TT ' The NATIONAL ELEMENTARY RINCIPAL BULLETIN OF THE;};DEPARTMENTIOF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION PAN-AMERICAN GARDENS IN THE FALL October, 1938 Vol. XVIII, No. 1 oe ne ml EO “ mid bios ee eee eee tees 3 te aed ‘ be br THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS Published in October, December, Fehon, April, June, and July by the Department of Elementary School Principals of the National Education Association of the United States. All elementary principals—administrative, supervisory, and teaching—are eligible to active membership in this department. The payment of $3 dues entitles active members to attend all meetings 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 are actively engaged in any phase of school work by paying the regular membership fee of $3. They are entitled to all privileges except the right to vote and hold office. Subscription to non-members is $3 per year; single copies of the Yearbook, $2; single copies of the Bulletin, 25 cents (except the Official Reports, 50 cents). Entered as second-class matter November 20, 1922, at the postoffice at Washington, D. C., under Act of August 24, 1912. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized December 18, 1922. Executive and Editorial Offices, 1201 Sixteenth Street, Northwest, Washington, D. C., Eva G. Pinkston, Editor. OFFICERS OF THE DEPARTMENT, 1938-39 President, Maude A. Rhodes, 185 Westminster Executive Committee oe & B. Ateate, Ge. Mrs. Edith B. Joynes, Washington-Gate- First Vicepresident, Mason A. Stratton, wood Schools, Norfolk, Va. Brighton Avenue School, Atlantic City, Ira M. Kline, 177 Gibson Avenue, White me. Je Plains, N. Y. Irvi . Wilson, 43 : Avenue, Second Vicepresident, Elizabeth R. Malcolm, “le = Bion 437 S. Stone Avenuc Truman Street School, New Haven, Conn. Isabel Tucker, Festus Wade School, St. Third Vicepresident, Arnold Gregory, Raupp Louis, Mo. SE SUR, SER. Certification Division, Cassie F. Roys, Di- Fourth Vicepresident, Harry H. Haw, Alex- rector, 2609 Bristol St., Omaha, Nebr. ander Hamilton School, San Diego, Calif. Life Membership Division, Herbert C. Han- Fifth Vicepresident, Jane E. Monahan, Pub- sen, Director, 1045 N. Lockwood Ave., lic School No. 92, New York, N. Y. Chicago, Il. Executive Secretary, Eva G. Pinkston, 1201 Retirement Division, M. Emma _ Brookes, Sixteenth St., N. W., Washington, D. C. Director, Windsor, Ashtabula Co., Ohio. See space below for Committees as they are appointed thruout the year Yearbook Committee for 1938-39 ENRICHING THE CURRICULUM FOR THE ELEMENTARY-SCHOOL CHILD L. M. Fertsch, Chairman Cecelia Galvin 606 Highland Avenue 836 N. Rural Street Austin, Texas Indianapolis, Ind. Jess S. Hudson 2823 E. Fifth Street Tulsa, Okla. The contents of this Bulletin are listed in the Education Index. The picture spoceting on the cover is a view of the Pan-American Gardens as they appear in the fall in the Nation’s Capital. 2 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY Ve me Pri con Ne Th Th Tez Sor Wh Re Thi Ho Sec Pat Wh Sec Fin Yo Ld te Ae lic The National Elementary Principal Volume XVIII, No. 1 October, 1938 A Report of the Convention This issue of the bulletin contains a report of the meetings of the Department of Elementary School Principals, which were held in connection with the convention of the National Education Association, at New York, N. Y., June 25-30, 1938. Contents Frontispiece ......... - Teaching in the Tindale School: A Real Job— Rhodes . The Elementary Principals: A Real Job—Ser son ' 7 The Fiiacoel—Shew ae ¥ Teacher Participation Thru the Patent: T eres he sociation—Pettengill - 10 Some Important Factors in ecuenidiie Senha: ment—Red/ ....... 16 When Builders Have A V ar . 22 Reports of Committees... ve . 24 A Cordial Reception Awaits You! . .. The Importance of Cumulative Re-Goew. 28 How To Interest and Encourage the Formal Teacher in the More peices Practises— er a pee ee ee eer er , Second Annual Conference on Elementary _— eee 5 uid stats :. oe Panel canting, Chain: oe What’s Happening!! ............... sebcrices 5 Se Secretary’s Report ..... Aether ae Financial Statement ... re . 61 WU Be Oks ¢ ros bse eaweds, ieeb ee THRUOUT PRESIDENT John A. Sexson and the Executive Committee announce that the sixty-ninth annual meeting of the A. A. S. A. will be held at Cleveland, Ohio, February 25-March 2, 1939. Headquarters, registration, general ses- sions, and exhibits will be in the Cleveland Public Auditorium. THE THE D. E. S. P. head- quarters for the Cleve- land meeting will be the Statler Hotel. The De- partment will hold two general sessions, a break- fast, and a banquet. SCHOOL FOUR TIMES each week thruout the 1938-39 schaol year, programs sponsored by the N. E. A. will be broadcast on the nation- wide radio chains of the CBS and NBC. The series will begin on each net- work in October. CBS—Wednesday— “The Living World” Thursday— “New Horizons” NBC—Wednesday— “Our American Schools” Saturday— “Florence Hale’s Radio Column” YEAR AMERICAN EDUCA- TION WEEK will be ob- served in the schools thru- out the nation during the week of Nov. 6, 1938. “Education for Tomor- row’s America” is the gen- eral theme. PRINCIPAL, OCTOBER, 1938 cer & Fe <2, eas i ies eee ee ne 2 we, . » Py a * en oe ee ee ee ee ee 4 Hotel Statler, Cleveland, Ohio, Headquarters for the Department Miss Maude A. Rhodes, President Department of Elementary School Principals 185 Westminster Drive, N. E. Atlanta, Georgia My dear Miss Rhodes: The Principals' Club of Cleveland extends a hearty greeting to the members of the Department of Elemen- tary School Principals of the N.E.A. We are greatly interested in the growing strength and efficiency of the Department, and are putting ourselves at your service in helping to make the February meeting a high spot in your advancement. We welcome you to Cleveland and are looking forward to a happy get-together. Sincerely yours, Mary F. Keys, President Cleveland Principals’ Club 26 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARI| y¢ PRI} we the — ae Ln ard "ARY Miss Maude A. Rhodes, President Department of Elementary School Principals 185 Westminster Drive, N. E. Atlanta, Georgia Dear Miss Rhodes: The elementary principals of Ohio are anxiously awaiting the arrival of February when we shall have the opportunity to greet you as our guest. We are planning a real "Ohio welcome" to all the elementary principals. Our State Association desires to cooperate with the National Association at all times, and particularly do we want to assist in making the February meeting in Cleveland an exceptionally fine one. Please feel free to call on us for all the help you need. Very truly yours, W. Paul Allen, President Department of Elementary School Principals ROBERT H. EDGAR Ohio Education Association COMMUNITY SINGING The officers of the Department of Elementary School Principals have received many requests from those attending our convention programs, asking that our afternoon meetings begin with a half hour of community singing, with a fine leader to direct. They have chosen Mr. Robert H. Edgar, principal, Bedford, Esplen and Knox Elementary Schools of Southside, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is arrang- ing a list of favorite songs to be mimeographed and distributed. If you have some special song or songs you want included, be sure to write to Mr. Edgar or to Headquarters soon. Come to the meetings early and let’s enjoy a half hour’s singing together. PRINCIPAL, OCTOBER, 1938 27 The Importance of Cumulative Records William J. Geiger, Principal, Andrew Cox Intermediate School Waialua, Oahu, Hawaii No modern school completely fulfills its function of guidance or adjustment unless it includes a record of the growth and experience of each pupil. Report cards and cumulative records no longer need be thought of as static, meaningless, and lifeless things. Individual pupil records should provide a picture of developing interests and tendencies in the child. They should include information with re- spect to factors such as health, home conditions, scholastic progress, special talents, exceptional mental abilities or difficulties, disciplinary difficulties, emo- tional and temperamental difficulties, subject deficiencies—in short, all significant developments which have appeared during the child’s career in school. Such records aid the teacher in her effort to assure the child’s continued development thru each successive grade. The effort to devise such a cumulative record system for the entire elementary and high school experience implies a conception of the pupil “as an individual and continuous entity, whose developmental history is more significant and revealing than his status at any one time.” ' These data are valuable not only in effecting the better adjustment of pupils to the school but also in furnishing the teacher with information regarding regular instruction. It will help her provide better guidance and to direct more intelligently the individ- ual’s progress. Responsibility of Principals—The principal should assume the respon- sibility for the collecting and recording of significant data, altho very little can be done without the hearty cooperation of all the teachers. As information is | gathered, it must be made available with economy of time and effort for the use | of the classroom teachers. The cumulative records should always be made in duplicate—one set for the office and one for the teacher. As a rule, teachers do not make proper use of records that are merely filed in the office—and we cannot blame them. With forty or fifty pupils in the rooms, teachers are too busy to spend much time in the office looking for records which, far too often, are diffi- cult to find, and, when found, have little or no meaning. The Form—While serving as principal of Kamehameha IIT School, the writer and his teachers felt a need for more adequate information regarding each child. They realized that many valuable facts learned by them in the course of a year should be recorded in a systematic way so that teachers in succeeding years could profit by them. Hence a form was made on inexpensive 81 by 11 typing | paper. Ordinary typing paper was used because of the comparatively small ex- se CORY STERN SRE TORO eT ENT a wren ry wee ; pense and because it would not take up much filing space. Each sheet provides | enough space for a two year record of the following: 1. Name of pupil . Sex . Date of birth . Race . Address 1The Educational Record, Supplement No. 8, July 1928, P. 14. American Council on Education, Wash- ington, war wn 28 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY re - is are but _ It vid- on- can 1 is use » in . do not y to iffi- “iter rild. F year ears ping F ex- ides Wash- {RY . Grade . School year . Name of teacher 9. Room number of teacher 10. Health of pupil 11. Home conditions 12. Scholastic progress (includes definite descriptive statements) 13. Standardized test results, giving the name of the test, actual score, grade scores in the various subjects, chronological age, mental age, I.Q., etc. 14. Significant factors, such as personality, attitudes, achievements, extra-curricular interests, etc. Teachers are urged to use the backs of sheets for additional state- ments that may be of value. They record the date, sign their names, and draw a line after each entry. Information of a very confidential nature is not recorded on these forms, but is sent to the principal’s office. ono Values—A rather large amount of space is used for the recording of stand- ardized test results. While we must admit that we cannot and should not attribute too much significance to the result of one group test, we believe that the com- bined results (over several years) of varied tests such as the Gates Reading Tests, Stanford Achievement Tests, Modern School Achievement Tests, Individ- ual Binet Tests, etc., will be a definite help to the teacher in trying to help the individual. We agree with those who say that the most important things really cannot be measured; nevertheless we feel that when classes are as large as they are, tests can help a teacher considerably by showing her special abilities and weaknesses, particularly in the tool subjects. However, she must be very careful not to have a defeatist attitude when pupils make low scores, or gloat with satis- faction when pupils make high scores. If she finds pupils of low ability, she is not to be satisfied when they do very little, nor is she to fail in her responsibility to properly direct the more brilliant pupils who will be our future leaders. Test results properly used should improve instruction considerably. At the end of the second year, similar forms were mimeographed for a record of the next two years. At the end of eight years, the school will therefore have four sheets, in duplicate, for each pupil—a rather complete record made by eight different teachers. One set remains in the office and the other set is for the entire year. When pupils transfer to another elementary school, an intermediate school, or high school, one set of the records is, of course, transferred with the release, form 13 card, health card, and other records. The teachers are convinced that these records have improved both the formal and informal aspects of the child’s education. Principals and teachers of other schools have also expressed the opinion that these records are a great help when- ever pupils are transferred to their schools. Such records greatly assist the prin- cipal in placing new pupils into the group where they will do most effective work. W.F.E.A. CONFERENCE Rio de Janeiro, the fascinating beauty spot of South America will be host to the Teachers of the World in August, 1939 at the Eighth Conference of the World Federation of Education Associations. Everyone interested is urged to write at once to Federation Headquarters, 1201 Sixteenth Street, N. W., Wash- ington, D. C. PRINCIPAL, OCTOBER, 1938 . 29 How To Interest and Encourage the Formal Teacher in the More Progressive Practises Margery C. Campbell, Vice Principal Lowell Elementary School, Riverside, California For some time I have been inclined to be annoyed with a certain type of formal teacher who apparently refused to tolerate any idea of changing her teaching methods, who watched with a cold eye and critical tongue the experimental efforts of more open minded teachers. As I studied the matter I began to experience a change of heart. I began to see that we had taken too much for granted, that we had not prepared our teachers as well as we should have for the suggested changes, and that we had not considered their individual differences sufficiently. So, I began my study of ways and means of getting these teachers to accept the newer philosophies. From my reading and other investigations I gathered that many supervisors seemed to depend upon converting the teachers by the cold-blooded textbook method. I found that there was a great dearth of material of a definite nature that would help solve this prob- lem in a way that would result in the desired attitudes on the part of the teachers. I grew more and more in the realization that this change must not be made at the expense of the mental and physical health of the teacher, and that I had stumbled upon one of the big educational problems of the day. Therefore, I find myself no longer irritated with the formal teacher who has thus far refused to change, but rather am I desirous of wanting to protect and encourage her self-confidence, to guide her in a constructive way toward the end that her own instinctive intellectual curiosity will reach out for this newer phi- losophy which we find so desirable for the teacher today. As I see it, the principal’s problem is twofold; first, getting the teacher into the frame of mind to want to accept the newer philosophies. This task is largely psy- chological. After that is accomplished his second task is to plan with the teachers, and follow thru a definite program of in-service training along the desired lines. The New Teacher for the New Day must indeed be a new person. “‘Most impor- tant of all is a mature, creative personality. Unless the teacher herself is on the way to new levels of maturity and consciousness, how can she see the dawning individuality in the child, and help it find its unique direction.” How can a teacher do all of this if she, herself, is frightened, bewildered and feeling misunderstood ? If we can give our teachers the feeling of security which we consider so impor- tant to the mental health of the pupil, we shall seldom be troubled with their lack of cooperation. We must analyze the “problem teacher” from the psychological point of view and help her work out her problems much as we do in the case of the “problem child’’. Case histories dealing with the emotional life of the “difficult child’’ are published by the mile. Why not have a few case histories of the “problem teacher”, published by principals, describing the treatment and cure. The New School also demands a new type of supervisor. Who knows? Maybe there may be a few “problem principals” lurking in our midst. It has been well said that “Supervision exists that teachers may service children better.’’ Three 30 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY qualifications for the best kind of supervision are, “a democratic attitude, a re- spect for the individuality of the teacher, and a vision based on knowledge.”’ There are many successful plans of training in-service being put into practise, and others will evolve as the supervisors and teachers democratically work out together the best procedures along this line. The more I study about the subject the more I realize how much I have to learn. One thing stands out in my mind, i.e., that we as teachers and administra- tors, must give our best, and that our best must constantly be improving, if we are to accept this challenge to greater service in the New School. i) aa Headquarters Needs Something! @ Information About Your Principals’ Clubs Officers—Does your state, city or county have a principals’ club? If so, won’t you help by sending to Headquarters the names and addresses of the officers of these clubs as they are elected this year, giving the date they are elected? Programs—We are getting many requests about the programs and ques- tions for discussion which principals’ clubs and those interested in ele- mentary education are using. Please tell us what your club is doing so that we may tell others. @ To Know What You Are Doing Are you doing anything unusual in your school? Let Headquarters know about the experiments which you are carrying on and have carried on, so that we may become of more service. We would like to tell principals about your project. @ To Know Where Conferences Are Being Held Principals’ clubs are beginning to see the need for Conferences on Ele- mentary Education. In a few places these conferences are being held and principals are having the opportunity to meet together and discuss prob- lems which are vital to them. Please let Headquarters know where these conferences are being held. @ An Elementary Principals Page In State Journals The best way to let the principals of your state know what your club is doing is to include a principals’ page in your state journal, such as some of the states are now doing. Won’t you lend your influence to seeing that such a page is included each month in your state journal? @ To Include A Necrology List In The December Bulletin If you know of any principals who have died during the past year, please send his or her name to Headquarters so that we may include it in the Necrology list which we are preparing for the December issue of The National Elementary Principal. WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP! PRINCIPAL, OCTOBER, 1938 31 ROBT. SPEER Those who attended the Conference on Eiement Second Annual Conference o New York University, Washington | July 2-15, Several years ago the officers of the Department of Elementary School Principals believed that an opportunity should be given to those leaders in elementary education who wanted to meet together to discuss their problems, make suggestions and plan methods of improvement. With this thought in mind, Mrs. Edith B. Joynes, Member of the Executive Committee and Principal, Washington-Gatewood Schools, Norfolk, Virginia, was chosen chairman of the committee to make arrangements. The first conference sponsored by the Department was held for two weeks (July 5-16, 1937) at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. The second fine meeting convened this past sum- mer (July 2-15, 1938) at New York University, Washington GLANS SIVE Square, New York City, with Dr. Robert K. Speer as coordinator for the University. Leaders from thirty-three states and Hawaii assembled immediately following the convention of the National Education Association in New York City. Conference Periods—This group met together from ten to eleven o’clock each morning in the auditorium of the School of Education Building and at this time listened to lectures by promi- nent American social analysts and educators. (This hour was broadcast each morning over WNYC). The following list of topics was ably discussed: MARY D. DAVIS Monday, July 4th: AMERICAN EDUCATION: WHERE ARE WE GOING AND Wuy? Dr. John W. Withers, Dean, School of Education, New York University Tuesday, July 5th: SOCIETY IN TRANSITION Dr. George Counts, Teachers College, Columbia University Wednesday, July 6th: THE AMERICAN SCENE Dr. Harry Elmer Barnes, Historian, New York City F. C. BORGESON HARVEY ZORBAUGH » on Elementary Education at New York University nce on Elementary Education ington Square, New York, New York / 2-15, 1938 Thursday, July 7th: Friday, July 8th: Monday, July 11th: Tuesday, July 12th: Wednesday, July 13th: Thursday, July 14th: Friday, July 15th: EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE So- CIAL TRENDS Dr. Robert K. Speer, School of Educa- tion, New York University PHILOSOPHY OF THE NEW SCHOOL Dr. E. T. McSwain, School of Education, Northwestern University DEMOCRATIC ADMINISTRATION OF EDU- CATION Ordway Tead, Economic Editor, Harpers Magazine, and Pres., Board of Higher Education, New York City SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS Dr. J. Cayce Morrison, Assistant Com- missioner, New York State Education De- partment, Albany, New York THE PRINCIPAL AS CURRICULUM BUILDER Dr. Robert Hill Lane, Assistant Supt. of Schools, Los Angeles, California REPORTS OF PROGRESS OF THE FIVE SEC- TIONS Next Most IMporTANT STEPS IN EDvu- CATION Officers of the Department of Elemen- tary School Principals—Stratton, Rhodes, Kline, Joynes, and Pinkston. “Bon Voyace” Dean John W. Withers, School of Education, New York Univer- sity J. W. WITHERS JEAN BETZNER J. C. MORRISON E. T. MeSWAIN Evening Sessions—So that any and all subjects pertaining to elementary education could be discussed; so that each and every member of the group could have his or her question propounded; and so that each could be given the benefit of what superintendents, principals, supervisors, teachers, librarians and others were doing in their school system, the Prince George Hotel arranged for meetings in the Cooper Room. At these evening sessions the officers of the Department of Elementary School Principals acted as chairmen: Mrs. Edith B. Joynes, Execu- tive Committee, Norfolk, Virginia; Mason A. Stratton, President 1937-38, At- lantic City, New Jersey; Maude A. Rhodes, President 1938-39, Atlanta, Georgia; and Eva G. Pinkston, Executive Secretary, Washington, D. C. A report of the conference would not be complete if mention were not made of the very fine exhibit of report cards, which had been so splendidly arranged by Mrs. Vivian Sowers Rankin, Principal, Indianapolis, Indiana. At the conference at the University of Michigan, the group asked that such an exhibit be prepared and Mrs. Rankin kindly said she would do the work if Headquarters would collect the report cards. Each issue of The National Elementary Principal last year carried a notice. The result was and is one of the very finest exhibits on this important subject. (Headquarters wishes to thank all who sent record cards and to thank Mrs. Rankin for the great amount of work she did in getting them ready for exhibition.) Trips—Just to visit New York City is an education within itself, but to have a systematically planned schedule prepared by Dr. Julius Yourman, coordinator for this part of the conference, gave many opportunities to see and do things which otherwise would have been impossible. A mimeographed sheet was given to each member of the conference on the day of enrolling, which told date, hour, trip to be taken and where to meet. Dr. Yourman was never without a large crowd. These excursions usually consumed most of the afternoons and evenings, and happy groups always reported royal good times, and much learning. Social Affairs—The Prince George Hotel, headquarters for the conference group was an ideal place for living quarters. The hotel was quite generous in designating rooms for special use for conference members. On Saturday evening, July 2, the entire conference group met in the English Room to get acquainted with each other and with the conference faculty of New York University and enjoy the music and fun. The group met again on Thursday, July 14, to bid goodbyes and Godspeed. Members of the Conference— Below is a list of those who attended the Second Annual Conference on Elementary Education. AtaBAMA—Anniston: Mrs. Mary S. Meigs. FLoripA— Miami: Abigail H. Gilday, CatrrornrA—Alhambra: Mary Mullen; Margaret Gilday; Tampa: James L. Mc- Los Angeles: Dora I. Dysart, Mrs. Leo May _Intosh. Gamble; Los Nietos: Mrs. Ada S. Nelson; Oakland: Sarah L. Young. Cortorapo—Sterling: Mrs. Myrtle A. Roe. ConnecticutT—New Haven: Isadore Wex- ler. District or CorumBiA — Washington: Evelyn Bruce, Justine Wilkes Greene, Cath- erine Grey Hurley, Josephine H. Pettie, Eva G. Pinkston, Geraldine L. M. Tate. Grorcia—Atlanta: Willie Clements, Leona Ingram, Ruth Ingram, Lula M. Johnson. Ethel Massengale, Emmalu Nolen, Gertrude Pollard, Hattie C. Rainwater, Maude A. Rhodes, Mary Standard, May Taylor; Bol- ton: Mrs. Homer L. Wilson; Brunswick: Lila Stallings; Macon: Marie DuBose, Mamie L. Holt. Hawau—Honolulu: Cecil K. Dotts. 34 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY FE eT aT me cor cor fur PR IpaHo—Idaho Falls; Anna Johnson. Ittivois—Carlinville: Wesley C. East- man; Chicago: Helen Kull, Kathryn A. Steinmetz; Lake: Forest: M. G. Davis; Peoria: Joseph Murphy. Inp1iANA—Fort Wayne: John M. Morris; Indianapolis: Mrs. Vivian Sowers Rankin; Lafayette: Charles D. Plank. Jowa—Cedar Rapids: Mrs. Caroline M. Preston, Marjorie Walters; Eagle Grove: C. L. McDowell; Mason City: Blanche D. Skovlin; Newton: B. C. Berg. KansAs—Chetopa: Dorothy McPherson. MarinE—Kittery: Anne E. Knight, Geor- gia M. Knight. Massacuvusetts—Cambridge: Butella E. L. Conland; Fitchburg: Louise Wingate; Melrose: Carrie Brown, Esther S. Lyman; Shelbourne Falls: Margaret J. Davison; Springfield: Rosa M. Bowker. MicuHIcAN—Flint: Mrs. Carolyn A. Pear- son; Grand Rapids: Edna I. Murphy. Mississipp1—Clarksdale: Gabriel Marion Houston; Greenville: Mattie D. Houston; Yazoo City: Frances Page. Missourr—St. Louis: M. J. Gilliam, Leonide M. Girault, Bertha Hensel, Mar- guerite B. Johnston, Mabel McCallister, Mary A. Thompson, Helen T. Wheatley. NEBRASKA—Omaha: Virginia Ellett. New HampsHirE—Portsmouth: Fannie C. Chapman. New Jersey—Atlantic City: Mason A. Stratton; Roselle: Albert S. Peeling. New Mexico—Pinos Altos: Dorothy Wat- son. New York—Babylon: Lawrence C. Mac- Niece; Binghamton: Bertha E. Clarke; Carthage: J. Stuart Hobkirt; Cedarhurst: Anson E. Kent; East Aurora: Florine Helen Howes; Elmira: Emma E. Kingsley; Elms- ford: Emory Leigh January; Johnson City: Jennie A. Frail; New Rochelle: Ralph Walter; Niagara Falls: Harriet Arnson; Oneonta: Mrs. Nellie A. Bugbee, Ava M. Hall; Rochester: George W. Cooper, Mrs. Dorothea K. Lortcher; Scarsdale: Dorothy L. Irvine; Troy: Sarah K. Flynn, Anna A. Morey; Whitesboro: Christine Craig; Yonkers: Elizabeth M. Elliot. NortH Carorrina—Hendersonville: Mrs. Almonte Jones; Mooresville: Mary M. Greenlee; Roanoke Rapids: Ruth S. Hackney, Clara Hearne, Mary Lowder, Eliza- beth Tait; Yanceyville: Mrs. Wilson Brown. Oxn1o—Athens: Irene C. Elliot: Columbus: C. O. Callahan, Helen C. Kennedy, Ethel E. Layland, Grace C. Phelps; Dayton: Sue Sey- bold, Gladys E. Tittle, Ruth A. Tittle; East Cleveland: Ruth C. Williams; Lakewood: Grace Needham, Florence M. Rogers; Toledo: Schanette Baer, Bess M. Campbell, Jean Chinn, Helen K. Davis, Sadie M. Galvin, Winifred Pittenger; Warren: Grace Dau- gherty. OKLAHOMA—Shawnee: Kate Hamilton. OrEcon—Portland: Anna Thompson. PENNSYLVANIA—Bellevue: Robert H. Edgar; Indiana: Mary L. Russell; Pitts- burgh: Hulda M. Notz, Irene A. Thompson. TENNESSEE—Fountain City: Rufus H. Underwood; Johnson City: Edna Dickey, Cleo E. Fisher, Emily L. Lacy; Knoxville: Nannie Gennoe, Lillian L. Gore. Texas—Clarksville: Mrs. Ella B. Watson; Commerce: Jackson Massey; Galveston: Greta Oppe; Houston: Jessie Barnett, Ella Standish; Midland: Mrs. Alma Thomas. Uran—Brigham: Clifford L. Frye. Vircinta—Bedford: Ruby Ramsey, M. Hannah Saunders, Virginia E. Saunders; Buchanan: Annie I. Obenshain; Clifton Forge: Paul G. Hook; Danville: Elma Wil- son Perkins; Driver: Edna E. Everett; Nor- folk: Lucy Mason Holt, Lillian M. Johnson, Mrs. Edith B. Joynes; Pulaski: Mrs. Chloe C. Carney; Salem: Annie Hancock; Sands- ton: Ethel Kirby; Whaleyville: William J. Jones. WEst Vircin1A—Huntington: Edna Brown- ing Preston. Wisconsin—La Crosse: Alice M. Byrne; Madison: Annie D. Axtell, Velmer D. Pratt, Mrs. Alice E. Rood; Sheboygan: O. H. Lowe, M. F. Mathies, Elva W. Seideman; Superior: Elizabeth R. McCormick. THE THIRD ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON ELEMENTARY EDUCATION Be sure to make plans now to attend the Third Annual Conference on Ele- mentary Education, which will be held the two weeks immediately following the convention of the National Education Association, at a university in or near the convention city. Read future issues of The National Elementary Principal for further details. PRINCIPAL, OCTOBER, 1938 35 CONVENTION PROGRAM—JUNE 28, 1938 Tue second session of the Department of Ele- mentary School Principals convened at 2 p.m. in the Salle Moderne Room, Hotel Pennsylvania, New York, N. Y., with President Mason A. Stratton, Atlantic City, New Jersey, presiding. Because of the very important panel discussion which had been arranged by the New York City Principals Club, President Stratton proceeded to have a short business meeting after which he asked Miss Margaret Lindquist, President of the Elementary Principals Association of New York City, to take charge and introduce the program for her group. MARGARET A. LINDQUIST The Curriculum in Transition Panel Discussion Sponsored by the New York State and City Principals’ Associations Participants: Joun F. Conroy, Public School 32, Bronx, New York City, Chairman. Dorotuy BILpERSEE, 115 Willow Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. Mrs. Eupora FLETCHER, Public School No. 99, Brooklyn, N. Y. BENEDICT Fox, Public School No. 45, South Ozone Park, N. Y. RutTH GILLETTE Harpy, Public School No. 33, New York, N. Y. Louis KorNFELD, Public School No. 30, Brooklyn, N. Y. Marcaret A. Linpgulist, 2475 Palisade Avenue, Spuyten Duyvil, New York, N.Y. C. F. Pertscu, Junior High School, Brooklyn, N. Y. TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION What are our New York City objectives? How can we attain them? How can we evaluate their attainment ?>—Fox. What changes are needed in our present curriculum to achieve our objectives in terms of methods and content? What are practical first steps in integration ?— Conroy. What administrative changes are necessary to promote the proper functioning of the curriculum ?—FLETCHER. How will the revision of the curriculum today change the subject matter and procedures in the first two years?——Harpy. Adjusting the curriculum to the gifted child—Perrtscu. Necessary modification of the curriculum for the child with delinquent ten- dencies.—LINDQUIST. Remedial procedures—BILDERSEE. The community and the changing curriculum—KornFELp. 36 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY | gr co we me te; PI Mr. STRATTON: Miss Margaret Lindquist, President of the Elementary Prin- cipals’ Association of New York City, will take charge and introduce the pro- gram for her group. We thank you, and thru you the principals of New York City for all that you have done, Miss Lindquist! (Applause.) Miss Linpgutst: We are very glad that you could be with us this afternoon. It is the custom in the Principals’ Association to have a number of groups work- ing on topics that are problems of the day, or to do research for the organization. One of those committees was the Committee on Curriculum Revision. They rendered such an excellent preliminary report that we asked them to take over our annual meeting, which was a panel discussion, consisting of eight panels. The chairmen of the eight panels are reporting to you today from the splendid recommendations and resolutions of that meeting. Without any further introduction, I am going to turn the meeting over to Mr. John Conroy, who has been the inspirational leader and who really is re- sponsible for this meeting as it evolves. CHAIRMAN Conroy: In terms of the discussion today, may I briefly tell you what we have accepted as a definition for the curriculum so that you may find in your discussion later on that we are talking about the same thing? The curriculum is the whole body of experiences to be communicated to the child thru school contacts together with the organizations and technics necessary to carry out such experiences efficiently. Each speaker is to give a brief answer to a practical fundamental question related to the general topic. These questions are practical and not at all rhetorical. As we answer them, it is for the purpose of having you as a group supplement these answers in terms of your experience and your criticism. Revision should be cooperative. Will you cooperate? The first speaker, Mr. Fox, who is principal of one of our elementary schools in Queens, will use as his topic, “What Are the Prospects of Attaining Our Objec- tives Under a Transitional Curriculum?” Mr. Fox: An excellent statement of objectives, related primarily to elementary education, was produced by the New York State Association of Elementary School Principals and approved by the New York State Council of Superin- tendents. Such statement of objectives possesses merit, but they are so general in their implications and are subject to such varying interpretations in specific situations, that a wide variety of outcomes is inevitable. The transitional cur- riculum subjects them to a careful analysis to determine their specific implica- tions, so that they may have a significant influence on the direction of pupil growth. It grants that the Six Cardinal Objectives represent reasonable, attain- able, and desirable goals; and that they should serve as the compass by which teachers guide children thru activities in achieving desirable outcomes. However, it also recognizes the need for standards by which to evaluate the educational process—a process which is a complex of many related factors, some of them concrete and evident, others subtle and intangible. No matter how perfect we may make the new curriculum and how thoroughly we may agree with its philosophy and its objectives, we are no nearer the attain- ment of our objectives than we were under the traditional curriculum if the teachers are not in accord with the underlying philosophy, or if they have not PRINCIPAL, OCTOBER, 1938 37 the ability to use the newer technics and procedures. Much of the confusion and uncertainty in the minds of teachers can be attributed to the rapid emergence of new theories, philosophies and procedures. A mere rehearsal of the newly developed terminology is confusing to many. Creative self-expression, creative leadership, creative personality, units, units of work, activity, activity program, activity curriculum, experiential learning—I could go on ad nauseum—appear with breathless rapidity. It isn’t surprising, therefore, that the teacher, who has been considered successful in her work, sometimes wonders if “time is not out of joint” in the profession. She recalls the time and energy spent in an effort to obtain scientifically valid curricula, and she wonders why so many seem eager to scrap them and to substitute ones which frequently appear to be a series of insignificant and unrelated excursions, dictated by the momentary whims of children. She recalls the school in which she was trained and the esteem in which she held her teachers, and fears a freedom for children which may disturb such relationships and encourage the development of undesirable attitudes. Those who advocate the transitional curriculum hold to no such conception of freedom, nor do they subscribe to any philosophy that advocates that the cur- riculum should develop spontaneously, according to the interests and impulses of children, and that no freedom worth the name is possible with an organized curriculum. The transitional curriculum recognizes the individuality of the child but it also thinks of him as a member of a social group; and, therefore, it endeavors to provide such conditions of living that children will develop a sensitivity to the rights and needs of others and will feel a responsibility to the group of which they are a part. Furthermore, under the transitional curriculum the emphasis is upon the child rather than the subject-matter; upon activity rather than upon passivity; upon development according to capacities and po- tentialities rather than according to a single pattern; upon social-mindedness rather than cut-throat competition; upon judgment rather than memory. Be- cause of these shifts of emphases, the transitional curriculum gives greater pos- sibilities for attainment of our objectives. The transitional curriculum also recognizes the fact that except for the devel- opment of certain specialized skills, the school is not the most powerful educa- tional influence. The home, the neighborhood groups, the press, the movies, industry, and radio all operate powerfully to form the basic attitudes which underlie the conduct of the individual. As industrial and scientific developments have weakened the influence of home and church, the school has been expected to solve a whole series of problems under the head of character education. The school cannot solve these problems alone, no matter what curriculum it uses. Only the planned coordination of all educational influences is sufficient. Recog- nizing this fact, the transitional curriculum identifies the school with its com- munity and with as many of the educational influences outside of the school as is possible. However, since many of these influences are mis-educational in their effects, it becomes necessary to broaden the educational program to include adults as well as children. The principal must take into consideration the attitudes and desires of his community if he is to continue to work effectively; and he must recognize that it is his function as educator to help the parents of his community to understand how conditions have altered, what the school is endeavoring to do, 38 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY yo —=]= es ae FCO eee ret pl. int P) and what must be done if their interests and the interest of their children are to be promoted. To the degree with which we recognize this important phase of our educational program, and bring about a cooperation between the school and the community will depend largely the degree of success in attainment of our objectives. CHAIRMAN Conroy: The Chairman in presenting the next speaker would like to point out that he has scorned the opportunity of a glowing introduction—he presents himself at this point. The topic assigned me is “What Are Practical First Steps in Integration in a Transitional Curriculum?” 1. Some integration is urgently needed. Provision has been made for the ap- plications of research to the curriculum inside the subject fields. A great deal of integration has been accomplished with a group of schools in the activity experiment, but we are still attempting to teach twenty-four subjects in each grade in the majority of our schools. We are insisting upon entirely too many minimal essentials because of this multiplicity of subjects. We are causing our pupils waste of effort and time, increasing their difficulty of understanding and applying the information learned thru the absence of such integration. On the positive side, we are missing the opportunity of saving a great deal of teacher and pupil time by providing for the elimination of unnecessary detail of subjects particularly in the social sciences. 2. We must decide how much integration we can efficiently adopt. We may integrate subject matter with adult needs, with pupil needs, with community needs, recognized or unrecognized, with continuing problems or cores, or themes; and in all of these we may integrate two different degrees. How much integration is justifiable? Who is to integrate the integrators? It might be well to remember that in the life of children there is no such thing as complete integration. A child’s day is made up of activities in a number of areas: his food, his friends, his school, his play, his time for the radio and his time in the tub. Complete integration is not a natural situation in child life. a. A large school system must be subjected to gradual change when the need for change is established. While we may experiment with smaller areas, the transitional curriculum for a large city should be a growth toward a goal rather than a super-imposed goal. b. The problem of the articulation of pupils undertaking courses based on pupil’s in- terests and needs seems almost insuperable where pupils transfer so frequently. 3. A curriculum that provides for such major areas as the social sciences, the language arts, the fine arts, and health education, with as much interrelation- ship as is possible with these areas for the tool subjects of arithmetic, reading mechanics, spelling and penmanship, would have definite advantages. a. Such integration of subject fields would aid materially the reorganization of subject matter into units, problems, or activities. b. It would avoid time waste, caused by duplication of detail, loss of interrelationships, reduced comprehension and faulty retention. c. It would help us find the time that the newer technics and materials require. Pupil planning, problem solving, pupil research, report making, and the creative outcomes of pupil learning. Time needed to develop such attitudes as World Peace. d. It would provide for teacher development through participation making possible further integration. —_. PRINCIPAL, OCTOBER, 1938 39 4. Any synthesis of subject matter fields in a large educational system must secure the cooperation of the directors and experts in the special fields. The analysis of material into subjects and branches of subjects has been going on for years; it is our belief that it has gone too far with these difficulties and limitations established. What are the probable next steps in integration? 5. What steps in curriculum making are needed to achieve this integration? a. We have set down the fundamental objectives for our school system. They are to be found in the state objectives and in the report of the committee on articulation and integra- tion. These are our continuing objectives and provide important means of integration in themselves. b. Units of interest to children are then collected from the teachers in the system and are tentatively arranged by age levels. Many more units are listed than any teacher can use in one term. For each unit are listed the possible experiences, activities, knowledges and attitudes, which may be cultivated at that age level. c. A check list of numeral essentials, of desirable character traits and attitudes is prepared by a committee on recommendations from the supervisions and administration branches of the educational system. d. The units and the check lists are issued as a mimeographed or printed course of study. e. From the teacher’s selection the course of study for the pupils in a particular class in a particular community evolves. The printed curriculum is changed to keep up with the best organizations of work created by the teachers in the field. The initiative for change is in the schools with the practicing teacher. The cooperation of the teachers in revision is a splendid criterion of the significance of any curriculum program. Inviting as are the upper levels of the integration scale the curriculum of tomorrow, in the large cities at least, will have to be satisfied with less. The point we are aiming at has been described—it probably could be characterized in as about point 3 on a seven point scale. Let us think of integration as possible of growth as well as the pupil. Start at a point definitely in advance of where you find yourself, provide for teacher cooperation, leave a good deal of flexibility and then dig in for a long pull. This procedure will avoid in all probability the possi- bility of failure and the losing of our gains. Mrs. Eudora Fletcher, the Chairman of our Administrative Problems Com- mittee of the New York Principals’ Association will speak on, “What Adminis- trative Changes Are Necessary to Promote the Proper Functioning of the Cur- riculum?” Mrs. FLETCHER: The new curriculum will be a reality only when it is put into practise, and this involves two problems which we cannot ignore. It will cost more money, and it will need a retraining of the teaching staff. Before we start out on new adventures, we should at least take stock of our resources, and see that our project is not doomed to failure from the start. Let us first consider the question of cost. Educational activities have developed for the most part merely by adding something on. A picture of the distribution of funds would resemble a child’s drawing of a tree—the branches are just stuck on, and there is no indication of growth and planning. So we see a dab of guidance here, a spot of vocational training there, a lump of remedial work over here, and so on. Never is one procedure completely carried thru before we are on to the next. Distribution of funds becomes the mad scramble of each activity to salvage as much as it can. 40 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY ass ha ari col act of gra wh me: on we ing. dete in t of t pay ade for tear we set war chil long edu ginn perh T and kind skill: no d we a the I of m expel The PRI] .= sae ee As I see it, there are three roads we can follow: 1. We can continue as we are now, entering on an expansion of our activities without any assurance as to its financing, but with an attitude of the “The Lord will provide.” We can shut our eyes to the unpleasant fact that this procedure may, and frequently does, do more harm than good, and we can add to the burden of undertaking a new adventure, the unrest that arises from the question, “How are we going to manage it?” Being a pessimist, I have no doubt but that this is exactly what we will do. However, conventions being the place to express ideals, I would like to point out two other roads. 2. We, working with Boards of Education and taxpayer groups, can decide which of our activities are of fundamental importance and should not be curtailed. It may be a revision of our Elementary Schools, or in times of stress, it may be a complete adult education pro- gram. Funds should be allocated to those activities that are fundamentally important, and what is left should be given to those of great need, but secondary. It may be that it will mean the elimination of many activities in which we are now engaged, but it will be based on a fundamental sense of values, and the greatest good for the greatest number. 3. There is still another path. We talk a great deal about education and democracy, but we do very little towards educating our voters and taxpayers in regard to the cost of school- ing. The third way is for the expert to draw up a complete program of education, and determine its cost. Then let Mr. Common Man decide how much education he agrees with in theory, and is willing to support. A direct school tax should then be levied to take care of this program. It is foolish for legislators to establish types of schools and then refuse to pay or haggle over the cost. The great tax-paying public either wants a comprehensive and adequate system of education or it doesn’t. If the public wants it, it will be willing to pay for it if it understands. The second problem of putting a new curriculum into operation is that of teacher preparation. In our own individual schools we do not like confusion. If we are planning new procedures we assemble our materials, train our staff, and set the stage so that the new program may function. Our chief fault will be that in our enthusiasm for the new ideas, we will not want to wait. And yet to make haste slowly will be the only right way. Our children have been educated in traditional schools for a long time. A year or two longer will not be a catastrophe. No teacher should undertake the progressive education without adequate preparation and orientation. CHAIRMAN Conroy: “How Will the Revision of the Curriculum Today Change the Subject Matter and Procedure in the First Two Years?” by Miss Ruth Gillette Hardy, Principal of Public School 33, Manhattan. Miss Harpy: The agreement, then, in theory that we all have is that the child who comes into the so-called first year of school is not, or should not be, a be- ginner. The first year of school should follow a year or more of kindergarten, perhaps several years of kindergarten preceded by nursery school. The second thing in which we all believe is that these little children of six and seven years of age will do better to continue with these nursery school and kindergarten methods rather than starting the first day on the highly abstract skills. The doctrine of readiness for any of these abstract skills certainly needs no defense in theory. The practise, however, is exceedingly difficult. We decide we are not going to teach children who are six years of age immediately to read the highly abstract symbols of number, or to start with that highly abstract art of making cursive letters. Well and good! Having decided that, the average experienced teacher says, ‘““What am I to do?” The old method was time-wasting. The number of children who had to repeat and repeat to get the simplest ele- PRINCIPAL, OCTOBER, 1938 41 —— ments was appalling, and when we come into this element of costs, I think one thing we want to count is that a newer type of curriculum is not going to have that terrific cost for repeating. ' The thing that justifies the expenditure of public money for education is not ( the skills or tool subjects, it is the character of the child; and as we see that in i the first and second years, that character must be based on habits of industry, ( social habits, ability to get along with others, power of responsibility, powers of C self-direction. That will give us the clue to what does and must fill the time of V these six- and seven-year-old children. t The child must be made, as in the kindergarten, first of all, to feel secure at t school, to feel the teacher is a friend and not a taskmaster. That is not a negative t thing. It is an extremely positive thing that begins with the “Good morning!” a which is not a mere formality but is one of the first things in giving self-direction. | n It follows thru the whole day. I have seen the business of getting out blocks and | putting them back done in such a way as to establish just those very traits of n character I am speaking of, responsibility, what you take out you put back; b self-direction—do you know what you are going to do? If you don’t know what t} you are going to do, what are you going to talk to me about, first of all? That is | th absolutely as educational as showing those children the symbol of the number | gt five and pictures of five birds and pictures of one. After giving this child that th security in his actions, the next thing is to put him into contact with immediate be realities. Your immediate realities are not going to be the same in any two schools lo or even in any two classes. One thing we need not worry about is the content —_ Fe of this curriculum. We never did, you know. The traditional curriculum for first | and second year had no content whatever except what the textbooks happened | to put in. Now we are distinctly substituting, in taking out those abstractions, Sti content, and the first thing in content is the reality of the environment. After | 4! all, human experience is diverse, but human nature is common to us all, and wi you may arrive at the same point no matter how diverse the start. Miss Jessie Staunton, who had had so much to do with the curriculum of nursery-school and first year children, tells the story of starting simultaneously two first-year | Y®& classes, one in an expensive private school in Greenwich where she was advisor; an and another in the new refugee miner community in Arthurdale, West Virginia. out They started in both groups playing what they did at home. The idea of home| Ff of the children from Greenwich was to begin shaking up cocktails, standing at wel the telephone, ringing up the butler—they are giving a party. The idea of the dre mu children down in Arthurdale was, “Let’s go out and build a pigpen.”’ Of course, as she said, those children didn’t end that year, one shaking up cocktails and me. the other building a pigpen, but she knew from the first day what were realities | |" ' to those children, and her task as the teacher, or in that case as the director, was to guide and lead those children from one experience to another that without | = Tec! losing the sense of reality they could also get an idea of some other kinds of bee homes, some other kinds of life than their own. We begin mostly by walking cipé around our neighborhood, identifying our own homes, and so on. I think most schools do that; there is nothing startling about it. The wonderful thing is what as V comes out of it when it is well done. the The third thing that is needed for the child is to furnish an opportunity to | hh 42 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY | PRI j ' ' —- ls st ed er nd sie 01 ar or; ja. me at the | nse, und § ties was out , of ing 10st that y to [RY work freely in the materials which have been carefully selected, so as to help him make that transition to abstraction. Reality is very big, very confusing and very troublesome to a child. His first type of abstractions, then, must be some- thing he will make himself. That is why the picture the child makes, crude as it is, is more valuable to the child than the picture he looks at which already contains so much symbolism that only very able children grasp it without a good deal of practise. That is why blockbuilding, of all the forms of play, is the most valuable, and the one that needs the greatest amount of encouragement. It also takes, you will admit, Mrs. Fletcher, a great deal of money. The great big blocks that the children ought to have, to give them a sense of weight and balance and to build themselves something big enough to get into, cost the most appalling amount, but they are amply worth it in making this transition to the pictorial material. Games and toys that the children can handle, with which they can play, neighborhood games, out of which can come not the abstract symbols of numbers but the actual use of numbers, measuring, handling tools, so they can build little things for themselves that must be measured—the four legs of a table must be the same height, and your standard grows out of that, the standard of what is good workmanship can come out of that, if it is well directed. However sloppy the product looks to the carpenter, there is a big difference to the teacher’s eye between the product of the child whose work is really sloppy—and there are lots of them—and the product that has really been well directed and does rep- resent child measurement, the child concept of something that has a purpose. The child’s own body is in a sense one of his instruments, and he must learn to balance, to handle, to carry. This seems to me old stuff, and yet so often we still have fixed seats, and the children are expected to sit still in them for hours at a time rather than to learn that tremendous art of handling one’s own body, without which one cannot get, it seems to me, either security or a sense of ability to direct one’s self. When these materials are well used, there should come at the end of this two- year period—and I make a plea, as does our committee’s report on articulation and integration, for regarding those two years of the child’s work as a unit— out of those two years should come a child who would have, first, good habits of work; second, a keen interest, a curiosity that will enable him to learn more; well exercised muscles, not one of these little, flabby children who want to sit and dream and then later on will become a serious behavior problem; a vocabulary much larger than he ever had under the old abstract system and not by any means limited to the thousand words of a scientific vocabulary, useful as that is in teacher guidance. CHAIRMAN Conroy: The next question is ““What do speculation and research recommend in a transitional curriculum for the gifted child?” Mr. Pertsch has been chairman of the Committee on Individualization of the New York Prin- cipals’ Association and his Committee has been working in that field. Mr. Pertscu: It is my purpose this afternoon merely to indicate to you just as well as I can what I gathered from the meeting of our Committee in May at the Waldorf-Astoria. In the first place, one of the questions was, What do we mean by a bright PRINCIPAL, OCTOBER, 1938 43 child? Originally, we thought it meant a child with a high I.Q. We couldn’t reach any agreement as to whether we meant the child with an I.Q. of 120, 130 or 140. Then we found it very difficult to decide upon the test on which the I.Q. was to be based. Eventually, there was an agreement that the Stanford-Binet was to be used, and there was an agreement that we would consider as bright those children who had I.Q.’s of 130 or over on the Stanford-Binet. It seems according to the traditional Stanford-Binet one percent of the total population has an I.Q. ranging above 130, and we thought we were primarily interested in that group, when somebody introduced the question, “How about the children who have social intelligence and the children who have creative intelligence and the children who like to fiddle around with radios, victrolas, pianos, old clocks and watches, and so on? They have a manual intelligence. Are they to be for- gotten in this shuffle? Aren’t they bright in another aspect of intelligence?” One of the greatest difficulties is to arrive at a common agreement on the meaning of intelligence. We found twenty-seven definitions and concepts of in- telligence. The Committee was rather liberal and we agreed to consider the gifted as well as the bright, and so the recommendations will concern both groups. As a matter of fact, the Committee decided to name itself the Committee on the Superior Child rather than the Committee on the Bright. The second problem was that of finding the bright child. How do you find him in the school? You might use tests at the time of admission to school, but tests are expensive. You have the problem of financing. It is expensive not only in terms of money but also in terms of the teachers’ time, and of the psychologists’ time. Then there are these aptitudes which cannot be located, identified very readily thru present testing devices and instruments. You have children who are gifted in the use of their hands, children who are gifted creatively, who can be identified only by keen observation on the part of the teacher or another observer in the classroom. More than that, many of these children will never be identified unless you present them with the right kind of curriculum, because the curriculum acts as a chemical reagent and precipitates these very aptitudes and abilities which are so often overlooked in the conventional classroom. So our Committee came to the following decision, which I quote from the report with respect to the curriculum: A curriculum is required which is tentative in nature. It must be flexible, elastic and suggestive. It should permit variety in method of approach and presentation as well as in content. It should provide for large units of work which will offer an op- portunity to discover resourcefulness, capability, interest, talent, originality, leader- ship and other desirable qualities which our pupils may possess. It must provide a field wide enough to include a wealth of experiences, social, manual and creative as well as academic, and fertile enough to permit the greatest possible growth and development. The next question was, “What provision should be made for the education of the bright?” In all, there are five or six general provisions which have been made in the past, and we group these into three. In the first place, we have those involv- ing ability grouping. New York City, as you know, is addicted to a practise of ability grouping. We have one, two, three, or X, Y, Z grouping in the larger schools in New York City, and we are sold on that proposition, regardless of the minority convictions against the project of ability grouping. 44 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY - . i i oa. Dd @D of le of er 1e es ae es a a A second proposal is that of organizing special classes. Somehow or other, we seem to feel that if you organize a special class, you have solved your problem— no such thing! In a special class at the Speyer School you have a range in I.Q. between 130 and 200, a vast range, a difference of seventy points. Drop seventy points below 130 and you reach a keystone of 60 1.Q. The difference, then, in that term and class at the Speyer School is just as great as the difference you would find in a class in which the lowest pupil had an I.Q. of 60 and the brightest an 1.Q. of 130. It is a ridiculous thing that any uniform approach would meet the needs of individual children under those conditions. The third general pattern is one that features the continuous motion plan with individualized instruction, plans similar to the Winnetka or the McDade or the Dalton plans and their modifications, and then those emphasizing the activity program, both within and outside the classroom, co-curricular activities as well as extra-curricular activities, special interest groups meeting before and after school hours, during week-ends and during the summer holidays. There are four suggestions: Either individualization, the activity program, special classes or acceleration, or some combination of these. Which combination or which individual pattern is the most effective in the education of the bright child is the question to which we do not know the answer, and your Committee very humbly suggests, Mr. Conroy, that some long-range experiments be set up in various schools in order to evaluate the worthwhileness of these four systems which on the basis of opinion only have been used for the past ten or twenty years without any attempt to evaluate them objectively. CHAIRMAN Conroy: What experiences in the new curriculum relate to the child with delinquent tendencies? In presenting the next speaker, I would like to say that it is only her modesty that kept her from being in her rightful place as chairman of this part of the meeting. She was most complimentary. May I return the compliment by saying that we as the principals of this city are proud of our President, Miss Lindquist. Miss Linpqutst: Studies in delinquency emphasize the prevalence of retarda- tion, so educators accepted the challenge for a thorough study. In New York City, the Board of Education and the Board of Superintendents formed a Com- mittee on Maladjustment and Delinquency under the joint chairmanship of Margaret J. McCooey and James Marshall. The Committee found that there was little difference between maladjustment and delinquency. Mr. Marshall summarized the situation this way: “We conceived that the principal problems of the school were affirmatively to counteract and repair the damage those disintegrating influences of the street, home and community might have, and to give intelligently such understanding and ability to think as would lead to successful adjustment in the world, to the extent and degree to which the child was capable of absorbing them. We felt that negatively the problem of the school was not to create maladjustment in the school; not to give in the school a sense of insecurity; not to initiate the school anxieties and not to create in the school situations which were bound to lead to failure.” Of course, you know as well as I do that we can’t predict delinquency, and, of course, immediately there was such criticism that this was a foolish thing. However, there are children in all schools that demonstrate emotional insecurity. PRINCIPAL, OCTOBER, 1938 45 They are disturbing in the average class; they try the teachers; their records are those of conflict with authority, sometimes outside of school as well as in the school. Classes were formed in eight centers, sometimes two classes in a school, some- times just one class in a school, in one school four classes, of this type of child, and the plans that were used were for a flexible curriculum and were based on the recommendations of the Committee. I have chosen only five of those recom- mendations as being most significant: (1) Smaller classes; these classes were limited to fifteen. (2) Smaller schools; they were placed in the schools that were small enough to handle the local community situation. (3) A modernized cur- riculum with more self-direction and experimental learning. (4) Additional services by the school for the children who had special emotional and scholastic problems. (5) Additional recreational and extra-curricular activities for the after-school hours. One speaker spoke of the problems caused by insecurity in the home; that it affected learning ability as well as behavior. Assistant Superintendent Regina Burke in summing up called attention to the fact that the key to maladjustment is in the younger group, sometimes manifesting itself in the kindergarten and in the first year. She therefore stressed, as one of the former speakers did, the value of the nursery school, the kindergarten, and particularly an extension of the kindergarten in order to give this informal approach to the early learning situation, and she gave some very important points on the subject of reading readiness. Another speaker spoke of this fact: that schools have a serious task to sell to the public the idea that education is not a thing restricted to the traditional hours of the day and not something restricted to books and pens and papers. This was particularly significant with reference to the children that have prob- lems and difficulties with schooling. Some of our speakers will stress the necessity of becoming acquainted with the community, and, in connection with this work for these children with delin- quent tendencies, we are working for a closer cooperation with social agencies; in fact, in one school that has done much work along this line, we are putting in what is called an adjustment worker, a social worker, to see if the problem of the relationship of all these splendid private agencies and opportunities in the neighborhood and the problems of the school could not be worked out. We call it a consultation service. This will begin in the September term. Teachers must recognize the importance of the intelligent use of play. If a child is not prepared to function effectively in his social relationships, education very often is a failure; and this is particularly true with this group of children about which we are talking. The challenge, then, is to help them to secure emo- tional security. CHAIRMAN Conroy: The child with special disabilities, what is to be done for him? I am sure that in presenting Miss Bildersee, she will agree with me that she has a different answer for the question today than she might have had two years ago, because for the past two years she has been in charge of two of the Federal Education Projects, one that turns its attention to remedial reading, and the other, remedial arithmetic. In one case she has something like 650 workers under 46 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY oOo > — * a Hie ich ries he | ie Ae arge, SPs e ee her guidance and in the other case about 300. I don’t know anybody in the City right now who can speak more authoritatively on remedial technics than Miss Dorothy Bildersee. Miss BILDERSEE: More and more, those of us who are actively engaged in training teachers in the handling of pupils retarded in reading or in arithmetic fec! that there would be comparatively few pupils with special disabilities if the instruction in the 1A grades were conducted according to recognized progressive methods, and if the basic principles underlying these methods were extended thru the entire school life of the learners. Two of the most important trends in progressive methods are an understand- ing of the principles of readiness and a realization of the importance of indi- vidualization. The teacher must realize the importance of readiness not only at the beginning but during the entire school life of the child. This includes much more than the child’s intellectual status altho a knowledge of his mental age is very important. In spite of disagreements, it is generally conceded that a mental age of 6 is needed for beginning work in the first year. In both reading and arithmetic, basic concepts are needed before the child is ready to begin the so-called formal work of 1A. The child must have rich experi- ences through which needed concepts have grown up and on which new concepts can develop. Before he can begin to learn to read the child, in addition to experi- ences and a rich vocabulary, must have, some rather specific abilities (such as rhyming;) including matching geometric figures, words or letters; repeating letter sounds and nonsense syllables; recognizing objects and telling a simple story. For arithmetic, he must have become conscious of the significance to him- self of quantitative situations, which have arisen in his life but which he may not have recognized as such. He should have an idea of greater, smaller; more, less; earlier, later; taller, shorter; have actual experiences with objects,—with putting things together, with separating objects, with taking some away. He should have had opportunities to count, to measure things in an informal way. All these experiences should grow out of his activities. For a full measure of success, the child should have, also, a wholesome emo- tional attitude toward his home, his fellow pupils and his school work. Much is taken for granted with the 1A child. Colleges recognize the importance of ori- entation work. How much more necessary is a period of adjustment for the 6 year old, removed, for the first time, from his familiar, secure surroundings. To know adequately the previous experiences of the pupil one must know more than the individual. The child is a product of his environment, and a knowledge of the community, of the types of homes the pupils come from and of the influences that surround them, of their opportunities, or more frequently, of their lack of opportunities, is necessary. To be ready for reading, the child must have adequate physical development. Many pupils fail because of constitutional disabilities or physical defects. These too, must be taken into account in a program of prevention, and later, of reme- dial work. Children who cannot see, who cannot hear, will begin from the first day to build up disabilities that will lead to failure. If teachers thru the grades would recognize the significance of readiness and PRINCIPAL, OCTOBER, 1938 47 | . the need for individualization, would know their children in the 5 areas referred to, and keep in mind that many children are and will always be slow learners, there would be less need for remedial procedures. However, we have with us many remedial cases, and I shall describe, briefly, the remedial procedures used by classroom teachers, developed from the W.P.A. remedial materials. This remedial reading program begins with an orientation period. The teacher tries to establish a wholesome tone, discovers interests and develops new ones, provides experiences and opportunities to discuss these. To interest the children in books, she builds up a library of attractive simple books. Here and thruout the program, she stresses the language arts, oral and written, thru written stories and logs, newspapers, group activities at first-later, individual as well as group. Technics needed for these develop gradually as the need for them is felt by the children or pointed out by the teacher. Preliminary work to supply other needs, such as the power to discriminate sounds, forms and so on, is begun at once. As soon as the tests are completed, the teacher begins planning on the basis of specific needs. Individual and group instruction follow. Exercises are assigned in the W.P.A. remedial units. Oral and silent reading assignments paralleling the units are made. Supplementary activities based on language arts and manual arts are suggested. Gradually, thru a program consisting of cycles of testing, planning, teaching, drilling, assigning and checking, the child progresses until he is up to grade, or until his reading age equals his mental age. Since the six cardinal objectives are accepted as the philosophy of the Ele- mentary Division, the remedial programs should, and do, help children. 1. To understand and practise desirable social relationships Children learn to work together, to plan and play together, to help one another, to cooperate, to respect others’ rights and to appreciate others’ contributions. 2. To discover and develop individual aptitudes Through stressing the language and the manual arts. . To develop habits of critical thinking Through learning gradually to recognize their own specific needs, to select needed drill materials ; through evaluating our own progress, and through specific planning of supplementary activities. . To desire worthwhile activities Through developing a love for reading, and the activities arising out of reading, and out of arithmetic, and out of the supplementary activities of the program. 5. To gain command of the common integrating knowledge and skills Actual results, reported by teachers show gains in reading, arithmetic, language arts, manual arts, and content subjects (through mastery of reading skills and through an extension of interests). 6. Physical and mental health Physical health and the correction of defects is stressed. The mental adjustment results through habits of concentration, perseverance, self-reliance, self-direction, reliability, and attitudes of ever widening interest, cooperation, self-confidence, initiative, and respect for others’ opinions and the rights of others. CHAIRMAN Conroy: Mr. Kornfeld, the Chairman of our Committee on Com- munity Relationships, is going to tackle the question of adjusting a curriculum to the community in terms of its limitations and its possibilities. Mr. KornFeEtp: In considering the role of the community in its relation to w > 48 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY | bot ous as con bes ach wit. 7 res¢ ties T sucl clin: a pa the of d such teac! doct Rece beca ing { all o dren clinic in co to ex Classe Th dens, shoul study agenc a PRIN i i i ) oD e is e al g; or le- the curriculum we ought first to distinguish between localities in which the school is the center and the larger localities contiguous with the smaller ones. In the former may be found: parents’ associations, parks, playgrounds, various types of industry, social settlements, churches, fostering crime, agencies preventing crime. In the larger localities there are usually found the larger agencies; councils of parents associations, museums, libraries, patriotic societies and so- forth. In considering the inter-relationship of curriculum and community, all the agencies included in both the narrow and wider locality look as significant factors in determining what desirable changes, revisions, and reorganizations should be made. Professor Lloyd Allen Cook refers to the community as a number of persons bound together by common interests, values and needs. In discussing the curriculum in relation to the needs of the community we ought next to look into these needs. The needs of the community are the needs of the pupils themselves. Insofar as the curriculum meets the needs of the children does it meet the needs of the community. We are constantly confronted with the responsibility of finding the best devices and technics to educate children in a changing community. To achieve these ends the schools thru its pupils and its teachers must cooperate with the community. The school should explore the community for its educational possibilities or resources in order to enable the curriculum to reflect and utilize these possibili- ties. The school should be aware of the availability of all the health facilities; such as, the district health center of the Department of Health, the dental clinics, and the hospital clinics. It should take active steps to make their facilities a part of the school scheme. The subject of health education, an integral part of the curriculum, includes correction of physical defects, prevention of the spread of disease, dissemination of worthwhile health information. Its treatment requires such constant cooperative thinking and planning that the supervisory and teaching staff of a school must work hand in hand with the nurse, the school doctor, the school dentist, the private practitioner, the local hospital and clinic. Recently in one school 33 banners were awarded by the Department of Health because the pupils in as many classes had cleared up all dental defects by utiliz- ing the public and private facilities of that one community. In another school all of the 225 children enrolled in its 9 classes for physically handicapped chil- dren had made almost 700 contacts with orthopedic, cardiac and tubercular clinics in one year. The teachers and the supervisors in both these schools were in constant communication with the health agencies. Attempts are being made to extend the facilities of these agencies to all types of pupils in all types of classes. The school should know the location of the libraries, museums, botanic gar- dens, and menageries in their own localities and neighboring communities; and should establish practical and workable contacts with them. Practically every _ Study included in our curriculum can be enriched by association with these agencies. Committees of teachers and supervisors, bureaus of the Board of » PRINCIPAL, OCTOBER, 1938 49 Education, faculties of certain schools, individual teachers, committees of pupils, even individual pupils have sought the assistance of these agencies; have received them in greater and greater quantities and have brought about an enrichment never accomplished under the older concept of the curriculum in its relationship | with the community. The school should be aware of the existence of welfare agencies in its com- munity. It must make direct contact with these agencies in order to help the | family adjust its social and economic needs, thereby directly aiding its children. In these days of economic need one cannot over-emphasize the part which the school must play in supplementing these needs. Thousands of hot lunches and thousands of articles of clothing are supplied to our children through a central school relief committee and individual school committees in cooperation with other public relief agencies. Innumerable instances of intervention by interested teachers in various schools have brought about aid to needy children and their families at the hands of public and private charitable and other welfare groups. Should a record be made public of the extent to which teachers have visited chil- dren’s homes and public and private welfare and social agencies in order to carry out more effectively the new spirit of the curriculum the results would prove highly illuminating. The school must survey the recreational resources of the community and must coordinate its own recreational progress with these facilities. Because of limitations in the recreational equipment in some of our older schools, the more recent organization in ever greater numbers of public parks, playgrounds, swim- ming pools, evening and afternoon social centers has greatly helped meet recre- ational needs of these schools. Only within the past month a suggestion was made by the Superintendent of Schools of the City of New York that the public swimming pools recently completed be utilized for the instruction of swimming during the period from June 11th to June 25th. The prevalence of so many broken homes in some of our underprivileged neighborhoods has challenged the schools to provide in its curriculum such school situations as would permit the children to live happier and more social lives. This challenge is being constantly met. Numerous examples may be cited of the utilization by various schools of the health, the educational, the social, the economic, the industrial, and the resources of various communities. The Field Activity Program of the United States Works Progress Administra- tion has organized several day camps to which thousands of children are brought daily. It has developed a series of excursions involving visits by additional thou- sands to the Hayden Planetarium, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Metropolitan Museum, after trained teachers had visited the classrooms and haé conducted appropriate lessons. It has also carried on successfully a series of trips to other points of interest in the city. In all of these projects efforts have been made to use the children’s new experiences and to develop richer and more mean- ingful learning. One school in Brooklyn, in a section where forty percent of the population is on relief and where half of the children are being supplied with free lunches, has 50 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARI| in de inf ne\ anc tier con ] soc. the: a cc shay time C sped ing, tion: grou like N name M if he prob] he m M1 to say It is factor in cor MR your | the su that ? MR — PRIN: ~ = ie le | id al th ir IS, il- to ld f ent tly om — 00) ves. & ; of the tra- ight n0u- the had rips been eal: F on is ARY utilized the lunch room period as a device to practise cooperation, mutual help- fulness, courtesy, correct eating habits, cleanliness and self control. Another school in a different section of the city has taken full advantage of the develop- ment of a public housing project by studying practical civics and practical city planning. In several communities in this city experiments in the development of school- community consciousness have been initiated. After a survey of the resources, the needs and the social makeup of these areas was made, the curriculum of its schools was modified and greater emphasis was placed on informal education and incidental learning. The schools should enlist the communities support for the necessary and desirable changes in the curriculum and should keep the community constantly informed of the newer objectives. The school thru its teachers should explain the purpose and practises of the newer educational philosophy as a means of overcoming parental indifference and parental ignorance. The school should also attempt to modify the impa- tience of other types of parents who expect a complete adherence to these newer concepts of the curriculum regardless of the schools’ readiness to do so. By offering to meet the parents halfway; by understanding the needs of the social groups in each community, and by inviting them in and throwing open to them its records and facilities; by adopting a common philosophy and exercising a common interest in the pupils; the school will have taken the first steps toward shaping a curriculum that meets the needs of the community and at the same time includes provisions for the social guidance of its children. CHAIRMAN Conroy: Looking back over the rather definite statements of the speakers today, I wonder if you don’t picture a group of people working, adjust- ing, changing, striving to meet the ideals that you have expressed in The Na- tional Elementary Principal, and other places, a great leaven at work, and a group of people fostering the growth of that leaven as well as they may? I would like to leave that picture of our situation with you. Now, may I ask that you in addressing any questions to the panel give your name and your state for the record? Mr. J. T. WorLTon (Salt Lake City, Utah): I would like to ask Mr. Pertsch if he intended to give the impression that the four phases of attack made on this problem of meeting the needs of brilliant children, are mutually exclusive, or did he mean to infer that they may, all four, be used at the same time? Mr. Pertscu: I am sorry if I left any doubt in your mind about that. I meant to say that they might be used either individually or severally in combination. It is rather difficult to use them individually and isolate them from the other factors and the other patterns, so that you usually find they are used severally in combination. Mr. Wortton: May I supplement that by another question? I infer also that your plan of ability grouping not only includes these brilliant children who are the subject of your talk today, but it includes all of the children—am I right in that? Mr. Pertscu: That is right. PRINCIPAL, OCTOBER, 1938 51 Mr. E. C. WINE (Wichita, Kans.): I would like to ask Miss Lindquist if the plan for a consultant is different from the usual visiting teacher program, as we know it in the schools? Miss Linpautst: It is a little hard for me to answer just specifically what it is because it is in the shaping and in the making, but I think the idea is that it would be different. It would include the visiting teacher, but it would be largely a means of facilitating and making known to the agencies what are the needs | of the schools and wherein they can help, and also interpreting those agencies | to the school. Part of the program is an initiation of the teacher into a place | where she can get the help most easily and know how to go about it. There may be | future publication of available materials for teachers that are now so scattered | that it is not readily known to the teacher when an emergency arises. Mr. WINE: May I ask what the training of such consultant will be? Will it be comparable to that of a visiting teacher? Miss Linpquist: The young lady who has been chosen has had a very wide experience including visiting-teacher work, teaching, supervision of teaching, a number of years of service with one of the large charity organizations in case- and family-welfare work. That isn’t even the complete story. They tried to get one of the best equipped persons they could, because that is just an experiment. As a result of that experiment they may later on set up requirements and clarify what it is they have in mind. CHAIRMAN Conroy: May I add to Miss Lindquist’s answer that there is in the City at the present time located somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 Columbus Avenue the W.P.A. headquarters, a junior consultation service project where there is actually being carried out some of this work, and some of the questions that have been asked may be answered by making contact with that project. Mrs. GertrupE Howarp (California): I have heard of Miss Bildersee’s work, and I would like to ask if it is possible to see some of the materials which she has developed or to see the work in process while we are here. Miss BiLpeRsEE: I am sorry, but it is not possible to see the work in progress because the W.P.A. remedial reading and arithmetic teachers were sent at the close of the school to the other projects that carry on through the summer; but there are three very fine booths at the Port Authority Building where you can see not only the materials and an explanation of the methods that we use but also an analysis of the underlying philosophy. You will find two of these in the W.P.A. exhibit and one in the Board of Education exhibit, elementary division. The one in the Board of Education, elementary division, exhibit also has a rather complete outline of the remedial technics that are used by the remedial teachers who have been trained by me and my assistants in alertness | credit courses for the Board of Education. Mr. J. F. LicHTENBERG (Minneapolis, Minn.): I know that we have heard and read of different groups of objectives, and I notice different members ol your panel this afternoon referred to the six objectives, showing that your group had organized these in a bit different way. I wonder if you could dictate them to us slowly enough so those of us who are interested could make note of them CHAIRMAN Conroy: Mr. Fox will take care of the question because he hap- i a = — 52 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTAR)| . : e @ A 7 pens to have the six state-wide cardinal objectives as they are worded. There are a few more than that, but six have been accepted in toto. Mr. Fox: Number one is to understand and practice desirable social rela- tionships. Mr. FaRNuM (New York City): May I suggest that it might save time and be more satisfactory if we referred these people who want this to the New York State Elementary Education Department? They would be glad to give them these little pamphlets which are a resumé of their findings. CHAIRMAN Conroy: The Department of Elementary School Principals, thru the stenotype record of this entire meeting, will have this material appear in the October issue of the Elementary Principal, and if you are a member, you will receive that, and it may save time, if that is agreeable. Are there questions on the panel? At this particular point, the round table might very well have become a panel had we started sooner. Dr. J. C. Gatnsspurc (Brooklyn, N. Y.): Dr. Pertsch raised a question that I thought might perhaps be answered from the floor—what is intelligence? One of the definitions I heard a long time ago that seems to me met universal approval was that intelligence is that quality or qualities, combination of quali- ties, which is measured by that test or group of tests which we call intelligence tests! Seriously, however, I noticed that the work of the panel was devoted largely to integrating the curriculum and while many variations on that subject were brought up, naturally, many phases were developed, the important under- lying core, I take it for granted, is the matter of integration. In line with that, much was said about the need for developing social qualities, mental health, certain traits like planning and initiative, and it occurred to me that when all was said and done, there has been in the past in the field of education a great deal of very direct effort, careful procedure in methodology, in the direction of preparing for skills, while a good deal of vague treatment has been developed thus far, at least, toward developing those other traits of which we all seem to desire so much in the schools but for which so little careful planning has yet been done. It is my hope that if the work of the Curriculum Committee goes on, something may yet be devised which will bring into a focal limelight the methods by which we may develop how to plan, how to initiate, how to make friends, how to go through all these abilities which we desire. CHAIRMAN Conroy: Is there a question on the panel? I wonder if the President would be willing to take over the meeting again and _ thus relieve the Chairman at this particular time? PRESIDENT STRATTON: I want to express our appreciation to the New York ' principals for their splendid contribution this afternoon to our Department pro- gram. We thank you individually, and, unless I hear objection, I declare this | session of the Department of Elementary School Principals adjourned. Even tho most of your schools have been in session for several weeks, let Headquarters wish for you a most profitable and happy school year. May you attain the goals which you have set for yourself and your teachers. Remember that Headquarters is always delighted to be of ' service. PRINCIPAL, OCTOBER, 1938 53 What’s Happening !! * The Clay School Verse Speaking Choir of St. Louis, Mo., has been do- ing some very interesting work for the past three years. The Choir is com- posed of fifty boys from the third and fourth grades. Miss Anna Gregory, who introduced the work into the Clay School, is the director of the Choir. She practises once a week with the boys for fifty minutes, dividing the period into three parts. The first pe- riod of fifteen minutes is given to Speech Training, based on English phonetics. During the second fifteen minutes, she reads beautiful poetry to the boys and talks about the rhythm and meaning of the poetry. This helps to awaken their imagination and to instill an appreciation of good poetry. The last period of twenty minutes is devoted to drill work in blending the voices into oneness and beauty of in- flexion. The marked improvement in the diction of the boys is an outstanding asset. Miss Margery Griffin, the prin- cipal of the Clay School, has encour- aged the boys in their efforts to advance in beauty of rendition and enjoyment of poetry. * Autores Jovenes, a magazine for young authors, is a publication spon- sored by the sixth grade of Jefferson School, Santa Barbara, California. The articles in this school magazine represent contributions from all grades in the school. It is published to give the parents an idea of what their children are doing. While writing the articles, the boys and girls get experi- ence in penmanship, spelling and crea- tive English. Contributions consist of a unit write-up, stories, talks, poetry, and other articles connected with the work of the school. Each child in the school takes part in producing some- thing. Headquarters feels that the boys and girls of this school, under the leadership of William Scalapino, prin- cipal, are doing a wonderful piece of work. * Exploring, a booklet containing a story of science in an elementary school, has been prepared and _ pub- lished by the Meadowbrook School, Norfolk, Virginia, of which Miss Ruth Livermon is principal. It consists mainly of pictures describing the fine work in science which the children of this school are doing. This is the first book of this nature which has come to headquarters, and it is indeed a splendid piece of work. * Are you interested in knowing more about the wonders of nature? One of the finest sources of informa- tion on this subject will be found in the National Nature News, published weekly at 3107 Wisconsin Avenue, Washington, D. C. * A most outstanding contribution to elementary education has been made by the Garfield Heights City Schools, Ohio, under the leadership of Harold R. Maurer, superintendent. This Tentative Curriculum Syllabus of the Elementary Schools outlines briefly some of the work in the major divisions of the school’s curriculum. Description of such phases of the school as child ac counting and personnel records, infor- mal pupil-home reports, the prevention 54 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY an tea gu ap] ant bee pos gui tea 1 sen the the city cre¢ of t prin * new of li of t lishe ciati then T spon pape pape in th beth * partn cipal: social Reco; Schoc dealir ing th part many with from differe latter article aspect PRIN ts 1€ of ne ion ide als, ive ary the the of for- tion RY and correction of reading disabilities, teacher home visitation, the child guidance clinic, character education, approvals, faculty seminar meetings, and health and safety education, have been dealt with very briefly. The pur- pose of this syllabus is to serve as a guide for the intelligent, creative teacher. The content of this syllabus repre- sents the combined work and effort of the principals and teachers serving in the various elementary schools of this city, and Superintendent Maurer gives credit for the editing and organization of this fine material to W. Paul Allen, principal Garfield Elementary School. * Sponsors of elementary school newspapers are searching for the rays of light that will aid them in the field of their activity. E.P.A. Echoes, pub- lished by the Elementary Press Asso- ciation, Chicago, Illinois, will enable them to solve some of their difficulties. This magazine has been written for sponsors of elementary school news- papers. A descriptive list of the news- papers published in Chicago is included in this magazine of which Mrs. Eliza- beth Sheffield is editor. * The Tenth Yearbook of the De- partment of Elementary School Prin- cipals of the Michigan Education As- sociation, “Trends in Curriculum Reconstruction in the Elementary School,” is another one of a series dealing with pertinent problems affect- ing the elementary school. In the first part of this yearbook you will find many splendid contributions dealing with curriculum building programs from as many distinct communities in different parts of the country. In the latter part will be found two excellent articles: one dealing with the practical aspects of a curriculum program, and the other dealing with the part the principal should play in the curric- ulum development. The Editorial Committee of which Urban Hartung is chairman, thru dili- gent and untiring effort, has com- pleted a work which should be read by everyone interested in the advance- ment of education. Headquarters is happy to tell its members about this fine outstanding yearbook. * R.H. Richards, our former State Enrolment Chairman for West Vir- ginia, is now on leave of absence from the principalship of the Lincoln Ele- mentary School, Huntington. This coming year he will be on the staff of the University of Ohio, Columbus, while completing requirements for his Ph.D. in elementary education. We wish Mr. Richards much success in his new work. * A splendid school newspaper, which has recently been sent to head- quarters, is the Belle Morris News, published by the students of Belle Morris School, Washington Pike, Knoxville, Tennessee. This mimeo- graphed paper carries many pictures and illustrations which demonstrate the work carried on in this school. T. N. Johnston is principal of the Belle Morris School, and is responsible for sending this issue to headquarters. * The organization of the Southeast Alabama Elementary and Junior High School Principals’ Association was com- pleted by a group of thirty-one princi- pals meeting at Troy State Teachers College on August 11. Officers elected for the coming year are: Adolphus Jones, Wetumpka, president; Winton Rayburn, Slocomb, vice-president; J. B. Clements, Escambia County, secre- PRINCIPAL, OCTOBER, 1938 55 tary; and Buren Gibson, Troy, treas- urer. * Frank Echolds, principal of Wood- row Wilson School, Indianapolis, In- diana, and member of the Department of Elementary School Principals, died suddenly July 23, 1938. Mr. Echolds was appointed principal of Woodrow Wilson School in 1936 and was to have held this position again this fall. He will be missed by his many friends. This news was sent in by Mrs. Vivian Rankin, Indianapolis, Indiana. * The Wisconsin Elementary School Principals Association Bulletin is issued by the Executive Board from time to time for the purpose of giving its mem- bers valuable information in the field of elementary school administration and supervision and reports of the vari- ous committees. Fred Schnell, secre. tary of this newly organized associa- tion, has sent a copy of the first News Bulletin to Headquarters and _ that group is to be commended on the splen- did work it is doing. * From Miss Amy Hinrichs, New | Orleans, Louisiana, has come the sad | news of the death of Miss Fanny Leve- | rich, who was principal of the Beaure. gard School of that city. SECRETARY’S REPORT New York, N. Y. June 25-30, 1938 The semi-annual meeting of the Department of Elementary School Principals was held in New York City, June 25-30, 1938. General sessions were held on Monday and Tuesday after- noons, June 27 and 28 respectively, in the Salle Moderne Room, Hotel Pennsylvania. On Monday afternoon, preceding the two speakers on the program, two films, “Play as a School Activity” and “Making of An Engine,” which were prepared by Mr. Fred Orth, principal in Los Angeles, California, were shown. Mrs. George G. Howard of Inglewood, California was kind enough to bring these films with her to the convention and make the presentation speech. We are indebted to the Bell and Howell Company of Chicago for lending us the projector for the showing of, these films. The topics and speakers for the general sessions were as follows: First Session—Monday, June 27, 1:45 p.m., Salle Moderne Room, Hotel Pennsylvania President Mason A. Stratton, presiding SHOWING OF MoTION PICTURES TEACHER PARTICIPATION THRU THE P.T.A. Mrs. J. K. Pettengill, President, National Congress of Parents and Teachers. Some Important Factors IN PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT Dr. Fritz Redl, Progressive Education Association, New York, N. Y. Second Session—Tuesday, June 28, 2:00 p.m., Salle Moderne Room, Hotel Pennsylvania Business MEETING REPORT OF THE RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE Harry H. Haw, Chairman, Principal, Alice Birney School, San Diego, California. REPORT OF THE NECROLOGY COMMITTEE Arnold Gregory, Chairman, Principal, Raupp School, Lincoln Park, Michigan. ELECTION OF OFFICERS THE NATIONAL ELEMENTAR!| 56 Elem the T have Ait Assoc dent | to th Eleme tion, | Pre: persor Stratt Mayo Princi Eleme Eleme York; Presid Pres apprec Ban banqu evenin; —. PRIN to m- | ald F on | ri- q re- F ia- § ws § hat 7 en- & eW sad | ve f id in fter- hool ‘ipal, ation ; the F ania 5 ARIE PANEL DiscussION Sponsored by the New York State and City Principals Miss Margaret Lindquist, President, New York City Principals, presiding “The Curriculum in Transition” (Under the honorary chairmanship of Associate Superintendent Stephen F. Bayne and Assistant State Commissioner J. Cayce Morrison) General Chairman—John F. Conroy, Principal, Public School 32, Bronx, New York City. ADJUSTING THE CURRICULUM TO THE GiFTED CHILD C. F. Pertsch, Junior High School, Brooklyn, N. Y. Wuat ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES ARE NECESSARY TO PROMOTE THE PROPER FUNCTIONING OF THE CURRICULUM? Mrs. Eudora Fletcher, Public School No. 99, Brooklyn, N. Y. How Witt THE REVISION OF THE CURRICULUM Topay CHANGE THE SuBJECT MATTER AND PROCEDURES IN THE First Two Years? Ruth Gillette Hardy, Public School No. 33, New York, N. Y. Wuat CHANGES ARE NEEDED IN Our PrEsENT CURRICULUM TO ACHIEVE OuR OBJECTIVES In TERMS OF METHOps AND ConTENT? Wuat Are PRAcTICAL First STEPS IN INTEGRATION ? John F. Conroy, Public School No. 32, New York, N. Y. Waat Are Our New York City Osyectives? How Can WE Attain THEM? How Can WE EvaLuaTE THEIR ATTAINMENT? Benedict Fox, Public School No. 45, South Ozone Park, N. Y. THE COMMUNITY AND THE CHANGING CURRICULUM Louis Kornfeld, Public School No. 30, Brooklyn, N. Y. NECESSARY Mop!IFIcaTION OF THE CURRICULUM FOR THE CHILD WITH DELINQUENT TENDENCIES ? Margaret A. Lindquist, 2475 Palisade Avenue, Spuyten Duyvil, New York, N. Y. REMEDIAL PROCEDURES Dorothy Bildersee, 115 Willow Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. Social Affairs Breakfast-—One hundred and twenty-five members and friends of the Department of Elementary School Principals braved the rain and attended the get-together breakfast at the Tavern on the Green, in Central Park, Monday, Juriz 27, 1938. All arrived in time to have a chat with former friends, and to make new friends. After partaking of delicious food, President Stratton introduced Dr. Stephen F. Bayne, Associate Superintendent of the New York City Schools, and Miss Margaret Lindquist, Presi- dent of the New York Principals Association, each of whom extended welcomes and greetings to the visiting principals. Dr. Frank D. Whalen, Past President of the New York City Elementary Principals Association, and general chairman of arrangements for our conven- tion, brought further greetings and announced the activities for the week. President Stratton invited presidents of state organizations to stand. Five such distinguished persons were in our midst. Besides introducing members of the executive family, President Stratton introduced the following: Miss Millicent Baum, who extended greetings from the Mayor of New York City; Mr. Charles Joyce, President of the New York State Elementary Principals Association; Miss Ann Scott, the official representative from the New Jersey Elementary Principals; Miss Margaret Cribbin, Executive Secretary of the New York City Elementary Principals Association; Mr. E. L. January, State Enrolment Chairman for New York; Miss Elizabeth McCormick, Past President of the Department; Mr. Earl Laing, Past President of the Department; and Miss Cornelia Adair, Past President of N.E.A. President Stratton thanked all for coming on such a rainy morning, and expressed his | appreciation to the local committee for the fine arrangements made. Banquet—Several hundred members and friends of the Department attended a lovely banquet, which was arranged by the New York City Elementary Principals, on Tuesday evening, June 28, Manhattan Room, Hotel Pennsylvania. PRINCIPAL, OCTOBER, 1938 57 Dr. J. Cayce Morrison, Assistant Commissioner of Education, Albany, New York, and Dr. Stephen F. Bayne, Associate Superintendent of Schools, New York City, brought greet- ings from the host city and state. Dr. James Sunter of England, representing the National Union of Teachers for England and Wales, brought greetings. President Stratton turned the meeting over to Miss Margaret Lindquist, President of the | New York City Elementary Principals Organization, who, in turn, introduced Miss Ethel | Huggard, the young lady in charge of the program of the evening. The New York Principals then presented a few comical skits on school activities, which were thoroughly enjoyed by | all. Between each skit, Miss Margaret Hearn, acting as musical director, by her “supervising attack” succeeded in getting all present to participate in singing the many humorous songs which had been prepared for the group and had been distributed at each table. Miss Ethel Huggard was at the piano. Following the skits Dr. Frank Whalen presented humorous slides with equally humorous description of local activities. Each person went away with a feeling of relaxation after an evening of much merriment. Executive Meeting, Sunday, June 26 The meeting of the officers and executive committee of the Department of Elementary School Principals, which was held in the parlor of the President’s suite, Hotel Pennsylvania, New York City, was called to order by the President. Those present were: Mason A. Stratton, president; Arnold Gregory, fourth vicepresident; Maude A. Rhodes, Mrs. Edith B. Joynes, Ira M. Kline, and Irvin A. Wilson, executive committee members; Herbert C. Hansen, director, life membership division; M. Emma Brookes, director retirement division; and Eva G. Pinkston, executive secretary. A motion was made by Miss Rhodes, and seconded by Miss Brookes, that the minutes oj the Atlantic City meeting be dispensed with, since they were published in the April issue of The National Elementary Principal. Motion carried. The group expressed its regret that Edythe J. Brown, Isabel Tucker, H. B. Norton, Harry H. Haw, and Cassie F. Roys, other members of the official family, were unable to be present A motion was made by Mr. Hansen, and seconded by Mr. Kline, that the secretary send words of greeting to each. Motion carried. The executive secretary was instructed to write a letter to Mr. W. T. Longshore, a past president of the Department, whose illness kept him from being with us at this time. The next order of business was the secretary’s report which President Stratton requested the executive secretary to present. It was unanimously decided that the Department sell the Annotated Bibliography of the First Fifteen Yearbooks for $1.00 per copy. This extra bulletin was given to each member of the Department for 1937-38. The number of pages contained in the Yearbook of the Department was discussed at length A motion was made by Mr. Kline and seconded by Mrs. Joynes that the size of the future Yearbooks be left to the discretion of the president and executive Secretary. Motion carried The officers recommended 450 pages as an ideal size and 500 pages as a maximum. The executive secretary was instructed to ask the Editorial Committee to prepare Study Outlines on all future Yearbooks. Miss Maude McBroom, chairman, Editorial Committee, is preparing a Study Outline on the new Yearbook which is, “Newer Practises in Reading in the Elementary School.” The executive secretary discussed plans for giving publicity to the new Yearbook. The work of the Editorial Committee was commended very highly. It is the desire of the officers that each president of the Department continue to select outstanding elementary principals as members of this Committee. President Stratton read a letter from Dr. Beryl Parker inviting the Department to become a sponsor for the Association of Arts in Childhood and Story Parade. A motion was made by Miss Brookes, and seconded by Miss Rhodes, that a letter of thanks be sent to Dr. Parker but that she be advised this request does not conform to the policies of the Department 0! Elementary School Principals. Motion carried. A suggestion was made by Mrs. Joynes that the Enrolment Chairmen be asked to contact the various Schools of Education in their respective states bringing to their attention the Yearbooks and Bulletins of the Department. 58 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTAR! | Bib eacl pre: its ' bet seco fast atte M i 9:30 Rho Her! ment A the } M budg A mo be ac Ar have be lef It 1 Unive such | The summ Wilso! cipals ventio To decide June, It v for th It v hold ¢ Pres Nation of the Plan PRIN ; of of ry ent end le a him sted the aber gth. ture ried. tudy ttee, g in the the tary Some nade rker. | hold Conferences on Elementary Education. at of ntact f » the {RY A motion was made by Mr. Gregory, and seconded by Mr. Wilson, that the Annotated Bibliography of the Yearbooks of the Department be brought up-to-date at the end of each five year period. Motion carried. President Stratton made the suggestion that an invitation be sent immediately to the new presidents of the different state clubs to meet with the officers of the National Department at its “Dutch” breakfast on Sunday of convention week, in order to bring a closer relationship between the state and national organizations. A motion was made by Mr. Hansen, and seconded by Mr. Gregory, that each state president be invited to the Sunday morning break- fast of convention week, and that he be asked to send a representative if he is unable to attend. Motion carried. Meeting recessed until Monday, June 27, 9:30 a.m. Executive Meeting, Monday, June 27 The following officers met in the Parlor of President Stratton’s suite, Monday, June 27, 9:30 a.m.: Mason A. Stratton, president; Arnold Gregory, fourth vicepresident; Maude A. Rhodes, Mrs. Edith B. Joynes, and Irvin A. Wilson, members of the executive committee; Herbert C. Hansen, director, life membership division; M. Emma Brookes, director, retire- ment division; and Eva G. Pinkston, executive secretary. A motion was made by Miss Rhodes, and seconded by Mrs. Joynes, that we dispense with the reading of the minutes of the June 26 meeting. Motion carried. Mr. Hansen, chairman of the Budget Committee, presented the following proposed budget for 1938-39: Estimated receipts $26,700 Printing $7,500 General Office 8,200 Salaries . 8,200 Convention Expense : 800 Editorial Committee 500 Miscellaneous 400 Contingent 1,100 Total .. . $26,700 A motion was made by Mr. Hansen, seconded by Miss Brookes, that this proposed budget be accepted. Motion carried. A motion was made by Mr. Gregory, and seconded by Miss Rhodes, that the Department have a Conference on Elementary Education in 1939, and that the detailed arrangements be left to the Executive Secretary and the Conference Committee. Motion carried. It was suggested by Mr. Hansen that the executive secretary write a letter to New York University expressing the appreciation of the Department for their cooperation in making such splendid arrangements for the Second Annual Conference on Elementary Education. The question arose pertaining to changing the date of the election of officers from the summer convention to the winter meeting. After discussion a motion was made by Mr. Wilson, and seconded by Mr. Gregory, that the Department of Elementary School Prin- cipals continue to hold its election of officers at its summer meeting held during the con- vention of the National Education Association. Motion carried. To meet a service frequently requested regarding films and other visual aids, the officers decided that a Visual Aids Committee be appointed, whose report will be published in the June, 1939, issue of The National Elementary Principal. It was recommended that the newly elected president for 1938-39 appoint a committee for the Advancement of Elementary Education. It was the consensus of opinion that the Department encourage state principals’ clubs to President Stratton suggested that the Department have a cooperative committee with the National Congress of Parents and Teachers, whose purpose shall be to promote the interest of the public in the elementary school. Plans for the February meeting were discussed and a tentative program was outlined. PRINCIPAL, OCTOBER, 1938 59 A motion was made by Mr. Hansen, and seconded by Mr. Wilson, that the Executive Secretary write a letter of appreciation to all who helped make this convention a success, The officers of the Department extended a vote of thanks to the executive secretary. Meeting adjourned. Business Meeting, Tuesday Afternoon, June 28, 1938 Reports of the following committees were given: Resolutions Committee—Harry H. Haw, San Diego, California (This report was read by Sarah Young, Oakland, California) Necrology Committee—Arnold Gregory, Lincoln Park, Michigan Mr. Ira M. Kline, White Plains, New York, chairman of the Nominating Committee, sub- mitted the following report for the officers for 1938-39: President, Maude A. Rhodes, Atlanta, Georgia; First Vice President, Mason A. Stratton Atlantic City, New Jersey; Second Vice President, Elizabeth Malcolm, New Haven, Con- necticut; Third Vice President, Arnold Gregory, Lincoln Park, Michigan; Fourth Vice President, Harry H. Haw, San Diego, California; Fifth Vice President, Jane Monahan, New York City; Member of the Executive Committee for a four year term, Isabel Tucker, St. Louis, Missouri. A motion was made by Mr. Kline, seconded by Mr. R. H. Underwood of Fountain City, Tennessee, that the report be accepted. A motion was made by Mrs. A. R. Wilson, Durham, North Carolina, seconded by Miss Gertrude Pollard, Atlanta, Georgia, that voting by ballot be dispensed with, and that the Executive Secretary be instructed to cast the vote of the as- sembly for the nominees presented by the Committee. Motion carried. The ballot was cast by the Executive Secretary. Enrolment Chairmen Meeting, Wednesday, June 29, 1938 On Wednesday, June 29, at 2 p.m., the following persons assembled in the Roof Private Dining Room, Hotel Pennsylvania, to discuss plans for the enrolment campaign this year Florence Allen, Freeport, Long Island, New York; Leslie R. Bermingham, Mattituck, Long Island, New York; Mrs. Helen Brearley, Princeton, New Jersey; Bess Brown, Pocatello Idaho; Sara E. Chase, Springfield, Massachusetts; Anne V. A. Cline, Bergen County, New Jersey; Mrs. Mary M. Conry, Livingston, New Jersey; Mrs. Leo May Gamble and Mr Gertrude Best Hammond, Los Angeles, California; L. Daisy Hammond, Dayton, Ohio; Mrs. Howardine G. Hoffman, Chino, California; Mrs. Gertrude G. Howard, Inglewood, California; E. L. January, Elmsford, New York; Anna Johnson, Idaho Falls, Idaho; Lillian M. Johnson, Norfolk, Virginia; Mrs. Edith B. Joynes, Norfolk, Virginia; Ruth B Kelly, West Creek, New Jersey; Ira M. Kline, White Plains, New York; Clara H. Lobben Fargo, North Dakota; Elizabeth Malcolm, New Haven, Connecticut; Jane E. Monahan New York, New York; Hermann G. Patt, Newport, Rhode Island; Eva G. Pinkston, Wasb- ington, D. C.; Mrs. Caroline Preston, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Mrs. Vivian S. Rankin, Indian- apolis, Indiana; Zura E. Raup, Milton, Pennsylvania; Maude A. Rhodes, Atlanta, Georgia Mary Margaret Roach, Decatur, Illinois; Lila Stallings, Brunswick, Georgia; Mason A Stratton, Atlantic City, New Jersey; May Taylor, Atlanta, Georgia; Mrs. Alma Thomas Midland, Texas; Marjorie Walters, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Mrs. Jessie M. Wamsley, Pitman New Jersey; and Mrs. A. R. Wilson, Durham, North Carolina. President Stratton made the following requests: 1. That the Enrolment Chairmen make a strenuous effort to have a Principals’ Poy included in their respective State Journals. 2. That the Enrolment Chairmen do all they can to see that their states publish a directory of all the elementary principals in the state and that a copy of this directory be sent t headquarters. 3. That the names of all 100 percent cities, counties, and districts be sent to headquarters 4. That the State Enrolment Chairmen always have in mind to select professional peopl as their City, County and District Enrolment Chairmen. Each person went away from this meeting with the firm determination to see that the principals of his state, city, county and district know about the Department and the work it is trying to do for elementary education. 60 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTAR! Pern Rece Disbt I Tr Ed Bal PRIN( ie | FINANCIAL STATEMENT . Year Ended May 31, 1938 Permanent Fund: “rere ... $ 1,371.98 Securities 7,599.63 ————_ $ 8, 971.61 ub Balance in current fund as of May 31, 1937 Sxtees Me gee ” Receipts: = Current Year—5491 members at $3 each : 16,473.00 ak Arrears—10 members at $3 each 30.00 Vice Adjustments he cs me 65.00 we Sale of Yearbooks..... 4,041.55 ie Interest on Bonds ; Sn , 366.25 . Travel Expense and Honorarium to Eva G. Pinkston.... 289.07 ‘ 21,264.87 Aty, — $23,409.16 allot ; - Disbursements: wi Printing: ‘ Yearbook, September, 1937 $2,588.04 June, 1937 Bulletin 207.64 October, 1937 Bulletin 405.22 November, 1937 Bulletin es 652.00 vate December, 1937 Bulletin 246.89 ear February, 1938 Bulletin 268.41 Ong April, 1938 Bulletin 438.65 ello ———_ 4,806.85 New Printing—Leaflets, cards, etc. : ee 834.46 Mrs Services in Typing Section ee 1,183.23 hio; Services in Multigraph Section ' 232.91 ood, Services in Mailing Section a shy 8.61 aho; Services in Addressograph Section 205.15 a B. i ee sox 2,034.48 ben, Insurance, Stationery and Supplies .. ‘eee han. Stenographic, Clerical Service and Salaries ad ball 7,331.39 ash- Telegrams and Express Set iia 41 Marsha eee tie AS 81.54 lian- Miscellaneous ... - Pree 207.45 gia; Convention Expense: 1A Detroit be iN 105.75 mas, Atlantic City 157.40 man — — 263.15 Travel Expense: Mason A. Stratton. . 50.65 Page Eva G. Pinkston... “hed .. 437.24 —_—— 487.89 tor} Editorial Committee: t to Maude McBroom . 183.50 L. M. Fertsch..... i 252.81 ‘ters Cecelia Galvin he ere 138.20 2ople Jess Hudson a 205.14 -———— 779.65 _ the 20,194.50 work Balance in current fund as of May 31, 1938.... soak Bek weal em ee ee eee [RY} PRINCIPAL, OCTOBER, 1938 61 ’ Your Bookshelf First Things First by Mrs. Agnes Boy- sen, Principal, Lyndale School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, gives a practical plan of character education for school and home. This newly published book is Mrs. Boysen’s answer to the stream of requests from all over the world for a comprehensive presentation of the character building plan of education that has proved so successful in the community of Lyndale School, Minneapolis. It is as in- teresting and helpful to parents as to teachers and principals. This book, which has been published by Associated Authors, Chicago, Illinois, will be an inspiration to many a worried teacher, to many an anxious parent, and to many a sincere administrator thruout our land. x * * The Road to Safety by Buckley, White, Adams, and Silvernale, an Eight-Book Series from Pre-Primer to Sixth Grade Reading Level, supplies a planned program which may be used for a special course, or as a supplementary reading project during the regular reading period. Its cultivation of safety knowledge, attitudes, and habits leads to right thinking about safety problems and the ability to recognize and to avoid the hazards of every-day life. As taught in this series safety is seen as a matter of conduct which affects both the individual and the group. This new book makes correct safety prac- tises a part of good citizenship; teaches right things to do by guidance which grows out of interesting stories closely related to life experiences; and furnishes a cumulative training in keeping with pupils’ needs and development by carrying eight main topics thru all the books. A copy of this splendid edition may be obtained from the American Book Company, 8& Lexington Avenue, New York, N. Y. =m 6 Crossing Over by Ellie Marcus Marx, Prin- cipal, Henry Clay and Chesterfield Heights Schools, Norfolk, Virginia, presents in an original and interesting manner the life, manners, customs, and chief contributions of the Hebrews to mankind. As one reads the book with its clever illustrations one realizes that the author has given to both young and old the answers to the many questions cop. cerning these great people and their lives. The book is an admirable reference for both school and home libraries and will {ilj the need for information in a simple and direct manner from an historical as well as religious viewpoint. This has been published by Wm. Byrd Press, Richmond, Virginia, & & x Let’s Go To School by Horrall, Codone Willson, and Rhodes, in clear, direct, simple fashion, illumined by a wealth of detailed illustration, shows how a modern program can be organized and operated successfully under the usual handicaps of a public-school system. It describes the planning and de- velopment of such a program for average and underprivileged children in the elemen- tary school of an American city of moderate size. It explains how the program is carried forward without expensive facilities or un- usual advantages in size of classes. It illus- trates the enduring educational principle that good schools are made not by books, bricks and gadgets, but by the intelligence, imagination and courage of its teachers. The authors believe that such familiar youthful expressions as “let’s play hookey,” “let’s go fishin’,” and even “let’s go to the movies” are rapidly being replaced by “let's go to school” in the conversations of school children who are privileged to attend modern child-centered schools. Hence, the title. Mc- Graw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., is the publisher of this book. x * * *Supervision by Barr, Burton and Brueck- ner, presents a new definition of supervision in keeping with the new problems and under- standing of the present; clarifies the mean- ing of democracy in supervision; indicates the proper place of scientific method in the program, and shows the greatly extended scope of modern supervision. This book ’ published by D. Appleton Century Com pany, New York. 62 THE NATIONAL ELEMENTAR! STATI OF GENE G.H. 1 Decem Vol. X\