1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. Note to Editors and Correspondents: Thirty-two national groups affiliated with the National Educa- tion Association as departments provide special services covering the full range of elementary, { wo) Wr F l )g : M rton (2) ‘rehives ana pale en WASHINGTON 4, D. C. e Press and Radio Relations provides news about the program of each department to the press and broadcasters and arranges background interviews for news representatives with specialists on the ADams 4-4855 staffs of national groups located at NEA head- quarters on request. Studies and reports issued by departments are the expressions of those depart- ments and not statements of policy of the NEA unless set by resolution. secondary, college and adult education in the United States. Generally, each of these departments con- trols its own funds, elects its own officers, and adopts policies and programs which apply particu- larly to its own special field. The NEA Division of For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Joseph Hanlon FOR RELEASE: Sunday Papers December 31, 1961 Developing "Supremely Competent" Individual Is Education's Task, Says ASCD 1962 Yearbook WASHINGTON, Dec. 30--A challenging new view of pupil potentialities which can be developed by a new approach to the educational process is presented by a group of curriculum specialists in the 1962 yearbook of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). The authors regard the function of education not as enabling the pupil to adjust to "average" conditions (who wants to be average?), but rather as the development of the supremely competent individual personality, judged not in terms of averages, but of ultimates. They use such terms as "fully functioning," "self actualizing” and "truly adequate” to describe such a person who might, in less esoteric language, be thought of as a well adjusted eager beaver. He is, says one of the authors, one person out of 100, but new approaches to edu- cation can produce more of his stripe. The reason we do not have more of these people now, the authors contend, largely because we have an authoritarian culture in the home, the school, and Q2- the church. Parents regard infants as "things" which are in need of cor- rection; teachers tend to regard pupils as "things" to be measured against preconceived standards, fitted into grade levels, molded to conform to what is expected of the average. Teaching pupils to conform, they teach them to withdraw into their own shells, rather than to expand their unique capabil- ities. Churchmen, rather than churches or religion itself, may have the same effect of shrinking the youthful personality. Reacting defensively to this authoritarian environment, the child, in the process of growth, tends to learn--to perceive--only those things which promise to make him better off. The child shuns the venturesome or creative and comes to see himself as impoverished--and not able to do much about it. On the other hand, that one child in 100 who is "extremely adequate, self actualizing" has a more positive view of himself. Such children"see themselves as persons who are liked, wanted, acceptable, able; as persons of dignity, and integrity, worth and importance." They expect to be successful, and because they have the expectation of being successful they do the things that enable them to become successful. Children often are now regarded, the authors say, as "a kind of enemy of schools," certain to go wrong unless somebody keeps them straight. In- stead, they suggest, all people have a basic, innate need to grow that does not need to be imposed. The authors postulate a built-in thrust to health, a need to become fully a functioning adequate personality. When this view is accepted the task of education "does not call for directing, controlling, remaking and molding," but instead teaching becomes a process of "facilitating, helping, assisting, aiding and encouraging" the pupil to do what the inner drives of the pupil suggest to him as good for his own growth. -3- "This seems but a simple shift in our thinking," the book says, "but its implications are tremendous.... What a difference it makes when one can trust the persons with whom he works*% "A trust in each individual's motivation toward health helps teachers to become more human and schools far pleasanter representations of the society they hope to advance. A student seeking to become the best person he can be is seeking for himself the same thing that teachers want for him. "Teachers: arid students are not antagonists (although, to be sure, they can be). Rather they are co-workers, cooperating people seeking the same ends. Student involvement in choice and decision making becomes not only possible, but desirable. Methods of guidance, facilitation, cooperation, exploration, assistance and help become natural devices to carry out the educative process in place of force or coercion.” In the preparation of the yearbook, titled Perceiving, Behaving, Becoming: A New Focus for Education, ASCD, a department of the National Education As-= sociation, invited four scholars to contribute papers giving their descrip- tion of that ideal person envisioned as the end product of education. These papers were contributed by Arthur W. Combs, professor of education, University of Florida, Gainesville; Earl C. Kelly, professor of education, Wayne State University, Detroit; Carl R. Rogers, professor of psychotherapy, University of Wisconsin, Madison; and A. H. Maslow, chairman of the department of psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts. The ASCD yearbook committee, of which Combs was chairman, studied these papers as a base, explored their impli- cations for education, and arrived at the consensus of judgments and proposals which comprise the yearbook. ttt NOTE: Copies of Perceiving, Behaving, Becoming: A New Focus for Education may be ordered from the National Education Association, 1201 Sixteenth Street, N. W., Washington 6, D. C. 256 pages. $4.50. 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. Note to Editors and Correspondents: Thirty-two national groups affiliated with the National Educa- tion Association as departments provide special services covering the full range of elementary, secondary, college and adult education in the United States. Generally, each of these departments con- trols its own funds, elects its own officers, and ADams 4-4855 Press and Radio Relations provides news about the program of each department to the press and broadcasters and arranges background interviews for news representatives with specialists on the staffs of national groups located at NEA head- quarters on request. Studies and reports issued by departments are the expressions of those depart- ments and not statements of policy of the NEA adopts policies and programs which apply particu- unless set by resolution. larly to its own special field. The NEA Division of For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Minnio Gilliland P.M. Papers Friday, December 29, 1961 Industrial Arts Association Announces New Program of Awards WASHINGTON, Dec. 22--The American Industrial Arts Association (ATIAA) announced here today its 1962 Industrial Arts Awards program will be conducted through state-sponsored contests rather than regionally or nationally as in previous years. Cash awards and certificates for the program, supplied by a grant from the Ford Motor Company, will be made available to state industrial arts associations or to another state industrial arts groups willing to sponsor the awards programs. The awards will be made between January 1 and July 1, 1962, on the basis of rules set up by the state agencies. William J. Micheels, president of AIAA, and president of Stout State College, Menomonie, Wisconsin, pointed to the advantages of turning the programs over to the states. "Now the major share of the funds provided by AIAA can be used for cash awards and certificates rather than for ship- ping costs, judging expenses and other administrative costs," he said. (more) =. Oe A brochure describing the new program is in preparation and will be distributed to all secondary school principals and all AIAA member early in January. The AIAA program is designed to encourage fine craftsmanship, promote creative design, stimulate problem solving, encourage inventiveness, and interpret technology among junior and senior high school students in industrial arts education. This year the Association will offer some outstanding Achievement Awards through the states. Each Award will be a $100 check plus certificate. Thousands of Industrial Arts and trade and industrial students from the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico have participated in the ATAA programs, Mr. Micheels said. Last year the competition attracted more than 3775 entries. The AIAA is a department of the National Education Association and has a current membership of more than 8000. Requests for information about the Awards program should be sent to Kenneth E. Dawson, executive secretary, American Industrial Arts Association, 1201 - 16th Street, N. W., Washington 6, D. C. 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. Note to Editors and Correspondents: Thirty-two national groups affiliated with the National Educa- tion Association as departments provide special services covering the full range of elementary, secondary, college and adult education in the United States. Generally, each of these departments con- trols its own funds, elects its own officers, and adopts policies and programs which apply particu- ADams 4-4855 Press and Radio Relations provides news about the program of each department to the press and broadcasters and arranges background interviews for news representatives with specialists on the staffs of national groups located at NEA head- quarters on request. Studies and reports issued by departments are the expressions of those depart- ments and not statements of policy of the NEA unless set by resolution. larly to its own special field. The NEA Division of For further information: M. Ruth Broom SPECIAL TO EDUCATION JOURNALS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Notable Speakers; Hot Problems Featured at Principals Meeting WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 -- The National Association of Secondary-School Principals (NASSP) has mixed a heady brew of current hot-potato education problems for discussion at its 1962 convention program in February. Scheduled to be held in St. Louis from the 24th through the 28th, this convention is also expected to be a record-breaker as far as attendance is concerned. Advance registrations are already 1,000 ahead of last year's all-time high in Detroit. NASSP officials are predicting that 7500 persons will take part in con- vention sessions in Kiel Auditorium and in the two headquarters hotels, the Statler-Hilton and the Sheraton-Jefferson. Although the theme is "Education's Role in Achieving National Goals," based upon the report of President Kennedy's Commission on National Goals, the program also includes scores of small group meetings in which the edu- cators will pluck from the fire some of the "tough" morsels that threaten to upset more than just the digestion of teachers, administrators, parents, and grade school children. Here are some of the "indigestibles" demanding immediate attention: how to untangle the traffic jam in testing, the drop- out problem and what to do about it, the timetable problem--class schedules, length of day and year, summer school, etc. Another prime concern of many educators--the junior high school--is reflected in the fact that there will be seven discussion groups each day of the convention devoted to this topic. (more) = 2 o Convention delegates will have a chance to whet their appetites in a@ variety of general sessions, panel discussions, large section meetings featuring talks by some of the nation's most active and learned men. Choice items include a new look at the comprehensive secondary school by James B. Conant, famed educator and statesman; the keynote address by Warren G. Hill, Maine Commissioner of Education at Augusta; the banquet speech of George V. Allen, former U.S. Ambassador to Iran, Yugoslavia, India, Greece, and director of the U.S. Information Agency from 1957-61. Henry M. Wriston, chairman of the President's Commission on National Goals and president of the American Assembly at Columbia University in New York, is to set the stage for a series of large section meetings devoted to specific chapters in the Commission's Report "Goals for Americans." A joint meeting with the American Institute of Architects and the American Association of School Administrators is to explore what architects think about new secondary schools; a series of section meetings are scheduled for discussion of one of NASSP's major curriculum projects for 1962--The Arts in the Comprehensive Secondary-School Program. Bud Wilkinson, chairman of President Kennedy's Youth Fitness Commission will talk about the Commission's work; the drop-out problem is to be dis- cussed by Dan Schreiber, director of the School Drop-Out Study of the National Education Association. And there will be more--including "desserts": banquets, luncheons, tours, social functions, and a musical and variety show by students from the St. Louis public secondary schools. NASSP President James D. Logsdon, superintendent of Thornton Township High Schools and Junior College, at Harvey, Ill., will preside at major sessions. ttt PRESS RELEASE FROM: CINE (Committee on International Non-Theatrical "Film"Events) For additional information and/or photographs contact - Harold E. Wigren, Adm. Coordinator CINE c/o DAVI 1201 16th Street, N. W. Washington 6, D. C. Adams 4-4855 FOR RELEASE: A.M. Papers Wednesday Dec. 13, 1961 High Quality American Films Called Political and Cultural Tools Overseas WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 -- American films which represent this country in international competitions are political as; well as cultural and artistic tools, Lawrence G. Derthick, assistant executive secretary for educational services of the National Education Association, said here tonight. Dr. Derthick, former U.S. Commissioner of Education, welcomed a group of government, diplomatic, science, industry and cultural leaders gathered in the NEA auditorium to view an outstanding group of non-theatrical films which won top honors at fareign film festivals in Edinburgh, Venice, and Padua, Italy. He likened the films to a team of Olympic athletes whose accomplishments bring honor to their country. In fact, international film festivals are in a sense "film Olympics" where countries are judged by com- petitive achivement in the cinematographic arts, he added. (more) Note: This advance was prepared for release in Wednesday papers and. is based on the text of Dr. Derthick's remarks. High Quality Films Motion pictures, he said, help us reveal our true image to people who frequently equate American culture with materialism. High quality film art of an imaginative nature, creative in treatment, and substantive in content serve our country as informational, cultural, and political tools, Dr. Derthick said. U.S. non-theatrical films which gained special recognition at the Ventice and Edinburgh film festivals were honored by certificates presented to the producers by The Honorable Pascarelli, press counselor of the Italian Embassy, and The Honorable Michael Robb, information minister of the British Embassy. Films chosen to represent this country were selected by the Committee on International Non-Theatrical "Film" Events (CINE), a voluntary coordina tingorganization established five years ago at the behest of the State Department. This evening's screening included "Interregnum," which won the Golden Lion of St. Mark's award for the most outstanding art film at Venice. A documentary using the drawings of Charles Grosz, it tells the story of the rise and fall of Hitler's Third Reich. Also viewed was "Casals Master Class," which won the first prize for television at Venice. It shows a series of classes conducted by 84-year-old cellist Pablo Casals at the University of California. Other outstanding CINE entries, winners of one silver and two bronze bucranium awards at the Padua Scientific and Documentary Festival, were in the medical and surgical category. 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. For further information: Beatrice Gudridge or Clarke Herbert Alice Morton Archives FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Carnegie Grant Makes Possible Symposium On Programed Learning WASHINGTON, D.C., December 7--The Carnegie Corporation of New York has granted $50,000 to the National Education Association to defray the cost of a National Symposium on Research in Programed Learning and related informa- tion activities, Lawrence G. Derthick, NEA assistant executive secretary for educational services, announced today. The symposium will take place in the NEA Headquarters in Washington on March 24, 25, and 26, Dr. Derthick said. The Department of Audiovisual In- struction of the NEA plans to publish the papers presented at the symposium as a sequel to its authoritative source book Teaching Machines and Programmed learning, edited by A. A. Lumsdaine and Robert Glaser. A follow-up national conference on the selection and use of programed instruction will be held in Detroit June 26, 27, and 28, immediately preceding the NEA Convention, Dr. Derthick made known. About a dozen of the foremost authorities in the new educational tech- niques of programed learning have accepted commissions to prepare papers for the March symposium. Among them are Robert M. Gagne, American Institute for Research; James G. Holland, Harvard University; Lawrence M. Stolurow, Univer- sity of Illinois; Edward J. Green, Dartmouth College; A. A. Lumsdaine, Uni- versity of California; P. Kenneth Komoski, Center for Programed Instruction, and H. O. Holt, Bell Telephone Laboratories. (more) Carnegie Grant Makes Possible Symposium On Programed Learning Topics of discussion will include programing techniques, analysis of instructional objects, research on programing variables, machines and complex teaching systems, reading and related verbal learning, second-language learn- ing, programing in mathematics, in science, and in professional education, standards for the assessment of programed materials, and use of programed learning in schools, in industry, in the military, and in government agencies. In addition to the authors, about 30 discussants also have been invited to attend the symposium. Dr. Robert Glaser, professor of psychology at the Uni- versity of Pittsburgh, will direct the event and Dr. A. A. Lumsdaine, profes- sor of education, University of California, will serve as a consultant. "We at the NEA conceive our role in the field of programed learning to be that of a bridge between the behavioral scientists who are doing the re- search and the classroom teachers who are being called upon to put their find- ings into practice," Dr. Derthick said. "That's why we planned the national conference in June. We expect between 400 and 500 educators to attend, in- cluding elementary-school, high-school, and college teachers interested in programed learning and principals, supervisors, and those interested in teacher education. We want them to know as accurately as possible the present state of research and to advise them how best to evaluate and select programed in- structional materials and machines." Detailed information on the June Conference, which is open to anyone in- terested, will be available soon from Dr. Anna L. Hyer, director of the NEA's Division of Audiovisual Instruction. A sound filmstrip and handbook on programed instruction will be made avail- able to those who attend the conference to help them explain the method in their own school communities. t # # 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: M. Ruth Broom, NEA Press and Radio FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Teachers Study Latest Developments In Science of Teaching at National Conclave Here WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 -- will be returning to their classrooms today after spending four days of study and discussion with other teachers, with some of the nation's top scholars and rese xch specialists, with a fresh store of information on how to do a better job of teaching. These teachers have literally "gone back to school" while attending the Regional Conference on Instruction sponsored by the National Education Associ- ation here since Sunday, Dec. 3. They were invited by the NEA, along with approximately 400 other teachers from an eight-state area and the District of Columbia, to take part in confer- ence sessions at NEA headquarters. As the teachers reviewed the latest techniques and methods of instruction growing out of modern technology and educational research, they met and held -con- ferences with the men and women who are working on projects which may revolution- ize the whole teaching process. At the opening conference session the teachers heard Francis S. Chase, dean of the graduate school of education at Chicago University, who told them that educators must have one primary goal--"that of creating a race of educated men.” During the sessions that followed on a round-the-clock schedule, the teach- ers got firsthand reports on some of the experiments now being tried in teaching mathematics, science, and a session on the organization of teacher-time, space, and staff, by the experts who are working in these fields. The teachers also were involved in sessions devoted to curriculum planning, new studies in automation, in technological development. They held informal dis- cussions with NEA officials, and reviewed some of the newest films on instruction now being produced by NEA departments. The Regional Conferences on Instruction were instigated by the NEA 10 years ago for the purpose of closing the gap between fast breaking discoveries about how children learn and the many outdated and unrealistic classroom practices going on in America's sprawling and bewilderingly diversified public education system. This conference, especially set up for teachers in the Middle Atlantic States, has been the eleventh in the series of instructional meetings. Teachers from the following states were represented at the meeting: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia. # # # NOTE TO THE EDITOR: The teachers from your area are listed on the attached sheet. 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. Note to Editors and Correspondents: Thirty-two national groups affiliated with the National Educa- tion Association as departments provide special services covering the full range of elementary, secondary, college and adult education in the United States. Generally, each of these departments con- trols its own funds, elects its own officers, and adopts policies and programs which apply particu- larly to its own special field. The NEA Division of ADams 4.4855 Press and Radio Relations provides news about the program of each department to the press and broadcasters and arranges background interviews for news representatives with specialists on the staffs of national groups located at NEA head- quarters on request. Studies and reports issued by departments are the expressions of those depart- ments and not statements of policy of the NEA unless set by resolution. For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge A.M. Papers December 6, 1961 Book on "Spacecraft" Launches New Paperback Science Series for High School Students WASHINGTON, Dec. 5--Spacecraft, the first of a series of paperback books designed to introduce high school students to key areas of science was released today by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), according to an announcement from Executive Secretary Robert H. Carleton. Written by James J. Haggerty, Jr., author and editor of aviation and space publications and John H. Woodburn, a high school science teacher, the book is divided into two parts: Section I discusses up-to-date developments on space vehicles--different types and their uses, space flights, commmications in space, weather satel- lites, lunar surveying, and other topics. Section II suggests various proj- ects students can undertake to increase their understanding of gravity, ve- locity, navigation and other factors in spacecraft. Spacecraft, which is the first of the "Vistas of Science" series, was produced as a cooperative endeavor of NSTA and the National Aeronautics and (more) New Paperback Science Series for High School Students Space Administration. NASA evaluated the book's content for scientific and technical accuracy. NSTA coordinated the development of the manu- script and provided the advisory group and panel of science educators to determine the book's educational acceptability. The design and editing were done by the publisher, Scholastic Book Services, a division of Scholastic Magazines, Inc. A copy of Spacecraft, as well as forthcoming books in the "Vistas" series, will be provided free to sponsors of all science clubs enrolled in NSTA's Future Scientists of America youth organization. Scholastic Book Services will also distribute copies through book clubs for junior and senior high school students such as Science World Book Club, Teen-Age Book Club, Campus Book Club, and through other channels. According to Marjorie Gardner, director of the Vistas of Science pro- gram for NSTA, "Although it is written for secondary school students, Space- craft should be of interest and value to teachers and other adults as well. We anticipate that students will buy it for their own personal libraries, that teachers will use it as supplementary teaching material in the class- room, and that schools and school libraries will add it to their collections of science books." Future paperbacks in the "Vistas of Science” series to be issued by NSTA and Scholastic Book Services will cover the cell, measurement, dental research, ceramics, bio-chemistry, molecular biology, space biology, astron- omy and cosmology, water, and metallurgy. Single copies of Spacecraft are available at 50¢ each. Order from Scholastic Book Services, 33 West 42nd Street, New York 36, New York. # # # 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. Note to Editors and Correspondents: Thirty-two national groups affiliated with the National Educa- tion Association as departments provide special services covering the full range of elementary, secondary, college and adult education in the United States. Generally, each of these departments con- trols its own funds, elects its own officers, and adopts policies and programs which apply particu- larly to its own special field. The NEA Division of ADams 4-4855 Press and Radio Relations provides news about the program of each department to the press and broadcasters and arranges background interviews for news representatives with specialists on the staffs of national groups located at NEA head- quarters on request. Studies and reports issued by departments are the expressions of those depart- ments and not statements of policy of the NEA unless set by resolution. For further information M. Ruth Broom, NEA Press and Radio Road to Learning Different For Boys And Girls, Maryland Professor Says WASHINGTON, Dec. 4--How you learn depends on whether you're a boy or girl, a University of Maryland professor said here today. Walter Waetjen, outlining factors that increase or limit learning in a paper prepared for the Regional Conference on Instruction sponsored by the National Education Association, pointed to evidence that the road to learning is different for boys than it is for giris. For example, he asked: "Why is it that we have four times as many boys who are poor, or non-readers, than girls? "What is it that 354 of the children who are in the hands of the Y) javenile court or youth authority are boys? Spesking to approximately 400 teachers from en eight~-state area and the District of Columbia who have been invited to teke part in the three- day conference, Dr. Waetjen said that major differences between boys and girls showed up as resesrchers looked more closely at the “over-achievers, * and the “under-achievers." (more) was discovered that the over-achieving boys had a higher need to achieve than did the under-achievers, tended to put more effort into solving problems in competitive situations, and tended to be more concerned than the under-achieving boys over whether people considered them intelligent or not," he declared. "But with the girls it was found that the over-achiever had less need for achievemant than the under-achiever,” he contimued. "The over- achieving girl was significently less enxious than the under-achieving girl. The reverse was true in the case of boys." Some differences were alse noted in the families of the boys and girls, Dr. Waetjen said. The over-achieving boys were found to have considerable pressure to achieve, particularly from their mothers, but there was hardly any parental pressure whatsoever for the over-achieving girls. Under-achieving boys tended to get their rewards eat home regardiess of their achievement, he added. However the under-achieving girls were the youngsters who were found to have the largest number of difficulties in their families. "Wheat all of this edds up to,” Dr. Weetjen declared, “is that there are many factors involved in learning other than intellectual factors. It also strengthens our belief thet boys and girls learn differently." Lawrence G. Derthick, NEA assistent executive secretary, welcomed the teachers at this morning's session, and they were briefed as to their schedule for the next two days by Ethel Thompson, coordinator for the conference. Dr. Thompson is the NEA consultant on elementary education. This afternoon delegates will hear reports on some experiments now being tried in the teaching of mathematics, science, and the organization of children, time, space, and staff. .2/h/ 62 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE "Meet the Professor" TV Series Returns to Air over ABC Jan. 7 WASHINGTON, Dec. 4--"Meet the Professor," the national series of half- hour TV programs designed to present a realistic and dramatic picture of today's professors and their activities in the nation's colleges, will return to the air Sunday, January 7, 1962, over the ABC television network. The series which will be aired Sundays at 2:30 p.m. New York Time from January to mid-June, has been expanded from 15 programs last year to 25 this season. It is a cooperative venture of the Association for Higher Education (AHE), a department of the National Education Association, and the Public Af- fairs department of ABC News of the American Broadcasting Company. "Meet the Professor" will feature each week a professor from a different college or university. The series presents these teachers in their classrooms, laboratories, and offices, and emphasizes their professional lives through their work in teaching, research, and public service. Professors for the series are now being selected by AHE, according to Executive Secretary G. Kerry Smith. They will represent many different types of colleges and universities, as well as different academic disciplines, and geographic areas with the aim of showing a cross-section of contemporary higher education. The series, initiated by AHE's Committee on Teaching, is a major effort to promote a greater understanding of college professors, the broad scope of (more) Meet the Professor Returns to Air their work, their professional motivations, and a more thorough knowledge of college AHE received an enthusiastic response to the ini- LCCOlY Dr. Smith noted that series in 1961 from educators, public officials, parents, and television stations. "As a result nith says, "plans were formulated with officials of ABC to expand the series for 1962." Assisting AHE with its cooperative work on "Meet the Professor” are: The Procter and Gamble Fund; Education Services, The Prudential Insurance Company of America; The Fund for the Advancement of Education of the Ford Foundation; the Education Department, General Electric Corporation; and Holt, Rinehart and Winston Publishing Company. Supporting and cooperating in the promotion of "Meet the Professor" are several hundred colleges and universities and several thousand members of AHE on more than 1500 college campuses. tt t -” from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Myrtle Bonn FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 1961 News Briefs Parent-Teacher Conferences As a parent, do you dread a conference with your child's teacher? Many mature and highly educated people do, according to an article in the December issue of the NEA Journal, monthly publication of the National Education Association. Such apprehension, says the article, may stem from the parent's own childhood experiences. A parent who "used to dread being ‘sent to the principal’ may have similar feelings about an interview with her child’s teacher.” Meeting with parents isn't always a "settling" experience for the teacher either, the article continues. One concern is the feeling that parents place them "in a false position by appealing to them as omnipotent. Many parents think a teacher knows more and can help more than he actually can." What should a parent-teacher conference accomplish? It should give the teach- er an opportunity to understand the child's home world. It should be a time for discussing the kind of education parents want for their children and the hopes and concerns they have for them. Parents should be able to learn what the school is trying to accomplish by its program and methods and how the teacher plans to work with each child. Unfortunately, says the article, the parent-teacher conference "is too often an emotionally charged drama born of troubled feelings and often leaves both parent and teacher dissatisfied." The article, which covers several aspects of child-teacher relationships, is titled "Building a Classroom Climate for Learning." It is based on research stud- jes made at the Bank Street College of Education, New York City, with the assistance of a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health. ttt News Briefs Curriculum Sandwich In an effort to "keep up" with all there is to learn, today's curriculum has become like "a sandwich stacked so high with miscellaneous layers of information ' and detail that few if any learners can manage a solid bite," a leading educator charges in the December issue of the NEA Journal, monthly publication of the National Education Association. In an article entitled "The Curriculum Challenge of Our Times," George W. Denemark, dean of the school of education at the University of Wisconsin,- Milwaukee, calls for a "revolution" in the teaching of various subjects. Teachers, he says, must seek out fundamental principles, central concepts, and major ideas associated with a field of study. Such a revolution, he says, is already underway in the teach- ing of mathematics, biology, and physics. "Discovery on the frontiers of knowledge is important in every field and impor- tant to all of us," Dr. Denemark writes, "but perhaps even more important, at least at this moment in history, is the discovery of a fundamental rationale -- of an organizing framework within which new knowledge can be viewed and interpreted." tt # Mobile Population In one year -- 1958-59 -- one million children moved from one geographic area of our country to another, one million moved from one state to another, and two million from one county to another, according to figures in the December issue of the NEA Journal, publication of the National Education Association. tt # News Briefs English Plus A survey of 800 elementary schools in the United States shows that over one million children are learning a second language in after-school programs called FLES (Foreign Language Elementary School). FLES classes, according to the December issue of the NEA Journal, magazine of the National Education Association, frequently start as a parent-sponsored program, but each year brings more such programs in many different languages into the regular elementary-school curriculum. ttt States Require Courses About Alcohol Since alcoholism is outranked only by mental illness, cardio-vascular disease, and cancer as a public health problem, most states now require the teaching about alcohol in their public schools, according to the December issue of the NEA Journal, publication of the National Education Association. # tt All That Glitters Is Not Art To those who hold that "anything goes" in children's art work as long as the children "create" what passes for art by themselves, the December issue of the NEA Journal, magazine of the National Education Association, has this advice: Children can also miss two-thirds of their spelling words and half of their arithmetic prob- lems by themselves, but we rarely cheer this accomplishment. tt # News Briefs New Approach to Foreign Languages What's new about the “new approach" to teaching foreign languages? An arti- cle in the December issue of the NEA Journal, publication of the National Education Association, explains it this way: ‘The hearing-speaking (audio-lingual) approach goes back almost a century, but nowadays understanding and speaking accurately comes before reading and writing are taught, thus imitating the process by which one learns his native tongue. Students are drilled in sentences and dialogue to the point that the structure patterns become fixed, habitual, and automatic. The teacher gives grammatical explanations afterwards. Good Old Golden Rule Days Weary or discouraged school teachers are offered this morale booster in the December issue of the NEA Journal, publication of the National Education Association: Manhattan elementary-school teachers in 1872 were required to fill lamps, clean chimneys, and trim wicks each day; to bring a bucket of water and a scuttle of coal for the day's session; and to whittle pens carefully. Men teachers were allowed one evening each week for courting, or two evenings a week if they went to church reg- ularly, but women teachers who married or “engaged in other unseemly conduct” would be dismissed. Every teacher was urged to "lay aside from each pay a goodly sum of his earnings for his declining years so that he will not become a burden on society. The teacher who performs his labors . . . without fault for five years will be given 1 an increase of 25 cents per week in his pay providing the board of education approves.’ tt # News Briefs Local School Control Called Myth Anyone who believes that there is such a thing as absolute local control of the schools might just as well believe that whisky is good for snakebites or that three on a match is unlucky, according to an article in the December issue of the NEA Journal, monthly magazine of the National Education Association. To think that local persons make decisions about schools without reference to higher authority is an appealing folklore which lingers despite common sense and scientific reasoning, says the article, written by Thomas D. Bailey, state superintendent of public instruction for Florida and a member of the NEA Legis- lative Commission. Actually, the article points out, for several decades local school boards have looked to state governments for financial support. Length of the school term, minimum requirements for teachers, mandated financial accounting, ear- marking of funds for specific purposes such as transportation and buildings -- all are state-imposed. What are other non-local influences on the schools? Accrediation standards by regional agencies, college entry requirements, state athletic associations, subsidies by private agencies, says Dr. Bailey. Further, he writes, there are federal vocational education programs which are influenced by laws and adminis- trative directives and there is the National Defense Education Act which encour- ages emphasis on specific subjects. The trend for the future? A realistic cooperative partnership of local, state, and federal governments, predicts Dr. Bailey. ttt Ne UY \o/ gucaTlon A » v S, Ne, > Si %, = eo Noy de Ctucation A Locwtion o- 1D cainedstce SO ADAMS 4-4848 December 1, 1961 MEMORANDUM TO EDITORS AND CORRESPONDENTS: Sixteen women educators from nine African countries who are winding up a three- month study-tour of the United States will report their final impressions during a panel discussion on "Education in Africa and the United States." Place: National Education Association, Auditoriun, 1201 - 16th Street, N. W. Time; Wednesday, December 6, 2:30 to 3:45 p.m. Immediately following, there will be an informal reception from 3:45 to 5 p.m. and an opportunity to question the African educators. The women are from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Northern Rhodesia, Nyasaland, Sierra Leone, Southern Rhodesia, Tanganyika, and Zanzibar. They have been visiting schools and colleges in various parts of the United States. Purpose of the proj- ect is to permit them to become familiar with educational progress in this country and in each other's countries. The United States trip is the third part of a program which started last April with a workshop in Kenya, followed by another workshop in Nigeria. The United States was represented at the workshops by a team of seven women educators. The entire project is under the auspices of the Agency for International Develop- ment. You or a member of your staff are cordially invited to attend’the panel discussion and the reception afterward. Sincerely, lene 1 Uy Dong Roy K. Wilson, Director. Press and Radio Division FF from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or M. Ruth Broom FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Teachers Attend Meetings, Meetings-- Where Do the Children Come In? WASHINGTON, Dec. 1--Teachers always seem to be going to meetings-- regional meetings, state conferences, national conventions. They give up holidays, weekends, and summer vacations to do so. What do all these meet- ings have to do with children? This question was asked--and answered--by the teacher president of the National Education Association on the eve of still another conference for teachers due to open here on Sunday. Ewald Turner, a junior high school industrial arts instructor from Pendleton, Oregon, made special reference to the NEA-sponsored Regional Conference on Instruction to be held December 3-6, at NEA headquarters which will involve around 400 teachers from eight states and the District of Columbia. Said Turner: "Very simply, these instructional conferences were planned in an effort to close the gap between fast breaking discoveries about how children learn and classroom practises which may be outdated or unrealistic. "The main idea of the conferences is to help teachers find out how to do a good job of teaching--what to teach in the best interest of both the indi- vidual and the world in which he will live--and why teachers teach what they (more) teach. In these ways, the conferences obviously have everything to do with children. "The results will be as to what these meetings return home to share with knowledge and their wiser of our culture.” measured and the answers made clear in the classroom are ‘all about' when the teachers who participated children their greater skill in the transmission of and more sensitive presentation of the highlights Mr. Turner will welcome conference participants at the opening session on Sunday evening at 8:00 p.m. in the NEA's Crabtree Auditorium. The keynote ad- dress is to be delivered by Francis S. Chase, dean of the Graduate School of Education at the University of Chicago. Dr. Chase's topic is "A Philosophy Which Accepts Change.” Conference sessions continue through Wednesday, December 3. ### 12/1/61 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Minnio Gilliland FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Classroom Teachers Return From National Invitational Conference WASHINGTON, D.C. (Special)--"An alert and informed classroom teacher is a more articulate ambassador for the cause of education,” said Margaret Stevenson, executive secretary of the Department of Classroom Teachers (DCT) of the National Education Association, in explaining the significance of the recent special Thanks- giving conference on "The Teacher's Role in Educational Controversy" held in Washington, November 24-25. Lindley J. Stiles, dean of the School of Education, University of Wisconsin, Madison, concurred with this view when he told participants that while many claim to speak for education and while it is the school board which is legally charged with making school policy, in reality it is the classroom teacher who shapes the attitudes of people toward educational policies. "The influence of teachers begins with their own educational aims, ideals, emphases and standards as exemplified in their teaching," said Dean Stiles. “It flows through all the contacts teachers have with children and adults of the com- munity. It takes root, particularly, with the parents of pupils who judge educa- tional objectives and programs principally by what they see in or hear from their own children. It flourishes, also, among the close acquaintances of teachers in church groups, civic bodies, service clubs, fraternal brotherhoods, political organizations, as well as in social, intellectual and cultural associations.” Other major presentations were made by Thomas G. Pullen, Jr., superintendent of schools, State of Maryland, who spoke on "The Belligerence of Pacifism--or (more ) How the Teacher Should Act"; Finis E. Engleman, executive secretary, American As- sociation of School Administrators, NEA, who discussed “Attacks on Our Values and How To Meet Them"; and Philip Phenix, professor of education, Teachers College, Columbia University, who told teachers "How to Analyze and Evaluate Educational Controversies." More than 50 teachers and representatives of the American Association of School Administrators, the National Association of Secondary-School Principals, the Department of Elementary School Principals, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and the Division of Rural Education Service of the NEA at- tended the meeting. In closing the conference Miss Stevenson expressed the hope that the impact of the two-day study will be widely felt as teachers retuyn to their own communities with a new understanding of both the internal and external causes of diversity of outlook on policy, procedure, dogma, ethics and other factors in the total educa- tional picture. 11/30/61 @ trom the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. Note to Editors and Correspondents: Thirty-two national groups affiliated with the National Educa- tion Association as departments provide special services covering the full range of elementary, secondary, college and adult education in the United States. Generally, each of these departments con- trols its own funds, elects its own officers, and WASHINGTON 4, D. C Press and Radio Relations provides news about the program of each department to the press and broadeasters and arranges background interviews for news representatives with specialists on the staffs of national groups located at NEA head- quarters on request. Studies and reports issued by departments are the expressions of those depart- ADams 4-4855 ments and not statements of policy of the NEA unless set by resolution. adopts policies and programs which apply particu- larly to its own special field. The NEA Division of For further information: M. Ruth Broom, NEA Division of Press and Radio Relations 1201 16th Street, N. W. Washington 6, D. C. SPECIAL FOR EDUCATION JOURNALS Social Studies Teachers Call for Major Curriculum Investigation at Chicago Conference WASHINGTON, (SPECIAL)--The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) wound up its 41st annual meeting in Chicago over the Thanksgiving holidays calling for a major investigation of the social studies curriculum in elementary and secondary schools and giving NCSS officials the go-ahead signal to seek funds for carrying it out. The NCSS meeting at the Morrison Hotel, November 23-25, was the largest the Council has ever had. Approximately 3,000 teachers from all over the United States, Canada, and several foreign countries, including West Germany, India and Ghana, took part in the conference. In a resolution adopted at the business meeting, delegates pointed to current uncertainties about "what to teach and how to teach it," and asked for a curriculum investigation, national in scope, oriented to all grade levels, involving representation from the scholarly disciplines, teacher (more) Teachers Call for Major Curriculum Investigation education institutions, and social studies classroom teachers. This would be the first thoroughgoing overhaul of the social science curriculum in 4O years. The NCSS has already taken first steps in this direction. In fact, the whole program of the Chicago conference was centered around a joint study of the social sciences curriculum now underway by the NCSS and the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). A group. of scholars, making up an "ACLS team," have prepared position papers describing what they regard as the essential knowledge from their individual disciplines which should be incorporated into social studies as taught in secondary schools. These papers in the fields of history, geography, economics, sociology, political science, anthropology, psychology, and area studies (e.g. Russia, the Far East), were presented by their authors at the Chicago meeting. Discussion by social studies teachers on ways of applying in the class- room the proposals contained in the papers was the major business of the conference. Both the NCSS and ACLS felt that the importance of the study warrented a full-scale presentation at the conference and that implications for both the specialists in the individual disciplines and the classroom teachers will necessitate long-range consideration before any practical steps can be taken. In addition to hearing the specialists talk about the individual disci- plines in the social studies, conference participants also heard major ad- dresses by outstanding educators. Luther Evans, former Librarian of Congress and former Director General of UNESCO, who is now directing the National Education Association Project (more) Teachers Call for Major Curriculum Investigation on Automation, told the teachers that as machines do more of man's work, men will have more and more need for education. It is becoming increas- ingly clear, he said, that we mst train and retrain, educate and reeducate *Gurselves, if we are to keep up in a technological era. He said’ that the’Automation study's leaders are suggesting that there be a redefinition of the work week,--that of the present 4O-hour work week, 36 hours be devoted to productive labor and the remaining four to educational activity. What each person does with this time should be at his own discretion, Dr. Evans said. He may wish to take a company-sponsored program, or some high school work which he missed because he was a dropout. Still other alternatives may lie in the area of world affairs, civic responsibility, or study of foreign languages. Speaking at the annual banquet, Stephen K. Bailey, dean of the Maxwell Graduate School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, told delegates that if the social studies are to play their proper role in the 1960's there are five large areas of concern to which social scientists must address themselves more vigorously. He listed:. 1) "Meaningful social survival" which will require trained social scientists to assist the government in attempting to appraise the intentions, capabilities, and irrationalities of potential foreign enemies; 2) Creation and improvement of international machinery for resolving political and economic conflicts without bloodshed and without injustice; 3) Alleviation of poverty, not only in the under-developed nations, but at ‘home; 4) Improvement of the quality of urban life, now afflicted by pollution of the air, choked streets, decaying neighborhoods, delinquency, inadequate schools and recreation facilities, and marked by "personal loneliness ;" 5) Elimfneation of racial, religious and ethnic prejudices, which he described as "sicknesses of the spirit.” Dr. Bailey said that as impressive as social science has been, its ac- cumulation of "social wisdom” has been "pathetically small." He stressed the need for more research in the social sciences, more money and more trained manpower. (more) Teachers Call for Major Curriculum Investigation He said that $220 million a year is spent for all research in this country, but only "a paltry nine percent of it” for research in the social sciences. This disparity has been accentuated by Federal aid under the National Defense Education Act which has provided funds for science and mathematics and language studies, but which does not include subsidies for the social studies. The need for more trained manpower is as great as the need for more money, Dr. Bailey declared. Only 15 percent of the graduate students in today's colleges and universities are in the social sciences, he said. "There must be a revolution in the way of life for social scientists," he said. "They must be given more leaves with pay--maybe one year off in every three to ‘recharge batteries’ through research, travel, language study, or work on government problems at home and abroad.” As the NCSS conference drew to a close, the slate of officers who will assume their new posts on January 1 was announced. Samuel P. McCutcheon, chairman of the Department of Social Studies at New York University, will succeed Emlyn Jones as president. Dr. Jones is professor of education at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and will continue as NCSS president until January. Other new officers are: Stella Kern, social studies teacher at Waller High School, Chicago, president-elect; and Isidore Starr, social studies teacher, Brooklyn Technical High School, vice-president. Four new members have been elected for three-year terms on the Ness Board of Directors. They are: John Jarolimek, assistant professor of education, University of California at Los Angeles; Adeline Brengle, social studies teacher, Bloomington, Indiana; Carl Oliver, director of the teacher training program at Phillips University, Enid, Oklahoma; and Mrs. Edythe Myers, history supervisor, Baltimore, Maryland, public schools. The Council will hold its 1962 conference in Philadelphia. 11/28/61 ll from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Joseph Hanlon FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEA Head Urges Czech Teachers Try to Regain Lost Freedoms WASHINGTON, Nov. 28--William G. Carr, executive secretary of the National Education Association, has asked Czechoslovakian school teachers to try to inform themselves of the facts of the world situation and to attempt to obtain from their government restora- tion of the rights of free access to information and freedom of speech. These, he said, are "still the true heritage” of teachers in Czechoslovakia. Dr. Carr, who is also secretary-general of the World Confederation of Organizations of the Teaching Profession, made these recommendations in response to a letter from Jan Stepanek, chairman of the Czechslovak Trade Union of Educational and Cultural Workers, Stepanek, in what was apparently a form letter to teachers throughout the world, had written to the National Education Association asking that it join in efforts to create a climate of public opinion in favor of a peace treaty with both East and West Germany. The Czech letter also spoke of a revival of Nazism in West Germany, and in other respects parroted the Communist propaganda line. This led Dr. Carr to observe, in his letter of response, that the Czech union was being used by the Czech government as an instrument in the cold war. On the other hand, he said, the National Education Associa- tion is a professional organization of teachers, independent of political direction. "May I begin my response to your letter,” Dr. Carr wrote, "by stating that the National Education Association is a professional organization of teachers in the United States concerned with the rights and duties of its members and with the extension of the scope and the improvement of the quality of educational opportunity. The National Edu- cation Association is independent of political direction. (more) bn O6 "T mention this fact at the outset in order to make clear the nature of the response I mst make to your letter. Your letter reveals that your organization is of a fundamental- ly different character and is being used by your government as an instrument in the cold war. "The National Education Association is well aware of the dangers to education in totalitarian measures and totalitarian governments. Throughout its history, the National Education Association of the United States has denounced totalitarian governments which persecute teachers and destroy the academic and personal freedom of members of the teach- ing profession. Thus, our Association opposed Hitler and his attacks upon intellectual freedom. It has denounced the Communist destruction of intellectual freedom in many countries, including yours. The Association has noted with regret the activity of the Communists and Nazis in East Germany who have brought about renewed persecution of teach- ers in that unfortunate part of the world. The Association notes with deep regret the 1959 report of the World Confederation of Organizations of the Teaching Profession, docu- menting in detail the persecution of teachers in East Germany. Now, of course, even flight is difficult or impossible because of the construction of the wall to prevent East German teachers from escaping the terror of their own government. "Tt appears to me that you must be completely uninformed as to the facts. This lack of information is understandable since you have ready access to information on world events only when, and if, your government and the Soviet Government want you to have it. "you have asked that the National Education Association endorse the position of the Soviet Union, in calling for what you describe as the signing of a peace treaty with both German states. In response, I can only urge that you and the Czechoslovak teachers try to inform yourselves of the facts, and that you move at once to secure from yourown govern~- ment the rights of access to information, of freedom of speech, and of expression which are still the true heritage of teachers in Czechoslovakia." ttt 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 46, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Joseph Hanlon FOR RELEASE: Sunday Papers November 26, 1961 Need Seen for High School Economics Particularly for Gifted Students WASHINGTON, Nov. 25--Only one of every 20 high school graduates has been exposed to the study of economics by the time he gets his diploma, but the decisions this country reaches on matters of economic policy presumably are based on informed discussion of such issues. These factors have led to the conclusion that economics should be taught in the high schools, particularly to gifted, or academically talented students who may be expected to rise to positions of leadership in the community. This conclusion, and some of the implications it has for the schools, are reported in Business and Economic Education for the Academically Tal+ ented Student, just published by the National Education Association's Project for the Academically Talented Student and the United Business Edu- cation Association, an NEA department. The book was edited by Milton C. Olson, director of business education, State University of New York College of Education at Albany, and Eugene L. Swearingen, dean, College of Business, Oklahoma State University. It is not enough, the editors conclude, to hope that students will pick up some knowledge of economics through social studies or incidental to their study of business subjects concerned mainly with business skills. They urge that there be a one or two semester course in economics at the eleventh or twelfth grade level. This, they say, would not preclude inclusion of some economics content in other curriculums and courses, particularly for those students who would not take the separate economics course. Suggestions as to the content that should go into a high school economics course are contained in one of the chapters. "In the United States," the book says, "the principles of business and economics are a major factor in determining how the people live, and yet business education in the nation's high schools is composed primarily of courses in specialized routine business subjects...Economics has, in short, been consigned to a sort of no man's land... "Trrespective of his major teaching field, the best qualified teach- er in the school system should be selected to teach the economics course for the academically talented. If no such teacher is to be found in the school system, one must be found or prepared to handle the new subject and the new caliber of students. "Because gifted children are destined to fill roles of leadership during a period when American economic and ideological principles will be greatly tested, they must be educated in economics." High school students, the authors suggest, should be taught an under- standing of the American economy, and how it operates, both in theory and (more) -3- practice. They should learn to evaluate its performance, to compare it with other economic systems, and to study its problems and possibilities. To be able to appraise performance of the system, they should be familiar with several basic statistical yardsticks and understand the common values the system seeks to foster. Copies of Business and Economic Education for the Academically Talented Student may be ordered from the National Education As- sociation, 1201 Sixteenth Street, N. W., Washington 6. Ds t: 80 pages. $1. QucaTlow w* Asso. ») RY = 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. . L7 ( : L, y ‘WY, + fe Netondé ducation Masociation o- WASHINGTON S, 0. ©, ADAMS 4-4848 SPECIAL FOR MONTANA RADIO STATIONS “be “Y United Advance Tape on Northwest Conference on Instruction at Great Falls Enclosed is an advance tape and transcript of excerpts from a major speech to be given at the closing banquet of a three-day conference for teachers from Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. The speech will be given Saturday night at the Rainbow Hotel in Great Falls by Dr. T. M. Stinnett, assistant executive secretary of the National Education Association for professional development and welfare. The enclosed tape runs 4:30. However, each of Dr. Stinnett's excerpts is individually timed on the transcript to facilitate use in newscasts, etc. PLEASE NOTE, HOWEVER, THAT THE SPEECH EXCERPTS ARE FOR RELEASE 6 P.M., SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1961. For any further information or assistance, please contact Miss Minnio Gilliland in Room 4, of the Rainbow Hotel, Great Falls, Montana. FOR RELEASE: 6 P.M. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1961 Transcript of special 44-minute advance tape of excerpts from Dr. T. M. Stinnett's banquet speech to teachers from Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming attending a conference at the Rainbow Hotel, Great Falls, Montana. TIME: 4:30 RECORDED: 7% ips DR. STINNETT (:39) In 1961, in America and for America, who will ring the bells for the people? There are plenty of bell-ringers for special interests, for special view- points, for distorted notions of freedom and democracy. But teachers must be one of the key groups basically committed to be bell-ringers for all the people. If ever we depart from this indispensible commitment, the power and the glory of teach- ing are gone, and we become just another selfish, greedy, recriminating mob, bereft of the idealism and the virtue which have made us distinctive and worthy of the respect of men. In these words, an expert in teacher education, Dr. T. M. Stinnett of the National Education Association developed the theme of his banquet speech in Great Falls tonight which will wind up a three-day conference on "Excellence in Instruction." To about 300 teachers from Montana, Idaho and Wyoming who have been spend- ing their Thanksgiving holiday learning how to do a better job of educating children, Dr. Stinnett warned that blistering anti-communist pressures are now being thrust into the schools... in the name of patriotism and Americanism. DR. STINNETT (1:23) The current drive for courses on Communism is now deemed essential. I agree, but I would point out that a decade ago, when schools and teachers were way ahead of the current crop of Johnny-come-latelys in the Anti-Communist field, when they tried then to do their full duty to American children by teaching about Commun- ism and to reveal its insidious sophistries, the counterparts of these same groups staged verbal and hysterical lynching bees for teachers. And let me say with all the force at my command, that we cannot as a pro- fession be bell-ringers for the American people if we are to tolerate intimidation which forces us into a position of sterile neutrality regarding fundamental human rights and fundamental human values. Either we demand the right to maintain in- struction as the free market place of ideas or the pursuit of excellence is a tragic farce, a dedication to roteness in which children are but driven cattle; and what's more, we lose our own teacher soul in the process. You cannot teach American values and stimulate the development of value judgments by neutrality. You cannot be neu- tral about the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the right of freedom of speech, the right of dissent. Dr. Stinnett Dr. Stinnett also told his colleagues they can preserve their precious freedom from intimidation by concert of resolve, and unity of effort... by the main- tenance of organized machinery to safeguard it, and by exposing the facts of organ- ized pressures to the public. At the same time -- he said -- teachers must have the freedom to impose upon themselves standards to guarantee excellence in instruction. Dr. Stinnett pointed out, however, that because teaching is largely a public profession that is paid from public funds, society has been reluctant to grant this recognition; and teachers, themselves, he said, have been all too reluctant to ask for and to accept such responsibilities: DR. STINNETT (:36) But we cannot be in a position to be bell-ringers for the American people, either not really and effectively and courageously, until we are captains of our professional fates, masters of our own professional souls. And we must do these things ourselves -- only and solely to improve the caliber of teaching services for America's children. We have made remarkable pro- gress in a remarkably short time, since we set out upon an organized movement to raise our standards. We must make more progress and faster, for the time is short. Also appearing at the three-day conference was the academic vice-president of Montana State University, Frank C. Abbott, who related the excellence sought by the schools to the overall national concern for greater morality and ethical purpose in the national life. At the conference, sponsored by the National Education Association and affiliated groups in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, teachers studied team teaching, special programs for the academically talented, machine teaching and other current educational innovations. This special report was produced by the National Education Association and presented by this station in the public interest. ll from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4.4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Joseph Hanlon FOR RELEASE: Sunday Papers November 26, 1961 Need Seen for High School Economics Particularly for Gifted Students WASHINGTON, Nov. 25--Only one of every 20 high school graduates has been exposed to the study of economics by the time he gets his diploma, but the decisions this country reaches on matters of economic policy presumably are based on informed discussion of such issues. These factors have led to the conclusion that economics should be taught in the high schools, particularly to gifted, or academically talented students who may be expected to rise to positions of leadership in the community. This conclusion, and some of the implications it has for the schools, are reported in Business and Economic Education for the Academically Tal- ented Student, just published by the National Education Association's Project for the Academically Talented Student and the United Business Edu- cation Association, an NEA department. The book was edited by Milton C. Olson, director of business education, State University of New York College of Education at Albany, and Eugene L. Swearingen, dean, College of Business, Oklahoma State University. It is not enough, the editors conclude, to hope that students will pick up some knowledge of economics through social studies or incidental to their study of business subjects concerned mainly with business skills. They urge that there be a one or two semester course in economics at the eleventh or twelfth grade level. This, they say, would not preclude inclusion of some economics content in other curriculums and courses, particularly for those students who would not take the separate economics course. Suggestions as to the content that should go into a high school economics course are contained in one of the chapters. "In the United States," the book says, "the principles of business and economics are a major factor in determining how the people live, and yet business education in the nation's high schools is composed primarily of courses in specialized routine business subjects...Economics has, in short, been consigned to a sort of no man's land... "Irrespective of his major teaching field, the best qualified teach- er in the school system should be selected to teach the economics course for the academically talented. If no such teacher is to be found in the school system, one must be found or prepared to handle the new subject and the new caliber of students. "Because gifted children are destined to fill roles of leadership during a period when American economic and ideological principles will be greatly tested, they must be educated in economics." High school students, the authors suggest, should be taught an under- standing of the American economy, and how it operates, both in theory and (more) -3- practice. They should learn to evaluate its performance, to compare it with other economic systems, and to study its problems and possibilities. To be able to appraise performance of the system, they should be familiar with several basic statistical yardsticks and understand the common values the system seeks to foster. Copies of Business and Economic Education for the Academically Talented Student may be ordered from the National Education As- sociation, 1201 Sixteenth Street, N. W., Washington 6, D. C. 80 pages. $1. from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge A.M. Papers Friday, November 24, 1961 Math Revolution Explored For Use by Schoolmen WASHINGTON, D. C., Nov. 23 -- The so-called "new mathematics” has sent teachers back to school, parents into study groups in order to keep up with their children, and inspired students to be enthusiastic about a subject they once considered rather deadly. How and why this transformation has taken place is described in a new report, The Revolution in School Mathematics: A Challenge for Administrators and Teachers, published today by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), a department of the National Education Association. For several years many experiments, national, state and local, have been de- veloping new approaches to the study of mathematics in elementary and secondary schools. These are now being tried by school systems in various parts of the country. During 1960 the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, with the support of the National Science Foundation, held eight regional orientation conferences for school administrators and mathematics supervisors on the new mathematics in various parts of the country. The report summarizes the material presented at the conferences. The current revolution in mathematics according to G. Baley Price, one of the authors, is due to three factors--advances made by mathematical research, automation, and computing machines which now can perform what was formerly thought impossible in the realm of mathematics. Dr. Price is chairman of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Kansas at Lawrence. (more) These have made new demands upon the educated person, says Dr. Price adding: "The technological revolution now in progress requires that new mathematics be taught in our schools, that the emphasis be shifted in the teaching of many subjects already included in our mathematics courses, and that we increase the production of mathematicians and mathematics teachers." Traditional topics that have been omitted in the new mathematics are ex- tensive computing with logarithms, extensive work on the solution of oblique triangles, elaborate cases of factoring, and much of the involved proofs of solid geometry. Mathematics scholars believe that these subjects are now out of the mainstream of mathematical thought or do not need the emphasis they once received in the curriculum. But other than adding and subtracting areas of learning in mathematics, the new mathematics revitalizes old mathematics. All of the various programs developed stress unifying ideas in mathematics, the central themes that run through mathemat- ical thought (4 ey; set theory), and the structure of mathematics, which is a study of the basic properties common to all systems of mathematics. According to the report, both teachers and students have responded enthusias- tically to the new training, with many teachers saying they would find it impossible to return to the traditional texts. Although the new mathematics is aimed particu- larly at the college preparatory student, it has been found that average or slow students respond as well or sometimes with more success under the new programs as under the traditional methods. Another of the authors of the report, W. Eugene Ferguson, head of the Mathe- matics Department at the Newton (Mass.) High School, points out that the new mathematics programs should be implemented only under certain conditions. These (more) Le ~ ‘rr Cr wasningto! (Suggested information for use in a letter to Local Association Public Relations Chairmen or to Local School Systems regarding THE REVOLUTION IN SCHOOL MATHEMATICS. ) Dear Colleague: How has the “new mathematics" affected schools and schooling in your com- munity? It has stirred up quite a rumpus in many places. Teachers go back to school to learn it. Parents take evening courses so that they can keep up with their youngsters. Students are waxing enthusiastic about a subject they once dreaded. Colleges (Yale, for instance) are ditching freshman math courses as being too easy for the upcoming freshmen. How and why all this has come about is told in a new publication of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, The Revolution in School Mathematics: A Challenge for Administrators and Teachers. I thought perhaps you would like to see it-- and touse it as a jumping off place for a local story about how the “new math" has affected the schools of your community. From it you may learn--- That Sir Issac Newton didn't write the last word on the subject; more has been learned about mathematics in the Twentieth Century than in all the rest of recorded history. Research, automation, computing machines--these are the factors out of which the "new math" arose. Research produced new knowledge about the science; automation created the necessity for some new means of solving complicated design and develop- ment problems, and computing machines made it possible to meet the need by applying the new knowledge research had developed. The new math eliminates extensive study of logarithms, solving of oblique tri- angles, and some of the involved proofs of solid geometry. It stresses unifying mathematical themes (the set theory, for instance) and the underlying structure of mathematics, that is, the basic properties common to all sys- tems of mathematics. Conceived as being particularly helpful to the college-bound, it has turned out to be intriguing even to slow or average learners, many of whom respond to it more successfully than they did to traditional mathematics. (more) From the NCTM publication you can get a quick fill-in on the half-dozen "new math" programs under development (School Mathematics Study Group, University of Illinois, etc.). You can get suggestions on how to implement a new mathematics program in your school. (The procedure varies according to school size, capabilities of teachers, community attitudes, other factors. ) You can get a handy reference -- actually a catalogue -- dealing with the availability, and price, of the new math materials. You can get an outline of the curriculums proposed by the several new math program sponsors. From all of this, I hope you will be able to discover suggestions for develop- ing one or more local "angles" for a newspaper story. (The new math itself isn't concerned with that kind of "angle"! ) Sincerely, P.S. -- A copy of The Revolution in School Mathematics has been mailed to the principal of every high school in the country. from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Minnio Gilliland Rm. 4, Rainbow Hotel Great Falls, Montana ’ For Immediate Release NEA Instructional Conference Meets Here November 23-25 GREAT FALLS, MONTANA, November 23 -- Somewhere in a Montana classroom today may sit the child who will be taking the oath of office as President of the United States in the year 2001. How he -- or she -- should be taught to become a patriotic, intelligent, and competent citizen was discussed tonight by Presi- dent Ewald Turner of the National Education Association, speaking in Great Falls at the opening of the Northwest Regional Conference on Instruction. Mr. Turner, a teacher in the Helen McCune Junior High School (Pendleton, Oregon) for the past 13 years, told the 300 teachers from Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, gathered for the NEA-sponsored conference meeting November 23-25 that the teacher's role in guiding the destiny of individuals now in the Nation's classrooms is a critical one. "Teaching today must reflect the respect and affection we have for each of these individuals and our desire to motivate’ each of them to devélop to his maximum potential," declared Mr. Turner. At the same ‘time, he warned conferees that in these uneasy times teachers must not fail to distinguish between "the noisy clamor of the superpatriiots who are stirring up alarms," and the real dangers facing us from the ranks of totalitarians around the world. (more) NEA Instructional Conference -2- On the same program Frank C. Abbott, academic vice-president of Montana State University, Missoula, related the excellence sought by the schools to the overall national concern for greater morality and ethical purpose in the national life. "Excellence in Instruction" is the conference theme, setting the tone and giving direction to the six general sessions and a number of special group discussions in which participants will analyze recent research on the learning progress and explore various administrative and instructional techniques which may be adapted to promote "excellence" in all types of learning situations. The con- ference is designed, to render a cooperative instructional service and to acquaint teachers in the 3-state area with the instructional services of the NEA and its departments. Other distinguished speakers will be Dorris Lee, professor of education and assistant to the director of student teaching, Port- land State College, Oregon; William K. Ramstad, School Planning Laboratory, Stanford University; and a corpsof professional experts representing special instructional projects of the NEA. iE gpucaliow A No Sa, % g i s ° C / ° z - = 1 N NW. Agonist Etucation Aasociation = em rtecana sect na ADAMS 4-4848 o a“ “4p UNITED < “ “A November 22, 1961 A new report on the Revolution In School Mathematics will be published here on Friday, which I believe may offer an opportunity for an interpretive news- paper story in almost every community in the United States. Enclosed are several items which may help you to work with your local schools to develop local stories: 1. A copy of the 90-page report, The Revolution In School Mathematics. (On pages 89-90 you will find listed the names of 35 educators who participated in the math conferences) . Press release based on the report. Page 1, Education USA story based on the report. Suggested information for use in a letter from you to your local association public relations chairman or to local school superintendents. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has arranged for the distri- bution of a copy of the report to every high school. This means that there should be a copy within the next few days available for reference in every community . If I can be of any further help to you in connection with local coverage of this report please let me know. Cordially, PE ee Roy K. Wilson, Director Division of Press and Radio Relations 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. Note to Editors and Correspondents: Thirty-two national groups affiliated with the National Educa- tion Association as departments provide special services covering the full range of elementary, secondary, college and adult education in the United States. Generally, each of these departments con- trols its own funds, elects its own officers, and adopts policies and programs which apply particu- larly to its own special field. The NEA Division of “Ys Alice Morton Archives (1) ee © Deerereeerr | ADams 4-4855 WASHINGTON 6, D. C e Press and Radio Relations provides news about the program of each department to the press and broadcasters and arranges background interviews for news representatives with specialists on the staffs of national groups located at NEA~head- quarters on request. Studies and reports issued by departments are the expressions of those depart- ments and not statements of policy of the NEA unless set by resolution. (Gu) For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge FOR RELEASE: P.M. Papers Monday, November 20 New Handbook Tells Adult Learners How To Listen, Concentrate, Read Faster WASHINGTON, Nov. 19--If you have ever said "T'm too old to learn,” or "I can't memorize the way I did when I was a youngster," take heart. Research has shown that adults learn as well as, and often better, than young people. However, most adult students need to brush up on their study skills in order to learn quickly and efficiently, according to a new handbook published by the National Association of Public School Adult Educators (NAPSAE) . Robert A. Iuke, executive secretary of NAPSAE, a department of the National Education Association, noted that the book entitled How Adults Can Learn More--Faster cites facts and figures proving that age does not diminish the ability to learn. It contains descriptions of the basic principles of adult learning, tips on adult motivation, characteristics that help or hinder the mature learning. Mr. Luke points out that these are based on recent findings in the psychology of adult learning. (more) New Handbook aD oer The 52-page book tells the reader in specific terms how he can improve his ability to listen, both in class and at lectures by "listening for use"--locating and remembering a speaker's basic mes- sage, listening critically, taking notes and using those notes. An entire chapter is devoted to practical exercises that increase reading speed, plus pointers on reading and remembering technical material. Other chapters offer suggestions on how to concentrate while studying, and ways to memorize. Though many adult students need not take examinations, those who are doing academic work or studying for civil service or bar examinations, are given tips on do's and dont's while writing an exam paper and double- checking it. The problems of the adult who is learning at home via television are also explored. The advice given these learners is based on recently published research in this new field of education. How Adults Can Learn More--Faster, according to Mr. Luke, was pre- pared under the supervision of adult education administrators and teach- ers, specialists in.primary and literacy education, adult reading experts, educational television consultants and researchers in the psychology of adult learning. Copies are available at 50¢ each from NAPSAE, 1201 Sixteenth Street, N. W., Washington 6, D. C. ttt 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. ADams 4.4855 Note to Editors and Correspondents: Thirty-two Press and Radio Relations provides news about the national groups affiliated with the National Educa- program of each department to the press and tion Association as departments provide special broadcasters and arranges background interviews services covering the full range of elementary, for news representatives with specialists on the secondary, college and adult education in the United staffs of national groups located at NEA head- States. Generally, each of these departments con- quarters on request. Studies and reports issued by trols its own funds, elects its own officers, and departments are the expressions of those depart- adopts policies and programs which apply particu- ments and not statements of policy of the NEA larly to its own special field. The NEA Division of unless set by resolution. For further information: M. Ruth Broom, NAPSAE Press Office Room C-144, Sheraton-Park Hotel Washington, D. C. FOR RELEASE: 12 Noon, Thursday November 9, 1961 First Major Policy Statement on Adult Education Made by Four National Groups WASHINGTON, Nov. 9--What is adult education? Who should be educated and who should do the educating? Who should pick up the tab for adults who "go back to school"? These are some of the questions that are answered in a major policy statement released today at the opening of the ninth annual convention of the National Association of Public School Adult Educators (NAPSAE) at the Sheraton- Park Hotel. "Adult Education in the Public Schools," the first joint statement ever prepared in this area of education, was developed by four national organizations --the American Association of School Administrators, the Council of Chief State School Officers, the National Congress of Parents and Teachers, and NAPSAE. (more) In making the pronouncement public, NAPSAE President S. E. Hand pointed to the document's "forthright stand in declaring that the education of adults is an integral and necessary service of the public school system." He said its importance was heightened by the fact that a major lay group interested in education--the National Congress of Parents and Teachers--saw fit to join the state and local superintendents in endorsing a policy statement on the role of the public schools in adult education. The four groups are in complete accord on several controversial points. For example, they agree that public funds should pay for the adult and com- munity education America so urgently needs. They agree that adult education is a logical part of public school edu- cation programs because public schools are available to adult students, are not used at night, and have the staff and facilities with which to teach adults. They are also in accord in thinking that public school education programs for adults should be under the direct control of local boards of education. All four groups have underlined their feeling that adult programs should be well-rounded, and not limited to vocational, remedial, or academic subjects. The statement concludes by stating "The extent to which various sources of revenue are used for public school adult education should be the decision of each state and local board of education. "Provision for an adequate adult education program should be included, either independently or in cooperation with other districts, in every board of education budget." Copies of "Adult Education in the Public Schools,” are being released simultaneously today to the membership of each of the national organizations cooperating in the development of the statement. (more) - 3- Delegates to the NAPSAE convention, an expected 500 persons from all over the country, will also be given copies to study while taking part in the meeting here this week. NAPSAE President Hand is state supervisor of general adult education in the State Department of Education, Tallahassee, Florida. tt # 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Myrtle Bonn FOR RELEASE: A.M. Papers Tuesday, November 7, 1961 Longer, More Rigorous Preparation Proposed for School Teachers WASHINGTON, Nov. 6-- If the people who know most about the schools have their way, the education of teachers may soon be as rigorous and as lengthy as the education of doctors and lawyers. After feuding among themselves for many years, some of the most influ- ential education leaders in the country appear to be of similar mind on two things: That the only route to higher quality education is through higher quality teachers, and that drastic changes need to be made in teacher educa- tion programs. One important change, most feel, would be the requirement that prospective teachers be well educated in the sciences, humanities, and social sciences as well as trained in the methods of teaching. Such a pro- gram, it was agreed, would require five or more years of preparation, but it would "make teaching more attractive to the ambitious and bright and more formidably discouraging to the dull and apathetic.” This and other new directions for American education are revealed in a book published today, titled The Education of Teachers: Consensus and Conflict, by G. K. Hodenfield, well-known education reporter, and T. M. Stinnett, assistant executive secretary for professional development and welfare of the National Education Association. Published by Prentice-Hall, the book is written in popular language and is meant primarily for laymen. (more) Rigorous Preparation Proposed for School Teachers A consensus on the question of teacher education--one that has long divided the educational world--was not easily come by. There are the "methods" people who are most concerned about "how to teach” and the "subject matter" or "liberal arts" people who are concerned with "what to teach.” Getting them together, reports Mr. Hodenfield, was like "ask- ing the Republicans and the Democrats to hold a joint convention." Not until they did get together (in three conferences called by the National Commission on Teacher Education and Professional Standards--at Bowling Green, Ohio, in 1958; at Lawrence, Kansas in 1959; and at San Diego, California in 1960) was there a chance that major reforms in the field of teacher education might develop. The Hodenfield-Stinnett book is the story of these conferences, which some say represent "a turning point in American education." It reveals the history, the bitter prejudices, the gradual development of trust and respect, and the eventual pooling of efforts toward a common goal--turning out better teachers. Most important, it reveals a willingness on both sides--at least at the top levels--to stop "running two busses.” Toward the close of the book, Dr. Stinnett sets forth these "musts" which developed from the conferences for healing the schisms in education: Oo Producing good teachers must be the concern of all universities and colleges--including the prestige institutions. And it should involve the whole college or university, not its school of education alone. Actually, according to Dr. Stinnett, the "parochialism" that has kept teacher education out of the main stream of higher education is ending. Some 75 single purpose teachers' colleges have disappeared in this country since 195l--about 35 in the last three years. (more) Rigorous Preparation Proposed for School Teachers © Liberal arts professors mst be willing to involve themselves with the problems of secondary and elementary schools. They should be willing to serve as resource persons for purposes of overhauling the curriculum, or lifting the quality of teachers. Until now they have persistently refused to involve themselves with such prosaic matters. o The fact of life must be faced that a partnership in the prepara- tion of teachers does not mean the elimination of the professional aspects of preparation. "How to teach" is still an important part of the preparation, and the professional unit for teacher education within a college or university mst have the same kind of autonomy as other professional units. o Teacher education programs mst be flexible enough so that students may deviate from the regular courses and still be judged competent to teach. Proficiency examinations may be the answer. o A way must be found to make certification requirements more flexible. Here, too, proficiency examinations may be the answer. They could be used to permit liberal arts graduates to secure initial certification and they could enable experienced teachers to teach in other fields with- out having to pile up credits in every prescribed course. o Some kind of brake must be put on the continued mushrooming and frag- mentation of courses. The multiplying courses are often built more upon the interests of professors than on the needs of students. That a consensus of any sort can be reached must be interpreted as a tribute to the 1000 or more participants in each of the three conferences who spoke their minds. What was said by individuals--and many well-known names in the field were outspoken--is faithfully reported. Such quotes from the record on a variety of subjects show that the educators can be their own most caustic critics. For example: © Said the chancellor of one of our largest universities: "What about the tragic inarticulateness of the American people, only a few hours away from their neighbors of many languages and many proud cultures? How can any educator say that he is in the business of preparing American youth for the 20th century when he regards the study of (more ) Rigorous Preparation Proposed for School Teachers foreign languages...as ‘something extra'...? What is the enrollment in our teacher education institutions of those who would become teach- ers of foreign languages as compared to other fields? You know the " sad answer to this.... Suggested a representative from a state department of education: "Tt is true that, constitutionally, education is the responsibility of the states. But these times of ours are different from those in which any generation has ever lived before. The growth and mobility of population, shifts in economic areas, the sudden and welcome public interest in school programs to meet the needs of the scientific age call for an approach to certification problems with the nation as a whole in view." Added the dean of a leading teachers' college: "...a teacher... must be more than a well-educated person, more than a well-informed man or woman. The teacher has a specialized function to perform which is the unique obligation of his own profession. He can expect to be successful in it only if he masters the knowledge, procedures, and techniques essential to the practice of the profession. The enthusiastic dedication of the well-intentioned amateur is no more acceptable in teaching than in engineering, surgery or the law." Chided a leader from a state professional organization: Here is a profession whose competence may tip the balance of our civilization and we stolidly move along with the preparation of its replacement with less excitement and sense of urgency than is exhibited by our brethren in the schools of veterinary medicine. t## 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. Note to Editors and Correspondents: Thirty-two national groups affiliated with the National Educa- tion Association as departments provide special services covering the full range of elementary, secondary, college and adult education in the United States. Generally, each of these departments con- trols its own funds, elects its own officers, and adopts policies and programs which apply particu- larly to its own special field. The NEA Division of ADams 4-4855 Press and Radio Relations provides news about the program of each department to the press and broadcasters and arranges background interviews for news representatives with specialists on the staffs of national groups located at NEA head- quarters on request. Studies and reports issued by departments are the expressions of those depart- ments and not statements of policy of the NEA unless set by resolution. For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Myrtle Bonn SPECIAL TO STATE JOURNALS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE New Publications Help Teachers Handle Controversial Issues WASHINGTON, Nov. 3--Two new publications are now available to help teach- ers handle controversial issues in the classroom. A Selected Annotated Bibliography to Assist Teachers in Teaching About Communism was prepared by the National Council for the Social Studies, an NEA department, in response to numerous inquiries from teachers and administrators seeking reliable source material for teaching about communism in the high schools and junior high schools. Thirty-three titles are listed including some which are teaching outlines from representative school systems. Some of the refer- ences include a brief treatment of totalitarianism other than communism, and Materials suitable for student use two titles deal specifically with fascism. are indicated. Controversial Issues in the Classroom is a 32-page booklet offering guide- lines to teachers who must decide whether to handle such issues as local and national politics, labor-management relations, race relations, socialized (more) medicine, and the like. It gives some hints on approaches which have proved suc- cessful. The major section of the booklet looks into written practices and policies which govern the teaching of controversial issues. Seven examples of written policy statements were selected from the several hundred submitted for the preparation of the booklet. Some reflect state-wide practices, some represent the practices in individual school systems, and one is the guiding policy of a high-school social studies department, framed by members of that department. t ## A Selected Annotated Bibliography to Assist Teachers in Teaching About Commnism may be ordere rom the National Counc or e Soci Studies, - Street, N. W., Washington 6, D. C.'Mimeographed. 7 p. Single copy 25¢ Controversial Issues in the Classroom amy be ordered from Publication-Sales Section, National Education Association, 1201 - 16th Street, N. W., Washington 6, D. C. 30 p. Single copy, 50¢ 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 46, D. C. For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Minnio Gilliland RELEASE IN DECEMBER JOURNALS SPECIAL TO STATE JOURNALS NEA Life Insurance Plan Enrollee List Grows WASHINGTON, Nov. 2--Enrollment in the new life insurance plan of the National Education Association which becomes effective December 1, 1961 is increasing rapidly, according to Newell B. Walters, NEA consultant on teach- er welfare. He urged state education association members who belong to NEA but who have not yet acted to enroll promptly. Their participation will increase the total number of enrollment forms to be evaluated from a health standpoint by the insurance company as of the effective date, and this will permit the greatest possible number of members to be covered. Mr. Walters also pointed out that state education association members who do not now belong to NEA can meet the eligibility requirement for the plan by joining the latter at the same time they enroll for the insurance. A folder describing the plan in detail according to Mr. Walters was mailed directly to each NEA member early in November, accompanied by a trustees’ letter, an enrollment form and a return envelope. The NEA official pointed out that there will be an automatic increase in amounts of insurance in December 1, 1962 without increase in contribution rates. Further improvements in the plan may be possible as experience develops and if a good percentage of members elect to participate. Additional information and enrollment forms are available from the NEA Insurance Trust, Box 888, Newark 1, New Jersey. ttt 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. Note to Editors and Correspondents: Thirty-two national groups affiliated with the National Educa- tion Association as departments provide special services covering the full range of elementary, secondary, college and adult education in the United States. Generally, each of these departments con- trols its own funds, elects its own officers, and ADams 4-4855 Press and Radio Relations provides news about the program of each department to the press and broadcasters and arranges background interviews for news representatives with specialists on the staffs of national groups located at NEA head- quarters on request. Studies and reports issued by departments are the expressions of those depart- ments and not statements of policy of the NEA adopts policies and programs which apply particu- unless set by resolution. larly to its own special field. The NEA Division of For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge RELEASE AT WILL SPECIAL TO EDUCATIONAL AND SCIENCE JOURNALS Science Teachers Look To Future At 10th Annual Convention, Mar. 9-14 WASHINGTON, Nov. 1--The more than 2500 science teachers who gather March 9-14, 1962 at the 10th annual convention of the National Science Teachers Association in San Francisco will be working on a very large canvas. Their task, says NSTA Executive Secretary Robert H. Carleton, will be to develop a series of resolutions and recommendations for the future course of science teaching at every school level. To do the job, they will analyze critically five major areas: curriculum, staffing, programing, evaluation, and instructional materials and facilities. Major speakers at the convention will include: Ralph W. Tyler, director, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford, California; Robert W. MacVicar, vice president for academic affairs, Oklahoma State Uni- versity, Stillwater; Evan R. Keislar, professor of education, University of California, Berkeley; and Emilio G. Segre, Nobel prize-winning professor of physics, University of California, Berkeley. (more) Teachers Look To Future 10th Annual Convention A Curriculum Center, under the guidance of Paul DeH. Hurd of Stanford University, Stanford, California, will include a comprehensive display of recently developed courses of study and curriculum guides for all areas and levels. There will also be a display of novel demonstrations and experiments developed by practicing teachers. Additional convention activities will include a workshop under the auspices of the Business-Industry Section; Youth Science Congress, an activity of the Future Scientists of America program; 4 meeting of Future Science Teachers, for college and university students; display of films and audio-visual materials, and Science Teaching Materials Exposition. In conjunction with the NSTA, the National Science Supervisors Association and the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science will hold their annual meetings at the convention. For further information write to Executive Secretary, National Science Teachers Association, 1201 Sixteenth Street, N. W., Washington 6, B.C. t##t 7 from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. Note to Editors and Correspondents: Thirty-two national groups affiliated with the National Educa- tion Association as departments provide special services covering the full range of elementary, secondary, college and adult education in the United States. Generally, each of these departments con- trols its own funds, elects its own officers, and adopts policies and programs which apply particu- larly to its own special field. The NEA Division of WASHINGTON 6, 0. C Press and Radio Relations provides news about the program of each department to the press and broadcasters and arranges background interviews for news representatives with specialists on the staffs of national groups located at NEA head- quarters on request. Studies and reports issued by departments are the expressions of those depart- ments and not statements of policy of the NEA unless set by resolution. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge RELEASE AT WILL SPECIAL TO EDUCATIONAL AND SCIENCE JOURNALS Science Teachers Look To Future At 10th Anmual Convention, Mar. 9-14 WASHINGTON, Nov. 1--The more than 2500 science teachers who gather March 9-14, 1962 at the 10th annual convention of the National Science Teachers Association in San Francisco will be working on a very large canvas. Their task, says NSTA Executive Secretary Robert H. Carleton, will be to develop a series of resolutions and recommendations for the future course of science teaching at every school level. To do the job, they will analyze critically five major areas: curriculum, staffing, programing, evaluation, and instructional materials and facilities. Major speakers at the convention will include; Ralph W. Tyler, director, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford, California; Robert W. MacVicar, vice president for academic affairs, Oklahoma State Uni- versity, Stillwater; Evan R. Keislar, professor of education, University of California, Berkeley; and Emilio G. Segre, Nobel prize-winning professor of physics, University of California, Berkeley. (more) Teachers Look To Future 10th Annual Convention A Curriculum Center, under the guidance of Paul DeH. Hurd of Stanford University, Stanford, California, will include a comprehensive display of recently developed courses of study and curriculum guides for all areas and levels. There will also be a display of novel demonstrations and experiments developed by practicing teachers. Additional convention activities will include a workshop under the auspices of the Business-Industry Section; Youth Science Congress, an activity of the Future Scientists of America program; a meeting of Future Science Teachers, for college and university students; display of films and audio-visual materials, and Science Teaching Materials Exposition. In conjunction with the NSTA, the National Science Supervisors Association and the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science will hold their annual meetings at the convention. For further information write to Executive Secretary, National Science Teachers Association, 1201 Sixteenth Street, N. W., Washington a t#t Vr ls [Qo Aiice Morton @ from the NATIONAL nanan) 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. For further information; Beatrice M. Gudridge FOR RELEASE AT WILL "Aim for Excellence” Chosen Theme of 5th Teaching Career Month WASHINGTON, Nov. 1--"Aim for Excellence" has been selected as the theme of the fifth annual Teaching Career Month, which will be observed throughout the United States in April, 1962, according to its sponsor, the National Edu- cation Association. The meaning of "excellence," which seems to have become the current watch- word in education, is frequently left to one's imagination. In program sugges- tions and informational materials now being developed, NEA will attempt to de- fine "excellence" as it relates to teachers and teaching. These Teaching Career Month materials and program suggestions will iden- tify recent advances in teacher preparation, standards, status, and quality of service, and will point up the need for continued progress in these areas. In January, 1962, suggestions will be made available to leadership groups for programs for Future Teachers clubs, Student NEA chapters, college faculties, local professional teachers associations, school systems, Parent-Teacher Associ- ations and civic groups. Among the Teaching Career Month materials to be available from NEA begin- ning in February, 1962, will be a theme poster, a fact booklet, program aids, and informational leaflets. (more ) Teaching Career Month a The basic aim of Teaching Career Month is to call public attention to the necessity for getting and keeping good teachers. Six specific purposes of the observance are: 1. To improve our nation's schools by providing increasing numbers of fine teachers. 2. To encourage larger numbers of qualified young people to consider teaching as a career. 3. To influence the most competent teachers to remain in the profes- sion. 4. To inspire teachers to speak up for their profession and encourage others to consider teaching as a career. 5. To inform parents and the general public of the opportunities and rewards the teaching profession offers their children. 6. To show that for our nation's survival, teaching must be the preeminent profession in American life. Several NEA departments and divisions are involved in planning the program suggestions and informational materials for Teaching Career Month - the Department of Classroom Teachers, National Commission on Teacher Education and Professional Standards, Student NEA, Future Teachers of America, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, Division of Press and Radio Relations and Publications Division. Other agencies of the NEA and many lay groups will be helping to promote the observance of Teaching Career Month in April, 1962. tt # 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. Note to Editors and Correspondents: Thirty-two national groups affiliated with the National Educa- tion Association as departments provide special services covering the full range of elementary, secondary, college and adult education in the United States. Generally, each of these departments con- trols its own funds, elects its own officers, and adopts policies and programs which apply particu- larly to its own special field. The NEA Division of WASHINGTON 6, D. C Press and Radio Relations provides news about the program of each department to the press and broadcasters and arranges background interviews for news representatives with specialists on the staffs of national groups located at NEA head- quarters on request. Studies and reports issued by departments are the expressions of those depart- ments and not statements of policy of the NEA unless set by resolution. ADams 4-4855 For further information: M. Ruth Broom, NEA Press and Radio Relations SPECIAL FOR EDUCATION JOURNALS NAPSAE Charts Legislative Program During Annual Convention; Baltimore Man Installed as President WASHINGTON (SPECIAL) -- The National Association of Public School Adult Educators (NAPSAE) took a giant step forward during its annual conference here, Nov. 9-11, when its members gave the Association the go-ahead signal to draft legislation for presentation to the U.S. Congress in January. At the Association's business meeting, delegates overwhelmingly approved a legislative proposal which will seek from the federal government $10 million annually for a period of three-years for the purpose of providing elementary and secondary education to adults throughout the country in need of such education. The NAPSAE bill will stipulate that grants be made through the U.S. Office of Education to the various states. The state departments of education in turn would receive the grants through a formula based upon the number of adults over the age of 25 who have less than a secondary school education according to the 1960 census. NAPSAE officials hailed the adoption of the legislative program as one of the outstanding accomplishments in the Association's history. William G. Carr, executive secretary of the National Education Association, speaking to the group at the annual banquet meeting, congratulated NAPSAE upon its action. Dr. Carr said: "A national organization, to be effective, mst look at national needs and must mobilize national support. In focusing on the need to increase the oppor- tunities available to America's under-educated adults, NAPSAE has demonstrated that it is prepared to measure up to its national responsibility of leadership." Another highlight of the conference was the release of the first major policy statement ever prepared in the area of adult education. The statement was developed and endorsed by three national organizations in cooperation with NAPSAE -- the American Association of School Administrators, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and the National Congress of Parents and Teachers. The statement, called "Adult Education in the Public Schools,” spells out for the first time the roll that the public schools must play in providing edu- cation for the millions of American adults who need it. In making the pronouncement public, NAPSAE President S. E. Sand pointed to the document's "forthright stand in declaring that the education of adults is an integral and necessary service of the public school system." The four groups that developed the statement are in complete accord on sev- eral controversial points. For example, they agree that public funds should pay for the adult and commnity education Americans so urgently need. (more ) They agree that adult education is a logical part of the public school edu- cation programs because public schools are available to adult students, are not used at night, and have the staff and facilities with which to teach adults. They are also in accord in thinking that public school education programs for adults should be under the direct control of local boards of education. The four groups underlined their feeling that adult programs should be well-rounded, and not limited to vocational, remedial, or academic subjects. At the close of the conference Wilmer V. Bell, director of adult education, Baltimore (Md.) public schools, was installed as president for 1961. Robert F. Shenz, director of Westchester Adult School, Los Angeles, Calif., took office as president-elect, and Margaret Kiélty, director, of adult education, Fitchburg (Mass.) public schools, secretary-treasurer. Miss Kielty was re-elected to this post for the ninth consecutive time. Six new members were installed on the Board of Directors for two-year terms. They are: Paul H. Durrie, director of adult education, Stamford (Conn.) public schools; Alton P. Hadlock, director of state-wide services, University of Utah, Salt Lake City; Calvin Orr, director of adult education, Englewood, Colo.; Priscilla Rugg, coordinator of adult homemaking education, St. Paul (Minn.) pub- lic schools; Richard Smith, assistant superintendent of adult education branch, Los Angeles (Calif.) city schools, and Harold B. Wilcox, director of adult edu- cation, Ferndale, Michigan. Qe, vs 4 } G |} CATION % » = . E ey eS 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. / Valionatl ucalion sociation o— WASHINGTON 6, D.C. o ADAMS 4-4848 October 24, 1961 MEMORANDUM TO RADIO BROADCASTERS RE: Tape interviews with educators from your local area from a national convention of public school adult education officials in Washington, D. C.,; November 8-11. The National Association of Public School Adult Educators (NAPSAE), an organization charged with the responsibility of making learning a lifetime proposition, will be holding its Ninth Annual Conference here November 8-11, at the Sheraton-Park Hotel. NAPSAE officials estimate that approximately 500 adult education specialists from every corner of the nation will be taking part in the conference to study what the role of the public schools should be in providing educational opportunities for people who may want to continue studying to keep up with the times, or for those who may not have had a chance to finish school. The NAPSAE Convention Press Office is making arrangements to send you a three-and-a-half minute interview between persons from your area and a newscaster tape-recorded directly from convention headquarters. During these interviews, we are going to ask these specialists to talk about the adult education programs in his or her state and what community leaders can do to help approximately 70 million Americans who have not finished high school and some 11 million who are functionally illiterate. The self-contained tape will have an open and close and will be suitable for use as received, or excerpts could be used on news programs in conjunction with wire service stories, etc. Or, you may use the tape in any way you feel is most effective. In order to supply you with this material while the convention is in session, we must know in advance if you desire this service. There is no cost or obligation. A reply card and stamped, self-addressed envelope are enclosed. We must receive this card no later than November 6. Sincerely, M. Ruth Broom Director, Convention Press Office Qo 23 (GC | Alice Norton Archive (a ---.--_..cmaais 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. . WASHINGTON 6, D. c. . e ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Five School Districts Receive Funds To Strengthen Adult Education Services WASHINGTON, October 23--Five school districts in four states were selected by the National Association of Public School Adult Educators (NAPSAE) as recipients of funds to broaden and enrich their adult edu- cation programs. The communities chosen for this experimental project are: East Aurora, Illinois; Baltimore County, Maryland; Herkimer and Poughkeepsie, New York, and Warren, Rhode Island. The nieas ails part of a three-year grant of $225,000 from the Fund for Adult Education, given to NAPSAE for the purpose of strengthening liberal adult education and education for public responsibility in the public schools. Funds for this purpose will be made available to five other communities in the 1962-63 and 1963-64 school years. School superintendents in the chosen districts agreed to use the funds to employ directors of adult education one-half time where none was previously employed, or full-time where employment had been half- time. The directors will use their expanded time to work exclusively on the development of programs in liberal adult education and education for public responsibility. (More than half the people now responsible for adult education programs in the public schools are on half-time as- signment or less.) tt # 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 46, D. C. For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Louisiana Attorney General Revises Cpinion on Teacher Membership in NEA WASHINGTON, October 13 -- The National Education Association was advised this week that the Office of the Attorney General of the State of Louisiana has modified its earlier opinion that a teacher of the state would be sub- ject to dismissal if he belonged to the NEA. The revised opinion, issued by Attorney General Jack Gremillion, states that "The NEA is not by law nor injunction prohibited from operating in Louisiana and, therefore, a member of that group who is a permanent teacher cannot be removed as a teacher merely because of membership in the group." The review of the issue which led to the revised opinion followed efforts by Louisiana members and affiliates of the association, and the services of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, attorneys associated with NEA legal counsel here. # # # 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W ADams 4-4855 Note to Editors and Correspondents: Thirty-two Press and Radio Relations provides news about the national groups affiliated with the National Educa- program of each department to the press and tion Association as departments provide special broadcasters and arranges background interviews services covering the full range of elementary, for news representatives with specialists on the secondary, college and adult education in the United staffs of national groups located at NEA head- States. Generally, each of these departments con- quarters on request. Studies and reports issued by trols its own funds, elects its own officers, and departments are the expressions of those depart- adopts policies and programs which apply particu- ments and not statements of policy of the NEA larly to its own special field. The NEA Division of unless set by resolution. For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Myrtle Bonn FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Local Physician to Aid in Survey Of School Health Education WASHINGTON, October 10 -- John L. Reichert, M.D., Chicago pediatrician and member of the Boarf The names of the Advisory Committee were announced this week by the American Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation, (AAHPER), a department of the National Education Association. The project is financed by a $55,000 grant from the Samel Bronfman Foundation of New York City. The survey will be the first step in what is expected to develop into the most comprehensive nationwide project ever conducted to determine the extent and effectiveness of health teaching in kindergarten through the leth grade. Dr. Elena M. Sliepcevich, professor of health education on leave from Ohio State University in Columbus, has been appointed director. (more) et The full Advisory Committee includes: Herman E. Hilleboe, M. D., chairman, Commissioner, New York State Department of Health; Granville W. Larimore, M. D., secretary, Deputy Commissioner, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York; Dr. Ruth Abernathy, professor of health educa- tion, University of California, Los Angeles, California; Dr. Forrest E. Conner, superintendent of schools, Saint Paul, Minnesota; Dr. Byron Hansford, commissioner of education, State Department of Education, Denver, Colorado; John L. Reichert, M..D., Chicago, Illinois; Dr. Sara Louise Smith, professor and head of health education, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida; Dr. William K. Streit, director, Health and Safety Services, Cincinnati Public Schools, Cincinnati, Ohio. Ex officio members are: Donald A. Dukelow, M. D., American Medical As- sociation, Chicago, Illinois; Mrs. Clifford N. Jenkins, National Congress of Parents and Teachers, Chicago, Illinois; Miss Elsa Schneider, Office of Educa- tion, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Washington, D. C.; Carl S. Shultz, M. D., United States Public Health Service, Department of Health, Educa- tion, and Welfare, Washington, D. C.; and Dr. William H. Creswell, Jr., Nation- al Education Association (AAHPER),.Washington, D. C., Staff Liaison. 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Myrtle Bonn FOR RELEASE: P.M. PAPERS Wednesday, October 4, 1961 Adult Students Urged to Select Courses With Civic Purpose WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 -- In our concern to educate the citizens of tomorrow, we have forgotten that today's problems must be solved by adults, a New York educator charges in an article in the October issue of the NEA Journal, monthly magazine of the National Education Association. Deploring the "patchwork profile” of adult education courses in this country, Arthur P. Crabtree, head of civic education in the Bureau of Adult Education, New York State Department of Education, Albany, writes that what the adult education movement needs is a philosophy and a goal which can be identified with our national goals. It seems obvious, he says, that we are not "doing all we can to integrate our educational efforts with national survival and that we are not doing a good job of teaching for democratic life. If we were doing all we can in education, and had been doing it through the years, we would not have nearly forty percent of our electorate staying away from the polls. If we had preserved one-half the dedica- tion and the vitality of the Thomas Jeffersons and the Patrick Henrys, we would run, not walk, to the nearest polling booth today. If we in adult education were doing all we can to stem the tide of civic complacency, civic education would not consistently be at the bottom of the list in our program offerings.” ¢ Adult Students Urged to Select etc. The compelling purpose of adult education, says Mr. Crabtree, can be found in the headlines of every daily paper, in the anxious concern of every living room, and in the platforms of our political parties. It devours the dragon's share of our gross national product.” The cold war, he writes, is a test of whether our nation can endure and a cold war “is fought with ideas, not guns....It's battlefield is the minds of men. Its foot soldiers are men and women who are willing to live, not die, for the survival of a particular way of life. A citizen who believes in the rightness of American democracy and is willing to dedictte his daily efforts to its implementation is as vital to the preservation of this nation as was any soldier at Valley Forge or Iwo Jima." The job of the adult educator, writes Mr. Crabtree, is to "persuade the resi- dents of his community that adult education exists not primarily to prepare them to earn better livings but to prepare them to participate in the affairs of democracy with wisdom and with purpose...." Calling the administrator of adult education programs, "the guidance salesmen for democracy," Mr. Crabtree, outlines his duties this way: "When adults come requesting instruction in homemaking, he must remind them of a national purpose that trancends the home. When adults apply for liesure-time activ- ities, he must point out that a discussion group in community problems can also be an enjoyable and profitable way to spend their leisure." Can such a mobilization of our adult education forces be accomplished? Mr. - Crabtree says that evidence is encouraging but that it will require dedication and tireless effort. 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. For Further Information: Beatrice M. Gudridege or Joseph Hanlon FOR RELEASE: Upon Receipt Special to the State Journals Shortcuts Urged for Able Students Under Master Teachers WASHINGTON, October 2 -- Out of the Fourth National School for Teacher Salary Scheduling held last month at NEA headquarters in Washington came one suggestion which set the news wires humming across the country and led to big, bold headlines and an outpouring of favorable comment by editorial writers. This was the proposal of Sam Lambert, NEA Research Director, that consideration be given to telescoping the K-12 school program for more able learners (the top 15 to 20 percent), thereby saving the taxpayers considerable money. The headlines gave not too much attention to a second proposal Lambert linked with this one, and which he regards as an essential prerequisite for accomplishment of the first -- a longer (six-year) and more intensive period of college preparation to produce a new generation of "master" teachers. Lambert would divide the six years of college into four years of general educa- tion, with some exposure to every field of human knowledge, and would top this with two solid years of what and how to teach. At least 15 hours of the graduate work, perhaps 20, he thinks, should be in the psychology of learning and teaching. (more) If 20 percent of this year's ninth grade enrollment of 2.5 million were able, undef the guidance of’ superior teachers, to complete high. school in three years instead of four, Lambert estimated, the saving might be about $262 million. If only 5 percent of this year's first graders were able to complete the course in 10 years, instead of 12, he added, the saving would be $163.5 million. These savings might be used, Lambert suggested, to help finance the added cost of replacing teachers who quit and retire with "master" teachers who have had six years of college preparation. For teachers so prepared, he predicted, the American public would be willing to pay starting salaries of $6000 a year and top salaries of $12,000 or more. Such teachers, he said, would be 50 to 100 percent more effective than today's beginning teacher with a bachelor's degree. "I have the feeling,"' Lambert said, "that most people are tired of hearing about $100 to $200 increases in teachers' salaries and the need for an additional 15 cents per pupil for audio-visual aids. Most people are looking for some dramatic new plans to push education toward unprecedented levels." Education, he added, is one of the best investments -- so good an investment that the people should be buying a much better brand of it. He cited the 10-year program for able learners and the 6-year period of college preparation for teachers as an illustration of how the people could be shown what a "much better brand" of education would be like. HAH 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Joseph Hanlon FOR RELEASE: Sunday, Oct. 1, Search for Education Symbol For World's Fair Begins Today WASHINGTON, Sept. 30--What does education look like? More specifically: How can the story of American education, its past, present and direction to- ward the future best be symbolized in a statue or other artistic representation? The American educator who comes up with the best idea for this symbol, which will be placed at the entrance to the Hall of Education at the New York World's Fair of 1964-65, will be awarded a trip around the world via Pan Ameri- can Airways as a member of a travel tour of the National Education Association. A second award will be a nationwide air tour culminating in a visit to the fair and five other runners-up will be flown from their homes to New York to visit the fair. The search was announced today by the National Education Association (NEA), which is cooperating with sponsors of the Hall of Education in the search for a symbol to depict the theme for that feature of the fair. Any educator (except NEA officers and staff members) may enter the search. After the winner has been selected, the sponsoring committee will commission an artist to execute the symbol. Entries must include a typewritten description of the symbol and a rc ketch of it and must be limited to one side of a sheet of paper 83 by 1] inches. Entries will be judged by the ideas they contain, not by the artistic quality of the sketch. They should include the name, address and educational (more ) Search for Education Symbol position of the entrants and should be sent to Hall of Education, Symbol Search, International Fair Consultants, 10 Columbus Circle, New York 19. They must be received on or before next Feb. 28. The Hall of Education at the fair is planned as a pavilion of monumental proportions which will be erected on an attractively landscaped site in one of the central and more desirable areas of the fair grounds. It will seek to tell the story of learning in all its forms and the applied principles of universal education in a democratic society. Attention will be given to the major new developments in the educational process, to public and private institutions of learning. The newest, most ad- vanced concepts of school architecture, construction and equipment will be shown and other exhibits will deal with curriculum development, teacher train- ing, methodology of instruction and many other aspects of the educational story. Among the prominent educators on the Sponsoring Committee of the Hall of Education are the chairman, Harry J. Carman, dean emeritus, Columbia College, and member, Board of Higher Education of the City of New York; James E. Allen, commissioner, New York State Commission on Education; William G. Carr, execu- tive secretary, National Education Association; Finis E. Engleman, executive secretary, American Association of School Administrators; John H. Fischer, dean, Teachers College, Columbia University; Frank W. Hubbard, assistant execu- tive secretary for information services, NEA; Margaret Mead, curator of anthro- pology, American Museum of Natural History; and John J. Theobald, superintendent of schools, Board of Education of the City of New York. # t # For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Joseph Hanlon FOR RELEASE: P. M. Papers, Monday, Oct 2, 1961 New York Educator Extends Work on School Dropouts to National Scene WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 -- Danile Schreiber, former coordinator of New York City's Higher Horizons program, now director of the National Education Associ- ation's project aimed at finding means to prevent school dropouts, is scouring the country, seeking information on how educators have been dealing with that problem. He is looking, he says, for "exportable" ideas, for programs and pro- cedures which may have worked well in one community, but which are not generally known or used elsewhere. And Schreiber, who undertook his NEA assignment with the opening of school this fall, is finding that many of the ideas he wents to “export” were developed right back there in his own bailiwick -- among them the Higher Horizons progran, which seeks to raise the educational and cultural sights of children from less privileged groups. of the population. "New York)" he says, “has been, in many respects, the leader in this field. Not just with Higher Horizons, but also with other programs, such as the early identification of emotionally disturbed children, its continuation school pro- jects, and the 600 group of special schools,” - more «= Schreiber - Page 2 He is finding, too, that many other cities, among them, Chicago, Phila- delphia, and South Bend, Indiana, have devised special programs which, in one way or another enable the school to reach out beyond its walls and offer special inducements which often persuade a wavering pupil, about to drop out of school, that it would be better for him to stay in the classroom. One thing that has encouraged Schreiber in his new assignment is the dis- covery, not wholly new to him, of the degree of awareness that exists in Washington about the acute need for doing something effective to deal with the dropout problem. Because of the distribution of age groups within the population,, this will soon become much more aggravated than it is now. In the decade of the 1960's, if present trends persist, there will be 7.5 million dropouts, with the peak of the problem coming ln 1965. In that year 3.8 million boys and girls will become 18 years old -- almost twice as many as the total for a year as recent as 1950. School dropouts, as is now generally recognized, create many problems for the community. They are ill equipped to find useful employment, often become discouraged and disgruntled. The juvenile courts and the various welfare agencies come to know many of them intimately. One of the new hats which Schreiber is trying on in Washington is that of chairman of the education section of the President's Committee on Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Crime, charged with the responsibility of coordinating federal efforts to help locel commumities in the prevention of juvenile delinquency. Schreiber - Page 3 Just last week President Kennedy signed a law which, it is hoped, will give this group a potent new weapon in coping with the problem. It is the Juvenile Delinquency Control Act which provides $10 million for aiding local communities in the development of pilot programs to curb delinquency. In the offing, ready for Congressional debate when Congress returns in Jenuary, are other measures which have been approved by committees of both the House and Senate. These would offer additional federal assistance to the States and local communities in developing proper attitudes and work skills among the out-of-school 16 to 21 year old group, along with guidance and, in some instances, supplementary classroom instruction. This program, which the House has wrapped into one package as the Youth Employment Opportunities Act, appears in the Senate as three separate measures, on one of which the Senate has cmmpleted final action. "This is all to the good,” said Schreiber, reviewing these developments with satisfaction. "We need plenty of help, wherever we can find it.” "Te we are to avoid serious trouble in the years ahead the schools must find the means to reach out and change the attitudes of these troubled young people and their families. The family is often the problem. We need greater parent involvement in what is happening to their children in school. "Maybe it will be necessary for school guidance counselors to broaden the scope of their work so that we can get parents involved in the process of en- ¢couraging the child's strengths and abilities. Maybe what we need is community guidance coordinators, working with the schools and other agencies. "We can't sit back and wait for the answers," he said. "We've got to go out and find them." Ht 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Louisiana Attorney General Revises Opinion on Teacher Membership in NEA WASHINGTON, October--The National Education Association was advised this month that the Office of the Attorney General of the State of Louisiana has modified its earlier opinion that a teacher of the state would be sub- ject to dismissal if he belonged to the NEA. The revised opinion, issued by Attorney General Jack Gremillion, stated that "The NEA is not by law nor injunction prohibited from operating in Louisiana and, therefore, a member of that group who is a permanent teacher cannot be removed as a teacher merely because of membership in the group." The review of the issue which led to the revised opinion followed ef- forts by Louisiana members and affiliates of the association, and the serv- ices of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, attorneys associated with NEA legal counsel here. i ae ad Ow. 1,196) al from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. . WASHINGTON 6, D. C. « ADams 4.4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Joseph Hanlon SPECIAL TO STATE EDUCATION JOURNALS Education Highlighted At_N. Y. World Fair in 1964 WASHINGTON--The story of education in America will be presented at the New York World's Fair of 1964-65 in dramatic fashion giving an emphasis to education on a scale that far surpasses any international exhibition in re- cent history. Planned is a handsome pavilion to be erected on an attractively land- scaped site in a desirable central area of the fair grounds. At the entrance to the Hall of Education will be a symbol, in sculpture or some other art form, depicting the past, present and future direction of education. The search is on now for the design for that symbol and any educator in American (except officers and staff members of the National Education Associ- ation) is eligible to compete. First award is a trip around the world via Pan American Airways as a member of an NEA travel tour. A second award will be a nationwide air tour culminating in a visit to the fair and five other runners up will be flown from their homes to New York to visit the fair. NEA is cooperating with sponsors of the Hall of Education in conducting the search. After the winning idea has been selected the sponsoring committee will commission an artist to execute it. Entries, which must be submitted on or before next Feb. 28, must include a typewritten description of the proposed symbol and a rough sketch of it. The idea, and not the artistic quality of the sketch, will be the determining (more) # from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Joseph Hanlon SPECIAL TO STATE EDUCATION JOURNALS Education Highlighted At N. Y. World Fair in 1964 WASHINGTON--The story of education in America will be presented at the New York World's Fair of 1964-65 in dramatic fashion giving an emphasis to education on a scale that far surpasses any international exhibition in re- cent history. Planned is a handsome pavilion to be erected on an attractively land- scaped site in a desirable central area of the fair grounds. At the entrance to the Hall of Education will be a symbol, in sculpture or some other art form, depicting the past, present and future direction of education. The search is on now for the design for that symbol and any educator in American (except officers and staff members of the National Education Associ- ation) is eligible to compete. First award is a trip around the world via Pan American Airways as a member of an NEA travel tour. A second award will be a nationwide air tour culminating in a visit to the fair and five other runners up will be flown from their homes to New York to visit the fair. NEA is cooperating with sponsors of the Hall of Education in conducting the search. After the winning idea has been selected the sponsoring committee will commission an artist to execute it. Entries, which must be submitted on or before next Feb. 28, must include a typewritten description of the proposed symbol and a rough sketch of it. The idea, and not the artistic quality of the sketch, will be the determining (more) Education Highlighted factor. Entries must be on one side of a sheet of paper measuring gi by 11 inches and should include the name, address and educational position of the contestant. They should be sent to Hall of Education, Symbol Search, Inter- national Fair Consultants, 10 Columbus Circle, New York 19. The Hall of Education will seek to tell the story of learning in all its forms and the applied principles of universal education in a democratic society. It will feature the "School of Tomorrow." Provision will be made for integration of individual study areas, seminars, regular classrooms, lec- ture halls, multi-purpose rooms, and various specialized facilities. Many of these, during the fair, will be in actual operation, with visi- tors permitted to view the operation through one-way mirrors or closed circuit television. Attention will be given to major new developments in the educational pro- cess in both public and private institutions of learning, at all levels. The most advanced concepts of school and college architecture will be depicted, along with construction and equipment. Other exhibits will deal with curricu- lum development, teacher training and administration, the methodology of instruc- tion and learning, and many other aspects of the educational scene. The exhibits will seek to portray the interrelationships of teachers, stu- dents,. reference materials and technology. There will be demonstrations of fluidity and flexibility in classroom designs, the importance of instruction geared to individual differences among students, the effective use of books, periodicals, records, tapes, teaching machines, television, films and other audio-visual aids. A major purpose will be to illustrate the need for raising and enrich- ing standards in the "pursuit of excellence." (more) Education Highlighted -3- Among the prominent educators on the Sponsoring Committee of the Hall of Education are the chairman, Harry J. Carman, dean emeritus, Columbia College, and member, Board of Higher Education of the City of New York; James E. Allen, commissioner, New York State Commission on Education; William G. Carr, execu- tive secretary, National Education Association; Finis E. Engleman, executive secretary, American Association of School Administrators; John H. Fischer, dean, Teachers College, Columbia University; Frank W. Hubbard, assistant execu- tive secretary for information services, NEA; Margaret Mead, curator of anthro- pology, American Museum of Natural History; and John J. Theobald, superintendent of schools, Board of Education of the City of New York. # ## 9/61 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. Note to Editors and Correspondents: Thirty-two national groups affiliated with the National Educa- tion Association as departments provide special services covering the full range of elementary, secondary, college and adult education in the United States. Generally, each of these departments con- trols its own funds, elects its own officers, and ADams 4-4855 Press and Radio Relations provides news about the program of each department to the press and broadcasters and arranges background interviews for news representatives with specialists on the staffs of national groups located at NEA head- quarters on request. Studies and reports issued by departments are the expressions of those depart- ments and not statements of policy of the NEA adopts policies and programs which apply particu- unless set by resolution. larly to its own special field. The NEA Division of For further information: Beatrice M.'Gudridge or Joseph Hanlon FOR RELEASE: Sunday Papers October 1, 1961 Books to Help Children in Social Studies Published By NEA Department WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 -- Publication of two new books useful in dealing with problems of reading in the social studies was announced today by the Na- tional Council for the Social Studies, a department of the National Education Association. Children's Books to Enrich the Social Studies is an annotated bibliog- raphy describing hundreds of books -- biographies, narratives, histories, geo- graphical accounts and other forms of writing -- which relate to topics dealt with in the social studies at the elementary school level. There are brief summaries of each of these books, and the grade levels at which they would be most useful are indicated. This compilation is designed to save the elemen- tary teacher hours of searching for a book to fit a particular topic or child. Compiler of the bibliography is Helen Huus of the University of Pennsyl- vania School of Education. Books To Help Children in Social Studies -- Page 2 Published By NEA Department Improving Reading in the Elementary Social Studies is a guide for teachers, designed to aid in developing the reading ability of students in dealing with social studies materials. The authors are Leo Fay, of the School of Education, Indiana University; Thomas Horn, of the College of Education, University of Texas; and Constance McCullough of the De- partment of Education, San Francisco State College. The bulletin points up the various types of reading to which the child mst become accustomed that differ from the "stories" he began read- ing for pleasure or recreation. Losing interest in the material, for in- stance, is no longer an adequate reason for not reading it; and illustra- tions, which should be used to clarify and extend the meaning of the words, are no longer the pretty pictures used solely to arouse interest and carry” the story. The authors organize their material around nine basic reading pro- blems which are encountered by social studies teachers. They have practi- cal suggestions for dealing with each of these problems that will increase the effectiveness of social studies instruction. Copies of these books may be ordered from the National Education Association, 1201 Sixteenth Street, N. W., Washington 6, Dac: Children's Books to Enrich the Social Studies, 196 pages, $2.50 Improving Reading in the Elementary Social Studies, BO pages, $1.50 ttt t 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Joseph Hanlon FOR RELEASE: Sunday, Oct. 1, 1961 Search for Education Symbol For World's Fair Begins Today WASHINGTON, Sept. 30--What does education look like? More specifically: How can the story of American education, its past, present and direction to- ward the future best be symbolized in a statue or other artistic representation? The American educator who comes up with the best idea for this symbol, which will be placed at the entrance to the Hall of Education at the New York World's Fair of 1964-65, will be awarded a trip around the world via Pan Ameri- can Airways as a member of a travel tour of the National Education Association. A second award will be a nationwide air tour culminating in a visit to the fair and five other runners-up will be flown from their homes to New York to visit the fair. The search was announced today by the National Education Association (NEA), which is cooperating with sponsors of the Hall of Education in the search for a symbol to depict the theme for that feature of the fair. Any educator (except NEA officers and staff members) may enter the search. After the winner has been selected, the sponsoring committee will commission an artist to execute the symbol. Entries must include a typewritten description of the symbol and a rough sketch of it and mst be limited to one side of a sheet of paper 84 by 11 inches. Entries will be judged by the ideas they contain, not by the artistic quality of the sketch. They should include the name, address and educational (more ) Search for Education Symbol position of the entrants and should be sent to Hall of Education, Symbol Search, International Fair Consultants, 10 Columbus Circle, New York 19. They must be received on or before next Feb. 28. The Hall of Education at the fair is planned as a pavilion of monumental proportions which will be erected on an attractively landscaped site in one of the central and more desirable areas of the fair grounds. It will seek to tell the story of learning in all its forms and the applied principles of universal education in a democratic society. Attention will be given to the major new developments in the educational process, to public and private institutions of learning. The newest, most ad- vanced concepts of school architecture, construction and equipment will be shown and other exhibits will deal with curriculum development, teacher train- ing, methodology of instruction and many other aspects of the educational story. Among the prominent educators on the Sponsoring Committee of the Hall of Education are the chairman, Harry J. Carman, dean emeritus, Columbia College, and member, Board of Higher Education of the City of New York; James E. Allen, commissioner, New York State Commission on Education; William G. Carr, execu- tive secretary, National Education Association; Finis E. Engleman, executive secretary, American Association of School Administrators; John H. Fischer, dean, Teachers College, Columbia University; Frank W. Hubbard, assistant execu- tive secretary for information services, NEA; Margaret Mead, curator of anthro- pology, American Museum of Natural History; and John J. Theobald, superintendent of schools, Board of Education of the City of New York. tt # 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Joseph Hanlon FOR RELEASE: Sunday, Oct. 1, 1961 Search for Education Symbol For World's Fair Begins Today WASHINGTON, Sept. 30--What does education look like? More specifically: How can the story of American education, its past, present and direction to- ward the future best be symbolized in a statue or other artistic representation? The American educator who comes up with the best idea for this symbol, which will be placed at the entrance to the Hall of Education at the New York World's Fair of 1964-65, will be awarded a trip around the world via Pan Ameri- can Airways as a member of a travel tour of the National Education Association. A second award will be a nationwide air tour culminating in a visit to the fair and five other runners-up will be flown from their homes to New York to visit the fair. The search was announced today by the National Education Association (NEA), which is cooperating with sponsors of the Hall of Education in the search for a symbol to depict the theme for that feature of the fair. Any educator (except NEA officers and staff members) may enter the search. After the winner has been selected, the sponsoring committee will commission an artist to execute the symbol. Entries must include a typewritten description of the symbol and a rough sketch of it and must be limited to one side of a sheet of paper 83 by 11 inches. Entries will be judged by the ideas they contain, not by the artistic quality of the sketch. They should include the name, address and educational (more ) Search for Education Symbol position of the entrants and should be sent to Hall of Education, Symbol Search, International Fair Consultants, 10 Columbus Circle, New York 19. They must be received on or before next Feb. 28. The Hall of Education at the fair is planned as a pavilion of monumental proportions which will be erected on an attractively landscaped site in one of the central and more desirable areas of the fair grounds. It will seek to tell the story of learning in all its forms and the applied principles of universal education in a democratic society. Attention will be given to the major new developments in the educational process, to public and private institutions of learning. The newest, most ad- vanced concepts of school architecture, construction and equipment will be shown and other exhibits will deal with curriculum development, teacher train- ing, methodology of instruction and many other aspects of the educational story. Among the prominent educators on the Sponsoring Committee of the Hall of Education are the chairman, Harry J. Carman, dean emeritus, Columbia College, and member, Board of Higher Education of the City of New York; James E. Allen, commissioner, New York State Commission on Education; William G. Carr, execu- tive secretary, National Education Association; Finis E. Engleman, executive secretary, American Association of School Administrators; John H. Fischer, dean, Teachers College, Columbia University; Frank W. Hubbard, assistant execu- tive secretary for information services, NEA; Margaret Mead, curator of anthro- pology, American Museum of Natural History; and John J. Theobald, superintendent of schools, Board of Education of the City of New York. ttt 7 from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. Note to Editors and Correspondents: Thirty-two national groups affiliated with the National Educa- tion Association as departments provide special services covering the full range of elementary, secondary, college and adult education in the United States. Generally, each of these departments con- trols its own funds, elects its own officers, and adopts policies and programs which apply particu- larly to its own special field. The NEA Division of WASHINGTON 6, D. C Press and Radio Relations provides news about the program of each department to the press and broadcasters and arranges background interviews for news representatives with specialists on the staffs of national groups located at NEA head- quarters on request. Studies and reports issued by departments are the expressions of those depart- ments and not statements of policy of the NEA unless set by resolution. ADams 4-4855 For further information: M. Ruth Broom, Trader's Room Pittsburgh-Hilton Hotel, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE More than 800 educators from coast to coast are expected to attend the two meetings to study the problems of schools in rural America. Of prime interest to administrators and teachers attending are the ways schools can offset some of the changes brought about by socio-economic forces that are affecting the lives of more than 54 million people who live in the rural areas. Among the speakers at general sessions are Eli Cohen, executive secre- tary of the National Committee on Employment of Youth; Hale Arnes, Department of Education, North Dakota State University; M. E. John, President of the Rural Sociological Society; Ralph Sutleff, vice-president of the American Vo- cational Association; Francina Nolan, director of home economics education and assistant dean of the Department of Agriculture, West Virginia University. - more - At the County and Rural Area Superintendents meeting some of the nation's top big-city superintendents are due to sit in for talks with their colleagues from the smaller cities. Among them are Benjamin C. Willis, superintendent of Chicago's schools, and C. C. Trillingham, superintendent of the Los Angeles (Calif.) schools. Lawrence G. Derthick, former U. S. Commissioner of Education who is now assistant executive secretary for educational services of the NEA, is also due to speak. Other speakers include John Dunn, president of Palomar College, San Marcos, California; Thomas Van Sant, assistant superintendent of adult education in New York City; Robert Christie, director of the Governor's Committee on Education, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Dwayne Orton, editor of THINK and educational consult- ant, International Business Machines Corporation, New York City. 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. Note to Editors and Correspondents: Thirty-two national groups affiliated with the National Educa- tion Association as departments provide special services covering the full range of elementary, secondary, college and adult education in the United States. Generally, each of these departments con- trols its own funds, elects its own officers, and adopts policies and programs which apply particu- larly to its own special field. The NEA Division of ADams 4-4855 Press and Radio Relations provides news about the program of each department to the press and broadcasters and arranges background interviews for news representatives with specialists on the staffs of national groups located at NEA head- quarters on request. Studies and reports issued by departments are the expressions of those depart- ments and not statements of policy of the NEA unless set by resolution. For further information: M. Ruth Broom, Trader's Room, Pittsburgh-Hilton Hotel, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Problems of Schools in Rural America Key Concern of Two Conventions Here PITTSBURGH, Sept. 28 -- Drastic changes in the population distribution in the United States are causing a lot of people headaches, but none so much as the teachers and administrators in the nation's rural areas. Concern over these changes, and what effect they are having on the lives of approximately 54 million American farm families and their children, is to be the main business of delegates to two conventions opening here tomorrow. More than 800 educators are expected to be here at the Pittsburgh-Hilton for the annual convention of the Department of Rural Education of the National Education Association and its Division of County and Rural Area Superintendents. The first meeting gets underway tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m. Even though rural farm population is decreasing, the problems that farm families face are increasing, Rural Department officials declare. The needs of rural people in this rapidly changing social and economic environment are more complex than ever and must not be ignored. The families that are still on farms -- and there are still 15 million actively engaged in agriculture -- are finding it harder to adjust to the trends toward mechanized corporate farming. Financial difficulties are mak- ing it harder for the schools to keep up with the needs of the children who may be living in big cities later on. With these facts in mind, Rural Department officials have keyed conven- tion sessions to the theme "Education and the Critical Needs of Rural People.” At the opening general session tomorrow five distinguished educators will give an overview of some of the forces affecting rural life and education to- day where farm population is declining. They will also discuss conditions which affect people in economically distressed areas, where industrial agri- culture requires seasonal labor, in “typical” farm family agriculture, and where farm people face adjustment to urban socio-economic patterns. Speakers include Eli Cohen, executive secretary of the National Committee on Employment of Youth; Hale Arnes, Department of Education, North Dakota State University; M. E. John, president of the Rural Sociological Society; Ralph Sut- leff, vice-president of the American Vocational Association; and Francina Nolan, director of home economics education and assistant dean, Department of Agricul- ture, West Virginia University. Clifford P. Archer, president of the Rural Department, who is professor of education at the University of Minnesota, will preside at major convention ses- sions. Incoming president J. C. Fitzgerald, director of the Division of Con- tinuing Education at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, is to be installed at the Saturday evening banquet session. On Sunday the two groups will tour the city of Pittsburgh and then will attend an evening reception at the headquarters hotel. Shirley Cooper, assistant executive secretary of the American Association of School Administrators, is to be the banquet speaker on Saturday evening. On Monday, October 2, conference sessions of the Division of County and Rural Areas Superintendents will get underway. These sessions will be devoted to studying "The Case for Change ... In the Curriculum ... Through School Con- solidation and District Reorganization ... In the Functions of the Intermediate Unit.? Some of the nation's top big city school superintendents will take part in this second conference. Among them are Benjamin C. Willis, Chicago's superin- tendent; and C. C. Trillingham, Superintendent of Los Angeles County, California schools. Other speakers include Lawrence G. Derthick, assistant executive secretary for educational services of the National Education Association; John Dunn, presi- dent of Palomar College, San Marcos, California; Thomas Van Sant, assistant super- intendent for adult education in New York City; Robert Christie, director of the Governor's Committee on Education, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Dwayne Orton, editor of THINK and educational consultant, International Business Machines Corporation, New York City. Cecil D. Hardesty, superintendent of schools in San Diego County, California is president of the County and Rural Area Superintendents and will preside at major sessions. President-elect is T. C. Knapp, superintendent of Stark County Schools, Canton, Ohio. He will be installed as president for 1961-62 at the close of the conference on Tuesday evening, October 3rd. ttt @ from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. Note to Editors and Correspondents: Thirty-two national groups affiliated with the National Educa- tion Association as departments provide special services covering the full range of elementary, secondary, college and adult education in the United States. Generally, each of these departments con- trols its own funds, elects its own officers, and adopts policies and programs which apply particu- larly to its own special field. The NEA Division of WASHINGTON 6, D. C Press and Radio Relations provides news about the program of each department to the press and broadcasters and arranges background interviews for news representatives with specialists on the staffs of national groups located at NEA head- quarters on request. Studies and reports issued by departments are the expressions of those depart- ments and not statements of policy of the NEA unless set by resolution. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Minnio Gilliland local Teachers Go to School At NEA in Was on, D. ¢. WASHINGTON, Sept. 27-- holiday, are attending school in the Nation's Capital today. Their classroom is the headquarters of the National Education Association, and they are studying all facets of teacher salary scheduling--trends, new research, negotiations with school boards, factors causing low salaries, and others. Today they heard Sam M. Lambert, director, Research Division of the NEA de- clare that 15-20 percent of the talented boys and girls might complete their schooling in 10 instead of 12 years, and at a considerable saving to the American taxpayer. Other youngsters, said Mr. lambert, who need remedial help in reading, could be kept moving smoothly through the school program with special summertime re- medial reading programs appropriately spaced during their school careers. This, too, would save the taxpayer the bigger expenses of keeping them in school a full year or two beyond the normal graduation date. (more) Local Teachers Go To School -2- The 140 invited participants in the program will also hear NEA Executive Secretary William G. Carr and U. S. Commissioner of Education Sterling M. McMurrin during the four-day meeting. Another highlight will be a panel presentation of the merit pay for teachers issue. The school is conducted by the WEA Office of Professional Development and Welfare under the direction of Robert W. Mclain and Erwin L. Coons, members of the NEA Salary Consultant Service. Both men also will serve as instructors during school sessions. Other class instructors are: Hazel Davis, associate director, NEA Research Division; Buena Stolberg, past-president, NEA Department of Classroom Teachers; Newell B. Walters, consultant on teacher welfare, NEA; and Martha L. Ware, assistant director, NEA Research Division. # # ft DUCATION go, > s 7% 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. aes ee (Useciation Pee vy wanniaarons, ace. °. ra ADAMS 4-4848 ry ay ‘ United September 27, 1961 MEMORANDUM TO THE EDITOR: While teaching machines and other self-instructional devices are being used ex- perimentally in many school systems, authorities say there is a mountain of mis- understanding even in educational circles as to what these devices actually are, how they work, and what can be expected from them. To clear up some of the misunderstandings and to provide guidelines for those concerned with the newer teaching tools, a joint statement has been issued by the following committee composed of representatives of three major organizations: American Educational Research Association: Arthur A. Lumsdaine (Chairman), University of California at Los Angeles; Robert Glaser, University of Pittsburgh; Evan R. Keislar, University of California at Los Angeles; Harry F. Silberman, System Development Cor- poration. American Psychological Association: Richard 8. Crutchfield, University of California at Berkeley; James G. Holland, Harvard University; Lawrence M. Stolurow, University of Illinois. Department of Audiovisual Instruction, National Education Association; Jack V. Edling, Oregon College of Education and U.S.0.E.; Edward B. Fry, Loyola University (Los Angeles); Wesley C. Meierhenry, University of Nebraska. The text of the statement is attached. eo Kae Roy K. Wilson, Director Divisioh of Press and Radio Relations A Joint Statement on Self-Instructional Materials and Devices by Committees of the American Educational Research Association, the American Psychological Association, and the Department of Audio- visual Instruction of the National Education Association The use of self-instructional programmed learning materials in teaching machines and similar devices represents a potential contribution of great importance to American education. But this contribution can be realized best only if users have information with which to evaluate self-instructional materials. Accord- ingly, the following interim guidelines have been prepared. 1. Teaching machines do not, in themselves, teach. Rather, the teaching is done by a program of instructional materials presented by the teaching machine. Any evaluation of a teaching machine thus requires an assessment of the availa- bility and quality of programs for each type of machine, as well as its mechani- cal dependability. 2. A variety of programmed materials is becoming available, but not all pro- grams will fit all machines. Thus only those programs compatible with a particu- lar machine can be considered as available for use with it. A list of commercially available programs and devices may be obtained from the Department of Audiovisual Instruction, National Education Association. 1201 Sixteenth Street, N. W., Wash- ington 6, D. C. (cost 50 cents). 3. In evaluating the specific content which a self-instructional program purports to teach, the program can be examined to determine what the student is required to do and whether this reflects the kind of competence which the educa- tor wishes to achieve. Like other educational materials, programs labeled with the name of a particular subject matter vary widely with respect to content and instructional objectives. 4, Just any set of question and answer material does not constitute a self- instructional program. One type of self-instructional material proceeds by small steps requiring frequent responses. These steps can be examined to see if they embody a careful, logical progression of the subject matter. Items in such a pro- gram are designed so that the student will respond to the critical aspects of each item or will perform the important operation which that item was meant to teach. Furthermore such programs generally provide a wide range of examples illustrating each principle or concept. 5. Self-instructional materials are designed to adapt to individual differ- ences by allowing each student to proceed at his own rate. Some types of self- instructional programs further adapt by "branching" to alternate material. For this purpose, questions are designed to diagnose the student's needs and to pro- vide alternate material suited to these needs. The material is designed so that the choice of answer to a particular question determines which items will be pre- sented next. Incorrect answers take the student to items containing information designed to correct the error before continuing through the sequence. 6. An important feature of almost all self-instructional materials is the record of the student's responses which provides a basis for revising the pro- gram. The prospective purchaser should ask about the extent to which revision has been based on student response and how the preliminary tryout was conducted. 7- The effectiveness of a self-instructional program can be assessed by finding out what students actually learn and remember from the program. The prospective purchaser should find out whether such data are available and for what kinds of students and under what conditions the data were obtained. 8. Active experimentation with self-instructional materials and devices in school systems is to be encouraged prior to large scale adoption. tt # @ from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. Note to Editors and Correspondents: Thirty-two national groups affiliated with the National Educa- tion Association as departments provide special services covering the full range of elementary, secondary, college and adult education in the United States. Generally, each of these departments con- trols its own funds, elects its own officers, and adopts policies and programs which apply particu- WASHINGTON 4, D. C. Press and Radio Relations provides news about the program of each department to the press and broadcasters and arranges background interviews for news representatives with specialists on the staffs of national groups located at NEA head- quarters on request. Studies and reports issued by departments are the expressions of those depart- ments and not statements of policy of the NEA unless set by resolution. ADams 4-4855 larly to its own special field. The NEA Division of For further information: Beatrice Gudridge or Myrtle Bonn FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE H. D. Berry Named Director of Special Projects For Association for Higher Education WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 -- Hardy D. Berry, on leave as director of information, and head of the department of film and television production at Montana State College, Bozeman, has joined the staff of the Association for Higher Education. In addition to serving as the AHE coordinator for the second series of the tele- vision project, "Meet the Professor,” which will be produced in cooperation with ABC- TV, Mr. Berry will supervise the publications program of the AHE during the ensuing year, according to G. Kerry Smith, AHE executive secretary. The Association for Higher Education is the college and university department of the National Education Association with more than 17,000 faculty members and adminis- trators from over 1, 600 institutions of higher education throughout the country. Mr. Berry served as city editor of the Manhattan (Kansas) Daily Tribune, 1951-52; research editor at the University of Maine, 1952-54; head, agricultural information department at the University of Connecticut, 1954-57. He has also been secretary of the Montana Educational Television Committee and information consultant for the Wash- ington Education Study undertaken in 1960. Mr. Berry majored in journalism, education, history, and government at Kansas He, his wife, a son, and a daughter will reside in Alexandria, State University. Virginia. @ from the NATIONAL ED 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W Note to Editors and Correspondents: Thirty-two national groups affiliated with the National Educa- tion Association as departments provide special services covering the full range of elementary, secondary, college and adult education in the United States. Generally, each of these departments con- trols its own funds, elects its own officers, and Ath, 12% 1GQ, Alice Morton Archives (1) WASHINGTON 6, 0. Cc Press and Radio Relations provides news about the program of each department to the press and broadcasters and arranges background interviews for news representatives with specialists on the staffs of national] groups located at NEA head- quarters on request. Studies and reports issued by departments are the expressions of those depart- ments and not statements of policy of the NEA adopts policies and programs which apply particu- unless set by resolution. larly to its own special field. The NEA Division of For further information; Beatrice M. Gudridge or Myrtle Bonn FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Richard P. Saunders Joins Headquarters Staff of Association for Higher Education WASHINGTON, Sept. 12--Richard P. Saunders, founder and first president of two colleges, Mitchell College at New London, Connecticut, and Palos Verdes College in California, has been appointed associate executive secretary of the Association for Higher Education, (AHE), a department of the National Education Association. In addition, Dr. Saunders was a faculty member at New York University, where he also directed the off-campus degree-credit program, an in-service program for teach- ers and administrators. G. Kerry Smith, AHE executive secretary, announced that Dr. Saunders will as- sist in the administration of the activities of the professional organization com- posed of more than 17,000 faculty members and administrators from over 1,600 insti- tutions of higher education throughout the country. Dr. Saunders received his doctorate from New York University. The Government of Lebanon conferred upon him the Order of Cedars of Lebanon, Officer Class, for He has been his services to children. He was the first foreigner to be so honored. awarded the Medal de Ville de Claise, France, and made an honorary citizen of Gerad- mer, France. Richard P. Saunders A sociologist, Dr. Saunders has addressed university groups in the Philippines, Korea, Colombia (S.A.), and in this country. He is president of the board of direc- tors of Futures for Children, Incorporated, an international child welfare organiza- tion working with peasants in Colombia and with refugee youth in Jordan. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the U. S. Committee, International Union for Child Welfare. For several years he served as president of Save the Children Federa- tion, a non-profit organization. Dr. Saunders, his wife and daughter, come to Washington, D. C., from Westport, Connecticut. @ from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Myrtle Bonn FOR RELEASE: Sunday Papers Sept. 3, 1961 Three Organizations Seek Ways to Judge Teacher Competency WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 -- A good teacher defies definition -- yet ifa community is to search out and keep competent teachers it must have a yard- stick more dependable than its own prejudices or any of the rating systems so far devised. Determining teacher competency is not a new problem, but it has been so sharpened by current demands on the schools that three major organizations are now questioning whether progress in this field has been rapid enough. "In fact," they warn, "if research on teacher effectiveness does not produce knowledge about teaching much faster and better than in the past, teachers are likely to be confronted with technological developments beyond their under- standing and ability to handle." In a 64-page booklet released today, the American Association of School Administrators, the Department of Classroom Teachers, both departments of the National Education Association, and the National School Boards Association analyze research findings to date and offer some direction to everyone concerned with assessing teacher effectiveness. The booklet is titled Who's a Good Teacher? Calling teacher performance "one of the most complex of human phenomena, " the booklet cautions against self-styled experts who automatically feel qualified to "make dogmatic pronouncements" merely because they have some contact with schools -- as students, parents, or interested citizens. (more) Three Organizations Seek "One does not presume to understand medicine because of visits to the doctor's office, nor does one presume to comprehend physical science because of daily contact with its products," the booklet says. In fact, it adds, "assumed simplicity" has served to mddy research findings. Research on teacher competency, the booklet points out, explodes several commonly held conceptions. Health, educational background, preparation, age, and knowledge of subject- matter appear to be relatively unimportant factors in most cases of unsuccess- ful teaching. Poor maintenance of discipline and lack of cooperation tend to be listed as the chief causes for teacher failure. The problem of determining personality patterns of effective teachers still awaits "carefully controlled, well designed studies," the booklet states. On this subject, "despite a large number of investigations, relatively little more is known now than in 1900." How should ratings be conducted? By administrators? This is the most widely used single measure and it is shown to be effective only when based on a composite of a number of ratings of separate traits. By other teachers? Teachers tend to have misgivings about expressing judgment on fellow teachers. By students? Here the student's relationship with the teacher and whether or not he likes the subject must be taken into consideration. Self-rating? Instructors tend to overrate themselves. There are other approaches, but all have their weaknessess. As a way out of this dilemma the three organizations propose more meaning- ful research -- research by qualified persons which will yield cumulative knowl- edge that can be systematically organized. Until that happens, they say, a set of test scores that purport to rate teachers has no more intrinsic meaning "than numbers in a telephone book.” (more) Three Organizations Seek.. As to why research in this field has been deficient, the booklet says that unlike medicine, business, metallurgy, or agriculture, educational research does not offer a direct financial gain and hence has suffered from lack of support. However, it points out, "common sense experience" is no longer sufficient for the introduction of new educational practices. "No industry would intro- duce a new process or product without careful development and try-out before being committed to change.... However, educational bankruptcy is not as easily detected as financial bankruptcy.” 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Myrtle Bonn FOR RELEASE: Sunday Papers Sept. 3, 1961 Three Organizations Seek Ways to Judge Teacher Competency WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 -- A good teacher defies definition -- yet if a community is to search out and keep competent teachers it mst have a yard- stick more dependable than its own prejudices or any of the rating systems so far devised. Determining teacher competency is not a new problem, but it has been so sharpened by current demands on the schools that three major organizations are now questioning whether progress in this field has been rapid enough. "In fact," they warn, "if research on teacher effectiveness does not produce knowledge about teaching much faster and better than in the past, teachers are likely to be confronted with technological developments beyond their under- standing and ability to handle." In a 64-page booklet released today, the American Association of School Administrators, the Department of Classroom Teachers, both departments of the National Education Association, and the National School Boards Association analyze research findings to date and offer some direction to everyone concerned with assessing teacher effectiveness. The booklet is titled Who's a Good Teacher? Calling teacher performance "one of the most complex of human phenomena," the booklet cautions against self-styled experts who automatically feel qualified to "make dogmatic pronouncements" merely because they have some contact with schools -- as students, parents, or interested citizens. (more) Three Organizations Seek "One does not presume to understand medicine because of visits to the doctor's office, nor does one presume to comprehend physical science because of daily contact with its products," the booklet says. In fact, it adds, "assumed simplicity" has served to muddy research findings. Research on teacher competency, the booklet points out, explodes several commonly held conceptions. Health, educational background, preparation, age, and knowledge of subject- matter appear to be relatively unimportant factors in most cases of unsuccess- ful teaching. Poor maintenance of discipline and lack of cooperation tend to be listed as the chief causes for teacher failure. The problem of determining personality patterns of effective teachers still awaits "carefully controlled, well designed studies," the booklet states. On this subject, "despite a large number of investigations, relatively little more is known now than in 1900." How should ratings be conducted? By administrators? This is the most widely used single measure and it is shown to be effective only when based on a composite of a number of ratings of separate traits. By other teachers? Teachers tend to have misgivings about expressing judgment on fellow teachers. By students? Here the student's relationship with the teacher and whether or not he likes the subject must be taken into consideration. Self-rating? Instructors tend to overrate themselves. There are other approaches, but all have their weaknessess. As a way out of this dilemma the three organizations propose more meaning- ful research -- research by qualified persons which will yield cumulative knowl- edge that can be systematically organized. Until that happens, they say, a set of test scores that purport to rate teachers has no more intrinsic meaning "than numbers in a telephone book.” (more) Three Organizations Seek.. As to why research in this field has been deficient, the booklet says that unlike medicine, business, metallurgy, or agriculture, educational research does not offer a direct financial gain and hence has suffered from lack of support. However, it points out, “common sense experience" is no longer sufficient for the introduction of new educational practices. "No industry would intro- duce a new process or product without careful development and try-out before being committed to change.... However, educational bankruptcy is not as easily detected as financial bankruptcy." CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE - 10/9/61 GOOD TEACHING Now comes a publication entitled “Who's a Good Teacher? ’—with a fore- word signed by our own Supt. Benjamin C. Willis for the American Association of School Administrators and by the presi- dents of the National School Board asso- ciation and the department of classroom teachers of the National Education asso- ciation. Tho “ the result of the codperative efforts of scores of people,” the principal author of this booklet is Nicholas A. Fattu, professor of education at Indiana univer- ‘ sity. . “More than half a century of research effort has not yielded meaningful, measur- able criteria around which the majority of the nation’s educators can rally,” this publication concludes. The notion that pupils’ growth in knowledge, skill, and insight measures a teacher's competence is rejected. ‘‘No one can demonstrate a scientific way of making effective: use of the pupil-gain criterion.” There are so ‘many influences on a pupil’s performance that “‘disentangling these influences be- comes difficult indeed.” Ratings by superiors, peers, and stu- dents are all discounted as ‘subjective. Differences in the intelligence or knowl- edge of the teachers are discarded as major influences on teaching performance, ‘ Naturally, success in teaching is found in- dependent of age, sex, and marital status, So there we are, with no answer. But tho Prof. Fattu and his associates/ cannot recognize a good teacher, they have no trouble characterizing failures as teachers: ‘In most of the studies of un- successful teachers, poor maintenance of discipline and lack of codperation tend to be found as the chief causes of failure, Health, educational background, prepara- tion, age, and knowledge of subject matter, on the other hand; appear to be relatively unimportant factors in terms of teacher failure.” This, then, summarizes the éduca- tionists’ present wisdom: They don’t know what quality in teaching is or how to recognize it. When they declare a teacher unsatisfactory, it is not because his stu-' dents learn little or nothing, or because he is stupid or unprepared, or because his performance has been found unsatisfac- tory by any in a position to observe. A teacher fails by having noisy classrooms. or, by being“ uncodperatiye”’ with the front office. ; The public and the rising generation are not adequately served, by school quthori- ties who demand of their teachers only quiet custodial care of the young and docility towards superior officers. Ameri- can superintendents and principals, presi- tents and deans, are hiding behind the acknowledged difficulty of being “ scien- tific’ about judging good teaching. A man qualified to have aythority in a school should have the character and the good sense to make significant value judg- ‘ments on the basis of what evidence of teaching quality he can secure if he will. + Because value judgments are not even . attempted, respectable ‘mediocrity ‘be- tomes ever more deeply entrenched in the schools and the tangible rewards . available to teachers are almost always distributed for seniority, effective politick- ing, acquisition of degrees, scholarly publication, and other matters which are different from what ought to be rewarded: good teaching. The word for this non- philosophy of education might well be “fatuity.” > G, ae eee % Ngondt Cducation Aasociation © suneea steer on ADAMS 4-4846 < Pe eae S "3 4 “ unites September 1, 1961 Approximately 300 science teachers and supervisors from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, will meet on the campus of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, September 7-9, for a regional conference spon- sored by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) of the National Education Association. The NSTA is spearheading a national drive to improve not only the teach- ing of science to all school children, but to upgrade the science curriculum in all grades from kindergarten through high school. Theme for the conference will be "Learning Science as an Individual Ex- perience." There will be discussions of current science teaching materials, problems of motivation, the influence of community and national social scien- tific problems on education as well as symposium sessions on how to help the elementary school child and the adolescent to learn science. Additional information about the conference may be obtained from John B. Chase of the School of Education, University of North Carolina. We hope that you or a member of your staff can cover the meeting. Sincerely yours, beokricn mM Hudiude 2 Beatrice M. Gudridge, Assistant Director Press and Radio Relations 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M..Gudridge or Joseph Hanlon SPECIAL TO STATE EDUCATION JOURNALS Education Highlighted At N. Y. World Fair in 1964 WASHINGTON--The story of education in America will be presented at the New York World's Fair of 1964-65 in dramatic fashion giving an emphasis to education on a scale that far surpasses any international exhibition in re- cent history. Planned is a handsome pavilion to be erected on an attractively land- scaped site in a desirable central area of the fair grounds. At the entrance to the Hall of Education will be a symbol, in sculpture or some other art form, depicting the past, present and future direction of education. The search is on now for the design for that symbol and any educator in American (except officers and staff members of the National Education Associ- ation) is eligible to compete. First award is a trip around the world via Pan American Airways as a member of an NEA travel tour. A second award will be a nationwide air tour culminating in a visit to the fair and five other runners up will be flown from their homes to New York to visit the fair. NEA is cooperating with sponsors of the Hall of Education in conducting the search. After the winning idea has been selected the sponsoring committee will commission an artist to execute it. Entries, which mst be submitted on or before next Feb. 28, must include a typewritten description of the proposed symbol and a rough sketch of it. The idea, and not the artistic quality of the sketch, will be the determining (more) Education Highlighted factor. Entries must be on one side of a sheet of paper measuring 84 by 11 inches and should include the name, address and educational position of the contestant. They should be sent to Hall of Education, Symbol Search, Inter- national Fair Consultants, 10 Columbus Circle, New York 19. The Hall of Education will seek to tell the story of learning in all its forms and the applied principles of universal education in a democratic society. It will feature the "School of Tomorrow." Provision will be made for integration of individual study areas, seminars, regular classrooms, lec- ture halls, multi-purpose rooms, and various specialized facilities. Many of these, during the fair, will be in actual operation, with visi- tors permitted to view the operation through one-way mirrors or closed circuit television. Attention will be given to major new developments in the educational pro- cess in both public and private institutions of learning, at all levels. The most advanced concepts of school and college architecture will be depicted, along with construction and equipment. Other exhibits will deal with curricu- lum development, teacher training and administration, the methodology of instruc- tion and learning, and many other aspects of the educational scene. The exhibits will seek to portray the interrelationships of teachers, stu- dents,. reference materials and technology. There will be demonstrations of fluidity and flexibility in classroom designs, the importance of instruction geared to individual differences among students, the effective use of books, periodicals, records, tapes, teaching machines, television, films and other audio-visual aids. A major purpose will be to illustrate the need for raising and enrich- ing standards in the "pursuit of excellence." (more) Education Highlighted Among the prominent educators on the Sponsoring Committee of the Hall of Education are the chairman, Harry J. Carman, dean emeritus, Columbia College, and member, Board of Higher Education of the City of New York; James E. Allen, commissioner, New York State Commission on Education; William G. Carr, execu- tive secretary, National Education Association; Finis E. Engleman, executive secretary, American Association of School Administrators; John H. Fischer, dean, Teachers College, Columbia University; Frank W. Hubbard, assistant execu- tive secretary for information services, NEA; Margaret Mead, curator of anthro- pology, American Museum of Natural History; and John J. Theobald, superintendent of schools, Board of Education of the City of New York. ttt 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Joseph Hanlon SPECIAL TO STATE EDUCATION JOURNALS Education Highlighted At N. Y. World Fair in 1964 WASHINGTON--The story of education in America will be presented at the New York World's Fair of 1964-65 in dramatic fashion giving an emphasis to education on a scale that far surpasses any international exhibition in re- cent history. Planned is a handsome pavilion to be erected on an attractively land- scaped site in a desirable central area of the fair grounds. At the entrance to the Hall of Education will be a symbol, in sculpture or some other art form, depicting the past, present and future direction of education. The search is on now for the design for that symbol and any educator in American (except officers and staff members of the National Education Associ- ation) is eligible to compete. First award is a trip around the world via Pan American Airways as a member of an NEA travel tour. A second award will be a nationwide air tour culminating in a visit to the fair and five other runners up will be flown from their homes to New York to visit the fair. NEA is cooperating with sponsors of the Hall of Education in conducting the search. After the winning idea has been selected the sponsoring committee will commission an artist to execute it. Entries, which mst be submitted on or before next Feb. 28, must include a typewritten description of the proposed symbol and a rough sketch of it. The idea, and not the artistic quality of the sketch, will be the determining (more) Education Highlighted factor. Entries must be on one side of a sheet of paper measuring 84 by 11 inches and should include the name, address and educational position of the contestant. They should be sent to Hall of Education, Symbol Search, Inter- national Fair Consultants, 10 Columbus Circle, New York 19. The Hall of Education will seek to tell the story of learning in all its forms and the applied principles of universal education in a democratic society. It will feature the "School of Tomorrow." Provision will be made for integration of individual study areas, seminars, regular classrooms, lec- ture halls, milti-purpose rooms, and various specialized facilities. Many of these, during the fair, will be in actual operation, with visi- tors permitted to view the operation through one-way mirrors or closed circuit television. Attention will be given to major new developments in the educational pro- 7 cess in both public and private institutions of learning, at all levels. The most advanced concepts of school and college architecture will be depicted, along with construction and equipment. Other exhibits will deal with curricu- lum development, teacher training and administration, the methodology of instruc- tion and learning, and many other aspects of the educational scene. The exhibits will seek to portray the interrelationships of teachers, stu- dents, reference materials and technology. There will be demonstrations of fluidity and flexibility in classroom designs, the importance of instruction geared to individual differences among students, the effective use of books, periodicals, records, tapes, teaching machines, television, films and other audio-visual aids. A major purpose will be to illustrate the need for raising and enrich- ing standards in the "pursuit of excellence.” (more) Education Highlighted Among the prominent educators on the Sponsoring Committee of the Hall of Education are the chairman, Harry J. Carman, dean emeritus, Columbia College, and member, Board of Higher Education of the City of New York; James E. Allen, commissioner, New York State Commission on Education; William G. Carr, execu- tive secretary, National Education Association; Finis E. Engleman, executive secretary, American Association of School Administrators; John H. Fischer, dean, Teachers College, Columbia University; Frank W. Hubbard, assistant execu- tive secretary for information services, NEA; Margaret Mead, curator of anthro- pology, American Museum of Natural History; and John J. Theobald, superintendent of schools, Board of Education of the City of New York. # ## 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 4, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or M. Ruth Broom FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Local Teacher to Study Controversial Educational Issues at National Conclave WASHINGTON, D. C. (Special)--A growing concern among teachers regard- ing an upsurge in "subtle pressures some of which appear to threaten the very foundation of public education" has led the Department of Classroom Teachers (DCT) of the National Education Association to call in educators from all over the country for a conference during the Thanksgiving holidays to study what can be done about the situation. Anita Ruffing, DCT President and a classroom teacher from Bellevue, Ohio, said in announcing plans for the meeting on November 24-25 at NEA headquarters here, that about 50 classroom teachers from coast to coast are being invited to take part in the conference. 3 (mame ) (position or title) from » has been named an official delegate TS ACLtyY Ga SOR) oe ae to the meeting. Mrs. Thelma Davis, first-grade teacher at East Griffin (Ga.) School, is to serve as conference chairman. Other educators invited to the meeting include representatives from the American Association of School Administrators, the National Association of Secondary-School Principals, the Department of Elementary School Principals, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and the Division of Rural Education Service of the National Education Association. Theme for the two-day meeting is "The Teacher's Role in Educational Controversy.” (more) Local Teacher to Study Controversial Educational Issues at National Conclave - Page 2 In Miss Ruffing's letter of invitation to participants she said that classroom teachers have long expressed their dedication to public education, and through their national organization, the Department of Classroom Teach- ers, have asserted that public schools are not expendable and mst be main- tained. "But," she added, "recent developments have caused classroom teachers to become increasingly aware of open attacks and subtle pressures some of which appear to threaten the very foundations of public education and... American ideals of freedom, equality, and self-government.” "The executive committee of the NEA Department of Classroom Teachers," she continued, "has concluded that the Department has a responsibility to spell out more clearly for classroom teachers the unique role of education, to alert them to the dangers which imperil the schools, and to help them to plan a program of action which will aid them in strengthening the educational system and in meeting the threats of opposing forces." The DCT is the largest department of the NEA, its membership comprising 85 percent of the Association's 750,000-plus membership. 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. Note to Editors and Correspondents: Thirty-two national groups affiliated with the National Educa- tion Association as departments provide special services covering the full range of elementary, secondary, college and adult education in the United States. Generally, each of these departments con- trols -its own funds, elects its own officers, and adopts policies and programs which apply particu- Press and Radio Relations provides news about the program of each department to the press and broadcasters and arranges background interviews for news representatives with specialists on the staffs of national groups located at NEA head- quarters on request. Studies and reports issued by departments are the expressions of those depart- ments and not statements of policy of the NEA unless set by resolution. ADams 4-4855 larly to its own special field. The NEA Division of For further information: Minnio Gilliland, Eldridge Hotel, Lawrence or Gertrude Sellards Pearson Dorm., University of Kansas, 500 W. 11th, Lawrence, Kansas FOR RELEASE: Wednesday, August 23, 1961 National Student Traffic Safety Meet Gets Underway at the University of Kansas WASHINGTON, August 22 -- Teen-age traffic safety leaders from all parts of the nation are expected to gather on the University of Kansas campus tomorrow to take part in the 3rd Annual National Student Traffic Safety Conference. More than 100 participants, youngsters and their sponsors representing approximately 30 states, are expected to attend. Delegates represent award-winning schools honored this spring for outstanding safety programs conducted during the 1960-61 school year. Qponsor of the four-day meet is the National Commission on Safety Education, a division of the National Education Association, and the awards project is under the auspices of the Commission's National Student Traffic Safety Program (NSTSP). General sessions, special "clearing-house" sessions, and business meetings will provide delegates with an opportunity to review safety activities sponsored by schools during the past year, analyze and discuss problems encountered, determine how better programs cafi be sponsored during the coming year and how more schools can be encouraged to participate. (more) At the opening general session tomorrow, Dr. Howard Walker, director of the University Extension Service, will bring greetings from the University of Kansas. The keynote address will be made by Tjark F. Riddle, manager, Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant, Kansas City, Mo. Other conference highlights will include a major address by "America's Number One Speaker," Dr. Kenneth McFarland, educational consultant and guest lecturer for General Motors; the election of officers; and the presentation of plaques and certificates. A BUSINESS-INDUSTRY AND EDUCATION COOPERATIVE PROGRAM conducted by: National Committee on Safety Education, NEA Supported by grants from The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Ford Motor Company THIRD NATIONAL STUDENT TRAFFIC SAFETY CONFERENCE Official Program W ednesday, August 23, 1961 8:30 a.m. Advisory Committee Meeting 12:00 noon Lunch 1:30 p.m. Advisory Committee Meeting 4:30 p.m. Adjourn CONFERENCE REGISTRATION 5:30 p.m. 6:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m. Get-Acquainted Gathering NSSA President and Board of Directors Receiving Dinner: Student Union Meeting: President, NSSA, and Board of Directors Dancing Thursday, August 24, 1961 7:00 a.m. 8:30 a.m. Breakfast: Student Union First General Session Presiding: GUS BLANCHARD, Presi- dent, NSSA Invocation; Student Representative. Welcome to Kansas University: DR. HOWARD WALKER, Director, Univer- sity Extension Introduction of Speaker; DR. FLOYD FARMER, Chairman, Business-Industry and Education Advisory Committee. Keynote Address; MR. TJARK F. RID- DLE, Manager, Ford Motor Company As- sembly Plant, Kansas City, Missouri. Orientation for Group Discussions: DR. NORMAN KEY, Executive Secretary, National Commission on Safety Educa- tion, NEA. 10:30 a.m. First Group Discussion Session Adult Sponsors—General Meeting 12:00 noon Lunch: Student Union 1:15 p.m. Second Group Discussion Session Adult Sponsors—Group Discussion Ses- sion 3:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. Second General Session Presiding: GUS BLANCHARD, Presi- dent, NSSA Report of Second Group Discussion Session Introduction of Guests: DR. FLOYD FARMER, Chairman, Business-Industry and Education Advisory Committee Swimming or Softball Picnic Friday, August 25, 1961 7:00 a.m. 8:30 a.m. 10:30 a.m. 10:45 a.m. 3:15 p.m. 4:15 p.m. 6:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. Breakfast: Student Union Third Group Discussion Session Refreshment Break Third General Session Introduction of Speaker; GUS BLAN- CHARD, President, NSSA Address: DR. KENNETH McFAR- LAND, Educational Consultant and Lec- turer for General Motors Introduction of Guests: DR. FLOYD FARMER, Chairman, Business-Industry and Education Advisory Committee Lunch: Student Union Fourth General Seession Presiding: GUS BLANCHARD, Presi- dent, NSSA Report of Third Group Discussion Session NSSA Business Session Presiding: GUS BLANCHARD, Presi- dent, NSSA Orientation: Procedure for NSSA Elec- tion Meetings of Regional Representatives Swimming or Softball Dinner: Student Union Committee Meetings Saturday, August 26, 1961 7:00 a.m. 8:30 a.m. 9:45 a.m. 10:30 a.m. 12:00 noon 1:00 p.m. Breakfast: Student Union Fifth General Session Presiding: GUS BLANCHARD, Presi- dent, NSSA Speeches by Candidates for Presidency, NSSA Election of NSSA President for 1961-62 Presentation of Plaques and Certificates: DR. FLOYD FARMER, Chairman, Busi- ness-Industry and Education Advisory Committee Lunch: Student Union Adjournment of Conference AWARDS LIST Plaque Awards Vigor High School, Prichard, Alabama Sunnyside High School, Tucson, Arizona Central High School, Phoenix, Arizona Springdale Junior High School, Springdale, Arkansas Narbonne High School, Los Angeles, California Leuzinger High School, Lawndale, California University High School, Los Angeles, California Rangely High School, Rangely, Colorado Fair Haven Junior High School, New Haven, Connecticut Washington Junior High School, Meriden, Connecticut McKinley High School, Washington, D. C. Southwest Miami High School, Miami, Florida Pompano Beach Senior High School, Pompano Beach, Florida McKinley High School, Honolulu, Hawaii Idaho Falls High School, Idaho Falls, Idaho Franklin Junior High School, Rock Island, Illinois Woodruff High School, Peoria, Illinois Thomas Carr Howe High School, Indianapolis, Indiana Ireland High School, Ireland, Indiana Broad Ripple High School, Indianapolis, Indiana North Central High School, Indianapolis, Indiana Ottumwa High School, Ottumwa, Iowa Theodore Roosevelt High School, Des Moines, Iowa Quimby Community School, Quimby, Iowa Cimarron High School, Cimarron, Kansas L. W. Mayberry Intermediate School, Wichita, Kanasas Hamilton Intermediate School, Wichita, Kansas Louisville Male High School, Louisville, Kentucky Bogalusa Junior High School, Bogalusa, Louisiana Eliot High School, Eliot, Maine Bangor High School, Bangor, Maine Edwin W. Broome Junior High School, Rockville, Maryland Montgomery Blair High School, Silver Spring, Maryland Billerica Memorial High School, Billerica, Massachusetts Faribault Senior High School, Faribault, Minnesota Forest Hill School, Jackson, Mississippi Hattiesburg High School, Hattiesburg, Mississippi Terry High School, Terry, Mississippi ~ Southwest High School, Kansas City, Missouri Northeast Junior High School, Kansas City, Missouri Buchanan High School, Troy, Missouri Whitewater High School, Whitewater, Montana Beatrice Senior High School, Beatrice, Nebraska Exeter High School, Exeter, New Hampshire Linden High School, Linden, New Jersey J. E. Soehl Junior High School, Linden, New Jersey Deming High School, Deming, New Mexico Sandia High School, Albuquerque, New Mexico R. E. Marshall Junior High School, Clovis, New Mexico Wilmington Senior High School, Wilmington, Ohio Grant Junior-Senior High School, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Panama High School, Panama, Oklahoma Booker T. Washington Senior High School, Tulsa, Oklahoma Manheim High School, Neffsville, Pennsylvania Lampeter-Strasburg High School, Lampeter, Pennsylvania John Bartram High School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania McCants Junior High School, Anderson, South Carolina Carolina High School, Greenville, South Carolina Whittemore High School, Conway, South Carolina Mount Marty High School, Yankton, South Dakota Bristol High School, Bristol, South Dakota Hale Junior High School, Huntington, Tennessee Central High School, Chattanooga, Tennessee Lamar Junior High School, Laredo, Texas Comfort High School, Comfort, Texas Judge Memorial High School, Salt Lake City, Utah Granger High School, Salt Lake City, Utah Bingham High School, Bingham, Utah Olympus High School, Salt Lake City, Utah Lincoln High School, Seattle, Washington Catherine Blaine Junior High School, Seattle, Washington Logan High School, Logan, West Virginia Calhoun County High School, Grantsville, West Virginia Douval High School, Griffithsville, West Virginia Franklin Junior High School, Green Bay, Wisconsin Certificate Awards Booker T. Washington Junior High School, Mobile, Alabama Salpointe High School, Tucson, Arizona Pueblo High School, Tucson, Arizona Ajo High School, Ajo, Arizona Seligman High School, Seligman, Arizona West Phoenix High School, Phoenix, Arizona Rogers Junior High School, Rogers, Arkansas Dell High School, Dell, Arkansas San Juan High School, Citrus Heights, California Fowler Union High School, Fowler, California Westchester High School, Los Angeles, Cailfornia San Gabriel High School, San Gabriel, California Bidwell Junior High School, Chico, California Berkeley High School, Berkeley, California Escondido Union High School, Escondido, California Lakewood Senior High School, Lakewood, Colorado Lakewood Junior High School, Lakewood, Colorado Loveland High School, Loveland, Colorado Fowler High School, Fowler, Colorado Alameda High School, Denver, Colorado Rocky Ford High School, Rocky Ford, Colorado East Hartford High School, East Hartford, Connecticut Michael J. Whalen High School, Hamden, Connecticut Holy Trinity High School, Hartford, Connecticut Mount Pleasant Senior High School, Wilmington, Delaware Newark Senior High School, Newark, Delaware Gainesville High School, Gainesville, Florida Chamberlain High School, Tampa, Florida Matthew W. Gilbert Junior High School, Jacksonville, Florida St. Lucie County Junior High School, Fort Pierce, Florida Baker High School, Columbus, Georgia Norman Park High School, Norman Park, Georgia Stephens County High School, Eastanollee, Georgia Honokaa High School, Honokaa, Hawaii Wallace Junior High School, Wallace, Idaho Teton High School, Driggs, Idaho North Chicago High School, North Chicago, Illinois Metropolis Community High School, Metropolis, Illinois Washington Township High School, Logansport, Indiana Richmond Senior High School, Richmond, Indiana Benjamin Bosse High School, Evansville, Indiana Lew Wallace High School, Gary, Indiana Osolo Junior High School, Elkhart, Indiana New Haven High School, New Haven, Indiana Scottsburg High School, Scottsburg, Indiana Plainfield High School, Plainfield, Indiana Hammond Technical Vocational High School, Hammond, Ind. Keokuk Senior High School, Keokuk, Iowa Knoxville Senior High School, Knoxville, lowa Greenfield Community School, Greenfield, Iowa New Hampton Community School, New Hampton, Iowa North High School, Des Moines, Iowa Villisca High School, Villisca, lowa Syracuse High School, Syracuse, Kansas Agra High School, Agra, Kansas Cherokee City School, Cherokee, Kansas Vermillion Rural High School, Vermillion, Kansas Rosedale High School, Kansas City, Kansas McPherson High School, McPherson, Kansas Greenville High School, Greenville, Kentucky University School, Lexington, Kentucky Sacred Heart High School, Morgan City, Louisiana Robert W. Traip Academy, Kittery, Maine Lawrence High School, Fairfield, Maine Boothbay Region High School, Boothbay Harbor, Maine Harrington High School, Harrington, Maine William Lemmel Junior High School, Baltimore, Maryland Oxon Hill High School, Oxon Hill, Maryland Frederick Douglass High School, Baltimore, Maryland Surrattsville High School, Surrattsville, Maryland Carrollton Junior High School, Baltimore, Maryland Hampstead Hill! Junior High School, Baltimore, Maryland Glenridge Junior High School, Landover Hills, Maryland North High School, Worcester, Massachusetts Saugus Junior High School, Saugus, Massachusetts Brookside in the Berkshires, Great Ballington, Massachusetts Southwestern Community High School, Flint, Michigan Romulus High School, Romulus, Michigan St. Casimir High School, Detroit, Michigan Creston High School, Grand Rapids, Michigan McKinley Junior High School, Flint, Michigan Academy of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Mankato, Minnesota Raymond High School, Raymond, Mississippi Utica High School, Utica, Mississippi Rogers High School, Rogers, Mississippi Sandersville High School, Sandersville, Mississippi Owensville High School, Owensville, Missouri Sidney High School, Sidney, Nebraska Papillion High School, Papillion, Nebraska Creighton Prep School, Omaha, Nebraska Henderson Community School, Henderson, Nebraska Bishop Bradley High School, Manchester, New Hampshire Bloomfield High School, Bloomfield, New Jersey Marylawn of the Oranges High School, South Orange, N. J. Highland High School, Albuquerque, New Mexico Young Junior High School, Santa Fe, New Mexico Cloudcroft High School, Cloudcroft, New Mexico Espanola Junior High School, Espanola, New Mexico Addison Central School, Addison, New York Union Springs Central School, Union Springs, New York Dillard High School, Goldsboro, North Carolina Grand Forks Central High School, Grand Forks, North Dakota St. Catherine School, Valley City, North Dakota Rhame Public School, Rhame, North Dakota Bismarck High School, Bismarck, North Dakota U. L. Light Junior High School, Barberton, Ohio Lincoln High School, Cleveland, Ohio Cambridge High School, Cambridge, Ohio Nathan Hale High School, Tulsa, Oklahoma Woodrow Wilson Junior High School, Wilson, Oklahoma Northwest Classen High School, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Picher High School, Picher, Oklahoma Blair High School, Blair, Oklahoma North Eugene High School, Eugene, Oregon Chester High School, Chester, Pennsylvania Laurel High School, New Castle, Pennsylvania East Greenwich High School, East Greenwich, Rhode Island Bethel High School, Blythewood, South Carolina Winthrop Training School, Rock Hill, South Carolina Lebanon Junior High School, Lebanon, Tennessee Shelby County Training School, Memphis, Tennessee Park Junior High School, Knoxville, Tennessee M. T. A. Junior High School, Atwood, Tennessee Central High School, Fayetteville, Tennessee Fulton Junior High School, Cleburne, Texas Jack Yates Senior High School, Houston, Texas American Fork High School, American Fork, Utah Bonneville High School, Ogden, Utah Beaver High School, Beaver, Utah Brigham High School, Provo, Utah Ben Lomond High School, Ogden, Utah Bear River High School, Tremonton, Utah Cyprus High School, Noreport, Utah East High School, Salt Lake City, Utah Logan High School, Logan, Utah Lehi High School, Lehi, Utah Murray High School, Murray, Utah Provo High School, Provo, Utah South High School, Salt Lake City, Utah Springville High School, Springville, Utah South Cache High School, Hyrum, Utah South Summit High School, Kamas, Utah Union High School, Roosevelt, Utah West High School, Salt Lake City, Utah Wasatch High School, Heber City, Utah Wellsville Junior High School, Wellsville, Utah Madison County High School, Madison, Virginia Stafford School, Stafford, Virginia Issaquah High School, Issaquah, Washington Franklin High School, Seattle, Washington Evergreen High School, Seattle, Washington Collins High School, Oak Hill, West Virginia Huntington East High School, Huntington, West Virginia Sophia High School, Sophia, West Virginia Coalton High School, Coalton, West Virginia Marshfield Senior High School, Marshfield, Wisconsin Washington High School, Two Rivers, Wisconsin Weyerhauser Public School, Weyerhauser, Wisconsin Luxemburg Union High School, Luxemburg, Wisconsin Green Bay East High School, Green Bay, Wisconsin Janesville Senior High School, Janesville, Wisconsin Aga: East Troy High School, East Troy, Wisconsin i Staff: DR. NORMAN Key, Mr. FRANK KLEY 1961 National Student T: raffic UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Lawrence, Kansas August 23-26, 1961 ll from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH GF LUTHER HARRIS EVANS Iuther Harris Evans, who is directing a probe of the technological temper of the times for the National Education Association, brings to the task a distinguished and varied career in public service. The former Librarian of Congress and Director General of UNESCO is heading a long range study of the impact of automation and other technological develop- ments on education for the NEA, world's largest professional organization. The study, financed by a grant from the International Business Machines Corporation, will cover such topics as these: how to prepare the new genera- tion for greater excellence in the complex world of science and technology; how to retrain workers who have been thrown out of work by automation; how to organize educational programs for on-the-job professional people who want to refresh their knowledge; how to educate citizens for sensible and constructive use of leisure time. Dr. Evans became director of the NEA project on June 1, 1961, upon completion of a two-year study of the libraries of the United States Government for the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. He served as Director-General of UNESCO, an organization he helped to establish, from 1953-1958. As adviser to the United States delegation to the conference in London to establish UNESCO in 1945, Dr. Evans had participated in the drafting of the Constitution. He was one of the original members of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO, 1946-52, and in 1952 was its chairman. He was re-appointed in 1959. He was a member of the U.S. delegation to each of the annual sessions of the General Conference of UNESCO from 1947 to 1952, and (more) luther Evans “e- served as a member of the Executive Board of the organization from 1949 to 1953; and as one of two vice-chairmen in 1950-51, Dr. Evans was active in the preparation of the Universal Copyright Convention, developed under UNESCO's auspices, and was chairman of the U.S. delegation to the Geneva Conference in 1952 which resulted in the signature of the Convention. He was also chairman of the U.S, delegation to the Inter-American Copyright Conference in 1946, held in Washington. When his term as Director-General ended in December, 1958, he returned to the United States, and since then has served as Consultant on International Studies Programs to the University of Texas (March 1-May 15, 1959), and since June 1959 as staff member and project director in the Brookings Institution. While a graduate student at Stanford University where he earned his doctorate in political science, Dr. Evans taught in the freshman course in the problems of citizenship. From 1927 to 1935 he taught political science at New York University (one year), Dartmouth College (2 years), and Princeton University (5 years). In 1935 he organized the Historical Records Survey of the Work Projects Administra- tion (engaged largely in making inventories of local archives), and served as its national director until December 1, 1939, when he accepted the position of Director of the Legislative Reference Service at the Library of Congress. In the course of 1940 he became the first director of the Reference Department of the Library, and was also promoted to the position of Chief Assistant Librarian. He served in this latter position, which often involved being Acting Librarian of Congress, until he became Librarian of Gongress on June 29, 1945. He resigned early in July 1953, in order to become Director-General of UNESCO. Born near Sayersville (Bastrop County), Texas, on October 13, 1902, he graduated as valedictorian at Bastrop High School, 1919; and took his A.B, and A.M, degrees at the University of Texas in 1923 and 1924, respectively, with (more) Iuther Evans major in political science. He has been awarded honorary degrees by several American and foreign universities. Among other honors, he received the President's Medal of World Brotherhood in 1957, and was honored by the Drexel Library School for outstanding achievements in library service in 1959. Dr. Evans has served as an officer of the Society of American Archivists, the American Library Association, the American Documentation Institute, and the International Federation for Documentation. He is a life member of the American Library Association, a member of the National Education Association, of the American Political Science Association, and of the Cosmos Club. Dr. Evans has written one book, The Virgin Islands from Naval Base to New Deal (1945), numerous articles in scholarly periodicals, and is currently editor of American Documentation, a quarterly issued by the American Documentation Institute. He has also been consultant to Library Journal since 1959. Married, with one son, Dr. Evans lives in Washington, D.C. Het @ from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 for further inform Joseph Hanlon or Beatrice M. Gudridge SPECIAL TO STATE JOURNALS FOR RELEASE: On Receipt NEA Materials Available To High School Debater WASHINGTON, Aug. National Education Association is in the process of making available to high school debaters ughout the nation a kit of mate- rials relating to Federal school support. ivisi > Federal Relations has assembled 30,000 of these packets containing NEA bulletins and pamphlets dealing with the debate subject. This is being done at the request of the National University Extension Association, sponsor of the debat which ha\ s their subject this year: "What sh be the role of the Federal government in education?" The NEA materials, which include a 26-page booklet, "The Case for Federal Support of Education," are going to debate coaches in the high schools and, in some instances, to individual students who have written to request them. "Te Case for Federal Support of Education,” reproduces th timony of Research Director Sam Lambert as he presented it to the Senate and House com- mittees earlier this year during their consideration of the School Assistance Act. There are 17 other items in the cke among them a reproduction of the March, 1960 article in the NEA Journal, "Search for Freedom--the Story of American Education," and "Can Our Schools Get By with Less?" a critical review by the NEA Research Division of Roger Freeman's book, "School Needs in the Decade Ahead." 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Joseph Hanlon FOR RELEASE: P.M. Papers Monday, August 21, 1961 School Superintendents Reveal Innovations They Plan to Put Into Practice This Year WASHINGTON, August 20 -- There is a greater emphasis in the schools on reading, and how to teach it, an increased interest in study skills and how to help students develope them. Teaching machines are still regarded as curiosities, rather than instruments for general classroom use, but televi- sion is becoming a substantial force as a means of instruction. These are some of the conclusions that may be drawn from a survey conducted by the National Education Association, the results of which were made public today. The NEA asked superintendents of schools in the 30,000 to 100,000 popu- lation bracket to report on innovations they planned to introduce into their systems in the coming school year. A new course which showed up in a good many responses is one on note-taking and how to study. This is intended for the college-bound. Many of the school districts reported newly-revised courses in science and mathematics, and many indicated interest in team teaching and the upgraded primary. A trend noted last year toward lengthening the school year in one fashion or other is again observable. There will be "early bird" classes, noon-hour (more) classes, Saturday morning classes, and expanded programs during the summer offering enrichment courses as well as remedial work. There seems to be a trend toward eliminating study hall periods, and filling in that time with classroom instruction. Following are brief summaries of some of the reports received by NEA: EAST New York -- Kenmore offered this summer an expanded program on both ele- mentary and secondary levels, and for the first time operated two academic high schools. Valley Stream will offer college-bound high school students 4 non-credit course in how to take notes. Mount Vernon has a Space Age Curriculum Committee which produced a booklet on the Arithmetic of Flying, used both to create interest and to instruct on the use of arithmetic in space projects. Auburn is going in strong for remedial reading in elementary schools and giving new emphasis to science in the secondary curriculum. North Tonawanda has a new program for the academically talented, beginning with fifth-graders. Farmingdale is intensifying reading courses for those not up to grade level. New Jersey -- Woodbury will offer on Saturday mornings, for selected students advanced courses in English, biology and chemistry. Irvington is planning expanded use of its 123-acre outdoor education center where sixth-graders are exposed to such studies as forestry, plant and animal life and astronomy. Bloomfield plans experiments with the use of teaching machines for the mentally retarded. Union County which spent last year retraining groups of teachers in the "new" mathematics will introduce the new courses in the primary grades and in junior high school this year and plans to have the new courses throughout the system next year. Union City claims to be the first community in Northern New Jersey to develop team teaching for emotionally maladjusted youngsters. (more) Connecticut -- West Hartford has a reorganized science sequence extending through elementary and junior high schools. Stamford will open its new Rippowam High School, a modern functional structure with provision for closed circuit television and multiple use of its cafeteria and two gymnasiums. Massachusetts -- Medford has introduced a program for developing pupil specialties and will use "team learning" particularly for spelling and arithme- tic. Waltham, which has had programs for gifted students in its senior high school, will offer them this year at grade seven, thus presenting six consecu- tive years of closely correlated materials for these studenss. Arlington sixth graders will be learning French, studying in a large automobile trailer equipped as a language laboratory by Harvard University. Maine -- Portland schools will adopt a new type of reporting to parents of elementary school students. Report cards will indicate grade level of work according to national norms, a letter grade, and descriptive adjectives relative to class standing. Pennsylvania -- The Pennsbury Schools (Fallsington) will introduce the ungraded primary system and continue with an experiment in dual progress under which students progress in language arts, social studies and physical education according to the usual grade system, but progress in science, mathematics and art on a non-grade basis, according to individual abilities. Johnstown will offer for the first time new courses in science, U.S. history and other subjects and will put to full use for the first time more than $100,000 of materials and equipment acquired under the National Defense Education Act for science, mathme- tics and foreign languages. Easton will open a new high school based on the "school within a school” principle -- separate wings for grades 10, 11 and 12, each with its own principal, guidance counselor and clerical staff. Bethlehem (more ) is introducing the "new" mathematics courses in elementary schools, and will have a day of orientation, before school opening, for new junior high students. Mt. Lebanon will use electronic computers to compile all permanent school records and will experiment with a programmed text in teaching algebra. Upper Darby is installing language laboratories in two junior high schools and is expanding the guidance staff for senior high with four additional professional workers and two clerical employees. West Virginia -- Parkersburg has acquired a planetarium with the aid of NDEA funds and the Parkersburg Rotary Club. It will be used in a new high school course on earth and space science, but will also be used on occasions by all county students from fourth grade up. Maryland -- Cumberland will introduce new science courses in grades seven through 12. These courses were developed by science teachers of the staff during a@ six week summer workshop. Virginia -- Alexandria is adding 10 minutes to the high school day and 15 minutes to classroom periods, making a day of five periods, each lasting 72 minutes. It is doing away with study halls. Florida -- Fort Pierce schools will be offering revised science courses and, in the middle grades, will be using new and advanced audio-visual aids for development of greater reading comprehension. Alabama -- Anniston is building a new windowless air ‘conditioned elementary — school, designed for team teaching and extensive use of television. Florence expects to complete a new high school, for Negroes, at a cost of $700,000. Tuscaloosa will be working with a team of four University of Alabama professors serving as consultants in a study of its school system. (more ) Arkansas -- Eldorado has worked out a new system for grading the academically talented who are doing advanced work. Those in accelerated courses will be expected to earn high marks, or be removed from the accelerated group. Grades earned in an accelerated group will be indicated by an asterisk. Louisiana -- Lake Charles will offer, for a selected group of high school sophomores, an experimental course correlating world history, literature and art. This will be a daily two-hour period. Mississippi -- Meridian will be offering revised courses in science and social studies in junior high school. These were developed during the summer through in-service study. Kentucky -- Lexington fifth grade teachers, unable to find a usable history of their state for use in the classroom, decided on a "do it yourself" procedure. They have divided into groups to complete the work in time for use during the coming school year. Owensboro has a remodeled elementary school especially designed for team teaching -- eight classrooms built in hexagon shape around a central core which has restrooms and storage facilities for all classrooms. Texas -- Midland has developed, for grades seven and eight, a two and a half hour daily period of instruction in language arts and social studies for more adequate attention to reading, spelling, writing, composition, grammar and literature. Irving will offer a course in Americanism in both elementary and secondary schools, to combat Communism. Edinburg is constructing a new $2.5 million air conditioned high school which will serve a district of 975 square miles. San Angelo will be using team teaching in language arts for talented eighth graders and programmed materials for use in teaching mathe- matics. Galena Park will be emphasizing language arts; in grades seven through 12 and_in four schools, grades seven and eight, students will average one and (more) a half periods instead of the usual one, for that subject. Highland Park will have an intensive one-semester program in reading skills for all eighth graders. Big Spring, which integrated its school system in 1954, will close its Negro high school and admit Negro pupils to the only other high school. Laredo will offer a course in note-taking and "how to study" for college bound high school students. Tyler, too, will be offering the note-taking course and will have revised courses in science and mathematics. McAllen is encouraged by results obtained this summer with a course in typing offered to upper elementary pupils and is arranging, for next summer, a cooperative exchange program with a school in Monterrey, Mexico under which a group of McAllen students would go there to perfect their Spanish and a group from Monterrey would go to McAllen to perfect their English. MIDWEST Qhio -- Warren's junior high school students in occupational training will have an opportunity to work on the school farm, obtained from the federal govern- ment. At Parma, Valley Forge High School will have a new planetarium, closed circuit television, and a micro-chemigtry laboratory. Marion is undertaking a five-year study of its high school class of 1961, aimed at possible curriculum improvements and improved counseling and guidance. Shaw High School at East Cleveland will offer a stepped-up advanced placement course in English, intended to challenge the student even beyond recognized limits for advanced placement. | Newark will have available for the first full school year its campus type high school which includes eight buildings. Indiana -- All Michigan City schools are to be equipped during the year for classroom television. Four channels will be available, two of them for airborne educational television. (more) Illinois -- Rock Island High School will have a college level biology class to be conducted at noon and to be built largely around a college course in bio- logy that will be offered generally by a local commercial TV station. Bloomington - is employing a reading coordinator to help teachers, parents and pupils in improving the reading program. Harvey (Thornton Township) plans special offerings for slow-learning high school freshmen -- no home work, no study periods, small classes, individual attention. It also is offering the note-taking course. Riverside Brookfield high school has a new wing devoted to science facilities. Belleville is experimenting with team teaching and closed circuit television. Danville is opening three new junior high schools organized on the "school within a school” principle. Decatur is offering teachers a duty free noon hour by engaging as lunch and playground supervisors students from Millikin University. Park Ridge has a new physics course intended to encourage the student to initi- ate and pusue his own inquiries. Northbrook (Northfield Township) is building a new high school on the "school within a school" principle. It will be window- less and air conditioned. Waukeegan is adding a second year of chemistry for the college bound. Park Ridge is establishing a materials center to handle library and audio-visual materials for all of its schools. Champaign is extending and improving its prevocational program for the handicapped, including those with limited academic ability. Missouri -- Jefferson City is starting the ungraded primary, and, in high school, team teaching. In St. Louis County, Ferguson-Florissant is another of the schools which report initiating a course on note-taking; Normandy is planning to send high ranking seniors to nearby Missouri University Residence Center for some courses. Iowa -- Davenport is doubling English periods in grades seven and eight to devote more attention to spelling and composition. Mason City is beginning a (more) form of the ungraded primary system which it designates as "continuous progress”. Clinton has developed, for junior high use in English, units of study dealing with the mass media -- newspapers, magazines, television. Wisconsin -- Sheboygan will institute the continuous progress plan in its primary schools. Team teaching, closed circuit television and accelerated classes in mathematics and science will be new at LaCrosse. Racine will have "English Labs" for seventh, eighth and ninth graders for both remedial and enrichment work in that subject. Wausau will be working with the! University of Wisconsin on an improved biology course for high school sophomores. Sheboygan is eliminating study halls in junior high and going to a seven period day. Each teacher will have five periods for teaching, two for preparation. Appleton is establishing an internship program for development of prospective principals, offering on-the-job training to members of the teaching staff. Janesville is establishing the seven period day in senior high school and a new course "Problems of Democracy" will be required for all seniors. Michigan -- Wyandotte will expand an experimental project for the education of emotionally disturbed children which has been worked out in cooperation with Wayne State University and the Lafayette Clinic. Wayne is experimenting with the ungraded primary. Muskegon has selected 240 better-than-average tenth graders for an intensive program requiring them to take mathematics, biology, English, world history and physical education, plus one elective, with a second elective optional. "We are in pursuit of excellence," says the school superin- tendent. Berkley is revising its junior high mathematics courses to emphasize conceptual themes rather than manipulative skills. Royal Oak will offer, in elementary school, a new science program developed during the summer by staff members. (more ) FAR WEST New Mexico -- Roswell has a new windowless air conditioned wing on the high school with completely equipped language laboratories. Colorado -- Colorado Springs will experiment with fusing business or func- tional English with classes in typing. The class period will be 80 or 9 minutes and both English and business instructors will be on hand. Nevada -- Reno, which is completing a new $3 million high school and two $1 million junior high schools, is seeking approval of $4 million in bonds for new construction. Idaho -- Boise is offering a course in note-taking and is experimenting, on a small scale, with teaching machines. North Dakota -- Fargo junior high school is switching to a seven period day, stepping up its programs for gifted students, and turning to automatic data processing for all school records. Wyoming -- Casper is organizing additional classes for both retarded and gifted students; is expanding the use of television for foreign language and supplementary instruction. Cheyenne has organized a project seeking to identify in kindergarten those children who will have later difficulty in reading and how best to help them. Oregon -- Salem will be experimenting with team teaching in elementary, junior high and senior high schools. California -- West Covina is increasing the high school day to seven 50- minute periods for more capable pupils; others may take six periods. Covina Valley is opening a new elementary school, designed for team teaching. Beverly Hills is extending the high school day by adding 4n optional period beginning at 7:45 a.m. South San Francisco will have advanced science and mathematics (more) classes for the talented and its expanded language program will now enable students to take six consecutive years of a language. Chula Vista plans to break ground for a new facility combining school, park, and recreation center with plans for ultimately adding a library. Eureka is experimenting with a program of individualized reading instruction. Visalia is adding a new language laboratory -- this one constructed by a night school class, using surplus equip- ment. Visalia will also place in operation an observatory, built by senior class students with funds raised entirely by the class. The observatory has a "very adequate” telescope, purchased with NDEA funds. Torrance, in cooperation with the local Chamber of Commerce, is planning an Education-Business-Industry Day to give representatives of business and industry an opportunity to observe school practices. Sunnyvale will be using a language laboratory developed by a@ local inventor. It talks back to the student. Garden Grove, instituting a formal program for gifted students has engaged a coordinator for that purpose and will have a full year program in industrial arts for eighth grade boys. Metal work will be added to existing courses in wood working, electricity and mechanical drawing. A DEPARTMENT OF THE NATIONAL AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS EDUCATION 1201-16TH STREET, N. W., WASHINGTON 6, D.C. ASSOCIATION August 16, To AASA Members: The materials brought together here in capsule form showing strong interest in general federal assistance for public education can be extremely useful in building support for the enactment of such legislation. It will be most effective in the hands of lay citizens. It has been printed in quantity and you can get all the copies you want by sending your requests on the order form below. This needs to be done promptly. Fisnio Eng bana Finis E. Englem Executive Secretary Dr. John M. Lumley, Director Federal Relations Division National Education Association 1201 - 16th Street, N.W. Washington 6, D.C. Please send me ies of the 4-page report OPINION ON NATIONAL SCHOOL AID. PRINT NAME: MATLING ADDRESS: CITY: IN ore ‘iy, YN es 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. ducation Abseciation SS de cae 2 ADAMS 4-4848 AS “Ye Ss United August 16, 1961 MEMORANDUM TO BROADCASTERS Enclosed is the first edition of a new background paper of comment on what President Kennedy calls “the most important piece of domestic legislation now before the Congress." As a broadcaster, and opinion leader in your community, we hope you will find these excerpts and capsule summaries from all types of media informative and worthwhile. We plan to publish an edition weekly while Congress is in session, and invite you to submit transcripts of editorials, commentaries, documentaries, etc. that your station may have done recently on this issue for possible inclusion in Opinion on National School Aid. In any event, we would appreciate any comments or suggestions you may have regarding this service. Also, additional copies are available if you would like to route them to other personnel at your station or opinion leaders in your community. [ae 1K. Ayo an Roy “ Wilson, Director Division of Press and Radio Relations A DEPARTMENT OF THE NATIONAL AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS EDUCATION 1201-16TH STREET, N W.. WASHINGTON 6, D.C. ASSOCIATION August 16, To AASA Members: The materials brought together here in capsule form showing strong interest in general federal assistance for public education can be extremely useful in building support for the enactment of such legislation. It will be most effective in the hands of lay citizens. It has been printed in quantity and you can get all the copies you want by sending your requests on the order form below. This needs to be done promptly. Luce s E. Gee oom Executive Secretary Dr. John M. Lumley, Director Federal Relations Division National Education Association 1201 - 16th Street, N.W. Washington 6, D.C. Please send me copies of the 4-page report OPINION ON NATIONAL SCHOOL AID. PRINT NAME: MAILING ADDRESS: CITY: ZONE STATE These excerpts and capsule summaries from broadcasts, newspapers, magazines and other As OPINION ON NATIONAL SCHOOL AID Siscis WASHINGTON 6, D.C. ADAMS 4-4855 6 “Ne “Y Unite August, 1961 Dear Colleague: Twelve new films from the National Education Association's 1961 television series "Parents Ask About School” and three popular earlier TV films are now available for showing to audiences in your commnity. In the enclosed announcement you will find films on such timely topics as the gifted child...the new look of adult education...teacher travel...Dr. Conant's report on high schools...and the complete roster of SEVEN "Question-and- Answer" shows, in which parents quiz educators on such subjects as reading, homework, year ‘round schools and intelligence testing. Each film runs a half hour. Several are available in color. We believe that you will find these motion pictures useful in providing entertainment and instruction at PTA meetings, civic club luncheons, and as special features for in-service training programs. These 16 mm. sound films are presented by the NEA in cooperation with its affiliated state education associations. Most of the films are offered at the special price of $35 for black and white and $135 for color prints because we were able to contract for extra copies at the time our TV prints were being produced. To purchase these films complete the Order Form on the back page of the enclosed folder and mail it to the Division of Press and Radio Relations, National Education Association, Washington 6, D.C. For loan or rental prints of most titles, contact your state education association. Three of the films for which the NEA has television rights, but not distribution rights, will be sold by the International Film Bureau under arrangements which were completed after the enclosed brochure was printed. To bring the folder up to date will you, therefore, please paste the enclosed strip on page 4 over the copy which is headed "3 School Films Not Available from the NEA.” Sincerely [Sa i Wilber Roy K. Wilson, Director Division of Press and Radio Relations Enclosures P.S.: Two NEA departments (The Department of Classroom Teachers and The National School Public Relations Association) have just completed new printings of the extremely popular handbooks, Pebbles and Conference Time. Descriptive folders are enclosed in the event that you wish to Place orders for these items for use with your staff this Fall. from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. Note to Editors and Correspondents: Thirty-two national groups affiliated with the National Educa- tion Association as departments provide special services covering the full range of elementary, secondary, college and adult education in the United States. Generally, each of these departments con- trols its own funds, elects its own officers, and adopts policies and programs which apply particu- larly to its own special field. The NEA Division of WASHINGTON 6, D. C. Press and Radio Relations provides news about the program of each department to the press and broadcasters and arranges background interviews for news representatives with specialists on the staffs of national groups located at NEA head- quarters on request. Studies and reports issued by departments are the expressions of those depart- ments and not statements of policy of the NEA unless set by resolution. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Myrtle Bonn FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Teachers to Bring "Thrill of Scientific Discovery” To Two Million Youngsters at' Seattle World's Fair WASHINGTON (Special) -- The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) is pre- paring to bring “the thrill of scientific discovery” to almost two million youngsters when the 1962 world's fair, the "Century 21 Exposition,” opens next year in Seattle, Wash., according to an announcement today by Robert H. Carleton, NSTA executive secretary. | NSTA, a department of the National Education Association, will develop and supervise a series of “do-it-yourself” exhibits designed to introduce science concepts to children between the ages of nine and 13. Robert F. Rice, head of the science department at Berkeley (Calif.) High School has been named coordinator of the project. He is working closely with the U.S. Department of Commerce, sponsors of the Exposition. Present plans call for approximately 30 different scientific exhibits. They will offer opportunities to mix chemicals and record reactions, perform experiments in physics, and observe biological developments. One exhibit involves putting a satellite into orbit around the moon. If calculations are correctly done, a billiard ball will react similarly to a satellite. One of the biggest problems Mr. Rice anticipates has to do with keeping adults from crowding out the children. The exposition, the first space-age world's fair, opens April 22, 1962 and closes October 22. ttt 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 July 18, 1961 STATEMENT BY WILLIAM G. CARR, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: In view of the crisis confronting America and American education, most parents, teachers, and other citizens, will deplore the short- sighted action by the House Rules Committee. The 8-7 vote to table all Bills to strengthen schools demonstrates that the opponents in the House Rules Committee are afraid to submit the legislation to a clear-cut vote by the whole House. They are afraid be- cause they know the Bills would pass. Such action to frustrate the will of the majority weakens the democratic process itself. The effort by a few men to deny the elected representatives of all of the American people an opportunity to debate and vote on this measure will not succeed. The American people will not be deceived. They know that the quality and quantity in education needed by the young people on whom the safety and strength of the nation depend requires prompt action and support by our national government. I refuse to believe that the Congress or the President will accept or condone this maneuver. quly iF 14G/ CATIO, ee Sa SS G Ss Z = S$ 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. Re ee lay, MNtiondl Education (Anscciation ox 5 WatMiNerONs, D6. ADAMS 4-4648 2 o 7 — 4 4 “UNITED > July 11, 1961 MEMORANDUM TO THE CITY DESK: Jerome P. Wiesner, science advisor to President Kennedy, will meet with five high-school science stt@ents from various parts of the country at 10 A.M., Friday, July 14, in the Executive Office (Room 200) of the Old State Department Building. The students, chosen after a nation-wide search, were selected by the National Science Teachers Association, to represent this country at an international science conference in London starting July 21. They are: Shiela Grinell, 16, who attends the Bronx High School of Science in New York City. Joyce Meyer, 16-year-old junior at College High School, Greeley, Colorado. Edward Fisher, 17, who is in the eleventh grade at Golden High School, Golden, Colorado. Christopher Cherniak, 16, who attends Melbourne High School in Eau Gallie, Florida. Charles Holloway, 16-year-old junior at Castlemont High School, Oakland, California. The young science students will be in Washington, D.C. from July 14 through July 18. During their stay here a number of special visits to government research laboratories, science museums, the British Museum, and the British Embassy have been arranged. Immediately following the Washington trip, the students will leave for London to attend the Third Annual Youth Science Fortnight, July 21 through August 4. The conference is under the patronage of the Duke of Edinburgh and will be con- ducted by the Worldfriends of Great Britain in cooperation with the British Association for the Advancement of Science. Approximately 600 students from 15 countries are expected to attend. Two principal purposes of the conference are to promote international under- standing and to develop a sense of purpose among science students of all countries. The group will be accompanied by Dr. Millard Harmon, science teacher from Newton, Mass. Following the London Conference, they will visit research laboratories in England, the Netherlands, West Germany, Switzerland, and France. [Ba is. Wed Roy K. Wilson, Director Press & Radio Relations 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 4, D. C. ADams 4-4855 . For further information: Roy K.. Wilson or Joseph Hanlon FOR RELEASE: A.M. Papers Tuesday, July 11, 1961 NEA Announces Intensive Program To Salvage High-School Drop-Outs WASHINGTON, July 10--Plans for an intensive program aimed at reducing the numbers of young people who drop out of school before finishing high school were announced here today by William G. Carr, executive secretary of the National Edu- cation Association. The program, which gets underway the first week of September, will seek also to establish what the role of the schools should be in serving the educational needs of unemployed, out-of-school youths between the ages of 16 to 2. The study, to be financed largely by the Ford Foundation, will be directed by Daniel Schreiber who, for the last several years, has been coordinator of the Higher Horizons program in the New York City schools. This program, which involves intensive efforts by the schools to discover hidden academic talents among cultur- ally deprived groups and to raise the educational and vocational sights of children from these groups, is generally conceded to have achieved substantial results. The Ford Foundation also announced today grants totaling $910,000 for attacks on the drop-out problem and other programs to help school children in slum neighbor- hoods of Detroit, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Richmond, California. The NEA grant, the Foundation said, would enable NEA to operate a national clearinghouse to collect, analyze, and keep current information on efforts to deal with the drop-out and youth unemployment problems. It will provide consulting (more ) services for schools and commmnity agencies and prepare and distribute publications and other information. NEA will also sponsor conferences on other aspects such as the effect of reading ability, motivation, work-study programs, and the pupil who has recently migrated to a slum neighborhood. Dr. Carr, in announcing the new project, said it was analogous to the program the National Education Association has been conducting in recent years, with assis- tance from the Carnegie Corporation, dealing with academically talented pupils and the challenges they present to the schools. In the operation of this project the NEA has published a number of books drawing together what is known about the identi- fication of the academically talented and indicating how the schools can best go about meeting their needs. "This new project, dealing with the drop-out problem," Dr. Carr said, "will serve a group most of whom are the underprivileged who live in the large cities. About one-third of our young people drop out of school before completing high school. If this situation is permitted to continue through the next decade the actual number of drop-outs will rise to an alarming total of 7.5 million, because within this decade there will be a sharp bulge in the high school population age group. "There may well be fewer job openings for this group. The technological revolution, and especially the growth of automation, is rapidly diminishing the number of jobs available to the unskilled. "And the high school drop-out clearly ranks well down in the ranks of the unskilled. Recently Dr. James B. Conant referred to this problem as ‘a serious threat to our free society' and as ‘social dynamite'--an explosive situation. ' I thoroughly agree." -3- Dr. Carr said he was convinced that NEA members could in the next few years do few things more worth while than to make a substantial contribution toward solution of the problem presented by the school drop-outs. The reasons why young people drop out before finishing school, Dr. Carr said, are varied. Some have little or nothing to do with schools but should be dealt with through social action by other groups. "The schools, however," Dr. Carr continued, "are involved from the earliest years on. We need to identify, and to correct, whatever’ errors of omission or com- mission the schools may be making as their contribution to this problem. "Furthermore, we need to study the role of the schools in relation to the ser- vices which are needed by the unemployed, out-of-school youth. What sort of education program is adequate for meeting this responsibility? Can the public schools attempt to meet this need? Should they have guidance counselors to work with this group in the years between the end of formal schooling and the establishment of a life-time of useful employment?" Dr. Carr cited, as indicative of importance of the drop-out problem, a conference held recently in Washington under the auspices of the National Committee for Children and Youth. Participants in this conference heard reports on specific situations which are urgently in need of correction. They heard cited a situation in one large city, a slum section, where "two-thirds of the young men who had dropped out of school did not have jobs, and about half of those who finished high school did not have jobs." A youth who has dropped out of school too early, Dr. Carr said, is likely to be unemployed, in juvenile court, or on the rosters of social agencies that deal with the needy. Schreiber, who will direct the three-year NEA study, has been a teacher and principal in the Harlem area of New York for more than 20 years. He initiated and developed the pilot project which led to the Higher Horizons program in New York. He is a graduate of the College of the City of New York and earned his master's degree at the same institution. He also has an LL.B. from Brooklyn Law School and he has done graduate work at Columbia Umiversity Teachers College and New York University. gucaTlon wt ASs9 SS = 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. ) es 4 L ° Ye . ° MN tondt Vtucalion CObsocintion o- WASHINGTON, D.C. ADAMS 4-4848 be i UNITED . a i s\ Memo To Editors of State Education Association Journals: Dear Colleague: Enclosed is a memorandum giving for your state the highlights of a new population study made by the NEA Research Division which I think will be of particular interest to you. This was released to daily newspapers. There is enclosed also a copy of the general release we made on this subject at the Atlantic City Convention, and a set of the tables. It occurred to me that you might wish to build with this ma- terial a significant and important story about the meaning of these figures for the people of your state in the decade ahead. Possibly you may wish to discuss the implications for your state with school leaders, or maybe even the Governor. The figures are brand new and are from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. They were compiled at the request of, and at the expense of the NEA for the study which was directed by Dr. LeRoy Peterson, who is on leave from the University of Wisconsin. We are also having prepared, for each of the states, a graphic illustration of the main population trends in that state. This will be a bar chart showing the anticipated changes in total population, elementary school, secondary school and college age groups, the change in the working force group, and in the retired group. This will be in the form of an 8 x 10 print which could be re- duced for use as either a two or three column illustration. This should reach you shortly after the middle of July. We here at NEA are quite enthusiastic about the news possibili- ties of this study and are hoping that you will find these materials very useful. Cordially, Roy Kj Wilson, Director / Division of Press and Radio Relations 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 June 21, 1961 MEMORANDUM TO: Alabama Editors In connection with the annual convention of the National Education Associa- tion there is being released at Atlantic City, for publication Monday a.m. June 26, an important story dealing with population statistics for the decade of the 1960's based on a study made by NEA using data compiled by the U.S. Bureau of the Census at the request of, and at the expense of, the Association. The general release is enclosed. Because the significance of the figures varies greatly, from state to state, no single story written from Atlantic City can adequately deal with the material. Accordingly we are sending you a preliminary report of the study from which you may extract the material which applies particularly to Alabama. You will note that whereas the population of Alabama is expected to rise by 5.2 percent during the 1960's (Table 1), the elementary and high school age population will fall (Table 7) by 3.7 percent: and the high school age group rise (Table 6) by 14.6 percent. You will find (Table 8) that the college age group will rise by.38.3 percent; the working force group (Table 9) rise by 6.5 percent; the retired group (Table 10) rise by 16.8 percent; and the pre-school group (Table 2) fall by 2.2 percent. In most states these data, now available for the first time, will have great significance for those responsible for the planning and management not only of school affairs but of public activities in many areas -- highways, sewers, zoning, etc. The study, titled Financi Education in the 1960's: Population Projections was a special project of the NEA Research Division, directed by Dr. LeRoy Peterson, who is on leave from the University of Wisconsin. [Py K. Weber Roy K. Wilson, Director Division of Press and Radio Relations Note: Please be sure to observe the release date for this study which is Monday A.M. Papers, June 26, 1961. i from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. For. further information: Roy K. Wilson or Joseph Hanlon ADams 4-4855 Washington, D. C. -- July 3, 1961 MEMORANDUM TO EDITORS OF STATE AND NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL JOURNALS Below is supplementary information based on action taken during the NEA Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Saturday, July l. This information is to supplement the general round-up story which was mailed to you from Atlantic City, June 30, by Mrs. Beatrice M. Gudridge. Add: for the story "New NEA President, etc.” At its meeting on July 1 the NEA Board of Directors elected Andrew D. Holt, president. of the University of Tennessee, to serve on the NBA Board of Trustees and Floyd W. Parsons, Superintendent of Schools, Big Springs, Texas, to serve for a two year term on the NEA Executive Committee. P.S. See attached page for a correction on the story mailed from Atlantic City. Washington, D. C., July 3, 1961 In the press release on the NEA Atlantic City Convention on page 2, please change the second paragraph to read as follows: Election of Richard D. Batchelder, Newtonville, Mass., high-school teacher; and re-election of John C. Evans, Jr., executive secretary of the Utah Education Association, to the NEA Executive Committee. The next NEA Convention -- its 100th -- will be held, as you know, in Denver, Colorado. The dates are July 1-6, 1962. 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. Note to Editors and Correspondents: Thirty-two national groups affiliated with the National Educa- tion Association as departments provide special services covering the full range of elementary, secondary, college and adult education in the United States. Generally, each of these departments con- trols its own funds, elects its own officers, and adopts policies and programs which apply particu- larly to its own special field. The NEA Division of ADams 4.4855 Press and Radio Relations provides news about the program of each department to the press and broadcasters and arranges background interviews for news representatives with specialists on the staffs of national groups located at NEA head- quarters on request. Studies and reports issued by departments are the expressions of those depart- ments and not statements of policy of the NEA unless set by resolution. For further information: Minnio Gilliland, NSPRA Press Office Regency Suite, Rm. B., Waldorf-Astoria New York City FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NSPRA Seminar to Probe New Directions in School Public Relations NEW YORK, N.Y., July 3, 1961 -- Don Matthews, president of the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA), and assistant superintendent in charge of special services for the Dallas, Texas, public schools, told the opening session of the Eighth Annual NSPRA Seminar today that the role of the public school communications administrator must be given greater recog- nition in "the upper echelon of school administration." Approximately 150 school communications experts heard Mr. Matthews prescribe the kind of role he envisions for this key person in the school administrative set-up. His address, "The Emerging Relations Profession," set the study pattern for the 5-day meeting. The 1961 Seminar program will include,in addition to general sessions, area case studies, short seminars, and how-to-do-it clinics, "depth-day sections," in which participants will explore for a full day the roles of the teacher, the administrator, and the commnity, as well as the organiza- tion and development of a public relations program. (more ) NSPRA Conference ot (Da Slated to address general sessions are J. Lloyd Trump, associate secre- tary, National Association of Secondary-School Principals, Washington, D. C.; Howard Hudson, director of Washington operations, Ruder and Finn, Inc., New York City; Melvin S. Brodshaug, dean, School of Public Relations and Commni- cations, Boston University, Boston, Mass.; and John J. Theobald, superintend- ent of schools, New York City. NSPRA is a department of the National Education Association. Officers are: Don E. Matthews, president; Allan M. West, associate director, NEA Membership Division, Washington, D. C., first vice-president; E. Dale Kennedy, executive secretary, Michigan Education Association, Lansing, Michigan, vice- president for membership; and Roy K. Wilson, director, NEA Press and Radio Division, Washington, D. C., secretary-treasurer. Regional vice-presidents are: 0. H. English, superintendent of schools, Abington, Pa.; Harry A. Fosdick, public relations executive, California Teachers Association, Burlingame; H. Bailey Gardner, director of public in- formation service, Kansas City Public Schools, Missouri; Harold Lambert, director of public relations, West Virginia Education Association, Charleston; Willson T. Maynard, director of public relations, Oregon Education Association, Portland; and Richard E. Nielsen, supervisor of publications, St. Paul Public Schools, Minnesota. Mr. Jerome G. Kovalcik, director, Information Services and Public Rela-~ tions, Board of Education of New York City, Brooklyn, is chairman of the Seminar Planning Committee. @ from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W Note to Editors and Correspondents: Thirty-two national groups affiliated with the National Educa- tion Association as departments provide special services covering the full range of elementary, secondary, college and adult education in the United States. Generally, each of these departments con- trols its own funds, elects its own officers, and adopts policies and programs which apply particu- larly to its own special field. The NEA Division of WASHINGTON 46, D. C. Press and Radio Relations provides news about the program of each department to the press and broadcasters and arranges background interviews for news representatives with specialists on the staffs of national groups located at NEA head- quarters on request. Studies and reports issued by departments are the expressions of those depart- ments and not statements of policy of the NEA unless set by resolution. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Minnio Gilliland Local Public Relations Officials To Attend National PR Conference in New York, July 3-7 NEW YORK, N. Y., July 3, 1961 -- New York City, hub of the world of commn- ications, will play host this week to the Eighth Annual Public Relations Seminar of the National School Public Relations Association. This year's program includes, in addition to decubach. nvautiaan area case studies, short seminars, and how-to-do-it clinics, "depth-day-sections,” in which participants will explore for a full day the roles of the teacher, the adminis- trator, and the commnity, as well as the organization and development of a public relations program. Don Matthews, assistant superintendent in charge of special services, Dallas Independent School District, Dallas, Texas, will make the keynote address, "The Emerging Relations Profession,” setting the tone for the five-day study of the school public relations task. Attending is Mr. J. M. Kyffin, special assistant to the superintendent, Jefferson County School District R-1, 1580 Yarrow Street, Lakewood 15. (more ) NSPRA Conference 2- Slated to address general sessions are J. Lloyd Trump, associate secretary, National Association of Secondary-School Principals, Washington, D. C.; Howard Hudson, director of Washington operations, Ruder and Finn, Inc., New York City; Melvin S. Brodshaug, dean, School of Public Relations and Communications, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts; and John J. Theobald, superintendent of schools, New York city. NSPRA is a department of the National Education Association. Officers are: Don E. Matthews, president; Allan M. West, associate director, NEA Membership Division, Washington, D. C., first vice-president; E. Dale Kennedy, executive secretary, Michigan Education Association, Lansing, Michigan, vice-president for membership; and Roy K. Wilson, director, NEA Press and Radio Division, Washington, D. C., secretary-treasurer. Regional vice-presidents are: 0. H. English, superintendent of schools, Abington, Pennsylvania; Harry A. Fosdick, public relations executive, California Teachers Association, Burlingame; H. Bailey Gardner, director of public informa- tion service, Kansas City Public Schools, Missouri; Harold Lambert, director of public relations, West Virginia Education Association, Charleston; Willson T. Maynard, director of public relations, Oregon Education Association, Portland; and Richard E. Nielsen, supervisor of publications, St. Paul Public Schools, Minnesota. 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge Joseph Hanlon FOR RELEASE: A.M. Papers, Monday July 3, 1961 Colleges Accept Inferior Teachers; Lose Good Prospects to Industry WASHINGTON, July 2 -- It is a Hobson's choice that confronts colleges and univer- sities in attempting to staff their institutions with qualified teachers. They tend to accept new teachers with less than adequate formal academic backgrounds because they do not have the money to go into the highly competitive market to attract candidates with better preparation. And the presence on their faculties of teachers with less than adequate preparation calls for more institutional funds to assist them in further study. Leave with pay costs the colleges and universities money. And leave without pay is an invitation to those who receive it to seek other employment. These are some of the conclusions reached in a new study by the Research Division of the National Education Association, Teacher Supply and Demand in Universities, Colleges and Junior Colleges, 1959-1960 and 1960-1961. The report, fourth in a biennial series, was prepared by Dr. Ray C. Maul, assistant director of the NEA Research Division. After examining the current status of the matter, Maul undertakes a projection of the problem up to 1970. He concludes that the colleges, universities and junior colleges should be prepared to employ 28,900 new teachers next September, and that annual needs will rise to 35,700 new teachers to serve an anticipated total en- rollment of 6,150,000 in 1970. (more ) Colleges Accept Inferior Teachers;-- Page 2 Lose Good Prospects to Industry "At this moment," Maul adds, "the resources are not in sight to provide this enormous expansion of teaching staff...The evidence...would seem to indicate that the needed numbers, if obtained, will be at the expense of qualifications. "Tt seems clear that the institutjons of higher education cannot be staffed with the needed number of competent teachers unless their financial resources are vastly expanded. With a comtinuance of the present level of support the employing officer has no alternative but to choose between an insufficient number and an inferior quality of teachers.” At the time of the first study in this series, 1953-54, the reporting colleges and universities listed 40.5 perceat of their faculty members as holders of Ph.D. degrees. But of the new teachers employed in recent years only about 25 percent have been holders of doctorates. At the other end of the preparation scale, new teachers with less than a master's degree, the pattern is somewhat more encouraging. New teachers in this group were 18.2 percent of the total in the first year of the study and that percentage rose during the next four years, but has now declined to 17.4 percent. Examining the sources of supply of new teachers,,the study reports that the largest group, nearly half, come directly from the graduate schools. The second largest source (12.1“percent) are high school teachers. About 10 percent come from business occupations. About 4 percent come directly from the preceding year's bachelor's degree class. The report says it is difficult to estimate the teacher shortage accurately because there is a tendency to fill all faculty vacancies despite the lack of qualified applicants. But it notes that 519 of the reporting institutions per- mitted 1275 posts to remain unfilled in at least one of the two most recent years, presumably because they could not find acceptable persons to fill these positions. (more ) Colleges Accept Inferior Teachers; -- Page 3 Lose Good Prospects to Industry One potential source of additional qualified college teachers, the report notes, would be women, and most colleges and universities reported that they were ready to add more women to their staffs. But, the study shows, women are only about 10 percent of the groups earning doctor's degrees and these are often not in the fields where the need for teachers is greatest. Moreover, the report adds, women of post master's degree status are not prominent among the candidates for scholarships, assistantships and grants in aid. "Perhaps such positive encouragement is a prerequisite to any meaningful expansion in the number of women receiving the doctor's degree," the report says. The trend toward acceptance of new teachers with less than adequate preparation is more marked among junior colleges, the report shows. In the typical junior college new teachers with just a master's degree are about twice as numerous as those who have made some progress beyond the master's degree. A significant fact disclosed by the study is that the colleges and universities cannot blame the lack of highly qualified new teachers solely on inadequate production of those with doctor's degrees. More telling is that other occupations attract these people. And this is most true in precisely those fields where the shortage of highly qualified teachers is most apparent, notably in chemistry and physics. This study was assisted by a substantial grant of funds from the Ford Foundation. Usually a nominal price is charged for such reports by NEA. Ford funds, however, make possible a limited free distribution of single copies of this report, (1961 - R12). Requests should be addressed to the Research Division, National Education Association, 1201 Sixteenth Street, N.W., Washington 6, D.C. Ht 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Myrtle Bonn FOR RELEASE AT WILL Presidential Proclamation Urges Observance of American Education Week, November 5-11 WASHINGTON -- President John F. Kennedy has proclaimed November 5-11 American Education Week, urging that "we honor our teachers and school officials, for whom every week is education week." "The education of our people should be a lifelong process by which we con- tinue to feed new vigor into the lifestream of the Nation through intelligent, reasoned decisions," the President said. "Let us not think of education only in terms of its costs, but rather in terms of the infinite potential of the human mind that can be realized through education. Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a pri- vate hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our Nation." Calling wide knowledge and the free interchange of thought "essential to the growth and vitality of our Nation,” the President urged that citizens "focus atten- tion upon the force for good which education has been and mst continue to be in ! our national life...' This year will mark the hist annual observance of American Education Week. It is sponsored by the National Education Association, the United States Office of Education, the National Congress of Parents and Teachers, and the American Legion. The theme is "Your Schools: Time for a Progress Report.” ttt (Note: The complete text of the President's proclamation is enclosed. ) 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge or Myrtle Bonn SPECIAL TO EDUCATION JOURNALS American Education Week Starts November 5; School Systems Urged to Order Materials Early WASHINGTON -- "Your Schools: Time for a Progress Report" will be the main theme of this year's American Education Week, November 5-11. More than 30 million adults are expected to visit their public schools during this 41st annual observance to receive a first-hand report on school purposes, methods, achievements, needs, and problems. Other millions will receive the annual accounting through newspapers, magazines, radio and television, sermons, motion pictures, plays, posters, and booklets. In addition to the main theme, the following daily American Education Week topics have been selected: Sunday, Nov. 5 -- Time to Test Our Convictions Monday, Nov. 6 -- Time to Decide on Essentials Tuesday, Nov. 7 -- Time to Work Together Wednesday, Nov. 8 -- Time to Explore New Ideas Thursday, Nov. 9 -- Time to Salute Good Teachers Friday, Nov. 10 -- Time to Pay the Price for Excellence Saturday, Nov. 11 -- Time to Look Outside Our Borders This year's theme and daily topics offer an opportunity for school sys- tems over the country to report on improvements made in the last few years, on curriculum changes which benefit their pupils, on new school construction, on programs for getting and keeping the best teachers, on effective new teach- ing methods, and on improved facilities. (more) The basic purpose of American Education Week continues to be the effort to make every American aware of 1 in t role education plays in a democracy, and to help him realize that good schools are his personal responsibility. National sponsors for American Education Week are: the National Education Association; Am rican Legion; National Congress of Parents and Teachers; and U.S. Office of Education. The National Education Association has prepared a number of booklets and folders which offer helpful guidance to school systems and others plan- ning American Education Week activities. A packet, containing an assortment of 27 of these items, is available for $1.50 from NEA. tt t (Note to Editor: The enclosed order blank describes American Education Week promotional material available from the National Education Association. It would be helpful to your readers if you were to reprint this information or selections from the list.) @ from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. ° WASHINGTON 6, D. C. e ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge BACK-TO-SCHOOL For Release at Will (600 words) You Can Help Your Child Learn To Read -- Here's How WASHINGTON -- "Should I teach my child the alphabet before he starts to school?" "When my child doesn't know a word in his reading book, should I tell him what it is?" "I tell my child to ‘sound out' words he doesn't know. Is that all right?" These are just a few of the questions parents ask teachers about their children's reading, according to a recent statement by the National Education Association. The NEA says that parents are right to be deeply concerned about their children's success in reading. Reading is a basic tool children need throughout their school and college careers. A youngster with reading dis- abilities is handicapped in keeping up with his class work, textbook study, supplementary reading, and in following instructions accurately when taking tests. What can parents do to help their children develop this essential skill? Classroom teachers recommend the following activities: Ways To Help Your Preschooler Read to him every day. Make books a joyous and important part of his daily life. Ask him questions about the pictures. Ask him to point out pictured objects that are alike and different in shape and color. This helps (more ) You Can Help Your Child -2- him to observe small differences in the shapes of letters and words, when he starts learning to read. Avoid baby talk. Speak to your child in grown-up language now, so he will recognize words he sees and hears in the classroom. Ways To Help in Grades l, 2, 3 When your child reads aloud to you, don't try to use teaching techniques, such as "sounding out" words. Instead, enjoy the story togetrer, praise him for reading especially well, or for figuring out a word for himself. If he cannot read some of the words, simply tell him what they are. Introduce him to the pleasures of the public library. Let him browse. Get a library card for him. Let him choose books that he wants, rather than books you feel he should read. Have your child's eyes and ears checked just prior to entrance into the first grade, and periodically after that. Give him extra opportunities to read. Let him read the directions for that new game or for putting model airplanes together. Ways To Help in Grades 4, 5, 6 Provide your child with a dictionary and encyclopedia. Encourage him to look up subjects that puzzle or interest him. Subscribe to a children's magazine for him. He'll look forward to its arrival, and read it eagerly. Is your child having serious trouble with his reading? The NEA lists the following warnings to parents of "problem readers": DON'T become irritated and disgusted with hin. His difficulties probably stem from factors he (more ) You Can Help Your Child -3- cannot control. Your anxiety may make him so resentful and discouraged that. his reading dif- ficulties will increase. DON'T compare his reading with other, more successful young readers in his family or neighborhood. Such comparisons make a youngster feel inept and inferior, and may keep him from reading at all. DON'T air his reading difficulties in front of family or visitors. In fact, the less you dis- cuss them--except in private, with his teacher-- the better. DON'T try to solve his reading problems yourself. Have a conference with his teacher. If she thinks it is serious enovgh for remedial reading help, or for a consultation with the school psychologist, take her expert advice. DO give him opportunities to do things at which he excels. Praise him for his skill at baseball, or drawing pictures, or getting along with people. When he knows he is good at something, he will not feel inferior because he can't read as well as others of his age. ® from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge BACK-TO-SCHOOL 1961 For Release at Will (650 words) What Parents Should Know About Their Child's Physical Fitness WASHINGTON -- Today's children SIT and listen to records...SIT and ride to school...SIT mich of the time they are in school...SIT and watch television... SIT and watch the movies. "Your child can't sit and keep fit," the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation (AAHPER) said recently, and President Kennedy agrees. The President said, not long ago, “There is an increasingly large mumber of young Americans who are neglecting their bodies -- whose physical fitness is not what it should be -- who are getting soft." Can parents solve the health problems of their “chair-borne" children? One thing is sure; parents cannot solve them alone. Many are apartment-dwellers, with few facilities for active outdoor play for their youngsters. Many new suburban comminities lack adequate recreation areas. Even when facilities are available, time for healthful family activities is limited. The modern child's after-school life is crammed with school and out-of-school clubs, transportation to and from school, homework, school projects, additional reading. America's schools, realizing the seriousness of this problem, are helping parents boost their children's physical fitness with sound programs of health and physical education. Yet these vital school programs often suffer from a lack of understanding on the part of the public. (more) What Parents Should Know -2- Here are answers from AAHPER experts to questions frequently asked them by puzzled parents: . Why does my child need to take "gym"? He seems to be strong and fit. Through vigorous games, rhythms and tumbling in physical education class, a child develops his mscles, learns to control his body, acquires the skills to feel competent and confident in physical activities, enjoying the physical and mental well-being that results from physical exercise. He develops a desire to be active and so to maintain fitness throughout life. + They're teaching my boy to play basketball in school. How will that help him in later life? Participation in any sport is excellent for a child's overall health, growth, and mscular development. Playing a game teaches your child lessons that will be of value to him no matter what he does later. He learns to make quick decisions, to win or lose gracefully, to develop self-confidence. He learns how to get along with others -- a quality so important that many business executives rate it above any other. - I've taught my child to brush his teeth and wash his hands before meals. What other health education is necessary? Skimpy breakfasts, too many refined sweets, reducing diets seriously threaten the health of youngsters. The need for education in nutrition is great. Also, today's major health problems (heart disease, cancer, accidents, and mental illness) can be attacked most effectively by educating youth about the importance of prevention and of early diagnosis and treatment. School health programs help alert parents to disabilities such as over-weight, underweight, poor eyesight, bad teeth, etc. (more) What Parents Should Know -3- What is school recreation? Does it mean they're teaching my daughter how to play? The problem of what Americamswill do with their increasing hours of leisure time is worrying many people in this country. The 30-hour week will soon be a reality. People are retiring from their jobs at a comparatively early age, with years of inactivity ahead of them. The public schools are helping to solve this growing problem by developing skills in sports and games... providing experiences in nature study, camping and field trips, arts and crafts, dramatics, music, and hobbies. . What is being done for my child's mental and emotional health? Active physical exercise helps our young people relieve their tensions by "letting off steam." Sound physical education programs provide special attention to the timid....those with inadequate skills...those who have emotional problems. Physical activities help fill emotional needs by giving a sense of satisfaction in learning new skills, a sense of achievement and personal worth that comes from successful participation. 7/61 all from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge BACK-TO-SCHOOL 1961 For Release at Will (525 words) Taking an Adult Education Course? Brush Up on Your Study Habits WASHINGTON -- Did you say you're not in an adult education class? Don't be so sure. How about that Red Cross first aid course you're enrolled in at the community center? Or the civil defense group you're part of at your near- by high school? Or those PTA panel discussions on child development? You're probably up to your ears in some form of adult learning -- 8,000,000 adults are, according to a recent statement by the National Association of Public School Adult Educators (NAPSAE). If you are one of these 8,000,000, chances are you're faced with many new problems. Problems like -- How can I concentrate on the U.S. Constitution with the kids playing jet planes in the next room? Or -- How can I say what I think in class when Joe Blabbermouth is aibesis saying what he thinks at the top of his lungs? Or -- When am I going to find time to learn 15 new French verbs or five algebraic formulas when my in-laws are spending the weekend at my house? Hundreds of tips and techniques for adult learners have now been assembled in book form by NAPSAE. Among them are practical and specific ideas on how to concentrate how to study a textbook efficiently how to speed up your reading at home without taking a fast-reading course ..... how to memorize .. (more) Taking an Adult Education Course? - 2 - how to get the most out of your group sessions how to use the resources of your community to help you learn more. Concentration is a cinch, says NAPSAE, when you try tricks like the following: Jerk your mind back in line the moment it wanders. Don't give it time to get deeply involved in extra-curricular thoughts. (Useful device: Place a check mark on a piece of paper each time your mind wanders. Trying to keep down the number of check marks keeps your mind on your studies.) Ask yourself questions about the material you are studying, to keep your thoughts from drifting away. Keep your thoughts on the track by re-stating out loud, in your own words, what you have been reading. Try to train your family to respect your privacy. (It does not boost concentration to have Billy toddle in and ask for a glass of water.) Phone interruptions don't help, either. Ask your husband or wife to take messages. Make a "Do Not Disturb" sign and hang it on your door. Reward yourself for good behavior. If you know that a tough part of the work is coming up, concentrate on it for a half hour then watch a TV show ... or indulge in a snack. Knowing that a happy time of relaxation lies just around the bend, your mind will bear down on the work at hand. Don't try to concentrate if you are upset emotionally. If you have had a spat with your wife, or are concerned about a situation on the job -- don't pick that evening to study. Research on the learning (more) Taking an Adult Education Course? -3- process has revealed that people learn least well when they are emotionally upset. The new handbook for adult students, How Adults Can Learn More -- Faster, will be available this fall from the National Association of Public School Adult Educators, 1201 Sixteenth Street, N.W., Washington 6, D.C. 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D0. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge em-¥teg?nbesiiarsen BACK-TO-SCHOOL 1960 For Release at Will (700 words) Is Your Child a Poor Speller? You Can Help Him. Here's How: WASHINGTON ,gi®. -- Poor spelling can pull down your child's grades in social studies, reading, science, and other school subjects, say the nation's elementary school teachers. Many teachers mark down book reports, project notebooks, and test papers because they contain spelling and grammatical er- rors. Why is spelling s0 difficult for many children? "Learning to spell English is hard work," according to the National Educa- tion Association, in its booklet How To Help Your Child Learn. "Johnny would have an easier time of it with Spanish or Finnish, which are far more consist- ent in their rules." Most schools concentrate on teaching children a list of about 3000 English root words that make up 98 percent of the words both adults and children use in written expression. About 20 percent of these words don't follow the regu- lar alphabetical rules, and these are probably the ones that are giving your child trouble. Here are ways, suggested by the NEA, in which parents can help their children improve in spelling: (more) Is Your Child a Poor Speller? First, make sure that your child has no physical handicaps which may be holding him back -- a speech defect, faulty hearing, or poor vision. If you suspect anything of the sort, have him examined immediately. Have him make his own dictionary of "demon" words that plague him. Get him a scrapbook and have him devote one page to each alphabetical letter. As he masters the "demon," he enters it on the proper page. Give your child the fun of adventuring with words. Encourage him to make a list of new and interesting ones he comes across. Play games with words. Oral riddles are fun. For example: "I'm thinking of a four-letter word that means sharp (keen). What is the word and how do you spell it?" Or ask him how many "happy" words he knows how to spell (gay, cheerful, merry, smile, jolly). How many "sad" words? How many "holiday" words? Encourage him to write frequent notes--to other children, to relatives-- as thank-you's for parties and gifts. Check with him to see that all words are spelled properly and that the note is legible. Observe how avidly your child watches television commercials, and turn this interest into a spelling game. Ask him to name the products he sees advertised, and to spell them. Aspirin, automobiles, bread, bottles, soap, shampoo, shave--the list is endless. Play word games with him, such as Ghost, Junior Scrabble, Anagrams, Hangman. Give him his own dictionary. He will use it faithfully, if you give him the good example of "looking up" the spelling of words. Avoid "baby talk" with your preschooler or first-grader. It may be great fun for parents and doting uncles, but it's no help to your child in the real life of school. Make sure he hears all words clearly and correctly pronounced at home. Is Your Child a Poor Speller? -3- The 32-page booklet How to Help Your Child Learn is available at 50¢ per copy from the National Education Association, 1201 - 16th Street, N.W., Washington 6, D.C. It was published by two NEA departments -- the Department of Elementary School Principals and the National School Public Relations Association. ### @ from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge BACK-TO-SCHOOL 1961 For Release at Will (820 words) How to Succeed in College: Practical Tips for Future Freshmen WASHINGTON -- The freshman year of college is the most critical drop-out and flunk-out period. After you have cleared the first-year hurdle, your chances of completing four years are considerably higher. Getting into college, it seems, is only half the battle; the other half is staying in. So said the National Education Association recently, as it listed the biggest hazards to a successful college career. The five booby-traps described here are most frequently identified by college deans and counselors as responsible for the high rate of freshman "fallout": 1. Lack of effective study habits and skills. If you haven't learned how to take comprehensive, well-organized notes; if you are a slow reader; if you don't know how to track down research materials; if you lack ability to express your thoughts clearly in class, in themes, and in essay-type assignments--you may have great difficulty in coping with college. What can you do about it? If you do not read rapidly, with good comprehension, take a special reading course now. If note-taking is one of your weaknesses, ask for help from your English or business education teacher. Then practice taking class notes. Use them for study and review. If finding resources and study materi- als is hard for you, ask your librarian for help. If you have trouble expressing your ideas in speaking or in writing, ask your English teacher for advice. ~ How to Succeed in College: 2. Lack of incentives to become a competent student. Teachers are familiar with the type of student who, although he has a high IQ, flunks out in his first college year. They also have known freshmen who, while they exhibited no exceptional brain power in high school, complete college with distinction because of their concentration and determination. What makes the difference? In most of these cases it is motivation -- a powerfui desire to achieve; to complete a college education. What can you do about it? If you are not sure that you are ready for the responsibilities of college, talk it over with your guidance counselor. You may decide to put off college entrance for a year or two. If you are apprehensive that a delay will make you too old for college, stop worrying. A recent survey of hundreds of college graduates indicates that many of them believe they would have gotten more out of college if they had taken a year or two after high school to look around and to "find themselves." 3. Unrealistic concepts of college life. Do you have the idea that campus life will be all social adventure -- a whirl of football dates and fraternity dances? Do you expect suddenly to be "the most popular person on the campus"? Are you searching for a husband or a wife? When unexpectedly confronted by college regulations, heavy class assignments, and little time for dating in the freshman year you could easily develop feelings of defeat unless you know the real purposes of college and what to expect. What can you do about it? Expect strictly enforced college regulations, heavy class assignments, much related reading, and little time for dating. College is a place to sink your roots into scholarship and to prepare for a career, so get ready to prove yourself as a student and as a mature, thoughtful campus citizen. 4. Unprepared for hard work. Accustomed to less difficult textbooks, to shorter study hours, and to personal supervision by teachers, some students are swamped by freshman requirements and never (more ) How to Succeed in College: quite catch up. Those of you who "go away” to college no longer have parents at your elbow reminding you to study or helping you with homework. Have you learned to study independently, to budget your time, to set up definite study schedules and to stick to them? What can you do about it? Start today to budget your time for study, school activities, and social life. Make a chart and stick to the schedule you set for yourself. Efficient study habits will be one of your greatest assets in college. Choose "solid" subjects plus electives in your own field of interest. The harder you work to master your high school studies, the more confident you can be of suc- cess in college. 5. Inability to adjust to people. Students who depend heavily on their families for companionship, who are Slow to make outside friends, and who wait for others to begin new friendships can be so lonely in the first year of college that they may not return. If you are a "loner"--too shy or too independent to warm up to new people, including you instruc- tors--you may face a difficult adjustment period when you enter college. What can you do about it? Ask your teachers and guidance counselor for help; tell them your problem and ask for suggestions. If you are just shy, or if you have some personality handicaps, identify these and set out to overcome them. You may need the help of a psychologist in overcoming this hazard. # # # ll from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge BACK-TO-SCHOOL 1961 For Release at Will (525 words) How To Confer Successfully With Your Child's Teacher WASHINGTON -- If you have a child in school this fall, chances are that your own calendar of activities will include, from time to time, the scrawled reminder, "Conference with Greg's Teacher." Get-togethers between individual parents and teachers supplement the traditional report card in many of the nation's schools, and the practice is spreading, according to a recent statement by the National Education Association. Why is this such a popular way of reporting a child's school progress? Because it gives both you and your child's teacher an opportunity to seek the reasons behind his successes and his failures, and to explore together ways to help him. What can you do to make your next conference with the teacher more effective and satisfactory? Here are some practical suggestions: - Decide in advance what you want to ask the teacher. Sit down with your husband or wife in advance and decide what specific aspects of your child's school work are puzzling or worrying you. For example, you may want to ask, "Is Greg doing as well as he should in reading?" instead of "How is Greg doing in school?" (more) How To Confer Successfully -2- - Be prepared to tell the teacher what she wants to know. The more your child's teacher knows about his home background, his hobbies, reading interests, the state of his health, etc., the better equipped she is to solve his learning problems. If she asks questions of this kind, do your best to give accurate answers. She is not prying. She is seeking the "why" of his strengths and weaknesses, in order to guide him more effectively. - Find out why things are done a certain way. If you wonder why your child is taught manuscript print before cursive script...or whether he is memorizing the alphabet...don't ask your neighbor, ask his teacher. If you find new methods of teaching hard to understand, ask her to suggest a good time for you to visit the classroom as an observer. - Listen before you leap. If you've been storing up resentment about a tale your child brought home from school, don't explode. Listen to the teacher's side of the story. You could say embarrassing things, especially if you find that your child was either misinformed or overly imaginative. - Don't expect more than the teacher can give. Your child may need extra help, and his teacher may be longing to give him that help......but if her classroom is crowded she may lack both time and energy. Don't expect, or demand, more special attention for your youngster than she can give. Instead, ask her if there is anything you can do on the home front to help solve his learning problems. - Go home and do something about it. Don't let that teacher-parent conference fade into oblivion, with no specific action on your part. When you return home, jot down notes on the conference, on what you learned about your child, and on what you and the teacher agreed to do. Decide on the next (more ) How To Confer Successfully -3- steps to take. For example, if his teacher has suggested several books which might spark his interest in reading, look for them in your local library or book store. @ from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 4, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Beatrice M. Gudridge BACK-TO-SCHOOL 1961 For Release at Will (500 words) Homework: Should Parents Lend a Hand and How? WASHINGTON -- The booming interest in education has found more and more par- ents asking anxious questions about homework, according to a recent exploration of the subject by the National Education Association. Is their child getting too much -~- or not enough? Should he be allowed to play the radio while doing his homework? The question parents most frequently ask is Should we or shouldn't we actually help Johnny with his homework? Parents can help, says the NEA, in the following ways: Parents should provide a quiet atmosphere for evening study. This is not easy in the small modern home or apartment, where a radio or televison set, even with the volume lowered, can be a distraction to the student. Younger brothers and sisters are often at their liveliest during the early evening hours. Despite these difficulties, parents must make a serious effort to provide a quiet background for home study. Parents should take a positive attitude toward homework. If you have criti- cisms of the kind or amount of homework you child is being assigned, take your complaints to his teacher or guidance counselor. Do not complain in front of your child. Your disapproval may lower his confidence in his teachers, and weaken his desire to work seriously on home assignments. (more ) Homework: Should Parents Lend a Hand and How? Parents can help their child select topics for themes. They can help him find books, pamphlets, and magazine articles for his research in various subjects. They can pronounce spelling words as he writes them, or listen as he double-checks his learning of a foreign-language vocabulary list. They can help him collect ma- terials for a project (but he, himself, should take the major responsibility for gathering the items needed.) Parents should check. If your child comes home each day with the report that "I don't have any homework" or "I did it all in school," you would be wise to visit or call the school and find out for yourself. Im the first part of the school year, check to be sure that your child has completed all his assignments, and that written work is neatly done. After that, more casual supervision of homework should be enough. However, parents should help very little with the actual work, for the following reasons: 1) If you help your child solve arithmetic problems you may only confuse him, since you may be using different methods or approaches than those employed by his teacher. 2) Parents are so involved emotionally in their child's success or failure, they frequently make the youngster nervous and tense when they try to help. 3) When you do the lion's share of your child's homework assignment, the teacher is evaluating your work, not his, and has difficulty deter- mining his strength and weaknesses. You will also make your child dependent on you, rather than making him more mature and responsible. (Don't forget that, when he takes classroom tests and end-of-term exams, you will not be there to help him. ) i trom the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. ADams 4-4855 For further information: Minnio Gilliland FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Local Teacher(s) to Attend National Conference in New Jersey, July 2-14 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Two hundred sixty teachers, representing a cross section of the nation's professional leaders, will meet July 2-14 at Glassboro State College, Glassboro, New Jersey, to take part in the Eighteenth Classroom Teachers National Conference sponsored by the Department of Classroom Teachers of the National Education Association. Workshop participants will spend the two-week period exploring ramifications of the conference theme, "Teaching Is Our Profession." The program is broad in scope and is planned to meet a variety of interests through lectures, discussions, demonstrations, and tours. Classroom Teacher Conference -2- In 3-day clinic sessions the group will study leadership development, program planning, committee activities and other matters of interest at both local and state levels. The clinics will be supplemented by workshops centered around such professional problems as classroom management in the elementary school, science experiments for the elementary teacher, developing creative imagination, and others. The Honorable Gale McGee, United States Senator from Wyoming (D.), will de- liver a major address at the closing session, and others slated to appear on general sessions are Richard C. Wooton, program executive, Office of Private Cooperation, United States Information Agency, Washington, D.C.; John H. Furbay, director, Air World Education, New York City; John D. J. Moore, vice president, W. R. Grace and Company, New York City; and Clarice Kline, president of the National Education Association, Washington, D.C. New Jersey leaders participating on the program include Thomas E. Robinson, president, Glassboro State College; Frederick M. Raubinger, New Jersey Commissioner of Education; and Frederick L. Hipp, executive secretary of the New Jersey Education Association. Scheduled activities also include a boat trip on the Delaware River, 4 Fourth of July picnic and patriotic program, an evening at the Camden Music Circus, and other social events. DCT President Buena Stolberg, a teacher from Webster Groves, Missouri, said in announcing the conference that while classroom teachers must take increasing responsibility for matters concerning their own welfare, they must at the same time assume a greater share of leadership in the movement toward excellence in all phases of instruction. "after all," Mrs. Stolberg said, "a good school program begins in the class- room. A major goal of this conference is to inspire new effort from each of us who claim teaching as our profession." ttt