' ICAL ROOM F E B SRL LIBRARY The NATIONAL ELEMENTARY RINCIPAL BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION SUPREME COURT ~ | BUILDING ‘ bruary 1935 ol. XIV, No. 3 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS Published in October, December, February, A tary School Principals of the National Education I, and June by the Department of Elemen. ssociation of the United States. The payment of $3 active membership dues entitles a member to attend all meetings of the Department, to hold office, and to receive the Bulletin. is for a year's subscription to the Bulletin. Subscription to nonmembers is $3 per year; single copies, 25 cents; and Yearbook, $2. Entered as second-class matter November 20, 1922, at the postoffice at Washington, D. C. under Act of August e 1912. Acceptance for — at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act October 3, 1917, authorized ecember 18, 1922. Executive and Editorial Offices, 1201 Sixteenth Street, Northwest, Washington, D. C., Eva G. Pinkston, Editor. OFFICERS OF THE DEPARTMENT 1934-35 President, M. Emma Brookes, Miles-Cran- wood Schools, Cleveland, Ohio First Vicepresident, Aaron Kline, Pullman School, Chicago, Illinois Second .Vicepresident, Edythe J. Brown, Kaley-Marquette Schools, South Bend, Indiana Third Vicepresident, Ira M. Kline, Green- burgh No. 8 Schools, White Plains, New York ’ Fourth Vicepresident, Sarah L. Young, Parker School, Oakland, California Fifth Vicepresident, Mrs. Edith B. Joynes, Washington-Gatewood Schools, Norfolk, Virginia Executive Committee Herbert C. Hansen, 1045 N. Lockwood Avenue, Chicago, Illinois Cassie F. Roys, 2609 Bristol Street, Omaha, Nebraska Earl R. Laing, Burt School, Detroit, Michigan Mason A. Stratton, Brighton Avenue School, Atlantic City, New Jersey Executive Secretary, Eva G. Pinkston 1201 Sixteenth Street, N. W., Washington, D. C. See space below for Committees as they are appointed thruout the year. Editorial Committee Bess Clement, Chairman - Eliza Clark School Clarksdale, Mississippi John S. Thomas Clippert School Detroit, Michigan Samuel Berman James R. Ludlow School Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Maude McBroom (New member) University Elementary School Iowa City, Iowa The contents of this Bulletin are listed in the Education Index. The new Supreme Court Building, which is of white marble, is pictured on the cover. It is situated across the street from the Library of Congress and directly in front of the Capitol. 98 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY} Two dollars of each membership fee EET es oe a’ i th Th Ou Na Inf Atl Res Ele Wh | Fro PR, men- of the ip fee | single | Dp, € ed for oynes, rfolk, -wood maha, venue F d across 7 ; ' National Education Association—Morgan ' Information and News from Headquarters. ..... Atlantic City Convention.................... ) Research as a Way to Leadership—Morrison. ... _ The Principal—A Principal’s Viewpoint—Bush etroit, | The National Elementary Principal Volume XIV No. 3 February 1935 PRE-CONVENTION ISSUE This issue of the bulletin is devoted primarily to the programs and happenings which are to take place at the Atlantic City Convention, February 23-28, 1935. Contents Headquarters Welcomes the New Secretary The Principal—A Superintendent’s Viewpoint— Threlkeld 105 Our Membership Campaign—Pinkston. . . 107 U. S. Office of Education—Davis....... 110 111 112 114 116 Elementary Education Shall Advance—Kline.... 120 What’s Going On and Where................. ns Se ES ol he UEC BRIEF WILLARD E. GIVENS arrived in Washington, D. C., January 1, 1935, and began active service as Executive Secretary of the National Education Association, January 2, 1935. We cordially wel- come Mr. Givens to Head- quarters. AND LOTUS D. COFFMAN, president of the University of Minnesota, will be the honor guest and principal speaker at the banquet of the Department of Ele- mentary School Principals, at Atlantic City, Traymore Hotel, 6 p. m., Tuesday, February 26. POINTED PRINCIPALS’ AND SU- PERVISORS’ DAY at Atlantic City is Wednes- day, February 27, 1935. J. Cayce Morrison will be chairman of the panel dis- cussion for our Department program. * MRS. MARGARET MENDENHALL SMITH has been designated by A. L. Threlkeld, superintend- ent of schools, as chairman of affairs for the Depart- ment of Elementary School Principals at the Denver convention, June 29-July 5. * PRESIDENT M. EMMA BROOKES has appointed Maude McBroom, prin- cipal of the Experimental School, University of Iowa, as the new member of the Editorial Committee. “ARY PRINCIPAL, FEBRUARY 1935 99 HEADQUARTERS WELCOMES THE NEW SECRETARY ECRETARY Willard E. Givens found the weather of Washington on January 2, 1935, clear and cold, but found the hearts of the N. E, A. staff and its allied departments beating very warmly for him when he came to head- quarters. He left Oakland, California, December 19, with his family, first driv- ing south to San Diego where he ap- peared on an institute program, then taking the southern route across the United States to the capital city. He reports a very pleasant trip. The only handicap of the trip was in trying to get across Texas in less than four days. It just can’t be done unless you go by plane. Mr. Givens has been gathering the reins which Mr. Crabtree, the beloved retiring secretary, has placed in his hands and with his innate competence, broad experience, fine personality, and solid integrity, he will be able to attack and solve the momentous problems which continually appear. A_ back- ground of wide experience which it has been his privilege to have, will be of great benefit to him at this critical time in educational history. Under the tutelage of J. W. Crabtree, the National Education Association has grown from a relatively small organ- ization to the largest educational asso- ciation in the world. Mr. Givens, too, has an untiring energy, foresight, and insight. Therefore, we may expect this professional organization to be lifted to a new level of service and progress. The new secretary of our parent or- ganization, the National Education As- sociation, has served with unusual WILLARD E. GIVENS distinction as classroom teacher and administrator at all public school levels. Three of his outstanding posts of duty [ have been superintendent of public) instruction in Hawaii, superintendent of San Diego schools, and superintend- ent of Oakland schools. He comes di- rect from the Oakland post. The Department of Elementary School Principals extends to him the) right hand of fellowship and pledges’ to him its most loyal support. We ask to be taken under his wing of protec- ] tion and that he give us advice and) counsel. A hearty welcome, Mr. Givens! —E. G. P. 100 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY} capraah ads ie lie e in; per Life be alo1 a Di in t begi PR and f ovels, F duty ublic F ident § tend: § Ss di- § ntary 1 the F edges e ask ‘otec- - and vens! ARY THE PRINCIPAL—A Superintendent’s Viewpoint* A. L. THRELKELD Superintendent of Public Schools Denver, Colorado T IS MY PURPOSE to discuss the school principal. I have divided him into several individuals, whom I shall discuss separately, but not necessarily in the order of their importance. The order of presentation, therefore, is purely arithmetical. The Principal as Business Manager— The principal should be familiar with the various factors that make up the cost of his school. Even if there are many of these factors over which he has little or no control, he should be familiar with them and able to discuss them intelligently with any citizen. Citizens who discuss these matters with a principal should leave with the impression that the principal knows his business. A principal should be able to discuss his school as a manager of a factory or a department store is able to discuss his business in these respects. In the requisitioning of supplies, in the allotment of teacher time, even in the matter of knowing plant cost, the business- manager aspects of the principal are obvious. The principal should have a considerable acquaintance with practises in management in the business world. As the manager of one of the plants of a large organization he should be able to command respect as such among other business managers. He should be able to talk the language of the business world when occasion calls for it. The Principal as an Administrator— There is much to learn about administration in and of itself, as those who have had ex- perience in administration well know. The administrator must see things whole. Life is made up of relationships. Nothing can be seen in its true meaning when viewed alone. For example, an individual school is a part of the school system. Whatever is done in the school has meaning with reference to * Talk delivered to Denver principals at the beginning of school—Sept. 1, 1934. the whole organization of which it is a part. It is always a mark of limitation in the prin- cipal’s thinking if, with reference to a par- ticular issue, he fails to grasp the significance of the issue in question in his school with reference to the whole school system. So far as we have a state or national system of education, what is done in the local school system has bearing upon the state school system and what is done in the state school system. Perhaps this is best summed up by saying that there is a breadth factor in ad- ministration which is essential to its success. The broad view, then, is characteristic of the good administrator. There is also a depth factor to administra- tion that is no less important than the breadth factor. There is an underlying philos- ophy for any proper policy or decision in the field of administration. It is the comprehen- sion and appreciation of this underlying philosophy that should carry whatever force there is in a policy or a decision. It is, there- fore, essential that an administra.or be able to present the “reason why.” There are in- stances in which it is necessary to go ahead even when there are some who do not see the reason for it. We should not lose sight of the fact that the main reliance of any administration for its ultimate success should rest upon an understanding and a belief in its policies and decisions on the part of those affected. There is always a fundamental rea- son for any proper policy or decision. The superintendent should be willing to admit that faulty procedures may be found in his office as well as in the office of the principal, but it is also true that any admin- istrator should be able to do a pretty good job of studying out for himself the inherent values in a proposed line of action. After careful study, if he does not agree that the proposed line of action is a proper one, he should, as a matter of respect for his own intellectual honesty, say so frankly and vig- orously. Not many principals have suffered in any material way for standing for that in which they believe. Most superintendents surely operate above the implication of fear. If it is just a matter of feelings being hurt, PRINCIPAL, FEBRUARY 1935 101 then we must consider that free speech is a rigorous game, one that calls for ruggedness, strength, and ability to take and to give. Some people may be too tender for such a game. In what has here been said to encourage an individual to stand up for what he thinks in all important matters affecting the admin- istration of our schools, the practical neces- sity for compromise in certain matters when it comes to the time that action must be taken should not be ignored. Bigotry should not be mistaken for self-respect, nor should coopera- tion lead to the habit of mere acquiescence or abdication of self. The principle of fair dealing is an outstand- ing characteristic of good administration. A special demand is made upon the adminis- trator in this respect. He must be an expert in fairness. An administrator must not only aim to be fair, but he must continually study the ethical problems that are always before him in order to be intelligent with reference to what is fair. A principal whose teachers know he will always deal fairly with them, whose pupils and patrons know the same thing, has accomplished much of what is necessary to have their respect. The administrator must be an organizer. Organization is essential to effective action in any activity. The broader and more com- plex the activity, the greater is the demand for organization. Nothing is more wasteful and futile than an attempt to do personally, individually, something which can be carried out effectively only by group organization. It is always indicative of good organization to find a school starting quickly, smoothly, and thoroly with its program, to find it keep- ing the program going right up to the last moment consistent with proper execution of all details that are involved in a proper clos- ing of the school term. The objective should be to make every hour of the school count in terms of actual educational service to the public. Organization is characteristic of any good school regardless of whether the philos- ophy of education is one of extreme indoc- trination and regimentation or one based on the most extreme, democratic concept of freedom. An administrator must keep his poise. Nothing is more demoralizing than loss of temper, loss of self-control. An administrator should be firm in dealing with aggravating situations, but never should he be out of con- trol himself. Good health is an important factor here. The profession of education should be required to meet health norms equivalent to those required in the army and navy. In the absence of such requirements there is nothing to keep us from organizing for our. selves certain regular programs of exercise and recreation, the kind of living that will keep us in the very best of health. Frequently, if not always, irritability, loss of temper, loss of poise, no matter how trying the situation, mark the limit of the individual’s health re. serve. eer ~ The Principal as a Community Leader —In this particular, above everything else the principal needs to be a sociologist. He must analyze his community and bring into clea relief before his eyes the various forces that enter into it and determine what it is and what it is to be. These forces exist in terms of individual leaders, of group interests and activities, of publications, of the variow economic interests represented in the conm- munity, and in various other forms. Every one of these is a force in the community, just as realistically as electricity is a force in the physical world. The engineering responsibility here before the principal is, therefore, as broad in scope as is the reach of all the forces that determine the life of his community. His responsibility here is by no means limited to a consideration of those families in his district who have chil- dren in his school. The conditions of his school obviously are affected not alone by the peopl who have children in his school but by al forces that enter into the life of the com- munity in which his school exists. All these forces must be engineered thn genuine leadership if the cause of the schoo is to be well served. By entering into the lives of individual) leaders, the life of the groups that make w the community, the principal can, by the) skilful presentation of the inherent values oi) what the school represents, harmonize all. / The Principal as a Leader of Pupils- In the leadership of pupils the principal mus also be much of a sociologist. Much of whalf has been said above with reference to com-f munity leadership applies here. The principd | must see the pupil as a member of a grou)” and must see the group as made up of pupik! The particular aspect of sociology her) 102 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARI§ rtant ‘ation 10rms y and there r our- e and keep tly, if OSS of ation, ’ th re- F eader se the must clear s that S and terms ‘Ss and arious com- Every y, jus § in the & before Scope -rmine sibility ration | e chil- school peopl by all : COM: ee 1 thr school 4 ividual | ake uy ry the lues of all. ipils—— i] must © f what ) com: -incipal group pupils y her —$— TARY brought to the forefront is social psychology. He must know the psychology of the indi- vidual but he is in danger of becoming too individualized in his technic if he does. not have a background of information in the field of social psychology. For example, a principal may try to lead the pupils of his schoo] altogether by personal relationships with each pupil. This highly individualized technic is entirely inadequate except pos- sibly in the case of a group of pupils includ- ing no more than a dozen or so. This factor is dealt with more directly by the classroom teacher. The relationship of the principal to pupils is of paramount importance, and it will be a constructive one only to the extent that the principal is a successful social engineer. It should be remarked that a principal may go to the opposite extreme and so center his at- tention upon social engineering as to be hardly known to pupils generally. The ability to de- velop personnel is a characteristic of the dynamic, creative, strong school principal. In all fields of life, administrators can be divided into two groups at this point. One group made up of those who can get along very well with people who have developed with other administrators and another group made up of those administrators who actually help people develop. It is the problem of dealing constructively with human nature that is here in point. Certainly this is one thing the administrator must accomplish, especially in education. Many a school principal could be named, of whom the first thing said would be, “He was a great developer of teachers,” whose reputation for success was centered in the statement, “He never let a teacher fail.” No one would take the position that all who try to teach will succeed or that a principal should be expected to make a success of every teacher. However, if an extreme emphasis is to be placed more on any one ism that enters into the work of a school principal, it should be placed more on the idea of making a suc- cess of every teacher than upon anything else. If teachers are growing and developing, everything is going well in the educational process. One may well ask at this point, “When are teachers growing and developing?” The prin- cipal faces a delicate question here. Suppose the principal has certain definite notions of his own as to what constitutes proper edu- cational objectives and procedures. He is in danger of considering only those teachers to be growing who accept his point of view in these matters. Such a concept of teacher growth implies a type of relationship between principal and teachers which is clearly in con- flict with democracy in education. Democracy in education means, in this connection, that teachers and principal work together in one cooperative, creative effort to make a better school. It should not hurt the pride of any administrator to modify or change completely his point of view in any situation in which any individual or group brings forth a new and better point of view. A person who so stimulates those with whom he is associated that they, in turn, so stimulate him that he changes his mind on many things, is indeed a real leader. The technics of personnel development are many and varied. No ready-made procedure could be set down for it. There is the per- sonal conference with the teachers, the sym- pathetic observation of the teacher in the classroom, the engineering of study groups and faculty meetings, and suggested readings. One group may be encouraged so that it will have a stimulating effect upon others. There is always a fire burning somewhere to which a skilful principal can add some fuel. This play of group upon group or point of view upon point of view goes on in the life of any faculty, regardless of whether the principal has anything to do with it. The principal does not face a choice here of whether such an interplay will occur. He simply faces a choice with respect to what he will do about it. To illustrate, school faculties have been heard of in which the ultimate reactionary, stand-pat point of view was so thoroly entrenched that newcomers, young teachers coming to the faculty with the buoyancy of youth, fortified by modern, progressive professional training, were at once, to use the parlance of gangsterism, “taken for a ride.” They were told that none of the foolishness of youth was wanted there. They were told, “We want none of these new- fangled ideas about education in which you are so interested. We do not want these ideas to take root here.” More than one young teacher of great potentialities has been ruined by this influence. It should not be permitted in any situation. Thru the one method of playing one point of view against another, the social situation can be engineered to higher PRINCIPAL, FEBRUARY 1935 103 levels. It only requires the leadership of the principals. The Principal as a Supervisor of In- struction—Most of what might be said with reference to the principal as a supervisor of in- struction is suggested by what has been said above about the principal as a developer of personnel. If teachers are kept growing and developing, a big objective of supervision is accomplished. But perhaps there is a spe- cial word to be said concerning the principal as a supervisor. He must be an outstanding student of life in general, a special student of the relationship of education to life, and he must be healthfully, constructively critical of it all. Such is real scholarship and as a scholar in this sense he must earn teacher respect. The intelligent teacher will not ex- pect the principal necessarily to be able to take charge of his class and teach it as he can teach it, but he will expect him to have a general intelligence about it. If the princi- pal measures up to such an expectation, he will be accepted as an educational leader. There is nothing more pathetic in a school situation than a teacher who wants to grow and develop and do big things in teaching but who is hampered, and perhaps thwarted in it altogether, because the principal cannot arise to his responsibility of leadership. There is no more inspiring situation in any school than that in which teachers, with their prin- cipal as a leader, are, with buoyant spirit, continually working toward bigger and better © things. i Conclusion—It hardly needs to be remarked that the principal must be many persons in one. He must have each of his various selves well prepared and ready for action at his beck and call. He must indeed be gifted of versatility. He is the key to the situa- tion in the individual school. “As the teacher, so is the school” remains true, but it is also true that it is impossible to maintain good teaching in a school presided over by a poor principal; so from this point of view it may be said, “As the teacher, so is the classroom; as the principal, so is the school.” NEW YORK CITY PRINCIPALS’ ASSOCIATION THE most notable facts concerning the work of the New York Principals Asso- ciation during the present year has been the increasing cooperation and interrelationship between the Association and the educational authorities, both of the city and of the state. The Committees of the Association, notably those on Health and on Professional Status, have had the opportunity to present the view- point of the principals to the Board of Educa- tion, the Board of Superintendents and the Board of Examiners. The Association member on the Joint Committee of Teacher Organiza- tions, Charles G. Eichel, has also done valiant work in preserving the balance between su- pervisor and teacher interests. The Committee on Administrative Problems, Mrs. Eudora Fletcher, Chairman, has considered the prob- lems presented by the new state regulations concerning teachers’ certificates, which threaten teacher tenure; the method of grant- ing refunds after absence; and the rating of assistants to principal. It has also assisted the Committee on Teacher Ratings of which Martha Wilson is chairman. The Committee on Juvenile Delinquency, under the chairmanship of Regina Burke, is 7 : cooperating with the Crime Prevention Bu- reau of the New York Police Department. The Committee on Child Welfare, Mamie Fay, chairman, is disseminating information concerning the proposed Child Labor Amend- ment. The Committee on Pensions, under the chairmanship of Charles T. Trace, is con- ferring with members of the Retirement Board in order to clarify doubtful points and is attempting to bring pension matters more frequently before the entire teaching body. The Committee on Educational Problems, Alice V. McCormick, chairman, is cooperat- ing with the Mayor’s Committee of Eight to study the efficiency of the schools. A mem- ber of the Association, C. Frederick Pertsch, is a member of the Committee of Eight and represents the Association before the Board | of Superintendents on the question of sab- batical leaves. The Committee on Educational | Problems is also making a special study of the activity program and the individualization of 7 instruction. ; 104 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY } a Ban dit the on wi tra ini arted nnot “here choo! prin- pirit, etter oO be t be lave ared and | of tua- the rue, sible hool * SO said, om; ency, ce, 1S nent. amie ation end- the # con- § ment | ; and is more ody. lems, erat- ht to nem- FF tsch, and oard ional f the yn of [RY THE PRINCIPAL—A Principal’s Viewpoint GRACE BUSH Principal, Lafayette School Washington, D. C. HE MORE I read about the sub- (rr of the elementary-school prin- cipalship, the higher the position seems to rise in importance. The principal holds the key to the success or failure of our schools. His desired qualifica- tions are many and varied. Let me dis- cuss briefly his five major duties. 1. Personal Qualifications—These qualifications are ability, an attitude and capacity for growth, high ideals, cultivated tastes and a sensitive tem- perament. He should be one who has had marked success in the ranks. He should be able to take a class and teach it well. There are several causes for lack of directional effort, this most important quality of leadership. The first is that the principal is expected merely to pass on to the teachers the ideals and policies which have been conceived in the cen- | tral office, with no opportunity for initiative or originality. A second rea- son is that many principals unfortu- nately have a professional timidity, some may have an intellectual slack- ness or laziness, and some are profes- sionally ignorant. The principal must be able to work cooperatively with his teachers. It is not his job to do all of the work but to see that it is done. He must be able to develop an esprit-de-corps, to energize and inspire teachers and pupils to the attitude, “This is our school.” He must not have a closed mind but he must be alive to the value of pro- gressive school methods and technics. His high ideals must set the standards for the school. His orderliness of duties are understood requisites. His tastes and hobbies will be imitated. His un- hurried friendliness (not intimacy) with the children will create a helpful atmosphere. His unassuming sincerity in speech and manner will be thoroly understood and appreciated by the teachers and children alike. Self-control is an essential. He must show a willing- ness to sacrifice personal convenience for the good of the school. 2. Supervisory Duties—In a study made in Maryland, it was found that the principal spent about 30 percent of his time in supervision. The greatest amount of this was classroom visitation. The purpose of supervision should be to improve classroom teaching, and should be entirely impersonal. A writ- ten criticism should be left with the teacher. A conference should follow an observation and at this conference the teacher should be asked to evaluate and criticize her own work. All criticism should be constructive, carefully or- ganized, clearly stated, and adequately supported by a knowledge of the latest developments of methodology. Such a conference will result in helpful criti- cism, in encouragement, and will make for a unity of effort thruout the school. 3. Organization Duties—The organ- ization will vary with the different school systems. It is the business of the principal to coordinate the work of the entire building, to see that the whole program will work to the best ad- PRINCIPAL, FEBRUARY 1935 105 vantage for both teachers and pupils and that the directions which his su- periors have asked him to carry out are closely followed. 4. Administrative Duties—A _ well- planned program of the administrative duties of the principal will make a happy situation in the school family. Such a program presupposes an ability and skill on the part of the principal to direct his teachers along professional lines. The executive duties such as the organization and administration of the school should find him devoting much time to the application of time allot- ment, the assignment of teachers, the classification and progress of pupils, as well as to caring for the physical well-being of pupils and teachers. The discipline of the building if man- aged in a cooperative way will usually resemble the ideal. The principal has a right to expect obedience to his au- thority within his school such as he gives to the superintendent. He should not attempt innovations of an import- ant character without having previously made sufficient preparation for them. He is responsible to the business de- partment for all property of the school. 5. Social Duties—tThe ideal principal must have many and varied interests to enable him better to meet others. He must be able to meet experts who have charge of mental measurement as well as those from the business department. Since the principal is the business man- ager of the school he will need to confer on supply estimates, building and grounds estimates as well as equipment estimates. It is his business to meet the parents and show a sincere interest in the wel- fare of the boys and girls of the school. An interest in the community life wil] give large opportunities for social sery- ice work. The principal owes the com. munity the benefit of his intelligent leadership and should show evidence of adjustment to community demands and needs. NEW JERSEY PRINCIPALS EXTEND HOSPITALITY F. A. Potter, principal, Massa. chusetts Avenue School, Atlantic City, and chairman of the Hospitality Com. | mittee of the New Jersey Principals As. | sociation, sends the following news item to all elementary principals at. tending the convention: “We have arranged to have a nine| o’clock show at the new Hollywood | Theatre, 1500 Block, Atlantic Avenue, | Wednesday, February 27, 9:00 pm. All principals who register at the Crane Building will receive a complimentary ticket.” OUR FIRST OFFICIAL REPORT Headquarters has long felt an in- creasing need for the preservation of the entire program activities of department meetings. We have en- deavored to present the high-lights of each meeting thru the regular pages | of the bulletin but space limitations have necessarily limited the contents, and excerpts have been the result. With this thought in mind, the April issue of The National Elementary Principal will be the first Official Re-' port. If this fills the need which we believe exists, we plan to make this a permanent feature. 106 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY. E' th ce! an ou thi of sh of ob mé be of fol bo tre ot] Di lik yo thi cle Pi school, fe will 1 sery- e com- lligent nce of ds and LS 4 Aassa- City, Com- ils As- news | Is at- | | nine | wood | enue, Pat | Crane ntary | | | ORT | n in- | ation Ss of - en- ts of rages tions ents, t. April itary Re-) 1 we nis a {RY OUR MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGN EVA G. PINKSTON HE Enrolment Chairmen have given to the Department one of the very best gifts it could possibly re- ceive. By their marvelous cooperation and untiring efforts they have placed our membership figures on January 1, 1935, at 120 more than we had on the same date a year ago and 13 ahead of our record for January 1, 1933. This should convince all of the importance of organized effort where any large objective is to be gained. Even tho we are ahead now, we must not think that we have achieved our goal, for we are working hard for a new high record. This can be attained if every member of our Department will help his Enrolment Chairman to get just one new member to join our group or get some principal who has been dilatory about sending in his dues to do so at once. Help your Enrolment Chairman and your Department. Headquarters has never received so many splendid letters as it has lately about our publications. A principal of Crafton, Pennsylvania, who has retired because of the School Retirement Law of Pennsylvania, has sent us his dues for he feels that our bulletins and year- books keep him in touch with the new trends and policies in education. An- other letter came which said, “Your December Principal is a gem, I wouldn’t change a line of it. I especially like your tribute to Mr. Crabtree and your news items.” Principals who are not getting the bulletins and yearbooks need to have them, for thru them we interpret and clarify the true objectives of the work of the elementary field. We are telling these things to you who know us with the sincere hope that you will tell those who are not members to join us in this great work. The status of the elementary-school principal has been raised and it will continue to go forward but we can go much faster if every member will help the Enrolment Chairmen to get more members. You have sent us your dues which shows you have faith in the De- partment and that you want its serv- ice and publications. J. Herbert Kelley, executive secre- tary of the Pennsylvania State Edu- cation Association, says, “Vigorous membership campaigns to acquaint principals with the work of their pro- fessional organizations and their pro- fessional duties must, of course, be carried on. Strong moral suasion may sometimes be necessary to convince a slacker that he should share in the responsibilities of his professional or- ganization as well as in its benefits. Such methods are approved. . . . As long as he remains in the profession, a principal should prize his member- ship in his education association and keep himself in good standing in it. ‘Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’ applies quite as much to the payment of dues to an education association as to the giving of tithes to the church. Membership in both should be continuous tho dues and tithes are payable periodically.” Let these words apply to our Elementary Principals De- partment. If principals do not indicate their belief in the justice of their cause by showing activity in its behalf, from what source can you hope for relief? PRINCIPAL, FEBRUARY 1935 107 Won’t you help your Enrolment Chairman by asking someone to join the National Department of Elemen- tary School Principals? State Enrolment Chairmen have been sending us the names of city, county, and district chairmen. We pub- lished one list in the December issue of The National Elementary Principal. We are listing, below, the names of those which have been received since we went to press on the December Bulletin: California City Chairman—F. B. Zimmerman, Oak- land. Illinois City Chairmen—Winifred Miller, Abing- don; Mrs. Josephine McGee, Alvin; Theresa Horner, Anna; Marion Strossman, Aurora (East) ; Gladys Serviss, Aurora (West) ; Flora Theis, Bloomington; Martha Worthen, Blue Island; Helen Lippitt, Cairo; Edith Holmes, Canton; W. G. Cisne, Carbondale; Martha Watson, Centralia; Frederick McKelvey, Charleston; W. A. Hawkins, Christopher; E. B. Burroughs, Collinsville; Marian G. Swift, Danville; Alice J. Meade, Decatur; Vernon G. Wiberg, Des Plaines; Mrs. Emma Robbins, Alixon; Mrs. Maud Whiffin, Downers Grove; Mrs. Florence Day, East Alton; Mary E. Young, East St. Louis; Marie Henderson, Effingham; Mrs. Mattie H. Walls, Elgin; Hazel Anderson, Elmhurst ; Ethel Cloyd, Evanston; Maude Thompson, Galesburg; Glen Mahoney, Geneva; Rosalie Ritter, Georgetown; Florence E. Kroeger, Glen Ellyn; Jane Gould, Glencoe; A. W. Wilson, Granite City; Gertrude O’Brien, Howard; H. H. Clemons, Harvey; Elmer Burns, Havana; Lucille Tiffin, Hillsboro; Marie Loomis, Hinsdale; Dora McLaughlin, Hoopeston; Agnes Paxton, Jacksonville; J. A. Eaglehoff, Jerseyville; Earl E. Miller, Johnson City; Anna Smith, Joliet; Cyrus Steinstulz, Harrisburg; Ida Voight, Freeport; Troy Watkins, Herrin; A. W. Boley, Kewanee; Edith Redfield, Kankakee; Frances Keese, Litchfield; May Champion, Lyons; Rosamond Sutherland, Laurenceville; Julia Walsh, LaSalle; Clara Schum, Lincoln; C. L. Painter, Morris; Mrs. Mary Howland, Mar- seilles; Ellen Gorman, Macomb; Mrs. Edith V. Anderson, Moline; Arland Stanley, Ma- 3 comb; E. C. Long, Madison; Mary Wash- burn, Marshall; Dewna Price, Champaign; Glen Mahoney, Geneseo; W. R. Loury, Chester; M. S. Lingberg, Dolton; Ida Hall, Streator; Ralph Harris, Wood River. County Chairmen—Lewis H. Hollmeyer, Adams; Isabel Penner, Boone; George Shive, Bond; Camilla Nelson, Bureau; W. A. Wald- rip, Carroll; H. W. Trimpe, Cass; Ralph Miller, Champaign; C. C. Green, Clark; Henry L. Pitts, DeKalb; L. V. Spriggs, Doug- las; V. H. Judge, Edwards; Carrie Darner, Fayette; C. E. Magnusson, Henderson; Mrs. Belle Alexander, Henry; Mrs. Vera Grous, Jo Daviess; Mrs. Mattie H. Walls, Kane; May- nard Ferden, Kankakee; Bessie Craiger, Kendall; Ida Hall, La Salle; Forrest Merri- man, Lee; Mrs. Esther Johnson, Livingston; Oscar W. Osborne, McLean; R. N. Thomp- ston, Macoupin; Glen O. DeAtley, Madison; John Bingham, Marion; Robert Phelps, Mason; Loren Brumfield, Moultrie; Harold Patterson, Ogle; M. C. Hunt, Pulaski; C. T. Cramer, Richland; Gertrude Hickman, Rock Island; John D. Volger, St. Clair; Fred Armistead, Saline; Curtis E. Pulliam, Scott; Frank O’Neal, Stark; E. G. Stull, Vermilion; Mrs. Clara Cannady, Wabash; Addie Wood- -_--_- oO er = 4 Charles R. Armour, Rockford; 7 rome, Washington; Marian Moore, Winne- | bago; E. E. Hanson, McHenry. Iowa City Chairmen—Katherine Cooper, Ames; Marjorie Walters, Cedar Rapids; Jeannette Hanigan, Council Bluffs; Ethel M. Holmes, Clinton; Lulu Hartson, Creston; Hattie Klein, Burlington; Arthur C. Hall, Davenport; J. Ella Baker, Des Moines; Alice Green- how, Dubuque; Elizabeth Colt, Estherville; Blanche Banta, Fairfield; Bertha Aarvig, Fort Dodge; Ruth Goodrich, Fort Madison; Nettie Baylor, Grinnell; Casper C. Dahle, Iowa City; Harry R. McPhail, Keokuk; Hazel Norland, Marshaltown; Emma Rehm, ee Mason City; Lillie Friederichsen, Muscatine; | Ernestine Dunmier, Newton; Greene, Oelwein; Flora A. Schneider, Oska- loosa; E. M. Brooks, Ottumwa; Isabelle Jensen, Perry; Minnie Giffen, Shenandoah; Lulu Christensen, Storm Lake; Inez M. Lund, East Waterloo; Nellie Garvey, West Water- loo; Bertha Stark, Webster City. Maryland County Reed, Prince Georges; Chairmen—Mrs. Catharine _ T. W. Day Mullinix, 108 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY Nellie B. & : a. a Oh So <> =! wd) S&S Pts ww OOoOQO yoOoDt mns Ss | rile; rvig, son; ahle, cuk; | shm, | ine; B. § ska- belle yah; und, iter- Garrett; Mrs. Ella Lee Betts, Wicomico; Mrs. Marguerite Hopkins, Anne Arundel; Isabelle Beckenbaugh, Washington; Frances M. Cleaves, Cecil; Caroline Thompson, Charles; Effie K. Ternent, Montgomery. Michigan City Chairmen—Nellie Morrison, Grand Rapids; Pearl Schoolcraft, Kalamazoo; Maud E. Gilbert, Jennie E. Lindsay, Bay City. District Chairman—Mary Holland, Detroit. New Jersey County Chairmen—H. Eloise Bryan, Burl- ington; Elma Lister, Bergen. New York City Chairmen—Ira M. Kline, White Plains and New York City; Carl E. Lewis, Pough- keepsie; Michael Dillon, Hoosick Falls; Bertha Clarke, Johnson City; Raymond Arnold, Kenmore; John Minuse, Port Chester; Jackson Gallup, Rochester. District Chairmen—A. E. Layman, Men- ands; Ira M. Kline, Long Island. North Carolina City Chairman—Lily Jones, Durham. District Chairman—W. H. Brookbanks, Willow Springs (North Central Section). County Chairmen—Mrs. George Hargrave, Robinson; Mrs. Nina De Berry, Iredell; Mrs. R. S. Harris, Wake; Mrs. Lois Alexander, Robeson; Arthur Mashburn, Burke; C. C. Lipscomb, Caswell. Ohio City Chairmen—Thomas C. Bennett, North College Hill; W. K. Saulsbury, Terrace Park; 0. M. Renfrow, Cincinnati; Edna Mohler, Coshocton. County Chairmen—O. H. Bennett, Hamil- ton; Clyde J. Noll, Noble. Pennsylvania City Chairman—J. T. Moore, Pittsburgh. Virginia County Chairman—Sarah Dinwiddle, Cul- peper. Washington County Chairmen—M. F. Clausen, Snoho- mish; Nels Swanson, Lincoln; W. D. Bay, Skagit. Hawaii City and County Chairmen—John C. Luiz, Honolulu; John T. Ferreira, Mountain View; Dorothy R. Solomon, Makaweli, Kauai; Clarence B. Dyson, Aiea, Oahu; Mrs. Clara Pulis, Kahului, Maui. THE CALIFORNIA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS’ ASSOCIATION N MAY 7, 1927 the California Ele- mentary School Principals’ Association was organized. ‘There are now six sections and last year’s membership totaled 857. As the Association has grown in member- ship, so has it grown in ability to broaden the scope of elementary education, and to help its members with their problems of ad- ministration and supervision. Six yearbooks have been issued. The yearbook planned for this year is entitled Leisure, Loafing, and Living. Editor O. W. Bardarson, principal of Sunset School, Carmel, California, and his committee have undertaken a work that will prove an invaluable addition to any edu- cator’s library. One of the outstanding features of the work of the Association is the regional, or section, conference. This is a joint meeting of the particular section and the state depart- ment of education. Section meetings so far this year have been held at Modesto, Sacramento, San Diego, and San Jose. Sarah L. Young, principal of the Parker School in Oakland, president of the California Elementary School Principals’ As- sociation, and fourth vicepresident of the national Department of Elementary School Principals was an interesting speaker. She has enthusiasm and vision, and will lead Cali- fornia elementary principals into new fields of thought and action. In his final report of the end of last year, President Harley W. Lyon stated that the purpose of the California Elementary School Principals’ Association is “To promote the advancement of elementary education thru- out the state of California” and that the or- ganization was pledged to: (1) Encourage the professional growth of every principal. (2) Assist principals to become better acquainted with their fellow workers in the cause of elementary education. (3) Urge the develop- ment of strong public relations programs in all schools. (4) Inform principals of our leg- islative situation to the end that the public schools may be continued unimpaired. (5) Increase interest of principals in professional organizations—national, state, and local. PRINCIPAL, FEBRUARY 1935 109 U. S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR OFFICE OF EDUCATION The Elementary-School Principal and the Emergency Nursery School —Elementary-school principals have had to take over many new responsi- bilities during the past few years. One of these responsibilities is the emer- gency nursery school, the sixth of the emergency education projects author- ized a year ago by Mr. Hopkins under the F. E. R. A. It is possible that principals are asking what value there is in nursery- school education and why there should be nursery schools. I doubt if there is anyone who does not agree that the emergency program is meeting the main purposes for which it was organized: 1. To restore unemployed teachers to so- cially useful services. 2. To develop the physical and mental well-being of preschool children in needy, underprivileged families. 3. To assist parents in meeting nutritional, physical and social needs of their children. 4. To set up an environment and daily program appropriate for preschool children as a demonstration for schools, homes and welfare agencies. . Aside from these main purposes there are certain opportunities and sugges- tions which these emergency nursery schools offer the elementary-school principal. Among these are the follow- ing: 1. To use the nursery school as a laboratory in which teachers of all grades may observe what goes on in the learning and habit forma- tion of children before school entrance and may recognize what they have to build upon with their pupils at higher age levels. 2. To see if the methods of guiding young children in the nursery school and the bal- ances maintained in the day’s program offer suggestions for the programs for older chil- dren. 3. To note the possibility and values of preventing and eliminating many physical and social difficulties in the preschool years, 4. To strengthen parent-support for the school thru the direct concern which parents have for their young children during the period of dependency. 5. To aid the normal progress of pupils thru detecting individual needs at an early age. 6. To compare the values of the full day nursery program with the kindergarten half- day and of the small nursery class enrolment with the larger kindergarten and elementary- grade class. ‘ 7. To supplement present community in- terest in the school thru appeal to interested professional, civic and lay organizations for support of the emergency nursery-school pro- gram. See oe ee In 1931 there were but 13 nursery schools in public school systems. These were organized in both elementary and high schools and served a variety of purposes. Some were a part of the kindergarten-primary department, others acted as laboratories in depart- ments of home economics, in divisions | of research, in departments of educa- tional counsel, and as demonstrations of child development and parent edu- cation. Descriptions of many of these schools are given in Nursery Schools— Their Development and Current Prac- | tices in the United States (U. S. Office of Education Bulletin, 1932, No. 9). Line and staff diagrams show helpful relationships between the nursery school and different divisions within the pub- lic school system and with local service © agencies. This bulletin also describes the firm foundation on which nursery schools have been built during the past fifteen years in the United States— > Mary Dasney Davis, Senior Specialist in Nursery - Kindergarten - Primary Education. 110 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY ¢ * SRI 27 canal = oO she NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION HEADQUARTERS The Technic of Building a Profes- sion*—In an editorial in the October 1934 issue of the Journal of the Na- tional Education Association, President Henry Lester Smith suggests that each of us ask himself: What am I doing and what more can I do to improve my profession? This question brings sharply to mind the significance of our professional organizations. How would you feel if you were obliged to work alone; if there were no books on teaching; if there were no traditions of service and ideals to stir and guide your endeavor? There was a time when teachers faced such a situation, when they had the status of tramps, and even today there are places in the United States where the teacher is regarded as a transient. How can teachers who accept this view of themselves impress upon chil- dren a sense of community responsi- bility and community building which is necessary to effective civic education? Several generations of teachers have been at work to improve the teaching tradition, to spread it among the new recruits, and to make it a vital force in the elevation of the national life. But the process is not more than 20 percent complete. Most of our teachers colleges are still underemphasizing or entirely neglecting the work of profes- sional organization. Only one teacher in five has enough sense of the national need to join the National Education Association. * Third in a series of four articles to be published during 1934-35 in the Bulletin of the Department of Elementary School Prin- cipals, Obviously there is much to be done if the teaching profession is to count in the national life as it should count dur- ing these crucial days when the very existence of democracy is at stake. Specifically, what can the elemen- tary-school principal do to build a profession? The first step is to put his mind on the problem, to realize that it deeply concerns him, to look for places where he can try out in his own school and community the ideals which his asso- ciates have together worked out. Second, he can give a leadership to the teachers. Many principals are over- timid at this point. They have not yet realized that their very position gives them a responsibility for leadership. Teachers have a right to expect that the principal will take an interest in the growth of each teacher and make suggestions that will foster that growth. No teacher today can grow in the wider outlook which is so important without having a part in organization work. Teachers have said to me, “I did not realize what professional organization meant until our principal talked with us about the matter. Now I know that only thru organization can we exert our share of influence on the mighty forces that are remaking humanity.” The technic of building a profes- sion—like the technic of building a school—is fairly simple once we have the will strong enough to keep us at work on a task which we feel to be of crucial importance to ourselves and to all that we hold dear in civilization — Joy Ermer Morean, Editor, Journal of the National Education Association. PRINCIPAL, FEBRUARY 1935 111 INFORMATION AND NEB: WHY A MID-YEAR This question has been asked us. No better MEETING? answer can be written than the one given by the late Ide G. Sargeant, principal P. S. No. | 10, Paterson, New Jersey, who was one of the founders of the Depart- ment and president of it in 1925-26. He said: “Occasionally one of our most helpful friends among superintend- ents raises the question as to the wisdom of the winter meeting. To answer this question as its importance demands, requires our turning for a moment to the reason for our organization. “The principalship in our larger towns and cities has become a position demanding a thoroly trained, professionally minded person. In addition to being a college graduate and possessing a training in the technique of supervision and administration it is vitally important that he have a vision of what is involved in his position, the function of the school and the correct attitude toward the problems of his calling. As a whole we were not possessed of such ability in 1921 and we are not in possession of it today altho we are making much progress. “Dr. Morrison in his study of last year, showed a woful lack of pro- fessional training and esprit de corps among the principals of his state. What is true of Ohio is equally true of the other states. A Jersey superintendent in one of our large cities writes only this week: ‘There are many good principals in the country but there are many who are not so good. The two-thirds who are not, are reaping the benefit of the one-third who are. ! “It is to remedy this lack among principals that we hold two great meetings a year. It is not merely additional book learning and lec- tures that principals need but a new revelation, a new hope, a new respect for themselves and their calling, a new courage and a new understanding of the whole purpose of education. This cannot be had unless we can free them from their conceits, provincial ways, and handicaps. They must rub elbows with their fellows at the great midwinter convention. They get something at this meeting not to be obtained elsewhere. The meeting of the American Department of Superintendence is the greatest gathering of the giants in supervision and administration coming together in any part of the world. “There is no business, legislative, or judicial body of any nation that compares with the high average of ability and education of the mem- bers of this group. Nowhere else can one obtain the inspiration that will come from mixing for a week with the fifteen thousand attending the Washington meeting. oe 112 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY FROM HEADQUARTERS ‘In addition to the benefits from the splendid program of the Depart ment of Elementary School Principals the principals can attend the best | features offered by the superintendents and other allied departments. i “The midyear meeting is a different type than the summer meeting. No municipality is doing its duty by its children unless it insists that its principals attend both the midyear and summer meetings. ‘Superintendents, if you want better principals encourage and make possible their attendance at our conventions and that they have the benefit of our membership. » EK SECRETARY GIVENS The key to the door of vast opportunity has SETS NEW GOALS been placed in the hand of the new secre- tary, Willard E. Givens. He is approaching ' the threshold of the door with caution, but not fear. He realizes the great responsibility which has been placed upon his shoulders, for he comes to Washington as the secretary of the greatest education associ- &§ ation in the world. His positive personality will inspire us. He will continually enlarge and develop processes into the infinite reaches ahead. It is his desire that education move forward in its march of , & progress. He is asking that a better feeling, a better understanding, a » closer cooperation and loyalty to the school be engendered by educa- tors and that the public be informed of the splendid work the schools t have done and are doing. As he swings this heavy door open, every educator in the land should stand at attention and be ready to follow as he commands. It is essen- tially our duty tovexert ourselves and let him be able to rely upon our bulwark of strength and numbers. He is our leader, and one of whom we shall be proud. He can be depended upon to direct us in our problems which hamper progress. He will keep his ‘eye on the ball’ and that “ball” represents the welfare of the child. The new secretary comes to us in the very prime of life with an enviable career already to his credit. He brings to us first-hand experi- ence at practically all educational levels. By his training, experience, : a and social outlook, he is able to give us counsel which is so necessary = to the growth of our public schools. it It is a distinct compliment to all of us that he has come to be our g commander-in-chief. We extend our heartiest good wishes and pledge an ever-ready and loyal cooperation. Vv - tee eee OO CF —~ ~ Y PRINCIPAL, FEBRUARY 1935 113 ATLANTIC CITY CONVENTION FEBRUARY 23-28, 1935 HE Department of Elementary School Principals will have its headquarters at the Traymore Hotel, Boardwalk and Illinois Avenue. Indi- cations are for a _ record-breaking crowd. Sleeping room reservations should be made at once, since some hotels are already reserved to capacity. The New Jersey Principals Associa- tion will*extend hospitality from the Crane Building, Atlantic City, to all visiting principals during the conven- tion. Florence Mason of Elizabeth, N. J., is marshaling hostess. There will be a secretary on hand. Tea will be served and other New Jersey courtesies extended. A delightful surprise awaits all elementary principals who register. Floyd Potter, principal, Massachusetts Avenue School, Atlantic City, is the local chairman and will attend to de- tails and information. The Official Breakfast The Atlantic City Principals Asso- ciation will have charge of the usual “get-together breakfast” for the prin- cipals attending the convention. This will be held Monday, February 25, 7.30 a. m., in the Solarium of the Mad- ison Hotel, Illinois Avenue. Tickets will be on sale at the registration desk at the auditorium. Price $.75. Monday Afternoon Program The New Jersey Elementary School Principals Association, of which Francis H. Budd is president, is in charge of the program of the Depart- ment of Elementary School Principals, Monday, February 25, 1935, 2 p.m., in the Rose Room of the Traymore Hotel. They have planned a program in which many principals will participate and many issues and ideas will be discussed. They will present to us many opinions worked out by individuals and groups. The following program has _ been prepared: PRINCIPALS AND PRINCIPLES When principals generally have the “aggres- siveness” to claim their own and the “shame- lessness” to dare to speak the truth and do the right we shall have the “new and better world.”—The late Ide G. Sargeant, Principal, School #10, Paterson, New Jersey, and one of the founders of the D. E. S. P. Presiding—Aaron Kline, First Vicepresident, D. E. S. P., Pullman School, Chicago, Ill. GREETINGS Willard E. Givens, Secretary, National Education Association, Washington, D. C. REPORT OF THE 1935 YEARBOOK COMMITTEE Bess Clement, Eliza Clark School, Clarks- dale, Mississippi Tue Human Dynamo Lucy Mason Holt, Ocean View School, Norfolk, Va. Music INTERLUDE Harold Augustine, Montclair School, Montclair, N. J. High THE PRINCIPAL’S PARTICIPATION IN POLITICS William Twitchell, Jr., Peapack-Glad- stone School, Peapack, N. J. Can CHARACTER BE TAUGHT? Albion U. Jenkins, South Eighth Street School, Newark, N. J. THE PRINCIPAL’s RESPONSIBILITY FOR TEACHER GrowTH A. L. Hartman, Edgemont School, Mont- clair, N. J. Waat’s Ir Att Anout? Raymond S. Michael, Gregory School, Trenton, N. J. Count FOR ONE Mrs. A. Virginia Adams, East Landis Avenue School, Vineland, N. J. The Banquet Lotus D. Coffman, president, Uni- versity of Minnesota, will be the guest 114 ‘THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY | pre Mc of « cat cus dev in { Hot and 192: Sch for and for t have PRI. speaker at the semi-annual banquet of the Department on Tuesday, February 26, 6 p.m. The guests of honor will be Mrs. B. F. Langworthy, president, Na- tional Congress of Parents and Teach- ers, and Daisy Lord, president, Depart- ment of Classroom Teachers of the National Education Association. This banquet will be held in the Belvedere Room, Traymore Hotel. Price $1.75. Mason A. Stratton, principal, Brighton Avenue School, Atlantic City, and member of the Executive Committee, will represent the Department. Principals’ and Supervisors’ Day E. E. Oberholtzer, president of the Department of Superintendence, has designated Wednesday, February 27, 1935, as Principals’ and Supervisors’ Day at the Atlantic City convention. M. Emma Brookes, president of our Department, has asked J. Cayce Mor- rison, assistant commissioner for ele- mentary education, Albany, New York, to conduct a panel discussion at our program meeting that afternoon. Dr. Morrison has carefully selected a group of outstanding men and women in edu- cation who will participate in the dis- cussion of a topic which pertains to the development of the principalship. Wednesday Afternoon Program THE PRINCIPAL’S JOB TODAY The Wednesday program will be held in the Rose Room of the Traymore Hotel, M. Emma Brookes, presiding. “Today” has its roots in yesterday and holds the promise of tomorrow. In 1928 the Department of Elementary School Principals drew specifications for the elementary-school principalship and defined the qualifications needed for the job. Since then, economic forces have materially altered the social struc- PRINCIPAL, FEBRUARY 1935 ture; and “recent social trends” are changing the form, structure, and func- tion of the elementary school. Some of these forces operate beyond our con- trol; others we can shape in whole or in part. What is this elementary school in the making? What are these forces molding its destiny? What part does the principal play in shaping its future? What is his job today “and tomorrow and tomorrow?” MEMBERS OF THE PANEL J. Cayce Morrison, chairman, Assistant Commissioner for Elementary Edu- cation, State Education Department, Albany, New York Orville G. Brim, Professor of Elemen- tary Education, Ohio State Univer- sity, Columbus, Ohio Worth McClure, Superintendent of Schools, Seattle, Washington Claire T. Zyve, Principal, Fox Meadow Elementary School, Scarsdale, New York Stephen F. Bayne, Associate Superin- tendent for Elementary Schools, New York, New York Belle M. Ryan, Assistant Superintend- ent, Omaha, Nebraska Nathan G. Peyser, Principal, Public School 181, Brooklyn, New York Arthur D. Hollingshead, Principal, Ashland School, East Orange, New Jersey Prudence Cutright, Assistant Superin- tendent, Minneapolis, Minnesota David Willard Zahn, Principal, Com- modore Barry School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Goodwin Watson, Associate Professor of Education, Teachers College, Co- lumbia University, New York, New York 115 RESEARCH AS A WAY TO LEADERSHIP* J. CAYCE MORRISON Assistant Commissioner for Elementary Education, Albany, N. Y. N 1923, Cubberley published the first textbook for elementary-school principals. In the final chapter, “The Principal as a Leader,” he wrote in part as follows: The principal who would become a leader in education must have built up by reading and study and observation and thinking a good clear philosophy of the educational process, and be deeply impressed with the conception of the improvability and advance- ment of the race by means of education. He must also be able to think thru and beyond the current practises of his profession, and see the possibilities of doing things differently and in a larger and a better way. the principalship is a student’s op- portunity, . . . By personal reading and study, by trying out new methods and pro- cedures, by making numerous little studies, by being sure he has something to say and to give when he talks before parents and at institutes, and by the contribution of short articles from time to time to professional magazines and educational gatherings, a man or woman who works and thinks is al- most certain to be looked up to as a leader and to become conscious of growth in knowl- edge and power to do. They . . . learn to plan for and do things that to many would seem impossible. The Application of Cubberley’s Criteria in 1924—Reading the fore- going, soon after its publication, I was curious to learn to what extent elemen- tary-school principals were “trying out new methods and procedures,” “mak- ing numerous little studies” and con- tributing “short articles . . . to profes- sional magazines.” At that time, being * Space limitations prohibit the inclusion of the references accompanying this article. Anyone desiring these references may have them by sending a request to Headquarters. responsible for a course in educational administration, I asked a graduate student to scan the educational litera. | ture of that period, to list all articles contributed by elementary-school prin- cipals, and to determine to what extent the authors were “trying out new meth. ods and procedures” or were making “studies” of their own work. After some search, he reported that the assignment was impractical because elementary- school principals were either not con- tributing to publications or were studi- ously concealing their identity as prin- cipals of elementary schools. Cubberley’s Criteria Applied in 1934—Since that time, ten years have elapsed. A cursory examination of the files of New York State Education, The Principal, The National Elementary Principal, Educational Method, The Elementary School Journal and The Journal of Educational Research for the two calendar years 1933 and 1934 disclosed a total of twenty articles con- tributed by elementary-school princi- pals. While six of these were not in any wise the result of research, they did il- lustrate Cubberley’s criterion of con- tribution to professional magazines. The titles of these articles indicate something of their nature: “A Unit of Work in the Fourth Year on f the Topic ‘Holland,’” “Germany, the Land of Pleasant Surprises,” “The Orchestra in the Elementary School,” “Democratic Think- ing and Living in the Classroom,” “Self- | Supervision by Teachers,” and “Assembling | Marks in a Departmentalized School.” — j Analysis and Interpretation—lIn © another paragraph of the chapter re- | ferred to above, Cubberley character- | ized the “ability to think thru an idea, 7 116 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY } onal late era- cles rin- tent eth- cing ome rent >on- udi- rin- | in lave The ary The The for 934 ‘on- nci- any >on- nes. cate r on wand a in ‘ink- ppt ath > Sameer it Self- FF ling | work it out clearly, and reduce it to such written form that it influences others and molds procedure elsewhere as the first indication of developing professional leadership.” This latter specification was met by a second group of articles in which the authors defined a problem, analyzed a situation, and drew upon the research of others to ar- rive at a solution. Each of these articles illustrates the capacity to define a prob- lem, to find the evidence bearing upon it, to analyze and weigh such evidence, and to arrive at a conclusion. In his analysis and interpretation of “The State Report,” the author displayed a broad knowledge of the scientific method and a thoro acquaintance not only with the Com- missioner’s Report, but with its two prede- cessors. Whatever his personal opinions may have been, he succeeded in emphasizing those phases of the report that would mold the thinking of his colleagues in the New York Schools. The author of “Social Change and the Life of the Child” made very little use of research studies, but she did analyze clearly the prob- lems involved in helping children to be aware of the social changes about them, to be in- terested in these changes, and to have in- telligent opinions about them. A third article summarized the conclusions reached by a parents’ group under the leader- ship of a parent in the school who undertook to find the solution to these problems: Choos- ing helpful companions for their children; the adolescent boy’s difficulties in building de- sirable habits of cleanliness and neatness; the child’s development of discrimination as to right and wrong, the will to say “No”; is it desirable to allow a boy to argue his case with his parents in the home? Another presented in brief form an outline of the report of the Committee on Health of the New York Principals Association. This report was in some measure prompted by the White House Conference and in some respects drew on the Proceedings of that Conference for its content and recommendations, but it is an admirable example of how principals in a single city may use the research or pro- ceedings of a larger conference or organiza- tion, in attacking problems particularly vital to their own city. In “Marks or Remarks,” the question, “Why use marks?” is analyzed rather crit- ically and the answer is found in a procedure developed in the principal’s school thru con- ferences between faculty and parents result- ing in what he termed “the plain English report.” While none of the foregoing articles could be credited as the result of productive re- search, in each one a principal or group of principals turned to the results of research for the evidence needed in finding a solution to the problem. The Tools or Instruments of Re- search—In “The Use of the Graph,” the author shows how important an in- strument the graph has become in the instructional program of the elemen- tary school. Here is a simple device that two decades ago belonged strictly to the research worker. Today it is as com- mon to the elementary school as is the map or globe. Investigation or Controlled Ex- perimentation—Here we have five articles each dealing with a different issue, each illustrating the method and procedure of educational research: (a) A Study of Certain Types of Work Materials in First Grade Reading The purpose was to determine the relative merits of “workbook” material and “picture- dictionary” material in teaching first-grade reading with respect to (1) effectiveness in increasing the pupils’ reading vocabulary and (2) convenience in administration by the teacher. The experiment was limited to the 36 pupils of a 1-A class divided into two sections of 18 pupils each, paired as to ability on the basis of the four factors—mental age, intelli- gence quotient, chronological age, and teacher judgment. Each group worked thirty minutes daily with the material, one using exclusively the “workbook” material and the other the “picture-dictionary” material. All other in- struction was the same. The results showed a slightly larger gain in increased reading voca- bulary for children using the workbook ma- PRINCIPAL, FEBRUARY 1935 117 terial and the preference of principal and teacher for the “picture-dictionary” material because of the greater convenience in its ad- ministration. (b) A New Plan for Forming Class Groups The purpose of this study was to develop a modified form of homogeneous grouping in a platoon school. The school had 400 chil- dren in grades 2-6 inclusive. On the basis of intelligence tests these were divided into four quartiles. The upper quartile was as- signed to Platoon I and the lower to Platoon II. The middle 50 percent were distributed evenly between the two platoons. Each platoon was then given a standard reading test and divided into 5 groups of 40 pupils each on basis of ability in reading. A similar procedure was followed in arithmetic and spelling. For all the work, such as the social studies and the arts, the children were divided into 5 different groups on the basis of chrono- logical age. This is a very good illustration of homogeneous grouping on the basis both of general and special subject abilities. (c) The Value of Various Games and Ac- tivities in Teaching Spelling In a school of 38 classes with 1565 pupils, the principal arranged for spelling in the A sections of each grade to be taught thru the utilization of games, puzzles, problems, work with words, and directed word activities, and in the B sections to be taught thru the use of the direct study of word lists. When the semester’s work was completed, there were 1076 paired cases. The differences in mastery of spelling were insignificant, but there was a very decided preference on the part of prin- cipals and teachers for the activity method a snsiderable evidence that it was more successful with the upper third than the lower third of pupils. (d) The Effect of Radio Musical Accom- paniment on Accomplishment in School Work Mothers had concluded that children were more interested in radio than in homework. The principal undertook an experiment to determine what effect listening to jazz music had upon actual learning accomplishment. The experiment was applied to two fourth-, two fifth-, and four sixth-grade classes! 80 percent of these children reported they were accustomed to doing home study of arithmetic and reading to radio accompaniment. To these 140 pupils tests were given, one with music, the other without music. There was no distinct difference in the results of the test, altho teachers reported that the music caused a certain tenseness and nervousness during the test period and for some time thereafter. . (e) Imagination in Pupils’ Writing The author wished “to evolve definite methodology by means of which imagination in the descriptive writing of elementary- school pupils could be most effectively stim. | ulated.” His investigation included fou schools, 961 pupils, grades 7-8, divided into two equated groups, a ten-week training | period, pre- and final tests. Three methods were used—picture study, literary model and sense training. His results indicated the fol- lowing rating of the three methods: first, sense training; second, literary model; and third, picture study. The Yearbooks of the N.E.A, Department of Elementary School Principals—In 1921, the national De- partment of Elementary School Prin. cipals published its first yearbook. The executive officers have followed the policy of devoting a yearbook each year to some special phase of elementary education, announced a year or more in advance, and of soliciting contributions from their members and others inter- ested in the particular subject or prob- lem under consideration. Of the last four yearbooks, elemen- tary-school principals contributed ap- | proximately one-third of all the articles | included. To be exact, of 242 articles, 115 were contributed by elementary- school principals; and of this latter group, nine or 7.8 percent were the} work of New York principals. : The percentage of articles represent: | ing some research varied with the sub-/ ject under consideration. The Tenth Yearbook devoted a chapter to “Appli- | cations of Measurement and Research.” F The Twelfth Yearbook on Libraries de-) voted a chapter to “Supervision and) Appraisal.” The last yearbook entitled | Eads 118 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY!) “v a Bq ee ticles | ‘icles, © tary- latter © > the F sent: F - sub- Tenth © \ppli- rch.” es de- 1 and titled 'ARY Aids to Teaching gave a chapter to summarizing the research made to date in attempting to determine the effective- ness of visual and other aids in teaching. The yearbooks of the Department of Elementary School Principals have measured up to Cubberley’s criteria and have apparently provided an ac- ceptable channel for leadership by elementary-school principals. The Work of Local and State Associations—At least three of the state associations of elementary-school principals have undertaken the publica- tion of yearbooks. Two of these, Michi- gan and Ohio, copied the general plan, on a smaller scale, of the yearbooks of the national Department. Apparently, the state associations have not suc- ceeded in making such a publication a profitable adventure. Among the local clubs or associations the yearbooks of the Chicago Princi- pals’ Club have proved the most useful to those outside the immediate circle of membership. Started in 1926, these yearbooks contain a number of interest- ing features. The latest volume, Char- acter Education, has 81 contributors, 52 of whom are principals of elemen- tary or junior high schools in Chicago. Its table of contents is suggestive. It contains four chapters on progress in character education, one of which is a summary account of measurement in character education; reports of 22 dif- ferent plans or experiments carried on in as many different schools; four chapters summarizing practises, in the junior high schools, senior high schools, the normal school and the special schools respectively; and special studies of “the relative value of four methods of character education as ap- plied to the teaching of honesty,” “the character qualities considered most im- portant by pupils and teachers,” “the case study method of character integra- tion,” “measuring the effectiveness of a citizenship program in a six-year ele- mentary school” and “a summary of life situations and devices reported by teachers for character training.” Bringing together in one volume twenty-two different but significant at- tacks on the problem of character edu- cation is in itself an important contri- bution, and is highly suggestive to other organized groups. Summary—Three types of publica- tion are valuable both to the individual and to the profession at large. One re- ports the results of investigation or con- trolled experimentation — this is re- search. A second describes an experi- ence, is a record of something that is, or may be, of value to others—such an article or report adds to the cumulative experience of the profession. The third type digests or interprets the results of investigation or research, making them available to many who would not otherwise know or understand them. It is possible that a fourth type is evolving. This is the combination of supervision and research. It is the re- sult of the cooperative endeavor of many people who agree to work.’ ‘he same problem, to study the available evidence pertaining thereto, to experi- ment, to try new methods and proce- dures, to pool their experiences from time to time, and finally to report the outcome. This type presupposes im- provement in practise as a prerequisite to the publication of a report. Its value lies in the numbers who participate and in the growth or permanent change of their practise. Don’t forget that Headquarters always welcomes suggestions! PRINCIPAL, FEBRUARY 1935 119 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION SHALL ADVANCE IRA M. KLINE* Principal, Greenburgh No. 8 Schools White Plains, N. Y. DUCATION is accepted as a state function. When it is considered that childhood is a precious human element, it is obvious that the progress of its development cannot be retarded or neglected with an expectation of ac- celerating the advance later. This may be done as former Governor Smith of New York, a sincere friend of educa- tion, has frequently proclaimed in con- nection with roads, bridges, public buildings, etc., but not in education. These viewpoints which are so widely shared by conscientious citizens both in private and public life certainly make insistence upon meeting this obligation a matter of utmost importance to teach- ers and administrators. Criticisms of speakers in educational meetings by their auditors make one timid in undertaking to write in that field. The statement, “There is nothing new under the sun,” is as true in the field of educational practises and meth- ods as in any known field. This is axio- matic. What is claimed by an author as new in the field can, after careful scru- tiny and investigation, be found to be only previously used material in new relationships or arrangement or in new disguises. One speaker will take the common- place facts of the past and by skilful presentation of same or by marshaling them in new relationships fascinate his audience and be lauded. Another speaker or writer with identical facts * Mr. Kline is also third vicepresident of the Department of Elementary School Prin- cipals. may fail utterly in the judgment of his hearers. “You say you know how precious time is, and do not wish to lose it. Do you not know that to employ it badly is to waste it still more, and that a child badly taught is farther from being wise than one not taught at — all? You are troubled at seeing him [ spend his early years in doing nothing, What! Is it nothing to be happy? Is it nothing to skip, to play, to run about all day long?” The above excerpt from Emile by Rousseau might well have been taken from the literature of the most modern advocate of progressive education in this century, It capitalizes the encour- agement and direction of the play in- stinct of the child as a legitimate goal of education. The fear of departure from tradi- tional interpretation or application of principles is unfounded. The modern or | even radical proposal in one decade finds ready acceptance as conservative in the next. This may seem more sur- f prising in the field of education since | conservatism has been its birthmark | for generations. Discussion relative to the new social i order is quite indiscriminate. To many © the term is meaningless; to some it is a device to generate restlessness and | dissatisfaction; to a comparatively few I it is a stimulation to an unusual effort | to meet the enlarged demands of the changes in society which have been 7 greatly accelerated. 5 When Candidate Roosevelt coined the expression, “New Deal,” in the cam- | paign of 1932, his fondest hope could | scarcely have anticipated the extent to | 120 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY pr fat thi the atc ers ape ins f his how h to ploy § and ‘ther | it at him ling. aiken dern n in f ‘our- § r in- goal n of nor F cade | itive sur- since nark © ocial vany it is | and | few ffort the been ined ould it to iRY which the new term would be accepted and applied. People are willing to discard tradi- tional ideas without reluctance these days, in fact, they are disappointed in leaders unable to visualize for them, forward steps. Education is no excep- tion and its leaders have the opportu- nity never before possible, of advancing educational objectives in harmony with the demands of this widely proclaimed changing social order. A tax-conscious Is it | citizenry deprived of its normal income bout ve ; | providing funds for education. It can- by | has been inclined to be less generous in not be blamed for this. Educators must themselves accept the consequence of _ having failed to make a modern educa- tional program as indispensable as the proverbial two cars in every garage, a fat fowl in every pot, the second or third mortgage on the family home, or | the unpaid instalment on the refriger- radi- FF ' ers have permitted themselves to be ator. In other words, educational lead- apologetic instead of prophetic; timid instead of bold; satisfied to sift the sands for stray particles of gold instead | of becoming intrepid pioneers and pushing forward the frontiers of policy and practise and proclaiming the wider significance of education in the New Deal, thus gleaning nuggets instead of microscopic grains of progress. There is no good reason why education could not have anticipated many of the de- mands upon schools growing out of the New Deal program. We have been altogether too much inclined to remain indifferent to the clarion call of leaders who have sensed the unuttered demand for liberal inter- pretation of an educational program in harmony with necessary social adjust- ments. We have depended upon laymen to too great an extenf to develop the de- fenses which the public accept as ade- quate. We have permitted curtailments of services which are indispensable when the current demands upon educa- tion are subjected to fair analysis. The depression has seen art, music, physical education, health service, library, hand- work, homemaking, industrial arts, and other activities either entirely elimin- ated from the schools or so curtailed as to be futile to meet the needs of pupils in the widely heralded new social order. These activities would never have been relinquished had educators foreseen and prepared themselves to secure and interpret to their patrons the true state of affairs. Statistics are now being made available largely by non-educators in the professional sense which prove con- clusively that the most ambitious pro- gram of education is not comparable in cost with other legitimate social or gov- ernmental services. Comparison of the cost of a sane and adequate program of education with the cost of anti-social or illegal activities or personal adornments is not only absurd but positively ridicu- lous. The average community spends more for intoxicants than for instruc- tion of its children. Instructional materials and methods in the future should be so selected and organized as to modify the attitudes of those exposed to their influences. It is an indictment upon educational goals that such a large number of people re- spond to those experiences which are costly but are of only doubtful or tem- porary satisfactions that leave the vic- tim distressed but not always disillu- sioned. The gambling instinct which costs the country such an enormous amount of money annually and which gives no indication of diminution might PRINCIPAL, FEBRUARY 1935 121 easily be considered an outcome of edu- cation. Of course, it might be difficult to prove this statement, however I feel the statement is sound if we are to con- sider the early age at which delinquency of more or less serious nature appears. The teaching of the nature and effect of alcoholic drinks and narcotics is a re- quirement in the schools. This require- ment has been met in a way but has failed to control the appetite, which fact certainly reflects upon the teach- ing personnel or method or both. The cost of habit-forming drugs alone in this country would exceed what is now spent in the so-called fads or frills or luxury courses. These comparisons could be continued indefinitely. Such data could be presented in graphic form and effectively convince those who furnish funds how economical by com- parison the present program of edu- cation actually is. We must not lose sight of the fact that the elementary school must as- sume a very important role in this forth- coming campaign to inform the public and to modernize or liberalize and ex- tend education. The elementary school touches the home more intimately than education on any other level. About two years ago when the superintendent of schools of a certain large city was in- formed by his board of education that a staggering sum must be cut from his budget, he proposed that the elemen- tary schools be closed. It was probably never his intention actually to close these schools but being a good psychol- ogist he knew that such a proposal would be the ideal instrument to arouse the patrons of this department. It worked, and the proposed cut was ma- terially reduced. Elementary principals and_ their teaching staff have the advantage of this more intimate and vital contag with those who provide the funds fq education. We can scarcely hope t retrieve the losses or erase the scars which have marred the children of the depression years. We cannot, however. exonerate ourselves completely from blame for some of these blunders. We can, however, resolve to consecrate our. selves more completely to the task of| restoring normal opportunities to child. hood and see that safeguards are set w | which will assure that education shall be the last state function to suffer with recurring periods of economic stagna- tion. Education must be the last stat: function to be deprived of funds fa its maintenance. It must be the goal of every indi vidual to strive not only for the restora. tion of the commonly accepted mini- mum but to guarantee a forward move. ment which contemplates a program oj education always in advance of the needs of the period in which we actually live. The curriculum in the elementary school must be enriched to make it pos sible for every child who is obliged t enter and attend to find a program that challenges his level of ability and makes it possible for him to know the joy of accomplishment. This enrich ment must anticipate not only his im mediate needs but provide for a happy, active future and his absorption into society with promise of the maximum” benefit to himself and to his society.’ The projected objectives must provide; for the growth and development of the} whole child. Until these objectives are” realized, the state will not have dis” charged its obligation and oneal —_ oe will be accepted as a benevolence ané not as the legitimate right of every | child. Leave no stone unturned in real-| izing these purposes for your schools! 122 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTAR!) WHAT’S GOING ON AND * E. M. Carter, secretary-treasurer, Missouri State Teachers Association, Columbia, Missouri, sends in the names of the new officers of the Missouri Ele- mentary Principals Association. They are: Chairman, Mary Thompson, St. Louis Vicechairman, John Haley, Webster Groves Secretary, J. E. Howard, Clayton. * Ruby V. Perry, New Orleans, Lou- isiana, writes the good news to us that “at this year’s Louisiana Teachers’ As- sociation Convention held in Baton Rouge, we organized an Elementary Principals’ Section.” The officers elected were: President, Violet Sullivan, New Orleans Secretary, Myrtle Rodgers, Monroe. * The newly elected officers of the Little Rock Principals Round Table for the year 1934-35 are: President, T. C. Abbott Secretary, Flora Cohen. * The Federal Office of Education announces that a photograph of the President, especially inscribed, “To the pupils and teachers of the United States,” and signed Franklin D. Roose- velt, is now available. Send to Superin- tendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. * The new officers of the Virginia Ele- mentary Principals Association which met at Richmond, Thanksgiving, No- vember 29, are: President, Katherine K. Scott, Rich- mond Vicepresident, J. J. Burbaker, Nor- folk. WHERE * In a recent communication from Pitts Sanborn, director, the Radio In- stitute of the Audible Arts, 80 Broad- way, New York City, we have been requested to cooperate with them in an effort to stimulate a wider and more active appreciation of good radio pro- grams. Their activities will include the fields of education, music, news dis- semination, and entertainment. Any suggestions you may have concerning their objectives and activities may be sent direct to the Radio Institute. * Frank M. Foulks, state enrolment chairman, Florida, has sent us the names of the newly elected officers of the Tampa Elementary Principals’ Council: President, Mrs. Elizabeth D. Cone Corresponding Secretary, Mrs. Flor- ence Gray. * Mildred Baskin, principal, Bonham School, San Antonio, Texas, and city enrolment chairman of the D. E. S. P., has been especially honored. Teachers, pupils, and friends presented her with a portrait of herself, to show their ap- preciation of her life-long devotion to the cause of education. This portrait will hang in the educational department of the San Antonio Library. Thus, Miss Baskin has received a most unusual tribute—a memorial in the midst of an active career and at the height of her usefulness. * The news that the principals of Sac- ramento, California, are 100 percent in membership has come from J. R. Croad, city enrolment chairman. * An interesting report of the work in Alaska was brought to us by Anthony E. Karnes, commissioner of education, Juneau, Alaska, and also our enrolment PRINCIPAL, FEBRUARY 1935 123 chairman, when he visited Headquar- ters December 7. Nineteen schoolhouses with teachers’ residences have been built by the ter- ritorial and federal governments, acting thru the Public Works Administration. For many years the schools of Alaska, outside incorporated towns, have been small, badly iiluminated and ill-venti- lated, particularly far up North under the aurora borealis, where there are few trees and the cost of hauling building materials is excessive. Now from Fort Yukon, where many children use dog sleds to go to school, down to Afognak Island, where the little Eskimos can use kayaks at recess, the little log school- house has been succeeded by well-con- structed buildings. Mr. Karnes needs an airplane to visit his schools and can land on water within one-half mile of each school. * W. T. Longshore, principal, Green- wood School, Kansas City, Missouri, writes us that there are four elementary principals in that city who have their Ph.D’s. This is good news and we hope more Ph.D’s will be found among the elementary-school principals. * The December issue of Hough High- lights, school newspaper of Hough School, Cleveland, Ohio, should keep the pupils, teachers, and parents of that community thoroly informed. We wish to congratulate the editors, who are the pupils of the 6 B class, on this splendid paper. The principal of this school, Martha A. Stewart, is city enrolment chairman for the D. E. S. P. * Thomas W. Boyce, for the past thirty-five years principal of the Cass Street Rotary School, Milwaukee, Wis- consin, and onetime state enrolment chairman for the D. E. S. P., was hon- ored by friends and associates on No- vember 10. At this time, a portrait of Mr. Boyce was presented to Mrs. Boyce, who, in turn, presented it to Cass School, in commemoration of Mr. Boyce’s service at that school. Mr Boyce is a veteran Milwaukee school. man, having been identified with the | Wisconsin Teachers Association for / many years and held offices in that As. _ sociation, as well as other professional organizations. * The National Conference on Re. search in Elementary School English will have two programs at Atlantic City, as follows: BREAKFAST AND BUSINESS MEETING 8:30 a m., Saturday, February 23 The Blue Room—The Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Warren W. Coxe, director, Edu. cational Research Division, University of the State of New York, State Educa- tion Department, Albany, will preside. LUNCHEON AND RESEARCH REPORT MEETING 12 noon, and early afternoon, Febru- ary 26 The Blue Room—tThe Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Warren W. Coxe, presiding. * The Raleigh, North Carolina, Ob-) server is helping Mrs. A. R. Wilson,” state enrolment chairman for that state, by publishing splendid articles about the work which she and the city and county enrolment chairman are doing | Headquarters appreciates getting these” clippings. * The Christmas greeting folder of the Portland School, Minneapolis, Minne- sota, was much appreciated. The poems) si written by the different pupils clev- erly illustrate the Christmas spirit. 124 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARI - a ll 5 al CRE aS Nhe gal bit . an ‘it of | * The Gleaner is the name of a study Mrs, which has special application to the it to} elementary - school principalship and which has been made by our state en- rolment chairman of Florida, Frank M. Foulks of Tampa. The meetings of the Relationship Committee of the Tampa Elementary Principals’ Council have revealed that the Council is interested in such prob- lems as Single salary schedule, prepara- tion thru specific courses for an ap- * plicant to be eligible to a position as lish principal, and the advancement of the = elementary school. The author has gleaned information nc — from the best and latest publications in the field of elementary education and 23 he hopes this information will be a basis rlton | for planning a definite and forward Edu. movement toward giving greater im- srsity | portance to the elementary school. duca- The different chapter heads reveal eside. | the fact that Mr. Foulks has run the gamut of problems which present them- "ORT § selves to the elementary school. The bibliography at the end is one of the bry. |, Most valuable which this office has re- ceived in many months. * Sessions of the Department of Su- irlton pervisors and Directors of Instruction - will be held on Monday, Tuesday, and Op-§ Wednesday, February 25-27, at the ‘lea Atlantic City convention. On Monday state |, there will be sectional conferences for about) (1) primary supervisors, (2) elemen- rand ‘arty and junior high-school supervisors, loing and (3) research. The general session these), of Tuesday morning will be devoted to the subject of mental hygiene and will be a joint meeting with the National of the § Committee for Mental Hygiene. [inne- The annual luncheon, with Commis- yoems § sioner Payson Smith of Massachusetts clev-§ as speaker, is arranged for Tuesday. The theme of the general session on Wednesday morning will be “The Re- direction of Supervision To Meet Pres- ent Conditions.” * Harold V. Baker, principal, Daniel Webster School, New Rochelle, New York, has sent us copies of Web-Stir- rings, which is the newspaper for the school. We find them extremely inter- esting and full of illustrations. They represent the work of children from each grade. In an editorial in the first anniversary number the writer ac- knowledges the indebtedness of the pupils to Mrs. Jenkins, the school sec- retary, and to Mr. Baker for their help in making the school paper. * The requirements for the Elemen- tary Principals in the state of Wash- ington have been changed. They are: (a) at least two years of successful teaching experience in the elementary school or junior high school; (b) twelve quarter hours of professional courses relating to elementary admin- istration and supervision in addition to the requirements for standard elemen- tary certification at the time applica- tion for the credential is made. “After September 1, 1936, such credentials shall be required of all principals in ele- mentary schools of six or more teachers and of all principals in junior high schools; provided, however, that they shall not apply to principals who at the time shall have had two or more years of thoroly successful experience in the specific field of administration in which . they wish to continue.” The above in- formation has been sent to us by Rob- ert E. McConnell, president, Washing- ton State Normal School, Ellensburg, Washington. He tells us that in addi- tion to the above regulations, suggested courses of study may be given which will count toward each credential. ‘ARY§ PRINCIPAL, FEBRUARY 1935 125 FROM OUR BOOKSHELF Scientific Method in Supervisory Programs. Seventh Yearbook, Department of Super- visors and Directors of Instruction, National Education Association. By a committee of the Department. Paul T. Rankin, Chairman, Bureau of Publications. Teachers College, Columbia University, New York (1934). The purpose of this volume is to present the application of the scientific method to the planning and conduct of supervisory ac- tivities. It is designed to supply concrete sug- gestions regarding ways in which each major activity involved in supervision may be car- ried on as scientifically as possible. The seventh yearbook completes the series pro- jected by the Board of Directors in 1930 as an outgrowth of the issues raised in the third yearbook, Current Problems of Super- visors. This yearbook attempts to answer the question, “How can I as a supervisor in- corporate the scientific procedure in each of my regular activities, and especially how can I utilize scientific method in organizing my entire supervisory program?” It is organized to present in the first two chapters fresh statements respectively of the scientific method in education and of nature arid func- tion of supervision, and then to give in subsequent chapters some discussion of how to conduct scientifically each of the chief ac- tivities carried on by supervisors. This classi- fication of activities is: the organization of supervision; the planning of the supervisory program as a whole; the appraisal of in- struction; the promotion of teacher growth; the conduct of curriculum studies; the pre- paration and installation of courses of study; and the selection and preparation of in- structional materials. * * * Better Government Personnel. Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Public Service Personnel. Lotus D. Coffman, Chairman. Whittlesey House, McGraw-Hill Book Com- pany, Inc., New York and London (1935). This book was written by the Commission of Inquiry on Public Service Personnel, which was appointed late in December, 1933, by the Social Science Research Council to study the public problem of governmental man power. The Commission was instructed to examine the broad problems of public per- sonnel within the United States, to outline a program for future action, and to present its findings and recommendations to the American people early in 1935. President Franklin D. Roosevelt expressed his approval of the plan as dealing with a subject of © “major significance in the life and welfare of the American people.” The report of this commission is not made to any of the organ. izations which sponsored it, but directly to the American people. t * * * Cooperative Community Leadership, | Seventh Yearbook of the Department of Ele. mentary School Principals. Michigan Educa- tion Association. R. H. Bechtold, Chairman, Lansing, Michigan (1934). The seventh Yearbook of the Michigan De- : partment of Elementary School Principals js third in a series of carefully planned studies j dealing with the most important duties and functions of the elementary-school principal. The theme is “How can the elementary school principal bring about the most effective co- operative community leadership in the school neighborhood?” It endeavors to present the well-recognized fact that in the elementary school, foundations are laid which are per- manent, and that these foundations are being strengthened or weakened constantly by every influence which touches the life of the child If we are to safeguard him and become a constructive force for good in his behalf, we must plan not only for his school day but also for his leisure time. The eventual realiza- tion of the goals of education depends upon | IRI ae _—— our fulfilment of this responsibility. * * * A History of the United States. Ralph | Volney Harlow. Henry Holt and Company. | New York, Chicago and San Francisco | (1934). In this volume emphasis is placed on the economic and social factors in our history. because our generation is particularly in-| terested in social and economic problems | Military affairs are kept down to the narrow limits prescribed by modern custom, but in each case the causes of war are discussed In order to make this volume more in — teresting, the author has given vivid illustra- & tions showing the changes in transportation and communication; the method of making a living and the various ways of finding” recreation. 126 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY 4 ri * Es) Aid Org Pict Obj Exc Slid as § club thes mitt Miss R.L Educ _— PRI esent » the sident roval ct of elfare f this | rgan- ly to Ship. F f Ele- f duca- rman, n De- vals is tudies ] S and cipal. school re C0- school F- at the sntary © > per- | being every | child. ' yme a If, we y but ‘yy F MESA NRG en Peete upon RECENT YEARBOOKS OF THE DEPARTMENT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LIBRARIES Twelfth Yearbook—1933 464 pages Price $2 CONTENTs IN BRIEF Modern Education and the Library. Integrating the School Library and the ’ The Status of Libraries in Elementary Classroom. Schools. The School Librarian. Organization and Administration of the Rural and State Library Practises. School Library. Supervision and Appraisal. Planning the School Library. Research Studies of Booklists and Reading Relationships between Schools and Public Interests. Libraries. AIDS TO TEACHING IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Thirteenth Yearbook—1934 416 pages Price $2 CONTENTs IN BRIEF Aids in Modern Education. Silent and Sound Motion Pictures. Organization for the Use of Aids. Duplicating Machines and Typewriters. Pictorial and Graphic Aids. Radio and Sound Equipment. Object Materials. Summary of Research. Excursions and Field Trips. Sources of Aids. Slides, Still Films, and Opaque Projection. SOCIALIZING OPPORTUNITIES IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LIFE Fourteenth Yearbook—1935 This yearbook, now in preparation, will deal with important socializing activities such ;| a8 school assemblies, entertainments, dramatics, special-day celebrations, musical activities, ' clubs, games, publications, and pupil participation in school management. Helpful articles on _ these topics are being received from principals and others in the field. The Editorial Com- mittee in charge is composed of Bess Clement, chairman, Eliza Clark School, Clarksdale, Mississippi; John S. Thomas, Clippert School, Detroit Michigan; and Samuel Berman, James R. Ludlow Public School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Research Division of the National Education Association is assisting as usual. PRINCIPAL, FEBRUARY 1935 127 NEW age has come. Its trends no man can forecast, but the spirit of America, our love for our children and our faith in the validity of education and the equality of educational opportu- nity lies at the center. Any people that loses hold of its tradi- tions and its ideals cannot long survive. We are at the parting of the ways—one path leads to ‘national decay—the other to re- newed life and strength for our country. Let us accept the chal- lenge of the new day by protect: ing and developing our children. —wWillard E. Givens Secretary, National Education Association. ORS iO SONS ELE BARE A: Ml IE hte RR PT CR tte eaters ine eR