shall it be one imposed from above, or shall it be a job cooperatively worked out, capitalizing all good procedures, and hopefully helping to build on those a a ~ —_—_—— hese such the haps uine 1y is hers past ywer he is sur- the lead- nces, Yea, huge itual Vews book being istory ritual aring set in iind.” rces” We time - and tions gible Id be take. tand- those e my ise of Shall | out, those ovr ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 11 not so good? May I show you a few of the diverging roads, a few of the alluring byways, a few of the easy paths that so often tempt the feet of the weary traveler? 1. Shall I conduct my meetings before school, after school, or is there any way it can be done on school time, since it is legitimate, constructive, necessary school business? 2. Shall I visit intermittently and indiscriminately, or shall my visit be a defi- nitely planned and directed affair, understood both by the teacher and by me? 3. When shall I visit? Shall I follow a definitely worked out schedule, worked out as to subject, or as to time, or shall my visit be upon the call of the teacher, to assist in the solution of some specific problem or difficulty ? 4. Shall I announce to a teacher that this semester I propose to direct his arith- metic work, or that his English shall have my consideration this year, or shall I hold myself in readiness to help when he asks for help? Is supervision by invitation a better road than supervision by imposition? 5. Can I best help a teacher by doing the job myself, or can I help more by giving such aid that will enable him to work out a better way? Can I be patient enough to sow the seed and wait for the harvest, knowing that the harvest is inevitable when faith and work go hand in hand? 6. Do I encourage teachers to contribute to their own growth and the consequent growth of their pupils, or do I say, “Yea, yea,’—or, “Nay, nay”? 7. Shall my attitude be critical or severe, or shall it be kindly and sympathetic? My own glass house, in which I have lived for so many years, forbids anything except kindness, understanding, and sympathy for the shortcomings and difficulties of others. Mistakes often teach us more than successes. 8. There is no character without wear and tear. That’s why so few people have it. Lazy people never do. Am I willing to work as hard myself as I ask anyone else to work, and to learn with the least of these? One test of a modern school they say, is a home atmosphere, the acceptance of the elders as a member of the group, an atmosphere in which children treat us as equals. And by the same token, one mark of a school in which the right relationship exists between principal and teacher, is an atmosphere in which the principal is accepted as a member of the group, one, if you please, in which the teachers treat us as equals. Together we meet the problem that faces us, together we work out our own ideals, our own philosophies, together we share the trag- edies of our failures, or the joy of our successes, together we travel along the high road of our choice. A teacher said to me only the other day, “I like to feel that I am something more than a mere cog, just a bolt in the machinery. girl y girl ” 14 NATIONAL EpucaTIoN ASSOCIATION THE PREPARATION OF THE PRINCIPAL RusHA WESLEY Principal, Lee Street School, Atlanta, Georgia N SPEAKING of the preparation of the elementary school principal we may think of two classes of principals—the one that is and the one that is to be. The majority of principals that are now filling the places are grade teachers who have been raised to the higher rank with a slight increase in salary in recognition of increased responsibility. Some of these have had extra preparation for the work and some have not. These teachers have been out- standing and have shown ability in managing or have had forehandedness in getting what they thought a promotion. Sometimes they have had stronger political affiliations than their co-workers, for the day is not entirely gone when politics has something to do with the selection of the principals in some places. If training along this line is entirely neglected the college degree and the years of experience may be overlooked and some one with a greater social and political backing may be selected. It has been said that a poor teacher can do the least harm as a principal. Also, that since there is less to do as a principal, the superintendent rewards his favorites with principalships. Com- petitive examinations once were required and presumably the one making the highest grades was chosen. These examinations were about the same as those required for entrance by teachers, with the addition of psychology and school management. Generally one or two books on school management must have been read. The different states require applicants to know the history of the state and certain school laws. Thirty years ago the duties of a principal were administrative, clerical, and disciplinary, with emphasis on the last. In the days of lines and strict military control there were many cases of infringement of the rules, and the principal had to spend a great deal of time straightening out the troubles. A friend tells this on herself. Her nephew had been in school several months when one evening at the supper table he asked what grade she taught. She told him that she did not teach a grade but was a principal. He looked at her with wide eyes and exclaimed, “Oh, you are the woman who comes around and scolds!” Formerly an applicant for the principalship had to explain to the committeemen just what were his methods of control—mora! suasion, corporal punishment, appeal to parents, suspension or expulsion. A great deal of study was made to find the best methods of discipline. The next ancient burden was clerical work. The reports were considered sacred and only the principal could make them. Records are important, and they are worthless unless they are correct. Clerical work has always been less expensive than professional because it requires less expensive preparation and because it may be done by less mature workers, or by those who do not have the vision of an administrator or executive. Why the business men on the boards of education have not realized ere this that a principal costs too much to use as a clerk is interesting. Gradually schools are being furnished clerks, F we Ta It- er —_— ee = 88 0 ome PIT IRY a ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 15 releasing the principal for greater work. In the new principals’ clubs ideas are being exchanged and plans are being worked out which are clarifying the duties of the school clerk so that she may be of most help. The teachers and principals have done this work for so long that in many instances they have come to believe that no one else can do it so well. When it is known that the clerk in another school is able to make reports, tickets, records, keep and distribute supplies, etc., and thus relieve teachers for teaching and prin- cipals for supervision, there is great rejoicing. A fond parent asked a sage when was the proper time to begin to train his baby. The sage replied, ‘Begin with his great-grandparents.” Heredity plays a great part in the making of a good administrator. The ability to organize work and delegate duties to subordinates, to see the great plan in action and running smoothly, to direct teachers, pupils, parents, and janitors, yet work with them all, to control but keep democratic—to be able to do all of these with satisfaction to himself and others, requires a master mind. A bank president deals only with men who handle a great deal of money. A school principal must be able to be at home whether he is dealing with the smallest kindergarten child from the slums or the visiting mogu! from Timbuktu. He must have the executive ability of the manager of a big corporation and the tenderness of a mother with a baby. If principals would formulate and publish a handbook of the duties of the principal, it would be a suggestion to help the new principal and start things moving. Of course, it would soon be outofdate but one could always be in the making. With the pressure from above for increased preparation and the desire of teachers for more pay, the entrance requirements for teachers have been gradually raised from “needing a job” to a diploma of a two-year normal school, and in some places a college degree is necessary. Preparation in serv- ice is giving further training along special lines. Civil service and married women are making the competition for places rather keen. Those who are teaching realize that a low standard of preparation will tend to lower the salaries, so they gladly accept the higher requirements and study in extension classes and take summer courses at the universities to meet these demands. Necessarily those aspiring for higher places, whose ambition will not let them be content with the average, make this preparation and also a little more. Thus the principal that is to be, as well as some who are, have made more preparation than the regular teacher or the principal of former times. A great many have the bachelor’s degree with added summer study. Some have the master’s degree with added study. Others have not the college degree but have the equivalent because of courses they have taken in extension, correspondence, or summer study. The day is not far distant when boards of education will make the master’s degree the minimum requirement for a principalship. Twenty-five years ago Perry said, and it is just as true today, “Every principal should be an excellent teacher—this is imperative. However schol- arly he may be, however sincere and earnest, the principal who has never 16 NATIONAL EpucaTIon ASSOCIATION held the position of class teacher cannot put himself in the teacher’s place. He may delude himself into thinking that by his sporadic visits to the class- room, or even ‘by taking a class’ for a long period, he is getting the viewpoint of the teacher, but he is not ; and without this viewpoint he lacks the basis for sympathetic and effective supervision.” One of the oldest methods of training is by apprenticeship. In the schools this has been taken care of to some extent in the job of the assistant prin- cipal. Since these assistants are drawn from the most efficient of the teachers, and the principals are elected from the most efficient of these assistants, from a teaching standpoint, the best are always at the top. Generally the assistant principal has a regular teaching job with no time off for extra duties to re- lieve the principal. Sometimes he is off one period while the principal teaches the class. Then he does clerical work or has supervisory duties, according to whether the principal’s preference is for classroom or office work. In the larger schools an assistant, relieved of all teaching duties, is sometimes found. His duties vary with the principal—lunchroom, library, band, yard, or any extracurriculum activity. If the assistant’s duties could be so arranged that he might have part in all the working of the school—administrative, super- visory, and clerical—until he has helped everywhere, the future principalship would be better able to carry on. The doctor and the lawyer have professions. This is because they re- quire a broad cultural education before the special training is taken. Just as it is necessary for the doctor to have knowledge of such sciences as biology, chemistry, anatomy, and physiology, so it is necessary for the principal to have knowledge of such as biology, psychology, and sociology. Just as the doctor must have his period of interneship and the tawyer his apprenticeship so the schoolman must have his cadetship. A principal is supposed to create a desire for education—elementary, high-school, and college. Unless he him- self has a cultural background he cannot have much love for culture and will not inspire much love for it. No position is more strategic for control of the future in business and morals than is that of the elementary principalship. Membership not only in the principals’ clubs but dinner clubs and other community associations brings him in touch with other men who are doing things and gives him a healthy putlook on life. Here he realizes that life is not just a world of books but that it is living and doing. It has been found that the principal gives from forty to fifty percent of his time to supervision. The purpose of all teaching is to develop the in- dividual into the most efficient social being he is capable of becoming. So supervision is for the development of the teacher into the “‘most professionally efficient person he is capable of becoming.” To render a teacher disposed to improve and convince him that he can thru selfimprovement, require tact, and a type of leadership that is essentially cooperative. The normal school and the teachers college have developed the young student to the enthusiastic point of taking a grade. It remains for the progressive building principal to pies lata . 1es ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 17 keep him going in scientific and efficient direction. If the principal’s prepara- tion has been a wise combination of ability, environment, scholarship, ex- perience, commonsense, and special studies in psychology and methods he is ready for the change. His broad educational philosophy, tinctured with a kindly gracious manner, will, thru impersonal leadership, help the new teacher, the weak teacher, and even the superior teacher, to go in the direc- tion of a master teacher and even higher. The principal, in his commanding position, should be the friend of educa- tion in capitalizing the talents of his fellow-workers. He can free them from set procedures, can enlarge their professional interests, and assist them to improve themselves and the system. To do this he must be prepared by hay- ing an understanding sympathy with humans and a democratic mind full of faith that accomplishes great works. He must travel in many paths, streets, highways, and on uncharted seas. Some right paths for the principal to be prepared to follow are: well- prepared classroom visits, careful notetaking, scientific analysis, and frequent conferences flavored with goodwill. Some interesting streets on which to walk are: teachers’ meetings where cooperative participation is the pro- cedure and where cabinets or committees of teachers help to manage the school; demonstration classes where open minds may see others at work using proper technic and afterwards share experiences with their colleagues; scientific testing of groups and individuals to be used as diagnoses for re- medial measure or grade placement. Some broad highways to travel with his teachers are: university extension courses thru which the teacher keeps young and new; professional writing whereby growing ideals become the property of others; alert case studies by which observed facts may contribute to the general good of childhood. It is said that a principal should be pre- pared to stroll, walk, or ride on these ways at least half of his time. That he has done and will continue to do, and he would often enjoy taking the air with his superior teacher and exploring heavenly ways undreamed of by super- intendents, board members, and taxpayers. In 1908 Frederic Ernest Farrington gave as the most important qualifica- tions of the principal: scholarly attainments, teaching skill, executive ability, a strong and attractive personality, and the capacity for growth. In 1931 these are still the most important, but like the seven cardinal principles of education, there is need for more detailed definitions and knowledge of how to acquire these qualities. The principal’s preparation is like a famous bookcase—‘‘Always complete but never finished.”’ When a man ceases to grow he dies whether he knows it or not. Various methods are offered at the present whereby a principal may keep eternally growing. One of the oldest is summer school attendance and today he may study along any line that he thinks best. For some, university extension work during the school year is the only possible course to be taken. Professional and nonprofessional reading keep him informed as to what others are doing. The publications of the various departments of the Na- 18 NATIONAL EpucaTION ASSOCIATION tional Education Association make a good reference library. Membership in professional organizations and attendance at educational meetings are doing more to help the principal carry on than any other opportunities he has. ‘The writing of professional articles is one branch of improvement that the ele- mentary school principal has not used very much. When he does, he will begin to know more clearly what he is trying to do and will be able to help not only his own school but other schools with his findings and experiments. The elementary school principals are awake to their jobs and doing them. The research work and recommendations, the organizations and publications that they have sponsored have touched every state in the Union. ‘Their study and organizations have given definiteness to their work, shown the public that principals are more than teachers, that they are administrators and supervisors. It has shown to the principals themselves, as the angel showed Elijah, that they are not working alone. THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PUBLIC Mrs. HuGH BrApDForRD President, National Congress of Parents and Teachers, Sacramento, California N THE dim past when teachers, principals, and school administrators generally felt that routine and formal education was their sole province; that class work was the limit of the field of service, and that the curriculum was the range of their teaching—the public stood apart, criticized or feebly cheered, feeling unnecessary to school education. Today there is a different feeling abroad; the school stands with the home in its community; it is regarded as an integral and vital part of community life; its success or failure reflects not upon the teachers alone but upon the community as a whole. The school no longer exists in intellectual isolation, it lives as a great social unit, with a vision of education that is as far reaching as life itself. The public in a reciprocal way is more aware of its responsibility to the school than ever before because it has had greater opportunity to contact the school and to work with it in a spirit of understanding and mutual respect. Yet that responsiveness and cordiality of the public toward the school has been largely the result of and is yet greatly dependent upon the attitudes of the principals and the superintendents of schools. It is also due to the fact that parents and teachers alike have too long been operating upon the basis of the past and realize that now is a time to combine forces. ‘The principal has seen his real function in securing the cooperation of all the forces that make for progress. He may be considered as the center of an educational opportunity, with three concentric circles of service. Each of these represents a section of the “public.”” Within each circle is a reciprocity of interest and of service. His first radius draws about him teachers and pupils in the circle of school life; as administrator and director of school functions, the attitudes of his teachers will reflect his policies and ideals. His personal influence is ip in oing The ele- will help its. lem. ‘ions tudy tblic and wed itors nce; lum ebly ‘rent it is ilure The unit, ic in ever d to | has es of fact basis cipal that onal sents id of le of udes ce is Seta ecules. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 19 as great as his educational leadership; the impact he makes upon the hearts and minds of his fellow teachers directly influences the attitude of the com- munity toward school support. He needs only to state school needs or school ideals upon a basis of expected cooperation and joint responsibility, and the community will wholeheartedly respond. If, however, he is too conservative to see his responsibility to the public, or to invite it to share the responsibility of education, he immediately limits himself, his opportunity, and his school program. As for the principal, he is the leader, he is the interpreter of education, and of life itself to his interested school group. His ideals of education be- come the motivating force in his school. He may interpret education that the teachers and pupils look upon school life as a joyous adventure to be shared, or it may become a humdrum of monotonous routine. His work is no mere scrutinizing of classrooms, management of details concerning his school plant, and interviews on personal problems, but his educational leadership means enthusiasm, vision, sympathy, understanding, a philosophy of life that finds interest in all phases of education, in all classes of people, and one that recognizes education in humble garb as well as in academic robes. He sees his school as a part of the community; he adapts it to the needs of the children; he measures its possibilities of service by his knowledge of that part of the public which it must touch if it is to succeed; he estimates the effectiveness of its whole program by the way the school program improves the home and the environment. The pupils react upon the public as a dis- tinct, growing, dynamic force that greatly influences the place of education in any community. They are the mirrors of educational methods and ideals. What they reflect of confidence and pride in the principal and the school is quickly caught by a discerning adult world about them; the school profits by a spirit of loyalty because the children have sensed the friendliness, interest, and idealism of the principal. The principal’s first great chance at interest- ing the public in education is, therefore, by creating an enthusiasm for educa- tion in the minds of children and teachers, for the influence upon each child becomes a fixed attitude toward education. The future of education depends upon the impression it makes here and now in the minds of children. In his second circle, the principal finds a larger radius to contact, one which includes home with school. The children come from homes, and re- turn to them; they belong first to homes and then to schools. Homes mean parents, another part of the public, and a most vitally interested part. As education ceases to be mere ‘‘mass production,” and becomes individualized, the principal finds the need to see the child in his home environment, and to enlist the interest of parents in cooperating with the school program. Thrift, safety, health, good reading, character education all require home and school efforts in a unified, reenforced program. The progressive principal seeks to enlist the interest of the parents in such a program, knowing that this inter- est of the parents in the school is a fundamental value. While parents should be interested in the school plant, and should be given opportunity to learn of its fitness in light, ventilation, and general sanitation, they desire much 20 NATIONAL EpucaTIon AsSOCIATION more earnestly to know the newer methods, the advanced theories, and the purposes of education. Where they are “permitted” to share this informa- tion, the understanding of content and method produces greater cooperation in school attendance, in home study, and in financial support of the school ; improved legislation for teachers and schools, greater respect for the teach- ing profession, and a greater confidence in education itself are assured re- sultants. The principal is in a strategic position to capitalize the interests of this part of his public by drawing together the parents and teachers in con- ference groups. The programs at parent-teacher meetings should embody all of these possibilities of cooperation. The principal has a great oppor- tunity to link the school to the home by bonds of understanding, friendliness, and confidence if he looks on education as a cooperative project. Give the parents, as part of the public, a chance to cooperate with the school along lines which are jointly the responsibility of parents and teachers. Too often teachers take for granted that parents will not, cannot, understand content and methods. Give them general information. Try them. They will not fail. The publicity of such cooperation alone is most valuable in creating favorable backgrounds for education. A new link that draws parents closer to the school is that of parent educa- tion. It is fair to presume that principals and teachers would prefer school children whose health and behavior reflected the best of home care and pro- tection ; that teachers would have more time to teach if disciplined children entered school; it is equally fair to presume that parents would send finer children to school if they knew how to make them so. Parent education is to be considered as one of the most encouraging and vital developments in edu- cation today. Its possibilities are unlimited in its effect on human progress and betterment. Parent education is to be looked on not merely as improve- ment of home conditions but as improvement of school and community con- ditions as well. The principal who can interest the parents in maintaining parent-education classes does a real service to his school and his community, and binds his parent-public in fealty forever more. The reciprocal service of home and school is fundamental for no school can afford to refuse the requests of parents, who seek guidance from teachers in this special field, and who would lose confidence in a school that refuse] to meet their need; on the other hand no home can be indifferent to the un- selfish leadership and real interest that is displayed by those whose vision, studies, and experience have made them specialists in this line. A mutual confidence is inspired, and even teachers concede that they have gathere] wisdom from the experience of parents in handling child problems. The third radius is that of the community. The principal finds his oppor- tunity to reach this section of the public by less direct methods. He links his school with the industrial and business world in order to keep in touch with modern progress in those fields and also that he may be able to assist in voca- tional adjustments for the pupils. There need not be opposition to and mis- understanding of school programs if employers know more of what the school aims to be and to do. There would be less criticism and more cooperation if i j i d the yrma- ation hool ; each- d re- sts of | con- body ppor- iness, e the along often ntent 1 not ating duca- chool | pro- ldren finer | is to edu- YZTess rove- - con- ining inity, chool chers fuse ] e un- ision, utual here | ppor- cs his with voca- mis- chool ‘on if a ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 21 “community nights” were held at schools with programs that draw in leaders in industrial education, as well as leaders along academic lines. Even tax- payers as taxpayers respond favorably when they see the demonstration of school activities. The principal may also make many constructive contacts that will convince the public that the success of schools depends upon en- vironmental influences as well as upon curriculums and school management. No school can reach its maximum if it is handicapped by indifferent parents, by cheap and vulgar community standards, by unsanitary conditions, by dangerous crossings, by unlawful enterprises. The influences for good and evil react upon children and their possibilities of becoming worthy citizens. Until the public knows its schools, it cannot adequately serve them; and until the school more vigorously and cordially invites its public to share the great and joyous burden of education, it will not reach its ultimate goal. To the principal, wherever he may be, we wish him eyes to see, heart to understand, and voice to tell the public of an educational vision for Ameri- can youth. For the National Congress of Parents and Teachers, we speak our appreciation of his courage, his vision, and his service—may he find in our organization the understanding he deserves, the support he needs, and the friendliness which makes of earth a paradise. MERICAN Education Week affords an excellent time not only to pay homage to this great national festival but at the same time, if organized and planned carefully by the principal, should afford an excellent opportunity to sell the school system to the community and send away many a disgruntled taxpayer with a different vision of what the schools are actually doing —HaArry Hutter, director of evening schools, Fordson Schools, Dearborn, Mich. CHARACTER TRAINING THRU SAFETY EDUCATION! RAYMOND ELLIOTT POLLICH Princital, Grant School, Los Angeles, California HAT character training is essential to good citizenship goes without question. Character training is not new to education. The develop- ment of the character of the child to the point where he will have the phy- sical and moral strength to live up to the highest standards of society has always been the prime purpose of education. However, we must realize that education is influenced by environment and the child of today lives in a vastly more complex environment than did the child of any past generation. We can no longer trust to chance in character training. The many and varied forces that influence the character of the child of today demand that we give a definite place to character training in our curriculum. The danger of confusing ends with means in education—We elementary school principals must be very careful in our thinking. The elementary school of today is a highly complicated organization. On every side we hear numerous theories and definitions of elementary education. Unless we think clearly and are able to discriminate between the important and unimportant we are very apt to become so confused in our minds as to give too much thought and attention to the minor purposes of education and too little to the major or real purpose of education. What is the real purpose of education? Is it merely the development of proficiency in the socalled basic subjects? Is this education? No. Decidedly no. Good citizenship is the real purpose of education. The development of citizens who have the strength of character to live according to the highest standards of society and to continue to work toward the further raising of those standards is education. To produce such citizens we must first develop character. Does this mean that we are to disregard arithmetic, reading, writing, and the other socalled basic subjects? Not at all. Proficiency in these sub- jects is absolutely necessary to good citizenship. These are the modern tools of citizenship. To be a good citizen a few hundred years ago a man needed to be trained in the use of the tools of good citizenship just as he does today. However, the tools of our ancestors, say of the caveman period, were quite different from those of today. Reading and writing were unknown and unnecessary to them. The good citizen then, as today, was the man who could care for himself and his dependents and at the same time contribute to the welfare iof the tribe. Knowledge of the customs and traditions of the tribe, the use of the spear, ability to trap and kill animals for food were all necessary qualifications of good citizenship. It is not necessary for us to learn the use of the spear or to capture animals in order to be good citizens today. But 1An address given to the first general session of the Department at the Los Angeles convention, June 29, 1931.—Editor. [ 22] Ji thout relop- -phy- y has > that in a ation. r and | that ntary ntary - hear think rtant much tle to nt of dedly nt of ighest ng of velop iting, > sub- tools ained vever, ‘erent ssary re for elfare le use “ssary le use - But ngeles xs = ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 23 it is necessary, nevertheless, that we be taught the use of tools that will aid us to care for ourselves and our dependents and contribute something to society in so doing. Among these tools are reading, writing, and arithmetic. In providing our pupils with the tools of citizenship we must at the same time develop in them a strength of character that will enable them to use these tools to the best interest of society. Without supplying this strength of character we may be placing dynamite in the hands of the anarchist or a revolver in the hands of a murderer. We teachers and principals must be careful to distinguish at all times between the tools of education (the subjects of the curriculum) and educa- tion itself (training for citizenship). The school is the leading, but not the sole means of education—Another thought that the elementary school principal should keep in mind at all times is that the school does not have a monopoly on education. The dissemina- tion of knowledge, the development of character, ideals of citizenship were in vogue long before the school, as such, was dreamed of. The early educa- tion of the child naturally belongs in the home. The parents are the real teachers of youth. The school is a supplement to the home. But you say, “the home has fallen down on the job,” and it is becoming more and more necessary that the school assume many of the prerogatives that formerly belonged to the home. If that is the case let us face the situa- tion squarely. We must reverse what seems to be the natural order and place the cart before the horse, as it were, and make the home supplementary to the school in child training. Nevertheless, let us not fail to remember that the home will always play an important part in the training of its young. Besides the home and the school we have other factors to consider. What are some of the other forces that play a part in the building of the characters of our children? The church, the theater, the newspaper, the playground, the public library and hundreds of additional forces. It is clear, therefore, that there are many forces that share in the character training of our children. The problem is that of bringing these forces to- gether for the best interests of the child. A program must be developed that will afford each of these various forces an opportunity to work toward a common objective—character development. Which of these forces is to take the leadership? Which is to map out the program of procedure? None other than the school. Our experimental character education efforts—For the past several years we at Grant School have been at work on projects that tend to develop character. The first project of this nature was tried some six years ago when teachers decided to stress courtesy in their work with the children. In order that they might work along the same general lines and toward the same general objectives, a committee of their own members listed a number of activities to be followed by each teacher. The teachers were so pleased with the results of their first attempt at working out a cooperative project that they decided at the beginning of the new school year to attack a real project in character development. Since that time the development each year of a 24 NATIONAL EpucATION ASSOCIATION definite character-forming project has become the policy of this school and the community which it serves. Our first serious attempt at making a more or less scientific study of the problem was started as far back as 1924-25. At this time we decided to develop a “cooperative program for the study and training of manners and morals.” After giving over several faculty meetings to discussion of the problem a committee of teachers was assigned to outline the plan of study to be followed thruout the year. The plan was presented, discussed, altered, and finally adopted. Each teacher was given a copy of the adopted plan for use as a guide in her work. Weekly faculty meetings were held at which the various teachers reported on the progress of those phases of the work which applied to the school as a whole. At these meetings the teachers felt free to express their honest opinions as to the success or failure of the plan since they themselves were wholly responsible for the entire program. The plan was their own, not superimposed, and it enlisted their entire interest. Several early activities of the teachers and parents furnished them with information for character development and served as a working basis. These activities included: the reading, reviewing and discussion of the best books, magazines and periodicals on the subject; the development of a list of out- standing instances of poor citizenship; the development of forms to be used in making case studies ; and outlining the important headings of a citizenship self-rating scale for upper grade children. The people of the community became as intensely interested in this work as the teachers. They participated fully in practically every phase of the activ- ity. Thru parent committees and thru the Parent-Teacher Association they not only cooperated in carrying out definite directions but they made real con- tributions to the project by studying, surveying and analyzing certain situa- tions bearing on the general study. The deep interest in the work of the school shown by the parents has naturally brought in certain other community agencies. The close associa- tion between the parents and the motion picture theaters, clubs, newspapers, and churches made it possible for these organizations to cooperate to the point where the school has become a live force in the community. Though we believed that we had accomplished considerable in this first study and all were inclined to continue the work of character development, we felt that morals and manners as such were rather abstract subjects. Some- thing more concrete would better serve our purpose. We began to look for some subject that possesses real significance in the minds and lives of the teachers, children and parents alike, as a vehicle upon which to develop char- acter. Citizenship naturally presented itself to our minds as good citizen- ship was our ultimate objective. Citizenship, however, is a rather indefinite term and means something different to each individual. What we wanted was some definite phase of citizenship that entered into the lives of all of the people of the community—parents as well as children, some life situation common to all, at least to the degree that all were aware of its existence. peg ae a ol and of the Jed to rs and of the study ltered, an for which work rs felt e plan . The est. 1 with These books, f out- e used enship work activ- n they il con- situa- ts has ssocia- apers, to the s first ment, Some- ok for of the _ char- tizen- efinite ‘anted of the lation e. _ ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 25 Good citizenship thru safety education—After careful study we agreed that “safety” presented a subject that fulfilled our requirements exactly. Here was something with which we were all more or less familiar. Here was something that entered into the daily lives of all people——young and old alike. Here was a subject that possessed all of the factors of good citizenship. As a matter of fact, training in safety is training in citizenship. Here was a subject around which strong characters could be developed. And perhaps most important, it was a subject thru which we could arouse the interest and secure the participation of the parents. We accordingly set to work to outline a program of procedure for the de- velopment of character, based on safety education. This time we enlisted the aid of several mothers in working out the outline itself. The Safety Committee affords an opportunity to all of the children of the school in one way or another, to participate in the government of the school. ‘Ihe Committee meets once each week, at which time matters per- taining to the welfare of the student body are considered and acted upon. At these meetings the members are given an opportunity to think and act for themselves, keeping the best interests of the school in mind at all times. A sub-committee, known as Desk Officers, handles the cases of those chil- dren brought before them during the lunch period. A card is made out for each child appearing before it. On this card is noted the name of the child, his room number, the offense and the disposition made of the case. Any child brought before the Desk Officers may appeal to the principal or safety faculty adviser. Members of this sub-committee have a great responsibility in de- ciding cases brought before them inasmuch as the definite rules of the school are few and the officers are forced to use judgement. Practically their only guide in solving problems is “the best interest of the school.” The Safety Patrolmen and the offenders are also afforded citizenship training in that each must state his case and either abide by the ruling of the Desk Officers or appeal the case. At the end of each semester the Desk Officers compile a report showing, among other things, the number of cases brought before them from each room and the number and types of offenses. This report is placed in the hands of the students. It is studied by the members of each classroom in an effort to determine how the class might work to make a better showing on the next report. Another general school activity in which the Safety Committee plays no small part is the weekly assembly. Each Friday we hold an assembly of all 4th, 5th and 6th grade children. ‘The president of the Safety Committee presides at these meetings. The purposes of the assembly are to allow the children an opportunity to practise the simple rules of parliamentary law, to speak before a large group, to become acquainted with what other children in the school are doing, to instil patriotism, and to let the children feel that they have a voice in establishing policies of the school. 26 NATIONAL EpUCATION ASSOCIATION The program followed at these assemblies is: 1. Call to order 2. Flag salute 3. Patriotic song 4. Reading of the minutes 5. School problems (parliamentary practise) 6. Class program 7. Patriotic song 8. Adjournment. About twenty minutes is given over to school problems (or to the teachers and parliamentary practise). At this time the children discuss and act upon problems of general welfare to the school. Such matters as clean grounds, leaving the grounds without permission, rules for games, and fire drill are handled at this time. The class program of each assembly is presented by one of the classes and usually a demonstration of the work of that class is given. Other responsibilities of the Safety Committee are: To assist the police- men at the boulevard crossings; to patrol the yard during play periods; to handle the cafeteria lines; to supervise the use of playground apparatus; to keep order in the halls; and to assist with fire drills. The Safety Committee has proved a great success in teaching citizenship to the children of the school. This statement is true, not only of those who are actually members of the Committee, but of the entire student body. The Safety Committee has so conducted itself that it has gained the respect of practically every child in the school, as well as of the parents and teachers. The children regard the Safety Committee as their committee and make every effort to cooperate with it. Every child in school is ambitious to be- come a member of the Safety Committee. These attitudes on the part of the children mean nothing more or less than respect for constituted authority which is fundamental in good citizenship, and essential to character develop- ment. As a further means of stimulating good citizenship we issue a small num- ber of honor certificates each semester. These honor certificates are issued to children who are outstanding citizens of Grant School. No child is awarded an honor certificate simply because he is a “‘good”’ child or because his grades are high. We expect these things of our children. We have no elaborate system of records, credits or merits as a means of awarding honor certificates. They are awarded to the few children whom everyone knows to be the finest children of the school. The children know who of their class- mates are outstanding citizens and appreciate that they deserve the awards. We have been issuing honor certificates for the past five years and we have yet to hear of a child complaining about our choice of recipients. However, I might say that several parents have questioned our awarding a certificate to Frank and not to their John. Children are fair when treated fairly. Though “safety” served as the basis in our efforts to develop character, many other activities that cannot be classed directly under this head are also carried out. af tt. of eee ~ i, tt a | na achers upon yunds, ll are ed by lass is volice- ds; to us; to enship e who The ect of chers. make to be- of the hority velop- num- issued ild is cause ve no honor cnows class- vards. have yever, ficate acter, e also ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 27 Courtesy clubs were organized by teachers, each child in the room being a member of the courtesy club until by some discourteous act his name was dropped from the list. He was reinstated in the club when by some courteous act he proved himself again worthy of membership. Several parents, when informed of this idea by means of the general letter, formed family courtesy clubs in their homes. Effort to correlate citizenship with other subjects of the curriculum is meeting with considerable success. Many worthwhile projects along this line are developed by teachers. Language, composition, drawing, home eco- nomics, reading, agriculture, and especially the social subjects lend them- selves best for training in this field. The citizenship side of the report card in vogue in all Los Angeles ele- mentary schools is used as a basis for character training. The citizenship subjects listed on the card are taken one by one and carefully analyzed by the various classes. For example, compositions on courtesy in school, in the home, and in public places, are written by the upper grades. The best of these are titled and subcitled, mimeographed, and bound into small booklets for use in the lower grades. A similar set of individual compositions is sub- titled, mimeographed, and bound but not given titles. The lower grade chil- dren read over the personal stories written by their friends in the upper grades, discuss the stories and titles with their teachers, then read over the set without titles for the purpose of giving them the correct titles. These are proving very successful for many reasons: the stories, written by friends and relations of the little children, are of real interest to children; there is the fun of deciding whether the story should be titled Cleanliness, Honesty, Courtesy, Dependability or some other one of the factors of good citizenship shown on the report scale. Each month a general letter is sent to every parent having children in the school. These letters come directly from the principal and contain, among other things, at least one paragraph on some topic dealing with character training. These letters give to parents information, directions, suggestions, and requests regarding such phases of the subjects as: the meaning of good citizenship, the meaning of moral education, responsibility as training for citizenship, what the parent can do to cooperate with the school in strengthen- ing character, attendance at motion picture shows, late hours for school chil- dren, and the real meaning of punctuality. From the very start the Parent-Teacher Association offered every possible cooperation in developing our citizenship plan. Money for nutrition work, for visual education purposes and for beautifying the school and grounds—- @ most necessary factor for teaching good citizenship—was had for the ask- ing. Time was no object with these good people when it came to assisting in the work of the school. Programs in keeping with the project were given and speakers who were authorities on character and citizenship training were secured to speak at the meetings. In ways too numerous to state the parents are cooperating with the teachers in developing methods and devices for im- proving the instruction in citizenship education. 28 NATIONAL EpUCATION ASSOCIATION At least two very worthy studies on phases of moral education made by the parents should be cited at this point: (1) A committee of parents and teachers was assigned the task of list- ing home responsibilities for the children of the school district. This study was made because we realized that “responsibility” is essential in character training. It was further realized that the children of our school had too few responsibilities. “en parents and three teachers comprised the membership of this committee. A very able woman was chairman and the work was apportioned to the different parents with the teachers acting in an advisory capacity. After some eight meetings, much library work, consultation, tele- phoning, and letter writing, covering a period of over four weeks, this com- mittee presented a report listing certain duties applicable to children living in the community. ‘The report was placed in the hands of every parent in the district. Unquestionably the various home responsibilities listed in this report proved of value to the community, but realization of those parents who made the report that they really had something to offer the school was a thousand times more worthwhile than all such reports ever written. (2) The next committee was made up of ten mothers who acted as chair- men of as many sub-committees. Each sub-committee consisting of four others brought the total number of parents serving on this committee to fifty. ‘The work of the committee was to formulate suggestions for making the home more attractive and beneficial to the child. The first report of this committee gave seven suggestions on the subject. Each of these seven sug- gestions was then placed in the hands of a sub-committee whose task was to go into detail regarding that particular suggestion. “The committee submitted eight reports after three months’ study and investigation. Feeling that the wise use of money is essential to good citizenship, a com- mittee of more than thirty mothers is now at work on a study to be called “The Child’s Budget.”” ‘The purpose of this study is to present information to parents that will be helpful in training children in the use of money. ‘The committee plans to learn: the amount of money children in the various grades should be permitted to have; the part that should be given by the parent and the part that the child should be expected to earn; the amount the child should save; the amount he should spend, and suggestions to be followed by children in making weekly budgets. Summary—By means of the work of the teachers in the school, the parents in the home and in the Parent-Teacher Association, a common cooperative plan in citizenship training is being developed. Each of these forces is fol- lowing a general policy to improve citizenship thru character development. The general policy being followed is based on safety, since safety is of real significance to all and possesses many possibilities for allowing the children to develop initiative, to do independent thinking, and to bear responsibility. All such activities build character and promote better citizenship. by ist- idy ter ew hip vas ory sle- ym- ing in ved the und air- our fty. the this ug- 5 to ted om- lled ‘ion [he ious the unt » be ants tive fol- ent. real ren ity. ee * TT A PLEA FOR THE PRE-PRIMER CLASS Atice M. Woopson Assistant to Director of Primary Instruction, Washingon, D. C. UMERICAL tabulations from numerous investigations which have been made on retardation thru the grades show the degree to which the children in various school systems are progressing at the normal rate, rapid rate, and slow rate. Such studies definitely point out that the greatest amount of retardation is among first grade children. ’ According to one survey! nearly 20 percent of the boys and girls are repeating grades one and two, 11 percent in the third grade and 5 percent and less in the seventh and eighth grades. In rural schools 25 percent of the pupils in the first grade are repeating. In one of the most recent studies on school failure, the investigator says,” “Grade | is the greatest failing grade, being responsible for 24 percent of all the failure in the schools. This fact is true thruout the country.” How does this affect democracy ? First, failure is said by psychologists to endanger seriously the morale of the individual which means, the child who repeats suffers a moral and ethical loss. “Stimulus of sucess is an essential condition of normal development and mental health. Continued failure on the other hand is likely to develop an unsocial attitude, shut in personality, and to plant seeds, perhaps, for mental disorders—.’” Second, there is a financial loss to the community in failure which comes from the added expense of repeating the grade. Third, it is a serious thing for a child to fail to do a year’s work in a vear and to be forced thereby to go over the same ground the second time. Teachers feel the weight of the responsibility, yet failure is common. We owe it to the child, to ourselves, and to society to prevent such waste, if it be possible. Although the seriousness of the extent of non-promotion in public schools with its effect upon the morale of the individual and on the financial loss of the community is significant in all grades, the great weight of non-promotion rests upon the first grade. Causes for failure in first grades—In current practise, a child six years of age chronologically is automatically admitted into the first grade where the teaching of the three R’s begins. First grade promotion usually takes place when the child has acquired the knowledges, skills, habits, and attitudes which are standards for this Strayer, George D., director. Report of the Survey of the Schools of the Town of Hammonton, N. J. Institute of Educational Research, Division of Field Studies. New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1926, p. 59. *Percival, Walter P. Study of Causes and Subjects of School Failure. Berkeley: University of California Printing Office, 1927. “Burnham, William H. Success and Failure as Conditions of Mental Health. Massachusetts Society for Mental Hygiene, 1919. [29] 30 NATIONAL EpucaTION ASSOCIATION grade. The decisive factor for promotion is reading and also decided em- phasis is placed on traditional subjects. Evidence that reading is the decisive factor is sustained in answer to 166 administrators who said that children who could read are promoted regardless of other subjects. The non-promo- tion, then, is no doubt due to lack of reading readiness. We must admit that a child with a chronological age of six is not always ready to do first grade work. It is safe to say that chronological age is not the important factor in’ reading readiness, although in actual practises, it is the factor that determines the attempt to give children reading instruction. Other means of determining a child’s eligibility to meet first grade stand- ards are necessary. Of 204 administrators who were asked to check question- naires which determined admission to first grade, mental age received more weight than any other factor together with general ability to do first grade work. ‘Teaching effects in phonetics work and reading comprehension for pupils with a mental age of less than five and one half years are wasted.” A mental age of 6 or 6% is in general necessary for standard first grade achievement. Out of 55 failures tested in the first grade 49 had a mental age of less than 6 and 37 less than 5% yrs.” All children who failed in the first grade were among those of low mental age and low I. Q. Dickson’s study* of 1,000 first grades pointed out that below the mental age of 6, the child is not fully ready to do first grade work, below 5% years the chances that standard first grade work will be done are practically negligible. Although mental age will be highly significant in determining reading readiness, it will not determine whether the child has informational readi- ness, without which words are empty sounds to him. The admission of chil- dren to first grade classes, then, needs to be on a basis of objective measure- ments, and subjective measurements as principal’s and teacher’s opinions. If the child is to accomplish first grade work, utmost care needs to be taken to determine his status or readiness for this curriculum content and to discover whether he has ability to master it. Yet it is quite unfair to say that a child should remain in the kindergarten more than one year inasmuch as the achievement in the kindergarten is not the necessary preparation for the first grade. We conclude, then, that chronological age is in itself of little significance for reading achievement. Since the kindergarten curriculum does not make 1Arthur, Grace. “A Quantitative Study of the Results of Grouping First-Grade Classes According to Mental Age.” Journal of Educational Research 12: 173-85; October, 1925. 2Zornow, Theodore A., and Pechstein, Louis A. “An Experiment in the Classifica- cion of First-Grade Children Through the Use of Mental Tests.” Elementary School Journal 23: 136-46; October, 1922. ’Terman, L. M. Intelligence of School Children. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1919. p. 47. and- tion- nore rade 1 for ed,”1 rade less rade ental rears cally ding eadi- chil- sure- . If ‘n to over rten ; not ance nake rade 1-85; fica- ‘hool iffiin ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 31 a complete contribution to the important subject of the first grade, e. g. read- ing, there is a need for bridging the gap for the mentally and socially handi- capped child of six years with a course of reading readiness. Out of this special course should emerge those traits which indicate the child’s readiness not only to call word symbols but to comprehend them in their proper rela- tions. Organization of the pre-primer class—The fact that one-fifth of the first grade children are not ready to read presents practical problems for adminis- trators to study and attempt to solve. Any procedure to reduce first grade failure needs to be based on the fundamental principles of how to make learning profitable and economical for the child. There is a need for: 1. Recognition of fact that there are individual differences of children’s innate ability to learn which can be partially determined by measurement. 2. Provision of a differential curriculum to meet various needs and capacities of children. 3. Plan of being admitted to first grade on the basis of the child’s capacity and ability to accomplish first grade work. The organization of a pre-primer class is the best procedure for meeting this need. The pre-primer class which is organized in many of the pro- gressive cities is for the child who is too old for kindergarten socially and chronologically, but not mentally efficient for regular first grade work. These children constitute serious problems for the teachers. They are misfits in the regular classes, require special attention, and render more difficult the work with the other children. They will fail to achieve a satisfactory rating in the pursuit of any curriculum which is adapted to the abilities of the majority. The purpose of the pre-primer class is to eliminate the psychological effect of remaining too long in the kindergarten and of repeating the regular first grade work. No intelligent plan can be instituted, however, until the men- tal level is known. This level is found by school psychologists whose work it is to make mental examinations and determine the child’s attitudes. Group- ing for the pre-primer class is based on objective measures of ability to per- form plus subjective measures of ability, i. e. teacher’s judgments. If the teacher’s judgment shows the child is more capable than objective measures indicate, the former should be given consideration. Such an organization necessitates fewer children to the teacher, thus per- mitting more attention to individual instruction. The pre-primer child nevertheless, is transferred to the regular class as soon as he shows ability to do first grade work. After the children are grouped, a curriculum must be provided in pro- portion to their quantitative mental ability. Dickson’s report! shows that approximately one out of every six who fail first grade repeat the beginning first grade, hence we see that the curriculum is not suited to the interests, 1Dickson, V. E. Mental Tests and the Classroom Teacher. Yonkers-on-Hudson, N. Y.: World Book Co., 1923. 32 NATIONAL EpUCATION ASSOCIATION needs and capacities of the beginner who is below normal in that grade. The lack of interest and exercise which these children have in regular first grade work should lead to careful investigations of methods and subjectmatter to be used in preparing them in the first stages of reading readiness. “There must be an attempt made to discover the social needs and interests of the pre- primer child at his own level and give opportunity for such expressions as will produce growth and lead readily to the next step in his development. The principal and teacher must attempt to secure a complete inventory of the child’s emotional, physical, social, chronological, and mental status. Curriculum makers should seek the material which on every possible oc- casion would tend to develop in the child comprehending and tolerant views of the world. Especially should human relations in the classroom be so handled as to include as many types and varieties as can efficiently be made to function in the experiences of the pre-primer child. Individual and group activities, reading, discussions, and excursions will be chosen in light of the analysis and appraisal of activities in which people engage. An experiment with a pre-primer class—In an attempt to formulate a program of work necessary to meet the needs and interests of a pre-primer class at their proper level by using methods which are suited to their char- acteristics, the following experiment was conducted in Washington, D. C. The group of children were selected by obiective and subjective measure- ments, e. g., by intelligence tests and the opinion of the principal, super- visors, and teachers who were guided by an analysis of the child’s behavioristic tendencies. Since it is characteristic of the child who is mentally retarded to gain greater experiences and added interests thru observation, excursions were made the medium for all work. The first excursion was to the bakery. During the following two weeks, the children informally discussed the process of bread making as they saw it, kinds of bread, activities and dress of the baker, tracing later from the story of wheat to the loaf of bread, and finally a recipe for making bread was made. These experiences were broadened thru the guidance of the teacher by concrete materials labeled around the room, appropriate pic- tures on bakery activities with descriptive sentences under each, an illus- trative scrapbook, charts, signs, and visual education slides pertaining to the project at hand. The program of reading readiness was centered around the excursion in that reading was correlated entirely with the children’s interests and ex- periences at the bakery. Hence, the words developed were true concepts to the class, as they were taken from their actual contact with a life situation. Care was taken in the selection, however, that the choice of words taught fell within the range of the first five hundred of the Gates’ Word List. As the project progressed, simple reading units were composed from the con- crete data the excursion had afforded, bound in a book cover with a drawn illustration pertaining to each unit. A copy of the book was given to each child, as his reading textbook. The rade ‘r to nust pre- Is as lent. y of > OC- iews e€ so nade roup the te a imer har- ure- per- istic d to ions ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 33 Other excursions were taken to the market, grocery store, zoo, dairy, post- office, and department stores from which projects were launched and used as the basis for reading units which were added to the pre-primer textbook during the development of the project. At the end of the term, the reading books compiled consisted of meaningful concrete reading units with illustra- tions, work material, thought reading tests, a table of contents, word lists and review work all concentrating on the actual experiences the children had enjoyed. The pre-primer book is original and concrete in every detail. It is a narrative story of simple reading units and pictures of the activities of the pre-primer class. The book contains 890 reading words, 147 different new words counting all inflectional forms except “‘s,” average word repetitions are 15, the average number of new words per reading page is 3, there are 150 one line sentences, and 12 two line sentences. Informal and remedial tests were given every two weeks during the experi- ment. Graphs were kept of the progress of each child. Scientific and psycho- logical principles were recognized in that the following points were followed: 1. Tasks assigned to the children were broken up into short, simple units, care- fully presented and illustrated. 2. More stimulation was given to keep their interest and attention acute. 3. Concrete illustration was used in all work. 4. Children were assigned only the most essential of new material. 5. In English, basic facts and principles thru habit formation were established rather than attempting extensive use of abstract concepts. 6. Short drills repeated at frequent intervals were given. 7. Much emphasis was placed on diagnostic and remedial procedures. 8. Training was given in habitual-response behavior. Outcomes of the experiment are numerous. In a school so administered the children naturally progress according to their interests and needs. The program created a change in the children’s attitude towards school as a whole and towards work. Children too timid to enter into play activities were reasonably encouraged to do so. Many children were helped to work to their maximum mental, physical, and emotional capacities. a e ° ° ‘a ” Summary—The organization of pre-primer classes is “food for thought for the elementary school principals. The writer has discussed three points: (1) the great amount of failure in our first grades caused by the large num- ber of children six years of age chronologically who are not ready for the regular first grade curriculum; (2) the organization of the pre-primer class meets the retardation difficulty ; (3) an experiment which worked out success- fully with such a group. Probably the day will come when our kinder- gartens, during the second semester, will take the role of a real pre-primer class. THE DESIRABLE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HOME OF THE PRE-SCHOOL CHILD* CLAUDE J. DyKHOUSE High School Principal, Plymouth, Michigan LL people may be born equal but they remain in that state of equality for only a short time after birth. Of all the millions of people in the world no two are exactly alike. This fact is brought clearly to the mind of the teacher and principal each fall when the children are ready to start the kindergarten. They differ in many ways. Some are older than others, and some are larger and stronger. Still others have had broad social experiences and not a few have never been out of the neighborhood. A few are probably physically handicapped, and perhaps these ailments have never had attention. All of the children have learned a few important processes. They can all walk and have use of their arms in throwing. The organization of the world into stores, houses, and so forth is part of their knowledge. Perhaps the most important item is their ability to speak a foreign language (English) which is a great accomplishment when we think of the college student struggling with Latin or German. Up to the time of entrance into the kindergarten, the home has been the big influence in the child’s education. Whether the child will get along well in school depends not only on his native ability, but many other factors, some of which are under the following eight topics. 1. Broad experience—We probably do not realize the importance of taking the child on little walks to the store, marketplace and park. An ex- cursion, a picnic, the farm, the circus, all do much to give the child experi- ence which he needs later for reading. The parent can teach a great deal on these occasions if he is alert. For example, he can point out the sign, “Keep off the grass” or words on bill- boards, street signs, and words in windows. It is surprising how quickly the child picks up and recognizes these sentences in different situations. When he visits the park the child learns the names of the few animals and later sees these same animals in his picture book. Later he has a little party and counts the chairs and napkins. All of these things are done in a natural setting. These illustrations make one point clear: The child learns to do by doing. He learns very little from a lecture by the parents or other members of the family. If every child who entered school were given these social experiences the chances of learning to read at the average rate of speed would be much in- creased. 2. Parental discipline-——Children learn when they have experience in their own groups. As soon as an adult steps in the whole situation changes 1The author has prepared this article from the angle of a principal writing to the parents in his school district —Editor. [ 34] F ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 35 and the child is not natural. We should not attempt to make adults out of children. Small children do not understand a list of rules. A few rules well-explained with illustrations will solve the situation. Let the child get a shower if he is told not to reach for the water. The experience will be the cure. A mild experience has great educational value. The son of the presi- dent of one of our large universities, made his small son work to pay for a few lights that he had broken in a vacant house. This experience had far greater value than a lecture on the property rights of others. The child must have a steady affection for his parents. This feeling must give the child the sense of security which, even after a whipping, will bring him back for his mother’s hand. Too many children go thru this world even as adults, without that sense of security in their parents. We must be careful not to make our children “grandstand players.” Teaching a few smart tricks for the coming bridge party leads to many smart tricks when mother does not have company. On these latter occasions mother does not smile at Willie, but gets out the stick. Often we find children who think they must say, “please” for every- thing. If we teach “please” to the child, to the point where he gets it and understands it, we ought to leave the use to the child. This statement does not mean that we should avoid experiences in use of the word “please,” but it means that we should not insist on the word every time. Finally we should let the child take his natural course. For example, in learning to talk, he usually goes thru three stages: (1) yelling or calling, in much the same manner as the animal; (2) monologue, in which he talks about many things at once; and (3) conversation, in which the child uses starting points and pauses. It is unwise to hurry the child thru these stages. If we attempt to do so, we may cause some impediment of speech and do more harm than good. It is foolish to control children by adult standards. Discipline should be an individual matter which is brought about by a constant study of each child. 3. Temper tantrum—One of the most noticeable characteristics of the lack of home training, is the temper tantrum. In many cases, we carry this maladjustment into adult life and call it “social indigestion.” Most every- one has friends who “pout” when things go wrong or when they cannot have their own way. The best time to cure a temper tantrum is the first time it appears. If nothing is wrong with the child and he is crying simply to get his own way, pay no attention and he will soon calm down. If the child is a little older and has this bad habit, try putting him in a room alone. Usually, if he cannot be heard the tantrum will stop. A child will “work” his mother as long as she allows herself to be worked. 4. Physical characteristics—Most parents take an intensive interest in the child’s food. A child can do much better work in school if he is healthy. The attitude of the parents toward food is one of the important considera- 36 NATIONAL EpucaTiIon ASSOCIATION tions. If the father, or some other member of the family, says, “I do not like this or that,” the child soon picks up this information. If the parents do not care to eat the same foods that the children do, they should eat at different times. It is often helpful, when introducing new foods, to give them to children in small amounts when they are hungry. The clothing should be of the simple type so that the child can soon learn to take it off himself. Every parent should make use of the modern baby clinics so that they will not worry so much about the many socalled problems which when analyzed are really natural conditions. For example, one might worry a great deal about the height-weight tables unless they are really understood. 5. Recreation—In order to get experience, the child should be pro- vided with simple materials such as sand and blocks. These should be placed so that the child may have much free play. All of the playthings should be of the solid type so that the constant fear of having something broken is gone. The child should be provided with materials suited to his own age and size. The broom and dust-pan should be of child size. Every child can do much to help himself. We should place the hooks low and the glass within reach. We must learn to provide apparatus which the child needs, in such a manner that he can get at it, and learn to help himself. One thing that most of us neglect is to furnish the child with simple puzzles and boxes which fit in each other, so that an opportunity is given for the child to reason and make use of the trial and error method. If children are given a variety of play materials which they like, the prob- lem of having the whole house “pulled down,” is partly solved. 6. Home environment—A recent study shows that differences in edu- cation are not due to race or nationality, as most of us would think, but are due to economic or social status. Movies and papers are children’s chief sources of information on civic, social and economic facts. Little children need proper development of attitude and information. We should all ask ourselves the question, “What kind of picture books, movies and music do our children see and hear?” We cannot overestimate the importance of environment. The best evidence at the present time shows that honesty depends 60 percent on environment. Recent court studies show that most of our socalled ‘problem cases” and court cases come from homes which are broken or where the influence is such that it wrecks the lives of the children. Parents should take great pride in saying, “This is our home.” The chil- dren should feel that “home’’ is a place to rest and to relax. We all need to have company manners at times, but at other times we need a chance to let down. Children should feel their part in the set-up and at times they should be given a chance to talk over their problems. Parents can do much if they will only take time. For example, in read- ing they can show the child how to find the page by pictures, to remember not nts at jem arn hey 1en od. ro- be int ith ild ice de le en ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 37 new words and faces, and to follow a story. These suggestions appear trivial now, but when the child gets to school his small habits are of vast importance. 7. Attitude toward family and society—‘How could a child of mine ever do a thing like that?” We have all heard that expression in school and out. Most of us make mistakes and we are all far from perfect. Children must have a chance to “blow off steam” at various times. They are under tension and have surplus energy which must be used up in laughing, growl- ing, use of muscle, and a hundred other ways. Parents must be careful to keep a balanced relationship between children. We should never let an older child set the rules for the younger set. Chil- dren soon forget that the “baby” is two years younger than they are and that the standards should be different. 8. Fears and superstitions—How many children are afraid of the policeman? Most of us were afraid of the blue uniforms in our childhood. Yet the police should be the friends of every child. It is just as easy to teach a child to regard the police as helpers in time of need as it is to say, “Don’t do that or the police will get you”. The same is true with respect to the fears associated with the broken mirror, the black cat which crosses our path, the dark nights, staying home alone, and hundreds of other causes for worry. Most of us will agree that if the situation is analyzed, these fears are the faults of parents. Children are not naturally afraid of the dark, or a broken mirror, or the number 7. We should all be scientific enough to teach our children facts. Many of these superstitions carry over into adult life, and to most of us it seems foolish to see an adult who will not walk into a dark room. Conclusions—The writer has tried to keep from preaching a sermon. He has tried to present facts based on scientific evidence and common reason. A person engaged in school work soon realizes the importance of the home. Too much emphasis cannot be placed on a good home. We all realize that a mother spends almost 8 hours a day on a single child. Every- one will agree that “mother” has an important job. The home is still the best place to bring up children even though it is the most expensive. In these days of increased broken homes the school still looks to the foundation of the world which is the “home” for help and guidance. Let us close with two passages from the Children’s Charter from the White House Conference on Child Health and Protection: “For every child a dwelling place, safe, sanitary, and wholesome, with reasonable pro- visions for privacy, free from conditions which tend to thwart his develop ment and a home environment harmonious and enriching.” The last quotation has to do with the community: “For every child a community which recognizes and plans for his needs, protection against physical harm, morals, hazards, and disease; provides him with safe and wholesome places for play and recreation; and makes provision for his cultural and social needs.” THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LIBRARY MABELLE D. SwiTZER Elementary Grade Supervisor, Ashland, Ohio HERE was a time in the dim and puritan past when parents and teach- ers regarded mere story reading as one of the worldly sins, and the mental nourishment of the young was essentially didactic. In the older methods, the teacher, or rather his predecessor decided what should be neces- sary for the child to memorize and then he was made to memorize, without any appreciation, or need for doing so. There are still things that must be memorized, and most of us have a good store of facts that have been learned in this way, but I venture to say most of us have lost a large proportion of what we once acquired. We learn facts subconsciously as we need them. The children of today are encouraged to read Mark Twain and Stevenson and other story tellers, and so books become an innate part of the child’s mental and spiritual development. The restraint of former generations which lead to secret indulgence in dime novels has been replaced by wise and sympathetic understanding of children’s interest. A growth and interest in child life and child study—The present century might be called an age of child study. How vast and influential this study has become is shown in the books of educators who are leading figures in this interesting work thruout the country. To understand the child we must know him in school, in the home, and in society. The schoo] and home are working toward the same aim, to develop the child for a broad and useful life. Children read because of three fundamental characteristics of their na- ture: curiosity, desire for dream-fulfillment, and the tendency to imitate. Within the limits of individual differences, every child who reads at all, does so for one or more of these reasons. A normal child is constantly asking questions concerning the world about him, and each thing he observes may become for him an absorbing curiosity. In a study of children’s questions made at Clark University some years ago, it was found that the subjects on which children show decided curiosity, fall chiefly into five classes, (1) forces of nature; (2) mechanical forces; (3) origin of life; (4) theology and Bible stories; (5) death and heaven. It is the home and school that should provide the type of reading that conforms to each stage in the child’s development. The child of six who wants to know why there are stars in the sky, may have a fascinating field open up for him thru realistic nature stories. The child of nine who wants to know why airplanes can sail in the air, may be given a book on natural science which is written in simple, comprehensive style. Fortunately, in the last few years, scientists and scholars are writing such books for children. Normal children at an early age display curiosity concerning the origin of life. At the present time there are no thoroughly satisfactory books on the market that describe in a clear and simple way for the child the internal struc- [38] GC = YS or — tv ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 39 ture of plants and animals and natural process of reproduction. Most books on this subject take the sentimental point of view, which is absurd and un- necessary, or stress aspects of the subject which need not enter into the child’s reading. On the other hand, books also influence the content of the child’s dream- world. The right kind of book may lead to worthy ambitions and healthful activities ; the wrong may lead to false conceptions of reality. Suitable books at this period may have a definite influence on future interests and habits. A third factor influencing the child’s reading is imitation. The normal child finds in those around him, especially in his elders, the model for his behavior and the cues for his likes and dislikes. It is in this way a large part of education is gained. In the matter of reading, imitation is especially important. In this way the child whose parents read is more likely to form the reading habit than the child who sees little reading in the home. Few learn to read or to assimilate ideas from a printed page—Of the one hundred six million people in the U. S., approximately 50 million may be included in the “reading public.” Of this group, the majority read noth- ing but the daily news and light fiction. Only a small number have learned to seek knowledge in books or to appreciate first-class literature. A discriminating and intelligent use of reading is a prime factor in educa- tion. Children receive their knowledge of life, or their education from three sources: verbal instruction, personal experience and observation, and read- ing. The child who has been taught to seek enjoyment and information from various fields of reading, has taken the surest and most delightful roads to knowledge. This child may learn in a few hours of reading what the child who does not learns in years of experience and perhaps not then, and he has opened to him a wealth of recreation that will accompany him thru life. An appreciation of good literature must be systematically taught. The child must be led to form good habits in reading just as he is taught to form good habits in health. This reading habit, like other educational habits, is formed during the early period of life; that is, during childhood and youth. It is easier for some children to form the reading habit than it is for others, just as it is easier for some to cultivate a liking for athletics. But all chil- dren of average intelligence can be taught to enjoy good literature. The important thing is that they should be encouraged at an early age to seek entertainment and information in books. We know it is more important in education to train the mind how to acquire and wish to acquire, rather than to impart definite items of infor- mation, yet we do not always live up to our belief. This is what the school is for—to make the pupil anxious to learn and make him an enthusiast, thirsting for knowledge. To do this we must adopt many good devices to arouse and hold the pupil’s interest, and we must similarly seek out means to satisfy that interest when once aroused. Among such devices, I believe that a collection of books and magazines properly selected and used, can be 40 NATIONAL EpucaTION AssocIATION made to play a very important part, both in arousing interest in a subject, and in teaching it properly. It is true that the best general preparation for mental activity of what- ever kind is contact with mind of others. It intensifies the reactions, makes one mentally alert, and more discriminating in his judgments. This being true, it is wonderfully fortunate that we have such a treasure house of interesting material between the covers of books. With them mental con- tacts may be numerous, wide, and easy. Left to their own choice and to chance, children read that which is nearest, cheapest, and which promises most pleasurable excitement. Good literature and good society are two, perhaps the only two, permanent resources of mature life. It is the duty of their leaders to teach children how to enjoy the former and how to make the latter. Isolated mental effort is almost impossible to the average youth, while associated mental effort at once stimulates the intellect and elevates the plane of social pleasures. Edu- cational reformers for this reason have come to recognize the fact that it is important not only to improve the quality of content of the school library, but also to enrich the curriculum and broaden the child’s horizon by giving him interesting and informing reading matter on the subjects he studies. This generous opportunity for education, which means so much to the great foreign population of these cities, finds remarkable illustration thruout many states. It is not only in towns, but perhaps even more so at the cross- roads, that the little school libraries are teaching wisdom and light from day to day in popular children’s books which arrest interest and appeal to the imagination. The school life is much richer for both teacher and pupils. Every recitation is a delight. They have a wealth of mind-food material to draw from, while formerly they had only dry textbooks We talk of free libraries. But has everyone a key to unlock the delights in a book? When we see people stand before a great library and gaze at the backs of the choicest books, or leaf them over aimlessly, and then in relief turn to the light novels as the only ones they can understand, we realize that books can be free only to free minds and open eyes. The child must be taught to find his way in this labyrinth, picking and choosing intelligently for his own needs. He must know the authors who will always repay his perusal; he must learn to recognize the vast number upon whose judgment he can- not depend. He must come to think of history as a living subject ; he must know the use of the index; and must learn the art of getting what he wants out of a book which he does not have time to read. Several things necessary in order that young people should come to use books with ease—First, the books must be readily accessible to children. One would think that there was so intimate a connection between libraries and schools, no papers were needed to discuss it, did we not know many un- pleasant facts. There are cities with well-equipped libraries, where books are neither of the kind, nor so arranged as to be of any value in correlating books with the subjects taught in the classroom, Many of us can recall ELEMENTARY ScHoor. PRINCIPALS 41 libraries in school buildings which might be used as sparingly as the best parlor of old times. There are flourishing towns with much-vaunted “sys- tem of schools”, where there is not even a dictionary or a set of encyclopedias. All of these conditions are improving and we find that the greatest need is to learn how to use what we have. Our work must begin with the primary room. Indeed the only logical, just, and wise place for literature is in every year and every grade from the bottom to the top of the school course. It is a mistake to postpone good literature until the child has mastered the fundamentals of reading. His love for the good must be stimulated and strengthened in each step in his school progress. It is no new idea that there shall be attractive picture books and easy stories that will be an incentive to the young leader. In many of the schools primary children are guided in finding additional information and pictures on simple subjects connected with their reading and language work. After the first three years given to the primary grades, what can be done in the grammar grades to continue the good work? Here references to books play a major part in the classroom. If a class is studying colonial life, the children should be encouraged to consult as many books as possible. They can even keep a list of the references in a notebook, written up in their own crude handwriting. They will enjoy doing it, and will never know that this is the beginning of bibliography making. These habits of collecting and judging data will be invaluable in later life. Soon they will not feel afraid of the dryest volumes, but will learn to takes notes on a chapter here and there as they need it. The periods for library work each day should have their place in the pro- gram of every elementary school. It is not necessary to have every part of the day taken up with the ordinary recitation. It has been proved most satis- factory to set aside certain days for supplementary reading in which children work in groups, gathering and organizing data to be brought to the recita- tion for discussion the next day. This additional reading to be done by the child in relation to his textbook assignment is intended not as an additional task, but as a stimulus to his interest and enjoyment. Even little children will enjoy such work and look forward with considerable expectancy to this part of the program. Most progressive city schools have classroom libraries where interesting activities are carried on. Home reading is planned for the pupils, who report upon books read, discuss them together in class and keep a notebook. A recent development, which directly affects the content of the school library has been the study of newspapers and magazines in the public schools. ‘The pupils check periodicals for articles which might be interesting to other classes, to their home people, to themselves, and to their own class. Among other worthwhile innovations there are special literature teachers, who meet with the children on alternate days. These teachers bring books for the chil- dren to examine, read aloud, and also talk over each child’s needs with his 42 NATIONAL EpucATION AssocIATION regular teacher. The child’s outside reading is thereby influenced in a thorough and direct way. The individual child is reached and understood in relation to the rest of his activities as the public librarian could never hope to understand him, and an expert handles the difficult problem of children’s reading. Two mistakes are frequently made even by persons zealous in the work. One is the notion that if a book has stood the test of time, therefore it must please every young reader. Failure to appreciate a book may mean a lack of training to fine understanding, or it may mean that some peculiarity of mind has made a response impossible. It certainly does not mean in every case a hopeless condition of poor literary taste. The other mistake is fre- quently made in insisting upon teaching a child what he should find in a piece of literature, so that all the real help and enjoyment for him are destroyed. ‘The child who browses among books carefully chosen is the one who really comes to enjoy the highest function which books can perform in his education. , Should the school teacher teach literature?—Yes, if it can be so taught as to make the child a real lover of the best books. There are, first, books that are suited to ethical and cultural purposes—books that a child reads just because they interest him. The others are adopted to supplement the text- book—biographies and sketches that help out in geography and history. If a child becomes interested in a subject, he need not be dismissed with a paragraph in his textbook. In the library he will find a book or several books on that subject in a language that he can readily understand. The general tendency in all instruction today is from what may be called the few-books method to the many-books method—a recognition of the power of the teachers is to establish ideals, to quicken desires, to strengthen right school library offers the fullest and freest contacts of the world. The work of the teachers, is to establish ideals, to quicken desires, to strengthen right tendencies, to lead to wise choice. These objectives mean in turn a library. The school library is thus an indispensable tool in the hands of those teachers to whom education implies. mental training, the arousing of dormant ener- gies, and a control of the large currents of life. HAT is really wanted is to light up the spirit that is within the child. In some sense and in some effectual degree there is in every child the material of good work in the world; and in every child, not only in those who are brilliant, not only in those who are quick, but in those who are stolid, and even in those who are dull— WILLIAM GLADSTONE. na ood ver of rht lat ust xt- 1-2 ks ed ht as OPPORTUNITIES OF THE PRINCIPAL OF AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Wiis A. SUTTON Past President of the National Education Association and Superintendent of Schools, Atlanta, Georgia N ELEMENTARY principal is a community mother. If the principal can realize the truth of this statement and try to exercise for her com- munity many of the functions of a mother in the home she will in all prob- ability be an admirable success as an elementary principal and will build a community around her personality and life. An elementary principal is a great executive; ruling by suggestions, by courtesy, and by the power of an attractive personality. No executive neg- lects the humblest service rendered by the most insignificant person in his organization. The elementary school principal will be the soul of courtesy to the teachers of the faculty ; will know how to receive, hear, and appreciate the problems of her teachers and how to acknowledge the courtesies of little children. The elementary principal is a great teacher; teaching by the orderliness of her desk, by the budgeting of her time, by the carefulness of her own dress and personality and manners and by constant reading and studying of the highest and best things in her profession. She is a teacher of teachers; teach- ing by conversation, by example, and by precept; being able and willing to give a demonstration of her teaching with any class and showing to the child, as well as the teacher, her power to impart knowledge, inspire study and, above all, to impress her personality upon her pupils. The elementary principal is a great administrator. Every department of school must be recognized ; every teacher must be given a share in adminis- tration. The elementary principal must know how to place her teachers; to give them that sympathetic cooperation that will bring success; to be candid in telling them their faults; more pronounced and enthusiastic in extolling their virtues; in giving to the janitor, to the maid, and to the custodian and workman the kind of attention and time that they need and demand without wasting her own energy. The elementary principal is a mother, is an executive, is a teacher, and is an administrator, but above all, she is the builder of the sentiment for education in the community and is the barometer of culture for that com- munity. When she has fulfilled these functions she may or may not be called a success by parents, superintendent, or assistant superintendents, but she has done the work for which she was elected. She is a success. F YOU make children happy now, you will make them happy twenty years hence by the memory of it—KatEe DovuGLas WIGGIN. [43 ] 44 NATIONAL EpucaTION AssocIATION AMERICAN EDUCATION WEEK NOVEMBER 9-15, 1931 Theme: What the Schools are Helping America to Achieve “T~ HE purpose of American Education Week is to interpret to the public the aims, needs, and achievements of the schools. An effectively planned observance draws the community together to participate in plans for improv- ing the public welfare thru education. Each year the number of schools and of citizens who participate in the observance of American Education Week thruout the nation increases. In New York City 487,000 people visited the schools during the 1930 American Education Week. In Philadelphia 50,000 parents visited the schools. Detroit has carried out, under the direction of its local teachers’ organiza- tions, a very effective program for a number of years. Sccres of other cities, large and small, are finding this event helpful in arousing public interest and cooperation. The observance is statewide in a number of states. In one state the bulletin Things To Do American Education Week 1930 was duplicated and sent to every city and county superintendent in the state. Several states distributed a special bulletin under some such title as “Education in Our State” for use in the cities and counties. These furnished excel!ent material, adapted to local needs, for developing American Education Week programs in the communities of these states. American Education Week promises to become one of our great national festivals, a period of rededication to the ideals of Democracy founded upon an enlightened citizenship, and the right of every individual to a fair start in life. It is the obligation and privilege of the educator to enlist the interest and support of the public in keeping alive these ideals. Especially will teachers and school officers wish to employ every practical device for maintaining the appreciation and support of the public as the schools face the most critical year of 1931-32. American Education Week thruout a decade has proved its effectiveness in bringing parents and teachers together as the school year begins. The sponsors of this annual event have prepared a program designed to be specially helpful to schools facing a trying situation growing out of the general depression. For full details of the program write the Division of Publications of the National Education Association, 1201 Sixteenth Street N. W., Washington, D. C. DAY BY DAY SUGGESTIONS Monpay, NovEMBER 9—Theme: What the Schools Are Helping America to Achieve in Economic Progress. Show how education increases and refines human wants, mak- ing larger demands upon the products of industry and business. Show how schools help students select occupations for which they are best fitted because of their in- terest and abilities, and give training in vocations, helping industry and business effectively to staff and man largescale operations. Point out the work of the schools in promoting ideals of honesty and ethics without which modern business could not be transacted. Show how the schools contribute to the stability of government with- out the protection of which business and industry could not operate. lic red V- ms ve Is ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 45 TUESDAY, NoveMBER 10—Theme: What the Schools Are Helping America to Achieve in Child Health and Protection. The work of the White House Conference on Child Health and Protection, carried on under the direction of President Hoover and Secretary of the Interior Wilbur, has recently been completed. Many of its find- ings are now available for use in school and community. They constitute a great charter of the rights of American childhood to a fair start in life. They should be in every city and school library. This topic offers an opportunity to familiarize the community with the epoch-making recommendations of the White House Conference. (Have citizens inventory the child welfare provisions of the entire community in light of these recommendations.) Show what the schools do to protect children from poor health, exploitation, and moral delinquency. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11—Theme: What the Schools Are Helping America to Achieve in Citizenship and Loyalty to Law. Visualize the schools as the great unifying force in American life: It is universal education which makes our widely separated people one in loyalty and devotion to the flag and the constitution. Show how our schools encourage youth to emulate the lives of our country’s noblest char- acters; how they create a respect for our national aims, and inspire a sense of responsibility for personal right conduct and observance of law. Point out the de- pendence of a democratic form of government upon enlightened citizens. Explain the work of the schools in teaching the privileges and duties of citizenship. TuHursDAY, NoveMRER 12—Theme: What the Schools Are Helping America to Achieve in the Improvement of Rural Living. Farm life faces a reconstruction that is as fundamental as the industrial revolution. These farreaching readjustments ca!l for the most capable leadership the nation can produce. Many of these leaders must come directly from the farm. Point out this challenge to the rural school to train farm youth for new needs and new conditions. Show what has already been done in spite of meagre support. Agriculture is firmly based on the solid rock of human necessity. From the farm have come many of our great leaders in politics, business and the professions. Upon agriculture the whole world depends for food. Show why a fair start in life for the rural child should be of concern to every citizen. Fray, November 13—Theme: What the Schools Are Helping America to Achieve thru a Higher Level of Intellectual Life. Point out the contribution the schools have made to the welfare of the nation in even the simplest and most common skills they teach—the ability to read and write. Education for all extends far bevond these fundamentals. American citizens have attained the highest average intellectual life ever enjoved by any nation. Show what this means in increased enrichment of living and the general advance of civilization. SATURDAY, NoveMRER 14—Theme: What the Schools Are Helping America to Achieve thru the Enrichment of Adult Life. Since psychologists have shown that youth is not the only learning age, adults have applied themselves in increasing num- bers to studv and the development of new skills. Increased opportunities for adults in night schools, in colleges and libraries have been the result. Show the growing significance to individual happiness and national welfare of facilities which enable adults to spend their constantly expanding leisure time in these worthwhile ways. Survey the adult education opportunities of your community, and point out ways in which they may be improved and extended. Sunpay, NoveMBER 15—Theme: What the Schools Are Helping America to Achieve thru High Ideals of Character and Home Life. Plan the cooperation of home and school and church in inspiring noble character based upon high ideals and whole- some habits. Ideals and habits grow largely out of the environment in which people live. It is the privilege of home and school and church to promote the clean and elevating activities of community life. The churches will usually take the lead in carrying out this program, which may well be the theme for an entire Sunday service. RADIO ENTERS THE SCHOOLS Joun S. THOMAS Chairman, Radio Committee of the Department, and Principal, Clippert School, Detroit, Michigan N TEN years of unprecedented development, radio broadcasting has passed rapidly thru several phases: introduction to the public with the advent of the vacuum tube; a period of novelty to which the amateur experi- menter devoted most of his nights; widespread acceptance as an indispensable means of home entertainment; and, as at the present, as a vital medium of commercial expansion. A new era is just beginning. Radio broadcasting is becoming a factor in formal education. Many broadcast programs have indirect educational value for children as well as adults. Such educational value is, however, a concomitant of a gen- eral diffusion of information, and is not designed to meet specific educa- tional aims. Recently, concerted, organized action has brought about the institution of broadcast programs of educational nature for actual classroom use. Various groups! are operating independently in this development. There is, however, a common element underlying most of the activities of these independent groups. It is to secure sufficient mechanical facilities with adequate time allocation on the air to provide educational programs of real value that are built on modern teaching procedures. Radio offers new teaching device—For the radio-equipped school, there are several program features presented under the direction of people in the education field. While these programs are in some instances experimental, others have created considerable enthusiasm in the classrooms. Several types of programs are broadcast which may be of use in the elementary school : those primarily not designed for school use ; programs prepared by committees or councils of educational leaders which are given by chain broadcasting stations, the content of which is unknown to the teacher in advance of the broadcast ; programs prepared and broadcast by universities or state depart- ments for educational purposes; and, programs prepared for actual school use, where the teacher receives the schedule with a synopsis or description of the lesson and materials considerably in advance of the program. The type last described seems to meet most closely the method or technic generally used in classroom teaching. Where the teacher receives the advance notice of the program, with descriptive literature in the form of definite lesson sheets, he is enabled to include the broadcast program in his general plans. There is the further great advantage that materials may be collected and available for children’s reference during the course of the broadcast. Pictures, maps, and charts may be hanging in front of the children and arranged for demonstration at the proper moment. ‘This type of program approximates a typical lesson. It fre- quently has the added advantages of bringing resources to the classroom in 1Some of these groups are: The Ohio School of the Air; The National Committee on Education by Radio; The Anierican School of the Air; university and state con- troled broadcasting stations; and the proposed Pennsylvania School of the Air. [46 ] ere the tal, pes ees ing the 901 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 47 the form of experience, preparation, and technic of presentation beyond that ordinarily possible. To many schools, radio lessons bring conditions previ- ously impossible thru lack of finances, remoteness from centers of activity, the lack of experience of city people with rural conditions, or inexperienced teachers. Principals should be interested—If teaching by radio is to become an im- portant part of school procedure, principals should have a considerable part in its development. They must become familiar with the various experi- ments being conducted. These should be evaluated in the light of the under- standing principals have of elementary school technic. Principals are in close contact with the teachers who use the material and should be able to consoli- date their experiences. Much investigation must be made into the effective- ness of the different types of programs. Many questions arise that must be answered before radio teaching may have widespread application. Shall the radio lesson be considered as a form of supplemental activity in the school? What types of programs now broad- cast are suitable for school use? To what extent shall courses of study be standardized thruout a state or section of the country to permit the in- clusion of lessons by radio? How shall we change our teaching to make better use of radio? Under whose direction should elementary school teach- ing programs be prepared and broadcast? What should be the contribution of teachers and principals in the preparation of programs? How may chil- dren contribute their ideas to the construction of the programs? What sort of preparation shall the teacher make for the radio lesson? —To what extent should schools be supplied with radio receiving equipment? What kinds of radio apparatus are most suitable for school use at the present time? What are the uses of public address amplifiers installed in schools? How may a central receiving set connected with many rooms be used? How may pro- grams received at home be utilized in the curriculum? When television is perfected, will it outmode procedures and equipment determined under pres- ent conditions? Principals must be prepared to answer these as well as in- numerable other questions. There seems to be little doubt but that radio is to assume a place of in- creasing importance in the elementary school as well as in higher educational institutions. Principals, as the most responsible agents, must be aware of the tremendous potentialities in radio teaching. ‘They must give the whole field their careful consideration. If they do not assist in planning the future of elementary education by radio, a lamentable condition will prevail in which the training, experience, and understanding which they have of the problems of the elementary school will not be incorporated into the whole plan. Several groups will work together in this progressive movement. The principals of the country should be ready to give their help. The radio committee seeks information—The Radio Committee was ap- pointed during the Spring of 1931 by Cassie F. Roys, then president of the Department of Elementary School principals. The members of this com- mittee are: L. Daisy Hammond, principal of the Patterson School, Dayton, 48 NATIONAL EpuUCATION ASSOCIATION Ohio; Charles $. Winslow, principal of the Wells School, Chicago, Illinois ; and John S. Thomas, chairman, principal of the Clippert School, Detroit, Michigan. The study of the committee begins with the present school year. The purpose of this study as tentatively outlined consists of collecting in- formation of all kinds which may be of value as a basis for future growth, keeping abreast of current developments in the field, and familiarizing the Department of Elementary Principals with the status of education by radio. The committee plans to disseminate some of this information thru the Bulletin of the Department. Principals are urged to communicate with members of the committee. Contributions in the form of descriptions of the uses they make of radio are much desired. Many principals have partial! answers, at least, to some of the questions stated above. Send all contributions to any member of the committee at your earliest convenience. A consolidation of the experiences and ideas of elementary principals may prove to be of inestimable use as a guide toward the direction that education by radio should take in the elemen- tary school. RADIO DEVELOPMENT RAISES QUESTION OF EQUIPPING SCHOOLS Tracy F. TYLer Executive Assistant and Research Director, National Committee on Education by Radio, Washington, D. C. OME interesting facts as to the increased use of educational broadcasts and the methods of securing receiving equipment have come to light as a result of a recent study of the Ohio School of the Air. This radio develop- ment, started late in 1928, has run now two and one-half years. During the first half year of operation there were listening schools in twenty-nine states while in the state of Ohio alone 50,000 pupils received these programs. The report for 1929-30 showed 2671 classrooms equipped for reception without the necessity of moving equipment and 102,682 listening pupils. The report for the past year, 1930-31, showed that the number of rooms then equipped with receiving sets totaled 3180 while the pupils listening increased to 118,950. Many new buildings over the country are being p!anned for radio installa- tion but even if the school board will make no provision for this new educa- tional tool, there are other ways of securing receiving sets according to the reports of teachers and principals in connection with the Ohio School of the Air. In none of the three reports had the school board bought over one- fourth or one-fifth of the radios used in the schools. The greatest number was earned by some school organization. The parent-teacher associations were the next and most frequent source of money for radio sets. ‘The latent figures which cover the year 1930-31 showed that 202 sets were earned, 83 were furnished by parent-teacher associations, 80 were bought by the school board, 50 came from other donations, and the source of 52 sets was not specified. THE DEPARTMENT’S NEW SPECIAL SECRETARY Cassie F. Roys First Vicepresident, Department of Elementary School Principals T THE July meeting of the Department of Elementary School Principals at Los An- geles, California, the Executive Committee decided to expand the national program. Our de- cision was based on a determi- nation to meet, face to face, the present emoticnal and economic depression. The difficulties— real or imagined—that plague us must not be permitted to hinder in any way the steady forward march of our organized profes- sion. After considering the prob- lems facing our Department, the Executive Committee decided to establish the office of Special Sec- retary at Headquarters in Wash- ington, D. C. The duties of this new officer have been stated as follows: (1) to take full charge of the: enrolment campaign of the Department; (2) to supervise the financial, business, and similar mat- ters, and (3) to work immediately under the direction of the president and in complete cooperation with the officers of the National Education Associa- tion. It is with great pleasure that the writer, as past president of the Depart- ment, presents our new Special Secretary, Miss Eva G. Pinkston. Miss Pinkston is already well known to many of the members as our esteemed and capable president of 1928-29. She has been a member of several committees of the National Education Association, and recently served as chairman of the Health Committee of our Department. Miss Pinkston leaves many friends in Dallas, Texas, where she has been an elementary school principal for a number of years. Miss Pinkston assumed her new duties on September Ist. With char- acteristic vigor she has already plunged deeply into problems of enrolment. Your Executive Committee requests you to read Miss Pinkston’s statement of plans, printed elsewhere in this Bulletin, and to extend to her your hearty support. Our Department is now in position to give new services to the elementary [49] Eva G. PINKSTON 50 NATIONAL EpuUCATION ASSOCIATION school principals of the nation. Miss Pinkston joins hands at headquarters with Mr. S. D. Shankland and Mr. J. W. Crabtree. Both of these men have helped and counselled us thru the years since our organization became a department in 1921. We continue to have the fine services of the Research Division of the National Education Association, as described fully by Mr. Hansen elsewhere in this Bulletin. Depression or no depression—there is work to be done—our Department goes forward! EXPANSION OF THE DEPARTMENT HERBERT C. HANSEN Member of the Executive Committee, Department of Elementary School Principals HE first decade in the history of the Department of Elementary School Principals has come to a close. Organized as a department of the great National Education Association in Des Moines, in July, 1921, it has a splendid record of achievement. From the beginning, it has rendered valu- able services to elementary education in general, and to elementary school principals in particular. Growth of the Department—The past few years have been characterized by the remarkable growth of professional organizations of elementary school principals, local, state, and national. Our national association was organized only a little over ten years ago. The Second Yearbook, 1923, listed only two state principals’ associations. The 1931 Yearbook reported twenty-eight organizations for elementary school principals. Eight city groups were in- cluded in the list of local principals’ associations in the Second Yearbook. The Tenth Yearbook contains a directory of 198 loca! organizations in which elementary school principals are members. The First Yearbook, 1922, contained a list of 669 members of the national Department. ‘The present membership is close to 5000. Finances—That the finances of the Department have been carefully managed during the ten-year period is evidenced by the fact that at the end of the period, the Department has a substantial cash balance and has approxi- mately $5000 in a reserve fund. For the current year the budget estimates are well in excess of $20,000. The complete statement of the finances of the Department will be found on another page of this Bulletin. Publications—At the Des Moines meeting it was voted that the Depart- ment should publish a yearbook. The First Yearbook was issued in May, 1922, and was entitled “The Technic of Supervision by the Elementary School Principal.’”’ The several studies contributed by principals from all sections of the country were most favorably received and helped to establish the policy that the principals themselves should take the lead in the solution of the various problems of elementary school administration and supervision. Succeeding yearbooks contained intensive studies of current progressive move- 1See the report of the Secretary at the back of this Bulletin ——Editor. ol at j- ol ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 51 ments and soon secured recognition as practical handbooks of the various phases of elementary school administration and supervision. The yearbooks of the Department have come to be among the most valuable of educational publications to elementary school principals. The Bulletin of the Department is the only national journal devoted ex- clusively to the interests of elementary school principals. Published quarterly, it contains stimulating and helpful accounts of what successful administra- tors and supervisors are doing in all sections of the country. Thru its pub- lications, the Department of Elementary School Principals is rendering the highest professional service to principals and thru them to the elementary schools of the country. Director of research—Thruout the past decade there has been the closest cooperation with the headquarters staff at Washington, D. C. Most of the benefits made available for elementary school principals have come thru the generous services of the official staff of the National Education Associa- tion. Dr. Frank W. Hubbard, Associate Director, Division of Research, of the National Education Association, has also taken over the duties of direc- tor of research for the Department of Elementary School Principals. For the past few years Dr. Hubbard has given great assistance in the prepara- tion of recent yearbooks of the Department and has conducted a number of intensive studies of great value to elementary school principals. The De- partment is most fortunate in securing Dr. Hubbard as director of research. Without doubt Dr. Hubbard is the best informed person in the country today on the various aspects of the elementary school principalship. Special secretary—The chief objective of the Department is to lift our profession to the highest plane of public service. Great as have been the achievements of the past decade, even greater must be those of the immediate future to measure up to the full responsibilities and glorious opportunities of the new elementary school principalship. With the purpose in mind of ren- dering the greatest possible professional service to elementary school princi- pals, the Department has taken a big step forward by creating the position of fulltime special secretary with headquarters at Washington, D. C. Miss Eva G. Pinkston of Dallas, Texas, has been elected as special sec- retary of the Department of Elementary School Principals. Miss Pinkston is eminently qualified to undertake the duties of this important office. As chairman of local arrangements for the Dallas Convention, Miss Pinkston achieved distinction for her able leadership, her social charm, and executive ability. She has been a distinguished leader in local, state, and national or- ganizations of principals for a number of years. Her contacts with various organizations, professional, civic, and social, have been nationwide. It was during the administration of Miss Pinkston as president that the present policy with regard to the preparation and publishing of our yearbooks was established. During her year as president, a large cash balance was accumu- lated and several thousand dollars were transferred to the reserve fund of the Department. 52 NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION The sound judgment, practical experience, broad contacts, and professional zeal and enthusiasm of Miss Pinkston will be a big asset to the Department and will help most effectively in conducting an aggressive membership cam- paign to increase the resources of the Department, to extend the range of the influence, and to enlarge its program of service to the elementary school principals of the nation. A MESSAGE FROM THE SPECIAL SECRETARY Eva G. PINKSTON Special Secretary, Department of Elementary School Principals, Washington, D. C. T THE Los Angeles meeting last summer the Department of Elemen- tary School Principals established the position of special secretary. The duties outlined for this officer were as follows: 1. To conduct the annual membership drive 2. To manage the office and business problems of the Department 3. To integrate the Department’s activities with those of the parent association 4. To perform such other duties as might be assigned by the Department's presi- dent. The problem of greatest immediate importance is that of the member- ship. Practically all income for the coming year is derived from the payment of $3 by those who join the Department. There is an enrolment at the present time of 4906 and it is important that the membership of 1931-32 should bring the enlistment up to 6000. Your new special secretary is tak- ing this as the first opportunity to inform principals of the membership plans. Praise where praise is due—Before outlining the plans for 1931-32 we wish to remind the membership of the splendid services of Mr. Herman Ritow of Chicago as national enrolment chairman. For several years Mr. Ritow sacrified much of his time and personal interests to build up the work of the national Enrolment Committee. It was necessary for him to write hundreds of letters, to interview many principals, to advise the members of his committee, and to stimulate those who were discouraged by the progress of the membership campaign. That his efforts were not in vain can be seen by the fact that the Department has shown a steady growth during the past several years. It is the hope of the special secretary to build upon the plans which Mr. Ritow has made so effective. The potential membership—Estimates by the Research Division indicate that there are approximately 23,000 elementary school principals whose lead- ership would enable them to render service as members of the Department. These figures do not include the one-room and other small schools, where there are principals whose help is badly needed. College professors, superintendents, supervisors, and other school officials are eligible to associate membership in our Department. Let every principal extend the invitation to them. Assistant principals of elementary schools are eligible to active membership and we hope a large number will lend their support. onal lent am- the 1001 ien- Che ork ‘ite ess en ast ins ite ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 53 It appears, therefore, that we have a potential membership of more than 23,000 persons. If the Department is to render the maximum of service, we must carry publications out to those who are eligible but who have not yet enlisted. Memberships in towns and rural areas—According to the report of the Enrolment Committee for 1930-31 the Department has enlisted only 347 persons in cities under 2500 in population. How can we reach the elementary school principals and administrators in the small cities and rural areas? This is a problem which we hope to investigate during the next year. Sugges- tions from county superintendents and principals in rural areas will be welcomed. The “low spots” in membership—In examining the membership by states and cities we are sometimes amazed to discover certain low spots. A “low spot” is a city or county where a relatively small proportion of the principals have been enroled in the Department as compared with cities of the same size in the same state. It is not difficult to find, in practically every state, cities where only 5 out of 30 potential members have been enroled. Often a neighboring city with only 15 potential members will have 12 in the De- partment. How can the Enrolment Committee in each state build up these “low spots”? It is my belief that in many instances we have simply failed to get before these potential members the advantages of the Department. It is a problem for each member as well as for the national Enrolment Com- mittee. The national Enrolment Committee—During the past few years it has been customary for the Department to have a national Enrolment Com- mittee. This Committee has been under the direction of a chairman who selects one state chairman for each state. The state chairman in turn selects as many city and county chairmen as necessary to carry on the drive. This year the duties of the national enrolment chairman have been trans- ferred to the special secretary. However, it is the plan to continue to use state and local chairmen. The names of last years’ workers are on file in the headquarters’ office. We plan to correspond immediately with the national Enrolment Committee and to make suggestions for the year’s work. In assisting in the work of the national Enrolment Committee this year we shall need the advice of members. If you can suggest names of persons who should be members, or devices for enlisting potential members, or criti- cisms of any of the membership devices, do not hesitate to write a full and frank letter. Ours is a movement to spread the spirit of the Department thruout all elementary school education as well as to collect the member- ship fee. One-hundred percent local clubs—On page 579 of the 1931 Yearbook of the Department there is a list of local principals’ clubs and associations. Out of this list of 198 organizations at least 125 restrict their membership to elementary school principals. Other clubs include supervisors of elementary work, 54 NATIONAL EpucATION ASSOCIATION Could we not have a friendly bit of rivalry between these local organiza- tions? Almost every year some group reports 100 percent membership in the national organization. During the coming year we hope to give considerable recognition and publicity to local clubs which attain 100 percent enrolment. This plan is more than a membership drive. Our yearbooks and bulletins are widely used in arranging programs for the local clubs and form an excel- lent basis for discussion. Secretaries of local groups should report their progress and activities so that due publicity may be given in each issue of the national bulletin. —The 100 percent idea is a plan for getting every prin- cipal at work on his problems. The principal holds the key—lIt is clearly recognized by all that the prin- cipalship is the key position in elementary education. The plans and policies of the superintendent of schools can only be executed under the direction of the principals. The research findings of college professors and bureaus will be applied only when they enlist the interest of the elementary school administrator. Principals are in touch with the homes of their communities. Principals have a very close and important relationship with the pupils over whom they preside. From every possible angle the principal can and should exert a positive influence. Our task as a department is to bring to these key people better practises and new visions. ‘The membership fee of $3 is only a means to an end. We turn that money into yearbooks, research studies, bulletins, and conferences. These give principals the opportunity to work and think together. Our problem is that of helping principals to discover, to study, and to solve the problems of elementary education. THE ELEVENTH (1932) YEARBOOK AARON KLINE Chairman, Editorial Committee, and Principal, Pullman Public School, Chicago, Illinois HE Eleventh Yearbook for which we are now secking material has for its general topic, ““The Principal and his Community.” It is the hope of the committee that for this yearbook it will be able to collect ma- terial that will show the various influences both organized and unorganized, that help or hinder in training the children, and some successful methods of directing these influences. It is also the hope of the committee that this volume will serve to emphasize to the principals of the United States the key position which the principal occupies for exerting a directing influence so that all contacts will supplement the teaching effort in his school. Too often, organizations with worthy objectives and excellent intentions really do harm to the training technic by their method of contacting the schools. Plans are formed by laymen with little or no knowledge of educa- tional methods or of school organization. The plans are then announced thru the press and the project is on without any attempt to discover from the principal whether such a project will help or hinder the work of the school already under way. Too often the organization is over-concerned Ma ee ee ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 55 with publicity for itself and under-concerned with the job of training the children. It is hoped that this volume will emphasize to every member of the De- partment the evils of the wrong method, too often used by community groups, in launching a project, and the real help organized groups of the communities could render in child training. Every member of the Depart- ment will then be in a position to do “missionary” work by preaching to over- zealous community groups the value of consultation with principals be- fore attempting to formulate plans for community projects involving the school children. The committee appeals to every member of the Department to search his experience in dealing with community organizations and influences and see whether he cannot contribute something of value to this volume. You can help the committee make the yearbooks of your Department superior to those of every other organization by submitting a manuscript for the Yearbook. If the committee has just enough manuscripts to make up the book, the book will have a certain value educationally. If twice as many manuscripts as are needed are submitted, the educational value to the Department is in- creased greatly. We need to build up an increasing group of contributing principals till we have five or ten times as many manuscripts as can be pub- lished. If such a group of writers could be inspired to contribute annually the value would not be to the committee only. Every principal is able to think, but only those who write their thoughts on paper and organize them in clear and coherent arguments ever clarify their thinking on any subject. Whether the article written is accepted by the Committee or not the value to the writer in clarifying his own thinking pays many times for the effort. If you write a very good article you will compel some other principal to write a better one, if his article is accepted rather than yours. Thus by your effort you have raised the standard of the Yearbook of your Department. It is generally conceded that the high standing educationally of the De- partment of Elementary School Principals has been achieved mainly by the yearbooks that it has published. It is thru these books that the membership of the Department is able to make a contribution to educational method, technic, and objectives in elementary teaching. We occupy a unique position as administrators, supervisors, and demonstration teachers. We cannot be true to our profession and permit those farther removed from actual teach- ing to dominate our work because they write books while we keep still. This appeal is to the members of the Department everywhere. Resolve now to raise the standard of the yearbooks by submitting a manuscript. You will find an outline in the January Bulletin or you may receive a folder of information by writing any of the following members of the committee: Isabel Tucker, Shenandoah School, Saint Louis; Helen B. Shove, Long- fellow School, Minneapolis, or to the chairman. SECRETARY’S MINUTES—LOS ANGELES MEETING OME of the largest and most enthusiastic meetings ever held by the Department were those of the Los Angeles convention. Much credit is due to the principals of Southern California for helping the officers to or- ganize sessions of such professional and social good fellowship. On Monday, June 29, and Tuesday, June 30, breakfast meetings were held at the Biltmore Hotel. At least 150 principals were present at each of these breakfasts. The banquet filled to overflowing the famous Sala de Oro of the Hotel Biltmore. The Department held two general sessions and a joint meeting with the parent association. A summary of the three meetings follows: Music First Session, MONDAY, JUNE 29, 1:45 P.M. GREETINGS, Willis A. Sutton, superintendent of schools, Atlanta, Ga.; president, Na- tional Education Association THE INTEGRATION OF ALL EpucaTION, Aymer J. Hamilton, professor of education, Claremont Colleges, Claremont, Calif. RADIO AS AN EDUCATIONAL FAcTor, Joy Elmer Morgan, editor, Journal of the Na- tional Education Association, Washington, D. C.; chairman, National Committee on Education by Radio CHARACTER EpucaTION, Raymond Elliott Pollich, principal, Grant School, Los Angeles, Calif. Music THE RELATION OF BusINEss TO EpucATION, From the Standpoint of a City Superin- tendent, Mrs. Susan M. Dorsey, superintendent emeritus of schools, Los Angeles, Calif. From the Standpoint of a Business Man, Reynold E. Blight, public accountant, Los Angeles, Calif. THE 1932 YEARBOOK, Aaron Kline, principal, Pullman School, Chicago, Ill.; chair- man, Editorial Committee BusINEss MEETING SECOND SEssIOn, WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 1:45 P. M. Music JoinT MEETING, WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 9 A. M. INVOCATION The Principal and His Relations—A Symposium THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE PRINCIPAL, E. E. Oberholtzer, superintendent of schools, Houston, Texas THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHER, Stella Holmes, principal, Bancroft School, Omaha Nebr. THE PREPARATION OF THE PRINCIPAL, Rusha Wesley, principal, Lee Street School, At- lanta, Ga. THE PRINCIPAL AND THE Pustic, Mrs. Hugh Bradford, president, National Congress of Parents and Teachers, Sacramento, Calif. ’ At the business meeting on Wednesday afternoon the new officers for 1931-32 were elected. (See the inside front cover of this Bulletin). The resolutions presented by the Resolutions Committee were as follows: Resolved, That the Department of Elementary School Principals of the National Education Association: 1. Urges that education by radio be given immediate attention by teachers, school officers, and citizens to the end that a fair share of radio broadcasting channels may be reserved exclusively for educational purposes; that the quality of edu- cational broadcasting be improved; that broadcasting facilities be extended to schools and to programs for the education of adults; and that the introduction [ 56] 1e e ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 57 into the schoolroom of any radio program, however fine its quality, which is an- nounced or titled as to gain “goodwill” or publicity for its sponsor, or which advertises a sponsor’s wares, be forbidden by statute. Radio is an extension of the home. Let us keep it clean and free. 2. Believes there should be a Department of Education with a Secretary in the President’s Cabinet. 3. Reaffirms the stand taken at Columbus in 1930 in favor of the Eighteenth Amendment and of the laws enacted thereunder and urges their vigorous and impartial enforcement. We commend the publications of the Division of Re- search and Public Information of the Department of Justice, Washington, D. C., which give a digest of the state laws on the scientific teaching of the effects of alcoholic beverages and which provide other useful information for the public schools. 4. Realizing that reading matter which portrays a degraded standard of home and community life has a deteriorating influence upon the minds and morals of youth, will exert every effort to banish this type of reading from places where pupils congregate, and will supply them with the types of literature that make for the highest type of citizenship. 5. Believes that the elementary school offers a splendid opportunity for a life of service, and its duties require as high a degree of intelligence and qualification as do the duties of the schools where the older children are taught. Its teachers and principals should be as well educated and trained as are the teachers and principals of the other schools. The Department also believes that the large elementary school will be found the most satisfactory in the future. The large elementary school plants should be as large and as well built and as completely equipped as are the other school plants. We are asking that the younger chil- dren be given an equal chance and a square deal in their educational oppor- tunities. 6. Believes in the justice and practicability of the single salary schedule and is pleased to note its increasing use. 7. Urges principals to continue their interest and activities in health education and commends the work that is being done. 8. Appreciates the courtesies and helpfulness of school people and others who have so generously assisted in our entertainment. The elementary school prin- cipals of Los Angeles and of California have put the Department under last- ing obligations for their hospitality and entertainment. ELIZABETH McCormick, W. T. LoncsHore, Chairman. EXxECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING June 29, 1931 The first meeting of the Executive Committee of the Department of Elementary School Principals was held Monday morning, June 29, at the Biltmore Hotel. The meeting was called to order by the President, Cassie F. Roys. The following were present : Cassie F. Roys, president, Herbert C. Hansen, first vicepresident, Mrs. Cora Rusling, third vicepresident, George D. Taylor, fourth vicepresident, Fred H. Duffy, secretary, Elizabeth McCormick and Eva G. Pinkston of the Executive Committee. Mr. Aaron Kline, chairman of the Yearbook Editorial Committee, was present. Mr. W. T. Longshore of Kansas City, Missouri, was present, and out- lined Mr. Joy Elmer Morgan’s article in the January, 1931, Bulletin, con- cerning the forward look of the elementary principal. He emphasized the recommendations in this article and urged that the Committee consider seri- 58 NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION ously that part relating to the creation of a commission to make a certificating study of the present certification of the elementary principal. Motion was made by Mr. Hansen, seconded by Miss Pinkston, that the president appoint a committee of five to make a study of and present specific recommendations on the suggestions made by Mr. Morgan in his article of the January, 1931, number of the Bulletin. Motion carried unanimously. A motion was made by Mr. Hansen, seconded by Mrs. Rusling, that a vote of thanks and appreciation: be extended to Mr. Longshore for making this suggestion. Mr. Kline, chairman of the Editorial Committee, made a report in which he stressed the forward look in securing worthwhile material for our year- books in order that we may have an ever higher standard in their make-up. He asked the cooperation of the officers of the Department in this work. A motion by Miss Pinkston, seconded by Miss McCormick, that the Executive Committee extend its thanks to Mr. Kline and pledge its support to the successful make-up of future yearbooks. Motion carried. Motion made by Miss Pinkston, seconded by Miss M[cCormick, that Mr. Hansen be instructed to find out the total amount of our permanent fund and that of the total fund of the Department of Elementary School Princi- pals, and that these items be included in the financial statements in October. Motion carried. The minutes of the Columbus, Ohio, and Detroit, Michigan, meetings were read and approved. Miss Pinkston made a report on the work of the Health Committee. In this report she stressed the fact that of 127 letters of comment received by her on the health symposium of the July Bulletin, 99 offered favorable com- ment on the Chicago health list of free and inexpensive health material. The secretary, as editor of the Bulletin, expressed his appreciation of the fine work and the cooperative help of the Health Committee. President Roys ex- tended a vote of appreciation to the Health Committee. Miss Roys, chairman of the Committee on Retaining Dr. Hubbard, made a report. This report indicated that Dr. Hubbard would continue to serve us in his usual satisfactory manner. She also made a report for the Committee on Radio Education. This committee is to be continued. Mr. Hansen made a report on the matter of changing the time for elec- tion of officers. His report showed that the committee had made extensive studies but had not as yet arrived at definite conclusion, and was not yet ready to make a final report. This committee is to be continued. Motion by Mr. Taylor, seconded by Miss McCormick, that the expenses of the chairman of the Editorial Committee, Mr. Kline, to Los Angeles, be paid. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned to meet at one o'clock, Tuesday, June 30. June 30, 1931 The second meeting of the Executive Committee of the Department of Elementary School Principals was held Tuesday afternoon, June 30, 1931, 1¢e 2 rs er C8 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 59 at the Biltmore Hotel. The meeting was called to order by the President, Cassie F. Roys. The following members were present: Cassie F. Roys, president ; Herbert C. Hansen, first vicepresident ; Mrs. Cora Rusling, third vicepresident; George D. Taylor, fourth vicepresident; Fred H. Duffy, secretary; Elizabeth McCormick and Eva G. Pinkston of the Executive Committee; and Dr. Frank W. Hubbard, director of research for the De- partment. The minutes of the meeting of June 29 were read and approved after corrections were made. Motion was made by Mr. Hansen, seconded by Mrs. Rusling, that we discontinue the practise of sending the Research Bulletin of the N. E. A. to the members of our Department and that a letter be sent to the Research Department and to the secretary of the N. E. A., explaining the change that is made at this time. Motion carried. Miss Roys, chairman of the committee to study and report on the advis- ability of establishing a field agent, or special secretary, for our department made the following report: The Committee recommends to the Executive Board that an intensive membership campaign be put on for two years or more; that at the present time it is inadvisable to employ a field agent, but instead employ a special secretary to take over this work as well as certain other routine duties such as oversight of the finances of the Department. The duties of the special secretary shall be to work under the immediate direction of the president. We further recommend that this committee, consisting of three members, with Cassie F. Roys as chairman, be authorized to recommend a candidate for this position. Motion made by Mr. Hansen, seconded by Miss McCormick, that the report of this committee be accepted. Motion carried unanimously. Dr. Hubbard read an outline of the future work of the Department in relation to enrolment, the yearbooks and the Bulletin, together with many other suggestions for the welfare of the Department. Motion by Miss Pinkston, seconded by Mr. Taylor, that Dr. Hubbard send each member of the committee a copy of the plans and suggestions offered in his report. Motion carried. The committee expressed its thanks and appreciation to Dr. Hubbard for his valuable suggestions. Motion by Miss Pinkston, seconded by Mrs. Rusling, that the secretary be instructed to write a letter to Mr. Ritow, expressing our appreciation for the marvelous work which he has done during the past three years as chair- man of the Enrolment Committee, and we regret that he cannot continue in this field of work. Motion carried. Motion by Mr. Taylor, seconded by Miss McCormick, that the Execu- tive Committee express the appreciation of the Department to Miss Isabel Tucker, chairman of the Tenth Yearbook Committee, and members for their splendid achievement. Motion carried. Motion by Mr. Hansen, seconded by Miss Pinkston, that the secretary 60 NATIONAL EpUCATION ASSOCIATION be instructed to write letters of appreciation for the very generous hospitality to Mr. Pollich of Los Angeles and ask that he communicate this message to the members of his committee. Motion carried. Motion by Mr. Hansen, seconded by Miss Pinkston, that $3000 of the permanent fund be transferred to the general fund of the Department for the use of current expenses of the year 1931-1932. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned to meet at 7:30 Thursday morning. July 2, 1931 The third meeting of the Executive Committee was held Thursday morning, July 2, 1931, at the La Palma Hotel. The following members were present: Cassie F. Roys, president; Herbert C. Hansen, first vice- president; Mrs. Cora Rusling, third vicepresident; George D. Taylor, fourth vicepresident ; Fred H. Duffy, secretary; Elizabeth McCormick and Eva G. Pinkston of the Executive Committee and Dr. Frank W. Hubbard, research director of the Department. The minutes of the meeting of June 30 were read and approved. It was moved by Miss McCormick and seconded by Mr. Taylor that the members of the special committee consisting of Miss Cassie F. Roys, Miss Eva G. Pinkston, and Mr. Herbert C. Hansen, should study the possibility of appointing a special secretary at headquarters and that they be authorized to recommend immediately to the Executive Board a suitable person for this position. Motion carried. Motion by Mr. Hansen, seconded by Miss Pinkston, that we extend a vote of appreciation for services during the past year to the president, the secretary, to the research director and officers of the Department. Motion carried. The president extended her appreciation for the fine spirit of cooperation to all the officers of the Department. The secretary expressed his apprecia- tion to the president, to all officers of the Department, to Dr. Frank W. Hubbard for his aid in editing the Bulletin, and to the Health Committee for its constructive work in issuing the Health number of the Bulletin. Meeting adjourned to meet at 7:30, Friday, July 3. July 3, 1931 The fourth meeting of the Executive Committee was held Friday morn- ing, July 3, 1931, at the La Palma Hotel. The following members were present: Cassie F. Roys, president ; Herbert C. Hansen, first vicepresident ; Mrs. Cora Rusling, third vicepresident ; Fred H. Duffy, secretary ; Elizabeth McCormick and Eva G. Pinkston, members of the Executive Committee. Miss Roys, chairman of the committee appointed to report on the special secretary, made the following report. This committee, consisting of Miss Roys, Mr. Hansen, and Miss Pinkston met in conference with Mr. S. D. Shankland, Executive Secretary of the Department of Superintendence, to discuss the action of the Executive Board in putting forth a program of ex- pansion for the Department of Elementary School Principals. Hence the following recommendations are submitted : tiol tha G. me firs lov ie yr L l ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 61 — The Executive Board shall make a budget for the year 1931-32. 2. The duties of the special secretary shall be— (a) to take full charge of enrolment for the Department; (b) to have general supervision of business matters; (c) to work under the immediate direction of the president and in hearty accord with all officers of the National Education Association at Wash- ington. The salary for the year 1931-32, shall be $4000. 4. This position was first offered to Mr. Herbert C. Hansen, of Chicago, who declined. It was then offered to Miss Eva G. Pinkston, of Dallas, Texas, who, after due consideration agreed to accept the position on the above terms. 5. That Mr. Shankland continue to be the counselor of the Department. Ww Motion by Mrs. Rusling that the report of the committee on the selec- tion of the special secretary be adopted and the committee be discharged with thanks and appreciation. Motion carried. Motion by Mr. Hansen and seconded by Miss McCormick that Miss Eva G. Pinkston of Dallas, Texas, be elected as special secretary of the Depart- ment of Elementary School Principals and that the salary be set for the first year at $4000 begining September 1, 1931. Motion carried. Mr. Hansen presented the estimated Budget Report for 1931-32 as fol- lows: mies Babbage Disbursements Research Division and office assistants____________________ $8000 Convention and traveling expenses ne ee A Permanent fund and annuities ___- whee iapikck Reece Printing and postage __-______-____- ws cxsiechsneashiceinscitota tse a a nN GNCTAs GCP CERRY nn nn na oe cece 4000 I NI is ict ke eee 1000 — $20,650 Motion by Mr. Hansen, seconded by Mrs. Rusling that the report of the Budget Committee be accepted as reported. Motion carried. Motion by Miss McCormick and seconded by Mrs. Rusling that the president and secretary be instructed to write to Mr. Shankland and Mr. Crabtree concerning this proposed expansion program and that a copy of the letter be sent to the special secretary and to each member of the Com- mittee. Motion carried. Motion by Mrs. Rusling seconded by Mr. Hansen that the special sec- retary shall work under the immediate direction of the president of the Department and the duties to be such as outlined by the Special Committee and subject to the Executive Board. Motion carried. Motion by Mrs. Rusling seconded by Mr. Hansen that the resignation of Eva G. Pinkston as a member of the Executive Committee be accepted. Motion carried. Motion by Mrs. Rusling seconded by Mr. Hansen that President Cassie F. Roys be authorized to appoint a member of the Executive Committee to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Miss Eva G. Pinkston. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned. Frep H. Durry, Secretary. REPORT OF THE AUDITORS RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS = For THE YEAR ENDED May 31, 1931 M Mane Oe O68 BOs BE SOD aio ei icine ae $ 8,259.10 Receipts: Membership Dues: Current Year—4,821 Members at $3 each________ $14,463.00 U1 Arrears—4+9 Members at $3 each________- 147.00 on Year 1931-32—46 Members at $3 each_______-___- 138.00 Di a ne Appropriations from National Education Associa- Aelia Ni Aa ete Sit. MA 1,000.00 RE RR REE ee: ee 110.00 (niiannicintainei 17,798.34 $26,057.44 Disbursements: Printing: Yearbook—Number 9 __________________-______-$ 5,200.53 me B06 ao ce 3,778.46 OE RE Ee September—Research Bulletin _____..-_______--__ 240.00 y November—Research Bulletin __________________ 259.20 PINT I a el lala 383.82 yenuaty Belen... ... ..... tetas cre adeie oe 393.62 January—Research Bulletin __.-________________ 391.25 March—Research Bulletin __-__________________ 270.00 peay—-eseares Balletia. ........ ... ..._.......... 273.00 Tickets, Membership Applications, Leaflets, Cards, I alae OE EE Le ea 815.93 Postage, Stationery and Office Expense _________- ee Stenographic and Clerical Service ___________________ 4,363.65 Tn a 108.00 a ne ee eee 257.67 Miscellaneous _______ Sa LOS | OTS. Loe er 60.61 Traveling Expenses: TN i ete $253,15 ee ene 378.67 Bast R. Leise —......... aa Bo 60.62 een &. Shove... NGTI ee Ce peeemees TNO. oo 757.00 a 1,751.68 $22,271.55 Transferred to Permanent Fund of National Educa- tion Association __________ SRR ris See 448.60 —_—_—_—_ 22,720.15 ek ee ee ee Le ee $ 3,337.29 [ 62] 259.10 98.34 57.44 15 29 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 63 In accordance with annual practises the auditors have examined the ac- counts of the Department and submitted the following report: Miss Cassi F. Roys, President, DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS OF THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION, WASHINGTON, D. C. We have examined the accounts of the National Education Association of the United States, pertaining to the Department of Elementary School Principals, for the year ended May 31, 1931, and report that the foregoing statement of Receipts and Disbursements presents the cash transactions for the year in accordance with the books of the Association. (Signed) PEAT, MARWICK, MITCHELL & Co. WasuincrTon, D. C. June 11, 1931. Please send in your dues by return mail. See pages 49-61 of this bulletin for our 1931- 32 plans. The present eco- nomic crisis calls for group thinking and acting.