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The NATIONAL ELEMENTARY 


RINCIPAL” 


BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 
NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 

















THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL 
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 


Published in October, December, February, April, June, and July by the Department of Elementan 
School Principals of the National Education Association of the United States. 


All elementary principals—administrative, supervisory, and teaching—are eligible to active men. 
bership in this department. The payment of $3 dues entitles active members to attend all meeting 
of the department, to hold office, to vote, and to receive the Bulletins. 


Associate membership may be had by all members of the National Education Association who on 
actively engaged in any phase of school work by paying the regular membership fee of $3. They on 
entitled to all privileges except the right to vote and hold office. 


Subscriptions to non-members is $3 per year; single copies of the Yearbook, $2; single copies « 
the Bulletin, 25 cents (except the Official Reports). 





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





Executive and Editorial Offices, 1201 Sixteenth Street, Northwest, Washington, D. C., 
Eva G. Pinkston, Editor. 





OFFICERS OF THE DEPARTMENT, 1936-37 


President, Edythe J. Brown, Kaley-Mar- 
quette Schools, South Bend, Ind. 

First Vicepresident, Harley W. Lyon, Long- 
fellow-Cleveland Schools, Pasadena. 
Calif. 

Second Vicepresident, Maude A. Rhodes, 
Whitefoord School, Atlanta, Ga. 

Third Vicepresident, Irvin A. Wilson, 437 
S. Stone Ave., La Grange, IIl. 

Fourth Vicepresident, Clifford E. Perry, 
Lents School, Portland, Ore. 

Fifth Vicepresident, Isabel Tucker, Shenan- 
doah School, St. Louis, Mo. 

Executive Secretary, Eva G. Pinkston, 1201 
Sixteenth St., N. W., Washington, D. C. 


Executive Committee 
Earl R. Laing, Burt School, Detroit, Mid 
Mason A. Stratton, Brighton Aveny 

School, Atlantic City, N. J. 
Mrs. Edith B. Joynes, Washington-Gat 
wood Schools, Norfolk, Va. 
Ira M. Kline, Greenburgh No. 8, Schook 
White Plains, N. Y. 

Certification Division, Cassie F. Roys, Di 
rector, 2609 Bristol St., Omaha, Nebr. 

Life Membership Division, Herbert C. Hu 
sen, Director, 1045 N. Lockwood Av. 
Chicago, IIl. 

Retirement Division, M. Emma _ Brookt 
Director, Miles-Cranwood Schools, Clevt 
land, Ohio. 





See space below for Committees as 


they are appointed thruout the year. 





Committee Chairmen 


NECROLOGY 
Isabel Tucker 
Festus Wade School 
St. Louis, Missouri 


RESOLUTIONS 
Maude A. Rhodes 
Whitefoord School 
Atlanta, Georgia 


The contents of this Bulletin are listed in the Education Index 


The picture appearing on the cover is a section of the Washington Cathedral as seen from “Hortus 
It is in this Cathedral that Woodrow 1 isa 
States; George Dewey, former admiral of the United States Navy; and Mrs. Ann Sullivan Ms 


The Little Garden.” 


teacher of Helen Keller, are resting. 


MEMBERS HIP 
Ira M. Kline 
Greenburgh No. 8 Schools 
White Plains, New York 
EDITORIAL 
Maude McBroom 
University Elementary School 
lowa City, lowa 


Wilson, former president of the = 


4 
j 





130 


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The National 


Elementary Principal 





Volume XVI, No. 4 


April, 1937 





An Official Report 


This issue of the bulletin contains the official report 
of our convention at New Orleans, several interesting 


articles and the progress of projects in which the De- 


partment is vitally interested. 


Contents 


Reading for Leisure in the New Age—Gray 
Remedial Reading for a Better Citizenry—W hite 
Sane Views of Sports and Their Uses in Elemen- 


tary Schools—Rice _ 
Greetings—H ildebrandt 


Experiences of a Woman Cobusnntet —Giliner 
Building Good Will for Your School—Edmonson 


The Curriculum Study Program in Louisiana— 


Rogers _____ 


Experiencing a Progressive Program in Our 
Training School—Phillips 


Pictures of Various Activities in the Hahnville 
School, a Rural School—Landry - 


All Detroit Invites You _. i 
' The Conference on Elementary Education 
Social Security and Elementary Education—Engle 


Speaking Seriously—Zook 


' Membership News—Pinkston 


Reports of Committees 


)Are Your Report Cards Satisfactory ?>—Kumpf 


Secretary’s Report ____ 


|News Received at Headquarters____ 


Our Book Shelf 





132 
140 


145 
150 
151 
153 


162 


167 
170 
172 
173 
175 
177 

178 

181 

185 
189 
190 





BRIEF 


THE D.E.S.P. will hold 
two afternoon meetings at 
the Convention in Detroit, 
Monday, June 28 and 
Tuesday, June 29. 

President, Edythe J. 
Brown has charge of the 
Monday program and the 
Detroit and Michigan 
principals will sponsor 
the Tuesday afternoon 
program. 


AND 


ARRANGEMENTS have 
been made to hold the 
semiannual breakfast of 
the Department of Ele- 
mentary School Principals 
at the Statler Hotel, Mon- 
day, June 28, 7:30 a.m. 


POINTED 


MANY unique features 
have been planned for the 
semiannual banquet of the 
Department. This banquet 
will be at Dearborn Inn, 
Greenfield Village, Mich- 
igan. Free transportation 
may be had from the Stat- 
ler Hotel at 5:30 p.m., 
Tuesday, June 29. 


e¢¢¢ 


THOSE attending the 
Conference on Elementary 
Education, University of 
Michigan, Ann Arbor, 
Michigan, July 5-16, can 
secure from Dean Edmon- 
son, a special mimeo- 
graphed bulletin telling 
about living quarters. Ap- 
plication should be made 


immediately. 





PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 


131 











GENERAL SESSION, FEBRUARY 22, 1937 


Building for a Better Citizenry Thru Recreational Activities 


HE FIRST GENERAL SESSION of the Department of Elementary 
School Principals was held in the Auditorium of Tulane University Medical 
School at 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, on February 22, 1937 at three p.m, 
The session was scheduled to begin at two-fifteen in the afternoon, but many 
of the speakers and guests had made the mistake of going to Tulane University 
which is located at the other end of the city. 
Edythe J. Brown, president of the Department, and principal of the Kaley. 
Marquette Schools in South Bend, Indiana, presided. 
Several classical selections were given by the children’s band from the Cross. 
man School, New Orleans, under the direction of May Cabiro. 





Reading for Leisure in the New Age 


William S. Gray, professor of education, University of Chicago, 
Chicago, Illinois 

After having searched for this audience in vain out on the 
Tulane University campus, I at last find myself before you. 

In order to construct my discussion in with the general 
theme of this conference, I have utilized the first half of my 
report to consider somewhat in detail the place of leisure and 
recreation in the new age, and the way in which reading 
fits into the scheme of life. 

At various periods in the history of America, reading has 
served unique and significant purposes in the lives of the peo- 
ple. It has also had directive aims of a corresponding char- | WILLIAM S. GRAY 
acter in classrooms. The stimulating period in which we are 
now living is not an exception to the rule. 

As we study the role of reading in previous generations, we find that it has 
reflected directly the changing social, political, religious, and cultural needs of 
a growing and progressive nation. During early days in Massachusetts, for exam 
ple, reading activities were determined largely by the religious motive of the 
colonists. It also permeated the activities of the school and defined to a large 
extent the purpose, content and methods used in teaching reading. 

The birth of the nation in 1776 ushered in a new era. Whereas the church 
had been chiefly concerned earlier in inculcating religious convictions, the major 
aim of the state now was to promote solidarity and national unity. “The develop 
ment of this interest brought new motives for reading among adults. It also it 
fluenced to a large extent the content of school books. Furthermore, the pre 
vailingly wide use of oral reading was supplemented by strong emphasis upo! 
elocutionary delivery, the chief motive of which was to stimulate patriotism among 
young Americans. 





132 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY 








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By 1825, the early effort to cultivate loyalty had begun to subside. Both edu- 
cators and civic leaders now emphasized with great vigor the need of preparing 
the great mass of our citizens to discharge their civic duties intelligently. As 
Smith rightly points out, “the speeches and writings of the times were saturated 
with this underlying social motive.”’ It also influenced to a surprising degree the 
leisure reading of adults. Furthermore, the content of school readers was greatly 
expanded at this time and increased emphasis given to the interpretation of meaning. 

About 1885, a new interest began to express itself. Its chief aim was to broaden 
the cultural life of the nation. It found expression in the country at large in the 
establishment of libraries and in the amount and character of the adult reading 
material published. —The new movement was heartily approved by the followers 
of Herbart who placed great emphasis upon the value of literature and history 
in school activities. From 1890 to 1910 the literary ideal determined the char- 
acter of much of the leisure reading in which people engaged. 

We are deeply submerged today in another era of national development. As in 
the past, the dominant needs and aspirations of society are influencing to a large 
extent the purpose and nature of reading activities both in school and in adult life. 
In seeking to define such motives, attention is directed instantly to the insistent 
demand for social understanding and enlightenment, for wise social planning and 
reconstruction, for the development of a vital American culture, for enriched and 
stable personalities, and for the wise use of the greater leisure which the machine 
age promises. Such needs and aspirations form basic criteria for use in judging 
the social worth of reading activities during leisure hours. 


Purpose of Leisure—The first purpose of leisure is undoubtedly to provide 
relief from the rigorous demands of vocational or professional life and to insure 
complete relaxation. It also makes possible freedom of action and provides op- 
portunity for self-expression in various forms. The reality of the problems thus 
created is widely recognized. Of major importance is the fact that means be 
adopted which will prevent or eliminate possible devastating influences inherent 
in leisure. As Professor Dewey has forcefully pointed out “a new conception 
of the use of leisure has to be created ; boys and girls need to be instructed so that 
they can discriminate between enjoyments that enrich and enlarge their lives and 
those which degrade and dissipate.” 

Fortunately, however, leisure also provides opportunity for positive growth and 
the exercise of creative power. Rabbi Silver rightly emphasizes the fact that 
“leisure can devastate life or it can become the fruitful field of a growing and 
expanding life. In his leisure hours, man is free from the routine and drive of his 
job and he can then enjoy the adventures of mind and spirit which his routine 
tasks may deny him.” Furthermore, it provides opportunity whereby democracy 
may build a civilization worthy of respect and admiration. To use the words of 
C. D. Burns, an English lecturer, “civilization may depend for its roots upon 
the way in which work is done, but it depends for its finest flower upon the use of 
leisure.” Such statements suggest with new force the question put by Aristotle to 
the Greeks many centuries ago: “In all good earnest, what ought we to do when 
at leisure?” 





PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 133 











Some of the values that may be attained thru leisure have been aptly summarized 
by Professor Zehmer of the University of Virginia: “Leisure we must have for 
broad wholesome, liberal ends. It is thru the freedom and opportunity afforded 
by the new leisure that we should give expression to our highest thoughts and 
aspirations. In leisure we have the opportunity to satisfy a natural curiosity that 
will lead us into many interesting fields. Inherent abilities and talents should 
find their full fruition in the wise use of leisure. Not only should leisure give 
us ultimately our greatest achievements in the fine arts of music, painting and 
sculpture and in the fields of literature and science, but it should make it possible 
also for us to build a better social and economic order. Questions of policy con- 
cerning community life, government and economic issues should be given con- 
sideration during leisure. Provision for group discussion on these important ques- 
tions gives opportunity for building cooperatively a new and better society. But 
while social objectives are of great importance, the happiness and well-being of 
the individual must never be overlooked.” Obviously, a widely diversified, but 
well-balanced, program of leisure activities is the goal toward which we should 
work. 

The value of reading as a leisure-time activity has long been recognized. More 
than a quarter of a century ago, President Eliot of Harvard pointed out that it was 
an invaluable aid in stimulating and directing the present and future life of the 
reader and in providing wholesome recreation. Investigations made a decade ago 
showed that intelligent reading was a significant means of familiarizing adults 
with current events, with significant social issues, with community and national 
problems, and with American institutions, ideals and aspirations. It also served 
to keep the mind stimulated with important things to think about, to develop a 
broad outlook on life, to satisfy curiosity, and to secure rest and stimulating 
recreation. 

In attempting to define more clearly some of the broader values inherent in 
leisure reading brief reference will be made to its effect upon the lives of two 
eminent American citizens. In the case of Edison, it cleared his mind and paved 
the way for the solution of difficult scientific problems. The following incident 
quoted from Frances Arthur Jones illustrates this fact admirably : 

“One evening, on returning from the laboratory, his mind busy with some prob- 
lem which defied solution, the inventor entered his library, closed the doors, and 
walked up and down for hours trying to solve the difficulty. Finally, Mrs. Edison 
entered the room, and with a desire to divert her husband’s thoughts, she picked 
up the first book that came to her hands and inquired of the inventor, ‘Have you 
read this?” It was The Count of Monte Cristo. ‘No, I never have.’ He settled 
himself comfortably, and a moment later was absorbed in the fascinating story. 
He read on and on thru the night and never laid the book aside until the sun 
shone thru the window. Then he took up his hat and went down to the laboratory, 
and after many hours of concentration, solved the difficulty that had been worry: 
ing him.” 

Contemporary with Edison was Theodore Roosevelt, one of the most dynamic 
figures in our political life; of recreational reading, he said: 

“Books are the greatest and the most satisfactory of recreations. I mean the 


134 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY! 








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use of books for pleasure. Without books, without having acquired the power of 
reading for pleasure, none of us can be independent, but if we can read, we have 
sure defense against boredom in solitude.” 

Of this dynamic personality, Viscount Grey said: 

“I saw enough of him to know that to be with him was to be stimulated in the 
best sense of the word for the work of life. Perhaps it is not yet realized how great 
he was in the matter of knowledge as well as of action. Two of our greatest ex- 
perts in the field of natural history told me the other day that Colonel Roosevelt 
could, in that department of knowledge, hold his own with experts. His knowledge 
of literature was also very great and it was knowledge of the best. 

Values of Reading—Such accounts supply striking evidence of the reality and 
diversity of the values of reading in the lives of individuals. They could be ex- 
tended almost indefinitely if time permitted. Fortunately for our purpose, various 
writers have recently prepared summary statements of the values that attach to 
leisure reading. Headley, for example, identifies five rewards of reading. “The 
Fundamental return made to the reader is information.” This is contributed both 
by fiction and non-fiction. If the materials read are wisely chosen, they may con- 
tribute generously to social enlightenment, so much needed today. The most fre- 
quently mentioned benefit of reading is enjoyment. “Reading is the best marked 
out avenue to the land of pleasure.”’ If you can enjoy reading, “then, for you, 
the most ready and sure means of freeing thought from the deadliness of reality 
isthe open book. And no other recreational device can give you such wide variety 
of diversion. There are books for every taste and mood. Books to take thoughts 
anywhere ; and in any fashion.” 

“But there are other rewards that are equally gratifying. For one thing, read- 
ing aids understanding. And now as never before we need assistance in understand- 
ing. What a baffling world this is. Facts and theories positively overwhelm us. . . . 
No one, left to his own resources, can avoid hopeless confusion regarding the phys- 
ical, economic, political, social and religious world in which he lives.” 

“It is hard to say whether reading aids the individual more by helping him to 
understand the world in which he lives or by setting his own thought processes 
astir. At any rate, one of the chief services rendered to those who read is the 
opportunity for thought stimulation. When properly directed, it may serve as a 
great creative force in modern life. This is particularly true when thought stimu- 
lation is accompanied by inspiration.” Such then, says Headley, “are the rewards 
of reading.” 

The foregoing statements suggest some of the values inherent in leisure reading. 
And what an array of possibilities they present—information, enjoyment, under- 
standing, stimulation, inspiration ; a necessary outlet, a vision of the ideal, a deeper 
knowledge of human nature, the glory of the commonplace; and finally, catholicity 
of mind with its time, space and thought dimensions. These are resources on 
which we may draw heavily today during leisure hours. Of special significance are 
those which contribute to social understanding, which stimulate and inspire the 
reader to creative effort, which provide a common culture so much needed in 
American life, and which promote the development of enriched and stable per- 
sonalities. 





PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 135 











Whether or not these ends are fully attained in the future depends in large 
measure on the nature of the reading interests and habits which children and 
young people acquire today. Herein lies one of the challenging opportunities which 
the schools of America face. It is no incidental task; in fact, it is one of the funda. 
mental objectives of teaching at all levels and in practically every subject or field 
taught in school. The results sought are not to be attained thru the use of , 
few spectacular devices. They are rather the product of well-conceived, carefully. 
directed guidance in both the home and the school life of the child. What then ar 
the specific conditions beginning at the pre-school level under which desirable read. 
ing interests can be developed and stimulus provided for the rational use thy 


reading of a part of one’s leisure time. 
The first requisite is that the home provide a wholesome reading atmosphere 


during the pre-school as well as during the school life of the child. This mean 
that parents should take genuine interest in reading, should provide attractive, 
wholesome books and magazines, and should engage in frequent discussions of 
topics of interest to children. A child is fortunate indeed who is reared in suc 
an atmosphere. His first interest in reading is acquired unconsciously as he sees 
father and mother read and enjoy books and magazines. Being of an imitative 
nature, he begins to look thru them and is attracted by the pictures. His interes 
in them is intensified if father or mother, brother or sister, sits downs with him 
frequently and explains the pictures to him. The next step is to read to the child 
the stories that relate to the pictures. Parents who have followed such plans knoy 
how frequently the child brings the book to have a favorite story read or an in- 
teresting picture explained. If no one is free to help him, he often goes to a quiet 
corner where he looks with interest at the pictures and even attempts to read th 
stories. Not infrequently, he actually learns to read as he attempts to satisfy a 
interest or a curiosity. The child who is privileged to have such experiences usuall) 
enters school with keen interest in reading fully developed. Furthermore, he ha 
formed pleasurable associations between reading and life activities. 

Effects of Environment—Wherever it is not possible for the home to pre 
vide such initial studies in inspiration to the child, then the school must begi 
where the home has failed and supply this environment. 

The early school environment of the child is just as important as his home 
environment. Fortunate, indeed, is the child who enters a school in which th 
teachers are keenly interested in children’s stories and who have the capacity 
inspire pupils to read about and to discuss the things in which they are interested 
As aids in achieving these results, a reading table should be provided with # 
interesting variety of picture and story books which are changed at frequent it 
tervals. Pictures should be hung on the walls with the poems or stories attache 
which they illustrate. Announcements should appear on the bulletin board dail 
which stimulate the children to read independently. Special periods should & 
provided in which the teacher reads or tells interesting stories to the pupils a 


in which similar activities are assigned to them. Other periods should be reserve} 


in which the pupils gather around the reading table to look at interesting pictu" 
books or to read stories for sheer fun or pleasure. In the traditional classroom, ' 
was considered improper for children to engage in pleasurable activities dunt 





136 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTA® 





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school hours. We now realize that some of the most important attitudes and habits 
which the school can cultivate may be established successfully only during such 
periods. This is particularly true in the case of reading. Only to the extent that 
pupils realize that reading will contribute to their interests and satisfy their 
needs will they engage in reading activities independently, thus laying the founda- 
tion for continuous intellectual growth. 

The methods employed in teaching pupils to read are as vital as the atmosphere 
of the classroom. It was formerly believed that the chief aim in teaching reading 
in the primary grades was to master the mechanics of reading. With a new vision 
of opportunities, the dominant aims today are to extend and enrich experience, 
to cultivate keen interest in reading activities, and to stimulate habits of good 
thinking while reading. To these ends, the skillful teacher provides purposeful 
reading activities that are highly charged with interest. Furthermore, attention 
is concentrated from the beginning on the meaning or content of what is read, 
and reading periods are characterized by good thinking, profitable discussions, 
dramatizations, and keen interest. As soon as pupils are able to read independently, 
they are encouraged to do so at their seats, at the reading table, or during special 
periods set aside for that purpose. The importance of the reading attitudes and 
habits developed during the early school life of the child cannot be over-emphasized. 

One emphasis was omitted from my notes, and that is that the school can pro- 
vide for the children an environment of interesting and simple attachment to books, 
just to that extent it is the easier to establish earlier those fundamental attitudes 
toward reading that are the foundation for successful and intelligent leisure read- 
ing as one goes forward. I want to emphasize one more in this connection. That 
in the teaching of reading today, we are apt to say that the job is complete when 
the child is able to engage in independent reading himself, and guidance stops to 
avery great extent. My plea here is that we need to carry the child and guid- 
ance in reading far beyond that point in order that thru the leadership of the 
teacher the child may rise in his level of interpreting the meaning and significance 
of what he is reading; and a socialized recitation based upon some stimulating 
and productive selection may tend to raise the thinking and incite an appreciation 
of children far above the level they may acquire themselves. I am making a plea 
not for the substitution of guidance for free reading, but to carry on guidance 
freely as a means of elevating the type of thinking and reading done by the child 
during his independent reading period. 

Developing Habits—As children advance thru the grades, new problems are 
encountered. Of primary importance is the need of developing habits of intelligent 
reading. If leisure reading provides in the future needed information and stimulus 
in various fields, pupils should acquire greater accuracy and clarity of comprehen- 
sion than in the past. As a profession, we need to rededicate ourselves to the time: 
honored obligations involved in developing thoroness in comprehension. If, in addi- 
tion, leisure reading aids in the clarification of thinking and in the definition of 
human values, pupils should acquire both breadth and depth of interpretation. 
To insure satisfactory progress, teachers should provide rich and vivid experience 
in the various fields taught and should encourage studies of the meaning and social 
significance of what is read. In this connection, the facts presented should be re- 





PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 137 











lated to familiar concepts, experiences, or basic principles, and interpreted in the 
light of them. It follows that there should be much weighing of values and critical 
thinking as pupils read, as well as subsequent to the act of reading. As a result, 
the content of the page will be more fully appreciated because its value, significance 
and implications are clearly understood. Only by this arduous route can we make 
definite progress toward social enlightenment and the broader vision. 

Paralleling the development of appropriate reading habits, pupils should acquire 
broad interests. The fact has often been pointed out that desirable types of recrea- 
tional reading arise from keen interest in and curiosity about things. It follows 
that if children and young people acquire interests in school that function to ad- 
vantage thruout life, they must become deeply interested in the facts and principles 
of the various fields which they study, such as history, geography and the natural 
sciences, must revel in the field of literature, and must become deeply absorbed in 
modern social problems and the means of solving them. If these results are 
achieved, the teacher of each content field, as well as of literature, becomes ; 
teacher of reading in the sense that she stimulates keen interest in the subjects or 
fields which she teaches and develops among her pupils the habit of reading inde. 
pendently. To do this successfully the teacher must read widely and must have 
an active appreciation of the human values involved. 

I cannot refrain from putting in one additional illustration. In Illinois, not 
long ago a group, at the close of a recess period were tired and warm, and the 
teacher recognizing the children were warm and needed to settle down before 
going to work adopted the practise of enjoying with them some of the thing 
which the teacher herself had been reading and enjoying. And on this occasion, 
she was half reading and half-reciting bits from Riley’s poems. The children 
caught her inspiration and there followed a week of enjoying with her the thing 
which she enjoyed. There were more requests for Riley’s poems than the public 
libraries could supply! We need to seek for those opportunities, to let childres 
in to the studies of literature by cultivating with them a growing appreciation o 
these things which are available and so valuable to them. 

Equally important is the fact that the various units studied shall be so presented 
that they arouse numerous interests and curiosities which stimulate the child t 
wide reading not only during the course of the unit but long after its forma 
study has been discontinued. As one of America’s great teachers said long ago 
“that lesson is well taught which directs and inspires both the present and future 
life of the reader.”” We need at all levels in our school system and in every grea 
field of study, inspiring teachers of broad interests who recognize fully their ob 
ligations in broadening and deepening the interests of their pupils and in initiating 
them into life-long careers of stimulating and productive reading. 

As a means of establishing permanent habits of reading in various fields, fre 
quent opportunity should be provided for pupils to pursue more or less ind 
pendently problems in which they are keenly interested. A class which was study 
ing the history of Europe during the Middle Ages may serve as an example 
In addition to regular group assignments, the teacher encouraged each pupil 
select a topic for special study. One chose the homes of the middle ages, anothe' 
the musicians of that period, and still another the types of architectures that prt 





138 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTAR 





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vailed. A class period was devoted to a discussion of specific issues relating to each 
topic selected, possible sources of information, and desirable forms in which the final 
reports could be made. As the pupils pursued their problems, independently, they 
were free at any time to secure advice and help from the teacher. The seaninney 
reports which were presented to the class at convenient times showed clearly that 
the pupils had read widely, had thought clearly, and had broadened their interests. 
Such projects have not only immediate value but they deepen interests which func- 
tion actively thruout life. If each broad field that is pursued in school cultivates a 
few such centers of interests under the leadership of inspiring teachers, the guar- 
antee is large that reading will contribute generously during leisure hours to social 
progress and to the enrichment of life in general. 

Promoting Reading Interests—Teachers of reading and literature also 
have unique responsibilities in promoting desirable reading interests. They en- 
deavor constantly to cultivate hearty enjoyment of interesting wholesome books 
and magazines, to broaden the reading interests of pupils by introducing them at 
frequent intervals to new fields of interest, to extend and enrich their experiences 
by acquainting them with the greatest and finest records of real experience that the 
world has produced, and to cultivate increasing preference for artistic forms of 
literature. In addition, vital contacts with good literature contribute ideals and 
appropriate attitudes, elevate tastes, and improve habits of thinking and expres- 
sion. In these and other ways, appropriate reading experiences may aid materially 
in developing a generation of citizens with social, stable and enriched personalities. 

As a further step in promoting leisure reading, definite time should be reserved 
during the school day in which pupils may read independently. The habit of read- 
ing daily for sheer recreation or in the pursuit of a definite interest should be estab- 
lished early. To this end, free-reading or library periods have been provided in the 
lower grades of many schools and an effort made to place children in an environ- 
ment of attractive, stimulating books under the leadership of capable teachers or 
librarians. As pupils advance thru the grades, opportunities for independent read- 
ing in the library are greatly extended. Under the direction of a capable librarian 
much essential guidance and help is provided. Thru a well-directed story howe. 
interest is stimulated in new and valuable types of reading; thru guidance con- 
cerning the use of the library, children learn of the sources and values of different 
types of reading material ; thru wise and sympathetic advice, the librarian promotes 
the habit and love of good reading. Thru intelligent work with children, the 
librarian has the power to lift the thinking of a generation to higher levels. 

May I emphasize once more in concluding that the uses which we make of leisure 
assume vital significance in the new age. It is not sufficient that we engage merely 
in wholesome recreation, essential as such activities are. Of primary importance 
is the fact that leisure activities should contribute specifically to social enlighten- 
ment, to the solution of urgent social and economic problems, to the development 
of a broad common culture appropriate for our American democracy, and to the 
promotion of enriched and stable personalities. In achieving these ends, reading 
tightly assumes a large role. By cultivating appropriate reading interests and habits 
among children and young people today, we may look forward hopefully to notable 
progress during the years to come in developing a better citizenry. 









PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 139 











Remedial Reading for a Better Citizenry 


Margaret White, supervisor, Elementary English 
Cleveland, Ohio 


Each year there are thousands of children entering our 
elementary schools. They vary in type from the very poor 
to the rich, dull to the very bright. 

What will the schools do for these children? How can 
the schools develop each individual fully in order that he may 
enjoy the richest life for himself and society ? 








It is a truism to say that any effective program of reading /, ? 
must take into account the varying backgrounds and abilities Ile aw 
of children. We are all cognizant of the fact that such dif- L ‘i sa 


ferences do exist and the term “individual differences” rolls MARGARET WHITE 
glibly off one’s tongue. However, too often, only one phase 

of these varying needs is really considered—and that is the intelligence quotient. 
Too frequently we overlook the fact that children differ, not only in I. Q., but 
also in types of minds, rates and methods of learning, interests, background, phys- 
ical fitness, and emotional stability. 

This idea of diversified interests which demands varying methods is simply, but 
beautifully expressed by the old peasant grandfather in the story of Dobdry, by 
Monica Shannon.* Grandfather is speaking to Rhoda, Dobry’s mother. Rhoda 
is distressed over the fact that Dobry is interested in painting and modeling rather 
than the work on the farm. 

...-- Here Miss White read from page 108 of “Dobry,” by Monica Shannon. ... 

The most cursory inspection and investigation reveals a large proportion of 
these same differences which later are so forcibly brought to our attention thru 
reading disabilities and lack of interest in reading, and thru the maladjustment 
of children to the school and to society. Once discovered, remedial work is begun, 
and great progress in reading made. However, by this time, the trouble may have 
developed into something more than a difficulty in reading, with consequences 
which affect the child’s life not only temporarily, but as an adult. 

Educationally, the child who cannot read well is at a decided disadvantage, for 
he is not only unable to enjoy good stories, but he is decidedly handicapped in 
other school subjects. Surely, many of the difficulties in social studies, elementary 
science, and arithmetic are fundamentally reading difficulties. As an adult, illit- 
eracy limits vocational choice and, naturally, therefore, economic success. Only a 
few years ago, it was possible for an unschooled person to rise high on the economic 
scale if he had sufficient determination. Today, however, competition is keener 
and the chances for success very limited. 

Lack of success or achievement in reading may cause emotional disturbances in 
children, and may be evidenced in a multitude of ways, from a mere dislike of 
reading to an abnormal reaction toward self, school, classmates, and home. This 
disturbance may develop into inattentiveness, indifference, and a positive distaste 


*Shannon, Monica. Dobry. Viking Press, 18 E. 48th St., New York City. 1934. 





140 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY 





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for school and for reading. It may result in the formation of nervous habits, such 
as restlessness, twitching of the body, and stuttering. The child may become ex- 
tremely shy and self-conscious, or go to the other extreme and show boldness and 
defiance. 

Fancy how hopelessly confused a child of four, or four and one-half years 
may be mentally, becoming discouraged, embarrassed, and finally forms a positive 
distaste to reading and the harm is done before he starts. 

The educational and emotional maladjustments of the child tend naturally to 
unfit him for suitable social relationships. Conflicting attitudes and emotions 
arise from his failure to fit into the social pattern. He may compensate for his 
inferiority by misbehaving in school, getting attention thru impudence, loud talk 
and bullying. He may become a member or the leader of a “gang;” or he may 
withdraw into himself and be unable to take part in any activities of the group. 

A child so handicapped cannot be happy or successful during his school life, 
and, in turn, will not be a valuable asset to society. Furthermore, even if the 
reading difficulty is ultimately corrected, many of the deleterious effects may per- 
sist thruout the individual’s life. For this reason it is imperative, educationally, 
emotionally, socially, and economically, to turn our thinking and energy toward 
preventing reading disabilities. Many of the measures which we know to be im: 
portant for remedial work can well be applied in preventive work. For this reason 
I am placing the major emphasis upon preventive measures as the child is learn- 
ing to read rather than upon cures and remedies after the harm is done. 

Looking toward the prevention of reading disabilities, any program of reading 
must have three objectives: (1) ‘To teach a child how to read; (2) To teach a 
child what to read; and (3) ‘To develop in the child a lasting interest in reading. 
It is a conservative statement to say that three of the difficulties in reading arise 
or develop in the first grade. Why have we been so slow to recognize this? Why 
do we continue to make the same mistake? These objectives may be accomplished 
by giving attention to: reading readiness, which includes the mental age, vocabu- 
lary—understanding of English—discrimination of form and sound, rich back- 
ground of experiences, ability to relate simple experiences, some concept of 
sequence of events, genuine interest in reading and physical fitness. 

It seems to me that we have been a long time realizing that a child should have 
some experiences with words orally. He should hear and speak words before he 
reads them from the printed page. We know that the vocabulary of these grade 
youngsters is very limited. I can think of and can tell of one or two instances 
where children did not get the meaning of the spoken word. One child was telling 
the story of Cinderella, and when she came to the part where the prince gave a 
ball, it was: “‘a big ball, as big as a football’”—the entire point of the story was 
lost. You wonder what picture the child had in mind. The other story was of a 
child who went to school for the first time, and in the first grade. She was excited 
and anxious to begin school; but on returning home that evening, she said she 
was not going back to school any more. The next morning she repeated that she 
was not going to school, and when pressed for a reason, she said that the day be- 
fore a big man came into the classroom and put the ladder which reached nearly 





PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 141 











to the ceiling against the wall and said that he would not hang them today, he 
would hang them tomorrow. 

Another group of children were singing: ‘“‘three cheers for the red, the white 
and the blue,” and one child asked why they were singing about three “chairs,” 
and the other little boy said: “Not chairs, but sheers—sheers you cut with.” These 
indicate that the child often does not understand the meaning of the vocabulary 
he uses. You have probably heard the story of the child who went to the country 
and asked the farmer why cows did not have horns, and the farmer said “some 
are born without horns, but the reason that one does not have horns is because it is a 
horse.” The child had never seen a cow or a horse, but it did know that cows 
were supposed to have horns, and therefore thought the horns had been cut off 
or taken off of this animal. 

A child must have some sequence of events. When a child is relating some 
event he is apt to begin at the end or middle of the story. He might start with the 
end or middle, and then come back to the beginning. He does not have a clear 
concept of the sequence of events. That is a very essential phase of reading if he 
is to comprehend, if he is to get a connected story. Therefore if the child is 
lacking in the sequence of events, he should have experience of relating instances 
before he attempts to get it from the printed page. 

A child should have ability to distinguish between slight differences of form. 
He learns thru certain clues—this word is shorter and this word longer. This 
word has two little round centers in it. These letters go above the line, and those 
on or below the line; this child is tallest, heaviest, smallest and so on. A child who 
cannot discriminate between forms and sizes and weights is going to have extreme 
difficulty in learning to read well, he will be unable to discriminate between the 
slight differences of form and size. 

A child who is under-nourished, who has some disturbances of eyes or ears, 
certainly needs to have the physical condition taken care of before he begins his 
reading. 

So much for reading readiness—I cannot emphasize that too much. | think that 
is fundamental in the beginning stages of a child learning to read. I think we 
could prevent fully three-fourths of our difficulty of reading if we were sure a 
child was ready for reading, and instead of putting him into the formal phases 
of reading, should give him some of these experiences in story-telling, and vocabu- 
lary, which are rich experiences in background before we give him the printed 
page to interpret. 

The only way in which good habits and interest can be developed is by the use 
of simple reading material, with particular attention to eye movement ; reading on 
the same level for longer periods of time; by the use of a variety of material and 
method, by emphasis upon comprehension and enjoyment ; in the primary division 
by learning certain skills, and in the upper elementary by teaching the various 
types of reading, and reading for a variety of purposes such as pure enjoyment, to 
seek information, by characterization, answering questions, vicarious experiences, 
plays, puppets, etc., and by using interesting and good books. 

I do not know why tradition tells us that each year or each semester we must 





THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY 





142 








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be giving a child more difficult material. We add our difficulties too rapidly in 
the beginning stages. For illustration: I think that when a child has learned to 
read a first primary, he should not go into the next or first reader immediately, 
but have many primary readers supplementing his first one. And then when he 
has learned to read his first reader, he should not immediately go into the second 
reader, but should read many first readers. If we are attempting to increase 
vocabulary, there is no better way to do it than to have the child read much 
material on the same level. Influencing interest in reading can never in a thou- 
sand years be done if we continue to give children difficult material which is a 
nuisance to them to read; but by giving them material that really can be read by 
the child with ease. He gets wider experiences if given material simple enough 
for the child to read. Who can be interested in reading when every other word 
he must pause over and figure out what this or that word is or means? If you are 
working for better reading, better phrasing, better experiences, and a new interest 
influence in reading, the only way in the world to get it is to give children materials 
that they can read. You learn to add by adding, you learn to walk by walking, 
you learn to read by reading. Not abstract, beautiful phrases and words; not by 
dificult word drills; and putting the child back into difficult material where he 
must pause every time he comes to an unfamiliar word, and he begins to stammer 
and become nervous because every other word, or five words, is unfamiliar. 

I say the only way to develop good reading material, is reading on longer periods 
of time. Ask yourself how often you would read if every reading experience taxed 
the limit of your reading capacity? Think for instance if at every reading ex- 
perience you were reading a medical journal, or a treatise in law, or some foreign 
language—How often would you read? How much would you improve your 
reading, even a little? That is the way the child is feeling, and have you ever 
stopped to think how seldom we give to the child an opportunity to read just for 
the fun of reading? Just as you like to read your favorite article in the morning 
paper? 

In addition to reading, we have the materials. When we have a large group 
of sixty and forty-five, with one type of material we must have a variety of methods 
in order to meet the varying needs of the children. 

If comprehension and enjoyment are brought into the child’s individual read- 
ing, his reading level may became habitual at any grade. Many an adult and uni- 
versity student’s reading level became habituated at the fourth grade, and we 
cannot think our problem is done, when we have taught a child to read well, up 
to the third grade. We ought to continue to develop styles and ability thru various 
types of reading. 

By the use of such measures, we hope to prevent the accumulation of large groups 
of remedial cases in reading, and that only the occasional child will need clinical 
analysis. However, when such cases do develop, these same factors will enter into 
the study of the difficulty. 

I am reminded of the story of the old man seen sitting on his backdoor steps 
fishing in a mud puddle. When asked what he was doing, he replied that he was 
fishing. “Fishing! Do you not know that there are no fish in that little mud 
puddle?” “Oh, yes,” he replied, “I know, but it is just so convenient.” I think 





PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 143 











sometimes that is just the method we are using. We have always done it that way, 
and we practically always will continue to do it that way. 

Any child can be taught to read when the specific difficulty or difficulties are 
determined, then patient and intelligent individual work with a specific child should 
be continued until he can take a place in some reading group, then careful guidance 
should be given the child as to what he reads. If we do this, we have removed 
one of the child’s limitations, the inability to read, so that he may develop his 
personality to the limit of his capacity. 

While a child’s ability to read is highly important in developing a permanent 
interest in reading, it is probably no more important than the necessity for pro- 
viding the opportunity for the child to read good books. Perhaps the schools have 
put too strong an emphasis upon how to do things, and not enough emphasis on 
the doing of them. 

What can good books do for the child? 

A child develops into a good citizen or a poor citizen not only as a result of his 
heritage and experiences, but, also, as a result of what he reads. Often the initia. 
tion of the purposes which govern adult life can be traced to books read. in child- 
hood. It is amazing that often the parents and teachers who are most concerned 
with the type of associates a child has, give little attention to the type of books 
that this same child reads, and miss the opportunity of introducing the child to 
worthwhile characters in books. 

We have every reason to be optimistic about our reading program and its 
development of a better citizenry. The public libraries with the children’s rooms, 
a truly American institution which has been in existence for only thirty-five years 
have done much to stimulate the interest and appreciation of children and the 
schools in better books. They are adapting their reading lists all of the time to 
fit the needs of those children with reading difficulties. —The public libraries, a 
do our public schools, have an opportunity to develop an attitude of open-minded: 
ness toward, and an understanding of other peoples. Literature can do much to 
help all of us find ways to live as members of one great community in which our 
ideas may be given expression without violating the rights of others. 

Books for juveniles are improving each year and one is now able to find 
books of undoubted literary value to meet the interests and reading abilities of each 
child. There are books of biography written in a style which appeals to children; 
folk tales, realistic and fanciful stories; books of adventure and travel; modern 
stories and stories of pioneer life. The value of this latter type of material in 
developing better members of society is well expressed by Carol Brink when she 
tells her purpose in writing Caddie Woodlawn. 

“In the period that we like to call Victorian, the ordinary children’s books 
were so full of ideals and moral precepts that there was very little room for any 
real life. They were dreadfully dull books. I do not think our books can ever be 
so dull again, because we are aiming at real life even in our most ordinary stories 
Our children need ideals, too. 

“There is a duty we owe our children in regard to the past. The last sevent) 
years have seen more sweeping changes than any other period that I can think o 





144 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTAR) 





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inhistory. In a single span of life we have passed from the most primitive struggle 
for existence to the most sophisticated and luxurious urban life. The sturdy blood 
of these pioneers still flows in the veins of our children. They have the same bone 
and muscle, but they can have no conception of the hardships and struggles and 
dreams that built these bodies of theirs. “They have all the ease which electricity 
and various machines can give them; but our luxurious modern age is full of 
problems, too, which are more complicated than those our grandfathers faced. 
If we can keep hold of some of the sturdy pioneer qualities of these grandparents 
to hand down to our children, perhaps our children will be better fitted to meet 
courageously the difficult problems of our modern world. It is an entirely different 
world, but after all, the pioneer qualities of courage, willingness to go to meet 
the unknown, and steadfastness under difficulties are the things most needed to- 
day as they were then.” 





Sane Views of Sports and Their Uses in Elementary Schools 


Thurman B. Rice, professor, Indiana University Medical School, 
Indianapolis, Indiana 


The school exists in order that it may be of assistance in 
preparing children for the problems and responsibilities of life. 
One frequently hears it said of an individual that he has a good 
education or that he has made a great success. Probably the 
most complimentary expression that can be applied to an 
individual, however, is for his associates to say that he is a 
“good sport’, a “real fellow”, one who “plays the game 
squarely and honestly.”” It will probably seem to some per- 
sons that sports should be considered as being entirely sub- ae 
ordinate in importance to the fundamental academic subjects THURMAN B. RICE 
which have for so long a time claimed the entire time of the 
student. It is not our wish to discredit in the least the value of these academic 
subjects but rather to emphasize the fact that those activities which help us to win 
the love, respect, and approbation of our associates are also of tremendous value 
and may even transcend in importance the conventional studies. 

The writer of this paper believes that it is extremely important that in matters 
pertaining to education, hygiene and physical training we should give careful 
consideration to the direction in which the native instincts of the race point. 
Play is an instinctive activity which is indulged in, in one form or another by every 
young, healthy animal. The kitten in playing with the ball is simply preparing 
itself for the activities which will enable it to be a successful adult. Play in such 
case is essentially a development of skills, and it is significant that the immature 
animal learns physical skills far more readily than does the adult. The play of 
the kitten is in a large measure solitary, but the activities of the cat are mostly 
solitary. The play of the child, however, should be social to a large extent for the 
treason that the activities of a man or a woman will be largely social. Modern life 
isexceedingly complicated with many laws and rules. For this reason the play of a 








PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 145 








child, provided he is not a very young child, should be increasingly complicated 
with clearly defined rules and principles of the game. The various recreational 
activities probably have much more to do with the development of character and 
disposition than do the academic subjects. This is because character, honesty and 
industry are developed by actually doing things rather than by merely reading or 
hearing about them. 

The orderly progression by which a child moves from the diversions of an ip. 
fant to an appreciation of the great organized sports should be uniform and 
gradual. For example, a baby apparently gets vast satisfaction simply from play. 
ing with his own hands. A little later he fondles a ball or rattle. Still later he 
plays ball with the parents or a brother. Finally he takes part in games in which 
the family plays as a whole. With a little more difficulty he learns to play with 
the neighbor children. His activities, then, embrace the school room, and finally 
his entire school or city, primarily in the highly-developed sports. Widely separated 
cities or colleges indulge in competitive athletics and at intervals even inter- 
national sport events are held. In the earlier years the games that are played have 
essentially no rules or have rules which are made for the occasion. At another 
level rules may be made to cover the intramural sports of a given school or of a 
city league. Finally in the highly-developed sports such as baseball, football, and 
basketball, there are national rules committees which compile complicated systems 
governing the manner of play. The Olympic rules are extremely detailed and 
published in many languages. 

Where do the sports of grade school stand in this progression? Obviously they 
should be far from either end, and probably are best set somewhere near midway 
between the two extremes. Surely we will agree that the excessively complicated 
rules for games such as are played by our universities and professional clubs are 
quite too involved for use in the grade schools. 

On the other hand there should be developed in the grade school child the ability 
to abide by the decision of some neutral person or official without too much pro- 
test. Furthermore he should learn to wish to play the game in a manner that is 
acceptable to his playmates and his opponents. Such an individual may be pre- 
sumed to be more willing in later life to abide by the laws and customs which will 
control his adult activities. The development of good sportsmanship is one of the 
very most important considerations of child training. No one likes a ‘quitter’, 
a “cry-baby” or the fellow who is “cocky” in victory and vindictive in defeat. 

It will be agreed that the scope of the activities of the grade school will be less 
competitive than that for high schools and colleges. For example, there is a record 
of inter-high school and intercollege track and field events. It would be easy to 
find what the best college mark for the hundred yard dash may be. It would bea 
little harder to find what the best high school record may be. I sincerely hope that 
it will be impossible to find what is the best time in which a grade school child 
has done the hundred yard dash. Likewise it would be comparatively easy to come 
to some sort of a conclusion as to which university has the best football team or 
which halfbacks are entitled to All-American recognition. High school records 
of the same sort are sometimes available for cities or even states, but grade schools, 
I hope, will manage to get along without such devices for some time to come. 


146 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY 








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The criticism is made that the American people take their sports far too seriously. 
It is my opinion that the criticism is just. Quite too much we are inclined to play 
for the sake of winning rather than for the sake of playing. A sport of this sort 
then becomes essentially work rather than play. The team which wins is likely to 
emphasize the extent of its superiority far beyond legitimate grounds. On the 
other hand the boy who is defeated may be broken-hearted and may suffer remorse 
out of all reason or proportion. A few years ago a very capable football player 
ina hotly-contested game became confused for a moment and ran for his own goal 
line. As a result of the play a touchdown was made by his opponents. The incident 
received national recognition. The poor fellow was so chagrined that he considered 
suicide. How utterly silly it is that any system of sports should receive any such 
exaggerated consideration. 

On the other hand the star player will often be the hero of the school tho he 
is a positive menace to the morals and educational standards of the institution. 
This is not a place to discuss the various misdoings of college athletes. We merely 
are insisting that in the grades, certainly, the emphasis must be put on the whole- 
some fun and good fellowship rather than upon winning. Possibly the cure for 
the evils in college athletics lies in the development in children of a spirit of sports- 
manship based upon correct values. It is possible that children so trained will learn 
to play for the sake of playing rather than for the sake of the score. Many cities 
encourage in their junior high schools the development of interschool competitive 
sports. With careful supervision such activities may possibly be permissible but 
certainly wider competition should be discouraged. Even when competition is 
within a given city care should be taken that very little publicity or emphasis is 
given to the various events. Whether School Three or School Seven wins a 
particular game is a matter of not the least importance to anyone except the chil- 
dren concerned and even with them the scores should hardly be the cause of exulta- 
tion or remorse. The children will be developing skills when playing with their 
usual companions much better than when playing against strangers in the presence 


of spectators. ' 
Grade children need very specifically to be shown the reason why it is unsports- 


manlike to take unfair advantage or to cheat. They need to be shown the reason 
why betting on athletic events is unsportsmanlike and that it tends to prostitute 
otherwise excellent sports. Betting is simply a means of intensifying the rivalry 
between two teams or two competitors. Most of the evils of modern amateur 
athletics are due to the fact that the competition is already too sharply drawn. 
Certain very excellent sports have been utterly ruined by the fact that betting 
has been an incentive to cheating and to “fixing.” The offering of large stakes 
or gorgeous medals to the winner has also had this effect. Prize-fighting, wrestling, 
horseracing and certain other perfectly legitimate forms of sports are in disrepute 
because the stakes are so high that there is always the temptation to gain the 
desired end by foul means if necessary. It is hard to suppose for example that 
professional prize fighters indulge in this “sport’’ for any other reason than large 
purses. As a boy I belonged to a boxing club which I thoroly enjoyed. The group 
had a grand good time with their one set of boxing gloves until an older person 
put up a prize for the “best man.”’ The ensuing elimination tournament soon as- 





PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 147 








sumed a very bitter aspect. Several really vicious fights resulted. Parents took 
sides and the whole project degenerated into a very unpleasant melee. All these 
things are the result of allowing the principal object, sport for sport’s sake, or sport 
for development’s sake, to be forgotten. 

Ordinarily the school welcomes the interest of the patrons and older persons 
of the community in its various activities. The same can hardly be said of the 
sports program. The school teachers who have given this matter some study and 
who appreciate the real function of the sport program can usually be trusted not 
to carry the emphasis too far. Likewise the children can be trusted because, while 
they may become considerably excited at the time, they tend quickly to regain 
their poise concerning these matters, and to return to their normally wholesome 
interests. Parents and other adults, however, are extremely likely to have the desire 
to win so firmly entrenched in their beings that they encourage young people in 
the schools to go to absurd lengths. We have in mind, for example, a group of busi- 
ness men organized to support a certain high school in its athletic program. These 
men know nothing of or care nothing apparently for the other phases of the high 
school’s work. They insisted until funds were raised whereby an enormous gym- 
nasium was built. On one occasion they promised each member of the basketball 
team a Ford coupe if the team won the state championship. Another city has a 
group of business men who raises a large sum of money to pay wages to fathers 
of promising high school athletes provided they will move to the town and estab- 
lish residence there so that the boys can play basketball. A certain township at 
the instigation of influential men in the community built a seventy-five thousand 
dollar stadium for high school football when in the same township there were over 
twenty temporary school buildings for the housing of approximately six hundred 
school children. Another city had a wonderful basketball team but no real phys- 
ical education for the mass of students. The coach got more money elsewhere. It 
was necessary to get another. The new man, a physical education teacher of fine ex- 
perience, and high ideals was engaged. He put in a fine program but the basketball 
team was not up to former standards. He was subjected to intense criticism and 
lost his job. It was the business men and the newspapers who were responsible. 

True it is that these problems which I am mentioning are abuses seen not in the 
grade schools but in the high schools. We mention them to show what is to be 
avoided in the grade schools. By no means must the contaminating hand of the 
ticket office or of the highly competitive sportsman touch the sports program of the 
grade school. 

It might appear from this that the entire sports program for the grade school 
is of negative value and should therefore be discouraged. This is by no means true; 
quite the contrary, indeed. We need the stimulating effect of competition, on 
the level at which it can be indulged in by red-blooded boys and girls. Various 
games and exercises that are suitable for common school participation will have the 
effect of stimulating the physical and mental development of the children and will 
tend to make them more self-reliant and aggressive. It will help them to learn 
to accept defeat graciously and to have respect for the rules of the game. We 
heartily recommend a broad program of diversified sports in the grade schools 


eT 


148 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY 








pro 
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provided the various dangers expressed and implied in the pages are carefully 
avoided. 

There is another serious criticism which can be made of American sports, namely. 
that they are so intense and specialized that one can expect to play them only when 
he is in school himself, and even then, only when he is one of a very small group 
commonly designated as the squad. The ideal of the true gentleman with regard 
to sports should be that he be familiar enough with everyone of the various sports 
activities that he may indulge with pleasure in any of them and escape the em- 
barrassment of being an utter dubb. Yet he would wish probably not to be so 
proficient as to meet with the suspicion of an ill-spent youth. Furthermore he 
should have learned to enjoy when he was young, several sports which can be 
played without the expenditure of much energy. The individual who knows only 
how to play basketball or football is likely to try to indulge in them when he is too 
old. The results may be disastrous. Such games as can be played in case of 
invalidism or upon the coming of old age are vastly important to an individual. 
We have recently had opportunity to see a group of old people many of them in 
their eighties who have learned to play shuffle board on concrete courts in one 
of the town parks. It was very interesting indeed to see these people enjoying 
themselves thoroly. There was active rooting, repartee, keen competition, display 
of skill, and the passing of a great deal of time that might easily have become a 
burden, and yet the physical exertion was such that even old ladies eighty and 
eighty-five years of age were able to indulge without the slightest injury to them- 
selves. 

It is extremely important that every individual should learn to play. Most tragic 
are the lives of those persons who know how to work but do not know how to 
relax and enjoy themselves. The nervous aggressiveness which so often character- 
ized the American citizens has, it is true, been extremely fruitful in producing 
world’s goods but it is also the basis for the accusation that the typical American 
does not know how to enjoy himself and even when he is supposed to be so doing 
he is likely to go to extremes. In the minds of the rest of the world we are in- 
curable dollar chasers and money grubbers. Inasmuch as the young people from 
high school and college are likely to be attracted into some particular sport it is 
well that while in grade school they be encouraged to become interested in a wide 
variety of physical activities which may be expected to instill in them a love for 
such physical activities as may last as long as they shall live. 

The broad foundation for a safe and sane physical program must be laid in the 
form of a well-balanced sports and physical education program in the school. This 
program must be free of ballyhoo and box-office. It must avoid the high pres- 
sure competition usually seen in high school and college. 





Be sure to make your arrangements NOW to attend the Conference 
on Elementary Education, July 5-16, University of Michigan, Ann 
Arbor, Michigan. 





PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 149 











BANQUET, FEBRUARY 22, 1937 
| pecans AND FRIENDS of the Department enjoyed the delightfy| 


semiannual banquet of the Department of Elementary School Principals 
which was held in the Ballroom of the St. Charles Hotel, New Orleans, Louisiana, 
Monday evening, February 22, six o’clock. 

Perfectly made paper magnolias and the beautiful gray moss made a lovely pic. 
ture for the 513 who participated in an evening of frolic. As the guests assembled, 
beautiful harp selections were given by Viola and Elizabeth Turnbow, pupils of 
Lucienne Lavendon. Between the courses of the dinner, community singing led 
by Mary M. Conway, with Cornelia Cooke at the piano, was thoroly enjoyed, 

Edythe J. Brown, president of the Department, presided. The invocation wa 
given by Reverend Dunbar H. Ogden, of the Napoleon Avenue Presbyterian 
Church, New Orleans. After a delicious repast, Miss Brown introduced Josephine 
E. Hildebrandt, president of the New Orleans Principals’ Association, who brought 
greetings. 





Greetings 


Josephine E. Hildebrandt, president, New Orleans Principals’ 
Association and principal, Robert M. Luther School, 
New Orleans, Louisiana 


My friends: It seems strange to be greeting you at so late 
a date, and at this time, but the New Orleans Association has 
not had the time or the opportunity to greet you en masse, 
and so we want to tell you how much we appreciate your 
faith and encouragement to us at this time, when so many 
adverse reports have been made about us. 

I want you to know that the magnolias at your places have 
been made by the grade students from all over the city, and 
are sent to you by the grade teachers and students as their 
J. E. HILDEBRANT greeting to you, and also the little magnolia candy-cups. We 

have among us, in our New Orleans Principals’ Association, 
the principals of the high schools as well; some of these greetings come to 
you from them also. Now, so as not to prolong the program I wish to take this 
opportunity to present to some of our friends just a little token in appreciation of 
your work for the success of this convention. First we wish to give to Edythe 
J. Brown, president of the Department of Elementary School Principals, one of 
these original prints of Audubon, made under his supervision. They were made 
in Philadelphia, brought over to Europe and then brought back from Paris to 
New Orleans. As Audubon’s work is typical of Louisiana, we could think of noth- 
ing that might please you better, or be a little remembrance of the pleasant times 
we hope you are having here. (One of these pictures was also presented to 
Joseph M. Gwinn, former superintendent of New Orleans Schools, Mrs. Nicholas 
Bauer, who received it for Superintendent Bauer, New Orleans, and Eva G. 
Pinkston, executive secretary, Department of Elementary School Principals.) 





—_ 


150 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY 











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Experiences of a Woman Columnist 


Mrs. E. M. Gilmer (Dorothy Dix), Internationally Known 
Woman Columnist, New Orleans, Louisiana 


Before I tell Miss Brown the when, and how and where, I 
must say that not very long ago I received a letter telling 
me about all the harm I was doing. It read: “Dear Miss 
Dix: I wonder if you know how much harm you are doing 
in the world. I was in love with a man, who did not notice 
me at all, and I wrote you to ask you how I could attract 
him, and you told me how to do it, and I did, and married 
him, and now I wish I had not!” (Applause. ) 

I am very happy to be able to add my word to the wel- 
MRS.E.M.GILMER come you have been given in New Orleans. As you know New 

Orleans is a convention city, but we rarely have so large a 
convention as you have brought us today. I suppose the principals of the elementary 
schools also know that the parents of today have passed the buck, so to speak, 
to the schools, and they expect the teacher not only to teach their children learning, 
but morals and manners as well. The babies have been thrown squarely in your 
laps, so what happens to the country in the future, depends on how you bring 
these youngsters up. 

When I was asked to report at this auspicious assembly, I was proud and 
pleased, but when I was told I was to talk about myself, my various undertakings 
seemed to have run out on me. 

Our favorite indoor sport, in talking about ourselves, is in talking about our 
work. In my occupation of writing a love column, there are many things that are 
really very funny. I do not know why, because love is a most serious thing in the 
world—it makes the world go round, and is the cause for most of the trouble 
made and murders committed. I do not know where my work begins or finishes, 
of course, but I do my bit toward keeping things going. 

As Miss Brown said, and as you will see from my gray hair, I have been writ- 
ing this column for a long time. When I started, things were different from what 
they are today, and nothing amazes me so much as the different questions people 
ask me. Forty years ago people asked me whether it was proper to help a boy 
friend at the door with his overcoat when he called; now it is: “Do you think 
itis any harm to go over and spend a week-end with him?” I have no end to the 
number of letters where girls have asked me how to keep their husbands. There 
ishardly any question in the world that comes up between mothers and fathers, 
and between them and their children, and between husbands and wives, and sweet- 
hearts, that in one way or another does not fall into my collection. Can you 
imagine one person wrote me that she was thirty-five years old, with a peaches and 
cream complexion, and that she was going to be married to a man of forty; that 
there was nothing in the way now, except that she had false teeth. “Now,” she 
said, “what must I do about it? Should I tell him before I marry him that I 
have false teeth and disillusion him, or wait until after we are married and run 
the risk that he might throw them in my face? Shall I break the engagement on 


ee 


PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 151 

















some trifling excuse and keep my sécret to the grave with me? It is a question 
What do you think of it?” I thought long and seriously, and then wrote to her: hi 
“Marry your man and keep your mouth shut.” (Laughter and Applause.) 
A man not long ago asked me that same question, he also had false teeth. Ani} he 
I told him: “Go on child, she won’t know the difference if she saw you.” 
You might think, judging by my gray hair that I was past the marrying age, ye > a! 
no debutante gets half the proposals that I do, but they always say: “I will no 
interfere with your career.” I spent last summer on a ranch in Colorado, anf an 
while there I received a letter from a man who said he had long thought that | 
would make the kind of wife he wanted. He heard that I was on this ranch, anf ¢hj 
proceeded to tell me that he was a middle-aged man, owned a huge ranch, anj 
lived ninety miles from a railroad, and then: “I have to come down into your} gop 
neighborhood anyway, to look over a bunch of beef cattle, so 1 thought | coulif «4 
come and see how we would like each other.” But I wrote him that I thought hf gop 
was better at driving cattle than love on a ranch. 
My chores are many, ranging from naming babies to finding ways and mean; 
for all sorts of people from all walks of life; but the questions | receive are y 
unique that I have copied a few from some of the letters | received, and which! 
will read to you: 
“My husband tells me to go to hell. Have | a right to take the children?” 
““A bride says: ‘We have been married two weeks, and have not quarreled ye 





but are working up to it.” I 
“Shall I tell the boys I stutter?” pen 
“T use Life-buoy soap and still no boy friends.” poli 
“I took your advice, Miss Dix, about being a perfect lady, and now | staya} yi) 

home every night alone.” is 
“I am fifty years old, madly in love with a woman who already has a husbanif onc, 

What is the quickest and most humane way of getting away with same?” aie 
“‘As soon as I come into the house he yells at me ‘you dog’ and ‘go to hell,’ an} ony 

sometimes he also uses profane language.” of p 
One nice youngster wrote: “There is nothing you cannot do; thank you fore, 

advance for a home, and a husband, and a playmate.” path 
“I have a nice home, a car, a fur coat, jewels—everything a girl marries for ya 
“T have been a decent girl as far as I can remember.” prop 
“You speak of girls having a technic with boys, what is this technic and whe wij) 

can you buy it?” Such 
“My husband beat me until I am black and blue, but my mother advises mei} conc 
pay no attention and act indifferent.” tse 
“Of course we have spats, as all married couples do, and I got one arm broke! I pract 
but we never have any disagreements of a serious nature.” on by 
“There was a great void in my life, so I fell madly in love with a dentist.” F conf, 
“T am married to a book-worm,—what is good for worms?” that ¢ 


“A woman depreciates faster than her automobile, and that is going some.’ J woul 
“In high school I was an honor student, with very few friends, and none eo 
) Prineip 


them boys.” 


— 


152 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTAM RIN 








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{of patrons at programs, exhibits, demonstrations, and con- 
; YOU" ferences. The use of parent-teacher groups to develop sym- J. B. EDMONSON 
‘pathetic understandings is also recommended as an effective 
) way of cultivating good will. While granting the worthwhileness of the foregoing 


| proposals, it is my opinion that one of the most effective ways to cultivate good 


“Please do not put this in the paper because my girl reads your pieces—she 
has no sense at all.” 

“Miss Dix, is my boy friend just a good Catholic, or is he trying to get rid of me; 
he said he has given me up for lent?” 

“He has bought a license for his dog, and his car—oh, my, why don’t he buy 
a marriage license?” 

“My husband and I quarrel like cats and dogs. My birthday is on May 12, 
and his is on September 15. Are we congenial ?” 

“My child’s father is married, but I am not. What is my relationship to my 
child’s father ?” 

Some of them are very nice and tell me that I have helped or taught them 
something. One of the greatest compliments I have ever had came in a letter: 
“Miss Dix, I usually take my boy friend to dinner, but now I want advice from 
someone who is really practical, and I am coming to you.” (Applause. ) 





Building Good Will for Your School* 


J. B. Edmonson, dean, School of Education, University 
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 


Every school principal recognizes good will as an indis- 
pensable asset to a school and is therefore concerned with 
policies that tend to develop the desired measure of good 
will. What are some of the effective policies for cultivating 


ence of opinion among principals. Some stress the values to be 
secured thru newspaper publicity, while other principals rec- 
ommend that good will be developed thru the attendance 





will is thru the study of the requirements that parents would define for teachers. 
Such a study of requirements is similar to the studies carried forward by business 
concerns that are seeking to discover the likes and dislikes of patrons. There are 
some firms that spend large sums annually in their efforts to discover the trade 
practises that meet with the approval of patrons. Similar studies should be carried 
on by the school and policies modified in terms of the findings. On the basis of 


‘conferences with local parent-teacher associations I have reached the conclusion 
sthat the list given herewith summarizes some of the requirements that parents 


would define for teachers. 


—-__. 


‘Summary of an address given by Dean Edmonson at the state conference of the Elementary School 


Principals, Tulsa, Oklahoma, February 5, 1937. 





PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 153 











1. Parents want teachers to be sufficiently interested in knowing them as parents to take 
advantage of opportunities to meet them. : 

2. Parents want teachers to know their children well enough to appreciate their virtues 
as well as their faults. 

3. Parents want teachers to treat their children with dignity and respect. They par- 
ticularly resent the use of terms of contempt. 

4. Parents want teachers to inform them concerning any impending crisis in a pupil's 
school relations before the situation becomes very serious. 

5. Parents want teachers to give them a reasonable amount of warning concerning any 
unusual expenditure of money for books, supplies, or social affairs. 

6. Parents want teachers to emphasize the mastery of certain fundamental! skills in read- 
ing, writing, and other tool subjects and to emphasize the training of children in 
effective habits of study. 

7. Parents want teachers to place special emphasis on instruction in matters of honesty, 
cooperation, respect for the rights of others, purity of speech, and other desirable 
qualities of conduct. 

8. Parents want teachers to give special attention to the protection of the health of their 
children. 

9. Parents want teachers to train their children in such a way as to enable them to make 
reasonable progress in their school subjects, and if pupils are not successful they want 
the teachers to be able to diagnose their difficulties. 

10. Parents want teachers to assign home work in such a way that it will be challenging 
to the pupil’s effort and interest. 

11. Parents want teachers to develop a spirit of good will and success in the school groups 
so that their children will like to go to school. 

12. Parents want teachers to express a greater degree of confidence in the children than 
the parents may seem to possess. 

13. Parents want teachers to treat them with a marked degree of courtesy and respect 
when they visit the school. 


The foregoing list of requirements should be reviewed in terms of the follow- 
ing questions: (1) Are all of the requirements reasonable in terms of your local 
situation? (2) To what degree are the reasonable requirements satisfied in your 
school? (3) What reasonable desires of parents are not included in the list? (4) If 
parents in your community have never defined such requirements as given in the 
foregoing list, should they be encouraged to do so? 

May I also suggest that the foregoing list be used as a basis of a conference with 
the teachers of a school. In all probability a few teachers may express resentment 
over the suggestion that parents have a right to define requirements for teachers. 
Where such resentment is found it can doubtless be traced to a lack of understand- 
ing of the status of the school as a publicly supported and publicly controlled in- 
stitution. In such an institution the opinions of the public as expressed by parents 
must be given very sympathetic consideration. It is my prediction, however, that 
principals will find that most of their teachers are extremely anxious to cultivate 
the good will of parents thru attention to those policies that build confidence 
and good will. 





A letter from Isadore D. Karchin tells us that we made an error in the heading 
of his article, which appeared in the February issue of The National Elementary 
Principal. Mr. Karchin is a teacher in the Sullivan School, and not the principal, 
as we had stated. 





154 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY 





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GENERAL SESSION, FEBRUARY 23, 1937 


A Glimpse of Elementary Education in New Orleans and Louisiana 


HE SECOND GENERAL SESSION of the Department of Elementary 

School Principals was held in the Auditorium of Tulane University Medical 
School at 1430 Tulane Avenue, Tuesday afternoon, February 23, at two o’clock. 
Josephine E. Hildebrandt, principal, Robert M. Luther School, and president, 
New Orleans Principals’ Association, presided. 

Before the program began the Sophie B. Wright High School orchestra played 
several selections. 

Miss HILDEBRANDT: We are very glad to see you this afternoon, and we are 
sorry that we have not more room. As soon as the first numbers are over, and 
if you wish to use the steps at the foot of the stage, you may do so. 

In our program today we are featuring the Louisiana schools. I do not know 
just what your impression is of the Louisiana schools, but we are very proud of 
them. Louisiana is usually far down on the list of states, but we feel that is a 
very unjust rating, because of the very, very fine work done in all parts of our 
state. In our program today, we have attempted to show you a various set up, 
not from New Orleans alone, but from the whole state activities. Of course we 
could get the children more easily from the city than the state schools, but the rest 
of the program will tell you of the different phases of work done in the state of 
Louisiana. We want to show you one type of music that is done in one of the 
New Orleans’ schools, under the able direction of Anna F. Kennedy, principal, 
McDonogh School No. 16. We cannot give you a very broad idea of all our 
activities which take place over the entire state in the developing of musical talent, 
but we can give an idea of what is typical along that line. We have arranged 
for you to hear, “French Folk Songs and Dances” by the pupils of the McDonogh 
School No. 16, which features this type of work, and is not a special work for this 
occasion. These children are ready on any occasion. Their school is located in 
the heart of the French district of our city. 

(The children of McDonogh No. 16 School marched in and formed a group of three 
rows on the steps of the stage, and one of the little ones made the following announcements 


first in French and then in English as an introduction to each number. The songs were 
sung in French.) 


Tue CuILp: Bon jour messieurs et mesdames. Our first number is “Fais do do.” 
We are going to sing our baby brother to sleep. 

(The children sang their first song.) 

Do you know how to place cabbages? We are going to tell you in our French 
song. 

(The children sang their second song.) 

We are dressed in our best clothes to go to the White House. Would you like 
to hear about it in our next song? 

(The children then sang their third song.) 

My brother is going to war, we do not know if he will return. 


(The children then sang their fourth song, which was followed by the applause of an 
appreciative audience.) 





PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 155 











Miss HiLpEBRANDT: We are grateful to the teachers and the children {o; 
the singing of the French songs for us this afternoon. 

Our special study program in Louisiana was started a year or two ago, and 
this afternoon we have a speaker who will tell us all the whys and wherefores 
Dr. Murphy P. Rogers, director of curriculum, State Department of Education, 
Baton Rouge, Louisiana will talk to us on “The Curriculum Study Program jp 
Louisiana.” 





The Curriculum Study Program in Louisiana 


Murphy P. Rogers, director of curriculum, State Department of 
Education, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 


I want to say in the beginning that the first problem I faced in planning to 
talk to you this afternoon was that of deciding from whence ye came. | am not 
sure whether I am talking to a group from the whole country, or one made w 
largely of New Orleans teachers, or largely of the parents of these fine young 
people who have just entertained us with French songs. 

In talking about a program of any kind, especially one of curriculum develop 
ments, it is essential to know to which group you are talking. I came with the 
idea of giving a description of organization and proceeding as we have the program 
planned in Louisiana, and I hope that you will be interested in that informa 
tion. Our program, | think is as truly a product of the desires of the teachers of 
the state as any such program can be. To understand the full significance of that 
statement, it is necessary to study the educational development of our state over 
a period of the last thirty years; during this time we have gone forward under 
the continued leadership of a single state Superintendent, a Superintendent who is 
now giving his service longer than any other superintendent in the nation. Under 
his leadership, our schools have become highly centralized, and our teaching 
materials and our procedures equally standardized. Our schools, probably, have 
followed the suggested programs as closely as have the schools of any other state 
in the Union. Our Louisiana Program of Curriculum Development is funda 
mentally a classroom-teacher movement. The primary source of teaching materials 
has been State adopted textbooks and too often they have been the only source. 
Time schedules and suggested procedures for presenting these materials were it- 
cluded in State courses of study and were followed in nearly every classroom 
in the State. 

A high degree of organization has made it possible to offer very definite teach: 
ing aids to our teachers and thereby to raise standardized teaching to a high level 
So generally was this situation accepted as satisfactory that few criticisms of tt 
were raised until within the last four or five years. During this period, there ha 
been a considerable change in professional attitude in the State. State prescrip 
tion of courses of study is now being questioned ; the value of teacher freedom and 
initiative is being urged ; new educational philosophies, new objectives, new mate 
rials, and new methods are being suggested on every hand. We recognize thret 





156 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY) 





— 


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— 


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factors as being responsible for this change. In the first place, our professional 
corps is coming to be a highly trained one. Secondly, the existence of critical 
social and economic problems has forced us to wonder if the schools are contribut- 
ing in the fullest manner possible to the development of efficient citizens. And 
last, the influence of the theories of progressive education has been felt in Louisiana 
as it has in every other state in the Union. 

The change in professional attitude has presented educational leadership in the 
State with an entirely new problem, a solution for which is being sought in a 
program of curriculum development. 

It is not possible to set any specific date as the beginning of the work that is now 
in progress. Over a period of years, general conferences devoted to educational 
improvement have been held and specialists in the field of curriculum improvement 
have been included on the programs. ‘They have urged action, offered advice, and 
helped in other ways to lay the groundwork for action. Finally, out of this period 
of preparation began the present organized program. The organized program 
had its actual beginning in the work of a group of about fifty selected superin- 
tendents, supervisors, and teachers who met in the curriculum laboratory of 
Louisiana State University during the summer of 1936. This group was given 
the special responsibility for studying similar programs in other states and for 
describing an organization and a procedure for Louisiana. It completed its work 
by preparing a study bulletin which is now serving as a guide in the preliminary 
part of the program. This first year we are attempting primarily to lay a founda- 
tion for future progress. We know already that we can make improvements in 
our school work and we know also that these improvements will involve change. 
We accept it as a matter of course that radical changes should not be attempted 
until we have prepared ourselves for making them thru a careful consideration of 
the problems and dangers, as well as of the advantages, that are involved. 

All of our teachers are now organized into study and discussion groups. The 
primary group is the School Unit which generally consists of all of the teachers 
of a single school. This unit works under the leadership of a chairman who is, 
as a rule, the school principal. No division is made between elementary and sec- 
ondary teachers. As a matter of fact, in schools large enough for the organization 
of two units, we have made an effort to have each unit include teachers from both 
levels. These School Units range in membership from about ten to twenty-five 
teachers. Some of them include teachers from several small schools. 

Each School Unit selects two of its members to represent it in the Parish Unit. 
The Parish Unit has as its fundamental purpose the coordination of the reports 
of the School Units. We have in Louisiana a nearly pure type of the county unit 
school system. Its head is the parish superintendent and he is the actual leader of 
educational activities in his parish. Upon each superintendent, therefore, has been 
placed direct responsibility for the curriculum program in his parish. The super- 
intendent either is the chairman of his own Parish Unit or he selects some one for 
this responsibility. 

Each Parish Unit in turn selects at least two respresentatives who meet to make 
up the District Unit. 

These groups meet in colleges that have teacher-training departments. The 





PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 157 











chairman of each District Unit is a member of the teacher-training faculty of the 
institution in which the unit meets. These chairmen have been appointed by the 
different college presidents. Each chairman appoints from his district a consultant 
to assist him in his work. District leaders are responsible primarily for planning 
and conducting district meetings, but they have the additional responsibility of 
encouraging and directing the work of all School and Parish units in their respec. 
tive districts. The fourth and final group is the State Unit. It is made up of the 
State Director, the State Consultant, and of at least three representatives of each 
District Unit. The State Director is authorized to appoint such permanent State 
committees as seem to be necessary to coordinate and guide the work of the dif. 
ferent groups. 

The whole State organization, therefore, consists of a State Director and a 
State Consultant ; of an organization of all the teachers of the State in functional 
group on four levels—the School Unit, the Parish Unit, the District Unit, and 
the State Unit; and of special permanent State Committees that work in the 
various fields of curriculum development. It should be added that the State col- 
leges are engaged in a program of curriculum improvement that complements the 


work that is done on the elementary and secondary levels. 
The bulletin prepared by the laboratory group of last summer describes this 


organization and includes suggestions for holding meetings of the discussion 
groups. It also divides the work of the preliminary study period into seven parts 
and organizes it around the following major topics: Purpose and Need of a 
State-Wide Study of the Curriculum; Basic Philosophy and Guiding Principles in 
Curriculum Development ; The Aims of Education; Pupil Needs, Purposes, and 
Interests; Nature and Scope of the Curriculum; The Relation of Subject Matter 
to the Curriculum; and Teaching Procedures. The Bulletin is divided into sec- 
tions according to these seven topics. Each section contains a general discussion 
of the topic, a bibliography, a set of learning exercises and study questions, and 
quotations that relate to the topic. The discussions and the reports of the study 
groups are organized around these topics. 

The State and District units are scheduled to meet three times during the present 
school year. No definite schedule for meetings of School and Parish units has been 
suggested. They are expected to meet often enough to consider the important 
questions that arise and to complete their reports in time to have them ready to 
submit to the District Units when they meet. In practise the School Units meet 
about once every two weeks and Parish Units about once every four or six weeks. 

It has been pointed out already that, in the preliminary stage, we are engaged 
in a study program. Its objectives are primarily in the field of understandings. 
It is expected that teachers, thru participation in the work of their respective 
groups, will gain a clearer understanding of (1) The basic philosophy and guid- 
ing principles of curriculum development ; (2) The aims of education; (3) Pupil 
needs, purposes, and interests; (4) The nature and scope of the curriculum; 
and (5) The function of subject matter and teaching procedures in the curriculum. 

As a secondary outcome, it is expected that teachers will prepare some materials 
for their own immediate use. As teachers work and study, they naturally become 
interested in many of the questions that are discussed and seek to modify their prac- 





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tises to conform to new viewpoints. Experimentation is encouraged but will not 
become the primary objective of the program until a better foundation for it has 
been laid. In another year or two, we will attempt the organization of some new 
subject matter as well as the preparation and installation of teachers guides or 
courses of study. 

We believe that our program is developing in a satisfactory way. All teachers 
in the State are participating in it, and, if the reports of local leaders are correct, 
their interest and activity are growing. Group meetings have been held regularly 
and reports prepared and submitted to higher groups. The opinion that many 
phases of our educational work can be improved is growing into a conviction. 
This alone, I believe, is the best evidence that we are in a period of improvement. 

Teachers reconsidering the aims and philosophy of education have been asking 
many questions. Some of them have been raised and discussed in our meetings. 
I suggest the following as typical of them: 

1. Are pupils now acquiring the kind of education that will be most valuable in life 
situations? 


2. Are our pupils developing an understanding of the resources, relationships, and 
problems of their own communities? 


3. Are our schools cultivating lasting intellectual, vocational, and recreational interests 
in their pupils? 

4, Are our schools developing citizens who act intelligently in the social, economic, 
and political situations that they face? 

5. Are our schools developing men and women who appreciate and wish to improve 
cooperative living in a democracy? 

6. Are the moral and social standards of our pupils being raised? 

7. Are our schools fostering a sympathetic attitude towards other people and an un- 
derstanding of world relationships and interdependence? 

We do not expect to answer these questions definitely. They are more truly a 
challenge to our efforts than a guide to research. Our complicated social prob- 
lems, our recent economic depression, our tendency to accept political nostrums; 
in fact, our seeming incompetence to deal with many problem situations that exist 
in our complex and rapidly changing scheme of existence—all, indicate that there 
is much left for the schools to do. 

We do not propose that the schools should accept full responsibility for solv- 
ing all of the problems that exist but we do expect to study our opportunities and 
to seek to contribute our maximum to the common good. We want our children 
to be aware of current problems and to develop an actual desire to help them. 
We believe that we have spent too much time in the past developing skills and in 
imparting information and not enough time in developing thought processes and 
emotional attitudes. 

As our program has developed, certain strong points in it have come evident. 
It should be admitted that certain weaknesses, also, have developed. Time does 
not permit me to discuss or even to list all of them. Its greatest strength, I be- 
lieve, is its democratic spirit and its appeal to the whole professional group. Its 
greatest weakness, perhaps, lies in our failure to. prepare a special group for 
leadership of the various study units. We had expected this leadership to develop 
within the program, and to a large extent, our expectations have been realized. 





PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 159 











However, I believe that it would have been more desirable to have provided this 
leadership in advance. 

Believing that every teacher who goes along from day to day without the hope 
of doing new and better work is destined to professional failure and perhaps even 
to boredom and unhappiness, we accept teacher growth as the primary objective 
of the whole program. Already there is some indication that Louisiana is making 
extra progress in teacher development and to the extent that this can be measured 
in future years will we be able to measure the success of our program. 





Miss HiLpespranpt: I am sure Dr. Rogers will be well pleased with our next 
number, because I believe it is right in line with what we are striving to do in our 
plan in Louisiana. 

We have followed this planning for a good many years, and I believe the course 
of study is still adopting that plan—that of proceding from the home to the com- 
munity life. Our course of study takes the home in the first and second grades, 
and community life in the second and third grades, and of applying the local 
history in the life of the community. We have taken the study of the primitive 
inhabitants as our first work in the third B grade, proceeding to the third A in 
the study of history of our city. The city children know all of the old characters— 
you will see some tomorrow morning at the breakfast in the City Park. 

The products of the Choctaw Indians of Louisiana has been worked out in 
several months of time. What you will see today is the compilation of the work 
of the first term, and we have here on exhibition some small examples of what the 
children have done in connection with this unit of work—which is somewhat 
of an answer to the question “are you making use of the agencies and institutions 
in your neighborhood, in your city, in your local community, which are valua- 
ble?”” The children are taken on trips to various parts of the city, the Shushan 
Airport, the Post Office, the Railway stations, the Cabildo and so on. We have 
another study which takes in the study of the trees and animals of Louisiana, and 
the first settlers of Louisiana, the Indians and their primitive life. It is the early 
life of the Indians that the children will demonstrate, and these children have 
really done all of this work, this is not something put on for today’s show. This 
work is really active and is done in all of our schools in this grade. We hoped 
to have an exhibition of charts and drawings showing the construction work moti- 
vated by this topic from all of the schools in the city, but we were so limited 
as to space, we had to eliminate the exhibits for the most part except those few 
from the Audubon School to demonstrate the work. The children get it first by 
story work, and then they learn the facts of course and work out a little play, 
and they are presenting in dramatic form the life of the Choctaw Indians of Louis- 
iana. Usually the children work out their costumes with burlap bags, but today 
they have made it a little nicer as far as costumes are concerned. This work has 
been done by Naomi Gardberg, one of the most promising young teachers we have. 
What the children will show is but a limited part of what they have learned in 
facts. The child has a natural urge to be in things, to do things, to take part in 
things, so whenever the teacher sees fit we end up a work of this type by letting 
them present a play in order to show to the others what the life of the Indians is 


—— 


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like, and that is what you will see this afternoon. One of the children will make 
the announcements. 

THE CHILD: Weare to have the privilege of visiting with “Mary and Jacques’, 
two little children from the city, the city of our friends, the Choctaw Indians. 
And as we have very little scenery, I am going to ask that you please close your 
eyes while we turn Time back hundreds of years, to 1751. Don’t peep, really 
close your eyes, and play fair. I see two eyes open! Won’t you please close them? 
It is now 1751—and you may open your eyes, and here are Mary and Jacques, 
the two children from New Orleans who visit the Choctaw Indians. 

(The following scenes were enacted: 

1. Mary and Jacques visit an Indian camp and are shown how the Indian homes are 

made and how they live. 
2. The Indians are told about the homes of Mary and Jacques and are shown how they 
dance. 

. The French children are given a demonstration of an Indian dance.) 

Miss HiLDEBRANDT: It so happened that while these children were studying 
the subject, we had a visit from a half-Choctaw Indian. She was from Mississippi, 
but had lived on the reservation in Oklahoma, as her family had moved there at 
the time of Andrew Jackson’s proclamation that the Indians should be removed 
to the reservation. She told the children about her life on the reservation, and she 
had a great many little things she showed them, among which was an earthen 
jar—very simply made, but was over one hundred years old. It had been buried 
in the grave of her great, great grandfather, and then removed when they moved 
to Oklahoma. She knew very little of the Choctaws of Louisiana, having been 
raised on the reservation. So you see, we are making use of the opportunities we 
have in our own city. 

Our next speaker has gone farther in this type of work than we have in* New 
Orleans. We have an activity program in part, but we have never departed from 
certain assignments for certain subjects, our real work is reading, and writing 
and arithmetic. Dr. A. E. Phillips, director of the Elementary Training School, 
Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, Ruston, Louisiana, has developed some very fine 
work in his school, and we thought it would be of interest to you to know of the 
work being done in the northern part of our state. Dr. Phillips will speak to us 
about ‘Experiencing a Progressive Program in Our Training School.”’ 


3 





The West Virginia Elementary Principals’ Association 


The West Virginia Elementary Principals’ Association is to be congratulated on the 
study which it has made regarding the elementary schools of West Virginia, and for com- 
bining the information into a Yearbook. It is called, “Problems of the Elementary Schools 
in West Virginia.” 

The committee consists of Winifred Newman, chairman; Herbert K. Baer; R. H. 
Richards; C. Darl Long; Elsie McKisson; and Dr. H. G. Wheat. This committee has 
attempted to present the most outstanding problems with practical suggestions. These sug- 
gestions can be used in every elementary school. 

Word has just come to Headquarters that this group completed its third annual meeting 
on April 2, Morgantown, West Virginia, and the editor appreciates more than words can 
express, the program which was sent to her, and which was signed by Mrs. Geraldine S. 
Dent, Charles E. Hodges, C. Darl Long, Joseph Rosier, Robert Clark, R. H. Richards, 
W. W. Trent, Dorcas Prichard, J. H. Reed, and Winifred Newman. 





PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 161 











Experiencing a Progressive Program in Our Training School 


A. E. Phillips, director, Elementary Training School, 
Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, Ruston, Louisiana 


I think my voice will be a little clear, even tho you may 
see my knees shaking. 

The letter that I had from Miss Hildebrandt and the one 
I received later from Miss Hinrichs, announcing to me that 
I had been placed on this program to tell of our experiences 
with Progressive Education, informed me that the talk that 
I made at Baton Rouge last October would about “fill the 
bill” of what they wanted. 

I said at that time that to prepare and read a paper of this 

A. E. PHILLIPS kind reminded me of my boyhood experiences of attending, 

what at that time was called Protracted Meetings. At some 

of these gatherings it was the custom for the individuals to confess their sins 
and pray for forgiveness. 

I am sure that in my educational experiences I have many sins, both committed 
and omitted, for which I need forgiveness. Nor do I make any exceptions with 
my experiences in a progressive program, even if I do spell it with a small “p.” And 
now for our “Experiences at the Louisiana Polytechnic Institute Training School 
with a Progressive Program.” 

We have for many years tried to find ways to make school work and school 
life function in the lives of our children and have tried to impress our teachers in 
training that the wholesome development of child life was their principal function 
as a teacher. 

My actual contact with progressive education, as it is acknowledged by those 
who proclaim its virtues, began in the summer of 1934 when some forty school 
people from Louisiana visited the Training School at Montevallo, Alabama, and 
attended a regional conference of the Progressive Education Association. 

In the summer of 1935 the faculty of the Louisiana Polytechnic Institute Train- 
ing School, with President Bond and most of the Education faculty, went back 
for another week’s observation and experience. Following this visit, President 
Bond requested of each of us that we give our reaction to what we had observed 
and participated in at Montevallo. 

A quotation from my written report to President Bond has particular bearing 
on what I judge Miss Hildebrandt intended for me to contribute: 

“TI wish to emphasize that I have persistently tried to side-track the term ‘pro- 
gressive.’ It seems to me that there are obvious reasons for my attitude in this. 
I do not believe that there is anything new in the idea, and whether one is a progres- 
sive teacher or has a progressive school depends on his attitude or point of view 
toward: (1) Child and child life, (2) Education, (3) The function of the school, 
(4) The subject matter used (curriculum), (5) Learning and how it is brought 
about, (6) The function of the teacher, and (7) Methods of teaching or directing 


learning. 








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Our attitude toward these concepts, and many others, determine our thinking, 
guide our participation, and control our willingness to see both sides of con- 
troversial questions involved. As far as I am familiar with the basic principles 
of Progressive Education along these line, I believe in them. 

Education is not only a goal, but a process—a continuous process—and it is 
brought about thru the stimulation of ones powers by the demands of the social 
situation in which he finds himself. Education, therefore, becomes a social process 
and the school a social institution, which we in America believe should be demo- 
cratic in all its phases, as far as possible. It should be a form of community life 
in which as many agencies as possible should be concentrated for the purpose of 
bringing the child ‘to share in the inherited resources of the race.’ The school, 
then, must represent present life, life as real and vital to the child as that which 
is carried on in his home, in the neighborhood, and on the playground. 

The social activities of the child should be the center around which subject 
matter is selected and presented. Literature, the arts, history, or geography cannot 
by themselves interpret life to the child. It will not provide opportunity for him to 
see, and live, life asa whole. The best way, as I see it, to make the child conscious of 
his social inheritance is to enable him to perform the fundamental activities that 
make our culture, or civilization, what it is. 

The teacher is the guide, the helper, the one who sets the stage, the wise coun- 
selor. The Progressive School says, ‘Here is the child; what are you going to 
do about it ?’ 

Learning is brought about by gaining insight, seeing relations in a social situa- 
tion, experiencing, doing. 

Any method, I take it, is satisfactory that causes the maximum growth to the 
maximum number. So-called activities which with us are outgrowths of projects, 
problems, type studies, socialized recitations, etc., are the most acceptable to us 
now.” 

In this report to President Bond I tried to express briefly a few of the basic 
principles that I understand the Progressive Schools are trying to find ways of 
carrying out and which the Progressive Education Association endorses. 

I have visited several of these pronounced Progressive Schools among them 
Mr. Boothby’s Metairie Park Day School here in New Orleans. I have also at- 
tended conferences of the Progressive Education Association. 

I have said above that I do not think that there is anything new in the so-called 
“Progressive Education.” In all my educational experiences I have given lip- 
service to these basic concepts and have in the past tried in my feeble way some 
of these acknowledged principles. And, as I have studied the various movements, 
other than Progressive Education, it seems to me that all this talk about curriculum 
revision, mental hygiene, integrated learning, activity work, etc., are all driving 
toward the same ends—ends that we have been stressing for many years under the 
name of child development or child growth. 

Dr. William James, Dr. Dewey, Dr. Thorndike, the McMurrys, and other 
acknowledged leaders, have emphasized to us that school is life, that students learn 
by their own responses, etc. In fact, we can trace these basic principles back as far 
as people have been writing about the education of youth. 





PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 163 











Beginning in our little school several years ago we experimented with the Me. 
Murry idea of type studies, and think we did some good work. We tried Dr. 
Kilpatrick’s idea of projects; we tried problems, divided assignments, socialized 
recitations, and many other of these ideas each of which I think has given us q 
little more insight into our problems in child development. For the most part this 
work was confined to unit work within the subject matter fields; types were used 
in our Geography or Nature work; problems were worked out in History, in 
Civics; projects grew out of our Reading or Arithmetic; but in all of these it was 
always a unit, many times as formal, as lifeless as memory work from a textbook, 

Twelve years ago Ethel Washburn came to our school as supervisor of the 
second grade. She started what she called an “activity program.” The rest of 
us watched it with a great deal of interest. Parents became interested and crit. 
ical. With her there were no subject matter bounds in the social activities 
that she carried on in school. Other teachers, especially the primary teachers, 
were quick to notice the happiness and willingness and seeming progress of her 
children. From that day to this, we have been experimenting, trying to find out 
how to carry our procedure along in a way that would give the child an oppor- 
tunity to develop an integrated personality. 

We understand many of the pitfalls and dangers; we have listened to the 
criticisms over and over, which are frequently only “straw men’ put up to be 
knocked down. We have read as widely as our means and time would permit. 
We have discussed these problems hour in and hour out. All this leads us right 
back to our original idea of child development. 

Our job is a dual one. We have not only the responsibility of children entrusted 
to us, but our school exists for the primary purpose of training teachers—teachers 
to go out and take their places in a school system that too frequently gives wor- 
shipful obedience to the recitation and to the value of subject matter bound up 
in a textbook. But, we have believed that teachers who have been impressed with 
the basic principles of the child development and the understanding of his life as 
he is living it would take their places in any kind of system and would understand 
themselves better and would do more for the children entrusted to them than they 
would, should we take time to give them a whole “bag of tricks.” 

As an illustration of the interest in our part of the State in re-thinking our school 
‘ problems, it might be interesting for me to relate our experiences with our pro 
gressive program the last two summers. 

As a follow-up of our first visit to Alabama, a number of school people who 
knew of our work met at our place and insisted that we do more to stimulate the 
thinking of the teachers in our area. There was no money available to enlarge on 
our regular program, but it had become generally known that we would encourage 
visitations and discussions of our work. Over two hundred teachers spent some 
time with us and participated in our discussions. All thru the year of 1935-36 
there was almost a constant stream of school people coming to spend a day with 
us. Most of these occasions were followed by frank discussions. We at the Tech 
Training School feel that we were greatly benefited by the challenges thrown 
at us at these conferences. 





164 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY 





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Last Summer a little money was made available which enabled us to enlarge 
upon our regular program. Mr. Boothby came with us to act as supervisor. He 
conducted two conferences a week for six weeks. Dr. Peter Blos, Science teacher 
in Mr. Boothby’s School, had charge of Science in the High School. Clifford 
Woodard, Supervisor of Schools in Jackson Parish, assisted with the Social Science 
in the High School. We had as special lecturers: Ed. McQuistian of Little 
Rock, for two days; who talked about Curriculum Revision at various conferences 
and group meetings; V. ‘IT’. Thayer, who held two meetings on our campus dis- 
cussing possible curriculum revision or child development of the secondary level; 
Alice Keliher, who spent part of two days with us and gave us practical discus- 
sions of how this activity work could be carried out under public school situation; 
Gustaf Freden, Dean of the School of Education at Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, 
who held several conferences and gave several lectures to our group on mental 
hygiene; Dr. Blos, who held several conferences with us and with several groups 
at which we discussed this movement from the psychiatrist’s point of view. We 
know that there was much interest manifested on our campus. We had our at- 
tention called to many sides of the problems involved. 

We offered special courses for elementary teachers in the principles and pro- 
cedures governing activities and the activity program. We had one hundred and 
fifty teachers in these courses. ‘There were more than five hundred teachers reg- 
istered for observation. The teachers in the Training School ignored, for the most 
part, subject matter bounds, and, I think they did the best work that we have 
had done. Even in the High School, the ““No Man’s Land” of Curriculum Re- 
vision, we tried some activities that I think were quite satisfactory. 

I have mentioned a few of our contacts with Progressive Education and a few 
of the efforts we are making toward re-thinking our school problems. I am:in no 
position to judge fully the results of these experiences. As a matter of fact, I do 
not think that any of us can judge accurately the results of our teaching. I think 
we have a school where children show that they make improvements from year 
to year in what we consider the most basic things in life. We know that they are 
a happy group of children. We know by standardized tests that our medians cor- 
respond to the upper quartile of the norms sent out by these tests. We know that 
our graduates hold their own in college, some exceptionally good and some poor, 
but almost invariably, they are interested and take part in the social life about 
them. As to the successes we have had in training teachers, the principals and 
superintendents who employ them are the best judges. We at the Training School 
do not feel that we have anything for which we should hang our heads in shame, 
when we speak from a comparative basis. We know that we have sent out some 
exceptionally good ones and, of course, some poor ones. But, I suppose, most of 
them are just “mill run.” We feel that the change of the State program in Teacher 
Training will give us a greater opportunity to show what we really can do. 

But, there is one success, or partial success, that we have had for which I am 
prouder than anything else, and that is the interest that our patrons take in our 
school. This is manifested in many ways. There is hardly a day but what you 
can find from one to a half a dozen visiting our school, and, when some room is 
working up something special, mothers will give their time and efforts to assist 





PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 165 











in the success of it. When some change in our procedures is anticipated they will 
gladly come and discuss it with us. As an example of this, two years ago when 
we came to the final decision that we were going to do away with an absolute 
marking system for our report cards, we were told that they would not agree to it, 
But, after several meetings with them, they not only agreed with us but made 
many constructive suggestions. 

Now, Miss President, this is all the time I have for my confession and here 
and now acknowledge that we have had many failures, but the successes we have 
had have been due to the faculty that have had an open mind, and have been 
willing to work, and think, and who dared to act on the best thinking that they 
could do. For my sins, both committed and omitted, I crave pardon; for my 
successes, I congratulate myself on having such a group with which to work. 





Miss HILDEBRANDT: Success is not and does not consist in never making a 
mistake, but in never making a mistake a second time. It is not possible in our 
New Orleans schools to have as close an integrated program as Dr. Phillips 
carries out, because we have a different system. Our fifth, sixth and seventh 
grades are called departmental grades and each teacher has a separate room. 

The demonstration in reading to be given next in our program is by Margaret 
E. Powell, who is one of the finest reading teachers in New Orleans. She has 
charge of the sixth grade pupils of McDonogh School No. 7. The work the chil- 
dren do is typical of what they do thruout their term. The material that they 
will use today is absolutely new to them. They will be given the typed sheet you 
have been given to read, “In A Railway,” and will proceed to reenact an in- 
telligent grasp of what they read on this page. 

The pupils now on the stage are children chosen from the sixth A and sixth B 
classes. Miss Powell will now conduct her class in reading. 

(The typed sheet given to the pupils to read is given below. An entire reading-class 
period was given on the stage, and following the instruction and interpretation of the 
material the children enacted the story as they understood it.) 

IN A RAILWAY 

In the railroad car marked “No smoking” there was only one seat vacant, but there 
lay on it a brown traveling case. A lady entered the car. ‘Take that case off of that 
seat,” she said to the gentleman in the seat next to the vacant one. The man looked up 
not at all pleased at the peremptory tone of voice. “I don’t have to do it,” he answered 
just as sharply. 

The lady flushed angrily and turned about as if to walk away, “Well, I'll get the con- 
ductor.” She hastened to the rear of the car where she encountered the car conductor as 
he was entering from the platform. She told her story. 

“See here, you,” said the conductor, “make place for this lady.”’ His voice was loud and 
commanding. 

“No, I won't,” briefly announced the man drawing his coat about him and settling down 
more comfortably in his seat. 

“Well, well,” said the conductor, “I’ll call the train conductor.” He turned shortly and 
left the car while the irate lady glared at the offending man. Soon the two conductors 
appeared together. 

“Take that satchel off of that seat,” said the train conductor in the tone of a field marshal 
giving orders to his army. 

The man to whom he spoke looked up quietly but said firmly, “I’m not even thinking of 
doing it.” 





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The faces of the two conductors and of the lady were studies. “Why, I never heard of 
such a thing,” she said irately. “At the next station I shall report you to the station 
master,” said the train conductor in his field marshal tone. 

“As you please,” remarked the traveler. The train pulled puffing and snorting into the 
station. —T'wo angry conductors called for the station master who came quietly into the 
car and approached the offending man. Raising his cap he said politely, “May I ask, sir, 
why you will not remove this satchel?” “Why, certainly,” said the traveler with a smiling 
countenance as he rose from his seat. ‘The satchel doesn’t belong to me at all.” 

“It doesn’t belong to you?” said the station master with difficulty concealing a smile. 
“Then, perhaps you may be able to tell us whose it is.” At this moment a young man 
in the far end of the car jumped up. “That bag? Why, that’s mine,” and he stepped 
forward to get it. 

The two astonished conductors, the lady and the station master turned towards the 
owner of the bag. “To you,” said the conductor, “Well, why didn’t you take it off the 
seat?” “Why,” answered the smiling young man as he looked from one to the other: 
“Why, no one asked me to.” 

Miss HitpEBRANDT: The school which gave the first demonstration is located 
way down-town, whereas the pupils who gave this last demonstration are from the 
Audubon school which is located way up-town in New Orleans. 

We had a speaker from the northern part of our State, and one from our capital 
Baton Rouge, tho our capital is not quite the central part of the State, and now 
we will have a speaker from the Southern part of our State, just a few miles from 
New Orleans and not very far from the Spillway. E. J. Landry, principal, Hahn- 
ville School, Hahnville, Louisiana, has been practising what we have been preach- 
ing in the national program this year—recreational activity for the development of 
good citizens. Mr. Landry is going to show you pictures of the activities that he 
has had in his school in various ways, and I believe he has a few introductory re- 
marks to make and then we will see the pictures. 





Pictures of Various Activities in the Hahnville School, 
a Rural School 


E. J. Landry, principal, Hahnville School, Hahnville, Louisiana 


Miss Hildebrandt and Miss Hinrichs, I certainly am indebted to you for hav- 
ing me participate in this program. You know, I believe that it is the participant 
who is the fellow who learns more than the people who listen. 

I am going to prove that theory can be brought into actual practise. I have 
participated in so many meetings and have listened to various philosophies and 
theories expressed, and have afterwards asked myself this question: That sounds 
good, I believe in it, but always, how? How can I do it? With what? I know 
it is right but I must first influence the superintendent, then the supervisor, then 
my community, then my personnel, one at the time, or all together—or some way. 
I speak from the viewpoint of the principal, the fellow who has to start the ball 
rolling. Some of you know what I am talking about. It is possible. It is possible 
if you want to pay the price—there is always a price to be paid for any under- 
taking, and I think it is worth it. I believe in participation, and to prove that to 
you, I want to introduce to you, my school. I want my whole school to participate 
this afternoon, but the first part of my school, my personnel, I want to introduce 








PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 167 











them one at a time, and I would like to have you participate in conversation with 
them on the subject I will mention concerning their participation in our program 
in our school. You will find this subject presented to you on the screen—not an 
elaborate affair, because it would take months and months to tell you really all 
these people are doing, and there are twenty-four of them, twenty-four teachers 
and seven hundred children, living in a rural community where every child must 
come to school in a school-bus. It is a poor community, I might say a very poor 
community, and where advantages and opportunities are certainly limited. | am 
not going to take over ten minutes of your time. So don’t worry about the length of 
the program. If you want to make it longer you might interview the members 
of my personnel out in the hall—but not in here. 

Mr. Curley Willis. Please stand. I want to introduce to you the young man 
who has charge of the mass athletics. 

I want to introduce to you the man who has the music and he is one of our own 
boys, taught there in the school and raised in the community, and who has done 
well in music: Mr. Richard Vial. 

I want to introduce to you now the lady who has to my knowledge done in our 
school what these educators have been talking about, the integrate program cor- 
relating music and appreciation, all of it at one time: Mrs. Marguerite Montz. 

I want to present the young lady who believes that health in school is the first 
cardinal principle of education, not in theory, but in practise, using the ailments 
of the students as subject matter: Miss Lucille Guidry. 

Now the lady who is developing visual and audio-visual instruction in the school. 
Not in telling the children what to see, but bringing to the children the best that 
can be seen: Miss Alice Vial. 

Weall know that we need a press in the school. If there is something in a county 
you need, it is a press. We must have our newspaper, and to have it organized 
so that it will function—we need it—it is the one all important thing to have ina 
rural community. Mrs. Abbie Lockhart has done that thing and can tell you all 
about it. 

The whole school revolves around a young boy in this audience, and when | 
say that I mean it. He is the handyman who puts so much of this into practise, 
and he is also Eagle Scout at this time. A few years ago he was out of work, 
and came to the school building looking for something to do. And | told him: 
“Well, son, here is a job—you can learn here, but there is no pay attached to it.” 
Now he is employed by the school system and earns a good salary. He is the 
little boy in the audience seated at the moving-picture machine: Mr. Alcide 
Laurent. 

A library is needed in the school, a free visual aid material. That is fine and 
dandy. You can have worlds of it, but to bring it together and organize it for 
youth is the essential point: Miss Estelle Byrd. 

In brief they have all made their own tasks, they have copies of their own work, 
and what they are doing, and they will be glad to send these papers to you, if you 
would want them, but there is no time for reading all of these today. We will 
be glad to participate with you, and we are searching for ideas, to learn from you, 
as we are only participants with you in the same program. So now, if you will 


———— 


168 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY 














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allow me, we will present our school in our five-minute program—yjust the surplus 
of it, bringing you into some of its real activities, things you can see, and we want 
to also invite you to visit with us. Some of you have automobiles, and the school 
will be open tomorrow, if you care to come. It is seventeen miles on the other 
side of the river and faces the river. You cannot miss it. I know that all of my 
teachers will be glad to see you, so come out and visit with us tomorrow. 

(The first picture was a general one of the Hahnville School showing Scouts raising the 
flag, then followed pictures of ground-courts and equipment fitted to allow five hundred 
children to participate in out-door activities. The pictures showed the children engaged 
in various games. In this program each child is enabled to play the game of his choice— 
tennis, basketball, football, boxing, horseshoe throwing, baseball, volleyball, chin-bars, etc. 
The Boy-Scout unit is invaluable in many fields—the pictures showed the Boy Scouts doing 
errands for the teachers about the school, and in other activities. A well-organized band 
provides education and entertainment. Pictures of the school-band followed, and also 
dancing with the band playing for the dancing class, and singing out of doors. The study 
hall and library are separated, allowing the teacher one period daily to contact the library 
concerning reference material. Pictures showing the study-hall, the library; the rooms 
where girls are taught the art of home-making, the domestic science rooms—kitchen and 
sewing rooms, the infirmary where the ailments of the students are studied and taken 
care of. The student body and parents are kept informed of all current activities of the 
school by a weekly news-sheet. Pictures of the printing room followed and of the Boy Scouts 
and others delivering the news-sheet to the homes in the community. Seven hundred stu- 
dents and four hundred families receive the news-sheet weekly, and whatever profit is made 
by the sales is used to buy new equipment needed for the school. Pictures of the school 
store followed. The clerk supervises the production of all printing matter, and also op- 
erates all phonograph and picture equipment; the use of the talking motion-picture is to 
bring into use one of the best teaching efforts of the leading educators of the world. Pictures 
of the work room, the equipment in sound-picture development where instruction in sound- 
films are given were shown, and the last of the pictures showed the Boy Scouts removing 
the American flag after the school day.) 

Miss HILesBRANDT: [f seeing is believing, I certainly congratulate Mr. Landry 
on the work that he is doing. Now the teachers need recreation, as well as the 
pupils, and you are now cordially invited to the basement for entertainment and 
refreshments. 

(The meeting adjourned at four o’clock, and the guests then went to the reception of the 
visiting principals by the New Orleans Principals’ Association. Music at the reception 
was furnished by the Sophie B. Wright High School orchestra.) 





An Important Notice! 

As you know, we list the names of all the current members of the Department 
of Elementary School Principals in the directory of the new Yearbook, when it 
is printed each year. At the front of this list we place a directory of all the names 
of the Principals Clubs, listing the names and addresses of the president and 
secretary. 

We shall soon begin to compile this important ‘‘Who’s Who in Elementary 
Education.” Will you please see that the secretary of your Club sends us the 
correct name of your Club and the name and address of your president and 
secretary ? 

Be sure to look at the address on the envelope in which you received this bulletin 
and let us know if we do not have your name and address spelled correctly. This 
is important!!! Do it now!!! 





PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 169 











The sky-line of Detroit as seen from Windsor. 


All Detroit Invites You 

Come, go with us to Detroit and enjoy a week of work and play. President 
Orville Pratt of the National Education Association has arranged a splendid 
program. President Edythe J. Brown of the Department of Elementary School 
Principals has arranged one just as fine for us for our summer meeting, as she 
did for us at New Orleans in February. Chairman Earl R. Laing and his splen- 
did committee have made plans for our entertainment which can’t be surpassed. 
We are not allowed to tell all the lovely surprises which are in store for you, but 
those who have been to Detroit before know that when Detroiters plan things, they 
can’t be beaten. 

Detroit alone will be an education in itself, for here we have the third ranking 
industrial center of the United States; the largest city of the manufacture of 
automobiles; the home of many leading enterprises; and here industry has com- 
bined with art to create a center done in beautiful early Renaissance which is the 
purest example of its kind in America. 

Those of us who have driven the famous “Model T” know how it always got 
us places and brought us home. Come with us now and let’s enjoy together a 
few of the many wonderful places which are near Detroit, and which the maker 
of our “Model T” has made possible. At Dearborn, where our banquet on Tues 
day night will be held, Mr. Ford has grouped hundreds of interesting relics of 
American life and founded a typical American Village of Colonial days in the 
desire to perpetuate the institutions that grew and flourished out of the American 
idea of living. 

Below are listed those who have been selected by the Detroiters to be chairmen 
of the different committees pertaining to the affairs of the Department of Elemen- 
tary-School Principals Programs. To have the privileges of knowing these fine 
folks is indeed a treat. They are: Esther Cousins; Jennie Clow; Irene Sauble; 
Arnold Gregory ; Frank Steele; Pauline Ruhr; Herman Browe; George Birkam; 





170 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY 





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Roy Stevens; Inez Caswell; Rachel McKenney; James Baird; Claudia Wilson; 
James Voorhees; Nora Egan; Frances Hardie; Guy Bates; Jennie Flemming; 
John S. Thomas; Benjamin B. Lovett; and Earl R. Laing. 

The changes which have been and are now taking place in the elementary 
school are vital to the progress of our educational system. If our boys and girls are 
xo profit by these changes, then we must select subjects for discussion, which will 
behelpful. President Edythe J. Brown believes that it is just as necessary to develop 
the cultural side of the child’s nature, as to teach him the 3 R’s, hence she has 
selected subjects which are consistent in their application to this viewpoint. She 
thinks that the elementary school should safeguard the normal development of 
our boys and girls thru guidance. Just how far we are expected to be aware of 
the factors which enter into the lives of the pupils and what experiences and 
studies should be provided for us to follow the correct course are questions upon 
which she has pondered. The programs of the Department, therefore, will be 
of unusual interest for we are to appraise our problems of elementary education. 

The tentative set-up of the programs is as follows: 

Monday afternoon— 
APPRAISAL OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

“The Three C’s of Education—Character, Citizenship and Culture” 

“Guidance in the Elementary School”’ 

“Horace Mann—An Exponent of Education for a Richer and Fuller Life.” 
Tuesday afternoon— 

(Sponsored by Detroit and Michigan Principals, Earl R. Laing, Chairman.) 

Important and short business meeting 

“Education in a Democracy”—William J. Cameron of the Ford Motor Com- 

pany. 

“The Interviewing of Celebrities’—Helen C. Bower, Library Critic and 

Writer, Detroit Free Press. 
“Problems in Behavior and Delinquency’—Harry J. Baker, director, Psy- 
chological Clinic—Detroit Public Schools. 
Our Social Affairs— 

The get-together-breakfast will be at the Statler Hotel, Monday, June 28, 
7:30. President Brown has planned an enjoyable meeting. 

The banquet which is to be held at Dearborn Inn, Greenfield Village, Mich- 
igan will be one of the most unique affairs at the Convention. The Detroit prin- 
cipals have planned a banquet different from any we have ever had. At no time 
during the convention will there be more dignitaries assembled. Dr. Frank Cody, 
superintendent of schools, Detroit will bring a message and all who know Dr. 
Cody know that a rare treat is in store. 

Cars will be at the Statler Hotel at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 29, for all who 
have planned to go. Only 300 tickets will be sold, therefore, get your ticket early. 
Don’t miss this festive occasion. 

The complete program of our affairs in Detroit will be printed in the June 
issue of The National Elementary Principal, which we hope to get to your desk 
early. Be sure to watch for it. 





PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 171 











The Conference on Elementary Education 


Ann Arbor, Michigan, July 5-16, 1937 


Who can attend—This first conference is going to be the foundation stone 
in the structure of progress which is being built by those interested in elementary 
education. Every person, who directs the work of children in the elementary 
school, is cordially invited to attend—teacher, principal, supervisor and super- 
intendent. Dean J. B. Edmonson has selected as our faculty a group of professors 
who are nationally known for their words of wisdom, their ability to impart 
knowledge and their interest in the advancement of elementary education. With 
this wonderful group of leaders to guide us we should return to our schools in 
the fall with a very much clearer idea as to how to make each step of our work 
count for more in the life of the child. 

Some of the topics—We shall discuss the need of a good public relations 
program and its relation to our accepted educational philosophy. We want to 
know what are the relations of the teacher to an active public relations program. 
What relation has mental hygiene to that of general instruction? In what ways 
are the schools fitted to carry out a program of physical health and hygiene? 
What is the relation of the teacher to guidance work in the elementary school? 
Does character education function thru book knowledge and habit action? 
How can the school provide the motivation to secure the necessary habit behavior? 
What conditions cause the philosophy of organization and administration to 
change? What is the relation of the teacher to supervision and to instruction? 
What are the types of supervision? How can supervision establish research- 
mindedness on the part of teachers? What aid can be given to those entering a 
new teaching position? What aids can be given to those who have been in the 
work several years? These and dozens of other questions will be answered by 
those who are participating in our conference. 


“Campus of University of Michigan” 





172 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY 








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Special privileges—This enlarged program in elementary education which 
the University is offering for our special benefit is so planned that we shall be 
able to take back to our schools concrete information. So that we may know 
the latest ideas and methods in teaching, the University Elementary School will 
be in operation. Six units of children from about three to fourteen years of 
age will be in class. Students may take advantage of the opportunities offered 
by the system of observational balconies. 

Of particular interest to those attending the conference will be the specialized 
collection of books dealing with the various aspects of child development that has 
been placed in an attractive and comfortable reading room in charge of the 
librarian. Those of our group with a major interest in children’s literature will 
enjoy the unusual collection of books in the children’s library. 

Housing Accommodations—It will be possible to secure attractive living 
quarters at a nominal cost. Principals may secure board and room at Mosher- 
Jordan Hall. The rate is to be $3.50 per week or $7.00 for the period of the 
course. Board will also be available at $1.00 per day. All applications should be 
fled immediately with Mrs. Byrl Bacher, Office of Dean of Women, Uni- 
versity of Michigan, Ann Arbor. 

Let’s not miss this wonderful opportunity to attend this two-weeks meeting 
and learn better ways to do our jobs. We want to improve our work, here is our 
chance. The Committee 

Mrs. Epitu B. JoyNnes, Chairman 
EpyTHE J. Brown 
Mason A. STRATTON 





Social Security and Elementary Education 
Lavinia Engle, Educational Division, Social Security Board, 


Washington, D. C. 


Ability of the individual to adapt himself to the changing and growing demands 
of a dynamic social order measures the success, or failure, of the group of which 
he isa member. When such agencies of society as the home, the church, and the 
community face a crisis in the process of adaptation, one waits for the inevitable 
cry “this is an educational problem.” And after all, educators should not cavil at so 
complete an acceptance of the place and value of the teachers’ professional services 
and of the thesis that education is not a restricted field of academic instruction. 

To meet these successive challenges requires the principal’s and teacher’s ability 
to distinguish the tide from the surface ripples and complete intellectual honesty 
in selecting those educational tools which will enable the student to “adapt him- 
self” and to grow with the age of which he is a part and not to set up a process of 
moulding and fitting youth to conform to any one period for which the principal 
and teacher elect to cut a pattern. 

Overzealous proponents as well as critics are prone to hail a new tool of society 


» 4a new pattern of life, and one recent near victim of this urge has been the social 


security program. The several and various projects included in the Social Security 





PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 173 











Act are not in themselves changes in the social or economic life of the nation byt 


tools furnished by government in order that individuals and communities may meet | 


the problems arising from rapid development in our economic system. This, a 
every other great governmental program, brings repercussions in the educational 
system and the question, ‘“What is our part in this to be?” The question is two. 
fold, what is the part of the educator to be as an individual, and what is it to be 
as a principal and teacher? 

Administrators of the social security program may reply that their answer also 
is two fold. To the principal and teacher this program brings help with some of 
the most serious problems that their classroom presents thru relief of the most press- 
ing economic and social needs of many of the children who are in their charge, 
This is accomplished thru the public-assistance provisions of the act which fur. 
nish a broader and more substantial financial basis for the state social welfare 
programs. Thru aid to dependent children, assistance to the needy aged, and 
assistance to the blind, family financial strain is relieved, as well as the personal 
need of the individual receiving aid. Public-health services, care for crippled 
children, and vocational rehabilitation stabilize community life both directly and 
indirectly. And all these measures further the economic security of the family 
unit which, the principal and teacher knows only too well, is the cornerstone for 
the normal development of hundreds of thousands of school children. Nor is the 
principal and teacher unaware that systems of unemployment compensation and 
Federal old-age benefits will build another section in that wall of security for 
childhood. 

Together with the benefits of the social security program comes the principal's 
and teacher’s problem of interpretation. Again their knowledge of history re- 
minds them that many of the best intentioned laws and governmental programs 
in a democracy fail of their fullest achievement because of lack of adequate know! 
edge of how best to use them on the part of those members of the community who 
need them most. Realizing this, the principal and teacher remember the chal- 
lenge “this is an educational problem” and the community’s acceptance, perhaps 
unconscious, of the meaning of education not only in terms of the essential “Three 
R’s” but in terms of social attitudes and of knowledge of the use of those tools 
of society thru which the individual may reach the highest peak of usefulness and 
happiness. 

Recognizing the problem is an important step, but establishing a sound method- 
ology for teaching is decidedly another and a far more tedious one. The modem 
school has accepted the broad philosophy of education and has gone far in the 
development of a program in which social attitudes and personal integrity result 
from the whole school program and are not attempted in a “course.” But ap 
preciation of the philosophy of a program of labor relations must be implemented 
for the child by knowledge of the machinery thru which it is achieved, exactly 
as we teach the structure of the administrative machinery of government. The 
planning of units of study which will build for the child security in the knowledg 
of his rights and responsibilities under unemployment compensation and Feder#l 


old-age benefits is the job before us and its accomplishment will speed the da | 





174 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY) 








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when they will become most intelligently used and will be the safest guarantee 
against exploitation. 

The elementary-school principal and teacher face this, as other projects, with 
the realization that of the 27,000,000 school children in the United States only 
6,000,000 will go on to high school and that 21,000,000 will terminate their 
formal education when they leave the elementary schools. They may hope that 
for some of them the social security program will mean a longer school life but 
they are not apt to give up their firm belief that the main challenge of youth to 
society must be answered in the elementary school. 

Selection of material for the curriculum of the elementary school grows more 
dificult with each enlargement of the field of formal education. Those directing 
the selection must not fail to continue to encompass the range of essential skills 
and factual knowledge we have long been accustomed to regard as proper sphere 
of elementary education. It would be excusable should they shrink from assum- 
ing responsibility for further extending the scope of their program. But with 
characteristic devotion to the needs of their students they are tackling the job. 
They realize more keenly than any other one group that each new development 
in science, in art, or in government widens the world in which the child will live. 
And no principal nor teacher will regret that the patterns of life their loom must 
carry is more intricate when they realize that both pattern and fabric for another 
generation are enriched by color and beauty given by their skill in teaching the 
use of the tools that a new world has forged for its children. 





Speaking Seriously 
Carl S. Zook, principal, Lane School, Portland, Oregon 


This bit of dissertation in the field of education may be 
only aberration, depending on your point of view; but here 
and there thruout the nation I’m impressed with this obser- 
vation which I offer for your elation as it may appeal to you. 

In the midst of learning much diffused we find the world 
is all confused and our leaders much abused; some are led 
to abdicate. We need Will Rogers with his humor to re- 
sist the ills of rumor and save us from a fateful doom or 
make us try an introspect. Kings and potentates are assailed, 

CARL S. ZOOK proven systems are bewailed, every whit of crime retailed 
till we become almost dismayed. 

“Where are we going?”’ some will say. ““We don’t know, but we’re on our way.” 
And we haven’t time to stay and calculate the why. What, we wonder, is it all 
about; and what, if any, is the way out of this bog and fog of doubt that leaves 
usallawry. And we're asking, ‘““What’s the matter ; why this never ending clatter ; 
endless talking, aimless chatter?” And the answer no one knows. Some keep 
seeing shades of Red; others Fascism sorely dread, but we keep mulling right 
ahead all hoping for the best. 








PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 175 











The cure some say is the Townsend harangue; others would join the letter 
chain gang; but all ready-made schemes blow up with a bang, for the only way 
out lies thru work. To this truth we should ardently, ceaselessly stick; there js 
no honest scheme for getting rich quick; and you'll find yourself holding the 
famous “Gold Brick’’—the world has no place for the shirk. Perhaps our emphasis 
long has been wrong; perhaps some announcer should give us the gong, or teach 
us to sing a new, happy song to fill our souls once more with zest. 

“Our little systems have their day,” a loved poet was wont to say; we've seen 
several such pass away, so we think that he was right. “They have their da 
and cease to be,” but there’s so little that we see as time speeds into eternity that 
our judgment’s but a guess. 

So I strike out right fearlessly—or make a hit mysteriously—that ‘‘We take our- 
selves too seriously’ —this has brought us grief. The truly great are truly humble: 
not much given to growl and grumble because the big world doesn’t tumble and 
grovel at their feet. Immortal Lincoln, as a sample, never posed as an example 
nor ever felt he was more than ample for conditions he must meet. ‘‘Why Should 
the Spirit of Mortal be Proud?” was his favorite poem often avowed, and surelj 
his spirit was richly endowed with humility, true and sincere. Many of us by 
some success inspired have permitted ourselves to become so all-fired conceited, we 
should all be fired—with enthusiasm for things seldom found on this sphere. For 
tis true—let’s not fear it—the things of the spirit, how often we hear it, are the 
things that forever endure. 

With plans and procedures, methods and measures, we're constantly fed until 
all the pleasure of helping the child discover life’s treasure is thrown into the dis 
card. Records and tests, surveys and reports unquestionably have their import; 
but how much is valid, how much mere purport are the marks on a child’s re 
port? 

To our own importance, then, let us be blind, but ever alert to help the child 
find himself and his goal, and never to mind the impediments we have decreed 
In faith, hope, and love, lead him to pursue the vision he dreams and the task he 
would do in always supplanting the old with the new without thought of reward 
for the deed. 

“With charity for all, and malice toward none,” let us stick to the race we've 
determined to run, heedless of winning a place in the sun for ourselves; but with 
thought for the weal of all fellow beings and a zeal that everyone everywhere ge 
a square deal, recompense for work that’s well done. 





Dr. W. S. Deffenbaugh, in the March issue of School Life, says that the Georgia Stat 
Department of Education has set up, thru appointment, a commission for the purpose 0 
standardzing the elementary schools of the State. The commission to date has standardize 
779 white elementary schools and 49 colored schools. 





Anthony E. Karnes, state enrolment chairman for the D.E.S.P. has been re-elected ® 
Commissioner of Education of the territorial public schools of Alaska for the term bt 
ginning March 1, 1937, and ending February 28, 1941. 





176 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTAR) 





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Membership News 
way Eva G. Pinkston 
re Is 


the | | The numerous attractions and the fine programs at New Orleans caused many 
vasis | of the Enrolment Chairmen who were attending the convention to either phone in, 
each | write out, or report verbally the marvelous progress they have made in increasing 
the membership of the Department in their state, city, county or district. Several 
seen | of us did get together tho, and spent a most delightful and profitable morning. 
day | Those who came to Dining Room No. 1, St. Charles Hotel, New Orleans were: 
tha | Edythe J. Brown, South Bend, Ind.; Earl E. Bovee, Sioux City, lowa; W. L. 
Darnell, Austin, Tex.; Amy H. Hinrichs, New Orleans, La.; R. C. Johnston, 
oil Birmingham, Ala.; Louise V. Norton, Buffalo, N. Y.; C. E. Perry, Portland, 
able: Ore.; Maude A. Rhodes, Atlanta, Ga.; Kenneth E. Vayette, Peoria, Ill.; and 


aif Mrs. A. R. Wilson, Durham, N. C. 

mpke The Department has made the greatest gain in membership that we have ever 
ould | had. All this credit is due to the splendid work of our Enrolment Chairmen. ‘They 
urely | have worked diligently and the result of their efforts show that we lack only 47 
is by eof reaching our goal of 5,000 this year. Isn’t this grand! We must not stop until 
lwep We reach our number, therefore if you know of a fellow principal who has not 


Fa joined our group, won't you please invite him to do so? 





ou In analyzing our membership records as of March 1, you will be glad to know 
the many interesting things we have found. First among them are our 100 percent 
. | cities. They are: Prescott, Ariz.; San Gabriel, Calif.; Tampa, Fla.; Evansville, 
= Ind. ; Indianapolis, Ind. ; Kansas City, Kans.; New Orleans, La.; Detroit, Mich. ; 
e die Hamtramch, Mich. ; Normandy, Mo.; Omaha, Nebr.; Hicksville, N. Y.; Water- 
— viiet, N. Y.; Greensboro, N. C.; El Reno, Okla.; Shawnee, Okla; Port Arthur, 
's te Tex.; Radford, Va.; Huntington, W. Va.; and Casper, Wyo. District 75 of 
_ | Evanston, Ill.; Ritenour Consolidated School District, Mo.; and Beaumont In- 
child dependent School District, Tex., are also 100 percent. If you know of any 
creel. F we have missed be sure to let us know so we can publish their names in the next 
ask he isue of The National Elementary Principal. 
eward F 


Of the United States and its territories we find that the following have already 

passed their quota: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, West Vir- 

we't® ginia, and Alaska. Forty-one have passed their total number of members of last 
t with year. 

Pre get If our members will begin to say a good word to their friends whenever the 

occasion arises, we shall appreciate it very much. You know that this is the most 

| effective way of furthering the Department and its work. Speak a good word for 

a Star US 20%, for we shall soon be going to press on the directory of our Yearbook. 

pose df) We would like to include the names of many more members. This ““Who’s Who 

ardizi— in Elementary Education” has proven of great advantage to many of our members. 

It is from this list that many of the group are selected to do certain pieces of work 

in the elementary field. I’m sure you are often surprised when you get a letter 

ected *— asking your help on some special project. Let me inform you that we are always 

erm &F slad to recommend our members to assist in work which will be beneficial to them 








PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 177 








as well as the person to be helped. The more members the greater our field of 
opportunity. Won’t you help our State, City, County, or District Chairmen jp 
their final drive? 

The June issue of The National Elementary Principal will carry a complete 
report of the year’s record. Let’s see how far we can go beyond our 5,000 goal. 





REPORTS OF COMMITTEES 
Yearbook 


Samuel Berman, Chairman 
Principal, James Ludlow School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

The topic for the 1937 Yearbook, 4 ppraising the Elemen- 
tary-School Program, is a timely one. It meets an urgent 
demand thruout the nation to re-examine philosophies, cur- 
ricula, administrative and supervisory policies, and classroom 
technics applicable to the field of elementary education. It 
answers the challenge implied in the changing social and 
economic scene; it appraises with impartiality many current 
trends in elementary education, and reports its findings as to 
future developments. 

The task is no easy one. Unlike the appraiser of dia- 
monds, who has definite methods of examining and weighing 
such gems, exact scientific methods of school appraisal are still in the making for 
the school executive. The reason for this is clear; the diamond expert deals with 
inanimate objects ; the school expert deals with human beings ever-adjusting them 
selves to ever-changing conditions. Therefore, the elementary school needs con 
stant appraisal of its policies and activities so that the best practises may receive 
wide publication and thus be of practical help to the profession. 

Appraising the Elementary-School Program is inclusive but not encyclopedic in 
treatment. It balances theory with actual practise. A glance at the topics will in- 
dicate this: 

I. THE FUNDAMENTALS OF APPRAISAL 
II. APPAISING THE SCHOOL ORGANIZATION 
III. ApPpRAISING ADMINISTATIVE AND SUPERVISORY POLICIES AND PROCEDURES 
IV. EVALUATING THE CURRICULUM 
V. APPRAISING METHODS OF LEARNING AND TEACHING 
VI. EvALuATING SPECIAL Group ACTIVITIES 
VII. MEASURING RESULTS OF THE PUPIL-GUIDANCE PROGRAM 
VIII. EvALUATING THE EFFICIENCY OF TEACHING 
IX. JupGING THE QUALITY AND Use oF ScHOoL EQUIPMENT 
X. APPRAISING THE TECHNICS OF EVALUATION 
Because of the method used to secure contributions, there is appraisal from ever 


possible angle. An outline of the topic with an invitation to contribute an artick 
was mailed to 3925 paid-up members of the Department of Elementary Schoo! 
Principals; to 136 selected members of the American Educational Research As 
sociation ; to 224 superintendents of schools in cities 30,000 to 100,000 in popult 
tion asking them also to call the attention of their staff to the opportunity to cot 


SAMUEL BERMAN 








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tribute; to 55 deans of schools of education with a similar request; and finally to 
80 other educators who have made a contribution in the field of appraisal. It is 
inevitable from such a wide area of selection that the 1937 Yearbook should in- 
clude important articles from elementary-school principals, professors of educa- 
tion, research workers, guidance specialists, superintendents, and other educa- 
tional experts. 

In this connection it is important to note that while the Editorial Committee 
has set up certain fundamentals of appraisal, it has not hesitated to subject even 
these and other technics to the closest scrutiny. The result has been that specific 
school situations are emphasized in the light of these methods or technics. Thruout 
the 1937 Yearbook stress, therefore, has been laid on how to evaluate the elemen- 
tary-school program. 

It must be remembered too that the 1937 Yearbook, 4 ppraising the Elementary- 
School Program, is an outgrowth of the entire profession and not the work of 
individual members of the Editorial Committee ; in this sense the Yearbook should 
fill a need thruout the nation for specialized guidance in every elementary school. 

In conclusion, the Editorial Committee expresses its thanks to Richard R. 
Foster, assistant director of the Research Division, N.E.A., for his meticulous, 
editorial help and offers its appreciation to Eva G. Pinkston, executive secretary 
of our Department, for her able assistance and many courtesies. 





Visual Education 


Eugene H. Herrington, Chairman, 
Principal, Alcott School, Denver, Colorado 


(Epiror’s Nore: The Visual Education Committee did not hold its meeting on Monday 
and Tuesday as had been previously reported, because the room which had been assigned 
for this purpose, could not be darkened. Therefore, arrangements were made to have the 
program Wednesday afternoon in the Auditorium of the Tulane Medical School, Tulane 
University, 1430 Tulane Avenue, where the general sessions of the Department had been 
previously held.) 

The national and state conventions of other professions such as dentists, phy- 
sicians, and surgeons, have made wide use of the projected picture either still or 
moving to illustrate their lectures, thus making the issues clear before general dis- 
cussions. In some medical circles difficult operations have been photographed in 
color and shown for criticism and discussion. 

Our Visual Education Committee knew that many locally photographed pic- 
tures had been taken in cities developing this phase of education. We have writ- 
ten to more than a hundred cities to see what pictures have been made. The 
survey shows that about thirty cities have been active in making such films. In 
most cases the pictures have been made of school activities or special school func- 
tions of an educational nature which have been considered valuable to show parents 
inthe communities, thus they have served as public relations agents in the com- 
munity or city. 

Without consideration of the value of such pictures in the community, our com- 





PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 179 














mittee has concerned itself with the value of such pictures as a basis of under- 
standing and discussion of school procedures by other educators. Several such 
films were loaned to our committee and shown at the N.E.A. meeting in Portland 
and several more at the Department of Superintendence meeting in New Orleans, 


New Orleans Meeting—The New Orleans pictures were as follows: “Out 
Door Activities,” in a Colorado mountain school, was shown and discussed by 
Lloyd Shaw, superintendent of this small but progressive grade and high school 
near Colorado Springs. 


“A Third Grade Activity,” on recreation taken in the Alcott School, Denver, 
The picture taken in a platoon school showed the cooperation of teachers of all 
departments carrying on the activity centering in the social science class. A dis- 
cussion of correlation, and cooperation in a platoon organization followed. 


“How Philadelphia Educates Its Children,” was used as an example of a film 
made for all city distribution, especially among Parent-Teacher Associations. 


“Activities in Winnetka Schools,” showed children at work in different work 
centers in the Winnetka organization. 

“How I Make Real Biscuits,” by Barbara Jenkins, 5 years old, showed a cook- 
ing demonstration in a kindergarten class by this tiny cook. The recipe was given 
in titles and each step demonstrated, finishing in color with lovely brown biscuits 
being drawn from the oven. Such a film was described as useful in stimulating 
interest in home-making at all age levels. Incidentally, this film has resulted in 
making the child famous, featured by Ripley, also by the American Magazine, 
department of interesting people. 

Color film strips of a carnival parade suggested possibilities in using the minia- 
ture camera and projector for showing non-action work where color is especially 
important. 

I think we can agree that we can talk more understandingly about school or- 
ganization after an introduction by use of a good moving picture. 

Report of Survey—We wish to report the results of a survey conducted 
thruout the 97 cities having full-time Visual Education Directors. ‘There are 
thirty schools reporting locally made motion pictures of school life. Some of these 
cities have made as many as sixty films each, a total of nearly two hundred, based 
on 400 ft. lengths. Many of the films listed were described as of only local value 
and not available for use outside their own city. For films to be of greater value 
for our purpose, they should have a central theme and plan developing certain 
ideas to be brought out. Many of the local films are just random shots taken about 
the school which are of little value to other educators, however, we have been 
able to select several each year which are the type desired. We prefer to have 
someone connected with the making of the film explain it and conduct the dis- 
cussion. 

If there are other cities or schools having done work of this kind, the com: 
mittee would appreciate hearing from them. 





Make your plans to attend the Convention at Detroit, June 27-July |, 
1937. 





180 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY 








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Are Your Report Cards Satisfactory? 


Carl H. Kumpf, principal, Eggertsville Elementary School, Eggertsville, 
New York, and Cecile La Follette Kumpf, associate in education, 
New College, Teachers College, Columbia University, 

New York City 


Despite the strides made in setting up 
goals and objectives conforming to a more 
enlightened theory of education, we bog 
down completely when reporting the 
school work of our pupils to their parents 
or guardians. Those cases where the 
home report begins to direct attention to 
the aims of modern education tend to be 
the exception rather than the rule. aS 

Carl H. Kumpf Perhaps one of the most potent rea- Cecile La Follette Kumpf 

sons for this wide discrepancy between 
our professed ideals in the form of educational outcomes is the fact that there is a 
serious question as to how to bring about the fusion of the teaching on the one 
hand, and acquainting the home with the type of work done on the other. It is 
true that many obstacles must be met and overcome before report cards can be 
used that tell the story they should ; chief among these, perhaps, is the inert attitude 
of the parents themselves. 

This article is to tell the method used by our school in showing what the pupils 
were learning and the impressions given at home of their in-school activities. The 
approach used was so simple and direct that any school system could use these same 
principles of attack with a high degree of success. 

We were nearing the end of our supply of home report cards and this condition 
turned our attention to the need for reprinting. ‘The question, asked in faculty 
meeting, as to how well the present reports met our purposes, called forth a variety 
of criticisms, suggestions, objections and proposals for improvement. (It may be 
interposed here that our former reports were of the traditional type on which 
could be recorded a mark in the various subjects and in effort and deportment. ) 

A year was spent in research by all members of the faculty as to how to improve 
our home reports. Much time was necessarily spent in defining our objectives 
of teaching that we might have a clear picture of the pupils outcomes upon which 
we wished to report progress. 

A simple test to determine the appropriateness of our report cards was to analyze 
our cards on the basis of the six cardinal objectives as set up by the Committee of 
Elementary Education of the New York State Council of Superintendents.’ 
Many report cardsNow in use in various parts of the country were obtained. These 
were compared and checked against the objectives we had set up. This procedure 
made us increasingly conscious of desirable and undesirable features in reports. In 
turn such issues were decided as: Shall we have a single report for all seven grades? 








™! 


1Cardinal Objectives in Elementary Education, Committee on Elementary Education of the New York 
State Council of Superintendents, Albany, N. Y., September, 1928. 





PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 181 











How many, and which grades, shall be grouped for each card? How many time, 
year shall the report be issued for each grade? Upon what phase or phases of school 
life shall emphasis be laid? Which items of the traditional report should be givey 
less conspicuous place? The answers to these problems and many more helped 
to arrive at a general outline of our projected cards. 

It was now possible to form committees for research, on smaller segments of 
this broad outline. By being a member of each committee the principal was abl 
to coordinate the work of the various sections. As a committee arrived at tentative 
conclusions its results were brought before the entire staff for criticism and evalys. 
tion. When all committees had made a report and had effected appropriate revision; 
a dummy report card was compiled. This report card was first criticized in general 
then in its particulars, and lastly revised. 

Most of the staff members now graded several pupils, using this revamped 
report card. The results of their experimental use of the new cards were now 
discussed and on the bases of their findings further alterations were made. This 
done, we now felt we had a report card we should like to use for a period of time 
until the necessity for further revision became apparent. But how to make the com. 
munity feel this same need as we did for a change in the reporting system ; was our 
problem. The character of the new form of card made it imperative that the parents 
in the community appreciated and accept the attempt which the school was making 

We contacted our P.T.A. president and as a result the last meeting of the yea 
was given over to the school principal for the purpose of a panel discussion about 
report cards. Some sixteen parents, representing the community in point of resi 
dence, economic status, occupation, and social position participated in the discussion. 
Among the panel members were a bond salesman and his wife, a contractor, a milk 
distributor, the wife of a retail merchant, a college professor and his wife, a 
mechanic and his wife, a furniture salesman and his wife, an elementary school 
principal of the nearby city, a member of the Board of Education, a teacher of our 
staff, and the principal acting as chairman. This enumeration is inserted merely 
demonstrate that no attempt at selectivity was made in drawing up the panel. 

A list of five problems was sent to each member of the panel together with: 
description of the conduct of a panel discussion and instructions regarding his fune 
tion in it. This was soon followed by a bulletin of references pertinent to the newer 
trends in home reports. A library was set up in the school containing many of the 
references listed in the bulletin, specifically for the use of the panel members. On 
the night of the panel discussion copies of the problems to be discussed were di- 
tributed to all non-members of the panel. All received a copy of the tentative 
outline of the report card which was to serve as a concrete basis for criticism. This 
avoided having comments remain too much in a general vein. 

The panel members discussed tor some 45 minutes both positively and negatively 
the report card previously supplied to all. The discussion was then thrown ope 
for the participation of all those present. 

The general tone of the meeting was favorable, though some questions or prt 
tests were registered. Just one example will suffice to indicate the character 0 
the recommendations which some of the parents found difficulty in understant- 





182 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTAR) } 








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ing and assimilating. The marking system S for satisfactory U for unsatisfactory, 
[ for improving, and H for honor was advocated. This apparently, was too much 
of a change for some of our parents who were accustomed to the percentage mark- 
ings. As a result of the discussion we used for the upper grade cards, the marking 
system A for excellent, B for good, C for average, D for poor, and E for failure. 
This system seemed satisfactory and understandable to the parents and still was a 
step forward. 

On the basis of the panel discussion and subsequent consideration the report 
cards were again revised; then printed. Only enough cards were printed to last 
for two years so that further changes could be made before another printing, if 
the community desired. Whether or not the community will be ready depends 
upon the efforts of the school to educate our patrons for the better things. 

A brief list of the characteristics of our report cards will serve to indicate what 
we have tried to do. We have two cards: one for primary grades, and the other for 
intermediate grades. Primary cards are issued, in the kindergarten and grades one 
and two—every ten weeks, while for the third grade they are issued six times a 
year. Intermediate cards for grades 4, 5 and 6, are issued eight times a year. In 
all grades the work is carried thru on the basis of a yearly unit. 


The first half of both cards is devoted to character objectives, and the other half 
to scholarship. On the primary card each character objective and scholarship 
objective is analyzed by several sentences, written positively. Each sentence is 
marked rather than the characteristic or subject itself, with S, U, I, or H. In this 
way we call attention to the parts of each character objective and each subject 
which should be noticed by pupil and parent. Thus the cards help to point out 
specific rather than general strengths and weaknesses. The marking system chosen 
is to avoid comparisons between pupils and to emphasize individual progress rather 
than the attainment of a certain standard. On the scholarship side of the card 
the pupil is marked on his actual accomplishment of the subject matter. This 
grading is determined on as objective a basis as possible. The attitude, attention, 
deportment, etc., displayed in any of these subjects is marked only on the character 
side of the card. This makes it possible for the brilliant youngster, whose disci- 
plinary inhibitions are not too well developed, to find a proper place on the roll 
of honor for scholastic accomplishment. At the same time the youngster who does 
his best to serve his school but who lacks the ability to lead his class in subject 
matter work is given justified recognition on the citizenship honor roll. Out- 
standing pupils in both these phases, of course, have the possibility of a place on 
both rolls. 

Under the word “Remarks” a blank space is left in which the teacher or parent 
may write comments concerning the child. When this space is filled, additional 
information is written on a separate card and clipped to the report card. As we 
continue to improve our cards more space will be left for this purpose. 


The intermediate card groups the character objectives under eight heads: four 
of them social and four referring to work habits. Each of these eight heads is ex- 
plained in some detail by means of synonomous or contributory words and phrases. 
The character objectives are grouped to keep the list which is to be marked, small 





PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 183 











enough to allow good thought on them during each marking period. The sub. 
jects are grouped under large headings rather than listing each subject individually, 
Under each subject is a word or phrase to help analyze the parts of which tha 
subject head is made up. Each of these parts is marked rather than the subject 
head itself. For instance; under the subject head “English” we have grammar, 
literature, composition, speech, dramatics, spelling, and writing. A mark is given 
for each of these items. Many of our parents felt that we spoiled our cards by 
clinging to such old-fashioned terms as grammar, composition, etc. However, 
there were many other parents who were having difficulty digesting the other 
changes we had advocated so an attempt was made to compromise the two ex. 
treme viewpoints. 

On the primary cards, a space is also provided for remarks. Thru a later ip. 
vestigation and tabulation of these remarks we hope to have a cross section of the 
desirable alterations still to be made. 

In conclusion, it may be well to state that we do not regard our report cards 
as finished products. We do feel we have made considerable progress in the right 
direction. We have printed only 100 of each kind of card so re-printing will be 
needed in about two years. This will provide opportunity for correcting defects 
and for making further improvement. 

What was done in our community can be .done in hundreds of others with no 
greater effort. The essentials are a desire on the part of the school officials for the 
proposed improvement, a staff willing to undertake a rather thoro research on the 
problem and a willingness by the administrative officers to take the community 
into its confidence and to regard its members as tho they were able to reac 
rationally to a situation requiring some intelligence. 


(Eprror’s Note: A sample of the above mentioned report cards may be obtained from 
the authors of this article.) 





A Principal Honored 


Jennie H. Wahlert, principal, Jackson School, &t. 
Louis, Missouri, and a member of the Department o 
Elementary School Principals has been elected pres: 
dent of the Association of Childhood Education. This 
honor came to her at the Convention at San Antonio, 
Texas. Miss Wahlert is a nationally known expert in 
dealing with the problems of children in primary grade. 
Those of us who have had the pleasure of visiting th 
Jackson School know that this principal sees that home, 
school, and community cooperation is truly practice! 
there and is not a matter of theory. The St. Louis Ay 
sociation of Childhood Education honored Miss Wal: 
lert by giving her a life membership in the nation 
organization. We are delighted to know that one «i 





JENNIE WAHLERT 


our principals has been selected to lead this outstanding group. We pledge th} 


help of this department at any and all times. 


———_ 


184 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTAR) 





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SECRETARY’S REPORT 
New Orleans, Louisiana 
February 20-25, 1937 


The Department of Elementary School Principals held two general sessions in the audi- 
torium of the Medical School, Tulane University, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, 
Louisiana, on February 20 and 23 respectively. The musical program given by the Chil- 
dren’s Band, Crossman School, was exceptionally well executed by a group of adorable 
kindergarten children in blue and yellow costumes. They had been trained under the 
expert leadership of May Cabiro. Miriam Cohen is principal of the school. On Tuesday 
afternoon those present were given another musical treat by a group of children, from 
McDonogh School No. 16, who in costume sang several French folk songs. Anna F. 
Kennedy is principal of the school. 

The different groups of children who participated in the several numbers on Tuesday 
afternoon demonstrated that they had been splendidly trained by their teachers in the 
art of thinking. —The name of each particular group, the name of the teacher and the 
principal of the school taking part are listed below in the program. 

The programs of these general meetings were so worthwhile that even standing room 
was at a premium. The topics and speakers for the meetings were as follows: 

First Session—Monday, February 22, 2:00 p.m., Auditorium of Medical School, Tulane 
University, 1430 Tulane Avenue. 

Building For A Better Citizenry Thru Recreational Activities 
Edythe J. Brown, President of the Department, presiding 
Music 

Children’s Band, Crossman School, May Cabiro, teacher 
GREETINGS 

Amy H. Hinrichs, D.E.S.P. Enrolment Chairman 
REPORT OF THE 1937 YEARBOOK COMMITTEE 

Samuel Berman, James Ludlow School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 
READING For LEIsurE IN THE NEW AGE 

Dr. William S. Gray, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 
REMEDIAL READING For A BETTER CITIZENRY 

Dr. Margaret White, supervisor of English, Cleveland, Ohio 
SANE VIEWS OF SPORTS AND THEIR USES IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Dr. Thurman B. Rice, University of Indiana, Indianapolis, Indiana 

Second Session—Tuesday, February 23, 2:00 p.m., Auditorium of Medical School, 
Tulane University, 1430 Tulane Avenue. 

Josephine E. Hildebrandt, principal, Robert M. Luther School, New Orleans, 
Louisiana, and president, New Orleans Principals’ Association, presiding 
FRENCH FoLK Soncs AND DANCES 
Pupils of McDonogh School No. 16, New Orleans, Louisiana. Anna F. Kennedy, prin- 
cipal 
Tue CurRicuLUM STuDyY PROGRAM IN LOUISIANA 
Dr. Murphy P. Rogers, director of curriculum, State Department of Education, Baton 
Rouge, Louisiana. 
Tue CHocraw INDIANS OF LOUISANA 
A pupil demonstration by the third grade, Audubon School, New Orleans, Louisiana. 
Naomi Gardberg, teacher; Amy H. Hinrichs, principal. 
EXPERIENCING A PROGRESSIVE PROGRAM IN Our TRAINING SCHOOL 
Dr. A. E. Phillips, director of elementary training school, Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, 
Ruston, Louisiana. 
Humor 1n READING 
A pupil demonstration by grades 5-7, McDonogh School No. 7, New Orleans, Louisiana. 
Margaret E. Powell teacher; Augusta P. Littlejohn, principal. 
PicTuREs oF VARIOUS ACTIVITIES IN THE HAHNVILLE SCHOOL, A RURAL SCHOOL 








PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 

















E. J. Landry, principal, Hahnville School, Hahnville, Louisiana. 

Program was followed by reception tendered all visiting elementary-school principals 
and other guests by the New Orleans Principals Association. Music was furnished during 
this reception by a New Orleans high school orchestra. 


Breakfast, Banquet and Reception 


The Department breakfast on Monday morning, February 22, La Louisiane, 725 Iber. 
ville Street, down in the old French quarter, was a most enjoyable affair. The unique sur- 
roundings, the creole breakfast and program planned were thoroly enjoyed by the 
200 present. President Edythe J. Brown asked Amy H. Hinrichs, chairman of local affairs 
for the Department of Elementary School Principals to make an announcement about the 
banquet; invited our honor guest Dr. J. B. Edmonson, dean, School of Education, Univer. 
sity of Michigan to tell of the arrangements he had made for us this summer at our 
Conference on Elementary Education which will be July 5-16, Ann Arbor, Michigan; 
and gave to the group a brief summary of the weeks activities, inviting all present to 
come share in the fun at our social gatherings and learn from those who were to bring 
us messages on our programs. 

The banquet on Monday evening 6:00 o’clock St. Charles Hotel at which Mrs. E. M. 
Gilmer (Dorothy Dix) was the guest speaker, will forever live in the minds of the $1! 
present, as one of the most delightful affairs of the convention. The group singing was 
led by Mary M. Conway, director, division of music, New Orleans public schools, with 
Cornelia Cooke, teacher of music, Audubon School as accompanist. Beautiful harp selec- 
tions were given by Viola and Elizabeth Turnbow, pupils of Lucienne Lavendon. The 
invocation was pronounced by Dunbar H. Ogden, pastor, Napoleon Avenue Presbyterian 
Church, New Orleans. After a delightful and delicious southern dinner, President Edythe J. 
Brown presented the distinguished friends of the Department seated at the head table. 
Josephine E. Hildebrandt, president, New Orleans Principals’ Association and principal, 
Robert M. Luther School, gave a word of greeting and presented beautifully framed and 
original Audubon pictures to Joseph M. Gwinn, former superintendent of New Orleans 
Schools, Mrs. Nicholas Bauer, who received it for Superintendent Bauer, New Orleans, 
President Edythe J. Brown, and Eva G. Pinkston, executive secretary, Department of 
Elementary School Principals. All were particularly honored by the presence of Mrs. 
E. M. Gilmer (Dorothy Dix) an internationally known personality who gave the address 
of the evening on “The Experiences of a Woman Columnist.” She told us about the heart 
throbs in letters which she receives daily, how people pour out the longings of their souls, 
about the obstacles blocking their happiness, and the advice she gave. 

The story of the banquet would not be complete without mentioning the perfectly beau- 
tiful programs, which were so artistically done that they are suitable for framing. The 
paper magnolias were so exquisitely made that at first glance many thought they were 
real. These beautiful decorations with suitable accessories gave to the banquet hall 
that look which could only be produced in the sunny Southland. 

After the general meeting on Tuesday afternoon, the New Orleans Principals’ Club 
gave a reception to all visiting principals and their friends, in the dining room of Tulane 
University Medical School. Punch and cakes were served and it was here that the group 
mingled and enjoyed another festive occasion. If the size of the crowd expressed to the 
New Orleans Principals their appreciation for this lovely entertainment, then they know 
that it was enjoyed by all. 


Executive Meeting, Sunday Morning, February 21, 1937 


The meeting was called to order by President Edythe J. Brown in Dining Room, No. |, $t. 
Charles Hotel, New Orleans, Louisiana. Those present were: Edythe J. Brown, president; 
Maude A. Rhodes, second vicepresident; Clifford E. Perry, fourth vicepresident; Isabel 
Tucker, fifth vicepresident, Ira M. Kline, member, Executive Committee; Cassie F. 
Roys, director, Certification Division; Herbert C. Hansen, director, Life Membership 
Division; M. Emma Brookes, director, Retirement Division; Aaron Kline, past president; 
Maude McBroom, L. M. Fertsch, and Cecelia Galvin, members, Editorial Committee; 





186 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY 





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Richard Foster, assistant director, Research Division, National Education Association; 
Amy H. Hinrichs and Josephine E. Hildebrandt, hospitality chairmen, New Orleans meet- 
ing; and Eva G. Pinkston, executive secretary. 

President Brown expressed regret that all members of the official family were not able 
to be present, and asked the secretary to read the messages received from the absent 
members. Telegrams had come from Harley W. Lyon, first vicepresident; Irvin Wilson, 
third vicepresident; and Mason A. Stratton, member, Executive Committee. A letter had 
been received from Mrs. Edith B. Joynes, member, Executive Committee. A motion was 
made by Miss Brookes, seconded by Miss Roys, that the secretary be instructed to write 
to those absent expressing regret at their inability to be at the meeting. Motion carried. 

A motion was made by Miss Rhodes and seconded by Mr. Perry that the reading of the 
minutes of the Portland meeting be omitted because they were approved by all before 
they were published in the October issue of The National Elementary Principal. Motion 
carried. 

President Brown asked Misses Hinrichs and Hildebrandt to outline in general the 
plans they had made for the meetings in New Orleans. They gave a splendid report. Miss 
Brown requested them to get in touch with her or Miss Pinkston if there were any ways 
in which the Department could help. 

President Brown asked Dr. Foster, to report the plans and progress made by the Edi- 
torial Committee, since Dr. Berman, chairman of the committee, had been called back to 
Philadelphia. Dr. Foster reported that the Editorial Committee had completed a three-day 
meeting just prior to the convention at which it had finished planning the New Yearbook 
Appraising the Elementary School Program. Dr. Foster stressed the need of the appraisal 
of the policies and activities of the elementary school in its relation to the growth of chil- 
dren. The major contribution of this yearbook will be the description of methods of 
technics of appraisal as used in specific school situations and the main emphasis is on 
how to evaluate the school program. Dr. Foster gave the names of the chapter topics and 
discussed each. He thinks that this yearbook will encourage those who are working in 
(and for the betterment of) elementary education to be more critical of their own work 
as well as give them an opportunity to use methods described therein. 

A motion was made by Mr. I. Kline and seconded by Miss Tucker thanking Dr. Foster 
for the splendid report and thanking the Editorial Committee for the great amount of 
work which it has done in getting this splendid book ready. Motion carried. 

A motion was made by Mr. Perry seconded by Mr. Hansen that the secretary write Dr. 
Berman, chairman of the Editorial Committee for this yearbook, and express appreciation 
tohim for meeting with the committee just before convention and regret that he could not 
stay for the meetings. Motion carried. 

Miss Brown asked Dr. Foster to tell the group the tentative plans for the future year- 
books, since Dr. Berman, the retiring member of the Editorial Committee, has recommended 
that a meeting of the committee take place in Washington in the spring. Dr. Foster re- 
ported that Reading in the Elementary School had been chosen as the topic for the 1938 
yearbook. A lively discussion took place, since this is one of the most vital subjects taught 
in the elementary school. The 1939 yearbook is to be entitled Vitalizing the Elementary 
School Curriculum. Mr. I. Kline expressed the belief that it may be a good thing to 
select yearbook topics even further in advance than just two years. A motion was made 
by Miss Tucker, seconded by Miss Rhodes, that if the funds of the Department were 
adequate to include this extra expense, then the Editorial Committee meet about May 15 
in Washington. Motion carried. 

The secretary reported that Dr. Ralph D. Owen of Temple University had kindly 
allowed one of his students, Robert C. Alexander, to compile an annotated bibliography 
of the Department's first fourteen (14) yearbooks as a partial requirement for his master’s 
degree. Mr. Alexander has done such a splendid piece of work that the secretary ex- 
pressed the wish that each member of the Department have a copy. The problem was 
discussed as whether it should be printed and placed as an additional signature in the 
1937 yearbook, should be printed as a separate bulletin, or just mimeographed and sent at 
request. A motion was made by Mr. Hansen, seconded by Miss Roys that if the funds 
were available, this valuable study be printed as a separate bulletin and sent to all members 





PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 187 



























early in the fall. It was suggested that a bibliography be made of the 15th and 1g 
Yearbooks, and be added to the material at hand. Motion carried. 

A motion was made by Miss Roys and seconded by Miss Brookes that the meeting 
recessed until Monday, February 22, 9 a.m. 

























































Executive Meeting, Monday Morning, February 22, 1937 


The second meeting of the Executive Committee met in Dining Room No. 1, St. Charly 
Hotel, New Orleans, Louisiana at 9 a.m., February 22, 1937. Those present were: Edythe J 
Brown, president; Maude A. Rhodes, second vicepresident; Clifford E. Perry, four} 
vicepresident; Isabel Tucker, fifth vicepresident; Earl R. Laing and Ira M. Kline, mem. 
bers, Executive Committee; Cassie F. Roys, director, Certification Division; Herbert ¢ 
Hansen, director, Life Membership Division; and Eva G. Pinkston, executive secretary, 

President Brown asked that the reading of the minutes of the Sunday meeting be omitted 
and that the report of the secretary be discussed. This report contained a summary of 
the trends in education as seen from headquarters; a list of the activities of the office~ 
routine and special; a three-year comparative financial statement; a list of the securitig 
of the permanent fund, membership figures of February 1, 1937; and problems confront. 
ing the Department. 

The secretary's report included figures which show that there were 3454 members op 
February 1, 1936, and 4408 members on February 1, 1937. The membership on Februan 
19, 1937 was 4566 plus 147 life members. 

After discussing the problem as to whether the Department should publish bulletins 
such subjects as guidance, health, etc., it was decided that headquarters should collec 
material on such subjects as are requested and loan these as needed. 

The secretary reported that the supply of life membership keys is low, and if more ar 
purchased before June, they can be bought at the present price. A motion was made }y 
Mr. Kline, seconded by Miss Rhodes to buy for anticipated needs the life membership 
keys now. Motion carried. 

A motion was made by Miss Roys, seconded by Mr. Perry to accept the secretary’s report 
as discussed. Motion carried. 

President Brown asked Mr. Laing to outline for the group the tentative plans for the 
Detroit meeting. Mr. Laing’s report made all realize that we would have another splendid 
meeting this summer. The Detroit group is planning many unique features for our en 
tertainment. The secretary was instructed to carry full details in the April and June 
issues of The National Elementary Principal. 

A report was brought to the group about the terrible car accident in which four prin- 
cipals of Birmingham, Alabama were hurt and one fatally injured. The five men, were 
enroute to the convention, when the accident occurred. A motion was made by Miss 
Rhodes, seconded by Miss Roys that the secretary be instructed to send a letter of sympathy 
to the principals who were hurt and to Dr. C. B. Glenn, superintendent of schools, 
Birmingham, Alabama. Motion carried. 

President Brown asked if all arrangements for the Conference on Elementary Educz 
tion which is being sponsored by the Department of Elementary Schoo! Principals had 
been completed. ‘This conference, July 5-16, is to be held immediately following the 
N.E.A. convention at Detroit at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. The 
secretary gave to each person present leaflets which had been prepared, and said all 
arrangements had been completed by the committee and Dean J. B. Edmonson. A motion 
was made by Mr. Perry’ seconded by Miss Tucker, that the secretary be instructed to 
write to each of the committee and to Dean Edmonson thanking them for making such: 
splendid set-up for the conference. Motion carried. 

A motion was made by Miss Tucker, seconded by Mr. Perry that Mr. Laing be ap- 
pointed to represent the Department of Elementary School Principals in affairs concert 
ing the World Federation of Education Associations. Motion carried. 

A motion was made by Mr. Hansen, seconded by Mr. Kline that letters be sent to Amj 
Hinrichs and Josephine Hildebrandt, hospitality chairmen for the delightful entertait- 
ment and personal service they and their committees rendered during our stay in their city; 
for the delicious Southern breakfast served on Monday morning down in the old French 


THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY 





188 








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quarter ; for the splendid program they arranged for Tuesday afternoon; and for the 
lovely reception following the program. Motion carried. 

A motion was made by Miss Tucker, seconded by Mr. Laing that letters be sent to those 
who participated in making the Monday and Tuesday programs the success that they 
were: to Mrs. Gilmer for bringing such a lovely message to us at our banquet; to Mr. 
Hudson, assistant manager, St. Charles Hotel for the many courtesies which he and his 
staff extended; and to all others who helped us further the cause of the Department. 


Eva G. PINKSTON 
Executive Secretary. 





News Received at Headquarters 


* Twenty-five school principals met in Co- 
lumbia, Missouri, March 6, to effect the 
permanent organization of the Central Mis- 
souri Elementary-School Principals’ Asso- 
ciation. F. H. Gorman, principal, elemen- 
tary school, University of Missouri, was 
elected president. We wish to thank Sudie 
B. Long, principal, Grade School, Fayette, 
for sending this glad news to Headquarters. 


* The South Highland Star, South High- 
land School, Birmingham, Alabama, won 
first honor in the contest conducted by the 
Columbia Scholastic Press Association of 
New York. This school newspaper was 
chosen from among elementary school papers 
from all over the United States. Fanny 
Elaine Levy, literature teacher at South 
Highland School, is faculty adviser for the 
paper. R. C. Johnston, state enrolment 
chairman for the D.E.S.P. is principal of 
this school and it is to him that we are in- 
debted for this fine news. 


* The 1936 Yearbook of the Michigan De- 
partment of Elementary Principals, which 
was available for distribution early in Jan- 
uary, has for its theme, “Expressing Edu- 
cational Philosophy Thru Organization.” 
It deals with distinctive current types of 
elementary-school organization, including 
such topics as: “The platoon,” “One teacher 
per grade,” “Consolidated” and “Rural 
School.” 

This yearbook deals with the philosophy 
of education as expressed in the organiza- 
tion of the elementary school as it is now 
being effectively and practically adminis- 
tered in the public schools of Michigan. 

Dr. Henry Otto, Battle Creek, Michigan, 
is acting as adviser to the editorial com- 


mittee, the members of which are: Dorothy 
Blater, Grand Rapids; Eula Avery, Ann 
Arbor; H. A. Tape, Ypsilanti; and Mar- 
guerite C. Kruy, Detroit, chairman. 


* On the bulletin board of the D.E.S.P. of- 
fices at Headquarters we have the honor of 
placing the pictures of Carol Jean and 
“Jackie” Ann Karnes, daughters of Com- 
missioner of Education and Mrs. Anthony 
S. Karnes, Juneau, Alaska, and Betty Jean 
Jinske, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. W. 
Jinske, Hot Springs, Arkansas. 

The December 1936, issue of The Na- 
tional Elementary Principal carried an arti- 
cle by Mr. Jinske, principal, Charles N. 
Rix School, Hot Springs, Arkansas. Mr. 
Karnes is enrolment chairman in Alaska 
for the D.E.S.P. 


* On February 6, C. A. Howard, super- 
intendent of the Oregon state department of 
education, opened a conference of elemen- 
tary school principals from eight counties. 
This conference, which was held in Hills- 
boro, was the inauguration in Oregon of 
regional conferences. It was attended by 
125 elementary principals representing the 
following counties: Washington, Yamhill, 
Columbia, Clatsop, Tillamook, Hood River, 
Clackamas and Multnomah. 

This conference was felt by the group to 
be very worth while, and has a possibility 
for further development and solidarity of 
this professional group. 

W. H. Arstill of Forest Grove was elected 
regional chairman; Davis H. Schindler, 
Concord School, Milwaukie, vice-chairman; 
and W. B. Schnebley, St. Helens, secretary. 

This information was sent to Headquar- 
ters by the secretary, W. B. Schnebley. 





Please read and answer “An Important Notice” on page 169 


ee 





PRINCIPAL, APRIL, 1937 


189 











Our Book Shelf 


As a result of sound psychological re- 
search in which over a million and a half 
pupils and forty thousand teachers of Eng- 
lish took part, a series of demonstration 
editions in English for the elementary 
grades is being made available. This series, 
English and Everyday Life is planned to 
give the pupil adequate training in organiz- 
ing his thoughts and expressing them clear- 
ly. The child’s own experiences at home 
and at school, his games, his tasks, and his 
travels are utilized as subject matter for 
oral and written expression. The assign- 
ments are related to his own life, in order 
to furnish subjects concerning which he can 
speak and write naturally. 

The author of this series, Dr. L. J. 
O’Rourke, combines a background of ex- 
perience as a teacher of English with thoro 
training as a psychologist and a wealth of 
experience in test construction and teaching 
methods. 

For further information concerning these 
books, write to The Psychological Insti- 
tute, 3506 Patterson Street, N. W., Wash- 
ington, D. C. 

x k * 

The Society for Curriculum Study has 
just published a beautifully bound edition 
ot all nine studies of the Volume I series 
of the Building America illustrated studies 
on modern problems. These studies picture 
dramatically the splendid achievements of 
our people; our present-day social, economic 
and cultural conditions; the rich human 
technical and material resources of our na- 
tion; and the plans of experts suggesting 
how we might build a finer civilization. 
The reader is challenged with visions of 
tasks for youth to do and the possibility of 
doing many things better than he has done 
previously. 

Volume II of this series began publica- 
tion in October and individual units on Our 
Constitution, Safety, Clothing and Social 
Security have already been published. 

Building America can be secured from 
425 West 123rd Street, New York City. 

x k * 

The Beginning Superintendent, by Bolton, 
Cole, and Jessup, contains material which 
will assist the superintendent who is be- 
ginning his career in successfully meeting 
the manifold concrete problems he is certain 
to face. 


The writers have in mind not only types 
of situations which they encountered ip 
their own initial administrative service byt 
they have endeavored thru observation and 
study of current conditions to realize the 
difficulties of hundred of young superintend- 
ents out in the field. 

It is hoped that the volume will be found 
useful by superintendents and principals ip 
service and also by classes in school ad- 
ministration in universities and teachers 
colleges. 

This book has been published by the 
Macmillan Company, 60 Fifth Avenue, New 


York City. 
x * 


Have you seen the new editions of Mod. 
ern-School Arithmetic, by John R. Clark, 
Arthur S. Otis, and Caroline Hattan, World 
Book Company, Yonkers-on-Hudson, New 
York? It is worthy of careful consideration 
by anyone in sympathy with modern efforts 
to improve the teaching of arithmetic. Of 
particular interest is the method by which 
the pupil is trained to solve the problems 
he meets at home, at school, and at play. 
One is impressed with the way in which the 
pupil is brought to understand the meanings 
of concepts and principles by material con- 
sistently related to child interest and ex- 


periences. These books appear easy to teach, 


in fact almost self-teaching. The reading 

difficulty is at a minimum; as easy or easier 

than the average reader for a similar grade. 
* 

Youth Serves The Community by Dr. 
Paul R. Hanna, associate professor of 
Education, Stanford University, Stanford 
University, California, presents in an orig 
inal manner a highly suggestive survey of 
sooperative community activities which have 
had for their purpose the betterment of the 
general welfare and in which children and 
youth have been participants. This book is 
recommended for those leaders and teach- 
rs and school executives who believe strong: 
ly that school tasks should be closely re- 
lated to life experiences and who are seek- 
ing technics for coordinating the work of 
the school with the life of the community. 

This volume is a publication of the Pro- 
gressive Education Association and a copy 
can be secured from the D. Appleton-Cen- 
tury Company, 35 West 32nd Street, New 
York City. 





190 


THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY 





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Appraising 
the 


Elementary-School Program 





























Sixteenth Yearbook 
Vol. XVI No. 6 


A pprox. 454 pages 


The Elementary School needs constant appraisal of its policies 
and activities in its relation to the growth of children. 
Every conscientious educator in elementary work feels this 
need, and evaluates his work in various ways. It may be true 
that the standards which he uses do not have perfect validity, 
but the essential things are an attitude of critical appraisal 
toward all school activities, and a sincere effort to make ap- 
praisals accurately and impartially. 
The Editorial Committee has prepared this yearbook with the 
thought that the results of appraisal are important but the 
main emphasis should be on how to evaluate the school pro- 
gram. 
Such subjects as those listed below have been treated. 
“The Fundamentals of School Appraisal.” 
“Appraising the School Organization.” 
“Evaluating the Curriculum.” 
“Appraising Methods of Learning and Teaching.” 
“Measuring Results of the Pupil-Guidance Program.” 
“Judging the Quality and Use of School Equipment.” 


Ready for Distribution—September 1 


MEMBERSHIP 


Send in your dues early in the fall so that you may have this 
yearbook available for yourself and your teachers at the be- 
ginning of the term. Read it! Make it available to your 
faculty. The benefits received will keep your school abreast 
of the times. 

Additional copies for teacher study groups, teacher training 
classes, etc., may be purchased at a discount. 





DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 


1201 Sixteenth Street 
Washington, D. C. 




















“Education, beyond all other devices of 
human origin, is the great equalizer of 
the conditions of men,—the balance-wheel 


of the social machinery. ... It gives each 


man the independence and the means by 


which he can resist the selfishness of other 
men. It does better than to disarm the 
poor of their hostility towards the rich; 


it prevents being poor.” 
—Horace MANN.