DOCUMENT RESUHE ED 097 164 RC 0086 172 AUTHOR Dawson, Howard A., Comp.; Hubbard, Frank W., Comp. TITLE The White House Conference on Rural Education (Washington, D.C., October 3-5, 1944). INSTITUTION National Education Association, Washington, D.C. Dept. of Rural Education. PUB DATE 5 Oct 44 NOTE 274p.; Out of print EDRS PRICE MF-$0.75 HC-$12.60 PLUS POSTAGE DESCRIPTORS *Conference Reports; Educational Finance; *Educational Planning; *Educational Responsibility; Full State Funding; *Futures (of Society); Governaent Role; *Rural Education; Rural Youth; School Role; School Taxes IDENTIFIERS *White House Conference on Rural Education ABSTRACT The White House Conference on Rural Education (1944) called together 230 of the country's best known rural educators to lay plans for the peacetime establishment of our educational systes on a better basis than we have ever known before (with Federal aid when necessary). One of the dynamic outcoaes of the four conference sessions was compilation of the Charter for the Education of Rural Children. The goals stated that every rural child had the right to: a satisfactory, msodren elementary and secondary education; an educational program that bridged the gap between hogze and school, and school and adult life; health services, guidance programs, libraries, recreational facilities, lunch programs, and transportation at the public's expense (if needed); teachers, supervisors, and administrators who understood rural problems; educational and guidance programs 12 months of the year and no less than 9 continuous months of school; satisfactory, modern buildings; participation in cogssunity life and culture through the school; a strong local school system that provided all services needed; and the tax resources of his community, State, and nation used to guarantee him an American standard of educational opportunity. “These are the rights of every rural child because they are the rights of every child regardless of race, or color, or situation, wherever they may live under the Flag of the Orited States of America." (AH) THE WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE in ON RURAL EDUCATION October 3, 4, and 5, 1944 Called, planned, and directed by the Divisions of Field Service, Rural Service, and Legislation and Federal Relations of the National Education Association of the United States | Re 008 /72. NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES 1201 Sixteenth Street, Northwest, Washington 6, D. C. Single copies: Flexible cover $1.00; Stiff cover $1.50 God 0 ad STAFF OF THE CONFERENCE Executive Chairman CHARL ORMOND WILLIAMS NEA Division of Field Service Co-Chairmen HOWARD A. DAWSON { UCI 1 9) 1945 NEA Division of Rural Service * ¥ R.. B, NMLARSTON GLENN ARCHER NEA Division of Legislation and Federal Relations Research FRANK W. HUBBARD NEA Division of Research Publicity BELMONT M. FARLEY NEA Office of Public Relations Housing AGNES WINN NEA Division of Legislation and Federal Relations Published by the NEA Department of Rural Education with the aid of a grant from the War and Peace Fund 4! A POPULAR GOVERNMENT without popu- lar information or the means of acquir- ing it is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or, perhaps, both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: and a people who mean to be their own gov- ernors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.—]ames Madtson * HONORARY CHAIRMEN PAUL H. AppLeBY, Assistant Director, Bureau of the Budget, Executive Office of the President, Washington, D. C. WILLARD w. BEATTY, Director of Education, Office of Indian Affairs, United States Department ot the Interior, Chicago, Illinois JEAN BETZNER, President, Association for Childhood Education, Teachers Col- lege, Columbia University, New York, New York LIVINGSTON L. BLAIR, National Director, American Junior Red Cross, National Headquarters, Washington, D.C. BORGESON, Professor of Education, New York University, and Editor, Teacher Education Journal, New York, New York THOMAS ¢, BOUSHALL, Chairman, Education Committee of United States Chamber of Commerce, and President, Morris Plan Bank, Richmond, Virginia HOMER L. BRINKLEY, President, National Council of Farmers Cooperatives, Lake Charles, Louisiana MRS. D. LEIGH COLVIN, President, National Woman's Christian Temperance Union, New York, New York H. DENNIS, Executive Secretary, American Vocational Association, Inc., Washington, D.C. MRS. LAFELL DICKINSON, President, General Federation of Women’s Clubs, Keene, New Hampshire EDWIN Rk. EMBREE, President, Julius Rosenwald Fund, Chicago, Illinois MRS. WILLIAM A. HASTINGS, President, National Congress of Parents and Teach- ers, Chicago, Illinois MARGARET A. HICKEY, President, National Federation of Business and Pro- fessional Women’s Clubs, Inc., St. Louis, Missouri MRS. HENRY R. INGRAHAM, President, National Board of the Young Women’s Christian Association, 600 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York KATHARINE LENROOT, Chief, Children’s Bureau, United States Department of Labor, Washington, D.C. MRS. DORA S, LEWIs, President, American Home Economics Association, New York University, New York, New York MURRAY D. LINCOLN, President, Cooperative League of the United States, and Executive Secretary, Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, Columbus, Ohio D. E. LINDSTROM, President, American Country Life Association, Urbana, Illinois Mrs. J. F. MATTHEWS, President, National Society, Service Star Legion, Weirton, West Virginia BEN W. MILLER, Executive Secretary, American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, Washington, D.C. EMORY Ww. MorRIS, President, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Battle Creek, Michigan c4q/'5! PHILIP MURRAY, President, Congress of Industrial Organizations, Washington, D.C. THOMAS PARRAN, Surgeon General, United States Public Health Service, Wash- ington, D.C. JAMES G. PATTON, President, National Farmers Union, Washinggon, D. C. IRVING F. PEARSON, President, National Association of Secretaries of State Teach- ers Associations, and .Executive Secretary, Illinois Education Association, Springheld, Illinois F. L. SCHLAGLE, President, National Education Association, and Superintendent of Schools, Kansas City, Kansas ROSE SCHNEIDERMAN, President, National Women’s Trade Union League, New York, New York MRS. CHARLES W. SEWELL, Administrative Director, Associated Women of the American Farm, Bureau Federation, Chicago, Illinois CHARLES H. SKIDMORE, President, National Council of Chief State School Officers, and State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Salt Lake City, Utah JOHN strouM, Managing Editor, The Prairie Farmer, and Secretary, American Agricultural Editors. Association, Chicago, Illinois JOHN W. STUDEBAKER, Commissioner, United States Office of Education, Fed- eral Security Agency, Washington, D.C, HENRY ¢. TAYLOR, Managing Director, Farm Foundation, Chicago, Illinois E. JERRY WALKER, Educational Director, Station WLS, Chicago, Illinois MRS. JOSEPH M. WELT, President, National Council of Jewish Women, Detroit, Michigan HELEN ©. wHiTe, President, American Association of University Women, Madi- son, Wisconsin M. L. witson, Director of Extension Work, United States Department of Agri- culture, Washington, D.C. OWEN pb. YouNG, Honorary Chairman, General Electric Company, New York, New York CONTENTS Foreworp INTRODUCTION A Cuarrer or Epucation ror Rurat CHILDREN Uses or THE CHARTER First General Session INrropUCTORY. REMARKS KATE Vv. WorrorD, Director of Rural-Education, State Teachers College, Buffalo, New York OPENING THE CONFERENCE ELEANOR ROOSEVELT BACKGROUND OF THE CONFERENCE CHARL ORMOND WILLIAMS, Director of Field Service, National Education Association, Washington, D. C., and Executive Chairman, White House Conference on Rural Education “TROUBLE AT THE Crossrkoaps HOWARD A. DAWSON, Director of Rural Service, National Education Asso- ciation, Washington, D.C. Buitpinc THE Future or Rurat AMeRIca MURRAY D. LINCOLN, President, Cooperative League of the United States and Secretary, Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, Columbus, Ohio Berrer Rurav Epucarionat Orportunirigs—A Nationa Neep youN w. stupeBAKER, U. S, Commissioner of Education, Washington, ant. Second General Session THe Epucarion or Rurat CHILDREN AND Youttt FANNIE W. DUNN, Professor Emeritus, Teachers College, Columbia Uni- versity, New York, New York Buitpinc Coneatuniries THRU Eptucation cvrit w. Grace, President, State Teachers College, Mayville, North Dakota THe Rurat Cuitp ano THE CHILpREN’s BUREAU KATHARINE F. LENROOT, Chief, Children’s Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor, Washington, D.C. Pane, Discussion: Buttpinc Rurat ScHoorts anp ComMMUNITIES TO Cope with THe ProspLenis or Tomorrow INvorMAL REMARKS FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT Third General Session Epucation To Meer THE Neeps oF Rurat CHILprRen Report of Group I—kaTe v. worrorp, Chairman, Director of Rural Education, State Teachers College, Buffalo, New York [7 | Pace Epucation ror Comatunity Living rs Rurav Areas 129 Report of Group Il—-rrank w. Cyr, Chairman, Professor of Education in Charge of Rural Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York Tue Score or tHE Rurar-Scroot Program Report of Group Il1|—towakp y. Me ctusky, Chairman, Assistant to the Vice President, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan Prosp_eMs OF THE PROFESSIONAL PERSONNEL FoR Rurat Epucation Report of Group IV—k. 0. Broapy, Chairman, Director, University Extension Division, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska Tue OrGANIzaTION AND ADMINISTRATION OF RuraL EpucaTtion Report of Group V—yuctan £. BuTTERWoRTH, Chairman, Professor of Rural Education, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, and avstix rk. MEADOWS, Director, Division of Administration and Finance, State Department of Education, Montgomery, Alabama Fourth General Session THe Rurac Epucarionat PLANT ano EQUIPMENT Report of Group VI—r. c. nory, Chairman, Director, Bureau of Edu- cational Research, College of Education, Ohio State University, Co- lumbus, Ohio EpucaTion oF Minority AND SpeciAL Groups IN Ruravt AREAS Report of Group VII—rrep Me curstion, Chairman, Assistant Director, General Education Board, New York, New York SrectAL ProstemMs IN ProvipiNGc INsTRUCTIONAL OpporTUNITIES. IN Rurat ScHoots Report of Group VII[—sarton morcan, Chairman, Head, Department of Vocational Education, lowa State College, Ames, lowa Payinc ror Rurat Epucation Report of Group [IX—t. B. Norton, Chairman, State Superintendent of Education, Montgomery, Alabama Rurat Epucation IN THE STRUCTURE OF Democracy Report of Group X—pb. £. LINpstromM, Chairman, Professor of Rural Sociology, and Extension Sociologist, College of Agriculture, Univer- sity of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois SUMMARY STATEMENTS OF THE CONFERENCE [.—raLpn B. jones, State Commissioner, Department of Education, Little Rock, Arkansas Il.—mrs. RAYMOND sAykE, Regional Director of Midwest, Associated Women of American Farm Bureau Federation, Ackworth, lowa CLOSING THE CONFERENCE ELEANOR ROOSEVELT APPRECIATION Appendix Membership of Conference Groups Suggested Readings Radio Broadcasts Program of the Conference Index FOREWORD WO HUNDRED AND THIRTY LEADERS in education, government, labor, industry, and agriculture from forty-three states gathered in Wash- ington October 3, 4, and 5, 1944, upon invitation from the Presi- dent and Mrs. Roosevelt, for the first White House Conference on Rural Education. Scores of letters from those who were present, as well as from numerous others interested in our rural schools, appraise this Conference as a great milestone in the history of education. Four general sessions were held in the White House with Mrs. Roosevelt in attendanee thruout the meetings. In addition, the Conference, divided into ten groups, each under the leadership of a chairman and two recorders, met during three evening sessions at the headquarters building of the National Education Association. At the evening sessions, these ten groups discussed the outstanding problems confronting rural education, assigned in advance to them, and drafted reports and recommendations for the solution of these problems. The Conference was called, planned, and directed by three divisions of the National Education Association, and was financed by a modest ap- propriation to the Department of Rural Education from the War and Peace Fund of the Association. The delegates paid their own expenses. Since the officers of the Conference did not feel equal to the difficult task of choosing from several thousand people eligible in every way to at- tend this meeting, they called upon 159 leaders thruout the country in July to send in names of men and women working in all phases of rural educa- tion, lay and professional, and to state the ten outstanding problems facing the rural schools that are publicly controlled and publicly supported. The response was immediate and almost overwhelming. Out of the 750 names submitted, only 230 men and women could be selected because of the capacity of the East Room of the White House and the Wartime Secret Service Regulations governing such conferences. Again, the ofhcers of the Conference felt the need of help and invited several well-known leaders in rural education to come to the NEA head- quarters to assist in choosing the names to be sent to the White House, trom which the formal invitations were issued. This part of our work was diff- cult and heart-breaking, and consumed a week of our time, for so many were fully qualified to attend, and so few could be invited. The White House made no suggestions regarding either the persons to be invited or the problems they were to discuss. [9] Tue Wuite House ConrerENce These leaders, lay and professional, have long been familiar with the problems confronting rural education; they have worked for years toward the solution of them, and with a measure of success. For this reason, the conferees were able in record-breaking time to reach their conclusions in their group discussions and to record them for definite, future use. The White House meeting gave the much-needed opportunity to dramatize these problems for millions of people who either were uninformed about them, or, worse, were indifferent to their solution. Not only members of this Conference but also friends of education every- where were heartened by the friendly, significant statement of President Roosevelt that we must lay plans now “for the peacetime establishment of our educational system on a better basis than we have ever known before,” and that “the federal government should render financial aid where it is needed, and only where it is needed.” This statement in regard to federal aid, the Presicient also made in 1938 to the annual convention of the National Education Association held in New York City. On numerous occasions thruout the years, Mrs. Roosevelt has advocated federal financial assistance and leadership in the solution of our educational problems. One of the dynamic cutcomes of this Conference included in this volume is. the Charter for the Education of Rural Children which is the work of so many that no attempt is made to name them here. Sugeestions have been offered by many persons that the Charter be framed and hung in every schoolhouse in the land, from the one-room rural school to the highest university. Further, it has been suggested that October 4 be set aside, in the rural schools particularly, for a community program on rural education, in which students, teachers, and parents may become familiar year by vear with the goals set up for the betterment of our rural schools, and in which plans may be made to reach them. Simple and reasonable as these goals are, it will take years of under- standing, cooperative effort on the part of laymen and educators to attain them. As a beginning toward that end, a number of regional and state conferences are now being planned around the discussions, reports, and recommendations of this first White House Conference on Rural Educa- tion. If faithful, unremitting work is done in accordance with the program of action laid down by this Conference, we can hope to see tremendous progress in rural education within the next ten years. CHARL ORMOND WILLIAMS Executive Chairman White House Conference on Rural Education INTRODUCTION AM GLAD to have this opportunity to write a few words of introduction to this volume which records the proceedings of the three-day Con- terence on Rural Education held in the White House in October 1944. Needless to say, it was a source of great satisfaction both to the President and to me that the historic East Room could be used for this purpose since we feel that rural education is of such great importance in the com- ing vears. Our increase in population is in the rural areas and yet these areas have less taxable values than the urban centers and, therefore, many children are penalized by having to accept poorer schools and poorer teachers than they would have in a city. Education, of course, is not completely: given in schools and for that reason many a man brought up in the country, in looking back on his early years, will feel that taken as a whole his education has better fitted him for life than if he had had more academic, cultural, and vocational opportunities. Rural children develop character and endurance at an early age and they also learn a little about a great many things, which gives them a greater opportunity to decide what are the things they want to know more about. Many may think that the city children have even greater ‘riety in their environment but as a matter of fact the background of the country child is nearly always a richer and more satisfying youthful existence. There is no use denying, however, that our-.schools in rural areas do not provide all that modern schools can give in preparation for earning a living as well as for the enjoyment of life in this extremely complex world. Farm organizations have done a certain amount to interest rural young people in farm work and in farm homemaking but they seem to me to have very little imagination when it comes to helping prepare the young people in making good ina city where so many of them must go. In addi- tion, most of them seem to have a very smug and satisfied attitude as to their achievements and I have never known any organization that had that attitude that was really striving to move forward and give its members all the opportunities which our new and changing civilization makes available. To use just one example—cooperatives should be part of the school life of every rural school and yet you do not find them set up and training ae watsrecvpezlle eS ony “We ought to give equality of education to every child in this country, | have learned it going thru the wards of hospitals. 1 hope that in the future it will move every one of us to see that we really work for this; work for it just as hard as we know how and get the backing of all the people we can possibly get in our communities. BEST COPY AVAILABLE EveaNnor Roostvert: INTRODUCTION children to work in them in the rural schools as a rule. This is left until the end of the school period and they have to discover gradually for them selves that much of their future comfort in life is going to depend on knowing how to cooperate for their mutual benefit The recommendations which were made by the panels of this Con ference touch on many subjects. The Charter which was worked out will, | hope, become the document used as a signpost to the future. \s we set ourselves « ich i’ il, We ought te check if AWAINS the objectives worked cut by this Conterence | think federal and will be necded to wccomp lish many of thes desired results, but once it ts understood that this aid shall be given without any atrings tied to it except living up to cerhain minimum st ind rds, ] think “ should have no i irther Opposition trom peoprle who really Wahl Progress It is in the inmteresi of clemocracy ind the preservation of our country that we hight for the improvement of our rural schools ELEANOR ROOSEVELT Ww Ww Ww Ww A CHARTER OF EDUCATION FOR RURAL CHILDREN THE FIRST WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON RURAL EDU- CATION PRESENTS THE FOLLOWING AS THE EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS OF EVERY RURAL CHILD AND PLEDGES ITSELF TO WORK "OR THEIR ACHIEVEMENT— | Every rural child has the right to a satisfactory, modern elemen- tary education. This education should be such as to guarantee the child an opportunity to develop and maintain a healthy body and a balanced personality, to acquire the skills needed as tools of learning, to get a good start in understanding and appreciating the natural and social world, to participate happily and helpfully in home and com- munity life, co work and play with others, and to enjoy and use music, art, literature, and handicrafts. I] Every rural child has the right to a satisfactory, modern sec ondary education. This education should assure the youth con- tinued progress in his general physical, social, civic, and cultural development begun in the elementary school, and provide initial train- ing for farming or other occupations and an open door to college and the professions. II] Every rural child has the right to an educational program that bridges the gap between home and school, and bet ween school and adult life. This program requires, on the one hand, cooperation with parents for the home education of children too young for school and for the joint educational guidance by home and school of all other children; and, on the other hand, the cooperative development of cul- tural and vocational aduit education suited to the needs and desires of the people of the community. LV Every rural child has the right thru bis school to bealth services educational and vocational guidance, library facilities, recrea- tional activities, and, where needed, school lunches and pupil trans- portation facilities at public expense. Such special services, because they require the employment of specially qualified personnel, can be supplied most easily thru enlarged units of school administration and the cooperation of several small schools. V Every rural child has the right to teachers, supervisors, and administrators who know rural life and who are educated to deal effectively with the problems peculiar to rural schools. Persons so educated should hold state certificates that set forth their special qualifications, should be paid adequate salaries, and should be given by law and fair practices security in their positions as a reward for good and faithful services. The accomplishment of these objectives is the responsibility of local leadership, state departments of education, the teacher education institutions, and national leaders in rural edu- cation, Vi Every rural child bas the right to educational service and guidance during the entire year and full-time attendance in a school that is open for not less than nine months in each year for at least twelve years. The educational development of children during vacation time is also a responsibility of the community school. In many communities the period of schooling has already become fourteen years and should become such in all communities as rapidly as possible. Vil Every rural child bas the right to attend school in a satis- factory, modern building. The building should be attrac- tive, clean, sanitary, safe, conducive to good health, equipped with materials and apparatus essential to the best teaching, planned as a community center, and surrounded by ample space for playgrounds, gardens, landscaping, and beautification. Vill Every rural child has the right thru the school to partici- pate in community life and culture. For effective service the school plant must be planned and recognized as a center of com- munity activity; the closest possible interrelationships should be main- tained between the school and other community agencies; and children and youth should be recognized as active participants in community affairs. I Every rural child has the right to a local school system suf- ficiently strong to provide all the services required for a modern education. Obtaining such a school system depends upon organizing amply large units of school administration. Such units do not necessarily result in large schools. Large schools can provide broad educational opportunities more economically, but with special efforts small schools can well serve rural children and communities. p 4 Every rural child has the right to bave the tax resources of bis community, state, and nation used to guarantee him an American standard of educational opportunity. This right must include equality of opportunity for minority and low economy groups. Since many rural youth become urban producers and conspmers, it is necessary for the development of the democratic ife that the wealth and productivity of the entire nation shoul the support of the right of every child to a good education. THESE ARE THE RIGHTS OF THE RURAL CHILD BECAUSE THEY ARE THE RIGHTS OF EVERY CHILD REGARDLESS OF RACE, OR COLOR, OR SITUATION, WHEREVER HE MAY LIVE UNDER THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, - Ww Ww Ww USES OF THE CHARTER* HE CHARTER OF EDUCATION FOR RURAL CHILOREN, formulated by the White House Conference on Rural Education, can become a chart tor both guiding and evaluating the future progress of rural educa- tion, or it can be relegated to the realm of interesting but unrealistic and wishful thinking. This Charter sets forth an educational bill of rights for the rural child which must be fought for and defended. The following Activities suggest a few ways thru which the rights set forth in the Charter can be made a reality for the bovs and girls of our open country and villages. t. State departments of education and state education associations can call! statewide conferences of laymen and educators wherein the Charter can be used as a basis for discussion and for the development of programs of action State departments of education and state education associations can issue materials to show the importance within the state of each item emphasized in the Charter, to indicate what needs vet to be done to make these rights a reality, and to point the way to lines of attack for achieving improvements ?. Parent-teacher associations, farm bureaus, granges, associations of unt ersity women, and other women’s and farm organizations can plan a series of programs, each concerned with one of the rights emphasized in the Charter Chese programs to be effective should be guided by fact sheets, question-answer materials, and similar documents prepared in advance by the educational institu tions of the state 4 Teachers colleges, universities, and other institutions of higher education can use the Charter for studying the needs of rural children, for redetermining what objectives and problems of education are common to all schools, and which ones are peculiar to rural schools generally or to those of specific com munities, and for developing ways and means of training teachers who can best serve the educational needs of rural children 5. Both urban and rural high-school classes can use the Charter as a basis for discussing whether or not they agree that the rights asserted in the Charter are valid, for determining to what degree these rights are provided to the rural children, and for studying the importance of good rural education to the social and economic welfare of their state and nation 6. The Charter should become available to all schools, higher, secondary. and elementary. It should not only be prominently displayed in such schools but made the basis for annual rural education day exercises as a part of Ameri can Education Week. *Upon the request of the chairman and ¢ i in, this section was. written by Walter Hl. Gaumnitz, Sensor Specialist in Rural Polus Othee of Fdueation FIRST GENERAL SESSION Wednesday morning, October 4 The White House Presiding KATE V. WOFFORD Director of Rural Education, State Teachers College Buffalo, New York Thousands of classrooms in rural communities of low economic resources are poorly equipped and unattractive. Such schoolrooms are not the kind that rural children should have, but the one pictured 1s even better than thousands do have. Bright children, such as these, deserve far better opportunities in America. BEST COPY AVAILABLE INTRODUCTORY REMARKS KATE V. WOFFORD E ARE ALL AWARE, | think, of the common problems which bring us together in this historic East Room in the White House, The crisis in rural education is well known to each of us. There is not a person in this carefully selected group of people who is not well acquainted with the difficulties which beset the education of rural children, and with the efforts attempted in the past to resolve them. Problems in rural education are chronic, always present and pressing, but the war has made them so acute and serious that our whole system of education has been threatened. It is the seriousness of the situation that has motivated the call which has brought us together for common counsel. By the accept- ance of this call we accept at the same time the responsibilities attendant upon it. May we in our common concern for rural children meet these responsibilities well, with a sort of solemn pride in the magnitude of the task thus assigned to us! In his essay on self-reliance, Emerson says that institutions are the lengthened shadows of individuals, and the statement is true. If we could trace the history of any institution back far enough, we would find its source in a human heart. Churches, schools, asylums, and hospitals, and all other institutions whose aim is the protection of the weak or the pro- motion of the strong, have had their beginnings in somebody’s interest and enthusiasm. However, lengthening one’s shadow depends upon more than interest and enthusiasm. C..e must be, at the same time, in tune with one’s times. To be able to sense and interpret needs and to meet them in harmony with the times that created them is to be a truly effective person. On the other hand, effective people are highly intelligent as well as sensitive, for the real test of effectiveness may lie in the ability to chart new paths or even to discover new ways of doing old things. However, enthusiasm, sensitiveness to needs, and intelligence may be- come as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal if moral courage is not present—the sort of courage that helps one to accept criticism objectively and to proceed steadfastly in the face of it. Sometimes in one person all of these forces are happily met and then greatness touches him. To be in- terested and enthusiastic, to be in tune with the times, and to be intelligent [19] Tue Wuite House ConrERENCE and courageous about them.mark a person as great enough to leave impres- sions on his era or even upon his century. When the history of our era is written the shadow of our first speaker will be revealed as long and inspiring. There is scarcely an institution or a movement in this, our day, that has not felt the warming influence of her generous spirit. The problems of women and children, of minorities, and of underprivileged groups are a few of the many tensions im our American life to which she has given the vigor of her leadership. It is a happy day for rural children that this Conference can be opened by one who is sensitive to their needs and thus lends her assistance in centering the attention of a nation upon them. In the history of this country we have had many outstanding first ladies. None, however, has earned the title more deservedly than our first speaker. It is hers because of her fine social philosophy and her ability to translate it into great and noble deeds. Ladies and gentlemen, I am privileged to present to you, Eleanor Roose- velt, author, former teacher, humanitarian—our first lady in fact as well as in honor, who will officially open the White House Conference on Rural Education. OPENING THE CONFERENCE ELEANOR ROOSEVELT PEAKING FOR THE PRESIDENT as well as myself, | wish to welcome to the White House the members of this Conference, most of whom have traveled with considerable difficulty and expense from the four corners of our country to discuss a question of great importance to all the people. At a moment like this, | am reminded of other significant gatherings in the East Room during the years past. Some of these meetings were called to discuss matters of worldwide import. Great decisions have been made within these walls. Other groups have come here to deliberate on matters which affected the nation alone. Judging from your plans which I have seen from time to time as they have developed, and the program you have proposed for your three-day meeting here, you ought to be able to go from this Conference fortified with a knowledge of the conditions and the needs of rural education that will be very useful in the years ahead. For a long number of years I have come in contact with young people who have come thru our schools, and with far too many whose school- ing ‘was cut short in their early years. In many instances, the former did not seem prepared to take the next step in life with confidence. The latter were hopelessly stopped in their tracks. Those who came from the rural schools seemed to labor under the greatest handicaps. The real reason for this Conference is that many of our rural-school children have labored under difficulties which must be made known to the people. It is important that more people, in city and country, know the facts so that they will back up the plans made here by those who already know them, and have known them for years. I hope that out of this Conference much good may come. BACKGROUND OF THE CONFERENCE CHARL ORMOND WILLIAMS Director of Field Service, National Education Association, Washington, D. C., and Executive Chairman, White House Conference on Rural Education N THE YEARS To CoME, the first half of the Twentieth Century will be designated as an era in which serious and devoted thought was given to every phase of child welfare. During this period four conferences, called at ten-year intervals by the President of the United States to con- sider some phase of the care of children, stand as veritable milestones of progress. Each of these conferences was free from governmental direction and included several hundred persons, representing every geographical area and all varieties of experience and opinion. These conferences were nonpartisan and nonpolitical, and made far-reaching recommendations which have changed policy and action in their respective fields. The White House Conference now in session to consider, specifically, education of rural children and youth is a worthy successor to its four historic predecessors. There is every hope that it, too, will leave its foct- prints on the sands of time. The first of the four famous conferences was held in 1909, and was called the White House Conference on the Care of Dependent Children. Insti- gated by a young lawyer with personal knowledge of the orphanages in the District of Columbia, this conference was democratic and American. In December 1908, nine persons well known in child welfare work in New York, Chicago, and Boston joined in a letter to the President, request- ing him to call such a conference. President Theodore Roosevelt not only invited two hundred persons to join in this enterprise, but also submitted nine propositions for consideration and action. The recommendations of that conference were far-reaching, but limita- tions of time will not permit the listing of them here. It must be recorded, however, that a new concept was developed concerning the care of de- pendent children. Out of the interest aroused by this conference and other agencies, the Children’s Bureau in the Department of Labor was estab- lished in 1912. Within the next decade, the widows’ pension movement swept the country. During World War I the newly created Children’s Bureau engaged itself in protecting standards already established in welfare and health [ 22 ] WicuaMs: Backcrounp or CONFERENCE 23 of children. At the Bureau's suggestion, and with President Wilson's approval, America’s second year in the war was designated as Children’s Year; and at the conclusion of that year, the Bureau called a Conference on Child Welfare Standards, with expenses defrayed by an allotment from the President’s Fund. This conference consisted of a series of meetings, the first of which was held in Washington in May 1919 and was followed by meetings in eight leading cities of the country. Coming on the heels of the work of appropriate committees, this con ference presented a very specific and comprehensive statement of health standards for maternity, infants and preschool children, school children, and adolescent children. The 1919 conference without doubt was the open ing phase of a movement which culminated in the enactment of the Sheppard-Towner Bill in 1921, providing for contributions by the federal government to the development of facilities thruout the country for the better protection of maternity and infancy. The White House Conference on Child Health and Protection was called in July 1929 by President Hoover “to study the present status of the health and well-being of the children of the United States and its possessions; to report what is being done; to recommend what ought to be done and how to do it.” That conference, in addition to covering the subjects of the two former conferences, included also “all children in their total aspects, including those social and environmental factors which are influencing modern childhood.” With a half-million dollars in resources, each committee and many subcommittees outlined fields of research and prepared reports, devoting, according to the report, sixteen months “to study, research, and fact-finding on the part of 1,200 experts, constituting nearly 150 different subcommittees.” The entire conference assembled in Washington in November 1930, with 3000 in attendance, and considered the substantial confidential volume of 643 pages. In 1931 a general volume was published, including some of the addresses at the conference, abstracts of reports, lists of committee members, and a Children’s Charter. This Charter was widely distributed in printed form, and, tho general in nature, served an extremely useful function. The final reports appeared over a period of several years. They consist of a series of thirty-two volumes with 10,511 printed pages—a four-foot shelf of books. 24 THe Wutte House Conference With the cooperation of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Conference on Children in a Democracy was called in initial session in April 1939 by a group of persons, headed by the chief of the Children’s Bureau. With neither time nor resources for a program of original research, such as thet of 1929-30, this conference was organized thru the stages of a planning committee, a committee on organization, and a committee on report. A modest sum was available and a small research staff collected and co- ordinated existing information and prepared a series of reports on various pertinent subjects. Five hundred members met in Washington for this conterence. The Conference on Children in a Democracy sought to make a comprehensive statement of facts as to what had happened to children in America during the 1930's and to develop a program of activities, ade- quate and suited to deal with these needs during the 1940's. The major publications issued were the papers and discussions of the initial session (1939); the General Report (i940), a volume of 85 pages, including 98 recommendations; and a Final Report (1940) of 392 pages. These reports focused largely on a program of action on the problems considered by the 1919 conference, with increasing emphasis on the neces- sity of participation by local, state, and federal government in order to make preventive and curative health service available to the entire popu- lation. When asked by an editor what he thought was the finest thing that had happened in the world recently, Owen D. Young, who had no part in the 1939 conference, said: “The intelligence, courage, and sympathy with which the recent White House Conference faced the problems of children in a democracy. In spite of the conditions which it revealed, the conference should inspire us with gratitude and cheerfulness. If its recommendations are adequately supported we shall make this country a more promising and hopeful place for all our children.” In expressing his regret that he could not attend the White House Con- ference on Rural Education now in session, Mr. Young stated that he was deeply interested in this great problem facing the nation and that he was proud to serve as an honorary chairman. The information concerning the four preceding conferences was ob- tained from an article written by Mr. Homer Folks for the November 1940 issue of the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. The present 1944 Conference, invited by President and Mrs. Roosevelt i 44 j WivuraMs: Backcrounp or CONFERENCE 25 to hold its general sessions in the White House, demonstrates anew their keen interest in underprivileged children thruout the nation and resembles the preceding conferences in that it is entirely free from governmental direction. It differs, however, from these other conferences in certain respects that should be emphasized. First, it is not being financed by either government funds or grants from private sources. The loyal and patriotic teachers of the nation are paying for this meeting from the NEA War and Peace Fund which they contributed—many from meager salaries—during the past two years, in order that the level of educational opportunity in their beloved country might be raised everywhere to cope with the unprecedented responsibili- ties lacing the coming generations, Second, this Conference is not called by any government agency but by three divisions of the National Education Association of the United States. The divisions of Field Service, Rural Service, and Legislation and Federal Relations have called, planned, and directed this White House Conference on Rural Education from beginning to end. Those in charge of the planning gratefully acknowledge the assistance generously extended by the Children’s Bureau of the Department of Labor; by the United States Office of Education of the Federal Security Agency; by the United States Department of Agriculture; by the United States Bureau of the Budget, as well as by private foundations. In addition, many leaders—men and women—in farm organizations and the farm press, in industry and labor, as well as education have above all given encourage- ment to go ahead, to say nothing of valuable suggestions which in every case have been incorporated into the program of speeches, reports, and action which is to follow. Third, this Conference is devoted entirely to education of rural children and youth and the conditions, factors, and agencies relating thereto. City teachers everywhere who are the major contributors to the War and Peace Fund, even tho they are not in attendance here, will rejoice to see rural education have its day in the sun thru this historic Conference. How this Conference came to be organized is a questidf that has been asked of me by newspaper and magazine writers as well as by numbers of those persons who are present today. Some of you know of the years I devoted to rural education before joining the staff of the National Edu- cation Association. You may also have heard of the meeting held in Wash- THe Witt Hovse ConrERENCE ington on June 14, 1944, Known as the White House Conference on How Women May Share in Post-War Policy-Making. This conference was catled by representatives of four organizations to consider a statement previously made by Mrs. Roosevelt to the effect that “women should serve on all commissions that are appointed as an outgrowth of this global war.” That conference, representing seventy-five organizations and including many other women whose interest in this field was well known, also made history. The Roster of Qualified Women to serve on such commissions the major proposal of that «onference—caught the imagination of those in attendance and of thousands thruout the nation as well as the press, and is now in process of preparation. When finally completed this roster will be presented to high government officials for their use when the appointment of women to these commissions comes up for consideration. The idea ot this Conference on rural education first occurred to me on the morning of June 13, when the last chore for the women’s con ference had been done. I lost no time in asking Mrs. Roosevelt for her cooperation. In the few minutes we had in her study on the following morning before that conference began its deliberations, I briefly presented the proposal to her. She gave her assent and said at the close of the day that we would meet at an early moment to talk it over. That moment did not come as soon as I had hoped, for I had to attend both major political party conventions in an effort to have incorporated into their respective plattorms a plank on education. Three smaller intervening conventions absorbed the rest of my time. It goes without saying that Mrs. Roosevelt was not idle during these weeks. On the morning of June 13, I took into my confidence Mr. Howard A. Dawson who, Lefore he departed for a three weeks’ trip to the Northwest, gave his complete approval and cooperation. On the way out to the first convention in Chicago, Mr. Glenn Archer of Kansas, the NEA staff member who was assigned to cover the political conventions with me, urged that we talk over this Conference with Mr. Irving Pearson of Illinois, who would meet us there to help with the edu- cation planks in both political parties. This was an opportunity not to be overlooked. It so happened that the initial plans for this Conference were made as Mr. Pearson and I sat in the mezzanine section of the Republican National Convention. There he introduced numerous people to me, among them Mr. John Strohm and Mr. E, Jerry Walker, both of Illinois, to whom we Wiittams: Backcrounp or ConreRENct presented the idea of a conterence. Their enthusiasm was spontancous and their cooperation to date has been complete and whole-hearted. Here I should like to state that we are indebted to Mr. Walker for the presence of Mr. Burton Carter, who is recording this Conference for posterity by wire. Later on, I talked briefly with Mr. Edward A. O'Neal and Mrs. Charles W. Sewell, as well as other important people. The titles of these persons I have mentioned are either given in the program itself or listed umong our honorary chairmen. If these people holding responsible positions of national leadership had not extended promises of full cooperation in this enterprise, it 1s very likely that this Conference would not have been called. Those of us who could, met in the Hotel Morrison between convention sessions and wrote out in detail the plans for this gathering which you will find in your program. We called into consultation Mr. Martin Moe of Montana and Mr, Edward H. Scullken of Illinois who had attended two of the previous White House conferences. Their suggestions were valuable and we have made use of them. The general outline of the Con ference was wired and later written to Mrs. Roosevelt. At the convention of the National Education Association at Pittsburgh, following the Republican Convention, I spoke, at Mr. Dawson's request, to the Executive Committee of the Department of Rural Education, and 1 resolution of approval and support followed. Later, at Mr. Pearson's request, I presented the plans to the secretaries of the forty-eight state education associations, with similar results. Sull later, the story of what we proposed was submitted the state directors of the National Education Association at their first meeting at our headquarters building in Wash ington. The Executive Committee of the Association then took action unanimously approving and supporting the Conference. It was understood in all our deliberations that these plans were tcatative until they could be shown to Mrs. Roosevelt. That opportunity came during an overnight visit to Hyde Park on August 8, when I presented to her in a three-page typewritten memorandum the decisions that had been reached. Our presence here today is eloquent testimony to the fine spirit in which Mis. Roosevelt received the result of our labors. From the first time that this Conference occurred to me, it was my hope that the speeches and recommendations made on these two days should not die with their echoes in this famous East Room of the White House. With that in mind, we have planned for a comprehensive volume of pro- THe Wurre House Conrerence ceedings, of which the reports of the ten groups of the Conference under the leadership of Mr. Dawson will be a significant part. Plans are already being formulated for the nationwide distribution, study, and use of this volume and for regional, state, and local conferences to be held thruout this country around the conclusions reached by this gathering. It is not for me in the initial hour of this meeting to anticipate the recommendations which will be made by the 230 experts in rural educa tion—lay and professional—representing forty-three states in every section of the country. that these conclusions will be as far-reaching and as effec tive as those enunciated by the four previous White House conferences, I have not the shadow of a doubt. Neither is it for me to discuss the problems that face rural education today—problems that have faced rural education for decades. Those who come after me on this program will leave no room for doubt that, in the schools which 50 percent of the nation’s children attend and in which 52 percent of the teachers are employed, a plan of action, effective and far- reaching, must be undertaken. I cannot close my remarks without expressing my deep and abiding appreciation to Eleanor Roosevelt, without whose cooperation and vision this Conference could not have been held, and to our great President— my friend of iong standing—Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose talk to us this afternoon will give significance to the cause to which this group of men and women have devoted their lives. TROUBLE AT THE CROSSROADS HOWARD A. DAWSON Director of Rural Service, National Education Association Washington, D.C. HE MAyoR PURPOSE of this Conference is to consider the principal problems of public schools in the rural areas of the United States and to propose practical solutions to these problems, I conceive it to be my duty to present briefly and succinctly a picture of the present situation in rural education, to throw the spotlight on the sources of trouble, and to indicate for your consideration what some of the solutions may be. Rural Education, a Major Enterprise The public schools in the rural areas of the United States constitute a major enterprise. They affect intimately the 43.4 percent of our people who live in rural areas, about 31 million on the farms and about 27 million in the villages not exceeding 2500 population. They enrol over 12,100,000 pupils, or about 48 percent of all public-school pupils in the nation. They employ 451,661, or 52 percent of the nation’s teachers. They have 189,062, or about 83 percent of all school buildings in the nation. They expend a total of about $900,000,000 annually, and have property with an estimated value of $2,250,000,000. In charge of the rural schools are approximately 5000 local superin- tendents and principals, 1000 supervisors, and 3400 superintendents of larger administrative units, such as the county or the supervisory district. Gver 35,000 schools in normal times are served by school buses for the transportation of pupils. In all over 4.1 million pupils are transported daily in approximately 93,000 buses at a total annual cost of nearly 7o million dollars. About go percent of all pupil transportation is for rural pupils. During the decade before the war, the number of pupils transported more than doubled. Unequal Advantages for Rural Children It can be categorically stated that many of the best and most of the poorest schools in the nation are found in our rural areas. When, how- ever, rural schools as a class are compared with urban schools as a class [ 29 | 20 The Were House Conrerence it is an inescapable conclusion that millions of rural children are seriously handicapped in the educational opportunities available to them. Altho the rural children of school age constitute more than half of such children in the nation, they have only 38 percent of the available funds for the support of schools. The average salary of rural-school teachers is $67 as compared to $1937 for urban teachers. Total expenditures per pupil in average daily attend- ance in rural schools is only $86 as compared to $124 in urban schools. The estimated value of school property per pupil in rural areas is only $185 as compared to $405 in urban areas. Largely as a result of inadequate salaries for teachers the rural schools get the teachers with the least amount of education for their jobs and the least experience. Nearly 60 percent of all teachers in rural elementary schools having one or two teachers have had less than two years of educa- tion beyoad high school. This percentage can be compared with 30 per- cent for teachers in three-teacher schools; 20 percent, in villages under 2500 population; and 10 percent, in cities over 2500 population. High-school education has by no means yet become universal among the rural farm youth. For ihe group sixteen and seventeen years of age only 56.5 percent were in school in 1940 as compared to 75.6 percent of urban youth of this same age group. There is a very wide difference among the states in the percentage of native white rural farm youth sixteen and seventeen years old attending school, the range being from only 32.2 per- cent in Kentucky to 87.5 percent in Utah, To a large extent the rural schools are small institutions, over a third of the pupils being ‘enrolled in schools having only one or two teachers. There are still about 10,000 one-teacher schools, the number having gradually been reduced from about 200,000 in 1916 and about 131,000 in 1926. These schools enrol about 2.25 million children. There are about 25,000 twe-teacher schools enrolling about 1.3 million children. The typical school among the 17,600 rural high schools enrolling more than 2.2 million pupils has only about 100 pupils in attendance. These small schools present three problems that have not been met to a large extent: (1) they result in excessively high per pupil cests; (2) they usually offer very limited and _ restricted instructional opportunities; (3) the teachers usually are not adequately trained to deal with the com- plicated problems of teaching in small schools. The most significant aspects of inequalities of educational opportunities Dawson: Troupe at Crossroaps 31 cannot be described by mere statistical data. The best of our school systems have modern school buildings, well planned and equipped. In these schools are teachers well educated for the important work they have to do, work- ing with the aid of the best of instructional equipment, apparatus, material, and library facilities. On the other hand there are several million children attending school in mere shacks, using a few wornout, dirty textbBoks, taught by teachers who have not so much as completed a high-school education, and ofien no more than the eighth grade, without the aid of modern instructional materials or the assistance of competent aad sympa- thetic supervision. Practically all such schools are in rural areas of low economic resources. In at least one state a survey has shown that there are nearly 1500 schools without a building, school being conducted in abandoned tenant houses, in country churches, aad under brush arbors. It is estimated that 750,000 rural children of elementary-school age and a much larger number of children of high-school age were out of school in 1940. There is every reason to believe this is even larger now. Current Crisis in Rural Education Indeed, there is trouble at the crossroads, right at the door of the little red schoolhouse. Much of the trouble is not new; it is the result of chronic ills. It is true, however, that some of the trouble is in an acute stage at this time as a result of war conditions. During the last two years about 360,000 teachers, out of a total teaching force of about 900,000, were holding teaching positions they did not fill before the war. That rate of turnover is twice the prewar rate, and the rate of turnover in rural schools is at least twice that in urban schools. Nearly 70,000 teachers have entered the military services during the last two years; nearly 62,000 have enteréd industry and similar nonteaching employment; 13,000 classrooms were vacant last year because teachers could not be found; some 17,000 teaching positions were abolished as a result of overcrowding classes, abolishing subjects, and closing schools, and at least 1800 departments of vocational agriculture have been closed or are unable te get teachers since the war began; and over 50,000 persons are teaching on emergency certificates. The rural schools have suffered most from these conditions. City-school systems have managed to maintain their staffs by recruiting the best teachers from rural areas so that the country schools, which have never THe Wuire House Conrerence had a sufhcient number of well-trained teachers, are bearing the brunt of the current crisis. In view of the fact that the teachers colleges and normal schools have during the past three years lost well over half the number of their prewar enrolments, the reduction being from 175,000 to 72,000, the outlook for an adequate number of expert teachers for rural schools in the immediate future is not very promising. Thus we find educational opportunity being drastically curtailed for more than 50 percent of the nation’s children who live on farms or in towns of less than 2500 population, where teacher shortage is felt most keenly. This is happening at a time when the expansion of educational facilities is urgently needed so that young people may secure the founda- tions of a broad education that will prepare them to understand and defend democracy, to work efficiently in war industry, to increase food praduc- tion, to fight thru to victory, to furnish leadership and cooperation in the reconstruction period, and to succeed in the highly competitive labor market of the postwar years. Cause of the Current Crisis The origin of the current crisis in education is not so much a shortage of qualified persons to teach school as a shortage of funds to pay living wages to teachers, so as to meet the competition of the federal government and of private industry. Last year 254,000 teachers, largely rural, were paid annual salaries not to exceed $1200; 44,000 received not more than $600. Last year the annual average salary of all teachers was only $1550, while for rural teachers it was only $967. Their salaries can be compared to the annual salaries of federal employees, excluding military personnel, $2235, and to the average income from salaries and wages of employees in manu facturing industries, $2363. The cost of living during the war period has increased 23 percent in cities and 38 percent in rural areas, but teachers’ salaries have increased on the average only 8 percent. The figures as to the increased cost of living are undoubtedly very conservative since the cost of food per capita has increased 88.2 percent since 1940. Chronic Troubles in Rural Education It is a well-known fact that in times of stress and strain the rural schools are atways the first to suffer. Fundamentally the reason is that there are Dawson: Trous_e At Crossroaps 33 weaknesses in the structure of rural education that are chronic and thus far have been permanent in altogether too many places. The troubles in rural education may be manifold, but nearly all of them can be allayed if proper attention 1s given to all of six problems which may be enumerated as follows: The character and scope of education in rural areas The equalizing of educational opportunities, especially for children of minority racial groups, children in areas of low economic resources, and children who are physically handicapped The teaching personnel Instructional materials, educational equipment, and the school plant The organization of local units of school administration and attend ance 6. Financing of rural schools. It should be observed at the outset that the degree of attainment of modern ideals as to the character and scope of education (item 1 above) needed and the securing of a fair degree of educational opportunity for all rural children (item 2 above) depends upon what is done about teach- ers, about the plant equipment and materials available to pupils and teachers, about the proper organization for administering the school pro- gram, and about making available the funds necessary to pay for schools (items 3 to 6 above). The Character of Rural Education It will no doubt be accepted without argument that the rural school program should be such as to attain the seven cardinal objectives of educa- tion: health, citizenship, worthy home membership, mastery of the funda- mental tool-subjects, vocational fittiess, avocational interests, and ethical character. But even if they are accepted philosophically, many schools fall far short of their attainment, It is too often tacitly accepted that the school is an institution for training children in subjectmatter that will enable them to climb the educational ladder to higher academic levels. The major purpose of education for rural children and youth is not the mere imparting of literacy and a regimen of certain essential knowledge and information, important as that is; it is to achieve and sustain a de- sirable level of cultural, ethical, and economic living. The rural school ought to be an institution whose program is indigenous to the needs of the pupils and to the community it serves. The broad social 34 Tue Wire House Conrerence and economic goals of education can be made real only in terms of the situations and needs of the children affected. The task of modern education is to adapt instruction to the abilities and capacities of pupils, to build on the environment in which they live, and to extend and enrich that environment. This idea does not mean that rural pupils are to be restricted in their learning to factors in their immediate environment, but it does mean that the content of the school work must be presented in terms of experiences that have meaning to the children affected. This point of view requires, on the one hand, a knowledge and under- standing of the community environment where the school operates, and, on the other hand, a comprehension of ideals and standards as to what constitutes a desirable community. A major problem of rural education is that of adopting instructional programs and procedures that will best contribute to a satisfactory way of individual and community living in rural areas. Ways and means should be devised and utilized for developing the abilities and attitudes needed by American citizens in taking their place in world affairs, in national affairs, and in regional and local affairs; for developing an under- standing and an evaluation of the rural environment; for creating a desire to conserve the characteristics and forces of rural life that are of value; for teaching the knowledge and skills needed to utilize technological instruments that will contribute to better rural living; and for discovering and coping with social and economic conditions affecting the lives of rural people. The Scope of Rural Education It is necessary that an adequate ideal as to the necessary scope of educa- tion for rural youth be not only widely accepted but also put into universal practice. Certainly the public schools in rural as well as urban areas should provide adequate educational opportunity for every child from the time he enters school until he is ready to take his place in adult society. Certainly under modeiu conditions educational opportunities thru public schools should begin at least in the kindergarten and extend thru the twelfth, or often thru the fourteenth, school year. On the elementary level the school program should foster activities that will insure the acquisition by the pupils of those basic skills, habits, atti- tudes, dispositions, ideals, and powers required of all members of organized ¢ f) / j J ’ ; chool dltend f 7 /e¢ lhere ws V forty o» More rural children for poorl, Paid, le va than $ YOO NO ¢ IM fortah]¢ ‘ CH Worn-out Lee Nev /s re Jour and some times live “ year, and poort, edu / 20 maps, clobe, } t f not CnNOuUGh Of them. desks and char; / ae aa fe » OF Pictures, Y AVAILABLE THe Wiutre House ConrereENCcE society. These activities should include the elementary mastery of the language and number arts, and thru them the reading, imaginative study, and appreciation of those human experiences given expression thru history, geography, social science, literature, art, music, and philosophy. In all cases the activities should be appropriate to the mental and physical development of the pupils. The high-school instructional program should be sufficiently broad in scope to meet the needs of the entire population of high-school ages. Cer- tainly this conception would call for much more than a mere academic course to prepare students to enter college. Certainly the minimum instruc- tional offering in high schools accommodating rural youth should include classes in English, one or more foreign languages, social studies, mathe- matics, natural sciences, home economics, agriculture, commercial subjects, trade training, music, art, health and physical education. A sufficient variety of classes should be conducted in each of these fields to meet the needs of the various pupils enrolled in the school. Equalization of Educational Opportunity The most unsatisfactory schools in the nation are usually those main- tained for Negroes in the rural areas of the states maintaining separate school systems, and often those attended by the Spanish American groups in the rural areas of the Southwest. Almost equally unsatisfactory are the rural schools tor children in the Southern mountains, in areas of depleted natural resources, such as the cutover areas of the Great Lakes region, and in the cotton belt wherever there are large numbers of sharecroppers and farm laborers. It is estimated that there are about one million children of school age in the families of migratory agricultural laborers. Many of these children do not attend any school, others attend only a short time at any one place. The school districts in which they find themselves usually assume little or no responsibility for their education. Few rural schools make adequate pro- visions for the special educational needs of children that are crippled, hard of hearing, deaf, suffering from defective eyesight, blind, defective in speech, mentally deficient, or otherwise handicapped. Siaies usually maintain state institutions for the worst handicapped, but they rarely reach those children who need special help rather than to be separated from their homes. Another source of unsatisfactory educational opportunity for many rural Dawson: Trous_e at Crossroaps 37 children is the lack of adequate instructional facilities in smail schools, many of which will be necessary because geographical conditions and low density of population make school consolidations impractical. Small schools can be good schools, but if they are they will be expensive. They can be good if they have specially qualified teachers and if such special facilities as circuit teachers of special subjects, bookmobiles, mobile shops, mobile health units, mobile units of visual aids equipment, and supervised correspondence study courses are made available. Under the ideals of American democracy there must be equality of educational opportunity which of course does not mean identical oppor- tunities for all. This ideal will never be attained until the states and the nation see to it that adequate, modern, American standard public schools are made available to these several million underprivileged rural American children. The Teaching Personnel None of the educational opportunities indicated here is possible except thru the services of competent teachers specially educated to teach in schools serving rural children. The rural teachers must be placed in a far more favorable professional, social, and economic position than they have had at any time in the past. Training standards need to be changed and increased as to time requirements. The character of training received must be such as to equip rural teachers to accomplish the fundamental job of rural education which has been herein described. State certification re- quirements must be made to reflect the kind and amount of training needed to protect rural children and the trained and qualified teachers against the impact of unqualified persons seeking employment in the rural schools. The economic and professional position of rural teachers is more insecure than that of any other class of teachers in the nation. Usually their tenure is uncertain and subject to the whims and personal interests of local school- board members who hold to the ancient doctrine of the right to hire and fire at will regardless of merit and who haven't the slightest conception of the modern philosophy and practice that faithful and competent em- ployees acquire a vested interest in their jobs. Rural teachers must come to occupy a recognized and stable place in the life of the community in which they live, Decent and secure living quar- ters are essential. Full participation in any and all essential community life 38 Tue Wuire House Conrerence and in public affairs is not only the right of the teacher but also a necessity to the public welfare. Plant, Equipment, and Instructional Material A modern educational program requires a school building that is planned and arranged to accommodate and facilitate the kind of instruc- tion needed by the pupils. For the safety and health of pupils and teachers modern equipment is needed. The teachers and pupils should be supplied with materials and apparatus necessary to rapid and effective learning. There is soon to be available from surplus war goods and materials paid for by the American people a vast amount of equipment, apparatus, and supplies that would be invaluable to the thousands of rural communities needing them. It remains to be seen, however, whether it will be possible for the schools in greatest need to receive the benefits of these surpluses. Reorganization of Local School Units The rural schools of the nation are administered on the local level thru over 100,000 local units or school districts. In 26 states the schools are organized on the basis of the local or common school district, at least 17 kinds of which are described in the statutes. Usually in rural farm areas each school constitutes a separate unit of administration with its own board of education and its own local taxes. Thousands of these districts employ only one or two teachers. Herein lies one of the most critical troubles in rural education. There are two fundamental problems in the reorganization of rural schools, the organization of larger administrative units and the consolida- tion of schools (reorganization of attendance units), These problems are quite distinct and in my opinion the first is now the most important. If the farmers and villagers of the country would set about to organize ade- quate administrative units for their schools, many of the other problems could be easily solved. It is not necessary and frequently not desirable to consolidate the schools of an area simultaneously with the creation of larger administrative units. There must be a fundamental reorganization of the administrative structure of rural education in a majority of the states. The present system of organization of most of our rural schools is archaic, the vestige of oxcart days, and is scarcely defensible on any grounds. I have no brief for any specific type of organization, county unit, community unit or otherwise, Dawson: Trousce Ar Crossroaps 39 except to say that the local unit of administration for rural areas must be large enough to furnish on the local level the administrative and super- visory services required for an adequate program of elementary and secondary education. Such an administrative unit for rural schools must usually be village centered. There is ample evidence that the minimum size of an efficient and economical school administrative unit is about 45 teachers and at least 1200 pupils, and that wherever geographic and fundamental sociological con- ditions permit, the unit should certainly be much larger than indicated by these figures. Rural schools most assuredly will have to be consolidated if adequate educational opportunities are to be made available at a reasonable cost. The educational isolationism of many rural people is a great detriment to human progress. Altogether too much of what is called democracy in school administration and local control is in the long run destructive of local control and is undemocratic in that the status quo is noncooperative and calculated to perpetuate unearned and socially detrimental vested interests. Financing Rural Schools Much of the trouble at the crossroads concerning rural schools is due to lack of adequate financial resources. This condition is due largely to one simple fact. Farm people are responsible for the care and education of some ye-percent of the nation’s children—yet farm income is only g to 12 percent of the national income. Conditions thruout the nation are quite variable. The farmers of the Southeast sections of the United States have 13.4 percent of the nation’s children of school age, five to seventeen, but only 2.2 percent of the national income. On the other hand, the nonfarm people of the Northeast have about 27 percent of the nation’s children and nearly 42 percent of the nation’s income. Only in the Northeast and in the Far West does the percent of the national income received by the farmers exceed the percent of the nation’s children reared by them. There is scarcely a state in which there are not impressive differences among the counties in the number of child:cn in proportion to the adult population and in the per capita income. Almost without exception the lower the income per capita the greater the proportionate number of chil- dren to be educated. Former United States Senator Josh Lee once facetiously said: “It looks like where the kids are the money ain't.” 40 THe Wire House Conrerence In general about 70 percent of the funds for school support come from general property taxes. About 63 percent come from local district property taxes. This situation means that about two-thirds of the funds for public schools come from one-third of the taxable resources of the nation, No other extensive public service is dependent to so large an extent upon the property tax for support. One of the results of large dependence upon local taxation for school support is an inequitable distribution of educational opportunity both within the states and among them. For the most part, the rural schools suffer most from this situation. The extreme differences in taxpaying ability and in educational oppor- tunities among the states and among the various local units within the respective states indicate conclusively that unless the nation and the states use their taxingy powers to raise revenues from wealth and income where they are, to spend for schools where the children are to be educated, several millions of American children will continue to be denied the education that ought to be considered their birthright. For the most part, the state should raise its revenue from sources other than taxes on general property and should utilize a highly diversified tax program with rates sufficiently flexible to guarantee stability of revenue in times of economic adversity. Of the many types of taxes that may be utilized, those most generally agreed upon as sound are taxes on personal incomes, corporate incomes, business privileges, luxuries, and natural products—minerals, timber, and the like—severed from the soil. The state should guarantee sufficient financial resources to each local school unit to maintain an acceptable and defensible minimum standard of educational opportunity. In determining the cost of the minimum program the state should take into account all the elements of a satisfactory program. Among the ele- ments that should receive special consideration are (a) the differential between the cost per pupil for elementary schools and high schools, (b) the cost of pupil transportation, and (c) the cost of rehousing rural pupils in the case of school consolidation. The state should preserve the legal right of tne local administrative unit to raise thru local taxes the revenue to support an educational program that exceeds the minimum guaranteed by the state. In this way local initiative can be protected and encouraged. But it will not be possible to obtain a proper degree of educational oppor- Dawson: Trouste at Crossroans 41 mans thewwr the Uowed States by devend solely upon state and local iii’ inancing of ucatpor Lhe tederal wovernn t must also bear a share the fina let Tk t public schools I here ' n modern American lite that lead to the me th (1) the mobility of n edu if onal | ™ rtunity ind within the st s; (4) the great differences among the the number of children im ratio to the adult population (s) the Nsuper ible differences in economic ability amor RN, the states to pay taxes result ne in meager funds for s hools in poor states im S| itc of eflort far exceeding thar ' her « | ; he . : i} tr: y | auinyg wt sof recner § ‘s arma (0) the superior tax-coi ng am ™ ; - } ’ " revenue distributing ability of the federal government The li tations of this dis ussion WV iH ner permit the cliscussion ot these 1 the support of public schools. The litera is tom re plete with evick nce to need it many of the essential factors making { urban differences in educational tederal aid necessary arise from rural an ; } | puraens ' MaUNCiAl TOMAITCES In making federal tunds available for assistance in the support of public schools the following criteria should be rupulously observed Federal aid should be allo cad 1 the states on an objective basis fective] ' ; | nm such manner as citectivel © lessen mequanties of educational opportunity among the states it aid should be used by the states for the equaliz ition of edu tional opportunity among their respective lo il communities ’ ’ , Federal aid should ! » administered as te sateguard state and local sutenomy in the 1d administration of the public schools Postwar School Building Construction The most probable point of federal financial assistance to public educa tion in the reconstruction and reconversion period follow ny the war is thru a public works program that will furnish funds for school buildings and equipme rt Rur il N\A hool le vers ind dmunistrators should pront iV the experience ot ine publi works program ot the 1gzyws They should now recogniz« h wt rur | sc hon ls received altogether too little benefits from THe Wurre House Conrerence the program for two reasons: (1) rural school district organization made it impossible to build schoolhouses when they were needed; and (2) the policy of matched grants resulted in excluding the most needy rural areas trom qualifying for grants. The program was essentially one of giving unto hom that hath.” State and local leaders should begin now to plan the reorganization of local school units and to secure the enactment of laws that will make pos sible and facilitate the reorganization of local school units in rural areas \ considerable amount of attention must be given to obtaining a policy of liberal, differential federal grants in proportion to local need for funds tor school building facilities Conclusion In conclusion, it can be said that the problems of rural education are by no means insuper ible. There is nothing involved that cannot be adequately oped with if public policy, state and national, makes available (1) the teaching personnel devoted to the education of rural children and equipped by education for that important work, (2) the leadership—national, state, ind lox | necessary to promote and operate the kind ot schools needed, ud (2) the financial resources necessary to maintain adequate educa tional opportunities I, for one, believe that the rural schools are a fundamental and indis pensable means of building and maintaining in America the most glorious rural life anwwhere in the world BUILDING THE FUTURE OF RURAL AMERICA MURRAY D. LINCOLN Prendent, ( oo perative League of the United States and Secretary Ohio Farm Burcau Federation, Columbus, Ohio HESE DAYS are among the most critical and challenging in world history. A conference of this nature cannot escape the implications of a total world conflict. The war's grim sequence invades our daily lives. We find no escape from the steady staccato of invasion, destruc tion, and tragedy coming to us from press and radio. We speak a strange new language of “D” days, flanking movements, and buzz bombs. And we ask ourselves: when, in the course of time, will mankind learn to live IN peace ? We see this war going far beyond the implications of battles won and lost. We see it as a revolution of world scope. We see it as a revoit of hungry world millions asking an end to tyranny, starvation, and exploita tion. From India to the Balkans, from Asia to the British Isles, we hear the mounting cry for security, the end of poverty in the midst of plenty Only the dreamer will tell you that America has escaped this great tide of world unrest. The realist finds an insurgent America in its most critical period of transition since the Civil War. The realist finds an America apprehensive and fearful of what lies ahead. The man on the street fears unemployment. The farmer fears falling prices. The industrialist tears government. And the millions, from all walks of life, fear insecurity. America—with its miracle of mass production, America—with its fifty millions employed, America—with its pockets bulging from war profits, faces its most promising period of history with fear and indecision. The Future of Rural America Is the Future of America Itself I might wish to recite to you in glowing terms the future of rural America—but I cannot. Such a prediction, such a prophecy, undertaken against a panorama of national confusion and unrest, is a more ambitious task than I am prepared to assume. But one point seems clear to me beyond a!l others. The rural community is no longer a unique and inde- pendent part of the national economy. And the future of rural America is the future of America itself. [ 43 | 44 THe Wrire House Conrerence The rustic, bluejeaned farmer with straw in his hair went out with vaudeville. The once impenetrable culture of rurai America has been changed by the steady bombardment of the press, radio, and the movies. Modern transportation has made isolation the exception rather than the rule. The farmer's daughter jitterbugs, wears her hair like Lana Turner, ind swoons over Frank Sinatra. And American agriculture comes face to tace with the sober fact that its own security is the security of America itself, We come out of our Nineteenth Century hangover with the realization that America is one community. In the past we have not known, or cared, how the other half lived. Now we not only know how the other half lives but we are affected by how the other half lives. We find our forty eight states vitally interdependent. Unemployment in the cities brings poverty to our farms. The farmer in Maine has an interest in wages in Walla Walla because, whether he likes it or not, the farmer has become a national citizen, with a vital stake in the national pie. A Challenge to Educators Gone is the day when we neatly separate the social, economic, and political man. There is only one man. Affect him economically and you will affece nis political and social conduct. The future of the rural citizen ind his community depends to an increasing extent upon the quality of his participation as a national citizen. His security is inherent in the se curity of the great national community beyond his line fence. And here, it seems to me, is the real challenge to all of us as educators. Invest in that man the broad and unselfish perspectives of national welfare and the common good. Teach him that democracy is not a birthright but a responsibility which demands his intelligent and critical participation, both locally and nationally. Arm him with the economic facts of his modern industrial society and you will have a constructive citizen for rural America and the national community as well. The prosperous and positive rural America won't be left on our door- steps overnight. It must be won by men who know not only how but also what they are fighting for. Lincotn: Buitpinc Rurat AMERICA Problems Confronting the Rural Community I wish to turn now to a discussion of some of the problems we face in building a prosperous and progressive rural America. There is perhaps no group in the nation better equipped to understand the broad social and economic implications of these problems We know that roughly 25 percent of our nation’s population are farmers. We know that, with ro percent of the national income, these farmers produce, rear, and educate 31 percent of the nation’s children. We know that thruout the past twenty-five years, excepting the current war boom, our farmers have been economically 4nsecure. We know that, in many areas of the nation, farmers and their families exist on submarginal incomes. We witness the steady rise of farm tenancy until today we find less than half of our farmers owning their land We regard the land as a national trust and vet watch its constant de- pletion by those too impoverished to maintain its fertility. We find only 15 percent of our farms equipped with electricity and 16 percent with running water. We find appalling health conditions accompanied by general ignorance and wholly inadequate health and medical facilities. We find one-third of our rural families without library facilities while other social services are generally limited or nonexistent. We see the steady decline of the simpler social values once encouraged by the isolation of our rural communities. In their place we find a grow ing individualism and increased dependence upon commercial recrea non. We see the vital relationship between the prosperity of the rural com I t munity and the quality of its educational facilities We gauge the size of our task when we realize that nearly 50 percent of America’s children pass thru the hands of rural educators, THe Wuire House Conference And we find too many areas of our country where the quality and quantity of rural education are inadequate, with teachers poorly trained and generally underpaid. These are, in part, the problems which confront our rural community. Their urgency is evident when we realize the role rural America must play in our national well-being. It must provide food and fiber for our great urban and industrial community. It must repopulate our cities with healthy and constructive citizens. It must preserve and perpetuate the simpler values and traditions which characterize our American way of lite. Here are both our trust and our challenge. For the dispatch and wis dom with which we strengthen and reintegrate the rural community may well determine the future character of American democracy. The rural American comes out of isolation, blinking at his new place in the sun. Gone is his dominance of the American economy. Gone is the independence he once enjoyed. Gone, by default and weight of numbers, is the political power he once held. He finds himself in a strange new economic and political sea over which he has little control. Wage and employment levels influence his income. Surplus plagues his standard of living. Government aids him, regiments him, and presses upon him a new sense of his own futility. He has lost his rudder. He has become ineffectual over the forces which provide for his own security. The future of rural America lies with the future of the rural citizen. And here I mean citizen in the broadest and most participating sense of the word. If the farmer has no rudder, then we must give him a rudder. We must give him the lever of participation in his local and national community. We must equip him as an effective citizen who knows his responsibilitie s as well as his rights. Before I consider the prerequisites of effective rural citizenship I wish to add one more thought. In the broader sense, these qualities are those which all American citizens must possess if we are to preserve democracy in this country. As Americans we have a naive faith that, regardless of what happens to the rest of the world, America—and democracy—will go forward automatically. Such a faith is sheer wish-thinking. Robert Lynd, American sociologist, tells us what he thinks is around the American corner. He says: “We do have a momentous political choice as to whether (1) private industry will take over and run the state under a fascist type set-up, or (2) the democratic state will take over and socialize the economy. Lincotn: Buttpinc RuraL AMERICA And . .. there is no possibility ... beyond perhaps the next decade . . . straddling the two systems.” Requisites for Effective Rural Citizenship You are all aware of the conflicting ideologies in America today. Look about you and you will find cause for concern. You will find conflict be tween labor and agriculture. You will find conflict between management and the worker. You will hear the ugly murmur of racial tension. You will find apathy and ignorance. And you will find millions of armchair citizens, perched on the fence ready to play follow-the-leader to the man who can most successfully capture their imagination. If democracy cannot sow the seeds of its own continuance, then we may very well lose it. We need a rural citizen who sees himseit as part of a dynamic and inter dependent American community. He must express the broad and unselfish perspectives of national welfare and the common good. He must see his place in society as a producer of food for human need. And he must under- stand that his future lies not only in what he can secure for himself but also in what he can contribute to the national well-being. He must, in short, have the attitudes which will equip him as a moral national citizen. Such a goal cannot be dismissed as idealistic sentimentality. A selfish rural America will never be a prosperous and progressive rural America. Secondly, the rural citizen must understand the fundamental economics of his modern industrial society. He must see the vital relationship of his own welfare to the welfare of the great urban and industrial community. No longer a dominant factor, he is rather a dependent minority. He must know the relation between industrial activity and employment. He must understand the vital bearing of employment and wage levels to his own income. He must see his interests and the workers’ interests as one. The incongruity of farmer-labor conflict lies in the fact that the farmer is often antagonistic to his own best customer. The farmer must realize that the natural function of economic laws may bring him both prosperity and disaster. He must understand that national controls over the supply of certain of his products may be necessary to protect his own welfare. He must realize that in America genuine free enterprise is gone and that in its place is a semi-monopolistic concentration of great business enterprises. He musi appreciate the values of these mass- producing industries but, at the same time, be critical of their abuses and 48 THe Wuirte Houst Conrer—ENCcE practices. And he must know how to protect himself from such abuses and practices. The farmer's arithmetic has made little sense in the past. He must buy at retail and sell at wholesale. He must know the technics which will help him overcome this disparity. He must understand the widening role his government can play in resolving his own economic problems. The day is past when the farmer had only to cultivate his hundred acres successfully. A drop of ten cents on the price of corn may wipe out his year's earnings. In short, the farmer must understand and participate effectively in the economic world which conditions his standard of living. We turn now to the third, and perhaps most important, requisite for effective rural citizenship. We have seen that our rural citizen must be sensitive to the general welfare and common good, We see that he must be armed with the economic facts of his society. We have given him both blueprint and materials. Now he must build. His future lies in the quality of his performance as a participating democratic citizen. Government may implement his income. New machinery may lighten his load. Schemes ind panaceas may prevail—but in thirty years of work with rural people one conclusion stands foremost in my mind. It is not what is done for people that counts, it is what people do for themselves. We must educate tor action. We find America today approaching a critical national election. The decisions we make at our polls this Noveu:ber may well cast the die for the security of democratic America. Yet millions of citizens will take neither the time nor trouble to vote. Millions more will vote as robots, with little comprehension of the urgent issues at stake, E. H. Carr, in his timely book, Conditions of Peace, warns us that representative govern ment is on the way out. Mr. Carr may be closer to the truth than we wish to believe. In the famous words of the London Times early this year, democracy, to survive, “must get some fire in its belly!” The rural citizen must participate effectively both as a local and national citizen. He must understand that the quality of his government and the well-being of his national community are matters for his own direct con cern. He will never lose democracy by voting it out of existence. He will lose it only by his failure to participate in it. the rural citizen has two vital levers of participation. He has his fran chise in the free elections of a democratic country. And secondly, and fully as important, he has power thru his own organizations and institutions. 50 THe Wutre Houst ConrerENCE Individually he cannot resist monopoly. Individually he cannot effectively impress his needs upon the national legislative bodies. Individually he can- not control the prices he receives for his products. Individually he cannot bring social and economic improvements to himself and his community. But in league with his fellow citizens, thru his own institutions, he can reflect his needs and exert his influence in the national community. | believe the future of rural America is what the people of rural America, thru their own institutions, make it for themselves. What people can do thru their own democratic institutions is best told perhaps by concrete example. I choose Ohio not only because | am familiar with its program, but also because it is fairly representative of what is being done elsewhere. In Ohio 40,000 farmers have joined forces to work together for a better rural economy. Their voice finds definite expression from the farmyard thru county and state and to the halls of Congress itself. ‘Tiney democratically elect their county leaders. They democratically elect their state and national leaders. They have successfully met the paradox of buying high and selling low thru their own cooperative organi zations. Over 200 stores and branch service units give service to nearly 100,000 farm families thruout the state. Thru democratic group action these farmers own and operate their own business institutions. They know monopoly, and they combat monopoly, Some years ago they organized to defeat a state monopoly in fertilizer. Today they own and operate four fertilizer plants of their own. They own and operate an oil refinery, paint factory, hatchery, feed mills, and grain elevators. With ten thousand dol lars they organized an insurance company to lower their own rates. Today that company has 33 millions in assets. And thruout the entire enterprise is the fine flavor of democratic participation. Boards of directors and trustees, democratically elected, make the policies and decisions. Thruout the state a thousand neighborhood councils meet monthly to discuss issues of local and national interest. These groups, called advisory councils, are composed of ten to twelve families. What they are thinking ind discussing is forwarded by their secretaries to the state ofhice for pub lication. Polls are taken to reveal attitudes on vital subjects. Currently, these groups are conducting a campaign to improve rural health. They ire making studies and surveys to determine the adequacy of local health facilities This interest has generated the demand for wider health and iccident insurance protection. It may ultimately result in people-owned hospitals thruout the state. Lincotn: Buttping Rura AMERICA 51 People are finding out what they're for and against—and why. One council last month discussed the current Wagner, Murray, Dingle bill. It reached a decision. It reported that it knew too little about the subject to warrant intelligent discussion. It agreed to return to the bill in its next session, after more information was secured. This is the kind of critical analysis and action which will guarantee democracy in America. These are participating citizens. The nation is their community. They are combining education with action. What is being done in Ohio is still in the experimental stages. 1 would not presume to represent it asa prac tical pattern for national application. But I do believe that here is demon strated an effective pattern of local and national citizenship. Implications for Rural Education And now let us ask what are the implications of such goals for rural education. How does the school relate itself to the development of effective citizenship? I think it is fair to say that such a complex of attitudes and technics cannot be neatly packaged and dispensed by our rural educators, however lofty their ideals and energies. But that need not minimize the vital role which rural education can, and I believe must, play. I think it is not trite to say that we must educate for action. I think it is not un- realistic to say that we must relate education to life and life activities. The school must generate in youth the broad and unselfish perspectives of national welfare and the common good. Too long have we been satis fied with the transmission of facts and skills. We have won the battle for better butter and beefsteak; let us win the battle for better humanity. Let us teach the indivisibility of human welfare. Frances Perkins puts the challenge in these words: “Our children have ahead of them the job of remaking a very angry and chaotic world. For that, they need all the mental and spiritual resources we can help them build within themselves. If men’s minds are to be turtted from a selfish pursuit of power and posses sion to a passronate and untiring search for opportunities to serve ... We must do some fundamental thinking about the quality of education we give both young and old ... and the disciplines .. . both religious and intellectual which are involved in becoming an educated ... and moral person.” Again, from Fortune magazine, comes this pointed challenge to Ameri- can educators: “The schools are only the reflection of the confused life around them. They are of society ... and not above it. Americans are 52 THe Wutre House Conrerence clearly presented with a choice. We can adapt students to THIS world as we have been doing for some time... . or we can consciously and delib erately make our schools more vital and creative... to the end that our children WILL GO BEYOND TODAY'S CONFUSION .... and under stand it better than we do ourselves, This course ... more ditheult . . . ts the way of heartbreak and tears. It may well produce the thoughtful and human adults whe... DISSATISFIED WITH THE LIFE THEY SEE ....WILL SEEK TO BETTER IT. But it will produce adults. A streamlined adapting of children to OUR PRESENT WORLD .. . will only produce adolescents ... whose only course (may be) aimless violence.” And finally, from Mr. Julius Warren, Commissioner of Education in Massachusetts, comes this challenge to college graduates: “From every indication available to the layman, the successful conclusion of armed conflict seems not too far distant. And though at terrible cost in human lite and in the unmade things that man could have made for the good of men, the principles of human conduct for which we fight are coming through unscathed. At the conclusion of the war we, as a people, will be humble and contrite, severely strained in body and spirit. Both victor and vanquished will have come so close to disaster that thoughtful men, everywhere, will join hands to make a better world order for peonles and for persons. Then, if ever, will come the liberation of intelligence in the field of human relations. Up to now we have been very smart in devising yadgets and ministering to our material needs and comforts. No such con spicuous progress has been made in the science of living together. The time is propitious, and long overdue, for the social sciences to catch up with the natural sciences. This war has pulled us up short. From this point on we must hasten to develop experts in human affairs, and then heed them. It is my belief that this will happen in your lifetime and you will have a part in it. If it doesn’t happen, and we continue on in our lop sided technological way, making progress only with things and not with people, some day man will destroy himself in his own laboratories.” From our schools must come practical and intimate knowledge of lite in Twentieth Century America. From our schools must come citizens who are determined and qualified to participate effectively in the dynamic democratic community. From our schools must come training in the skills of democratic group participation. And from our schools must come knowledge of the institutions which will serve and be served by the rural citizen. Lincoun: Burotnc Rurat America 53 Lhe day is past when the rural school can sit comfortably on its acre and a half waiting for business. It must move with bold steps into the realm of the living American community. It must take leadership, not wait for it. It must not only introduce knowledge, but it must introduce life as well. It has been said, and it must be said again, that the moral and intellectual quality ot a people rests in the hands ot its educators. Democracy, dearly bought, is on trial today. In Germany strong educators made strong citi zens tor tascist tyranny. In America strong educators must make strong citizens for democracy. For, if we do not, we may very well find ourselves forced to build goose-stepping youth for a new and less humane America. Human progress is slow at best. We have come at length to understand that America is one community, with the welfare of the part being equal to the welfare of the whole. We see that Rural America has no separate and distinct future apart from the future of America itself. Only the rural citizen, indeed only the American, who knows the broad social purposes of democracy and can act intelligently and effectively in that democracy can hope to carry America forward to a finer expression of the values which characterize our way of life. To such an end we must dedicate our courage and our energies. BETTER RURAL EDUCATIONAL OPPOR.- TUNITIES—A NATIONAL NEED JOHN W. STUDEBAKER U.S. Commissioner of Education, Washington, D.C. QUALITY OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY js a characteristically Ameri can ideal. It is widely accepted. It is tenaciously held. In spite of certain obvious shortcomings the realization of that ideal was never closer than it is today. Eventually, the ideal will be quite fully achieved; of that there can be no doubt. More exactly stated, what is this Anerican ideal of equal educational opportunity? It is the right to an education, effectively free, not dependent upon the poverty or affluence of parents, place of birth or residence, sex, race, color, or religion. It is opportunity for education in proportion to individual ability, character, and promise of constructive contribution to the social good. It is education not only for literacy but also for work, for citizenship, and for personal growth and self-realization. Existing Inequalities for Rural Children The rural schools of America have often been referred to as the “mired wheel” on the vehicle of educational progress in America. Apply almost any measure you choose and you will find glaring inequalities existing in the educational opportunities provided for children resident in rural areas as compared with children in urban comriunities. For example, looking at the country as a whole, we find urban caildren attending school an average of 158 days a year, rural children but 144 days. We spend on an average $105 per child per year enrolled in city schools but only $70 per child per year in rural schools. Salaries paid to teachers employed in urban communities average $1955 per year whereas in rural communities the average is less than half this amount. The most striking discrepancies appear when averages by states are compared. Thus, in one of our states, urban children attend school an average of 144 days whereas rural children attend but 111 days. This discrepancy is duplicated in a great many other states. Again we find state after state in which average teachers’ salaries paid in urban communities are two or even three times as large as those paid teachers in rural schools. In one Western state the value of educational property per child of school [ 54] Srupesaker: Berrer Opportunities age is $283 in cities and only $74 in rural communities. When we compare current per capita expenditures we find one state spending $78 per child im its city schools and half this amount in its rural schools. Now, of course, I realize that such comparisons may be somewhat mis leading. They are rough indices only of the quality of educational oppor tunity. All of us know of examples of good teaching in schools in which the salaries paid are relatively low. We know that good education is sometimes provided in poor buildings. We know instances in which a shortened period of school attendance may not mean an abbreviated edu cation. But, generally speaking, number of days of school attendance, salaries of teachers, value of school buildings and equipment are indices both of the quantity and of the quality of instruction to be expected. Importance of Better Educational Opportunities Why is it that better educational opportunities for rural children are of such great national importance? Sometimes we hear it said that we are becoming an urbanized nation and that rural education is consequently ot decreasing significance. Let us look at the facts. Despite the fact that the United States Census of 1940 showed roundly 74,000,000 people living in urban communities as compared with 57,000,000 in rural communities, considerably more than -half of the children from five to seventeen years ot age live in these rural communities. Larger families on the farm more than offset larger total populations in the cities. Indeed, it is to the rural communities with their larger families that the nation looks for the replace- ment of its urban population and for the recruitment of manpower for urban occupations I have said that more than haif of our children five to seventeen years of age live in rural communities. Nevertheless, the number of children of these ages enrolled in school is smaller in rural communities than in urban centers. This is due to several causes. First, compulsory education laws are less well enforced in cural than in urban communities. Second, the persiscence of rural children in school is less than that of urban children, possibly because their educational opportunities are less well suited to their needs. Third, it is more difficult for rural children to attend high school both because of the distances and because of the cost involved. It is also significant to note that 52 percent of all teachers and more than 83 percent of all school buildings are located in rural communities The persistence of the small and relatively inefhcient school in rural areas helps to explain why rural education lags. Someone has said with regard problems, theretors ch we i cl on the Hiem i pitti« — | | Nevertncicss rural education rare 1) " oe : Most pressing cau pPuostwial period ft pnpre Some Critical Problems of Rural Education iscussion of some of the problems of rural t with mm thes effort tO IMprove educational S$ largely true that the t icher problem we must attack in improving rural rural teaching staffs. Taken as a group illy are undertraimed, underpaid, their importance. Please do not ichers are poor teachers. On the t astonishment and of Inspiration chers have been able to do so much the rural teacher. She must She ts « xpected to know the social and iren. She must get along with a mini lly solve her own educ tional problems Considering the demands made upon sonably to be a better trained person than nerally speaking, that is not the case. The Rural schools are unable to attr: , 1 Competition with the salaries paid im onal shames is that many rural harwomen mn the nation : ; | took more ii propiems of rt educa underpa usands STUDEBAKER SETTER C)PPORTUNITIES districts in almost c very State canna hen to provick mnimum educ ational opportunities comparable with those provided urban children. And even if within anv particular state minimum educational opportunities are provided for thru a state equalization fund, those opportunities will not be equalized as between the poorer agricultural states and the richer indus trial states except as we stitute national measures of equalization, Handi ipped by lack of | funds, many rural schools are still further h in iT ipped by the tact cn size Most rur il schools ir¢ small schools. T here © one-teacher schools and 25,000 two-teacher schools in the { nited Stutes In spite of sore onsolid itton of school districts only 6 per ent of rural schinols employ is many is six tcachers. The need for larger is capable of organizing and supporting an adequate im for rural children and youth its especially education, One in five rural high schools fer tour vears of high-school work with only two tf our rural high schools employ four teachers or roumst.unces it is obvi usly impossible for them to ol courses or the special he alth and guidance services hem to prepare rural youth either for farm living or for pDlovment to suv nothing of colk ye entrance. Need ior Greater Federal Participation In concluding my remarks let me refer again to the question of national responsibility with respect to rural education. | have mentioned the fact that there ought to be a reorganization of the administrative structure of rural education. That reorganization is in my opinion primarily a re sponsibility of the several states I have referred, both directly and by implicatic n, to the need for a greater measure of equality of educational opportunity both within the ind among the states Whether or not we shall come to recognize the national imterest in bringing ! iwreed ibout such equalization up to some upon minimum level of educational Opportunity and to institute national measures of financial 1 to education in the states is for the prec pric ind trv (Congress to decick Ss emed » re The consideration of this issue, it has has frequently been confused in the past by arguments j rich have identified federal financial aid with federal control of education. closely related. the two matters are not identical and have always | to me to require separate consideration. It is entirely possible Tue Wuatre House Conrerence for the people to choose thru their national government to provide for greater participation in the financial support of education in the states without permitting control by the federal authorities of the specific objects of school expenditures or of the processes of instruction in the states and their local communities. In terms of general principles, I believe it to be sound policy to place the responsibility for financial support of education with those governmental units, at all levels, best qualified to administer the most equitable methods of raising public revenues; and to place the responsibility for educational administration and control with those units which can be expected most immediately and directly to reflect the will of the people concerning the education of their children, young peuple, and adults. It is my belief, based upon some experience as U. S$. Commissioner of Education, that if the states and the local communities thereof have avail- able the funds with which to support an adequate program of education— for rural as well as for urban youth, a program of education for work as well as for citizenship and personal self-realization—the states and localities can be depended upon to make valid judgments respecting the most appropriate objects of school expenditure. In other words, necessary aid of education in the states by the national government could be provided without control either of the specific objects of educational expenditure or of the content and method of instruction. I believe in this connection that the federal government, thru its Office of Education, should provide a staff of educational leaders competent to give advice and counsel to the states and to the local communities, but with no power to require acceptance of such advice. If that were done, I am convinced that the states and their local communities could be de pended upon to make more rapid progress, educationally speaking, than if the attempt were made by stipulation in legislation to direct the expendi- ture of federal educational aid toward many particular educational objec tives. In conclusion, let me express my hope that out of this Conference may come both inspiration and enlightenmeni: inspiration tnat will cause all of us who are interested in the better future of American life to continue our efforts to get the “mired wheel” of rural education on the firm road of educational progress; enlightenment as to the best means to be used to that end—so that the characteristically American ideal of equal educa- tional opportunity may be more nearly attained in the case of the millions of school children and youth of rural America. SECOND GENERAL SESSION Wednesday afternoon, October 4 The White House Presiding CHARLES H. SKIDMORE President, National Council of Chief State School Officers and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Salt Lake City, Utah THE EDUCATION OF RURAL CHILDREN AND YOUTH FANNIE W,. DUNN Professor meritus, Teachers Colle ve, ¢ olumbia University, Vew York, New York URAL fS \ VERY BROAD TERM When considered in relation to educa tion by the Census definition it incluce s, besides open country, all villages and towns up to 2500 population, The range of condi tions of children and youth within this term is a wide one. It seems well, theretore, in beginning this discussion to get among ourselves a common knowledge of what the more significant of these conditions are. They may be considered roughly in three groups: (1) the extent and makeup of our rural population; (2) its socio-economic status; and (3) the capacity and education of rural young people Extent and Makeup of Our Rural Population There were in 193%, the latest date for which comparable figures are available, about 16,000,000 rural children between the ages of five and seventeen, and more than 12,000,000 pupils enrolled in rural schools. These figures are very close to those for cities, the urban child population being slightly less than the rural, and the urban school enrolment slightly more. In other words, half the nation’s children are rural, in spite of the fact that the total population is predominantly urban. This is due to the larger birth-rate in rural families. Between 1935 and 1940 the urban popu lation of child-bearing age was reproducing itself only 76 percent, whereas the rate for the rural nonfarm population was 116 percent and for the rural-farm 136 percent. It has been said that but for the steady flow of youth from rural regions our cities would soon become bat-roosts, The majority of rural children live in the open country, but about two fifths are residents of villages or towns. In either of these two groups populations may vary widely in density. A town may have 2499 people living quite close together. Villages may have as few as 50 inhabitants. In the open country, some children live on farms of only two or three acres, close to neighbors and to towns or cities; the homes of others are on vast and remote ranches. The 139 schools averaging 2.5 pupils each which were reported from 12 states in 193% illustrate the extreme isolation | 61 | THe Wrerre House Conrerenct of some rural children’s lives. Doubtless there are numerous other rural children as isolated as these for whom there is no school provided. Socio-Economic Status of Our Rural Population Nearly one-fitth of our total rural population consists of three large underprivileged groups. More than half our Negro population is rural, two million of them living in villages and more than four and a halt million on farms; we have a Mexican population of nearly a million and a half people; and the remote mountaineers of the Ozarks and Appalachians number about two million. Besides these the rural population includes various groups of foreign extraction in many of whose homes English is not spoken. Examples of these are French in the Mississippi delta and northern New England; Scandinavians in the Northwest; Poles, Hun garians, Ukrainians, and Italians in the country contiguous to the Eastern metropolitan area. The average economic status of farm families is on the whole low, only about a third of them having incomes above $1500. In recognizing this fact we must not, however, ignore the third who do. The rural popula- tion, like the urban, has its prosperous and intermediate levels as well as its poor, and standards of living will be quite similar city and country for any one of these groups. The very low average economic status of the rural population is due to the excessive proportion of poor families, Fewer than half the farmers in America own the land they cultivate. There are more than 2,000,000 tenant families. Tenants, however, them selves range widely in socio-economic status. Many of them are young people, sons and daughters of farm owners, who in time will themselves work up to farm ownership and often to prosperity. There is also, how ever, the type of tenant who will never be anything but a tenant, never anything but peor. Great numbers of such families change farms every vear or two. Then there are the families in which the father is a low-grade share-cropper or a farm laborer, and the income and standard of living in such homes are often almost unbelievably low. As might be expected, the proportions of nonfarm-owners are high among the underprivileged minority groups. Child labor, far more common in agriculture than in urban occupations, is excessive in these depressed groups. Others on the Conference program will probably give some detail on this point. Suffice it to say now that not only is arduous and premature toil hurtful to children’s health and Dunn: Epucation or Rurat CHitpren social attitudes; it also seriously interferes with school attendance, so that child laborers learn little, are retarded, become discouraged, and usually drop out of school as soon as the law permits. Moreover, school attendance laws are notoriously ill-enforced where such children are concerned. Even for rural children who are not classified as child-laborers because they work on the home farm and not for hire, farm and home work is the outstanding cause of poor school attendance. Capacity and Education of Rural Youth There is a rather widespread belief that rural people in general are mentally inferior to their urban contemporaries. The origin of this idea was the assumption that the more alert and capable of the farm population have tor generations moved out to secure the satisfactions and opportuni ties which city life affords. It has been found, however, that those also go who lack the initiative and managerial ability to succeed at farming, migrating to industrial centers where they can support themselves by work which a moron can do. The idea of rural inferiority was bolstered by standard tests of the intelligence and school achievements of rural children, whose average scores commonly fell below those of city pupils. Such comparisons, how- ever, are generally questioned, because of the differences in educational opportunities of the two groups. Competent sociologists, on the basis of all the evidence, deny the theory of average rural inferiority, tho granting that, as a result of selection, the rural range is probably less, with a smaller proportion of both the most able and the least able than in the city. This question is, after all, for our purpose unimportant. Our task is to educate, not the average child, but every child. There is no prophesying what range of abilities will occur in any rural group, nor where a human diamond will be found. Many of you have read a recent account of Clyde Tombaugh, the son of a tenant farmer in Illinois, who at the age of twenty-four, tho then only a high-school graduate, discovered the ninth planet of our solar system, and in the four- teen years since then has earned the bachelor’s and master’s degrees at college, photographed 60,000,000 stars, and discovered scores of hitherto unknown heavenly bodies. George Washington Carver was another such human diamond in an unsuspected pocket. The educational level of rural children has, because of improved school opportunities, strikingly advanced during this century. Altho at every Oy Die Werk Hotst Conrerencs we smaller proportions of rural than of urban children: are enrolled in school, rural schools have been steadily bringing more and more children to the advanced vrace ‘, and a large proportion of these children are receis ing some high-school education, In tg34, out of every roo rural children between fourteen and seventecn years of age, 60.5 were attending high school, as compared with 67.9 city children in the same age range. It ts important to note this point, for many persons deeply concerned for the welfare of rural children still believe that nearly all of them terminate their education with the elementary school. Doubtless the rural children now attending high school do come in larger proportion from the third of the families with incomes above $1500 than from the two-thirds below that level. But poor rural children also attend in large numbers. One study of two counties found that all the children from prosperous farm families entered high school, slightly more than half from farm families in intermediate circumstances, and nearly a third from poor farm families. In the city with which these two counties were compared, however, only one-eighth of the poor children entered high school. Moreover, the poor farm children who entered high school stayed to graduate in larger proportion than was true in the intermediate yroup. It might be expected that the progress which has been made in educa tional provision would assure rural youth today a brighter future than ever before. The depression years, however, have borne heavily upon them. Before tg30 the How of rural youth cityward had for generations amounted to perhaps half the total number of children born on farms. Nor was the rural labor supply hurtfully depleted thereby, because of the large rural birth-rate and the steady improvement of agricultural science and ma chinery during this century. With the depression, decreased opportunity for city employment-cur this rate of migration in half. The total number of vouth on farms increased by over a million between 1930 and 1936; of village youth the increase was more than a quarter of a million. Large numbers of these young people were high-school graduates. Few of them could find employment other than replacing the farm hired man, often it less than his wages, or clerking in the family store. For many this was only a stop-gap, but they could see ng better prospects ahead. Many could find no work at all. Others could not afford the further education to which thev had looked forward. The war of course has temporarily reversed the situation for unem Dunn: Epvucation or Rurat CHrpren 65 ployed youth, rural and urban. The farm labor shortage today is a matter of common knowledge. Rural youth now are in the armed forces and the defense plants. But education after demobilization will have at least four groups of rural youth to consider: those young men returning from the war effort who want and need further training, those who have inter rupted their education to become essential producers on the farms, those of the 4-F classification whose mental or physical incompetency education can ameliorate or remove, and the younger brothers and sisters who are pressing close behind. An adequate program of education for rural children and youth must serve the whole range which has been described. It must reach those in remote and isolated areas as well as those of large towns, It must provide for children from homes of direst poverty and ignorance and from those of prosperity and broad culture; for the slow intelligence, the average, and the human diamonds wherever they may be found. It must serve those who will spend their lives in the communities in which they were born and those who must seek occupation in cities and may go to remote states and other lands. An especial problem of rural education is that it must point two ways. It is estimated that not more than a fourth of the children born on farms can hope to find their life work in agriculture. Another fourth may make their homes on farms if they find some other part-time occupation to supplement farming. But half of the rural youth must move cityward, both for the sake of their own future and for that of the city and nation. Who will go and who will stay cannot be foretold. A Distinctive Program of Rural Education -In view of this great diversity it may well be asked whether there can be such a thing as a distinctive program of education for rural children and youth. Would we have solved the rural educational problem if by more adequate financing we increased the annual days of schooling and salaries of teachers, improved school buildings, provided needed equip- ment and supplies? Neither you nor I can answer this last question until we know what three words in it mean—adequate, improved, and needed. Someone has called words like these weasel words, they are so hard to lay hold of. What would be adequate financing? How much salary would it take to secure a qualified teacher for a rural school? What qualifications does such a teacher need? What kind of equipment and supplies are necessary? How many days of schooling should there be in a rural school Toe Where House ConrereNnce vear, and in what months should they fall? Besides assuring cleanliness and sanitation, what kind of school building should we erect? In other words, what are the educational improvements we want to buy with the added money we hope some day to get for rural education ? If there is any basis for a distinctive answer to such questions as these, we must look for it in the experiences of the rural environment, because we cannot hope to find it in either the capacities or the known futures ot rural children. Nor shall we look in vain. The rural environment, even with all its range, #s distinctive in the experiences it affords for the stimula- tion and development of children and youth. It is distinctive, first, in the extent and variety of its natural phenomena. Consider the case of Jimmie, whose home is in a tiny hamlet of perhaps eight or ten low-income families, few of whom live by farming. The nearest town, of 2000 inhabitants, is twelve miles away; the nearest city, with 5000 people, is twenty-five miles away. Jimmie is the only child of a war veteran on a pension. Both his father and his mother are somewhat erratic, and both drink. But they are fond of the child, and he has enough to eat and wear. Jimmie is observing, friendly, loves fun, and is over- flowing with energy. Outdoors he finds an outlet for this energy. He told a sympathetic teacher something about the way he spends his time. He helps his mother by carrying coal and ashes and cutting wood. He skates on both ice and roller skates, and plays football and basketball, using a rubber ball and a bottomless peach basket fastened to an old chicken house. His dog plays with him, picking up the ball in its mouth and carrying it back to its master. He races and hikes, Last summer he hiked over the mountain, and from high on its crest he could see the stream and forest below. “It looked very nice,” he said. It seemed to him very strange that the beams of the sun could shine all the way to the bottom ot the stream. He traps, has caught five opossums and sold them. He sketched the shape of the opossum’s pouch to show his listener. He once tried to kill a skunk with a stick, and knows that the malodorous liquid with which the skunk protects himself is yellow. He has watched robins build their nests and knows wrens. “At about seven o'clock at night the trees look as if they had hands and it scares me,” he confided. He wonders what makes snow stay in the clouds: “It’s heavy.” Play, work, adventure, enterprise, observation, inquiry, wonder, beauty! Similar experiences would be possible for most rural children, but rare would be the city child who could duplicate them. Denn: Epucation of Rurat CHILDREN The rural environment is distinctive also in the simple form, accessible and understandable to children, in which it exemplifies the great institu- tions and occupations of the world. The home, the store, the village post office or the R.F.D.; the roads and their makers, the vehicles of many kinds and the destinations to which they ZO; the production of food and its transformation in the home or perhaps in a local creamery or mill; the milk hauled daily to the railroad station to be sent to city homes far away; sheep-shearing or cotton-picking; old spinning wheels or looms in occasional attics or some neighborhood grandmother who still quilts or weaves carpets; the local tax-assessor, the town meeting, the state police, or the firewarden; the school with its local trustee, the county nurse, or the book truck: the county or state fair; the local election, often held in the schoolhouse—all these and many more are aspects of social life which would be accessible to children like Jimmie. All of them offer rural children experiences educative in themselves and rich in leads to the wider and more remote environment beyond the neighborhood bounds. Most of them are simpler and more accessible than the form in which the institu- tions and work of the world are illustrated in city life. Application of Three Fundamental Principles If we apply in the rural environment three principles of education which seem to me fundamental, we cannot avoid a distinctive program of educa- tion for rural children and youth. The first of these principles ts that active experience is essential to learmng. If all we do in arithmetic is recite tables and perform computations apart from any genuine need for them on our part, that is all we learn. We have to do something with them to control them for use. If all we do about democracy is talk about it, talking about it is what we learn. We learn to live democratically by experiences in treat- ing other people as equal to ourselves in righis and responsibilities and having them treat us in the same way. Talking and reading about it only help to get ideas of better ways to do it. The second principle is that improvement in present living is the only way in which we can test whether the child is learning. \s the child doing better things today than he did before, or doing better the things he has ilready done? I am aware that there is a weasel word here. What is im- provement? What is better? We must all answer this in the light of the philosophy we hold. The sounder our understanding of human nature and life, the higher our social ideals, the surer our answer will be. THe Wuire House ConrereNnce The third principle, which | once heard Kilpatrick state, is that the cen- ter of the educational effort is not the child, not the community, but the child growing up in the community. We cairot think of the child as stand- ing still. We cannot think of him as growing in a vacuum. His develop- ment and that of his community are inextricably interwoven. But in a program of education for children, our concern with the community 1s as a means and a result of his development. The child’s development is primary. If we accept these three principles—child growing up in community as the center of the educational effort; active experiences as the means; improvement of present Jiving as the test and the immediate purpose rural education must be distinctive, because the community, the present living, the opportunities for active experiences are all rural. The rural child’s development must be rooted in rural soil. His present needs and problems will be what they are because of the interrelationships of his life and those of his rural community. His first-hand experiences will be those which rural life affords. From the beginning, however, and increasingly, improvement of the child’s present living will involve appropriations from the cultural heritage. A young woman buying a cocker spaniel puppy was told: “You must talk to it if you want it to be intelligent.” Just as truly, human babies have to be talked to. They need from their first days to have some human being who introduces them to the heritage of language. The little child gathering eggs or planting even a child-sized garden needs numbers. Keep- ing well is tied up with drinking enough milk and not drinking polluted water, but what is enough or how to avoid pollution can be learned only with the aid of science; recreation, social or solitary, depends upon intel- lectual or esthetic interests, which call for understanding of science, ap preciation of beauty, an’ sill in arts of some kind; membership in one’s community is made more satisfying and efficient thru understanding and ippreciation of its historical, geographical, and chemical factors and such practical or fine arts as one needs to participate actively in its affairs; relationship with the wader community of the state, the nation, and the world requires some degree of control of every aspect of human culture. If any rural school recognizes and makes use of all the experiences and relationships of its local community which are possible for its pupils to share now, it will need to use much more of the social heritage than any public-school system now attempts to teach its pupils. I recall, for example, a six weeks’ study which grew out of a fourth grade’s interest in rocks, WunN: Epucation or Rurat CHILpREN 69 in which the teacher had two call on her whole college course in geology +) n oct weryvine out of a New Patterns Needed for Rural Education THe Wire House Conrerenct of it will be identical. But tl gamzation will be functional for rural children, Farm children need gallons and dozens sooner than city-school . ST COPY AV. ABLE The Wrtre House Conrerence suthice. Centralized schools may very effectively bring together hundreds of children in concentrated populations. Where sparsity prevails so that an hour or more needs to be spent en route to and from school, central schools may vet be the best prossilrl cpu stionable whether pre wlolescents should time away from the home and neighbo to be improved. There j one te wher ir whers should bye sor Situ ited! th it tie ments, their interests, and their ex Part of the necessary eet sutomobile for their tea to visit and have a share in their school life ( hildren whose homes cannot be broug! taumily living ought to hav opportun ences in wholesome home membership Th to this enc, but not always « nough. Sugg tound in the home buthern mountains, wher together, in not too larwe culture incl happy PCrsonality strictive rule ‘, but is part what a revelation a vear, or even a few m to underprivileged children. Such homes a to youths who, unable tom ke first-hand tions in the home community mienht ti | situation where occupations promising fk New patterns of school materials suthce to do more than menti pyre prrnate to rue il con litions we enced ind musy te iher Perhaps we could spend tl by employing a few especially med for th efforts of thes speciali We must be realisti ducation. In Spit ota probably lor vears to c Dunn: Epucation or Rurat CiiiLDRren proved school financing, money cannot be lavishly spent for rural cduca unused tion. Imagination, inventiveness, and reason must discover resources already at hand, and devise better ways of using whatever rest return Dutrons which Hf ld 5 cle ve 1} mich pable of making them need to be ontributrons they m ike soorree mmon blind spot, so that many chil lL hes potential Four-H nN dren s Bure il epartments 1 doubt vallable to our own communi , ts making should be shared by yencies, mencics ntere sted ting isolate source of understood 74 THe Wire Houst Conrer—eNnce together the ideas which their intelligence and zeal have evolved, and make them available to all teachers, we could, | believe, advance rural education a generation. What uw needed today ; ‘ bs pUST SUCH a COmperative undertaking of all those ated - , his ( fords. Togett nterestcd im m can. rural | iS Us onterence altoras ogetnher | beheve we can go torwa enriched and improved living tor all America’s rural children and youth BUILDING COMMUNITIES THRU EDUCATION CYRIL W. GRACE President, State Teachers College, Mayville, North Dakota N THE COMING DISCUSSION of permanent peace, rural education should be represented. If peace is to be permanent, it will be so because the innately peaceful people of the world want it so. Rural people, being close to the Almighty thru nature, are lovers of peace. The present trend in the United States and the direction of the nation since the first World War have been toward the destruction of the basic rural life of the nation. Boys and girls are being educated away from their community rather than toward the creative deve lopme nt of it If rural lite in America cannot be reconstructed in this, the most power ful nation in the world, what remote chance will there be for a permanent peace anywhere? The broad spiritual values of rural living are the bul wark of our nation. God gives us the strength to rebuild this form of living for all mankind. May those who plan the future affairs of the world look back to those simple, humble places, where selfishness is not sO great and where the principles ot tolerance, charity, faith, and hope are etern illy rooted in the soil since rural society Was In a pe riod oft stress be tore the present war, the problem of returning to a normal state has become immeasurably com plicated, because of the tremendous conflict in which we are now en gaged Let us take for granted the fact that the rehabilitation of the war veteran on a satisfactory civil basis is the desire of all and constitutes a mandatory obligation upon the nation, Let us also take for granted that something in the nature of a public-works program will be necessary in order to prevent widespre ud une mployme nt. Many would Say that the satisfaction of these two needs constitutes all that is necessary in postwar planning. It is likely, however, that they represent only the fringe of what ought to hye done Two Great Needs Underlying American Life There are two great needs upon which rests the foundation of family ind community life that has characterized this country Neighborhood ind community life can again hecome strong only a united effort is [ 75 | 76 THe Wuire House Conrerence made to conserve them. These two needs are the conserving of our natural resources and the preserving of human resources. If this nation turns its attention to the rebuilding of these essentials, per- petual security can result. We not only have seriously depleted our natural resources during two gigantic wars, but also have accumulated a tremen dous national debt that must be paid by future generations. Do we realize that the natural resources of several of our allies are far in excess of our own? What will be the result in one hundred fifty years, if we fail to begin conserving and rebuilding these resources now? Business generally, the various professions, banking, labor, and education must all take an interest in restoring economnt democr cy In rural America Certainly education, ind particularly the teacher training institutions, will not be effective without the assistance of these agencies. But in so far as the teacher-tr HMning mstitution can train its teachers to be more effec ve in the development of the community, it should invest itself accord ingly. Surely, no one will deny that a measure of reconstruction rests within the jurisdiction of tl r-training institution. We in educa hon cannot ccomplish the rebuilding of these resources, however, w ith out the aid and understanding of all the people The second important item fiat our planning must be concerned with 1s th it of hum in resources, | he most « isual obs« rver can see that we have deviated as le from the wise traditions of our forefathers—traditions upon which our way of life is dependent. The family is in a period of de cline as evidenced by the growing divorce rate, broken homes, and alarm ing merease in juvenile delinquency and crime, Because interest in the home has declined, community bonds have been broken and this has re sulted in a declining interest in the church and other community institu tions. Hence, there is the necessity that our planners build for the long of this nation by reestablishing vital interest in both our ind our human resources Development of Program at Mayville The planners at the college in Mayville had foreseen for several ye ars the onditions le id ng to World W ar I] ind h vd directed the program « the school toward reconstruction of education in our community—an which suffered fro lepression und drought and consequently from a sharp reduction in property ownership. This resulted in continued de cline of our basic institutions Grace: Buttptinc CoMMUNITIES The ideal of America has always been one of independence—farmers owning and operating family-sized farms; it has meant laborers in over- alls and white-collar workers with a sufficiently high wage to guarantee home ownership. It has meant small business men interested in com- munity undertakings and prosperous because of community prosperity During the years following World War I, the tendency was toward more farm mortgages, a tremendous increase in farm tenancy, inc reasing age of farm operators, and a definite drift towards the development of the tactory type farm. Tho vital spiritual attitudes underlie any progressive activity,.the prob lem of rural reconstruction is an economic one. The general social prob lem can be solved only thru the improvement of economic conditions It therefore behooves us to analyze the basic values that we hold dear in a democracy and center long-range planning around those values and in SUITUTIONS. Inasmuch as the primary resource of the Mississippi Valley in general ind of North Dakota in particular is the soil, it was only natural that our college should focus attention upon agriculture, the most basic of our inclustries. The economic foundation of the homes of this area is agricul ture; likewise the foundation of every institution in the country is agricul ture. Certain the stability of the family in the purely agricultural regions nsures the stability and security of all other institutions, and of business ind the community in general. If it is agreed that the teacher-training institution can be a vital agency yssisting the process of reconstruction, we must consider some of the ors and conditions revealed by a review of the educational policies of the past few vears ly is generally conceded that the curriculums of most public schools in iral communities have not prepared youth for living in their own com munity. Neither have the schools developed the resources within those ommunities. The secondary-school curriculum has been largely college preparatory. Nothwithstanding the fact that only one out of eight high school seniors enters college, the taxpaying public has been passive con ny defects in the secondary-school curriculum. More children of coming generation must find a way of life in their own community lo make a beginning in this direction, we are training our prospective teachers to instruct children in the vital facts pertaining to their own en ronment. A detailed description is not possible, but suffice to say that THe Wire House Conrerenct patrons are now coming to our rural-school teachers and expressing their gratification with the kind of instruction and materials which are being used. In all probability this attitude will result in increased tenure and salary for the teacher. The experiment seems to be resulting in a spiritual uplift; the patrons feel that since they pay for the upkeep, the school should lead to the upbuilding of community institutions—the home, th } h nd should promote community welfare Obstacles To Be Overcome ist twenty-five vears has been exploit itive rather than \ Thus, whil t¢ wher ecu mon can vid only in part in correcting mrvist ikes, i sense of cluty ind lovalty lo the concepts of democt wy program inaugurated at Mayville 1 program concerned with ! ina human rCsSOUrCCes It seemed it first that thre obst icles con opment of such a program would be almost insurmount \mong these obstacles were seven of major significances educational pProvram had t nded to turn the child away from a ind his community f ther th in tow irc the ce velopme mt of th it samplings of hundreds of farmers and village people, irs ind in lifferent sections of the Mississippi Valley, childre n was to vet in educ won ind would admit that this was an unnatural } wishes that his children might be with those living in the villages and people lacking Opportunity, he ve of the problems resulting from such a situation | problems of the citv. Che 7% labor and henes turbulent wor go hand in hand with oversupply and rapid migration. Another re that the graduates of agricultural colleges in many instances turming About percent ol thes the | ding of the resources of , ont rk for which society trained them. This has not been ? | 7 yricuitural colleges, but it presents challenge to the for the iwi 1s properly bent thr tree will bye rightly oOpiems too numerous to mention that t sult Irom this toward tarm and rural life Grace: Buitpinc ComMMUNITIES 79 A second obstacle in the beginning was the traditionally academic view- point of some members of the college faculty. Let us take a specific ex- ample. In our science department, the college was fortunate in having a man with a doctor’s degree; but his training fitted him for scientific re- search in industry rather than for instruction in science in a teacher training institution. However, in spite of the influence of the graduate school, he has become an excellent educator. He now sees science from the viewpoint of those who train children. Many future graduates of ag ricultural colleges, because of his influence, may ultimately become leaders in rebuilding the resources of their own community The development in a college faculty of the necessity of recognizing areas of neglect and of making a concerted effort to revise the course of study to meet the long-range needs of the community is a task that calls for many adjustments. The course of study ot our state pres nted I third mayor obst « le Eve n when a college faculty has revised its own philosophy and outlook and succeeded in transmitting its viewpoint to students and prospective teachers, only a small dent has been made. We saw that if the course of study prescribed by the state department of public instruction could be changed to meet the obvious needs of the people, then one more obstacle would be surmounted. Our college during the present year rewrote for the state department of public instruction that portion of the course of study relating to science, health, and agriculture. This revision should develop in future citizens a consciousness of the significance of natural and human resources and their relation to church, community, and health Certainly one of the human resources that has been neglected is health The nation found itself in a poor state of health in World War I. It has been astounding to discover that the health of our people is poorer now than at that time. Good health produces good morals: good morals produce strong bodies and minds and hence strong homes. Strong homes produce a strong nation When the health of the nation is poor the future of the nation is gravely imperiled. At present there is a definite tendency toward socialized medi cine. The American Medical Association has opposed socialized medicine but it has not tried to find a middle path, notwithstanding the deplorable fact that the health of the nation is dangerously depleted. Those who ad vocate socialized medicine as the only way out are just as adamant in their stand. 80 Tue Wrtre Hovse Conrerence Strange to say, the blame for the present condition rests not wholly upon the medical profession, as the advocates of socialized medicine think, but upon other agencies that have neglected to make use of common knowledge in everyday life, If people are determined to suffer malnu- trition when there is ample opportunity to raise vegetables that make for balanced diets and consequently for health, then there is nothing that the American Medical Association or socialized medicine can do about | This responsibility must in part be assumed by education. Health is one of the main resources. With this belief in mind we have devoted much effort not only to soils and agriculture, but also to health. When the college faculty were well under way with their programs, they were confronted with the rigidity of the accrediting associations. This constituted the fourth obstacle to the program. Fortunately, the American Association of Teachers Colleges took a liberal stand. The as sociation, with the aid of the Sloan Foundation, ventured into a study of education in its relation to natural and human resources, particularly in the fields of food, clothing, and shelter, thus drawing attention of teachers colleges thruout the nation to these vital subjects. \nother—a fifth—primary obstacle to the success of any enterprise is misunderstanding on the part of the individual citizen. In recent years there has been an increasing tendency on the part of higher education in America to grow away from a common understanding with the people SUC h understat d ng is invclispr nsable ma ar mocracy The terms used by educ wors are tre quently confusing to the public. Many times such terms ire just a complex way of describing a simple process. As a result of this tendency on the part of higher education the public has lost to some ex tent it st ‘ducation. This loss of interest has made possible the subtle control ducational policies by a relatively small part of the population. This resulting in the development of a class consciousness which i 1¢ course of time will lead to the destruction of democratic tecling icato who cater to the few have lost the jurisdiction granted them by roof s ot public edu ition We should not lose sight ot ulture and labor groups that in the early history tional opportunity for their children 11 | | ‘ iment of tree tax supported public Is Once he x problems confronting the Mavville State chers College was the transfer of the idea to the people that it was who should w t » Pp t Hleg In a position to better serve Grace: Buttpinc ComMUNITIES 81 their interests, and that they should avail themselves of the right of the citizen to be heard concerning needs in education. All too fre wently the laity are afraid to be heard, having developed an inferiority com lex when in the presence of the educated. Educated persons frequently forget that God bestows intellect and intelligence and that man bestows an educa- tion. A combination of the two is an excellent one In « rdet to regear certam aspects of education to the needs of the peo ple, we decided that the program should begin in cooperation with the people and grow upward, rather than begin at the top and reach down ward. Many of the services that education could render have been made valueless because educators failed to make themselves understood by the public. Recognizing this, the Mayville program has been discussed at P.TLA.s, farm organization meetings, school officers’ meetings, with in dividual citizens on any occasion that was offered, over the radio on state ind national hookups, with government groups, in the hallways of the school, on the convocation programs of the college, in articles written for educational journals, and especially in the newspapers. In every possible Way an effort 1s mack to make the public feel that the college is trying to their interests and that we are eager to know how it can do so more nly. Our program has received a most satisfactory response from lic. This undoubtedly proves that, given opportunity and en ouragement, the public will participate understandingly in an effort to improve the welfare and the security of the community. \ sixth obstacle to a college in action is the work of extremists within irea. Both the extreme right and the extreme left are a menace to any gram Limed to correct the very excesses which they represent. The growth of conservatism on the one hand and the increase in extreme lett wing thinking on the other may ke id ton tional disaster. The proble m 1s 1 wav of avoidiag the evils in these two extremes. This will be ilt, for freque ntly the same extremes are present in the thinking ot \s previously stated, the circumventing of all selfish ved by informing the public of the intention of the es to our program was the fact that the the institution. The state Ic zisla in nN che, i the school seemed to be na run-down condition The the COMMUNITY has 1ided The Ware. House Conrerenct in the reconstruction proyects ol the colle ve IS a te stimonial of the growth of community understanding. For instance, the local community provided the Jabor and money to build a beautiful amphitheater. Here are held ITVLISIC il f« stivals, athletic CVCHIES, ina PA other ACTIVITIES. khe people are proud of their achievement and are more united because of the suc- cess of their cooperative venture This is but a brief summary of obstacles to the development of the program at Mayville. It is evident that similar problems and lack of un derstanding confront teachers coll ves elsewhere. If there is confusion of purpose within the mnstitutions that train teachers, it may be readily under stood why education has tailed to develop a common purpose during the prIst CWenly-ive vears Coordination of Effort ‘| he materi ils th iwmomay he ck vised by 4 colle ue hu ulty. stuck nt body, and chers are just as numerous as the ingenuity of the human mind will Whole problem is not unified by a basic philoso permit. However, it the phy, the result will remain as it has been heretofore To this end, then, our effort should be to formulate a general philosophy ind to coordinate the internal agencies of our colleges with the external torces. We should attempt to invest all with the desire to solve their dif j heulties thru an understanding oO t the problems and to use their own CTCALEVE bility mn the solution he media that « e used are numerous and the technics variable. The bye yinninas at Mavvilk were mack in the weekly CONVOCATIONS which for more than iver incl i halt were devoted to discussions ind lectures per taining to the vital problems of our community. It has been thru these onvocations that a high ce yree ot student interest has been maintained, until at present a progressive philosophy is a topic for discussion in the | 1 everyday lives of our students, This spirit is after all the true patriotism, inal those who re imbued with thre \« Hinyas will ! ink high ne) the leader hip ot th communities 1 which thre \ will tt ich | mph 1s would hy | iced on short COLrSES, coordimation ol subjects, | , , ' ching, teacher institutes, institutional hulletins, meetings of irpmers and meetings with local units of farm organizations, training by spreading thy T 1 ph losophy we have sought to es tablish a reco icher-training institution may Muse Of her youth, is th the | tern set up how t ral leaders of the fo st mul ress | urthermore she ist their efforts iZation ind is cx lle ge Short courses us from them has re lent body and faculty It is ifternoon, listen ‘ philosophy ot to work in the smal] on ot our work ural youth must be of a gage in the upbuilding of e. then to element ry ind se ond to teacher-training in of teacher, it must follow in be recon security of this foundations assured, the outlook ir shall not have been in en a greater day ahead cetermin the actual hasic If educators will con ‘construction of natural greatest service common intere heen established, the be ith the beginnings success iS great as the human Gasce: Burtomwe Communities imagination. When these fundamentals are implanted in the minds of our children, 1 Stronger America will result nse lfishne $8 will LUPE Tse le selt ish ne ss, and the se urnty of the individu i will become the concern of il] The roots of democracy rest in rural America, and the best of American culture will continue to come from there as in the past. It schools continue to educate the capable youth away from their rural environment and leave the less capable, we shall lose the heritage that we have tought to maintain. PHE RURAL CHILD AND THE CHILDREN’S BUREAU KATHARINE F. LENROOT HE CotLoReN'’s Bureat was cre whi h directed wet = «6mvestipat | it kd lel | lel tuininy i Wellare of chtikiren and child | ! } ill CLASSES of our pecprle "Tr the words of one of tl ' ites i cre on ot the Bureau, Dr. Samuel MeCune Lindsay of Columb ‘ ity We want | vl tl ma r i | wc Where ¢ COMMON Man Can ye ithe that he will think ot, the label Lipheon which wil tte large that he can have no doubt in his mind as to wher AD ret information relating to the children of the country Growth of the Children’s Bureau Fact-tinding functions have led inevitably to work of standards and to advisory and consultation Lathrop, its first chief, in her first annual report, defined the “final PUT Prose of the Bureau is being “to serve all children, to try to work out the standards of care and protection which shall give chance in the world To these functions have been states for maternal and child he emergency maternal cd intant lowest puy ge ides ot t irmed cripy led children: and child w ul , r the protection and care ot dependent Th neglected children ni inger of becoming delinquent Responsibility tor entorcement of tl I l-labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act is also placed in the Children's Bureau Phe early program ot the Children’s Bureau included studies of maternal ma child care in the mountain areas of the South and the West. studies of nutrition of children in a mountain county of Kentucky, and a study ot juventle delincuency nor il New York In the pant twenty-five vears the Children’s Bareau has made many studies of child labor and the wel fare of children in the tamiles of tarm laborers. partic migrants. Grants to the states under Title \ the Socl ™) j sit neerhn Ww essip | tiv satewual | vi on Nave wl Drive which has the enck ol the 1} \\ Ta spre wi attent schools ire necessa;©ry pr young workers in ronal organiZz it the per od ot 1 } " ldren ‘ Bure iu prod LM where uct ire | I in the act cmiierr have included the | Agriculture, ind standards for the | Ai i i the cr 5 recuiture, ind Visory sae yuarding agri ultural s meluded st ndards tor agricul , conditions under which ot ing statewide and nation child welfare, and the sate ial tor benefit of such services only children in if meaning th ! rinancil ac yand January t ennial W hit 4 April ist tions concerned with t Chil the rc hve ld in 40, ural lren wherever they may live, the a groups responsibility lor et plans of ction important agency shaping the ’ | iv laws and their entorce | attendance nd character of educational opportunity, Children’s Bureau to eliminate Children’s Bureau | (;o0- lo i¢ ts ot the The at | Ith} hovyment nation wi ‘ my 1 this tall in Ponte wsement of the War Manpower Commis War and which ofl Information, Othce Extension and improvement of the won tor the return to school of pritfdS its of ecconversion., Tee W Hire Hlowss CONFERENCE The Bureau's Relation to Welfare of Rural Children rural children with whose weltare t Children’s Bure represented in this Conterence a mecerned F itty 6 million ch lren continental United States live ireas, according to the Final Report oft the W hit House Conterence on ( h ldren in a Democracy | ifiners | ! ind farm laborers have larger tamilies than city workers. Thirty-four pet cent of the farm population but only 23 percent ot the urban population ire under the re of sixteen vears, This majority of the children of the nation living in rural areas have far less than a majority of the resource: ot the nation for health, edu iron, ind home lite it their disposal Available income data, for example those from Consumer Expendi tures in the United States; Estimates for 1925-36," indicate that the average family income and per capita income are lower in rural than in urban Final Report of the White House Corference shows that gen roportion of children in the population coincides with a low per ta mecome. For example, the predominantly rural erally i relatively high } South ist, Ure M egron } the country, has about 12 percent ot the ! national income at Is percent the children under twenty years of age umer Expenditw p Print TABLE 1.--INFANT MORTALITY Deaths under one vear per 1000 live births Number per veal Percent of decrease f(O 1930 TO 1940 TO 1942 Lenroor: Curepren’s Bureat 89 Mortality rates—Intant and maternal mortality rates have been con sistently higher for rural than for urban areas.’ In 1942 the infant mor tality rate was 44 for each tooo live births in rural areas and 37 in urban ireas I he matern il Mert lity rate Was 35 1 rural areas and 25 in urban ireas. Both infant and maternal mortality rates have been greatly reduced over the past few decades. Since 1915 the reduction in the infant mortality rate for rural areas has been 53 percent and in the maternal mortality rate “) percent. While these reductions are impressive, progress in saving the I | 8 ¥ lives of mothers and babies has not been so rapid in rural as in urban areas. Cone outstanding factor in the higher mortality rates in rural areas 18 the smaller Proportion of births attended by physicians in hospitals, In 1Q40 only 37 percent of the births in rural areas were attended by physicians in hospitals as compared with St percent in urban areas, A most encouraging recent cle velopment has been a prom unced increase from 1940 to 1942 1n the proportion of hospital births for rural mothers, In 1942, 50 percent of ll births to mothers living in rural areas were attended by physicians in hospitals, m imcrease ol f percent over 1940 The improvement of the health of mothers and children, as well as the further 1 duction ot mortality, 1s partly dependent on the extension of tatistics data ‘ c of rural areas defined as places ible comparisons over a period ! n rural areas defined as places TABLE 1. MATERNAL MORTALITY Death from puerperal causes per 1 live births) Number per vear Percent of decrease 1g4i* gig to 19300 1940 to 194! 194i 1941 Rural Urban? Total | 47. [P10] payidads in pur s J2410 2 LIMPTTY pratdsoy t 1OU NPFEREN(E soy ul UPTDIS ‘Ud I 23J0W JO I Jopun [eo] Jopun xx I jopun I Yistg S29tId SIIT Id SII Id SII id SPIE Id 1F 210UI JO IUPpPUdNY tt61-oF61 th61 + JO UD 13d J24Y10W JO 29uUaptsos yo 29e;d yo uouryndod Ag poyrssryy LNVONALLY Gals IDddS HLIM SHLYIA SO LNAIDWSd PI VL sroor: Crtpren’s Buregat Gg! thus vuln I ible section of t he papal thon In I p42. ounties of the Um States had no regular under the supervision of a state he ith agency ! } r monthly hild- health conterences under the lin 6y percent of the counties roam part trom federal fund stce VoraAcTs the Social Security provided service to hildren in | areas) in 1944. On May 31, , , gdominan rura , ving child-welfare service, } | their own of relatives homes. TABLE 4. ESTIMATED NUMBER OF MINORS FOURTEEN THRI SEVENTEEN YEARS OF AGE, BY RESIDENCE, EMPLOYMENT STATUS, AND SCHOOL ATTENDANCE, APRIL 1944 In thousands —rounded to nearest 50,00 \Miinors fourteen thru seventeen vears Fourteen and Sixteen and hifteen years seventeen vears Num Num Percent ber Percent ber Percent r school ing school Not at work Actending school Not attending s¢ hool THe Wrire House Conrerence Child labor Data trom a sample study made by the Current Surveys Section of the Census Bureau in \pril 1O44 inslicate that a greater propor tion ot children living on farms than of nontarm children are at work yortion of farm children than of nonfarm children ire not attending approximately 2,150,000 farm children four teen to seventeen years re, 40 percent were at work and 60 percent were not working. Of an estimated 7,000,000 nonfarm children, 29 percent were working and 71 percent were not working. Including all children working or not working, 33 percent of the farm children were out of school as compared to 17 percent of the nonfarm children. The disparity between farm and nonfarm children is particularly marked in the fourteen to fifteen-year age group, in which 18 percent of the farm children were t attending school as compared to 4 percent of the nonfarm children. Most child labor on farms is, of course, unpaid family work, Vhe volume of agricultural employment of children has increased greatly is a result of the war and the consequent increased demand for agricul tural products, and acute manpower shortage. TABLE 5.—ESTIMATED NUMBER OF WAGE EARNERS AND UNPAID FAMILY LABORERS AMONG EMPLOYED MINORS FOURTEEN THRU SEVENTEEN YEARS OF AGE, APRIL 1944 In thousands —rounded to nearest ) Minors fourteen thru seventeen years ss of worker Fourteen and Sixteen and idence Total fifteen years seventeen years Num Num- Num ber Percent ber Percent ber | Percent | lenc ¢ Farm re Wave carners Unpaid family laborers Nonfarm residence Wage carners Unpaid family laborers Lenroor: CHicpren’s Bureat 93 The experience of the Children’s Bureau in enforcing the Fai Labor Standards Act has revealed substantial numbers of employed children eight, nine, and ten years old, and other violations of child-labor laws and standards in industries relating to agriculture, such as the processing of food products, which involve chiefly children living in rural areas School facilities—Inadequate school facilities are a corollary to agri cultural child labor. School terms in many rural areas are short, and are interrupted to allow children to work on the crops. As a rule, school buildings and equipment are inferior, teachers’ salaries are low, and oppor tunities for high-school education are far less in most sections of the country tor the rur il child as compared with the city child. True, progress has been made in consolidation ot school districts and ittendance units and in development of rural high schools, but far more remains to be accom plished if the rural child is to have educational opportunity commensurat with that afforded the child in the city. Opportunities for recreation and the development of cultural interests also are limited for rural youth The Final Report of the White House Conterence on Children in a Democracy pointed out that farming and migration have gone hand in hand in this country since its early settlement. In recent years agricultural migration has been usually an escape from intolerable conditions, rather than a movement toward something that offered hope and opportunity Larve scale ATC ultur il Cpe rations have, in the words ot the White House Conterence, “converted part of agriculture into an intensely seasonal Kers al piven occupation requiring concentration of large numbers of wor places for brief periods and offering practically no work for the rest of the year.” * Before the war it was estimated that there were 350,000 agri cultural interstate migrants at any one time, and that as many as 1,000,000 workers were going from state to state for seasonal employment. These migratory families are large, as a rule—36 percent of the 24,485 persons in hiss such families studied in California were under the age of fifteen years. The parents in such families are usually people with little or no education, who know no other kind of work than farm work and are forced by economic necessity to follow the CrOps Farm Wages are com paratively low, and so much time is lost between jobs that the families cannot get ahead finance ially. Such figures as are available indicate that the number of migratory families is larger this year than in 1943. ‘White House Conterence on Child nm emo cv. Final Report Altho the routiny Ku int Wysanitary 1 SS 2DG Plans should tur i] workers is those under tribution to th 1 dl 1\ CA nit Ons s Bure BEST COPY AVAILABLE gb Tre Where House Conrerence trom which they came the schools hac been closed tor several months tor the peak harvest season there, and they arrived in the North in June when schools were closing tor the summer vacation. Even if admitted for tag ‘nds of school terms in either state, they were able to make little progress toward getting an education, Rural childreg@iWho belong to racial or other minority groups. suffer from social discrimunfition and disadvantages, in addition to the general depriva tions which @fe characteristic of life in the poorest rural areas and tor migratory workers Twofold Problem of the Rural Child The problem of the rural child is first one of family economies and second one of community resources. Under the former heading are meas ures lor ext nding labor sf mdards ml social security measures to farm workers; and for promoting rural housing and enforcing housing and sanitary regulations, especially with reference to migratory families. The progress that has been made in maintaining good standards in camps for VOU a a rricultural workers gives reason to hope that the housing problems of migrant families are not insoluble. good Phe tactors that make it dithcult for rural communities to provide g schools also limit their ability i provicl yoo health and social services, Farming areas and small towns usually have a higher ratio of children to idults than do cities. In the rural farm population of the Southeastern states there were in tggo nearly twice as many children five to nineteen years of age tor « ich TOOO adults isin the cities of the same region.” There 1 great Variation im per capita wealth, in favor of the cities. In other the rural population has more children to serve, in proportion to . than the cities, and far less in per capita we ith. Federal Aid Essential — The only way by iciencies in health protection, medical care, cial services can be over n this country in the degree .ecessary national securitv, as | surance OL Opportunity tor individual lopment, 1 ree Laid measures for (1) health protection and ind thru childhood and adolescence, sufficient hand hospital care tor mothers and children: Aid for 942 Lenroor: CHitpren’s Bureat 97 (2) federal aid for elementary and secondary education; and (3) extension of social insurance, public assistance, and child welfare services so as to reach with qualified workers and adequate benefits or aid every family or child needing help or guidance in every county or other political sub- division in the United States. In the opinion of the Children’s Bureau, federal aid for vocational education should be related to a general federal- aid program, whose most important features would be assistance in assur- ing a reasonable minimum of educational opportunity for every child from nursery school or kindergarten thru high school. Federal aid for health, education, and economic and social welfare should be administered in accordance with the principle of equal oppor- tunity for children of all races and nationalities. Only on such foundations can we carry forward a democratic civilization. Panel Discussion BUILDING RURAL SCHOOLS AND COMMUNI- TIES TO COPE WITH THE PROBLEMS OF TOMORROW CARL C. TAYLOR, Head, Division of Farm Population and Rural Wel- fare, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C., Leader MILDRED L. BATCHELDER, Chief, The School and Children’s Library Division, American Library Association, Chicago, Illinois THOMAS C, BOUSHALL, Chairman, Education Committee of United States Chamber of Commerce, and President, Morris Plan Bank, Richmond, Virginia JAMES B. CAREY, Secretary-Treasurer, Congress of Industrial Organiza- tions, Washington, D. C. EDWARD A. O'NEAL, President, American Farm Bureau Federation, Chicago, Illinois ELEANOR ROOSEVELT, author, former teacher, humanitarian, The White House, Washington, D. C. MRS. RAYMOND SAYRE, Regional Director of Midwest, Associated Women of American Farm Bureau Federation, Ackworth, Iowa PAUL SIFTON, Assistant to the President, Farmers Educational and Cooperative Union, Washington, D. C. FRED G. WALE, Director for Rural Education, Juiitus Rosenwald Fund, Chicago, Illinois R. C. WILLIAMS, Assistant Surgeon General, Bureau of Medical Serv- ices, United States Public Health Service, Washington, D. C. M. L. WILSON, Director of Extension Work, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Dr. Taylor: This is a discussion among people who are not school peo- ple, and who, as you know, are eminently capable of discussing the prob- lem. Therefore, I hope they will tell you school people some things which you might forget to say. I think it should be very spontaneous, and I hope it [ 98] Panet Discussion: Prostems or Tomorrow 99 will be. I shall raise only two or three questions, but that doesn’t mean that the panel has to discuss those questions if the members have some hot questions in their minds other than those which I raise. The sort of question that I myself should ask would be: What in the program as it has thus far advanced, either in the group discussions or by the speakers, has been left out that some member of the panel thinks it just won't do to leave out? If that offers any stimulus to any of you to say something, say it; or if you have an impulse to say something else or to raise another question, just start it. Mr. O'Neal: Might I start, Doctor? 1 was profoundly impressed by the gentleman who spoke from the State Teachers College of North Dakota. When I heard his discussion, I began to think of the many elements of rural education. Nothing has been said about vocational education, or the 4-H clubs, or the Farm Security Administration, or the home agents that all work in rural areas, or the rural churches. The speaker from North Dakota did refer somewhat to that, but those other factors that come in are very, very vital to people in the rural community and the children in the rural community. I might add the Scouts and the Future Farmers. In other words, you have all those factors that come in. Dr. Taylor: I think Mrs. Roosevelt or Murray Lincoln was the first this morning to mention adult education. | remember that people cheered, and nothing else happened. We didn’t say anything more about it. Mrs. Roosevelt: I should like to ask a question that has been touched on. It has been brought up several times that the question of health was tied up with rural education. I am wondering, because I think adult educa- tion has a great deal to do with getting adequate health facilities in a rural community. I know there has been a great deal of discussion as to whether we are moving toward socialized medicine or just what kind of medicine we want. It has never seemed to me to have very much point, because the really important thing to center on is how people who don’t have adequate medical care are going to get it. I don’t care whether they get it thru socialized medicine or thru the American Medical Association deciding on a method by which it should be done. I don’t really care how it is done, as long as it is done. I think it requires adult education. One thing that was said today was that if we didn’t know enough to plant gardens and to have proper nutri- tion of the kind that you could grow right on your farm, that of course was something we don’t require doctors for. Nevertheless, we do require Tue Wriitre House ConrerENce adult education to know that those things are necessary and that we want to know about them. I really think what I am groping for is how to get the knowledge to the fathers and mothers, who want things for their children but who so often don’t know what is really best for their children and how to go about doing it. It was brought up that the local papers and the farm papers particularly would have that knowledge. The farm papers have the same limitations that other papers have. They print what the people want. So, unless the people are going to want this knowledge, they are not going to print it. For that reason, I am really wondering where you are going to get the push that gets it into the older people's minds. Dr. Taylor: Let’s wrestle with that. Mrs. Sayre: | should like to answer in part, in so far‘ as T cart; that rural people have to discover for themselves what the facts are, whether it is about education or whatever it may be. They have to understand what their own problems are. They have to discuss them. That is what you said this morning. Then I would go one point further, With all due respect to all the edu- caters who are here, rural people must decide for themselves what kind of program they want after they find out the probiems and the facts. I think we must have enough faith in democracy to believe that, given the facts, the people will come out with the right answers. That is the approach we have used in Iowa in this school situation. I am not quoting Iowa because it is lowa, but because we have done something there. About a year ago, the state farm bureau asked every county farm bureau in the state to appoint a school committee made up of three men and two women. Then we went to the Extension Service of the Iowa State College and asked, “Will you make out some study guides (not answers, but guides) by which the people can find out what their school problems are?” and they did that. They furnished this to all the county farm bureaus in the state, and they furnished us personnel as well. These com- mittees found out in their own counties about all these school problems that Dr. Dawson was talking about this morning. Dr. Taylor: Mrs. Sayre, wouldn’t you want to emphasize pretty strongly, however, when you say, “Let the rural people decide,” and when you say, “Discuss,” that you do have to have some machinery to get them to dis- cussing the thing? Mrs. Sayre: That is what I am talking about. Maybe you don’t want Panet Discussion: PropteMs or TomMorrow 101 me to talk so long. Once I get started, you are not going to be able to stop me, because it is the answer to the question that was asked this morning and is the important thing to come out of the Conference. This is the com- mittee report from Dallas County, lowa (indicating paper). These people have found out for themselves the problems in their schools: the trend in school enrolment, how much a small school costs, how many schools they have closed, the ability of people to support schools, and all of these ques- tions that were brought up this morning—those people have found out for themselves. I believe that, until people do find out for themselves what their problems are and find out the fagts in connection with them, they cannot decide; and that they will not support what they themselves do not decide. Dr. Taylor: Do you or does anyone else here feel that the thing that the ladies and gentlemen were telling in the story of Mayville, that our formalized, institutionalized education has tended to stultify the creative, indigenous community processes and has gotten us away from some of these things which people do for themseives ? Mrs. Sayre: I think that educators have not talked with people enough, and that is my great criticism. I should like to know how many people in this room have children in a country school. Will you please raise your hands? (About fifteen hands were raised.) Dr. Taylor: Mrs. Sayre, Paul wanted to say something. Do you mind? Mr. Sifton: Apropos of what Mrs. Roosevelt said, that the papers print what the people want; they print the news. With all respect to the member of the Newspaper Guild who made the statement, both with respect to food and news, it is not true that people tend to like what they can get. I remember being on a plane recently across the aisle from two soldiers who were served a balanced meal, with chicken, salad, tomato juice, and what have you; and the way they worked around everything but the chicken was terrific. | mean, if they can do a surrounding operation when they get on the battlefront as skilfully as they did to get around the “zabbit food” (I suppose that is what they called it), it will be very successful. It seems to me that what is necessary here is some information and leadership. I remember a statement about the fall of France by Norman Angell and Andre Maurois, They debated why it was, and they con- cluded that democracy could fight and win against totalitarianism if the leaders in a democracy both informed and led. In France, they did 102 THe Wuire House ConFrerence neither. Here in this country all that is needed is information and leader- ship; in other words, bringing the facts and the situation to the people. Then they act, and they take proper steps, as Mrs. Sayre has said. But certainly there ‘must be a statement to the people of what has been said here today. If just what has been said here today could be brought out to the people, there would be action. Dr. Taylor: Let me say something else. Don’t talk to that audience out there. Everybody so far has made a speech. You go after these people up here. Let's have a discussion. Mr. Wale: I think there is an answer to this question that goes a little bit back of the fact that the people will find out for themselves. Somebody has got to do a little stimulation, and I want to pin some of that responsi- bility on the teachers college. 1 think, if we really could help them see their destiny, that the teachers of the young people out in those teachers colleges would get out and work in the communities in a way that they don’t. That old cliche, “If you can’t,do anything, you teach; and if you can’t teach, you teach teachers,” must not be true any longer. It seems to me that they, with these young people, must stimulate the discussion that will find out how to solve these problems, whether it is health or cooperatives or working together; not to establish organizations, but also not to be fear- ful if, out of the truth that they bring to these people, some fairly radical organization might develop. Of course, someone is going to put pressure on the president back in the college and ask, “What do you mean by organizing these people out in the rural communities to help themselves?” I think that is the gaff he has to take. As I understood what Dr, Grace was telling us, that is what they are trying to get to at Mayville. What we need in every teachers col- lege is a Mayville that will do this job in the rural community. Mrs. Roosevelt: Mrs. Sayre, I may have misunderstood you, but I thought you felt that you should not take any solution from anyone else, that the people themselves must come to that conclusion. I think that is very true, but, after all, I think the people are often bewildered, even if they know the facts, as to how to begin, unless someone comes with some kind of suggestions. It may not be, “This is what you want to do.” It might be, “These are some of the ways in which you may do things.” I am quite sure that in the past they haven't done the things, not because they haven’t known that there was something that needed to be done, but because they really haven't known how to begin, where to take hold. Panet Discussion: ProspLemMs oF TomMorrow 103 Mrs. Sayre: | think that in lowa (that is the situation that I know, and that is the reason I talk about it) people did not know, that they didn’t have good rural schools. We had been complacent because somebody told us a long while ago (1 don’t know who it was) that we had the least illiteracy of anybody in the United States. They forgot to tell us that that only means that you can read and write. The point I.am trying to make here is that all the facts (I am making a speech again) that Dr. Dawson gave this morning have to be translated in terms of the local community before the people understand it. I think it was Dr. Morgan, of the TVA, who said, “If a thing isn’t local, it isn’t alive.” You can talk until you are black in the face about the national problems and the state problems but, until those problems are translated in terms of Dallas County and Appanoose County and Decatur County, it doesn’t really count. Dr. Taylor: Would this bring what you and Mrs, Roosevelt are saying together? It is probably an excuse for me to say what I think the process is. It doesn’t make any difference where the stimulus or suggestion comes from, if it is understood, accepted, and acted upon. I think that is true in my life, in your life, and in everyone else’s. So, I think we could very weli stultify our whole society, the whole educational process, the whole cul- tural process, by assuming that some way or other a new thing had to spring up in the heart of the man who lives in the cave way back there. You don’t mean to say that. Mrs. Sayre: No. Miss Batchelder: From my visits in rural counties, I don’t believe the people generally have the information they need for the action suggested by Mrs. Roosevelt and Mrs. Sayre. With 57 percent of our rural people living in areas without any public library service we have a long way to go before we will have authoritative information presenting various sides of questions under consideration. Such background information must be available to everyone, not merely to those who can pay for it individually. If we are to have adequate information centers for all people in rural areas, we must use the same method urged for rural schools—larger administrative units for adequate service. Library administrative units large enough to provide skilful professionally trained librarians, to have bookmobiles that take the books where the people are; that provide films and recordings as readily as printed materials; that will encourage and arrange discussion groups on subjects such as those considered at this 104 Tue Wuire House ConrerENCE Conference. Library leaders where there are county or regional libraries in cooperation with other rural leaders will stimulate use of library ma- terials as one means of strengthening and extending the adult education program. Dr. Taylor: You say, this possibly: that the library, which has not been institutionalized to anywhere near the extent that the schools have, par- ticularly in rural areas, may be more versatile in meeting the modern needs, in filling in these chinks which we sometimes leave when we build big schools out in Montana or somewhere. Miss Batchelder: I won't say that it will be more versatile but we have many examples of library versatility in meeting modern needs of in- dividuals for informal education. We know that library service of that kind cannot be given by small libraries with inadequate resources. In many instances a county may be too small to support library service economically and effectively. In many parts of the country multi-county or regional libraries are needed if such services as promotion of discussion groups, reading guidance of adults and children, well developed school library service, and a real community information center are to be de- veloped thru the library. It seems to me that there are services which a democracy should supply to its citizens thru a tax-supported agency. As Mr. Lincoln reminded us this morning, our government which we create we must use to do the things we, the people, need. One of the things we need is to be informed. Essential, if we are to be informed as individual members of a democracy, are libraries within reach of everyone in rural and urban areas alike. Dr. Taylor: M. L., you act as if you want to say something. Dr. Wilson: Carl, in the communities with which I have been ac- quainted, in the past twenty-five years there has been less discussion and less thinking by the farm people about the schools than there was, say, thirty or more years ago. When World War I came, it diverted the atten- tion of farm people to the war, and we must remember that the agricul- tural depression came on soon after World War I. Farmers struggled with the problems of prices, foreclosures, and all that kind of thing, plus the developments in the technics of farming, and so on, which I think were discussed in an informal, natural way in the farm community. It seems to me that independent of and underlying this is the interest of farm people that grows out of their problems. I am very much in- agreement with what you have said, namely, that something grows out Panet Discussion: ProsLems or Tomorrow 105 of this process of farm people getting together and asking themselves what their problems are; how they can bring in the experts; how they can bring in the results of research; how they can bring in different views;"not just one doctrine and not just one view, but all of them brought in and examined, and thought about and talked over treely. I can understand why we haven't had so much of that in relation: to rural schools for twenty-five years. I had a letter the other day from a county I have known for twenty-five or more years, as I had been at one time a county agent myself in Montana. That letter outlined to me the problems that were going to be discussed at the county planning meeting this coming winter. Numbei three on that list of things that they were going to talk about and think about and ask questions about was that there were a lot of schools in Custer County, Montana, for which they were not yet able to get teachers. That brings up a problem that is pretty vital. I think that many stu- dents of education would say that the county rural schools have been running down for twenty-five years. I don’t like to reflect back to my boyhood days, but it seems to me that fifty years ago in Iowa there was a kind of interest in education among the older people which we haven't had so much in the last twenty-five years. I expect that former interest in rural schools to come back. As a result, I expect the new problems will be discussed. New questions will be raised. Somebody must see to it that two things happen. One is that there get into that discussion the results of all of the research that has been carried on by the technical people in the field of school education. I thought this morning, after that masterful summary by Dr. Dawson, that this is not a problem in which we can dodge our responsibilities by saying we have to have a lot of research. The school people have done a lot of fine research, as have the National Education Association, the U. S. Office of Education, the research agencies in the teachers colleges, and the professors of educa- tion. There has been a lot of research done. They have a lot of very fine material. That material, then, as you say, has got to be put into local terms. I make this observation as an extension worker, without any criticism at all of other agencies: that in some communities with which I have been acquainted, it seems to me that among the school people and in the parent- teachers association (I say this without any criticism whatsoever; it is perfectly natural, and I think we can understand it) there was a feeling that, as far as citizen participation in the school was concerned, the citizen 106 THe Wuite House ConrerENCcE expressed himself thru the parent-teachers association, It seems to me that with this newer conception that we have of the community, in which we think of the community as a whole, of all the people and all the in- stitutions in the community, we must see tc it that other organizations become geared up with the schools and that all of them participate in answering this question of what we are going to do about improving them. Dr. Taylor: Let me take something that you said, and I am going to throw it right to you, Dr. Williams. I think that the rural people were not aware of the problems which have shown up in the Selective Service examinations. There are many times problems in people’s lives of which they are not aware. I throw that over to you to see what you have to say. Dr. Williams: Very largely that is true, Dr. Taylor. I might say I am a country doctor, despite the fact that I have on a uniform at the present time. For six years I was with the Farm Security Administration as chief medical officer and worked on problems relating to medical care. As has been indicated, the Selective Service examinations did show some startling figures. If you will recall, they showed about 41 percent in the farmer group who were rejected for physical reasons, the largest num- ber. There are various approaches to this thing. It is a complicated problem. Sitting here thinking, and hearing discussed what the people could contribute, I was reminded of some experiences I had down in Arkansas when I was with the Farm Security Administration. We set up during that time medical care plans for the low-income borrower farm families in thirty states. We usually set up a county association as the organiza- tion. We worked witn the local doctors, had an agreement with the local doctors, and worked on that level. I want to say just parenthetically that one of the things that the Farm Security Administration medical care program showed was that you can work with the local doctors. It can be made to succeed. All you have to do is to go to them and talk out your plans with them, and not appear to try to ram something down their throats. It can be done, and it isn’t what is ordinarily spoken of as socialized medicine. It is simply a common-sense getting together of people in the same county around the table and work- ing cut their problems. What I started out to say was that in Arkansas I remember particularly meeting with one of these county groups. We had the executive committee of one of these county associations, five of these low-income farmers. I think there were one or two women in the group, and three men; perhaps Pane. Discussion: PropteMs oF ToMoRROW 107 four men and one woman. They were sitting around the table to talk over problems relating to the medical care that they were receiving thru this association from their local doctors. Various questions were arising: the question that some families had a tendency to use the doctors too much, that some were not using them enough, and various matters dealing with that particular county. I was very much heartened and gratified at the intelligent suggestions and the intelligent discussion from those five people sitting around that table regarding their own problems right there in that county. I think that is one of the things we must keep in mind. We have got to go back there and get those people to sit down with us, with us doctors and with the other people in the county, and solve these problems of medical care. It can be done. I didn’t mean to make a speech, Mr. Chair- man. Dr. Taylor: I am glad you did. I have been taking notes all day, and finally I have sifted them down. The first question I put down was the one I raised at the beginning of :his discussion. The next one I put down is that this is not merely a school but a school and community conference. Many speakers here and the discussion group in which I participated last night were pretty concrete and pretty detailed on the school, clear down to curriculum and curriculum materials and all those particular things; but it seems to me that on the community what we are talking about is rather vague. When you say, “Sit down with these people in that spot,” or, “Get the people together,” does it mean that they will sit down together in communities? I would like to have somebody make the community a little more real to us. Mr. O'Neal: Could I talk again? Dr. Taylor: Yes. Mr. O'Neal: This group has made me rather pessimistic. When I go thruout this nation, I have been greatly cheered at the great development of community life. It is marvelous. I am pretty well along in years, and as far as the three national farm organizations are concerned (I don’t want to speak for all of them; we have a representative of each one here), we are all busy in the communities. In a number of our states we have hos- pitalization. The farm organizations themselves have arranged it. I could have some of the people in the audience tell you about it. The point I am making, tho, is that I hate to see you so pessimistic, because I have seen the development from the little school where Abe 108 THe Wuite House ConFrerENCcE Lincoln went. I have seen the school developed in large areas both with the Negroes and with the whites. I am not so pessimistic as you are. After all, I want to say to you that the really fundamental reason for the lack of education is the economic status of the American farmer. That 1s the hard guts of the whole thing. They do have schools where they have the money. I am one in favor of the federal government's helping them and letting the community run them, but I am saying to you that I am not so pessimistic. If you. give equality to the American farmer, by George, we will solve the hospital and we will solve the school. In my lifetime, you know, we have had only seven years in which we have had anywhere like equal economic opportunity with any other; group in America. We haven't had it. Dr. Taylor: Mrs. Roosevelt, Paul Sifton, and Mr. Carey over here are all ready to talk. All right, Mrs. Roosevelt. Mrs. Roosevelt: I will let the others in on it. Dr. Taylor: Let Carey go first, then, since he has just gotten here and hasn’t had a say. Mr. Carey: | think Ed O'Neal is correct that the farmers need equality of opportunity, but the one way for the farmers to get it is to make certain *that they are willing to give it to others. While we are talking about education, let’s talk about what the rural teachers receive in terms of salaries, It so happens that they receive on an average annually about $967. That is for the year 1939-40. It is just one- half of what the teachers in the city areas received, about $1937 on an average in the year 1939-40. If the farmers are willing to expand and have an economy of plenty in terms of education and health, then stop talking about the community as an excuse for not doing something. If you don’t want the federal gov- ernment to give balance in this national community of educational oppor- tunities by taxing wealth where it is and giving education where the children are, of course you will talk about state’s rights. Then, if you want to prevent the state from creating that balance in the state community, you will talk about letting the community run it. It so happens that the citizens of this country in large part in our in- dustrial centers come from the farms. You know, Ed, 40 percent of the citizens of this country had more children in recent years in the rural areas— Mr. O’Neal (interposing): We heard about that all day long. You haven’t been here, Lad. Panet Discusston: ProsiemMs oF Tomorrow Mr. Carey: You are rig What we har do, ti stoy talk j " KING about gong I iCcK rye ommunity to try to finance these cam won ind he ilth Wi h ive d if is Mrs Roose velt said, without worrying too much whether someone like Ed O'Neal calls it d medicine or socialized education. We have to get the job done stop using these old clicl ind excuses for not doing the job. Mr. O'Neal: You double our wages. give us time and a half for over time, and double time for Sunday, and we will build all the hospit ils and schools America needs, We will do that. I challenge you. That rs to the American farmer compared to what we ire getting now, a gross of 22 billion Mr. Carey: The American farmer is doing quite well Mr. O'Neal: Pretty good Mr. Carey: Darned good, Ed Mr. O'Neal: The farme- has the money to buy, but I challenge you now ind show you how We will build the schools Dr. Taylor: This is getting into a good battle, but do you want to say something, Paul? Mr. Sifton: If \ ou will pardon me for pointing, Mr. O'Neal, I want to point out that if vou turfi teachers loose on the current scene and the future probabilitic sin the community, the state the nation, ind the world, ind let them lay before their public, their pupils, and thru their pupils the ents, the facts of modern life, there will be generated a feeling that see to it that freight rate differentials are knocked out and that a number of other impediments to the rece iprt by the grower of an adequate return of the consumer price will be simplified, and he will get a larger share of it. Just turn the teachers loose with facts in this country, and give them enough a that they can have i contimenty of tenure, ind you will yet plenty of result on the income of farmers Mrs. Roosevelt: There must be no political control Dr. Taylor: Were you ready to say something, Mr. Boushall ? Mr. Boushall: | was very much impressed with this meeting here today hecause most of the people who have spoke n have been educators, l being entirely outside that group, being just an ordinary, garden variety of busi ness man, and even being so low down in that state as to be in the banking business I am very much impressed with the fact that nobody here has talked much about the objective of education. It is education for education itself, As business sees education, education is af instrument by which the people THe Wuitre House ConFrereENcE can be upgraded both in their technical skills and in their cultural develop ment and their spiritual conceptions. That brings me to the point that, from a business point of view, I have been so impressed with the constant reference to the fact that wherever there is a low income level, there is a very low educational status. The question is: Which comes first? Does the low income level bring on the low educational status, or does the low educational status bring on the low income level ? That brings me to the point we are discussing here, of who is respon sible for stimulating some change in that. Mr. Carey said a moment ago that 40 percent of the people in the urban communities come in from the rural back country. The cities are getting themselves in the very remark able position of allowing education to deteriorate and economic conditions to deteriorate in the rural areas, despite Mr, O'Neal's getting too much money in the last seven years, according to Mr. Carey. The cities have got to take the responsibility for leadership in education, or else the cities are going to find the rural areas drying up behind them. So many of our communities, not our big cities but our smaller communities, are de s pendent on the trade from the’ cduntry to come in and make the com- munity what it is. Unless the city is going to take the responsibility for the small town, for tye back area, then there is going to be a drying up of the economic statis back there; whereas, if they will help to elevate the educational level in the surrounding country, they are going to have an increase in the economic level and consequent greater prosperity in the local community. One of the things we are trying to do in the Committee on Education of the United States Chamber is to develop that fact in the minds of every chamber of commerce in every small community in the United States, that the city must take the responsibility for the development of the edu cational level of the people in the surrounding area, or else we are going to have deterioration. I should like very much for one of the members of the panel to bring out the question in his mind, whether the educational level is low be cause of the low economic status, or is the economic status low because the educational level is low? I have an answer to it in part, I think, and I should like to hear somebody's viewpoint. Dr. Taylor: Two or three others here have an impulse to say some- thing. Let me give you my answer dogmatically, which may not satisfy Panet Discussion: ProstemMs of ToMoRRow III you at all. In the cultural process of this downward cycle or spiral, there is such a thing as human or cultural erosion. I don’t think it is “either or.” T think that is the answer to what happened. If I have not the money to half educate my children, then they start poor, and their children start poorer than they did. I don’t think it is an “either or.” Doctor, you had something to say. Dr. Williams: I was just going to say, regardless of how many hospitals we erect or how many clinics we build, we have to have maintenance, and we have to have people to work in them. So we are not solving our prob- lems when we simply build some institutions. We have to provide for the maintenance, workers, nurses, physicians, dentists, and other people con- nected with health activities in setting up more adequate medical care tor the rural areas. Dr. Taylor: We have only five minutes more to go. This panel has begun to get hot. Even tho we would like to have the audience in, because some of you people are probably panting with a question, I still think that— Miss Charl Ormond Williams: Make it five more. Dr. Taylor: some of you have spoken so shortly and so infre- quently, you are bound to have something else you think the panel should discuss. So let it come. Mr. Carey: I have one point, Dr. Taylor, about the teachers of rural communities assuming leadership in the community. I think it might be desirable for them to have their own credentials in order, since they are going out to help the other groups. It might be well if they put a little higher rating, a little higher value, on their own profession and get to- gether as teachers to get the information necessary. In other words, join teachers unions, establish that profession to some degree what it should be, and see to it that the community then, with your credentials in order, will recognize that you are out to see that a better job is done. Mr. O'Neal: What would you do, Carey, if a teacher struck? You would be in an awful shape, wouldn't you? Mrs. Roosevelt: On that point, most people here probably are opposed to teachers doing that, but I have lived most of my life a good part of every year in the country, and I have known a great many rural teachers and rural schools, and I want to say that one reason teachers don’t go out and lead in the community is that they are afraid. They are afraid because they don’t know how much tenure they have in that community. It may be wrong to organize, but long before I ever knew a thing about what an THe Wurire House ConrereNce organization could do for you, | have often wondered how you were going to get leadership from people who wondered whether, if they said, “T believe thus and so,” someone from Mr. O'Neal's organization was going to sav the next day: “That is dangerous doctrine. We don't believe you can have it.” Mr. O'Neal: | will answer you, Madam. There is one thing that the country boys and girls do love, and that is a holiday. They love that. I do think, Doctor, that there is one thing we haven't brought out very much here, as I look back on the history of America, and I think it is one of the weaknesses in our schools and one of the very dangerous things when | go to New York and see LaGuardia, my old friend, and see what happens in a lot of these cities now, the loss of religion, morulity, and so on, the terrible things that happen. After all, what about Princeton? What about Harvard? What about the great religious schools? I think that we, as rural people, feel that we want to try to develop and strengthen those schools. and those churches ‘to work with the schools. If you give us economic equality, we will do these things. You need not worry about that. Dr. Taylor: Ed, | have something to say about that. You remember Xenophon Cavernaugh very well, of course. I asked him, after visiting down on his farm one week-end, to speak to my class on rural sociology at’ Missouri, and Xenophon made exactly that same statement. T spent vear before last in Argentina, and observed that where the people are making the most money in agriculture is the rottenest part of the Argen tine civilization. It won't happen merely because the farmers make money, You must carry on these other social processes. With the price and market regime of the world, of course, a man has to make a living; but education, Christianization, community organization, recreation, art, friendship—all those things must also be had, and there are technics by which people get those things. That is the thing that I felt was lacking here, that no one has gotten down and talked about these community processes, which are real processes, and [ think you and I would agree quite thoroly that when American rural life loses its neighborhood community life, it has lost something. One part of the topic here is the community. I don’t feel that we have adequately covered that. If you have a few sentences of real, hot contribution pointed right on the beam on that thing, I wish you would get up and say something. I don’t care whether you are in the audience or up here. Panet Discussion: PropteMs or TomMoRRow 113 Mr. O'Neal: All you have to do is go to a good country school, some of these country high schools, and see the 4-H Clubs, see the children, see them play football, see the picnics. I go there. You teachers around here had better go to some of those places. It would do you a lot of good. Mrs. Sayre: I have been trying to tell you that that is exactly what we are doing in the state of lowa, We are having meetings all over the state. Mr. O'Neal: I tell you what we will do, Doctor. We will give you more to eat than you get in town when you get out there, and you will have a big time. Dr. Taylor: I know that Mrs. Sayre: | want to sav one more thing on this financial angle, because I think it is tremendously important, and I think teachers need to under stand it. In lowa we were consolidating back in 1920, and we were build- ing schools. Farm people do want good education for their children, and we had started the program to do what we ought to do by the teacher and by the child. It suddenly stopped just like that. Do you know what happened? Hogs went down to 3 cents. You can make all the laws you want to to have the minimum salary for teachers $80 or $100 or $150 (which is what we are now paying our teacher in my own little rural-school district), but as soon as the price of hogs in lowa goes down to 3 cents, the salary that you pay the teacher is inevitably going down to $65 again. Mr. Carey: That shouldn't be, of course. We are not thinking alone of, say, establishing a minimum rate for teachers. Why not have federal aid, why not have state aid to the community ? Mrs. Sayre: That is what we are working for. Mr. Carey: We are for that. Mr. Boushall: This is a very materialistic question, but it is very basic, because we have to pay for it. If the upgrading of our people thru educa- tion isn't going to improve their economic contribution to the production and their consequent ability to consume, where are we going to find the money to pay for the education? No matter who does it, whether the federal government or anybody else pays for it, education has to do at least a job of upgrading production and consumption capacities. Mr. Carey: That is right. Dr. Wilson: I think, Carl, that this White House Conference, like other White House conferences, will come out with a series of recommendations and suggestions to the American people. For those of us in other organiza tions, aside from those specifically related to the rural schools, I think 14 Tue Wurre House ConrereENcE there is an obligation here that we in our respective fields do all that we can to get country people to understand and think about the recommenda- tions that will have been made by this Conference. I am sure that the Extension Service will help in it. Dr. Taylor: Let me close this by reading to you some things that I had thought this panel might discuss, and I was anxious to have them dis cussed because they were holes not filled thus far and because they are controversial questions. There is the one I have already mentioned Another one was: High schools available to all. | have made that state ment and gotten jumped on right and left The issues of the large and the small rural school. It isn’t all on the large school side. Education tending to grow away from life, higher education clear on down to the rural schools. | am not saying that is true. I am saying that is an issue that was up. Equalization between states, between the people in the communities themselves, between minority groups. The community, a means and a result, from Dr. Dunn’s statement. | wish we could have gotten a little more discussion on that today. Then I had down here: Education other than the schools. Under that I had: Adult education, farmers’ organizations, other groups. Education within the family. What about education for health? What about educa- tion for recreation, for art, for participation itself? Those are things which, if this panel hadn't been able to run on its own steam and by its own headlight, | would have thrown in, but it had enough. INFORMAL REMARKS FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT HERE ARE MANY THINGS Which we have learned in this war. Among the most important are those which we have learned thru our Selective Service System about the health and education of the youth of our nation. We have found that among those examined for Selective Service 444 percent can be classed as illiterate; and that 40 percent of all registrants for Selective Service have not gone beyond an elementary- school education. That is why this Conference on Rural Education assumes such great . . . 4 . importance in our planning for the future. For, while we plan for the welfare of our returning veterans first, and for the continued prosperity of our war workers, we must also lay plans for the peacetime establish- ment of our educational system on a better basis than we have ever known before. Those should be the goals of this Conference on Rural Education. Rural teaching, country teaching, the teaching given in the small schools at the farm crossroads and in the little villages and towns, has played a greater part in American history than any other kind of education. The American form of government was conceived and created by men most of whom had been taught in country schools. Country schools prepared Americans for the task of mastering this continent. Country schools trained a great proportion of the boys who fought the early American wars. Country schools trained millions of those who are fighting this greatest of American wars today. They will play their tremendous part in the creation of the American future to which the citizens of this country are committed in their hearts and souls. It is for all of us Americans to see that the building of that future does not lag because the country schools are without the means to carry on their essential work. The full attendance at this Conference and the agenda which it has before it indicate the special attention which must be given to the prob- lems of the education of that half of our children and youth who live on [ 115 | 116 THe Wuitre House ConrerENCE the farms and in the villages. So far as school opportunities are con- cerned, these children have always been, and still are, the least privileged in the nation. We are justifiably proud of the splendid, modern schools in our cities and towns. We cannot be proud of the fact that many of our rural schools, particularly during these years of war, have been sadly neglected. Within one school year after Pearl Harbor, several thousand rural schools had been closed because teachers could not be found for them. One of the leading farm papers recently reported that, in one agricultural state in the Midwest, nearly a third of the teachers in one-room schools are now persons holding only emergency licenses to teach, and nearly Xoo schools face this coming school year without a teacher. The basic reason for this situation is simple. We all know what it is, It is not patriotism alone that has taken teachers out of the classrooms. Most of them simply cannot afford to teach in rural schools. The present average salary is less than $1000 a year and some salaries go as low as $300. That is just too small by any decent standard. Only the self-sacrificing devotion of teachers who put their duty to their schools before their consideration of themselves permits the children of many American school districts to get the education to which all Americans are entitled. Frankly, the chief problem of rural education is the problem of dollars and cents. You and I know that. We know also that in very many cases the problem cannot be solved by increasing the local taxes because the taxable values are just not there. I have pointed out before that the gap between educational standards in the richer communities and those in the poorer communities is far greater today than it was 100 years ago. We must find the means of closing that gap—by raising the standards in the poorer communities. I believe that the federal government should render financial aid where it is needed, and only where it is needed—in communities where farming does not pay, where land values have depreciated thru erosion or thru flood or drought, where industries have moved away, where transport facilities are inadequate, or where electricity is unavailable for power and light. Such government financial aid should never involve government inter- ference with state and local administration and control. It must purely PresipENT RooseveLtt: REMARKS and simply provide the guarantee that this country is great enough to give to all of its children the right to a free education. Closely related to this whole problem is the question of the health of our young people. Here again we cannot boast of our part in this war without a feeling of guilt—for about 4o percent of all men who were examined had to be rejected for military service for physical or mental reasons. We cannot be satisfied with the state of this nation if a large percentage of our children are not being given the opportunity to achieve good educa- tion and good health. I believe that our educators—those who are close to our children— should consider these two problems together. I believe that from such conferences as this one we may produce constructive plans looking toward substantial improvement in our American standard of living. And that means better production, better clothes, better food, better housing, more recreation, more enjoyment of life. These things do not come from wish- ful thinking—they come from hard work and realistic thinking by those who are sincerely devoted to the solution of these problems. We do not pretend that we can reach our goals overnight but, if we seck them day in and day out, we may in our own lives take our rural educational system out of what was called, once upon a time, the horse and buggy age. Your Conference this year has met at a time when the forces of evil have their backs to the wall—at a time when all the civilized world is more than ever determined that such wars cannot, will not, happen again. Nothing can provide a stronger bulwark in this determination in the years to come than an educated, enlightened, and tolerant citizenry, equipped with the armed force necessary to stop aggression and warfare. To you of this Conference, and to all similar groups devoted to the cause of a better America, the nation will look for advice and guidance as, in democratic fashion, it works out its design for the future. meee. “ (Ag SO GRATESFUL = To FALA FOR GETTING ME INTO SR Te lity Rams 43 Sate - Som Ah Por dink; Vos : aad & om fot Tilt: Prades allrtd m Fo Canc Is fac Jtorad Seahorse pol mg 6 ray I~ eupr Keough gene | ‘ fe Ap Ge L wheat farm in the great rural Middlewest. The country ts beautiful and inspring. The rearing of a family and the education of boys and girls ts most mmiportant of all. Work expertence ts an-important part of a rural child's educa «education also when father and son work together as shown here. BEST COPY AVAILABLE THIRD GENERAL SESSION Thursday morning, October 5 The White House Presiding IRVING F. PEARSON President, National Association of Secretaries of State Teachers Associations, and Executive Secretary Illinois Education Association Springfield, Illinois Report of Group I EDUCATION TO MEET THE NEEDS OF RURAL CHILDREN PUCATION IN THE HOME is basic: but most of this education is incicl ental. To supplement this education in the home, society has set up schools. These have been established in order to guarantee to children a minimum of essential and common experiences. Because so much of education is received outside of school, the educational process is difficult to attain in situations where homes are inadequate. We hold that the school must start with what other agencies have offered—stimulate them to make their maximum contribution and supplement their inade- quacies. The task of the school then is to assure the development of the poten- tialities of all rural children for their personal happiness and social use- fulness. All teachers, even the most inexperienced, can recognize to a certain extent the potentialities of their pupils. If teachers are interested in each child, observe him during the day, and visit him in his home environment, they will know something about the experiences necessary for his best development. Most experienced teachers may supplement their observations with tests, skilful interviews, and expert observations. Each rural child has special needs that are the result of the interaction of his personality and environment. For example, it is commonly found that the rural child's vocabulary is limited because his environment has not supplied she social and language experiences needed to build a useful vocabulary. Ritral children also are often shy. Their potentialities for sociability have not been developed by experience in a variety of social situations. The school should assure the discovery of children’s needs and potentiali- ties and provide experiences thru which these needs are met and individual potentialities developed. We believe that the total scope of rural education includes far more than the education of the child at school age. It extends from birth to old age. Altho this report deals principally with children at elementary- and high-school age, the committee recognizes the great importance of parent education, education of the preschool child, and formal and informal adult education. [ 121 | THe Write House ConrereENce The following school experiences seem to require emphasis as being particularly valuable for meeting the needs of rural children and extend- ing their potentialities. : A. Rural children should learn what is necessary for survival. Adequate practices in mental and physical health are an essential in rural education and life. Health is the most obvious need of children; it underlies and makes possible all other activities. The demands that war has put upon us have highlighted the inadequacies in our health educaticn. Education is not wholly responsible for the physical defects, accidents, and illness brought to our attention during World War IE but it is obvious that the school health program should be more effective. It is essential that we establish a health program that will be effective because it is immediately functional. For example, if malnutrition is prevalent, a study of this problem lead- ing to action is indicated. This study might involve reading on the causes of malnutrition, healah examinations, individual counseling, gaining in formation on how to produce foods that are lacking in the community, setting up ways and means of actually producing these foods by raising better livestock, vegetables, fruits, and whatever food sources are needed to make the children’s diet adequate. If colds, hookworm disease, typhoid, malaria, or other diseases, emotional tensions, or boy-girl relationships present problems in a community, these can be attacked systematically as essential content of the school curriculum and not abandoned until results in the community are obtained. In the solution of these health problems children use their reading ability, learn to weigh suggested solutions, seek scientific bases for action, calculate costs, and use other knowledges and skills they have acquired or gained specifically for this purpose. B. Rural children should have the opportunity for socialization. . Society needs, as never before, people able and willing to work with others for the good of the group, persons adequate to meet new situations with confidence and poise. Such characteristics do not come by accident, nor are they pulled out of thin air; they must be consciously developed. In many rural homes opportunities for such development are often limited. As a result, many rural children find themselves ill at ease with persons outside their own environment; have difficulty in expressing themselves; do not know how to play and work together; lack social graces. Group I: Neepos or Rurat CHiipren 123 Education must offer many experiences which provide social develop ment. The rural school and community, relatively small and simple in Organi Zation, offer unique resources for social de velopment because chil dren can participate significantly in their functioning Children, with teacher guidance, can cooperate in planning and manag ing the school living and the learning projects in which they engage. Children can participate in play which develops good sportsmanship, leadership, resourcefulness, friendliness, and cooperation, The whole curriculum should contribute to the acquisition of social technics and amenities, of the enjoyment of other people and appreciation for their \ ilues. The people of the community should be brought into the school Parents, community officials, travelers, returned soldiers, and many others in contribute richly to the curriculum and provide social contacts for the children. Children should be taken into the community to observe and to par ticipate in its social living. They can take trips, make interschool visits, ind visit homes. In every local community there are cultural resources which may be developed such as local songs, folk dances, traditions, legends, handi crafts, art, flowers, and gardens. Under the leadership of the school, chil dren and young people may take an active part in developing these cultural resources, making the community unique and rich ia local recreational opportunities for all age groups The rural child may be in close touch with various forms of social organizations. In his home he is early a partner in making a living; he may take an active part in planning the family economy. In his school and community the rural child can see and participate in democratic processes. He can see local government at work, the part the citizens play, and how well or poorly government is functioning. At appropriate levels of maturity he can study and contribute to the solution of community problems such as those dealing with health, recreation, and minorities. As he grows older the rural child can be helped to find a functioning place in community organizations, the church, welfare agencies, youth serving organizations, community councils, and other community enter prises. The rural child in modern times has opportunities for extending his . nearby world to include ever widening circles of relationships. Thru news 124 THe Wiare House Conrerence papers, radio, motion pictures, recordings, and books he comes into contact with persons far away in time and space. In his own community ire the roots of national and international problems which he can be helped gradually to see in their broader setting. Thru the perspective that history gives, thru practice in distinguishing fact from opinion and in determining the relative importance and authenticity of facts he can be gradually developing the understanding and competency required for eflective citizenship. Rural education should make use of the rich resources for socialization rural environment, and supplement these resources where lacks ip pre if C. Rural children should be taught to see, understand, and appreciate the beautiful and to create beauty which is inherent in their surroundings. They should know and appreciate the beauty of flowers, of trees, of clouds, of growing plants, of cleanliness, and goodness; the beauty of ive soil, of growing crops, of honest toil, of a wholesome home which they have helped to make; the beauty of friendliness, of helpful ness, and of self-denial and sacrifice. Children should be educated thru their five senses, not merely thru the eyes that read only the printed page. Thus by using their five senses they learn what constitutes beauty and to discriminate sufficiently to live whole some, happy lives. Some of the experiences possible thru the use of the five senses are as follows Sight: The schoolhouse and grounds; home and town; church; town is a Whole or as countryside; the sky, day and night; curve of roads; bridges: tasteful dress; and good manners. Sound: The cultivation of one’s own voice; laughter and anger; the night sounds; water; rain on the roof; songs, secular and religious; pping corn; poetry—and, subjectively, tie inner voice, conscience, and the sound of being alone. Vaste: Familiar foods as grown and prepared locally; cultivating taste tor new toods. Smell: Cleanliness; clean clothes on a line; things in nature—new cut hay, deep woods; and food cooking. Feeling: Hands—the fur of pet kitten, a starched dress, bursting pod of milkweeds; feet—walking thru grass or mud; rain; sunshine; bed on 1 summer or a winter night; firelight An appreciation of beauty and harmony develops most rapidly when Group I: Neeps or Rurat Cuipren 125 opportunity is given to participate in productive, creative enterprises. The place to begin is always where one is—in the home, the school, the community. The rural child is surrounded by wholesome creative processes which are always beautiful when seen and understood from the proper perspective. Creative activities cut across all fields of learning, they function in all phases of living and are continuous. Creativeness is stimu- lated by enriching experiences and by a teacher who sees, understands, and appreciates beauty. To turn the coin over to see its other face, we know that ugliness in any form is seen and abhorred only when contrasted with the more beautiful. Children should be taught to see ugliness. Many children have experiences so limited that they do not recognize what is ugly. Familiarity breeds blindness as often as it breeds contempt. Children in whose lives the tares have crowded out the flowers, whose homes are bleak, whose schools are strangers to paint, whose school grounds uncarpeted by grass are refuge for weeds and debris, whose reading is the comics, whose art is the bill- beard rather cian the sunset—cannot know that beauty is lacking unless beauty is substituted for ugliness. A child’s emotions are like a piano, running from high joy to deep pathos. Unless, during his period of development, he has played upon all the keys, he will run into difficulties. He must run the whole gamut of emotional reactions in order that his whole being be developed. It is the duty of the teacher to see that children have a wide range of experiences designed to develop appreciation and creativeness. In all that is life there is the beautiful; in all that is beautiful there is the good; in all that is good there is God. D. Rural children should have the opportunity to acquire skills, knowl- edges, appreciations, and understandings in functional situations. Useful and satisfying living requires a variety of skills which education should help children acquire. Such skills as these are needed by rural children: (1) In the use of symbols (2) In work experiences of children (2) In democratic living (4) In creating (5) In appreciating and evaluating (6) In finding resources to serve purposes (7) In survival. 126 THe Wrare House Conrerence Acquiring skills so they actually function in living requires: (1) That children engage in projects having genuine significance for them (2) That in the process of pursuing these projects they recognize the need for skills and so have purpose for acquiring them (3) That guidance be given children in employing skills for which they feel the need (4) That practice for skill mastery be aot isolated but provided thru further experiences calling for the use of the skill being acquired (s) That evaluation be in terms of children’s ability to use skills. Any failure on the part of education to help children master needed skills should be carefully analyzed. We must not succumb to the com- mon, but obviously useless, procedure of giving an extra dose of the same medicine which hus proved fatal. Much skill tcaching has failed because skills were taugh: anort from their use, even without the child's knowing what their use was. To function, a skill must be acquired in the process of use and retained thru continuous use. E. Rural children should have an opportunity to work in a school plant that is indigenous to the community and fits an adequate program of learning. The buildings should be accessible, should be adequately equipped, should provide adequate space for work and play, should be conveniently arranged, and should be homelike. The grounds should be attractively landscaped, should include ample space for play and work for all age groups, and should include a school garden and even a school farm, if the needs of high-school students are to be adequately served. Moreover, the educational plant for rural children should be conceived in terms of mobility and wide usefulness. To fit the program suggested ibove, the school plant for country areas cannot be limited to the schooi- room. The equipment and facilities of the room must be supplemented with, for example, mobile health and library units and the facilities ex- tended to include such additions as school camps, garden plots, and farm projects. F. Rural children should have the guidance necessary to make all their learning experiences educational, and education of some kind and quality should be extended thruout the twelve months of the year. Group I: Neeps or Rurat CHiipren 127 It is important that teachers know their children intimately and in great detail. Such knowledge is necessary if teachers are to assist children in facing and solving problems. As simple as this procedure is, it is the very heart of a good guidance. program. Fortunately, such a program does not require elaborate machinery. Indeed, it requires only a teacher sensitive to the needs of children, one who conceives of teaching as a process in guidance. In such an atmosphere children know they can speak of the concerns that are closest to their hearts and be assured of a sympathetic listener who will give help generously and intelligently. While a program of guidance is personal it carries also important voca- tional responsibilities. Teachers sincerely interested in guidance must make children aware of the possibilities for individual achievement in a world of work. Children must be assisted also in the development of right attitudes toward work, and be given opportunities for developing skills in work appropriate to their maturity. The guidance responsibility of the school does not end, however, until children are given the opportunity to nrepare themselves to make a living and are established in a job. If guidance is to be truly effective the school must proceed on the prin- learning is a continuous process. Learning does not suspend ciple that itself when school is not in operation. If the needs of children are to be met, if they are to secure the greatest possible learning from their total living, then intelligent guidance must be provided during the whole twelve months. The school is responsible for seeing that this guidance is given. Altho the school has primary responsibility for insuring a con- tinuous, balanced program for children, it will not necessarily provide all educational program and guidance. The contributions of other agents and agencies should be utilized and coordinated. A community council of agencies may provide machinery for this coordinating. Planning should take into account pertinent seasonal and geographic factors so that the educational experiences planned are in harmony with community living and activity. If this is done, rural children, for example, will not be kept inside the school when the outdoors offers especially abundant educative experiences. Likewise the school will be with the child during periods of seasonal work to protect him as much as possible against the ill effects of forced arduous toil. A year-round program must not be a year-round, inside-school, learning- from-books program. For example, the teacher may, in the summer, teach a group of children to swim, visit them in their home gardens, provide an 128 Tue Wire House Conference overnight camping experience. The year-round program must be balanced and must guide all aspects of wholesome growth. Some specific recommendations: (1) Because knowledge of the children to be served is essential in de- veloping an educational program for them and because of the almost complete lack of scientific study of the rural child’s development, we recommend an adequate program of research into the nature, needs, and experiences of rural children. (2) Because of the crucial importance of education during the first vears of life, because of the meagerness of many rural home environ- ments, and because of the factor of distance which makes group educa- tion undesirable during the early years of life, we recommend that, thru the agency of the school, parent education be provided to meet the needs of rural preschool children, (3) Because the rural schools demand children’s attendance duting the whole day, because children’s health requires a balanced midday meal, and because it is uneconomical to teach hungry children, this committee recommends that, thru the agency of the school, an adequately nourishing midday meal be provided for all rural-school children. (4) Because children live twelve months in a year and so need educa- tional guidance during the entire twelve months of the year, we recom mend that education take thought for children during each of these months and thru coordination of all educational agencies, incidental and formal, assure rural children maximum, continuous development. KATE V. WOFFORD, Chairman Director of Rural Education, State Teachers College, Buffalo, N. Y. Recorders: TROY L. STEARNS, Director of Rural Education, Michigan State College, East Lansing, Mich. ANNE Hoppock, Assistant in Education, State Department of Public Instruc- tion, Trenton, N. J. Report of Group Il EDUCATION FOR COMMUNITY LIVING IN RURAL AREAS MERICA HAS IN ITS HANDs the resources and the opportunity to build finer, better rural communities than have yet been possible. To the natural advantages of rural living has now been added the opportunity to make generally available the products of modern industry and scientific administration in a form adapted to rural needs. The small community can now enjoy a full program of modern education, modern health services, adequate social welfare services, good libraries, wholesome recreation, healthful and comfortable housing, an adequate diet, and the American standard of living if the American people will work individually and in groups to this end. Education is the most potent force by which better communities can be built. The public school grew out of the lives and hopes of pioneer people. It served their need for becoming a literate people. As the school has grown older it has tended to focus on preparing elementary pupils for high school and high-school pupils for college despite the fact that such a narrowly conceived program does not serve the needs of children and youth—not even those youth who do go to college. The public school now has the responsibility of directing itself to its chief duty, the prepara- tion of individuals who can meet and solve life’s problems and in this proces: P*rticipate according to their age and abilities in the understanding and building of better communities. Education must be recognized as the basic force by which the opportunities of modern life can be translated into better community living. The term, rural community, usually refers to a village, or town, and the surrounding open country it serves, in which the people have strong common interests, are primarily dependent on each other for social con- tacts, and among themselves carry on the chief activities of everyday life. This natural sociological community is not necessarily limited to a single school district or other governmental unit. It may not be solely dependent on agricultural production and is emerging as a more complex entity in both inner relationships and interrelationships with other communities. When federal census data are used, rural communities are usually defined as the open country and villages or towns of fewer than 2500 population. [ 129 ] 130 THe Wirt House ConrereNnce It is recognized that this is necessarily an arbitrary limitation since larger towns are often rural in nature and organization, while smaller incor- porated centers may be found in densely populated and essentially urban areas, A. The rural communities of America have a major part to play in our modern civilization. Rural communities have the responsibility (1) for providing rural citi- zens themselves with a full and satisfactory way of life; (2) for con tributing in all ways to regional development, to the national welfare, and to friendly international relations; (3) for supplying the nation with a continuous source of new personal strength and sound citizenship; and (4) for producing food and fiber, raw and processed, in a mutually bene- ficial exchange for urban goods and services. These functions are fulfilled largely thru family-type farming as the basic pattern of American agricul- ture and thru an expanding rural nonfarm culture and economy. The rural community should enable rural boys and girls, and adult men and women thru their organizations and activities, to establish a healthy relationship with the land and to become more proficient citi- zens of their community. It should help them to understand all the factors operating upon that community—agricultural, industrial, com- mercial, governmental, social, and spiritual. At the same time, the rural community must be viewed by community leaders as a part of the larger world. It is a part of all modern rural civili- zation, it contributes to a regional culture and economy, it is a part of the total national life, it is a part of world agriculture, it may be a part of decentralized industry, and its operations may extend into international markets. All aspects of community life should be related to the work of the school, the home, the church, the agricultural extension service and related government agencies working with rural people, the public health service, the public welfare office, the rural library, the press, the radio, and the various group organizations. These are social instruments thru which the community can share understanding and well-being with the rest of the country.and thereby make itself a better place in which to live. The rural community is a potent factor in social stabilization. If, however, it becomes the center of accumulated injustices and neglect, it can become a source of discontent and, in rare cases, of violence—a weak spot in the national fabric. Group II: Epucarton ror Community Livine 131 Both children and adults should be given an opportunity to understand better such situations. The school is one agency upon which they should depend to make the facts available in an unbiased manner. Education should challenge, and can help, all the other elements of our society to develop rural communities that are better places in which to live and work and which can ably shoulder their responsibilities in building our modern civilization. B. Rural education should be closely related to the economic processes of community life. Since agriculture is the principal basis of the national and rural com- munity economy, the schools should teach both the practical facts of farming and its close relationship to all phases of community life. This teaching should begin with the use of the land and include aspects par- ticularly of general concern such as the scientific use of the land according to its capabilities as the basis for all farm operation; the establishment of soil and water conservation practices to prevent and control erosion. the rebuilding of exhausted land, and increased farming efficiency; and the various aspects of the land tenure problem. From this beginning, teaching should go on to include study of the ultimate uses of the products of farms, mines, and forests, and the steps of marketing and processing thru which farm products pass from farm to consumer. It should consider the causes and effects of price change., and the connection between these processes and the life of the individual family, of the community as a whole, and of the larger society, It should also include a study of the work of such leaders as the county agent and the community committeeman to prepare youth for participation in economic self-government. Such study should iead to a better understanding of the nature and exhaustibility of minerals, forests, water power, and other natural re- sources and the vital necessity of conserving and effectively using them. It should make clear that those who profit from the natural resources of the community have a moral responsibility for returning a sufficient share of their income to provide those services that promote the general welfare of al! the people of the community. Education should help people to understand that the true value of economic returns must be measured in terms of the human satisfactions they provide in satisfactory standards of living and needed social services. In order to provide the most comprehensive training possible to fit pupils 132 bie Wiaere House Conrerenct for effective participation in community life, rural schools should enlist the active interest of local business leaders and farm groups in acquainting children and youth with the information and processes they need for such participation. Thru such coordinated activity they can study, in a meaningful way, local business institutions, their capitalization and methods of operation, including such matters as (1) the possibilities of greater local ownership and local capitalization, (2) the degree of democratic structure in these institutions, (3) the place of cooperatives in the rural community, (4) labor conditions, and (5) the status of local credit. Rural students should study the goods in the merchants’ stores so that they may understand the dependency of their community upon the out- side world for imports, and to consider possibilities of greater local pro- duction. Opportunities for processing raw materials into higher forms of value which may increase community income and the advisability of community inducements to bring in new industries might well be made the subject of study. Finally out of the study of the community economy should come a greater sense of participation in community life, with some students working part-time as a part of their high-school education. C. The public school in rural areas should provide an education wh’ch will make possible an intelligent and productive particivation in the pol't'cal and governmental life of the loca! community, the state, the nation, and the world. One great need in our democracy is an understanding and proper exer- - of citizenship. Politics is the gateway to the good and bad laws on our statute books and to the men and women who administer them. Laws determine in large measure how much of this world’s goods a person may accumulate, invest safely, and enjoy in security. The intelligent, honest functioning of citizens in every rural community is a necessity if economic security and social well-being are to be built into our rural life. Better citizenship training and its relationship to government operation are a challenge to every school official and every teacher. Citizenship education should begin at a point where the individual's experience will make the acquired knowledge and educational experiences both intelligible and functional. Such considerations as the following should permeate the instruction: (1) the influence of such modern phe- Group I]: Epucation ror Community LivinG 133 nomena as speed in transportation, communication, and production as they have enlarged the administrative unit necessary to cope with new conditions; (2) the influence of highly organized interest groups as they affect legislation and other governmental activities; (3) the particular political functions of the interest groups to which rural people naturally belong; (4) the expanding and changing activities of government as they develop from newer concepts of individual liberty, individual self- expression, and considerations of personal security and personal welfare so that rural youth may have opportunity to see more clearly the neces- sities for changing ways of government to achieve new democratic pro- tections, and to understand the insecurities of labor and the merits of special types of economic instruments such as cooperative credit, planned farm production, county planning, soil conservation districts, collective bargaining, mediation boards, and unemployment insurance; (5) the im- portance of the lowly tasks of government such as the precinct and county committeemanship, service on political boards, and other tasks in the political parties; and (6) the complexity of interrelationships between governmental units at all levels from the country crossroads. magistrate to the President of the United States and world government. D. Education has a responsibility for preparing people to develop and use the social ccrvices needed in rural communities. Rural America must develop and maintain modern social services for carrying on education, providing health services, maintaining recreational activities, developing economic security for all, providing mental hygiene and psychological services, and fostering spiritual needs if a satisfactory community life 1s to be realized. Modern technology and scientific admin- istration have now made possible the efficient and economical provision of such services in rurat areas if due consideration is given the importance of the social pattern of community organization. It is now possible to have such services if we understand how to develop and use them. The basic approach to securing them is thru study of lags in community life to develop understanding of the need for the various social services, their value to the community, and the methods of control and administration that will bring maximum benefits to the people. Such study should be carried on by all interested groups in the community and all age levels, each participating according to its abilities. 134 THe Wuire House ConrereNnce E. Family life thruout the community should be strengthened and enriched thru education. The family is probably the most educative agency in society. Strong family life has been characteristic of rural areas. The farm family has been a strong influence in teaching children thrift, honesty, integrity, how to work, and how to take responsibility. Its educational values should be recognized and developed. Children, youth, and adults can helm to develop a strong, wholesome family life by learning how to live and work together as a family; how to analyze problems and together work cut solutions in the light of common goals; how to take much of the drudgery from family life thru sharing the work among all members of the family, knowledge of time- and lJabor-saving equipment and better planning; how to employ new skills in child development and the art of homemaking and home beauti- fication; how to feed the family according to sound standards of nutrition and health; how to solve family economic problems thru wise budgeting; how to follow good buying practices especially with regard to foods, clothing, furnishings, and equipment; and how to plan and carry out satisfying family recreation, Education has a major role in building whole- some, satisfying familv life. F. The school should provide opportunities for experiences in whole- some recreational activities including the creative arts and crafts. Opportunities for creative living should become a vital part of rural community life. Everyone, grown-ups as well as children, should have experience in the various creative arts, including painting, sketching, modeling, and music. The creativeness within each person, whether child, youth, or adult, needs to be developed so that each observes more, feels more, and expresses more. Experiences in the creative arts are more than leisure-time activities. They shel! permeate and enrich the whole of community living. They should make a difference in our clothes, our homes, our surroundings, our communities, all our everyday doings. Creative experiences in the arts should help people to approach their problems creatively and experimentally. Participation by all in the creative arts is fundamental to the develop- ment of folk art. It is the basis for keen personal enjoyment and self- realization as well as for appreciativa of professional art both present and past. Education for creative art should eventually result in an indigenous Group II: Epucation ror Community Livinc 135 American folk art which finds expression thru such mediums as painting, sketching, woodcarving, rug hooking, quilting, weaving, pottery making, metal working, ballad making, folk tunes, and folk dancing. Even fences, haystacks, and woodpiles may be enjoyably beautiful. In fostering art the school should enlist the aid of both professional help and talented town and farm people. The recreational program should grow out of community needs and should utilize the rich resources which the rural community provides. The school can make a major contribution to the community recreation program thru providing opportunities for rhythms, games, sports, athletics, and body-building activities, especially those particularly adapted to rural areas such as camping, hiking, riding, boating, hosteling, fishing, hunting, and swimming. Recreational activities should be suitable to the age, sex, and condition of health participants. They should contribute to whole- some and vigorous mental and physical well-being of all ages and act as a unifying social agent in community life. The school should also help people to make intelligent use of available commercial means of enter- tainment such as moving pictures and radio. G. Social attitudes and values determine much of human behavior and should be emphasized in a program of education for rural community living. The values which people held dear should be understood by anyone interested in community development. In rural America there are personal and community attitudes and values that color life and are primary con- siderations in determining procedures in education for community living. This is especially important in a democracy where all individuals should have a share in making decisions and where the points of view of rural peoole play a large part in determining national policies. For example, the school should give consideration to the negative attitudes of many rural people towards play and other forms of recreation when such viewpoints interfere with the wholesome development of rural children and young people. Food prejudices constitute another kind of handicapping attitude sometimes found in rural groups. Development of proper attitudes toward the physically handicapped and economically unfortunate may be needed. Then, there are certain intergroup attitudes, no more characteristic of rural than of urban communities, which become apparent in racial, nationality, aud religious prejudices. On the other hand, there are certain 136 THe Wirt House Conference attitudes and values in rural life which should be capitalized upon such as those inherent in the “frontier spirii” stili characteristic of most rural communities, They include such values as frugality and initiative, willing- ness to work, and the understanding of nature as a force with which man must cope and upon which he 1s largely dependent. These and many other personal and community attitudes constitute an important area which must be considered in education for community living. H. The public-scheo! plant is a resource for housing all types of educs- tional, recreational, and social services. Effective education requires modern housing accommodations. Deciding what kind of plant is needed requires first a clear understanding of the educational activities which are to be carried on, then plans for a building and grounds which will best house them. In many rural communities a modern school plant will represent the largest single capital investment in the community. This investment must be a focal point for the life activities of the entire community. It may be likened to the hub of a wheel with the related educational aspects of the community both radiating out from the hub and likewise channeling community life into the educational center. All facilities of the modern schooi plant must be coticcived of as com- munity resources to be used, with the services of an adequate staff, paid and vuiunieer, and avoiding always the danger of overburdening the professional workers employed. Communities should increasingly plan the educational plant to serve all types of educational activities, in addition to the usual school work, thru such facilities as health centers, recreational facilities, day care centers for preschool children, public library rooms, the gymnasium, the auditorium, small committee rooms, the cafeteria, the shop and science laboratories, the school farm an! processing center, and even the school bus. It should be literally true that the modern school never closes its doors, if there is opportunity to serve some worthwhile activity. 1. Coordination of educational activities within a community is essential. In each community there are specialized agencies like the school, the agricultural extension service, the public health service, and the library whose primary function is education. There are also many other agencies both formal and informal which take an active pari in some aspect of FoR Community Livinc 137 Group Il: Epucatton coordination of the efforts of these various de a wellt unded community education. The | rire import com WwW ike educ : mmunity improve ties tl school ts i Mtrategic position t oOmmMmuun | i planning Charge of TT hers Colieg New York n Soci Chiet, Bureau of Cur ulum Development, State Educa tron Department Albany. N. ¥ LAs Report of Group Il THE SCOPE OF THE RURAL-SCHOOL PROGRAM m of me ss than ' . 33.88) experiences outh and geared of the year In uund basis a de veloped Group III: Scope or Scoot Procram 139 which extends from preschool days until the youth ceases to be occupied full-time with sch ind is prepared to accept responsibility for full-time » screun | ; mMmipovmen nee th . uated 1 the ru inning with the nto the end =—a Wvailadie velult life A. It is of the utmost importance to a democratic society that all children rural and urban, rich and poor, without regard to race, color, or creed shall have such instruction in health and such health, medical, and nutri- tional care as will, in the opinion of health, medical, and educational authorities, be most likely to develop in them the highest attainable state of physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and moral well-being. t permeate the genet i program ot education if it rr imingtul lo trv to Promeat. health education il part of the whole program of education is to th educ , , hild is born: therefore, parent education must scope of a comprehensive educational program | 1 } | nme local Me iith service 28 a necessa©ry wlunct toa well rounded onal program should be the goal of every community In prey idling such nstruction ad care, society will tend ter wsure the ethoent use of its investment in the schools ot the nation; it will tend to protect ws future supply ‘ ciuzens——parents, workers. house | personnel, and soldiers; it will tend to prevent vast ex naitures im the future tor reliet delinquency, and dependency trace ible to ill health arising from neglect in childhood: it will be exercising | purpose which is to provide for its citizens and future citizens yortunity tor the h yu he st ind ri he st } rson il cle ve lopment B. Education for family life is basic in a democracy. Because such a large proportion of the children in the United States come from farm homes, the quality of farm family living is of the utmost importance to the nation. 140 THe Wuatre House Conrerence The farm family offers special opportunity for a program of education for family living. Education should help to preserve fundamental values n home lite. Family living in the country has certain distinctive features Phe close relationship between the farm home and the business of running hott ina tes Cooper uncderst nding ind creates valuable Phe school program should make use of the farm and xpericnces in every way possible. Recognition at school should putting into actual practice at home things children and young people are learning at school. Ability to carry responsibility can | thru the sharing of duties by children and youth of different ng together and with their parents. \ program of family education should be provided for youth and adults that will strengthen the family itself and help toward better underst inding I of parent-child relationships. C. Rural education should provide for the enrichment of life thru opportunities to sense and enjoy beauty as it may be discovered in the day's job, in the rhythm of the saw, in the continuous fall of the furrow, or as it may be found in leisure time thru the pages of a book or in the measures of the song and dance. Rural education should provide for the enrichment of life thru oppor tunities to create beauty, such as is found in the pleasing arrangement of 1 room, in the selection of harmonizing colors and suitable materials for i dress, or in the development of superior qualities in a beautiful saddle horse Thus, thru enriching experiences, education should serve to lift the routine of rural living from the plane of drabness, monotony, and drudgery to one of keen enjoyment and satisfaction. D. The educational program in both rural and urban schools should provide opportunities to learn what the people of each of these areas con- tribute to the welfare of the other. \ program of rural education should provide opportunity for rural vouth and adults to learn what urban areas contribute to rural welfare thru goods and services. Likewise, urban youth and adults should become familiar with and develop a sympathetic understanding for conditions under which the food they eat and the fiber from which their clothing is made are produced and brought to their homes. Each should be aware 142 Tue Wuitre House Conrer’eNnce of the relationship which exists between urban welfare and. productive lands well tilled by progressive farmers. A knowledge of the interde- pendence of these two groups is mutually beneficial E. One of the major responsibilities of education is to prepare people for citizenship in a democracy. It must train them for decision-making and for acceptance of citizenship responsibilities as well as rights. Education for citizenship is best accomplished thru progressive exper ences in home, school, and community life. The school community offers many opportunities for experience in assuming responsibility, developing le vlership ind planning ind carrving out Cooperative activities Education for citizenship has special significance for farm people in the modern world Taking vy intage of the closet contact that comes with lie, better roads and Transportation incl the yrowing understanding of their economic, social, and cultural relationship with the rest of the world, education must help farm people see themselves as part of a } re interdependent national ind world COMMU Y, ind to ’ understand that their future depends to a large upon what they contribute to the national well heing F. An adequate program of rural education includes counseling and guidance services for all ages of children, youth, and adults. One of the most important undeveloped areas of educational service in the rural-school program is in the field of counseling and guidance. To be most effective the guidance service rendered must be concerned with the total development of the individual and take into consideration the hactors for intellectu il, physic il, emotional, mor il, and esthetic as well as occupational development. Guidance service of the rural school should permeate the whole structure of its program of instruction. Every teacher should take advantage of and accept his responsibility for developing the couns ling ind guidance opportunities inherent in his instructional program. The rural school should in addition provide the individual and special guidance service usually rendered by every teacher. The need for guidance service on the part of any given individual is likely to remain a continuing need thruout his life he finds it necessary to adjust and readjust to ever changing civic, social, and occupational conditions Every rural child has a right to be well born and this includes the best that is known and practiced in prenatal care and early childhood training. Grovp III: Scope or Scttoot ProcrRam 143 The urban child benefits from the clinics and preschool provisions; the \ rural child must receive these benefits thru the services of agencies working directly with the parents. Parent guidance should be continued when the child enters school and should be supplemented by the guidance of the teacher trained to help children thru their developmental tasks both in and out of the com munity \ necessary part of the counseling and guidance program is assisting youth to decide whether to remain on the farm or leave it. In our present state of knowledge it 1S 1MpM issible to precict who should or who will profit most from rural living and who will remain on or leave the farm. Since living on the farm or living in a city involves more than making a living, because it is a way of life, the problem of guidance takes on special sig nificance for rural youth. Full information on the problems involved should be made available as a basis upon which the individuals concerned can make intelligent decisions. For the youth who chooses to remain on the farm a complete program of guidance thru the rural school should continue and be available thruout his adult life on whatever problem or phase of living he may need and want. In but a few cases can a community furnish these services within itself, but the rural community can utilize the resources available from national. state, county, and city levels, and, where sery ices are not available, mobilize its resources to obtain the services needed. G. The rural school should provide a program of vocational education that makes it possible for youth and adults to secure training in farming, homemaking, farm family living, rural service, and other diversified occupations which are conducted in and adjacent to rural communities, and, for those who intend to migrate to urban areas, fundamental voca- tional training suitable for entrance to industrial and other urban oc- cupations. The closeness of rural children to the family business, either on the farm or in the village, makes it possible early in the school program to utilize community resources and work experiences in education. The edu cational program of the rural school must be realistically adjusted to life and its everyday activities. The vocational education program will be strengthened if the rural school provides an adequate vocational guidance program so that the selec- tion of the life work of each individual is not left entirely to chance. In 144 THe Wuire Hovse Conference every instance maximum opportunity should be made for providing work experience as a means of developing the most effective guidance and train- ny program. The degree to which rural youth and adults become progressively estab | aed msned wha proficient im their occupational lite becomes a measure of the effectiveness of the rural school’s program in vocational education. H. A strong rural economy should be a primary goal of rural education. Between about 1gto and iggt the farmer has been the victim of an unbalanced economy. This disparity has given rise to a growing trend toward tenancy, a decrease iff the number and an increase in the size of farms, and a mounting dithculty encountered by youth and adults in get ting a start in farming, Rural education must therefore be frankly and emphatically aimed at the improvement of the economic status of rural lite. The programs of elementary, secondary, higher, and adult education should be replete with material designed to solve the economic problems of farmers. Special attention should be given to cooperative procedures in production, distribution, and the consumption of goods and services I. Nothing less than a comprehensive program of education should be seriously considered for persons living in rural areas. Young children ire entitled to a tair start im life educationally thru an organized program of parent education, accompanied by appropriate educational services for the children themselves. Preschool education should be provided thru nursery schools in areas where that is feasible. In many thinly populated areas such programs would require more transportation than is desirable for young children. In such areas, socializing experiences may be provided thru other means, such as neighborhood meetings of children in homes and the circulation of toys and play equipment thru bookmobiles. Elementary education for all children should (1) further the growth of a strong healthy body; (2) improve bodily coordination and skill in manual activities; (2) facilitete growth in the use of oral and written language; (4) develop the basic number skills and an understanding of the number system: (5) strengthen the foundation of emotional health ind of moral and ethical behavior: (6) cultivate the child's natural curiosity about the world in which he lives; (7) develop basic understandings with respect to people, objects, and ideas; and (8) stimulate interest in appro priate literature, dramatic play, music, and visual art. Group III: Scope or ScHoot ProcraM 145 Every rural child should receive a secondary-school education suited to his needs, whether he will remain permanently in his home community, migrate elsewhere for economic opportunity, or go on to college. Oppor- tunities for secondary education should be universally available thru the fourteenth grade. Attendance should be compulsory in full-time school to the age of sixteen with no gainful employment which would interfere with schooling before age sixteen. Between sixteen and eighteen gainful employ ment under school supervision should be provided for those for whom full- time schooling is not suited to individual needs. Work experiences of appropriate type and amount should be provided as part of the school program thruout secondary education, Secondary education should include a core of general education for all. More than has been true in the past there should be more extensive oppor- tunities for citizenship training, a wider variety of vocational training, extensive programs of educational and vocational guidance, vital programs of health education, and opportunities in the cultural subjects. Altho the public responsibility for education is first to children and youth, their needs cannot be effectively served unless there is available an wdequate program of education for adults. The public school should accept chief responsibility for adult education. The function of the public school in this field is to (1) provide such educational facilities and services as it can provide most efficiently and effectively, (2) cooperate with and assist other agencies to increase the value of their educationa! services, and (3) take major responsibility for coordinating the total educational activi- ties of the community. The adult education program should include voca tional training, the consideration of current social and economic problems, cultural offerings, and parent education. HOWARD Y. Mc cLUsKy, Chairman Assistant to the Vice President, Univer sity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. Rec orders x. w. Grecory, Assistant Director, Food Production War Training, U. S. Office of Education, Washington, D.C. W. CARSON RYAN, Chairman, Division of Teacher Training, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N. C. Report of Group IV PROBLEMS OF THE PROFESSIONAL PERSONNEL FOR RURAL EDUCATION F RURAL CHILDREN and youth are to have the kind, quality, and scope of educational opportunities described and advocated by Groups I, II, and III of this Conference, adequately and appropriately educated teachers and other professional personnel must be available for service in rural schools. Unfortunately there are stili too many rural schools that do not have the services of properly qualified teachers and, for the most part, the most poorly qualified teachers have the least professional help thru supervision and other needed services. The situation in rural schools is well illustrated by the fact that nearly 60 percent of all teachers in rural elementary schools having one or two teachers have had less than two years of education beyond high school, as compared with only 30 percent for teachers in three-teacher schools, 20 percent in villages under 2500 population, and 10 percent in cities. It is the purpose of this report to present the needs of the rural schools for professional personnel, the kind, amount, and quality of pre-service and in-service education needed for rural teachers, and some of the condi tions that must be established in order to obtain and retain the services of competent personnel for our rural schools. A. Wartime losses in the numbers and in the qualifications of profes- sional personnel have been far more serious in rural schools, which can least afford such losses, than in any other field of education. Those who are not close to rural schools find it difficult to appreciate this statement. Since Pear! Harhor the rural schools have lost between one-third and one-half of their trained staff members. The turnover of teachers, which has more than doubled, is approximately three times as great in rural as in city schools. Thousands of classrooms are empty be cause no teachers can be found. In urban districts about 2 percent of the teachers hold temporary certificates while in rural districts the percentage is five times as great. Of 69,000 war emergency permits issued in 1943-44, an estimated 58,000 were granted to rural teachers, It is evident that every effort should be made now to enable those who hold emergency permits to qualify for regular certificates. Schools should be safeguarded against t 146 | Group IV: ProFessionaAL PErsoNNEL PROBLEMS the permanent retention of those who do not so qualify. Efforts will almost surely be made in some states to modify certification requirements in such a way that these teachers may hold their positions indefinitely. B. Most rural communities are seriously in need, not only of competent classroom teachers, but also of more and better qualified nonteaching professional personnel—administrators, supervisors, librarians, health specialists, guidance specialists, and others. The need for more and better qualified rural-school teachers is paralleled by similar needs for other professional personnel. Moreover, the main causes for the losses and deficiencies in the preparation of teachers prevail for nonteaching personnel also. The need for trained supervisors is especially serious inasmuch as the employment of tens of thousands of underqualified teachers has made more necessary than ever the assistance that comes with skilful supervision. As evidence of the fact that the present nationwide rural supervisory staff is far too small, it need only be pointed out that the total number is less than 1500. Turning now to administrators, the 3447 county and other comparable local superintendents, and the thousands of rural-school principals, are among the poorest prepared and lowest salaried of all school administrative officers. Altho three years of college preparation for rural elementary school principals, and four years for high-school principals, represent average amounts of training for these officers, the more than 25 percent of these principals who have less preparation—even less preparation than some of the classroom teachers whom they attempt to supervise—represent a real problem. The same is true of a number of county superintendents, many of whom unfortunately are forced to obtain their positions by virtue of their popularity with the electorate—a popularity not necessarily earned by professional achievement. More and better library services are needed alike in the rural schools and in the rural communities as a whole. Only 651 counties in the United States have county library service. Fifty-seven percent of rural people have no public library service within the borders of their counties, It is not known how many school libraries or librarians there are. That school library service is inadequate, however, is a well-known fact. Many more teacher-librarians are needed; or, at least, more teachers with an elemen tary working knowledge of the possibilities and technics of library services. To get beyond textbook teaching, the rural teacher must have and use books. 148 THe Ware House ConrerENCE The great need for well-trained professional guidance personnel in every section of the country has been highlighted by the demands for guidance service tor returning veterans. But even in peacetime there has never been a sufficient number of such workers, and many of those available were not professionally prepared for their jobs. The shortage has been particu larly severe in rural areas. Approximately one-third of the states have no guidance workers on the state level at all. There is no intention here to convey the impression that the situation with regard to rural personnel is all bad. It is clear, tho, that the United States is trying to carry on the all-important service of rural education under very trying and sometimes hopeless conditions. C. An immediate responsibility of those concerned with teacher educa- tion is realistic adjustment in pre-service programs and the fullest possible use of effective in-service programs. Those responsible for teacher education urge that pre-service and in- service education programs be planned in close relationship to each other xo that the development of teachers and specialized personnel may be 1 continuing process. Basic elements in pre-service education programs are (1) tunctional general education; (2) a thoro knowledge of the subjects ind grades to be taught; (3) a working knowledge of human growth and development; (4) understanding of status, trends, and needs of a rural- urban society and the manner in which its institutions affect individual ind group life; (5) skills in using experimentally a variety of methods and materials; (6) continuous on- and off-campus laboratory experiences in school, home, and community as an integral part of professional and general education programs; and (7) special instruction, observation, and practice for teachers who are going into small schools, especially in one and two-teacher elementary s hools. \s for in-service education many state departments, county superin tendents or commissioners, and teacher-education institutions have de- veloped procedures to meet the emergency which have been shown to have such merit as to justify their continued use when more normal con ditions’ return. Classes, demonstrations, discussion groups, or workshops, held at some field center either during the regular school year or in the summer months, have been found to have special value. They are more successful when based on problems that teachers and other educational workers and leaders recognize as areas of interest or need. Group IV: Proresstonat PersonNer Propiems 149 Teacher-education institutions should participate with other state or local educational agencies in conducting field centers. The teacher-education institution should plan the work so that professional guidance and college credit may be given. The regularly constituted state or local educational agency should, on the other hand, assume responsibility for conducting the center, looking upon it as an integral phase of its in-service program, continually implementing the best clues from educational research in every classroom. It is to be understood that these field centers should not constitute the only type of in-service education provided by or thru state or local agencies. All other methods that have proved successful should be continued. To make these recommendations fully effective, the pre-service period of teacher education should be lengthened to four years as soon as pos sible. In-service teacher education for all personnel should be accepted as a responsibility of every school system. D. Ways must be found to bring about an increased flow of competent personnel into rural education. The supply of new teachers has been drying up at the source. Teacher- education institutions have lost more than half of their students during the war. Also lost are more than two-thirds of the students in graduate schools, where educational leadership is trained. With less than one-fifth ot the new teachers needed now available, the supply ot trained rural- school personnel will be adversely affected thruout the most of the coming decade, In tact, serious tho the problem of supplying teachers has been, it may be much worse in the years immediately ahead. The preparation of teachers, unlike the building of roads or public buildings, cannot be stopped in an emergency and be picked up again some years later, with little loss. The growing generation of rural-school boys and girls will not wait for teachers to be prepared for them. So much for the situation that prevails. What can be done about it? There is no single solution, but a number of positive steps may be taken which together should bring the desired results. 1. Salaries of all personnel must be as high in rural schools as in urban schools for 2 given level of training and experience. Such equalization is attainable in part thru state-aid programs, but full equalization can be achieved only with federal grants. Altho living costs are often less in rural areas this is due in part to the fact that the standard of living is 150 THe Waite rioust ConrERENCE ‘ : — ower. It follows, therefore, that cost of living does nei justify lower salaries for rural personnel. 2: Teachers and administrators must assume more active responsibility tor recruiting young people for service in the rural schools than they have done in the past. It is commonly found that elementary pupils are enthusiastic about teaching but this enthusiasm dies out when they enter high school. As salaries and the conditions under which teachers work improve, men and women who are in the profession will have ‘nore con- fidence in advising boys and girls to enter it. The awarding of scholarships to promising high-school graduates will help also, particularly if the re- sponsibility for selecting candidates is placed with high-school principals and teachers. One teacher-education institution has developed a great deal of interest in teaching among high schools in its service area by awarding hifty tuition scholarships provided annually by service clubs and other com- munity organizations. Schoiarships offered by the state would also be of assistance. 3. Provisions for retirement and pensioning must be identical in urban and rural schools and should be adopted by all states. There should be no discrimination against married women. 4. Living conditions for rural personnel must be substantially improved. In some instances this means the construction of teacherages. Most often it means arousing citizens to the need for providing adequate accommoda- tions in homes. in the community. This awakening to a need can best be achieved by inviting patrons to participate with educators in studying the problems of rural schools. 5. Boards of education must be brought to realize that they have 4 responsibility for promoting the welfare of the rural personnel they era ploy. They,must recognize that a faithful, competent worker has a vested interest in his position and is not to be employed or dismissed at pleasure. Board members are reasonable men and women. Countywide institutes conduged for them by county superintendents have done much to de velop understanding and a feeling of responsibility. 6. Prospective rural teachers must become permanent, broadly con tributing members of the community of which the school is a part. Two conditions are requisites to success in attaining this objective. The first is acceptance by the community of the principle that teachers should not be transient. The second is proper preparation of the teacher either during the pre-service training period or while in service as described under Group TV: Proresstonat Perasonnet Prosiems 1S! section bk below. Preparation given while the young man or woman ts still in school necessitates his spending time in some typical community situa tion with the assignment of definite responsibilities for community work Assistance given the teacher while in service has even greater value in that the clement ot reality exists to the tullest degree Che rural-school buildings must provide more satistactory working conditions, Adequate janitorial assistance should be available E. There must be an intensification of effort to frame a program of pre- service and in-service education which insures for teachers an appreciation of rural life and a thoro knowledge of means of utilizing its resources in the educational programs as well as of improving the economic, social, and cultural bases of rural living. The knowledge and skills needed can be quired in a number of ways \t the pre-service level a thoro study of rural society is necessary. For the teacher already employed, participation in clubs, councils, churches, and other community groups will bring understanding as well as a sense of belonging. Workshops on rural lite held in rural communities are also invaluable Only here and there has significant progress been made in preparing " ve rural teach to u re tully the local community resources it hand \dequ CV ol ll in i involves the ability to survey the ommunity, to recognize resours nad, finally, to know how to use them F. Adequate certification requirements for rural teachers should be established and maintained by all the states. | requirements for rural teachers, much lower than the requirements | in the teacher certification laws justifiable. State cerufhication require » reflect the kind and amount of education needed hildren and qu ilitted teachers against the impact of under persons secking employn i rural schools desirable that the ertification laws of all states require at least protessional education, ning clementary-school teachers w beginning high-school teachers. Some states equire a minimum ot four vears of college education, including iif ti 5 ’ } Dee Wun i¢ le mentary x hools and Ir would be well for all G. All educational personnel should belong to local, state, and national protessional organizations regardless of afhliation with any other groups. Rur eachers ind OUNCT |} ersonnel contribute less actively to professional an those wm urban schools, The reasons tor this are evident of ad | equate pre fessional preparation, am hat the present situation should nued protessional growth demands member il or Hesston yuniZations children learn more than they « | lw a chapter 1 re\TDOOR on the importance of rules ot , 1 1 nutrition. Making studies of community problems, helping to estab v } B mobile health clinics, conducting soil utilization surveys, and planning 1 Pan-American festival and similar projects call on many subjects and a variety of sources for facts and develop many useful skills C, Special types of instruction—the arts and handicrafts, music, health education, guided recreation, homemaking, agriculture, shopwork, and others of the newer cultural and vocational subjects—are now being provided in the smaller schools without prohibitive costs. lhe chief requisite is for teachers trained professionally with the expecta ion of making the rural school and the rural community their lifetime job teachers who are resourceful, have an interest in the arts and crafts, can supervise playground and community recreation, know how to relate the elementary child's education to home and community life, like the country ind country people, and like teaching. The number of such master teach ers in the rural schools is small but can be increased thru better salaries, hetter training. and better supervision. And even when such master rural g il teachers woodwork, a other nee study r thru hiring t whers if busts and mn special subjects. Sometime: ds from skilled persons living Many are getting it by the Thru these meat | furure will see more subjects ssible budgets ot the com D. To enrich the offerings of the small high x hool, leaders in this field have successfully experimented with alternation of courses, circuit teachers, supervised correspondence courses, individualized units for self-instruction, mobile shop and laboratory units, and the like. vartures from the traditional duc tion « lose to the nal opportunities in the mani four teachers or procedures and at the same needed by youth now attending high school shall keep the to this level of education; | 1 general education; those con | life want these s< hools to provide special } . | , ] Te . homemaking, and in community effectiveness: statisti showing that large numbers of {iS are urging that these schools t ommerce and courses and other technical training so that ny the farms W ill he ible to c mpete effectively with their city ice in the industric s musins for ipl \ small high school does reasonably well if it can recruit a staff with sufficient specialized training to te ich effectively each of the nine to twelve subjects required for high-school graduation. And, even if such a vie =n Be . se — —_ a ey a Sn - " ° fs aed "ace J 1 é — — ewe cet attr ° ra ° a ~~ ? Fe 186 Tue Wurre House Conrerence stall were able to teach reasonably well an additional number of electives, the small schools would usually lack the special laboratories, typewriters, machinery, and other facilities to enable them to teach such courses effec ively. Since parents insist that every high school must provide an open door to the college, these factors compr. the small school to devise special procedures or to limit its offerings to college preparation, despite the fact that few of its products will aspire to this level of education. Thru the use of well-selected and supervised correspondence courses, workbooks, and self-instructional lesson contracts, one teacher can direct the study and progress of several students pursuing a large variety of subject& To be sure, such devices to be effective must be carefully con structed, with a view both to the accuracy and completeness of the content ind to the vitality of the instructional methods. Correspondence courses on the high-school level are now available at reasonable prices from a large number of universities and colleges. In a number of states, state departments of education provide guidance and encouragement in con nection with such courses. All work done by correspondence should be carefully supervised and become an integral part of the school’s program All costs involved in providing instruction of this type should be defrayed by the schoolboards and not levied against the students pursuing this form of instruction. Other things being equal, those courses for which the smallest number of pupils enrol should be provided thru correspond ence study. These will usually be found to be chiefly those needed by juniors and seniors for college entrance. Courses devised for correspondence study, as well as soundly conceived workbooks, can be used by the teachers to provide individualized instruc tion to students who desire training in fields in which it is not feasible in small high schools to offer such courses in organized classes. By this procedure several students can pursue their studies in unrelated fields at appointed hours and under the supervision of a teacher who should be a regular staff member, but not necessarily a specialist in the subject she supervises. Each student pursues his study at his own speed. but always | f with the careful guidance of his supervisor at points where he needs help. Testing methods and procedures to measure the progress of the student and to evaluate the credits earned must, of course, be carefully worked out and safeguarded. The plan for broadening and enriching the curriculum of the small high school which involves the least departure from traditional classroom the joint employment il training in the fie lds of instruction and a hers. One of sible enough to fit sh red by the schools he funds « ich schon ] erees to mvest: te ching schedules by equitably dividing the time on the basis of parts of the school week, the school month, or the school year. Since ional reason for whering slavishly to daily teach to fittvy minutes, the teacher and pupil programs vivant iweous use of te wher time, travel lassrooms and equipment h circuit teachers, or other persons trained to provide sometimes made more effective and the cost kept to a Lise of mobile classroom units fitted with especially ' s mounted on motor trucks can readily be They may consist of mobile farm and other ypes of mobile laboratory setups, of mobile mobile exhibits, of bookmobiles, of trucks fitted roses Of with Movic projectors procedures to enrich the curriculum here used by the rural high schools, with slight hold equal promise for improving the work and i] element iry schools ind where the major educational interests of the children the sm illest high SM hools should, ot course, he consolidated. es call for dormitory facilities as well as for an extensive n program. But the replacement of the small schools one will not serve the high-school needs of rural children. if these schools must be geared to rural life problems. E. Instructional materials for rural schools should be rich and varied. be constructed and selected for their usefulness to rural leadership of resourceful teachers the rural com- ly teaching aids which make up some of the lacks of nvironment. ] 1 supply vicariously some of the experiences country life fails Wirt R dio pro T AMS ised to bring into the classroom promi nel perso! lity ind new ntcrests the children would newt otherwise experience; phonog cords, made for use in one- and two-teacher ti thre \« small s hools the recordinys We Activitics u these devices rural children can experience great dramas, of poetry, choral speaking, story telling. Visual materials is drawings, pictures, maps, charts, film strips, and motion pictures helpful beyond words to good teaching. All of these teaching aids are now av lable Wn ibund Nee incl compar tively smal] costs. State and county repositories al plains for circulating these materials are doing much to help Supy ly the instructional needs of the rural schools. With the aid of foundation grants several states are developing school materials designed to help rural children understand and use their environ ments for better living. Among these are readers and other textbooks which contain suggestions to students for taking part in community ictivities, stories about raising goats or chickens, directions on producing ind Canning en id to improve the diet, and mstructions for planting grass ind conserve the soil. Bulletins and low-cost books designed to help children better to understand real life problems, written in child lan | e, and vitahzed by pictures and activities, and interesting to rural reatly needed in rural communities. F. Since half the young people born on farms will have to find jobs elsewhere, rural children need guidance to solve educational and voca- tional difficulties which the rural environment often imposes. In preparing themselves for life, rural youth need help from counselors who not only know the kinds of occupations that are open in rural communities, but who also are specially skilled and trained for guiding young people with rural background into jobs and ways of life new to them. In the elementary school, the well trained rural teacher is counselor as s teacher, and if she does her job well as a teacher she has covered COUTTS lor. This Mcans that she sees the child always in relation he problems that affect his development, not to his curriculum t problems only. It means helping belligerent John find the hobby or special job he needs to win the regard of his fellows. It means getting Mary who is shy to take part in a music recital or to join a 4-H club, and turning the interests of Jane, a born “joiner,” to productive activities. Guidance can be furthered thru young citizens’ leagues, community projects, science or Group VIII: Insrrvuerionan Prosplems 189 art clubs, handicraft groups, school newspapers, excursions to industries and other points of interest, and playground games and activities Thru the use of books, guided reading, tryout courses, special projects, and a hundred other experiences, children must be guided to explore and train their special interests and talents, in both grade and high school. In all of these the teachers can be helpful, but many of them have had littl experience in the problems and complexities of our social and economic life. They therefore need the assistance of trained guidance specialists who can become thoroly familiar with the major employment or other voca tional opportunities available, who can administer and correctly interpret Various types of tests, who can arrange cooperative training programs with local and urban industries, and who can help rural youth to prep»re for ind get started in occupations suited to their needs, Such specialists can seldom be provided by a single rural school. But, by employing sucn a person on a regional or county basis or by other cooperative arrangement, several rural schools can share the costs of providing such special guidance services. G. Every course of the rural school should contribute to sound knowl- edge and habits relating to healthful living. But, more than, that, the school should provide medical and dental services designed to prevent the spread of disease and to reveal and remedy health defects. Despite the fact that rural children enjoy the benefits of sunshine and fresh air, they tend to develop into adults with poorer health and more physical defects than city children. This is due not only to sparsity of medical, dental, and hospital services in rural communities, but also to defective habits of nutrition and poor provisions in home and _ school sanitation. To build healthy bodies and to prevent injuries to normal growth and development, rural children and their parents need much more assistance from the schools than they have thus far received. Such a program would pay high dividends not only in the conservation of child life but also in the greater effectiveness of education. Sick and underpar children cannot fully benefit from the services of the schools. Some counties now employ county nurses who not only help rural teachers to apply simple preventive measures and first aid but also visit the schools, both periodically and on call, to examine the children and to send those needing attention to the doctor's or the dentist's office. But the use of mobile issist } | ywide program rural plans, of H. Rural children and adults need more library services. Every nt bok A i community must consider how satisfactory services may be obtained. vuntry schools The small drab shelf of « n> lone " tol lon rmecd = probiems, ] Group VIII: Instructionat Prostems 19! Rural schools increasingly obtain library services essential for their programs by contracting for them with county, regional, or public libraries. They are thus able to obtain such services much more economically and effectively than is possible if individual schools, especially the small ones, attempt to work out effective library programs. In some rural areas, county school libraries with professionally trained library personnel, a wide variety of materials, and bookmobiles to supplement local school resources have worked out satisfactorily for the school program; in others two or more schools pool their library funds and cooperate jointly to have better library facilities. Some local school libraries make their facilities available for community use insofar as their resources can meet adult needs. State and county school library supervisors and directors of state library agencies can do much to assist local schools and communities in working out sound library programs and in supplementing local services. These departments often develop package libraries which provide rural schools with supplementary materials not otherwise available. I. In order that they may more effectively teach and provide oppor- tunities for the practice of sound habits of nutrition, as well as train in many other things re!ating to food selection, production, preparation, and consumption, every rural school should develop and maintain a school lunch program organized to suit its needs. Such a program is especially needed in rural schools because the grow- ing distances between home and school prevent rural children from going home for the noon meal, because rural diets tend to lack variety and balance, and because farm folk tend to eat their major meal at noon while the children are away in school. Moreover, many rural children have very little opportunity at home or in groups to learn the basic prin ciples of properly preparing and serving foods or the niceties of eating in company. Many plans for serving school lunches have been worked out to meet the needs peculiar to rural communities. In some of the smaller schools the teachers and the older girls prepare a single hot dish to supplement the package lunch. In some the mothers agree to divide the task of going to the school daily to serve the lunch, the food being prepared either in the homes or at the school; in others one or more women are especially employed for this purpose. Some communities have developed central kitchens, delivering the prepared foods to several small s¢ hools in trucks fitted for the purpose. The Were House Conrerence Some lunch Proyranys plan Tey preire hase the food needed, others depend upon donations, and some get their food from both sources, During the last few years there has been a growing tendency to plan well in advance what food will be needed and then arrange with the children and the Purcnts to grow what is needed in either home or school arc ns. Such a plan also usually covers cooperative projects for canning and storing the food for winter use. In recent years the federal government has furnished funds to help the schools to provide school lunch fouxls; such funds would Tron Trequn nels achieve results if the V could also he used to help supply equipment and tramed leadership. Lunch facilities for the larger rural schools are provided by fitting up i lunchroom in an available empty room or ina separate building ¢ rected for the purpose. In the smaller schools, lunchrooms are sometimes pro vided in availible basements of constructed for the purpose, Some of the me-room schools are constructing small, compact kitchen units on wheels, which are equipped with all the essential cooking and serving facilities, ind which can be rolled into a corner out of the way when not in use. J. The school's service to rural children is not complete until adequate provisions are made for the educational development of exceptional children—children who thru heredity, thru neglect, thru accident, or thru other causes cannot normally benefit from the regular program and processes. No statistics of the number of such children living in rural communities But it is believed that the proportions are fully as high as, if high than, in the cities Estimates for the nation indicate that 2 ent of ill children ot school age are mentally retarded; Ito 2 percent e serious speech defects; 1.5 percent have seriously lowered vitality due irclia respiratory, Of other conditions: 1.5 4X reent are deaf or hard ot ring i percent suffer from orthopedic or other crippling defects: and percent are blind on h ive only partial sight To the se must be added the ially maladjusted children now unhappily growing in number, Taking ll of these together, it is estimated that some to percent of the children of school age must be provided with special educational opportunities if thes ire to he ornee social isscts i ither than liabilities Rur i tea rs Want to help the SC children, lout hor thr Most part they ive not hac ¢ traminyg to recognize or provict for the if needs The best ] ! found sto empl yon a county of regional ba is one or Group VIII: InstrucrionaL ProslemMs 3 more specialists trained and experienced to help the teachers, the parents, and the children themselves to cope with their exceptional problems; the use of visiting teachers is growing. In some cases simple and readily avail- able remedies are at hand; usually the children are best off in their own homes and communities, but when some of them need residential school care the parents need guidance on how and where to make arrangements. K. Rural-school problems are so complex and of such significance to the welfare of the nation that they should receive more equitable amounts of study, help, and leadership from national, state, and local governments and from other organizations and agencies concerned with the improve- ment of public instruction. The large schools and the urban school systems have for years received disproportionate amounts of attention from the councils, the committees, the conferences, and the research projects sponsored by federal, state, and other educational agencies and organizations. Too often it has been for- gotten that in the aggregate the rural centers of less than 2500 population have 83 percent of all the schools, employ 52 percent of all the teaching staffs, and are responsible for nearly 50 percent of all the children. More study should be given to the problems of rural education and special efforts made to help solve these prob’ems by the U. S. Office of Education, the state departments of education. the universities and teachers colleges, the great educational associations, and private foundations with funds to aid worthy rural-school projects. If all these organizations and agencies would make it an undeviating policy to either provide as a part of their staffs special divisions or specialists competent to deal effectively with the peculiar needs of these schools, or definitely see to it that in all their pro- grams and activities the claims of the rural schools are adequately repre- sented, an important step forward will have been taken. The greatest leadership need of rural communities is for one or more county supervisors trained for their work and devoting full time to the task of improving the rural schools. It is too much to expect the instruc- tional program and the special educational services needed by the rural schools to show much improvement as long as the lowest paid, beginning teachers are employed in the rural schools and thrown entirely upon their own resources. Master teachers or supervisors are desperately needed to give inspiration and guidance to rural teachers, to help bring cut their strong points and overcome their weaknesses, and to organize and provide 194 THe Wrire House Conrerence leadership to programs which will help both the teachers and the parents to understand and solve the educational problems of rural communities. BARTON MORGAN, Chairman Head, Department of Vocational Educa- tion, lowa State College, Ames, Iowa Recorders: WALTER H. GAUMNITZ, Senior Specialist in Rural Education Problems, U. S. Office of Education, Washington, a EFFIE BATHURST, Supervisor, Inter-Ameri- can Teacher Education Project, U. S. Office of Education, Washington, iE aol Report of Group IX PAYING FOR RURAL EDUCATION HE RURAL AREAS are the youth reservoirs of the nation. Birth-rates in the rural areas thruout the nation are higher than in the urban areas. During recent years this difference in birth-rates has been increasing until farm adults on che average have 70 percent more children to rear and educate than do urban adults, Urban adults do not have suf- ficient children to maintain present urban population. Therefore, the population of the nation would decline if it were not for the rural areas which constitute its youth reservoir. A large proportion of the children now living and being educated in rural areas will move to urban communities and contribute to their sup- port. Approximately 50 percent of the children now living on farms will probably move to city communities. Most of these persons will be educated, in part at least, in rural areas and largeiy at the expense of rural areas. In general, rural communities are, therefore, taxing themselves not only to educate their own future citizens but also to educate many of those who will live in and contribute to the prosperity of cities. The problem of providing adequate financial support for rural schools is made more difficult by many factors, among which are sparse population and educational deficiencies which have accumulated from the past. In practically all rural communities the development of satisfactory schools requires transportation of pupils, and transportation adds to the expense of education. Moreover, even with transportation, many of the schools must continue to be small because of factors such as sparse population and poor roads. Small schools are relatively much more expensive to main- tain than large schools. It is almost impossible to assure satisfactory educa- tional opportunities in small schools even at a relatively high cost per pupil. Furthermore, most rural communities have been handicapped by limited support for many years, with the result that buildings and equipment are inadequate, teachers are poorly trained, and many other disadvantages are encountered. To overcome these accumulated difficulties will require an additional outlay of money which would be unnecessary if rural schools had had adequate financial support in the past. Rural areas are in general less able to support an adequate financial [ 195 | 196 THe Wuire House ConFereNce program than urban areas. The per capita income of farmers for many years has been much less than that of the nonfarm population. While the farm population represents nearly one-fourth of the total population, the income of the farm population over a period of years constitutes only about one-tenth of the total. Also, there has been an increasing tendency for taxable wealth to be concentrated in urban areas. Rural areas are thus less able to support a satisfactory educational program than urban areas. The task of providing support for an adequate current educational pro- gram, plus money outlay to overcome the accumulated deficiencies, con- stitutes an almost unsurmountable obstacle for rural areas. Almost without exception, the districts and states least able t6 support their own schools are putting forth greater effort to do so in terms of their economic resources. The planning of a program for financing rural schools must take into consideration potential resources as well as immediate resources. The exist- ing economic values on which taxes are based in many rural areas are on the decline. Uncontrolled erosion and unwise farming methods are operating to deplete soil fertility in many places. Removal of forests, coal, clay, and other natural values from the land tends to reduce taxable wealth and income-producing power. Thus, the taxpaying weakness of some rural areas is progressive. A sound taxing plan for education in such regions would encourage development of rural economic resources rather than tend to reduce those resources. Good rural schools will make for more intelligent conservation and use of natural values in the land, thus making for a gradual increase in the taxpaying ability of rural areas. There are many inequalities in educational opportunities in rural areas of different types which need to be overcome. Rural areas vary greatly among themselves in ability to support a satisfactory educational program. Some of the more favored areas have as much wealth per pupil as many urban communities and in some cases more. Others have such limited wealth that they cainot support a satisfactory educational program. The development of programs to insure more adequate financing of education in rural areas will pay substantial dividends to urban com- munities, and to the state and nation at large, as well as to the rural com- munities. Some of the major urban problems of recent years have arisen because of the limited educational opportunities obtained by their citizens in the rural communities from which thev came. During the depression, many of the persons on the relief rolls of cities were persons of rural origin who had limited education. The problems of assuring a functioning Group IX: Payinc ror EpucaTIon 197 democratic government, of providing for national defense and the com- mon welfare, are made more difficult because of the inadequate educational opportunities now provided for many children. During the present war emergency, serious: handicaps have been encountered because of the limited training of many persons critically needed in industries and the armed forces. Provision of more adequate educational facilities for all will greatly promote the welfare not only of rural but also of urban com- munities and of the entire nation. A. Each state should assist in establishing a program of education and of financial support which will assure a maximum of economy and ef- ficiency in the operation of all schools. The state cannot afford to subsidize educational programs which are needlessly expensive. Leaders in each state should be interested in seeing that a program is developed which will assure the provision of needed services for all with a maximum of economy and efficiency. The organization of larger local school administrative units is essential in many areas to assure maximum economy and efficiency in the operation of the schools. In many states some local school administrative units are so small that needed educational ‘services could not be provided even at prohibitive costs. The state should be interested in helping work out a program which will involve the establishment of local schoo] administra- tive units of more adequate size as a basis for proper support for all schools. B. The state should guarantee an adequate minimum program of education for all its children and youth, regardless of residence or place of birth. Many states have not yet defined an adequate minimum program of education. Most of them have established certain characteristics or certain phases of an adequate program but have failed to face all aspects of the problem. An adequate minimum program of education should include all services and facilities needed for the proper education of all children and youth. A satisfactory basis for assuring that these opportunities will be provided in all communities can be established only if the state prescribes minimum standards which must be met in the way of school plant equip- ment, transportation, teachers, and instructional supplies. These steps can and should be taken by the state without interfering with or limiting the exercise of local initiative. 198 THe Wuaire House ConrereNnce C. To assure that minimum standards can be observed, a program of financial support adequate to meet the needs of all communities must be planned and put into operation in each state. Communities with limited financial resources cannot meet prescribed minimum standards unless they receive suthcient state funds. This means that a comprehensive system of school support must be developed which will provide for determining both the cost of a satisfactory minimum educational program in all communities and the resources available to meet this cost, and which will assure that the funds needed for an adequate school program in each community will actually be available. D. In many instances the state system of taxation will need to be revised if adequate educational facilities are to be assured for all rural com- munities. The property tax remains the chief source of school revenue in many states and communities. Experience during recent years has demonstrated the fact that the property tax is no longer adequate to support a satisfactory program of education, A democratic policy of taxation calls for all tax- payers within the state to carry an equitable portion of the burden of school support. This cannot be done so long as support of schools rests on the shoulders of the local property owners. Moreover, in many. states inequities exist in the assessment of property and the collection of taxes. Not only should plans be made for overcoming these inequities, but also a program should be developed for assuring adequate support from sources which can be depended upon to supplement and to some extent replace the property tax. E. An adequate program of financial support must provide for in- cluding and paying for all minimum essentials. A program cannot be considered satisfactory if the state provides only for helping to meet teachers’ salaries or for helping to finance certain other aspects of the program. Satisfactory buildings, equipment, and trans portation are just as essential for rural areas as are adequate teachers’ salaries. All essential needs should be recognized and the program of support should be so developed as to assure that all of these needs will be met. Provision should be made for maintaining a balanced program. Too large a proportion of the total has often been devoted to buildings or to Group IX: Payinc ror Epucation 199 some other phase of the program. The ratio between the amounts needed for transportation, buildings, teachers’ salaries, and other aspects of the program will vary somewhat from community to community, but a desirable ratio can be readily determined and should be established in each state. Moreover, a provision should be made in the program for assuring that a proper balance is maintained at all times. If this is not done, some phases of the program, sooner or later, are almost certain to be neglected or overemphasized, F. The plan which is developed should avoid providing financial re- wards from the state for the lessening of local effort or for perpetuating unsatisfactory conditions. In establishing a state plan for financing education, it is easy to include, without intending to do so, some provisions which will reward the pre- servation of status quo in education. For example, units for high schools may be weighed more heavily than necessary in proportion to units for elementary schools, particularly when present practice in areas with small high schools is used as a criterion. The units for small schools may be weighed in such a manner as to provide more funds for administrative units which continue small schools regardless of the need for consolida- tion. Provision may be made for granting aid on the basis of existing schools without recognizing the need for additional funds for transporta- tion as larger schools are developed. In fact, many other similar factors must be considered in developing a program of state aid which avoids providing rewards for the continuation of conditions beyond the period when they can be justified. G. The plan of financial support should provide for determining the cost of a satisfactory minimum program on an objective and uniform basis. Among the essential steps in determining the cost of a satisfactory and comprehensive program for each local school administrative unit are the following: 1. Adequate provision should be made for salaries of properly qualified teachers. The number of instructional units should be based on the number of pupils attending schools of various sizes and types. The amount re- quired to assure adequate salaries of properly qualified teachers in terms of levels of training will also need to be determined. The amouat which Tue Weire House ConrERENCE can be included in the minimum or foundation program for salaries of teachers can then be ascertained objectively by multiplying the nuraber of instructional units allowable by the amount included in the program for salaries of teachers based on training. This amount should be permitted to be included in the program only if the local school administrative unit submits evidence to show that the entire sum will be used for salaries. There should be no leeway for permitting any funds calculated as needed in the salary part of the program to be used for any other phase of the program. 2. The amount needed for transportation should be based largely on the density of transported population, the transportation load, and the cost of providing adequate and safe transportation facilities. The amount needed for transportation can be determined by taking into consideration the number of pupils transported, the area served by transportation, and the cost of providing adequate and safe transportation facilities. Provision, of course, will need to be made for additional transportation in areas where consolidation has not been brought about. Such a formula for determining the amount needed for transportation will be based on objective factors not subject to control by loéal boards and will recognize needs for trans- porting additional pupils as further consolidation is effected. Any formula : for determining the cost of transportation should avoid including items subject to direct control by local boards such as size of buses and locations of routes. Furthermore, it should be obvious that any plan for allowing the same amount per pupil for transportation in each local school adminis- trative unit, regardless of density of transported population, would be unfair and inequitable. 3. The amount included in the program for current expense other than teachers’ salaries and transportation should in general be proportionate to the number of instruction units in each administrative unit of adequate size. Unless provision is made in the state aid formula for calculating the amount needed for instructional supplies, maintenance, and libraries, many communities are certain to be handicapped because of limited funds which are available for these purposes. It has sometimes been assumed that in cluding only teachers’ salaries and transportation will meet the basic needs. The evidence indicates, however, that such an assumption is contrary to fact. The amount needed for current expense other than teachers’ salaries and transportation should be proportionate to the number and value of instructional units for teachers’ salaries. Group IX: Payinc For EpucaTIoN 261 4. Determination of the amount needed for capital outlay and debt services is just as essential as any other phase of the program. These items are now commonly omitted from state programs. To require local match- ing of such funds, as has been the policy in connection with a number of federal and state aid programs, is unfair to the poorer communities. The fair plan is to include in the foundation or minimum program the amount needed for capital outlay or debt service by using a percentage of the num- ber of instruction units multiplied by the value of the instruction unit. 5. The total cost determined as outlined in 1, 2, 3, and 4 above will con- stitute the cost of the minimum or foundation program in each local school administrative unit. The cost of this program should be determined on this objective basis, regardless of whether the administrative unit is rural or urban. Cost-of-living adjustments may be introduced into the formula in some states, but usually such adjustments will not be necessary because of the great difficulty in obtaining qualified teachers for rural communities and the greater yield per pupil in urban communities from supplementary local tax levies not considered in the minimum program. H. Local funds available to the local school administrative unit to meet the cost of the minimum program should also be determined on an objec- tive and uniform basis. The funds which are or should be available in each local school ad- ministrative unit toward meeting the cost of the minimum or foundation program should be determined by including any state and federal funds apportioned to the unit on some other basis, and adding to these any local funds which are uniformly available, including the yield from a local uniform millage levy. In states in which the property tax assessments are not uniform, it will be necessary, instead of applying a millage levy directly to the assessed valuation, to determine an index of financial ability, Apply- ing such an index will prevent local school units from reducing their assessed valuation and making the state subsidize such reductions. The plan of using the index of financial ability to measure the funds which should be available from local uniform millage levies has been in suc- cessful operation in at least one state for several years and will undoubtedly be needed in others. I. When local funds are insufficient to meet the cost of the minimum program, the state should provide the additional funds. 202 THe Wurre House ConFrerENce This plan should be applied in urban and rural communities alike. It will assure all local school administrative units of adequate size the neces- sary funds to support a satisfactory minimum or foundation program and will tend to encourage economy and efficiency. If this plan is applied in urban and rural communities alike, it will mean that the resources of the state are used to assure the provision of desirable educational opportunities for all the children of the state, regardless of residence or place of birth. J. Provision should be made in the program for each local school unit to have some leeway for additional financial support beyond the funds considered available to meet the cost of the minimum program which is established. Unless this step is taken, communities will be restricted to the minimum program established by the state. Such a restriction would be inadvisable. A reasonable millage leeway should, therefore, be left to all communities. This would mean that the urban communities and the more wealthy rural communities will still have some advantage over the less wealthy communities because the return per pupil from such local levies will be greater in those communities. The objective, however, should be to assure an adequate minimum education for all children rather than to limit all children in the several communities to this minimum. K. The federal government should adopt a permanent policy of financial assistance to the states in financing public elementary and secondary schools. Considerations of national safety and welfare make imperative the extension of appropriate educational opportunities to all children and youth. War has shown the dangers that rise from inadequate education. The manpower loss due to educational deficiencies might, under slightly different circumstances, have spelled calamity. Increased literacy, increased technical skills, and reinforced loyalties might at some future time be the margin of victory or the means of averting war. The problems of peace, no less than those of war, demand a higher level of education for all our people. The national stake in education and the inability of some states to sup- port an adequate educational program for all children point to the neces- sity for federal aid. A number of states are not able to provide a satisfactory minimum of education for all their children. Certain states have a tax- Group IX: Payine ror EpucaTIon paying ability only about one-sixth as much per child as that of other states. Many states, in most cases predominantly rural, are now making a greater effort to support their schools than many of the wealthy states and yet are able to offer only meager educational opportunities. The fed- eral government must assist the states financially in supporting their schools if all children are to have education in keeping with the national welfare. While facts cited above may seem to indicate that the federal govern- ment should participate in the general support of elementary and secondary schools only in those states with insufficient economic resources to-support without undue hardships an acceptable minimum program of educational opportunity, there are also good and valid arguments that the federal government should bear a part of the cost of maintaining public schools thruout the nation. All children and youth born in this country are citi- zens of the nation as well as citizens of their respective states, and it seems to be a fair proposition that the nation should share in the cost of their educaticn. The high degree of mobility of population, about 25 percent of the population in peacetime living in states other than those of their birth, indicates a national interest in education of all children. Further- more, in times of emergency such as the one produced by the present war there is ample justification for national aid to the states to make the neces- sary financial adjustments, especially in teachers’ salaries, to enable the schools to meet the changed conditions. Nevertheless, the primary need is for federal aid to equalize more nearly the financial resources of the several states to support schools. For the most part the states in greatest need of federal aid are those that have the highest percentages of rural population. L. Any program of federal support for education should recognize the fact that the control of education is a function of the state and not of the federal government. Federal funds for support of education should be apportioned to the states for use by the states in providing support for their educational pro- grams. The federal government should not. at any time undertake to determine in detail the procedures which are to be used by the states in expending these funds. The policies followed by the federal government during recent years in providing funds thru non-educational federal agencies for specific aspects Tre Wuite Houst ConrerENCE of education have not been satisfactory. In some instances, such as the NYA, the federal policy has tended to result in the development of federal- ized educational programs. Many of the non-educational agencies have not understood the educational programs of the states and, therefore, have ignored certain basic principles of relationships. Piecemeal grants for specific aspects of education distort the educational program. Federal funds should be distributed to the state on the basis of an ob- jective formula for the purpose of further equalizing educational oppor- tunities. Apportionment of federal funds on the basis of an objective formula will assure a fair and equitable distribution of these funds with- out the danger of undesirable federal controls. The formula should provide for the apportionment of funds on the basis of objectively determined needs in the respective states and should not require matching unless such matching is in inverse ratio to the ability of the states to support an educational program. The funds should be apportioned thru the U. S. Office of Education to the respective state departments of education which in turn should appor- tion the funds to local school units in accordance with the laws of the state affected. E. B. NORTON, Chairman State Superintendent of Education, Montgomery, Ala. Recorders: EDGAR L. MoRPHET, Director, Administra- tion and Finance, State Department of Education, Tallahassee, Fla. LESLIE L. CHISHOLM, Associate Professor of Education, State College of Wash- ington, Pullman, Wash. Report of Group X RURAL EDUCATION IN THE STRUCTURE OF DEMOCRACY HE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION of democracy in the United States of \merica provide for representative forms of government subject to popular control. Every citizen has the right and obligation to share in the operation of his government—local, state, and national. This sharing includes the electing and recalling of those who make its laws, standing for office, taking part in administration, conforming to and re specting democratic authority. A primary requisite for each citizen is a knowledge and understanding of the form and operation of government under which he lives and a recognition and acceptance of his personal responsibility in the selection, election, and guidance of his representatives in government A. A democratic society must make effective use of all its human and material resources. This is possible only when all its people understand, participate in, and exercise intelligent direction of the society in which they live. It is impera tive for the mutual welfare of the democratic society and the individual to provice equal opportunities for adequate education for all its citizens ind their children. American democracy evolved in a nation predominantly rural. The maintenance and development of that ideal require the intelligent partici pation of rural-min ed folk. The rural school must concern itself with the experience of rural fc 'k in living and working together, both in and out of school. Such expe ience is as important in developing political and ethical ideals as is form il class instruction, The perpetuation of democracy rests upon willing acceptance of re sponsibility and upon the personal and group integrity of its citizens Moral principles gover.imy human relationship which rightfully begin in the home should be continued in the primary and secondary school to in sure citizenship imbued with integrity of purpose and character B. The United States of America “grew up” from a simple agricultural society to a highly complex industrial-agricultural society. [ 205 ] 206 THe Wuire House ConrerENce The basic structure of our democracy was forged by farmers and small- town people who sought the means to protect and insure the right of every individual to be heard in the legislative halls and courts of the nation. Government then was close to the people, and their participation in it was of first concern. In this period farmers made up nine tenths of the total population. Rural people are still the “cradle” of the nation, tho now more than half the people live in urban areas, The most important product of rural areas, to betn urban and rural people, is the child. But for the natural in crease of population in rural areas, urban areas would now be static or de creasing in population. “The population of the United States migrates both to cities from farms and to farms from cities.”* The long-time trend is a net migration from farms to cities. The quality of the education of the citizens and prospective citizens in rural areas is of vital concern to the whole of society because of the mobility of our population. In three generations So percent of the total population will be direct descendants of those now living on farms in the United States.* Thus, many of those who will be the leaders and citizens of our nation will be given their understanding and appreciation of democracy in educational mstitutions mn rural areas, C. The traditional pattern of rural life is a family unit on a farm, tilling the soil it owns, taking pride in all it surveys. This family unit, inde- pendent and self-sustaining, has for generations been the very lifeblood and backbone of the American system. The extent to which it is yet maintained is the measure of much of the best in the American tradition and way of life.* In the structure and operation of democracy a primary objective is to achieve as complete self-government as possible—to leave to the people and their own organizations and institutions as much as possible of the means to earn a living and to live a good life. The assurance of equality of educational opportunity is essential if a high degree of self-government 1 Reeves, Flovd W. “Postwar Adjustment.” Proceedings of the American Country Life Conference, April 1944. Champaign, Ill.: Garrard Press 2 Baker. O. FE. “Distribution of the Population of the United States” Annals of the fmerican Academy of Political and Social Scrence 188: 271; November 1926 3 Dawson, Howard A. Contributions of Rural Life to National Well-Being. Address before the Great Lakes Conference on Rural Education, Hotel Sherman, Chicago, Ill., February 1944 The bookmobile serves a rural school. Books are essential to the instructional program of rural schools. Library extension service, trained librarians, and trans portation service for hooks are necessary to modern rural education. Mobile health units and mobile shops are also means of expanding the services of the rural v¢ hools. 208 THe Wuire House ConFrerENCE and democratic leadership is to be achieved in the complex society in which we live. Modern science and invention have so increased the productivity of human effort that a higher general level of living is not only possible but essential to prosperity... . The character of the desires of the people who are deciding between the different kinds of goods and services, and the ways in which they will use their leisure time, will determine the quality of civilization which will be built upon the new foundations provided by science and invention. . . . It is of the greatest importance to mankind that the conditions and goals of a higher civilization, rather than the economic gain of pressure groups, be kept in mind in the development of new desires for goods and services. . . . In addi tion to the native instincts which man has in common with other species of the animal kingdom are the desires and judgments based on education.‘ The intermediate groups hold the balance of power in the social, eco- nomic, and political stresses between labor and capital, between radical and conservative. The largest intermediate groups, composed of those who labor and also control capital, who desire betterment but who cling to the good in the old, are among rural people. The intelligence and under standing of these balance-of-power groups are of importance in the structure of democracy. Four agencies that reach these people most effectively are the press, radio, pulpit, and school. The school is basic for puly the effectiveness of the other three, and is the only one primarily con cerned with developing the intelligence and understanding of the individ- uals composing these groups. D. Rural America needs a program of public education adapted to the experiences, environment, and needs of the people. Some of the characteristics of such a program are presented in the fol- lowing paragraphs. Since many rural children never go to high school, the elementary school program should be enlarged to include effective information and experiences in health, homemaking, conservation, guidance, parent edu cation, recreation, and practice in living and working with others. Such a program is possible and enhances rather than impairs the effectiveness of work in the mastery of the fundamental tools of learning. This is particu ‘Taylor, H. C. Pressure Groups wath Reference to Their Effect on Consumption. Paper read before the meeting of the Home Economics Association, Chicago, Ill., June 22, 1944. Group X: Rurat Epwucation in AMERICA 209 larly important now since in many areas the formal education of rural children ends with the elementary school. The rural secondary school should offer a comprehensive program as broad and varied as the needs of rural boys and girls. Facilities must be provided so that all rtusal youth will receive a complete secondary education. Adult education must be a part of rural education in a democracy. One of its great values is to encourage home and community to play their rightful and important parts in effective rearing of children for living in 1 democracy. Adult education should be understood to mean the con- tinuing education of all adults. In-service training of teachers should be a part of the program of adult education Living in a democracy is a year-round matter. Rural education should provide for a twelve-month program, not to increase the amount of formal class work, but to provide time for both teaches and pupils to make greater use of the more informal activities both of pupils and of the com- munity as a whole Education is not limited to the boundaries of school property or to the regular school staffs; it is the mutual concern of all thoughtful people in a democracy. Some educational growth may be secured best in the home, some in the church, and some in other important nonschool agencies and groups. The most efficient modern rural-school program seeks the co- operation and coordination of all agencies that have a contribution to make and encourages participation of capable local leadership. Life in the rural community centers upon the home and farm. This calls for instruction and experience in agriculture and homemaking on a per- sonal and practical Kasis. If adequate school funds and personnel cannot be provided by local and state authorities, the United States Government should be asked to supplement such funds to provide a program to in clude this needed practical education on the elementary as well as the secondary level, acting thru existing state agencies. The dignity of agricultural pursuits must become more widely re- spected. Urbanism ‘must not be pitted against ruralism, for each is de- pendent on the other. Neither agriculture, labor, nor industry can solve its own problems without viving due consideration to the problems of the others. Rural America has particular responsibility for the production of food ind raw materials, not only for present use, but also continuing into the 210 THe Waite House ConrereNce future and to meet expanding rather than contracting needs. The con- servation and best use of land, forest, wild life, and water resources are of much concern to rural people. The effective fulfilment of this vital need for the maintenance of democratic national well-being is dependent on education, and can be best accomplished with the hearty participation of rural schools and other educational agencies. Health of the citizens of a democratic society is of prime concern. Since rural areas provide the major portion of the population of the future, the health practices and ideals of rural areas are of supreme importance. The work of rural schools can be made much more effective in the areas of nutrition, disease control, sanitation, mental health, and physical educa tion. It must go beyond formal class instruction and be made to eventuate in more healthful rural communities. Guidance is of particular importance to rural youth, since they must choose between the urban and rural way of life as well as among voca tions. It is of importance to rural welfare, since rural areas must not be stripped of their more able youth if a peasantry on the land is to be avoided. It is of equal importance to urban welfare that a continuing supply of capable people shall be coming in from the country, and that these people shall come to the cities with real understanding of and preparation for the life and work in urban communities, By the same token it is of vital importance that urban areas should provide urban youth with opportunity for guidance and preparation for living in rural areas. Efforts to provide effective occupational outlook services having due regard for the needs of rural youth should be encouraged. Vocational preparation is implied in guidance. Rural youth must have full access to preparation for such life work as may have been selected. This must include preparation in agriculture, home life, and cooperative effort, and for the vocations that many of them are to follow in urban places. E. Equality of educational opportunity for all American children and youth is a fundamental concept in American democracy. This concept has never been made a reality. All in all the most un- satisfactory conditions of educational opportunity have been in rural areas. Facts revealed in the addresses and other committee reports of this Con- ference forcefully substantiate these statements. The equalizing of educational opportunities is a responsibility of the Group X: Rurat Epucation tn AMERICA 211 nation, of the several states, and of the thousands of American com- munities. Adequate financial support for schools must come from the na- tion, the state, and the community. Special attention must be given to the problems of minority and underprivileged groups wherever they are found. We feel it imperative, however, to point out that the ideal of equality of opportunity must be made operative in each individual class- room, each school, and each community. It will not be made operative unless the teachers, school officials, and the citizens of the community seek to make it so. In altogether too many rural communities a social caste system operates to deny equal opportunities to the children of the least privileged families. One method of helping to make equality of educational opportunity a reality is thru adequate compulsory school attendance laws properly en- forced. The general acceptance of the idea that childhood is a period to be devoted to physical and intellectual development, and the elimination of the gainful employment of children in agriculture and industry, have re- sulied in the enactment of compulsory school attendance laws, the length- ening of public-school terms, and the prohibition or regulation of child labor. In many states the compulsory attendance laws applicable to rural children are wholly inadequate. Too many exceptions and exemptions are provided; no provision is made for attendance supervision and en- forcement; and the minimum school term required is far too short. Nearly all the school terms in the United States of less than nine months and all of less than eight months are in rural areas. F. The responsibility of the local group as well as the state for the education of youth was recognized in the earliest history of our country. This responsibility must continue to be discharged by an educational program which develops intelligent, participating citizens. Provision for allocating public lands for support of education was part of early New England town procedure. This was an early instance of state aid for schools. The Ordinance of 1787 allocated two sections of land in each township for public education purposes; this was a form of federal aid to education.® 8 National Education Association, Research Division. “Federal Aid to Education.” Research Bulletin 20: 121-22; September 1942. THe Warere House ConrerENce Later state governments recognized that they should “provide a thorough and efficient system of free schools.”* There developed, also, systems of adult education for rural areas, for example, Extension Service in Agriculture and Home Economics, in which federal and state funds were used, leaving to states, to a large extent, the formation of policies and programs. Federal funds, also, have been allocated to states tor vocational education in’ which minimum requirements OF standards were set up relative to the use of the funds in a state. In the early efforts, elected rep resentauives of the people in the locality nearest to them were given responsibility for the development and direction of the program of educa- tion. State government supplied directive or supervisory assistance as needed and, often, only as requested. In forms of public education more recently developed, as in vocatiorfal education, the state and federal gov- ernments have exercised varying degrees of control. Thus a complex sys- tem of administration of public education has grown up with ofttimes confused and frequently overlapping administration and control. In a democratic structure the power of deciding upon policies should rest with the people and their elected representatives. The function of education has grown as our society has become more complex. With this growth has come increased influence by professional leaders into whose hands, in many cases, complete administrative responsibility has been placed. To an increasing extent professionally trained people have ex- ercised influence over the making of policies as well, tho in most systems laymen who are elected to the position of director or board member re- rain the power to vote to decide issues relating to policies governing the administration of the system of education. Our system of public education, which is charged with the preparation of citizens in a democracy, must develop a program which will insure in- telligent guidance and control of the system by the citizens. Otherwise the system of public education itself may lead to a nondemocratic control by giving over policy-making to administrators paid by the system. Thus the very foundation of democracy itself will be undermined. Education is now needed for the guidance of those who determine the policies affecting its administration. Even the smallest entity in the American governmental system, such as the local school district, should be led to recognize the need for and importance of the establishment of 8 Hlinois State Constitution Group X: Rurat Epucation in AMERICA 213 an adequate program of education for the future citizens of a democracy. The emphasis on the necessity of keeping the control of education in the hands of the people is not to be construed as advocating the election of school administrators and other professional personnel by popular vote, as is the case in the selection of county superintendents of schools in many states. The system of the control of schools by lay boards of education, elected by vote of the peuple, has become a tried and accepted procedure in every part of the nation. School administrators as well as other pro- fessional personnel should be selected by boards of education and subject to their direction under the provisions of the laws ot the state. G. The serious defects in the financial support and control of rural education threaten the strength of democracy. These defects must be corrected. There are grave deficiencies in rural schools. Ruiral-school housing is inadequate; many schools are attended by so few pupils that an effective educational program is impossible; equipment is often “meager in amount,” “antiquated and obsolete in design,” and “wholly unsuited to the needs of the school”; the quality of teaching service is low and teachers in many rural schools are notoriously undertrained and under- paid; and instructional procedures are frequently “traditional,” “narrowly academic,” “impractical,” “unrelated to the children’s interests and ex- periences,” and “with no provision for individual differences in abilities and needs.”’ The powers of a person are what education wishes to perfect. Democ- racy depends for its life upon the opportunity that every person has to make all the judgments he can. An individual thinking the best thoughts of which he is capable, mastering the human disciplines without jealousy for his own profit, thus becomes more of himself than he was before. It is in the community that the most important democratic procedures take place. There voting is done, discussions of public issues are carried on, and opinions formed. Education in a democracy must encourage each individual to be all that he can be. Democracy and freedom and equality of educational oppor- tunity are inseparable. Some of our states spend on a per pupil basis less than one-fifth of the amount spent in other states, and that one-fifth may 7 National Education Association, Research Division. “Progress in Rural Education.” Research Bulletin 18: 165-69; September 1940 214 THe Wire House ConFrerENCE represent the greater community effort. The least satisfactory schools in the United States are certainly found in rural areas; and it is apparent that there is not now in the United States adequate and equitably dis- tributed financial support for our rural schools. It is highly desirable to keep control of rural education as fully as pos sible in the hands of the people themselves. Because urban areas are in- fluenced by the quality of education of those who migrate to urban from rural areas, urban areas have a responsibility in bearing an increasing share of the cost of rural educazion thru federal and state aid. Rural and urban citizens should take such steps as are necessary and reasonable to assure an adequate educational program for all rural people without re- gard to wealth, birth, and other accidental conditions and circumstances. The responsibility for providing adequate educational opportunities for rural people has been placed largely in the hands of local people thru elected directors and schoolboards. Failure to fulfil this responsibility adequately has resulted in some instances in stat- iegislatures taking it from local control and assigning it to state boards or commissions. This tendency may be avoided by creating more effective local administrative units, composed of natural communities or combinations of such com- munities. The administrative unit must be large enough to provide, on an economical basis, essential administrative and supervisory services. H. If the policies outlined in the Conference are to be put into effect, then educators must assume responsibility for interpreting them to laymen. The major policies outlined by Group X may be summarized as follow: 1. If a democracy is to have an intelligent electorate. it must provide widespread opportunities for education for both youth and adults. These opportunities should be open to all citizens and prospective citizens and should be adequately supported, 2. All types of rural ediucation—formal and informal, elementary, secondary, adult, and advanced—should be integrated so as to (a) offer thru education opportunities to improve rural individual, family, and community life, and (b) provide individuals in rural areas desiring non- rural pursuits adequate preparation for them. 3. Rural education is carried forward by many agencies in addition to the school. Progress will be most rapid when leadership in these groups continues to develop and goes forward in cooperation with the rural schools in a democratic sharing of service. Group X: Rurat Epucartion tn AMERICA 215 4. The support of education for rural people must be such as to assure them a program of rural education adapted to and adequate for their needs and for the needs of the society of which they are a part. 5. Studies should be carried on to find new methods and to improve present methods of rural education so that the highest possible quality of programs will result. 6. The people for whom a modern education program is developed should participate in its development and be led to maintain an active in terest in and intelligent control over the system provided to carry on that program. Meetings of representatives of these groups in regions, states, counties, and communities should be encouraged in order to discuss and interpret these findings so that they may reach every rural family, even those on the most remote road, for their consideration and action. D. E. LINDSTROM, Chairman Professor of Rural Sociology, and Ex tension Sociologist, College of Agri culture, University of Illinois, Urbana, Ill. Recorders: RICHARD BARNES KENNAN, Executive Sec- retary, Maine Teachers Association, Augusta, Maine NORMAN FROST, Professor of Rural Edu- cation, George Peabody College for Teachers, Nashville, Tenn. SUMMARY STATEMENTS OF THE CONFERENCE I. RALPH B. JONES State Commissioner, Department of Education Little Rock, Arkansas HE EDUCATION OF RURAL CHILDREN is of enormous significance not only to the social and economic welfare of rural America but also to the entire nation. The nation draws much of its manpower and renews its bloodstream from the country. It is dependent upon the farm for its food and fiber, as well as many other fundamental resources. The buying power of the farmer plays an important role in the national economy. It makes a dif- ference whether farm people are good producers, have good incomes, main tain a good standard of living, or whether the opposite is true. It seems clear that a comprehensive program of rural education, vitalized by teachers, supervisors, buildings, equipment, and funds planned to serve the basic educational needs of rural people should be provided not only as their right but also as a means of wisely developing and capitalizing the rural resources of the United States. As a people, we have ceased to live in the small, circumscribed com- munities which were typical in the past. The application of the discoveries of modern scientific research to our industrial, economic, social, and cul- tural life has eradicated most of the artificial boundary lines. The develop- ment of improved transportation and communication has extended the limits of the neighborhood to include larger and larger areas until in actual fact the whole world lies at one’s doorstep. Centralization and con- centration of population, wealth, authority, and power are natural results of man’s total effort to control his environment. If the sum of human happiness is no greater today than a generation ago, the fault lies not in our technology but in our failure to utilize it for the greater good of the greater number. The productive capacity of a technological society spells progress for the people only so far as it can be controlled and directed toward the continuous upgrading of the economic, social, and esthetic benefits enjoyed by all the people. Coincident with necessary readjustments, many rural communities have lost their identity, and many more will lose their identity very soon. All 216 | Jones: SUMMARY 217 have felt, or will soon feel, the impact of change and readjustment incident to the modern scene. Yet, the rural school remains largely unchanged, a mute testimonial of lagging social adaptation. If these conditions are allowed to remain uncorrected, the feuntain source of American democracy will run dry. The democratic policies which initiated and guided American education through its formative years originated among rural people. There were no large cities when free public schools began in this country. The ideal of education for all originated in pioneer days when each sparsely settled com munity established its own school—a school imbued with a spirit of freedom and of goodwill, not only toward one’s own children but also toward neigh- bors’ children. It is this spirit of democracy that the schools of America are striving to maintain, and attain anew, under conditions vastly different from those of its beginning. But this heritage of the idea! of equal opportunity for all, the goal of a great agrarian civilization, is threatened if present differences in the means of achieving it are permitted to remain. And, ironical as it seems, it is the rural children who stand to suffer the greatest loss if the heritage of education wrought by their forefathers is diminished. Rural children must have educational opportunity equal to that offered in urban sections if the traditional ideal of American education is to be realized! We believe in local self-government, and we believe in equality of op- portunity; but these two principles are mutually antagonistic. We must surrender a certain amount of local self-government in order that we may provide an adequate education for our children, By enlarging the school administrative units of the states and thereby reducing the number of school districts, we are not surrendering our local self-government en- tirely; we are simply thinking and acting on a larger geographic scale for the purpose of making local self-government function more effectively for the future welfare of our youth. Rural children are just as important as city children and should have just as good educational opportunities. The children in a rural district without a railroad, or an oil field, or a county courthouse, or a state capitol are entitled to educational facilities and advantages comparable to those who live in districts which have these and other equally valuable assets. In order to achieve this goal, a new organization, disregarding such special privileges as are now enjoyed by some independent school districts, must be brought into existence. \ssocuition and Amerncan Association of School Administrators, ammonssion. Educational Poliaes for Rural America. Washington, D. C iy p56 218 THe Write House ConrereNce One of the primary problems in the postwar period will be maximum employment of all human beings who are capable of performing produc- tive labor. To meet the gigantic accumulation of demands for peacetime goods and services will require large amounts of machines, tools, capital reserves, and skilled labor. It will be tragic if the American working forces are unable to produce the needed goods and services because of a lack of technical skills to operate multiple units of highly powered machinery. An important implication for education lies in the challenge that the upgrading of the skills of the workers become an instrument whereby America may meet the postwar problem of maximum employment and adequate production. Education must meet this challenge because therein lies our only hope of maintaining our system of free enterprise. The alter. native is disintegration for both the American system of education and the American way of life. An adequate educational program, adapted to the problems of, incalcul- - able complexity which will face.our people upon cessation of hostilities, can be realized thru the vision and courage of educational leaders. Cir- cumstances have proved that either we will pay for the adequate educa- tion of our youth, or we will pay in multiplied amounts for our failure to do so. Such a program of education clearly points out at least two major ob- jectives: first, every youth of the nation graduating from high school; second, every high-school graduate prepared for the next step he contem- plates taking. With millions of American youth entirely without available » ool facilities we have a long way to go. To reach this army of neglected youth will require significant increases in school financial support. The responsibility for such support must rest alike on the local community, the state, and the nation. There must be universal acceptance of the ir- refutable principle of democratic education that the wealth of the land, wherever it is, should support the education of the youth of the land, wherever they live. The increasing mobility of our population presents a challenge which can no longer be evaded. With the continuous flow of population from rural to urban areas, the conient as well as the amount of education pro- vided by rural schools needs careful consideration. Doubtless, one of our major problems is that of discovering the kinds of educational opportuni- ties which will prepare the rural youth for effective living, whether their future is cast in city or country. Jones: SUMMARY 219 When we think of the vital relationship between the school and its pro gram, and the economic and cultural status of the people whom the school serves, we are brought to the realization that the school in general and particularly the school in the rural community has not done a great deal specifically to improve the economic, social, and cultural conditions of the people who are served by the school. The school has largely been an institu tion in the community but not of the community. If there is a relationship between the educational program and the economic, social, and cultural improvement of our people, the school should become more conscious of its responsibility in guiding and directing the activities of the community toward an improved community life. The rural community is particularly rich in educative materials and op portunities. Urban centers are paying millions of dollars to provide cheap and inadequate substitutes for many of the experiences the rural child enjoys for absolutely nothing. If parents and teachers of rural children could but appreciate this inexhaustible wealth of potential education there is no way of estimating the consequent iraprovement in the quality of rural life. There is no difference in the ultimate goals of rural and urban education. Both point toward the growth of individuals in the ability to find satisfying solutions to persistent life problems. The effectiveness of an educational system cannot be judged by the position attained by a few exceptional people. Nothing could be more vulnerable than such an idea, yet we hear it quite frequently advanced as proof that ali is well with the schools. The measure of a people’s power is not found in the achievements of the few who thru great natural gifts or unscrupulous tactics climb to high places, but rather is it found in the level of economic, social, and esthetic development reached by the masses. The public school is dedicated to the very task of raising this level continuously higher and higher. The measure of its effectiveness is in how well it does this job. When leaders in rural education claim for the rural child e4™ ational opportunities equal to those provided city children, and similar as to basic objectives, they do not mean an identical education. The environmental backgrounds and the educational needs of rural children and city children are in many respects different. The interests, backgrounds, problems, and activities which are indigenous to rural life must be the stuff of which the rural curriculums are made, and must play prominent roles in the instruc- tional processes. Rural education must be more realistically concerned with the improvement of the social, economic, and cultural life of people who live on the land than has been true in the past. The writing of textbooks 220 THe Wuire Hovse Conrerence and the training of teachers geared solely to urban life do not adequately serve the needs of the rural child. It goes without saying that every rural child is entitled to a good and complete elementary education which will guarantee to him proficiency in the tool subjects, the transmission of the cultural heritage, the develop- ment of a balanced personality in a healthy body, and a good start in the sciences and the cultural and practical arts. Mere literacy is not enough, altho many children still are denied even this low educational objective. The elementary school must, for example, create a love for and deeply rooted habits in reading; it must provide much realistic opportunity to practice the language arts, both written and oral. Every rural child is entitled to a high-school education. Such an edu cation suitable to his peculiar needs must be placed within his reach, both as concerns the distance between his home and school and as concerns the economic status ot his family. Radical changes will have to be made in the plans and procedures of providing secondary education in rural com munities if this level of education is to become a vital force in supplying the various educational needs of rural youth. A comprehensive program of rural education must give more attention to adult education opportunities complementary to the elementary and secondary schools. Many essential educational needs—vocational agricul ture, homemaking, parenthood, child psychology, craft and hobby in terests, understanding of state and national economic issues—can often be more effectively taught to adults ready for or engaged in these activities than during the elementary and high-school period. To achieve the fundamental purposes of the rural schools, and to effect essential advances in rural education, certain far-reaching improvements should be made immediately Teachers, school administrators, and supervisors should see to it that the instructional programs which serve rural children are so constituted both as to content and as to methods of teaching that they will utilize to the maximum the backgrounds and experiences of these children and the community resources and organizations. The cooperation of parents, in- dividually and collectively, must be sought and cultivated. The parents on the other hand have an obligation to cooperate with the teachers and to try to understand and supplement the purposes and methods of the school. There should be a complete program of educational opportunities to supply the needs of every rural child beginning with kindergarten and ex- tending thru at least the twelfth school year, and possibly tie fourteenth Jones: SUMMARY 221 school year. Of necessity, such a program must meet not only the needs of children of school age but also the needs for adult education. Rural teachers should have the kind and quality of pre-service education that will qualify them to teach in rural schools. Teacher education institu- tions that undertake to educate teachers for the rural schools should offer courses in the fundamental social sciences with special emphasis on rural life; they should give prospective teachers an opportunity to observe and participate in rural community life and to do both observation and practice teaching in rural schools organized to serve the needs of rural children. The time has already arrived when four years of education above high school should be the minimum requirement for admission to the teaching profession in rural schools. States should begin to step up their training requirements so as to attain this objective within the next five to ten years, sooner where possible, For rural teachers everywhere there must be programs of in-service train- ing. Such programs must be under highly qualified supervisors or master teachers who have demonstrated their ability to work on a basis of mutual cooperation with the teachers. State teacher certification laws and regulations should be revised so as to reflect the special qualifications required of the teachers and to protect qualified teachers against the competition of persons with low qualifica- tions. Emergency certificates should be revoked at the earliest possible time and their issuance should cease when the present war emergency has been alleviated. Schoolboards should improve their practices regarding the retention of qualified teachers, State laws should be enacted to protect teachers against unjust dismissal or failure to renew contracts. Continuing contract laws should be the minimum legal provision in any state, and tenure laws should be enacted as rapidly as conditions will justify. The salaries of rural teachers must be made commensurate with income requirements of persons of the cultural and social status that educated teachers ought to be expected to maintain. States should make adequate provisions for retirement annuities for all teachers. Teachers should be active and welcomed participants in the affairs of the communities in which they teach. The teachers have an obligation to raake contributions to community life, but the laymen of the community have an equal obligation to encourage teachers to participate in community life and to protect them in the exercise of the privilege. Tue Wuarre House Conrerence Each rural community has an obligation to make arrangements for satisfactory living quarters for the teacher in the community where the school is located. Teachers’ homes may well become a part of the property owned by many rural districts. In most states there should be a fundamental reorganization of local administrative units for schools. The units must be made sufficiently large to afford educational opportunities thru high school and to make avail- able the administrative and specialized services required for a satisfactory educational program. Schools should be consolidated wherever distances, topography, and the best interest of the children and of community life will permit. Certainly there are thousands of small rural schools that ought to be consolidated with others, If rural school units are to be reorganized, state laws must be enacted to facilitate such reorganization. Most state laws now are a hindrance rather than a help to this kind of improvement of rural schools. State departments of education should begin immediately to plan the reorganization of local school units. Such plans should be worked out co- operatively with local school officiais and lay leaders. Rural schools need the benefit of the services of superintendents of schools selected on the basis of professional qualifications and on non- political considerations. Popular election of county superintendents of schools should be abandoned. Wherever they are elected by popular vote, they certainly should be elected on a nonpartisan ballot. Much of the leadership for rural education should come from state de- partments of education. Persons specially trained and otherwise qualified for rural education service should be on the staff of the state department of education and recognized as specialists in this field. National leadership is also needed in rural education. Accordingly, the rural services of the United States Office of Education should be greatly enlarged. Rural leadership has the obligation to see that legislation to this effect is properly and favorably considered by Congress. An extensive program of rehousing rural schools is needed. School buildings need to be planned and equipped not only to protect the health and safety of the pupils and teachers, but aiso to accommodate with the maximum degree of facility the instructional program of the schools. More and more consideration must be given to planning and constructing school buildings that can be used as rural community centers. Special efforts should be made to survey the need for including the building of schools Jones: SUMMARY 223 for rural communities in any public works programs which may be under- taken in the postwar period. Adequate school-building planning can best be facilitated by a well staffed division of schoolhouse planning in every state department of education, Every state should take immediate action to provide such a division. Adequate educational opportunities for all rural children and youth are not possible without adequate financial support. This support should come primarily from an adequate amount of state funds apportioned to local school units in such ways as to guarantee an acceptable standard school available to every child. These state funds should also be supple- mented by local taxes, especially for the purpose of enabling the local school unit to provide educational opportunity in excess of the minimum standard guaranteed by the state. Federal aid to the states to assist them in the financing of schools is necessary if a fair degree of educational opportunity is to be made avail- able thrucut the nation. There is special need for two kinds of federal aid: first, funds for the equalization of financial support for elementary and seconiary schools, apportioned to the states on some objective basis of need; second, funds to aid young people in need of financial assistance to attend high school and college. Every state should enact and enforce compulsory-attendance laws which will guarantee the remove! of all barriers to the regular school attendance of all children—those from the most isolated farms, those whose parents follow the crops, those, of poor parents, whose labor is needed to supple- ment the family income. To make such a law workable, attendance supervisors, home visitors and child accounting systems must be provided in rural as well as city school systems. Certain specialized educational services—health services, library serv- ices, guidance services, instructors in such fields as music and art, educa- tion of the atypical child—can only be supplied in some rural communities thru such departures from the traditional school as the joint employment of circuit teachers, mobile units, supervised correspondence study, co operative employment of medical and dental services. With some imagina- tion and daring on the part of school authorities every rural child, regard- less of the size of his school, can have all the essential educational services. Such an educational system would most certainly be a powerful instru- ment for the development of an improved economy for our people and for the social and cultural progress we all wish to achieve. Il. MRS. RAYMOND SAYRE Regional Director of Midwest, Associated Women of American Farm Bureau Federation Ackworth, lowa & xespect I think this Conference is outstanding. It is outstanding because there are rural people here. I was sorry to read in one of the newspapers reporting on this Conference that yesterday the President was scheduled to speak informally to the educators, the labor leaders, and the representatives of government agencies dealing with rural areas. “Where are the rural people?” my farm neighbors ask. That is the kind of thing that makes their hair stand on end and curl! They say: “There is another conference about us, where people talk about us! Why don’t they have more conferences where people talk ith us?” Now that’s my first impression—my first observation. The second one is this: what you have recommended here yesterday and today is a long, long way from the actual facts. There is a wide gap between what exists and what you want to have exist. I say to you that the most important part of this Conference is what you are going to do about it. Are you going to let it die with the echo? What are you going to do when you go back to lowa, and to Mississippi and Alabama and all the other states? Translate it into action! I am going to make one suggestion. Please, when you go home, talk with your rural people—the leaders of the rural people. Find out what they think and what they want and have great faith in what they believe. There are technics for working with rural people. For example, Father Compton, working with the fishermen up in Nova Scotia, has some planks in his program that we ought to outline nere. Dr. Dawson spoke of one of them a while ago. Give people ideas. Give ideas hands and feet. Translate them into action. Get people to see a vision. Give them a vision of what a rural school could be and what it could mean to them. I could do that in Iowa if I could take Miss Dunn with me all over the state. We can do whatever needs to be done. That is the thing Mrs. Roosevelt has said to us here. And I want to point out to you with a story that I have told many people all over the state of Iowa, and to some of you, what the greatest obstacle is to us. It is not finance; it is not lack of understand- [ 224 | SAYRE: SUMMARY 225 ing; it is not any of the things you have said. The greatest obstacle is the complex that we have out in rural America. It is an attitude that belongs to those of us who live on the land and those of you who are teachers. You express it when you say that you can't have it because you live out in the country. Rural people are afflicted with the can’t-have-it complex. I could illustrate this idea in many ways. It is typified in the story of the farmer who went to town to sell his hogs and he came back home and get as much came into the kitchen and said to his wife: “Well, I didn't g for the hogs as I cxpected to—but I didn’t expect to.” [ shall never forget my own introduction to this philosophy of life. I moved out on the farm as a young bride and I had an idea that I could have a kitchen out there on the farm that looked like the pictures in the magazines. Now why I had those ideas, I don’t know—but I was young. The pictures in the magazines never show the tracks across the linoleum, you know. And no one ever cooks a meal in one of those beautiful kitchens. And so I had my new copperclad range over here, and my new Sellers kitchen cabinet over here, aiid new kitchen curtains at the win- dows and new linoleum on the floor. I thought I was fixed up about like the pictures in the magazines. And then winter came! And I can tell by the expression on your faces how many ever lived in a farm home. We began bringing things in. The wood had to be carried in and. put in the wood box, There were ashes and dust and dirt. We brought in the water to fill the reservoir and for other use. We had running water—but we had to run after it. And we put the egg cases in one corner, and the cream can and separator and all the buckets in another corner. The men brought in their clothes. Do you know how many clothes men wear in the winter time? They brought them a// in. When spring came, we began bringing in little chickens and drying them out in the oven. And pigs and lambs -and once a caif. My picture kitchen vanished! One day an old aunt was at my house helping me render lard. I com- plained very bitterly to her about the state of my kitchen. I shall never forget her answer. It was a sentence passed on me, the most final sentence I ever had passed on me in all my life. “Oh, Ruth, you can’t have it any other way on the farm.” You can’t have it any other way because you live on the farm. It wasn’t important as far as it concerned my kitchen, but it’s tremendously im- portant when it concerns all of Rural America. It is important if it con- cerns education. And we have said over and over again: “Let the little 226 THe Wuire House ConrereNnce teacher come out here without much training—possibly as little as the high school in lowa—and let her practice on our children, and after she has practiced and gets to be a good teacher, let her go into town where she gets a better salary.” And what do we say out in the country? “You couldn't expect her to stay out in the country.” You can't have it because you live out in the country. YES, YOU CAN! Whatever is good and right and fair, you can have when you live in Rural America. And that is the word that I want to leave with you. I read an editorial in the Des Moines Register headed something like this—and it was about another subject—IT CAN'T BE DONE BY THE CAN'T-BE- DONERS—AND IT CAN'T, And I want to say to you that this CAN BE DONE if we will be CAN- BE-DONERS. I promise to be! CLOSING THE CONFERENCE ELEANOR ROOSEVELT HATE TO SEE YO! SIT DOWN AGAIN for I think you must be so weary, but, nevertheless, I want to thank you for giving me two very inter- esting and informative days. It has been a great pleasure to be here with you and to listen. I was very happy to have the representatives of two of the great farm organizations inject such a hopeful and cheerful note. hey both seem to feel that the rest of us are a little pessimistic. Now I hate to close with any suggestion of pessimism but I think that we must face what is true. If we know what we need, and really want it, we can get it, but we do have to know what we need, and I hope from this Conference there will go to the farm people of the country the knowl- edge which they need to get what they want. And, now, I want to say just one little word, I like that story about the MP who said only 2 percent of the boys he had trouble with came from the farm, and I'd like to tell you a funny story. I have a letter from a mountain woman and she’s in a peck of trouble, a dreadful lot of trouble. She brought her son up the right way; she taught him to do what she told him to do, and he went in the army. And she wrote him she was sick and he was to come home. He went and asked the proper people and they all said he couldn’t come home. But ma told him to come home, so he went, and it’s six months ago now, and she’s heard that there is something you call being AWOL, and “What do I do, Mrs. Roosevelt, he’s still home ?” There is one little thing that IT want to say and then I’m thru. But I fear it’s not entirely a happy thought. There is coming to us in every com- munity in this country, and it’s going to come to the rural community just as much as to the urban one, a condition which one realizes when one visits our military hospitals. I have been thru many hospitals in many, many places and I always ask the boys where they come from, and I am thankful for the fact that I have been in so many places in the United States, because it seems to make a lot of difference to a boy if you can say, “Oh, yes, I know something about somewhere near your home.” We know a lot of boys are coming back to rural communities, and I think that this is a fair thing to say; I think the doctors will bear me out. We are going to pay, as you know, pensions to disabled people in ac- cordance with their disability. [ 227 ] 228 THe Wurre House Conrerenet There is such a thing as the GI Bill of Rights. There are possibilities for rehabilitation for wounded men; possibilities for education for men who come back who are entirely well, but it’s the wounded men I am thinking of at the present moment. The man with the lowest grade educa- tion is the man who is going to cost the community the most, because he is not going to have, in the first place, the imagination to see what he could do, which is the worst kind of handicap. And if vou go thru the wards and talk to the men, the men that leave vou the saddest are the men who have the fewest resources within them- selves, who have no education, so that they don’t realize that you can over- come almosi any handicap if you just use your mind, and that is one of the sad things that community after community is going to have to face. I give you my word that there is many ‘a Negro boy who just makes your heart ache because you can't get across to him that there is something he might do even if his leg is gone or his arm is gone, but it’s not only the Negro boy. I have seen some white boys and asked, “How far did you go in school?” “Oh, 4th grade, 5th grade, 6th grade,” and they'll sit there listlessly, which is what they will do when they go out from the hospital. I saw a boy not long ago with both his feet off. Every time he goes out he gets drunk. He happens to come from a rural area and I don’t blame him for getting drunk just simply because he hasn’t got enough inside of him to let him see what he might do. One can tell him that boys can learn to jitterbug with artificial feet, but he isn't interested. On the other hand, I saw a boy from a rural area last winter, with both legs off, but he had a pretty fair education, 7th or 8th grade, and when I said to him, “What did you do before the war?” he said: “Well, I knew a little bit about electricity. I did a little work in that line.” “Well, what are you going to do now?” “Oh, Iam going to take advantage of what the government gives us, then I'm going back to be the best electrician in my village.” That is one of the little things I want you to think about. I hope we are never going to have more wars, but if T needed to realize that we ought to give equality of education to every child in this country, I have learned it going thru the wards of hospitals. I hope that in the future it will move every one of us to see that we really work for this; work for it just as hard as we know how and get the backing of all the people that we can possibly get in our communities. And now I shall say goodbye to you all and many thanks. APPRECIATION ROM THE VERY BEGINNING of the organization of this first. White House Conference on Rural Education, efforts were made to inter est as many people as possible in all parts of the country in every phase of this historic enterprise. The Conterence owes its success to the contributions of several hundred people. Interested educators and laymen everywhere owe.a debt of gratitude to: ... The President of the United States who took time out from his heavy wartime duties to bring a message of great significance and encouragement to the Conference. ... Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, an interested and gracious hostess, for her introduction to this volume, her attendance at every session and participa tion ina number of them. _ Irving Pearson, Glenn Archer, John Strohm, E. Jerry Walker, Martin zg P. Moe, and Edward H. Stullken for valuable assistance in the first stages of planning the Conference. .. The Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the National Education Association for the encouragement and support they gave; the Executive Committee of the Department of Rural Education for their en- dorsement and cooperation; the forty-eight secretaries of the state educa- tion associations for interest and participation in the Conference, ... The men and women on the program for the excellent caliber of the speeches that were made; the presiding officers for doing their work ex- ceedingly well; the Honorary Chairmen for the prestige their names lent to the program; the ten group chairmen, twenty recorders, and all the conferees for the successful group meetings and far-reaching, important reports which came out of them. ... The 150 educational leaders thruout the country for their careful work in sending in 750 names from which the members of the Conference were chosen; Lois M. Clark, Frank W. Cyr, and Kate V. Wofford for their assistance in choosing the initial 200 people to be invited. ... Walter H. Gaumnitz especially, Effie Bathurst, Ambrose Caliver, and Raymond W. Gregory, all of the U. S. Office of Education, and Douglas Ensminger and Gertrude L. Warren, of the U. S. Department of Agri- culture, for their many and varied contributions to the success of the Con ference; to Carl C. Taylor, also of the Department of Agriculture, for his fine leadership of the Panel Discussion. [ 229 ] 230 Tue Write House Conrerence .. E, Jerry Walker, representing WLS, the station of the Prairie Farmer, and Burton D. Carter, representing the Utah Radio Products Company, for recording the Conference by wire. ... Fred T. Wilhelms of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, along with many others already mentioned for giving excellent suggestions for A Charter of Education for Rural Children. ... Agnes Winn for her work in housing the delegates and for providing rooms for the ten discussion groups in the NEA headquarters building; Belmont M. Farley, Helen P. Campbell, and Nadine Goiladay for their work in publicizing the Conference; F. Erle Prior and Katherine Lichliter for art and layout work on the program; Mrs, Helen Cox for editing work on the volume of proceedings; Margaret Lane for working with Judd and Detweiler, Inc., in printing of the program and stationery in record*time; Mrs. Mildred S. Fenner for reporting the Conference in the Journal of the National Education Association, and Hazel Davis for her story of the Conference for the forty-eight state education association journals; Olga Jones of the U. S. Office of Education for her complete coverage of the Conference in several issues of Education for Victory; Mrs. Lucile Ellison, Mrs. Bertha Cornell, and Lillian Billy for detail work in connection with the heavy correspondence and handling the lists for the invitations. . . Howard A, Dawson and Frank W. Hubbard for compiling and editing this volume of proceedings. My work with Mr. Dawson on the Conference during this past six months, and with him and Mr. Hubbard on this volume have afforded me a joy and satisfaction that I shall never forget. .. + The White House staff for everything that was done for the comfort and happiness of the delegates. ... And, finally, to Austin R. Meadows, Mrs. Roosevelt, and Fala for a two-minute unprogrammed interlude of amusement and _ relaxation, wholly unexpected, and Cliff Berryman, distinguished carivonist, winner of the 1943 Pulitzer prize and creator of the Teddy Bear in 1902 in Theo- dore Roosevelt's administration, for his appealing pen drawing of Fala. CHARL. ORMOND WILLIAMS, Executive Chairman White House Conference on Rural Education APPENDIX Membership of Conference Groups Suggested Readings Radio Broadcasts Program of the Conference Index MEMBERSHIP OF CONFERENCE GROUPS Group I: Education To Meet the Needs of Rural Children Chairman—kate v. worrorp, Director of Rural Education, State Teachers Col lege, Buffalo, N. Y. Recorders—Anne Hoprock, Assistant in Education, State Department of Public Instruction, Trenton, N. J. TROY L. STEARNS, Director of Rural Education, Michigan State College, East Lansing, Mich. Members—JENNIE C. ALLINGHAM, State Helping Teacher, Southwestern Ver mont, 21 Woodstock Ave., Rutland, Vt. DWIGHT L. BAILEY, Director of Rural Education, Western Illinois State Teach- ers College, Macomb, Ill. ANNE BRANDNER, County Helping Teacher, Somerset County, Bedminster, N. J. Lois M. CLARK, President, Department of Rural Education of the National Education Association, and Adviser, Elementary Education, Department of Public Instruction, Harrisburg, Pa. FANNIE W, DUNN, Professor Emeritus of Education, Teachers College, Co lumbia University (Sharon, Conn., R. F. D, # 2) MRS. MILDRED SANDISON FENNER, Assistant Editor, Journal uf the National Education Association, 1201 Sixteenth St., N. W., Washington 6, D.C. BESS GOODYKOON'rZ, Assistant Commissioner, U.S. Office of Education, Wash ington 25, D.C. MARGARET GUSTIN, Elementary Supervisor, Rural Education Field Service, Connecticut State Board of Education, Unionville, Conn. ADALINE P. HAGAMAN, Somerset County Helping Teacher, Watchung, Plain- field, R. D. 3, N. J. MILTON HAMILTON, County Superintendent, Obion County, Union City, Tenn. MRS. DAISY E. HOWARD, Commissioner of ochools, Genesee County, Flint, Mich. ALVINA IVERSON, Home Editor, Successful Farming, Meredith Publishing Company, Des Moines 3, Iowa w. P. KING, Executive Secretary, Kentucky Education Association, 1419-21 Heyburn Building, Louisville 2, Ky. WILLIE A. LAWSON, Executive Secretary, Arkansas Education Association, 501-503 Union Life Building, 212 Center St., Little Rock, Ark. 0. H. PLENZKE, Executive Secretary, Wisconsin Education Association, 404 Insurance Bldg., Madison, Wis. MALCOLM PRICE, President, lowa State Teachers College, Cedar Falls, Iowa HAROLD W. SMITA, Superintendent, Glendale Grammar School, District # 40, Glendale, Ariz. GENEVIEVE STARCHER, Director of Teacher Education and Certification, De partment of Education, Charleston 5, W. Va. [ 232] Memsersiipe or Conrerence Groups re, Columbia University, RUTH STRANG, Professor of Education, Teachers Col!eg New York, N. Y. NE WHLSYN ; Vis ot bFlementary Schools, Crarrett County, Mal Group Il: Education for Community Living m Rural Areas Charman-—-Peank w. cya, Protessor of Education in ( harge of Rural Educa tion, Leachers Colle Columbia University, New York, N. Y ler S GORDON W scxweet, Director, Institute for Research in Social ence, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N. ¢ (eLen nay weve, Chief, Bureau of Curriculum Development, State Educa tion Department, Albany, N. Y Members—-.Arry J. Basin, Superintendent, Ascension Parish Schools, Donald sonville, La MRS. F pevercey, Principal, Whitmell Farm-Life School, Whitmell, Va Livi~osTon t. stare, National Director, American Junior Red Cross, National Headquarters, Washington 13, D. ¢ Mt MiLparp G. staTrNer, Librarian, Arlington County, Arlington, Va HORACE MANN BOND, President, Fort Valley State ( ollege, Fort Valley, Ga "LAN P. BRADLEY, Supervising Principal, Cobleskill Central School, Coble skill, N. ¥ FRANCES &, BeUNMGE, Home Demonstration Agent, Federal Building, Millers burg, COnhw PORTER CLAXTON Specialist m Agriculture Division of Education, Ofhee of the Coordinator of Inter-Amencan Affairs, Commerce Department Bidg., Washington, 1) { INKs FRANKLIN. Editor. School and Community, Columbia, Mo yar. w. crace, President, State Teachers College, Mayville, N. Dak Mas. DORA B. HAINES, Administrative Officer, Liaison Office, Rural Electrifica tion Administration, Room 3029, South Bidg., U. S$. Department of Agri culture, Washington, D. ¢ MeRS. PLORENCE KEar. Assistant to the Administrator, and Director, War Pub lic Services Agency, Federal Works Bldg., Washington, D.C aeN MILLER Executive Secretary, American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, 1201 Sixteenth St., N. W., Washing ton 6, D. ¢ EMORY W. Moxais, President, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Battle Creek, Mich eritam c. prvor. Head, Education Section, Soil Conservation Service, U.S '. partment of Agri ulture, Washington 25, D.C sracrtce F. seay, Director, Bureau of School Service, and Head, Department of Educational Administration, University of Kentucky, Lexington 29, Ky PAUL strTon, Assistant to the President, Farmers Educational and Cooperative Union, 430 Munsey Bldg., Washington 4, D.C 234 Tue Wrrre House Conrerence HELEN sTEXsoN, Central Michigan College of Education, Mount Pleasant, Mich. nu, Head, Division « ro 1 Study and Discussion, Bureat } Washington iral Economics, U. S. Department of Agriculture Warren County 2 Oxtord St ROBERT tive Secretary. Indiana State Teachers Association 202 Hote ncoln, Ind napol s 9, Ind Group Ill: The Scope of the Rural-School Program SKY Assistant to the Miuct ation) Service mingtor School Department, Acsomiation, [ne Washington 5, D. ¢ on and Recreation, State College, RANK Rove “ee Montgor ery 4 Ala ! Kansas State Board « Health TAY TARE “Mate Ho ssporie rT A\THARINE Ff LENRO})T Chet 1 en } ~~ Departm« it of Labor, Washington 2s. D. ¢ vce, Managing Director, National Committee on Boys and Girls Work, so E. Van Buren, Chicago 5, I! a. oo6. Dire Washington Ofhce, Amer n Farm Bureau leration \funsey B Wash ngton 4 2 Ee MemsBersiuip of Conrer—ENce Groups WALLACE D. orMsByY, District Superintendent, Erie County, North Collins, N. Y. H. ©. RAMSOWER, Director, Cooperative Extension Work in Agriculture and Home Fconomn s, Ohio State University. Columbus, Ohio THURMAN B. RICK, State ith « ommuissioner, Indiana State Board of Health, Inchanapolis Ind MRS. RAYMOND siyre, Regional Director of Midwest, Associated Women of American Farm Bureau Federation, Ackworth, lowa F. tL. sombreie, President, National Education Association, and, Supe rintend ent of Schools, Kansas City, Kans VERNON vine, Farm journal and Farmer's Wife, Washington Square, Phila Pa RALPH H. woops, State Director of Vocational Education, State Department of Falucation, Franktort, Ky DALE ZELLER, Protessor of Education, Kansas Stat Kans Peachers College, Emporia, Group IV: Problems of the Professional Personnel for Rural Education Auirman sroapy. Dhirector, University oO b Lincoln, Nebr Recordes BEN W. PRAZIER, Specialist in Teacher Education, U. S. Office of Education, Washington 2 Dc it =, Extension Division, University FANE FPRANSETH, Lhrector Education of Supervisors, University of Georgia, Athens, Ga VMembe NELLE ALEXANDER Apams, Assistant Protessor of Education, Univer sity of Vermont, Burlington, Vt sorceson, Professor of Education, New York University, and Editor, Teacher Education Journal, New York, N. Y ROBERT N. Bt'set, Dean. Kansas State Teachers ( ollege, I mporia, Kans ALce prake, Director. Dx La ¢ ross Wis partment of Rural Education, State Teachers Col ERTRUDE EASTMAN, Commissioner, Mason County Schools, | udington, Mich MILDRED ENOL! Peabodly Training School, Georgia State College for Women, M encum. Dire [ t al Fahuc ation, State DL» partment of Education, St. Paul 1, Minn WILLARD F GIVENS, Executive secretary, National Education Association, 1201 Sixteenth St... N. W., Washington 6, D. ¢ ROBERT RK. HILT Protessor of Educ ation, Southeast Missouri State Teachers College, Cape Girardeau, Mo RICHARD Ff TAGGERS, Lyirector, Teacher Education and ¢ ertincation, Depart ment of Education, Frankfort, Ky THe Veure House ConreRENCE Rk. W. E. JONES, President, Louisiana Normal and Industrial Institute, Gram- bling, La. ROBEN J. MAASKE, President, Eastern Oregon College of Education, La Grande, Oreg. WALTER MAXWELL, Fxecutive Secretary, Arizona Education Association, 818 Security Bldy., Phoenix, Anz JESSIE M. PARKER, Superintendent of Public Instruction, State House, Des Moines 19, lowa w, &. PEtK, Dean, College of Education, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 14, Minn PHARES EF, REEDER, Executive Secretary, West Virginia State Education Asso ction, 2012 Quarrier St., Charleston 1, W. Va WILLIAM MCKINLEY ROBINSON, Director, Department of Rural Education, Western Michigan College of Education, Kalamazoo 450, Mich MAYCIE SOUTHALL, Professor of Elementary Education, George Peabody College tor Teachers, Nashville 5, Tenn HENRY ©, TAYLOR, Managing Director, Farm Foundation, 600 $ Michigan Blvd., ¢ hicago 5, Ill MKS, CLIFPORD I THOMPSON, Vic Pre sident, National Congress ot Parents and Teachers, 238 S. Main St., Wallingford, Conn MRS, BEULAH KEETON WALKER, President, Department of Classroom Teachers, National Education Association, Hilltop Terrace, Route 5, Box 245, Dallas 9, Texas M. tL. witson, Director of Extension Work, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington 25, D. C AGNES WINN, Assistant Director, Legislation and Federal Relations Division, National Education Association, 1201 Sixteenth St., N. W., Washington 6.D.C o. wricut, Executive Secretary, Kansas State Teachers Association, 315 W. Tenth St., Topeka, Kans Group V: The Organization and Administration of Rural Education Chairman-—-|}ULIAN £. BUTTERWORTH, Professor of Rural Education, Cornell University, Ithaca, Ae # Recorder MARION B. sMITH, Associate Professor of Sociology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, La AUSTIN k. MEADOWS, Director, Division of Administration and Finance, State Department ot Education, Montgom«e ry, Ala Members—y. 1. ALLMAN, Assistant State Superintend nt of Schools, State De- partment of I dueation, Atlanta, Cra un. F. Anves, Chief, Division of School Administration, U. S. Office of Educa tion, Washington 25, D. C MEMBERSHIP OF CoNFERENCE GrouUPS ALBERT CoATES, Director, Institute of Government, Chapel Hill, N. C. DOUGLAS ENSMINGER, In Charge of Rural Sociology Extension Work, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington 25, D.C. FRANCIS &. GRIFFIN, Chief, Bureau of Rural Administrative Service, State Education Department, Albany 1, N. Y ELIZABETH IRELAND, State Superinte ndent of Public Instruction, Helena, Mont RALPH Mc DONALD, Preside nt, North Carolina Fduc ation Association, and, President, Conference of Educational Organizations in the South, Raleigh, N.C rorrest w. MURPHY, Representative of Mississippi Education Association, and Superintendent of Schools, Greenville, Miss PAUL B. NorRts, Director of Rural Education, lowa Department of Public Instruction, Des Moines 19, lowa IRVING FP. PEARSON, President, National Association of Secretaries of State Teachers Associations, and Executive Secretary, Illinois Education Associa tion, Springheld, Ill vosLe y. ptr rer, Cook County Superintendent of Schools, Chicago, Ill. r. G. PULLEN, 7R., State Superintendent of Schools, State Department of Edu cation, Lexington Bldg., Baltimore 1, Md H. c. seymour, State Club Leader, Boys’ and Girls’ 4-H Club Work, Oregon State College, Corvallis, Oreg. CECIL E. sutuErrreto, Chairman, Board of Directors, Arkansas Education Asso ciation, and Supervisor, Howard County Department of Education, Nash ville, Ark CHARLES H. skipmMore, President, National Council of Chief State School Officers, and State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Salt Lake City, Utah 1. STRAHAN, Executive Secretary, New Jersey Education Association, 200 Stacy-Trent Hotel, Trenton 8, N. J. w. W. TRENT, State Superintendent of Free Schools, Charleston, W. Va e. c. wine, Senior Budget Examiner, Executive Office of the President, Bureau of the Budget, Washington, D. C. Group VI: The Rural Educational Plant and Equipment Chairman—r. c. Hory, Director, Bureau of Educational Research, College of Education, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio Recorders—w. c. ecxres, Director of School-Building Service, State Depart ment of Education, Jackson, Miss HAROLD rrENCH, District Superintendent, Albany County Schools, Newton ville, N. Y Member: —PRANK F. BASS, Secretary-Treasurer, Tennessee Education Association, 601-602 Cotton States Bldg., Nashville 3, Tenn. w. B. Bitss, Executive Secretary, Ohio Education Association, 212-215 E Broad St., Columbus 15, Ohio Tire Wuire House ConFrerENCE GENEVIEVE BOWEN, Curriculum Director, Bucks County Schools, Doyles- town, Pa. JOHN Ww. BROOKER, Director of Public Relations, Kentucky Education Asso- ciation, 1419-21 Heyburn Bldg., Louisville 2, Ky. HARRIETT M. chase, Assistant to the Executive Secretary, National Education \ssociation, 1201 Sixteenth St., N. W., Washington 6, D.C JOHN H. pavis, Executive Secretary, National Council of Farmer Coopera tives, 1731 Eye St. N. W., W ashington 6 D.C DONALD bu SHANE, Secretary, National Commission for the Defense of Democ racy thru Education, National Education Association, 1201 Sixteenth St., N. W., Washington 6, D. C MAE Ss. GIBsoN, Monmouth County Helping Teacher, 80 Broad St., Freehold, N. ] H. G. GREER, Superintendent, Monroe County Schools, Monroeville, Ala RAY L. HAMON, Senior Specialist in School Plant, U. S Office of Education, Washington 25, D.C MRS. MARY Loutse troczApFet, Librarian, Washington County Free Library, Hayerstown, Md. RU LON H. MANNING, Executive Secretary, Utah Education Association, Room 316, Beneficial Life Bldg., Salt Lake City 1, Utah CRAIG P. MINEAR, Executive Secretary, Colorado Faducation Association, 230 Coronado Building, 1512 Stout St., Denver 2, Colo THOMAS W. PYLE, President, Maryland State Teachers Association, 4618 High land Ave., Bethe sda, Md J. HAROLD S4xon, Executrie Secretary, Georgia Education Association, Walton Bldg., Adanta 3, Ga maurice t. smite, Head, Rural Education Department, and Director, Ex tension Service. Central Michigan Colleve of bducation, Mount Pleasant, Mich s. L. smMitTrH., Director of Public Relations, and President of the Interstate School Building Service, George Peabody College tor Teachers, Nashville 4, Tenn Group VII: Education of Minority and Special Groups in Rural Areas Chairman—rrev Mc curstion, Assistant Director, General Education Board, New York, N. ¥ Recorder soon w. pavis. President. West Virginia State ( ollege, Institute, W.Va E. H. SHINN, Senior Agriculturist, Extension Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. ¢ VMembers—youn &. srewton, Director of Southern Rural Life Council, and Dean of the Graduate School, George Peabody College for Teachers, Nashville 4, Tenn AMBROSE CALIVER, Senior Specialist in the Education of Negroes, U, S. Office of Education, Washington 25, D. ¢ MEMBERSHIP OF CONFERENCE GROUPS 239 MRS. KATHERINE M. CooK, Consultant in Educational Services, U. S. Office of Education, Washington 25, D. C. MRS. LUCILE ELLISON, Division of Field Service, National Education Asso ciauion, 1201 Sixteenth St., N. W., Washington 6, D. C. LATHAM HATCHER, President, Alliance for Guidance of Rural Youth, and Chairman, Washington Institute on Rural Youth Guidance, 38 Gresham Court, Richmond, Va HELEN HEFFERNAN, Chief, Division of Elementary Education, State Depart ment of Education, Sacramento 14, Calif M. HoweLtt, Secretary, Oklahoma Education Association, Perrine Bldg., Oklahoma City, Okla CHARLES Ss. JOHNSON, Director, Department of Social Sciences, Fisk Univer sity, Nashville 8, Tenn MRS. GEORGIA L. LUSK, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Santa Fe, N. Mex ED Mc cUutsTIoNn, State Supervisor of Negro Schools, State Department of Education, Litthe Rock, Ark RAYMOND W. MILLER, Counselor-at-Law, 710 Fourteenth St.. N. W., Wash ington 5, D.C R. J. MULLINS, Executive Secretary, New Mexico Educational Association, 114 FE. Marcy St., Santa Fe, N. Mex SHELLIE T. NorTHCUTT, Chairman of Rural Life Committee, National Council of Negro Women, and Special Jeanes Teacher, Southern Education Foun dation, 726 Jackson Pl., N. W., Washington 6, D.C. PULIA B. TAPPAN, P.O, Box 147, Milton-on-Hudson, New York, N. Y MARIE R, TURNER, Superintendent, Breathitt County Schools, Jackson, Ky. FRED G. WALE, Director for Rural Education, Julius Rosenwald Fund, 4901 Ellis Ave., Chicago 15, Il JOHN FRED WILLIAMS, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Frankfort, Ky. ARTHUR D. wright, President, Southern Education Foundation, 726 Jackson Pl., N. W., Washington 6, D.C Group VIII: Special Problems in Providing Instructional Opportunities in Rural Schools Chairman—BARTON MORGAN, Head, Department of Vocational Education, lowa State Coll ge, \mes, lowa Recorders—-WALTex tt. GAUMNITZ, Senior Specialist in Rural Education Prob lems, U.S, Office of Education, Washington 25, D.C. EFFIE BATHURST, Supervisor, Inter-American Teacher Education Project, U.S. Ofhee of Education, Washington 25, D.c, Vembers—micorep cL. BaToretper, Chief, School and Children’s Library Divi sion, American Library Association, 520 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, III. MAUDE A. BEAN, Elome Demonstration Agent, Allegany County, Cumber land, Md NORMAN F. BorGeRSON, Chief, Division of Administration, Department of Public Instruction, Lansing, Mich 240 Tue Wuire House Conrer’Nnce IRVING T. CHATTERTON, County Adviser, Special Education, Bradford County, Towanda, Pa. Lois M. crouse, Representing 4-H Club Work in Queen Anne County, Queen Anne, Md. WILSON S$. DAKIN, Senior Supervisor of Rural Education, State Department of Fiaducation, Hartford, Conn MEREDITH W. DARLINGTON, Assistant Professor of Education, Oklahoma A ind M. College, Stillwater, Okla. WALTER E. ENGLUND, Secretary, Minnesota Education Association, 2429 Uni versity Ave., St. Paul 4, Minn \ROLINE JT. EVINGSON, Superintende nt of Schools. Cass County. Court House. Fargo, N. Dak Hoy, School of Education, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio B. MARKS, Text Book Specialist, Inter-American Fducational Founda tion, Commerce Department Building, Washington 25, D.C ston, Director, Legislation and Federal Relations Division, National tion Association, 1201 Sixteenth St.. N. W.. Washington 6, D.C , Executive Secretary, Montana Fducation Association, 403-405 Power Block, Helena, Mont SALLIE PATTINSON, Professor of Education, Northeast Missouri State Teachers College. Rollins Apts . Kirks ille, Mo rowers, Superintendent, Department of Education, Shelby County, Tenn Division of Farm Population and Rural Welfare, ment of Agriculture, Washington 25, D. ¢ WARREN, Organization, 4-11 Club Work, U. S. Department of ire, Washington, D. ¢ ". WASHINGTON, Professor of cat \ d University, Box 45, Washington 1, D. ¢ wittiams, Assistant Surgeon General, Bureau of Medical Services, U.S Public Health Service, Washington, D. ¢ Group 1X: Paying for Rural Education Chairman EF. B. N N, State Super ntendent of Education, Montyome ry, Ala Recorder EDGAR I sroRPHET, Director Administration and Finance, State Department of Fducation, Tallahassee, Fla SLIE L. Cristo \ssociate Professor of Education, State ¢ ollege of Wash ington, Pullman Wash VMembers—ci enn vecier, Associate Director, Division of Legislation and Fed eral Relations, National Education Association (on leave at 804 Gage Park, Topeka Kans. ) rHOAMIAS ROUSHALL. Chairman, Education Committee of the U. S. Cham ber of Commerce. and President, Morris Plan Bank, Richmond, Va AIR MARION H. BRITT, ¢ hairman, Legislative Committee on Federal Aid to Education, Women’s Joint Congressional Committee, representing National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc., 2910 Dum barton Ave., N. W., Washington, D.C, Mempersuip oF ConrerRENCE Groups 241 c. J. cAIN, Director, Information and Statistics, State Department of Educa- tion, Jackson, Miss. JAMES B. CAREY, Secretary-Treasurer, Congress of Industrial Organizations, 718 Jackson PI., N. W., Washington 6, D.C. FRANCIS S. CHASE, Executive Secretary, Virginia Education Association, 401 N. Ninth St.. Richmond 19, Va Pp. CLAXTON, President, Austin Peay State College, Clarksville, Tenn p. coares, Secretary-Treasurer, South Carolina Education Association, 1sro Gervais St.. Columbia, S. C. 8. 8. cops, Secretary-Treasurer, Texas State Teachers Association, 410 E. Weatherford St., Fort Worth 3, Texas paut pavep, Chief Fiscal Analyst, Bureau of the Budget, Executive Office of the President, Washington, D. C. HOWARD A. DAWSON, Director of Rural Service, National Education Associa tion, 1201 Sixteenth St., N. W., Washington 6, D.C. Kermir esy, Director, C. 1. O. Department of Education, 718 Jackson PI., Washington 6, D.C arvie ELDRED, Executive Secretary, New York State Teachers Association, >» Washington Ave., Albany 6, N.Y ALBERT GOs, Mf ister National Crrange, > 44 Jackson Pl., Washington 6, 1) MRS. HARRIET A. HoupLETTE. Secretary, Legislative Committee on Federal Aid to Education, Women’s Joint Congresstonal Committee, representing American Association of University Women, 1634 Eye St., N. W., Wash ington, D.C IRA L. HUNTINGTON, Superintendent, Jasper County Schools, Rensselaer, Ind. MAURINE LABER, President, Oregon State Teachers Association, 602 Studio Bldg., Portland 5, Oreg EDWARD A. O'NEAL, President, American Farm Bureau Federation, 58 E. Washington St , Chic ago, Ill. PEARL PrARcE, former rural teacher and cattle rancher, Fort Basinger, Fla. WALTER ©. REUSSER, Head, Department of Educational Administration, Col lege of Education, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyo TERE A. WELLS, Superintendent, Fulton County Schools, 521 Courthouse Bldg., Atlanta, Ga CHARL ORMOND witttams, Director of Field Service, National Education Association, 1201 Sixteenth St., N. W., Washington 6, D. C Group X: Rural Education in the Structure of Democracy Chairman—». &. LINDSTROM, Professor of Rural Sociology, and Extension Sociol ogist, College of Agriculture, University of Illinois, Urbana, III Recorders——RICHARD BARNES KENNAN, Executive Secretary, Maine Teachers Asso ciation, Augusta, Maine NORMAN FROST, Professor of Rural Education, George Peabody College for Teachers, Nashville 4, Tenn THe Write House Conrer—ENce Members—rrep M. ALEXANDER, Supervisor of Secondary Education, and of Negro Education, Virginia State Department of Education, Richmond, Va. PAUL H. APPLEBY, Assistant Director, Bureau of the Budget, Executive Office of the President, Washington, D. C. RALPH ¢. BLANEY, Representative, National Association of County Agri- cultural Agents, Bellefonte, Pa. WALTER L. BLUCK, County Agriculture Extension Agent, Wilmington, Ohio CHARLES BRAKE, Deputy Superintendent, Wayne County Schools, Tower Bldg., Detroit, Mich. ARCHER L. BURNHAM, Executive Secretary, Nebraska State Education Associa- tion, 605 S. Fourteenth St., Lincoln 8, Nebr A. L. CRABLE, State Superintendent, Department of Public Instruction, Okla homa City, Okla. HAZEL pavis, Assistant Director, Research Division, National Education Association, 1201 Sixteenth St., N. W.. Washington 6, D.C. BELMONT M. FARLEY, Director, Public Relations, National Education Associa tion, 1201 Sixteenth St., N. W., Washington 6, D.C. JOHN A. HANNAH, President, Michigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science, East Lansing, Mich. MURRAY D. LINCOLN, President, Cooperative League of the United States, and Executive Secretary, Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, 246 N. High St., Columbus 16, Ohio M. E. Mc curDY, Executive Secretary, North Dakota Education Association, 525-27 Del endrecie Bldg., Fargo, N. Dak MRS. CHARLES W. seWweLL, Administrative Director, Associated Women of the American Farm Bureau Federation, 58 E. Washington St., Chicago, Ill. MRS, HALE T. SHENEPIELD, Lecturer in Psychology, American University, 3136 Newark St., N. W., Washington 1, D.C. £. E. sToNEcIPHER, Director of Rural Education, Kansas State Teachers Col lege, Pittsburg, Kans. esres P. TAYLOR, Editor and Publisher, 4gricultural Leader's Digest, 139 N. Clark St., Chicago 2, Ill. ARTHUR E. THOMPSON, Superintendent, Department of Public Instruction, Bismarck, N. Dak. youn tT. wantourst, Dean, School of Education, University of Utah, Salt Lake City 1, Utah Supplementary List oLod jones, Editor-in-Chief, U. S. Office of Education, Washington 25, D. C. jouN stroum, Managing Editor, Prairie Farmer, and Secretary, American Agricultural Editors Association, 1230 Washington Blvd., Chicago 7, Ill. JOHN W. STUDEBAKER, Commissioner, U. S. Office of Education, Washington 25, D.C, yERRY WALKER, Educational Director, Station WLS, Prairie Farmer, 1230 Washington Blvd., Chicago 7, Il. SUGGESTED READINGS A. General References American Country Life Association, Committee on Rural Education, Still Sits the Schoolhouse by the Road. Chicago: the Committee (5835 Kim bark Ave.), 1943. 54 p. American Association of School Administrators. Schools in Small Com munities. Seventeenth Yearbook. Washington, D. C.: the Association, a department of the National Education Association, 1939. 608 p Langhtt, R. Emerson; Cyr, Frank W.; and Newsom, N. William. Small High School at Work. New York: American Book Co., 1936. 660 p. Lewis, Charles D. The Rural Community and Its Schools. New York American Book Co., 1937. 412 p Lowth, Frank J. Everyday Problems of the Country Teacher. Revised and enlarged edition, New York: Macmillan Co., 1936. 625 p Marsh, C. S. The Rural Child in the War Emergency. Chicago: Commit tee on Rural Education (5835 Kimbark Ave.), 1942. 35 p National Education Association, Department of Rural Education. A Policy for Rural Education in the United States. Washington, D. C.: the Association, 1940. 47 p. National Education Association, Department of Rural Education. Rural Schools and the War. Yearbook 1944. Washington, D. C.: the Association, 1944. 96 p. U. S. Department of Agriculture. Farmers in a Changing World. 1940 Yearbook. Washington, D. C.: Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, 1r9go. 1215 p. (Part V discusses rural society and educa tion.) Wofford, Kate V. Modern Education in a Small Rural School. New York: Macmillan Co., 1938. 582 p. Works, George A., and Lesser, Simon O. Rural America Today: Its Schools and Community Life. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1942. 459 p. B. References on Discussion Topics Group 1. Education To Meet the Needs of Rural Children Bell, Howard M. Youth Tell Their Story. Prepared for American Youth Commission. Washington, D. C.: American Council on Education, 1938. 273 p. Brunner, Edmund de S. Working with Rural Youth. Prepared for Amer ican Youth Commission, Washington, D. C.: American Council on Educa tion, 1942. 132 p. Chambers, M. M. “Guidance for Rural Youth.” Educational Record 22: 187-204; April ro41. (Report of the Institute for Rural Youth Guidance held in Washington, D. C., February 27-28, 1941.) [ 243 } Tre Wuire Hovse ConrerENCE Cyr, Frank W., and others. “Rural Education Number.” leachers Col lege Record 41: 273-376; January 1940. Kirkpatrick, E. L. Gusdeposts for Rural Youth. Prepared for American Youth Commission, Washington, D. C.: American Council on Education, 1940. 167 p. Landis, Benson Y., and Willard, John D. Raval Adult Education. New York: Macmillan Co., 1933. 229 p McPherson, Orpha R. Sammer Vacation Activities of One Hundred Farm Boys and Girls in a Selected Area. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1939. 74 p. National Education Association, Department of Rural Education. Guidance in Rural Schools. Yearbook 1942. Washington, D. C.: the Department, 1942. 127 p. National Education Association, Research Division. “Proposals for Public Education in Postwar America.” Research Bulletin 22: 39-78; April 1944. Strang, Ruth, and Hatcher, O. L. Child Development and Guidance in Rural Schools. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1943. 218 p Group Il. Education for Community Living in Rural Areas Bathurst, Effie; Ferriss, Emery N.; and Lathrop, Frank W. How Rural Youth May Serve. U. S. Office of Education, Federal Security Agency, Education and National Defense Series, Pamphlet No. 20. Washington, D. C.: Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, 1942. 34 P Bingham, Florence C., editor. Community Life in a Democracy. Chicago National Congress of Parents and Teachers, 1942. 246 p. Chambers, M. M., and Bell, Howard M. How To Make a Community Youth Survey. Prepared for American Youth Commission. Washington, D. C.: American Council on Education, 1939. 45 p. Clapp, Elsie R. Community Schools in Action. New York: Viking Press, 1939. 447 p. (A case study of two experimental rural schools.) Everett, Samuel, editor. Challenge to Secondary Education; Plans for the Reconstruction of the American High School. New York: D. Appleton Century Co., 1935. “Rural High School,” p. 105-30. Hanna, Paul R., and others. Youth Serves the Community. New York: D. Appleton-Century Co., 1936. 303 p. Kolb, John H., and Brunner, Edmund de S. Study of Rural Society: Its Organization and Changes. Revised and enlarged edition. Boston: Hough ton Mifflin Co., 1940. 694 p Potter, Gladys L., compiler. Exploring Your Community. Washington, D. C.: Association for Childhood Education (1201 Sixteenth St., N. W.), 1940. 31 Pp. Sanderson, FE. Dwight, and Polson, Robert A. Rural Community Organiza tion. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1939. 448 p. Southern Rural Life Conference. School and the Changing Pattern of Country Life. Nashville, Tenn.: George Peabody College for Teachers, 1943. 100 p. Excerpts: School Management 13: 50-51, 54; October 1943. Succestep READINGS 245 Tidwell, R. E. Planning Improvement in Rural Living through the Schools. University, Ala.: University of Alabama, Bureau of Educational Research, College of Education, 1943. 103 p. Group Ill. The Scope of the Rural-School Program Brunner, Edmund de S., and others. Community Organization and Adult Education. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1942. 124 p. Clapp, Elsie. “A Rural Community School in Kentucky.” Progressive Edu cation 10: 123-28; March 1933. Cook, Lloyd A. Community Backgrounds of Education. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1938. 397 p. Edwards, Newton. Equal Educational Opportunity for Youth. Prepared for the American Youth Commission. Washington, D. C.: American Council on Education, 1939. 189 p. Heffernan, Helen, and Potter, Gladys L. “Adapting Curriculum to the Small Rural School.” Educational Method 17: 51-59; November 1937. Holland, Kenneth, and Bickel, George S. Work Camps for High School Youth Prepared for the American Youth Commission. Washington, D. C.: American Council on Education, 1941. 27 p. National Education Association, Department of Rural Education. Child Development and Tool Subjects in Rural Areas. Yearbook 1941. Wash- ington, D. C.: the Department, 1941. 89 p. National Education Association, Department of Rural Education. Com- munity Resources in Rural Schools. Yearbook 1939. Washington, D. C.: the Department, 1939. 109 p. National Education Association, Department of Rural Education. Con- servation Education in Rural Schools. Yearbook 1943. Washington, D. C..: the Department, 1943. 114 p. National Education Association, Research Division. “Progress in Rural Education.” Research Bulletin 18: 131-82; September 1940. National Society for the Study of Education. The Library in General Education. FortySecond Yearbook, Part II. Chicago: Department of Education, University of Chicago, 1943. 383 p. U. S. Department of Agriculture. Rural Library Service. Farmers’ Bulletin No. 1847. Washington, D. C.: Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, 1940. 28 p Group IV. Problems of the Professional Personnel for Rural Education Carney, Mabel. “The Preparation of Teachers for Small Rural Schools.” Special Survey Studies. U. S. Office of Education, Department of the Interior, Bulletin 1933, No. 10. National Survey of the Education of Teachers, Vol. V. Washington, D. C.: Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, 1935. Part VII, p. 341-84. Gaumnitz, Walter H. Salary and Education of Rural School Personnel. U. S. Office of Education, Department of the Interior, Pamphlet, No. 85. Washington, D. C.: Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, 1938. 19 p. Tue Wire Houst ConrerENce Henzlik, Frank E. School Administration and Education for Administra- tive Leadership in Towns and Villages. Contributions to Education No. 20. Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 1943. 49 p. National Education Association. Teachers in Rural Communities. Final report of the Committee on the Economic Status of the Rural Teacher. Washington, D. C.: the Association, 1939. 127 p. National Education Association, Department of Rural Education. Eco snomical Enrichment of the Small Secondary-School Curriculum. Year book 1934. Washington, D. C.: the Department, 1934. 96 p. National Education Association, Research Division. “Teachers’ Salaries and the Public Welfare.” Research Bulletin 21: 89-120; December 1943. Sand, Ole P. “In-Service Training for Rural Teachers through Professional Reading.” Peabody Journal of Education 20: 336-43; May 1943. Warren, Gertrude L. Organization of 4-H Club Work. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Miscellaneous Publication 320, Washington, D. C.: Super intendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, 1938. 35 p. Williams, Frank. School Housekeeping. Nashville, Tenn.: Interstate School Building Service (George Peabody College for Teachers), 1940. 16 p. Wofford, Kate V. “Education for Teachers in the Rural Environment.” Teachers College Record 41: 323-33; January 1940. Group V. The Organization and Administration of Rural Education Altord, Harold D. Procedures for School District Reorganization. Con tributions to Education, No. 852. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1942. 164 p. Alves, Henry F.; Anderson, A. W.; and Fowlkes, John G. Local School Unit Organization in Ten States. U. S. Office of Education, Federal Security Agency, Bulletin 1938, No. 10. Washington, D. C.: Superin tendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, 1939. 334 Pp. Atkins, C. W. “National Inventory of Need for Sanitation Facilities: IV Rural Sanitation.” Public Health Report 59: 969-78; July 28, 1944. Bethesda, Md.: U.S. Public Health Service. Briscoe, Alonzo O. Size of the Local Unit for Administration and Super vision of Public Schools. Contributions to Education, No. 649. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1935. 110 p. Butterworth, Julian, chairman, “Organization, Administration, and Super vision of Education.” Review of Educational Research 13: 323-410; Octo ber 1943. Cook, Katherine M., editor. Keorganization of School Units. U. S. Office of Education, Department of the Interior, Bulletin 1935, No. 15. Wash ington, D. C.: Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, 1936. QI p. Culp, Vernon H. How To Manage a Rural School. Minneapolis, Minn.: Burgess Publishing Co., 1942. 101 p. Dawson, Howard A. Satisfactory Local School Units; Functions and Principles of Formation, Organization, and Administration. Field Study No. 7. Nashville, Tenn.: Division of Surveys and Field Studies, George Peabody College for Teachers, 1934. 180 p. Sucoestep Reapines Dorn, Harold Rural Health and Public Health Programs.” Rural Sociology 7 March 1942. Raleigh North Carolina State College Morphett, Fagar unl Meadows, A. R Administration of School Transportation F of Educational Research 14: 180-55; April 1944 Rowntree, Leonard G. “Cause of Rejection and the Incidence of Defects mong «8 and tq Year-Old Selective Service Registrants Journal of the Imerican Medical Association 12%: 181-35; September 25, 1943 Selective Service System. Selective Service in Peacetime Washington, D.C Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, 1942. ¢ hapter 16, “Medical and Physical Examinations,” p. 203-18 Wilson, Louis R., and Wight, Edward A. County Library Service in the South. Chi igo University of ¢ hicago Press, 1935. 259 P Group VI. The Rural Educational Plant and Eauipment Covert, Timon. “Pennsylvania's Projected School Building Program.’ School Life 24: 187; March 1939 Creighton, Thomas H. “Basic Planning Is Needed Now.” Nation's Schools 33: 34-37; Pebruary 1944 Education for Victory. “Post-War Educational Plant Policies.” Education for Victory 2: 9-10, 14; January 20, 1944 Engelhardt, N. I und Engelhardt, N. L., |r. Planning the Community School. New York: American Book Co., 1940. 188 p Essex, Don L. “Planning the Central Rural School.” S hool Executive $5: 6-9, 32; September 1935 Hamon, Ray L. Playgrounds. Nashville, Tenn.: Interstate School Building Service (George Peabody College tor Teachers), 1942. 12 p Hollingsworth, Licien. Family Expenditures for Medical Care. U.S. De partment of Agriculture, Miscellaneous Publication 402 Washington, D. C.: Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, 1941 241 p Interstate School Building Service. Community School Plans. Nashville, Tenn.: the Service (George Peabody College for Teachers), 1944. (In press. ) Interstate School Building Service. Suggestions for Landscaping Com munity Schools, Nashville, Tenn.: the Service (George Peabody College for Teachers), 1941 16p Miller, Chester F I'welve Steps in Planning a School.” Nasion’s Schools 33: 40-41; March 1944 Recreation. “Building Schools for Community Use.” Recreation 27° ¢ ‘5 693; March 1944 Stoneman, Merle A., and Broady, Knute O. Supplementary Standards for the Small Twelve-Grade School Building. Lincoln: Extension Division, University of Nebraska, 1939. 183 p Williams Frank School House keeping Nashville, Tenn Interstate School Building Service (George Peabody College for Teachers), 1940 16 p Toe Weert Group Vil. Education of Minority and Special Groups in Rural Areas California Flementary School Principals’ Association Elementary S« hool Faces the Problem of Migration. Fifteenth Yearbook. Oakland: the As sociation (Sec.: Sarah L. Young, Parker School), 1943. 160 p Caliver, Ambros {vailability of Education to Negroes in Rural Com munities. U. S. Office of Education, Department of the Interior, Bulletin 1935, No. 12. Washington, D. C.- Superintendent of Documents, Govern ment Printing Office, 1936. 86 p Davis, Allison, and Dollard, John. Children of Bondage. Prepared for American Youth Commission. Washington, D. ¢ American Council on Education, 1940. 299 p Enslow, Ella, and Harlow, A. F. Schoolhouse in the Foothills. New York Simon and Schuster, 1935. 239 p. Frazier, E. Franklin. Negro Youth at the Crossways. Prepared for the American Youth Commission. Washington, D. C.: American Council on Education, 1940 Ip National Education Association, Department of Rural Education, Adjust menis in Rural Fdu ation. Yearbook 1 )27 Washington, D ( the Depart ment, 1937. 120 Pp National Education Association, Department of Rural Education. Rural School Libraries. Yearbook 1626. Washington, D. C.: the Department, 1936. 90 p National Education Association and Amer un Medical Association, Jount Committee on Health Problems in Education. Health Education. Wash ington, D. C.: the Association, 1941. 368 p Ryan, Philip E. Migration and Social Welfare. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1940. 114 p Tireman, L. S., and Watson, Mary. La Communidad. Albuquerque, N. Mex.: University of New Mexico Press, 1943. 129 p Group VIII. Special Problems in Providing Instructional Opportunities in Rural Se hools American Association of School Administrators. Hlealth in Schools. Twen ticth Yearbook. W ishington, DD. « the Association, a de; =rtment of the National Education Association, 1942. 544 p Anderson, Harold H., chairman. “Mental Hygiene and Health Educa tion.” Ret lucational Research 13: 411-530; December 1943 Broady, Knute O., and laso lyin 1 Smal High Schools.” Occupations apman, Paul W. G é g 1s for Rural Iligh Schools. U. § of Education, De rt } } ‘7 itional Division Bul letin 203. Washington uperintendent of uments, Government Printing Office Study.” PA: Delta Succestep REeapines 49 Coyle, David Cushman. Rural Youth in Action. Prepared for the Amer ican Youth Commission. Washington, D. C.: American ¢ ouncil on Edu cation, 1942. 43 Pp Gaumnitz, Walter H. Correspondence Study in High-Se hool Wartime Programs Washington, D. ¢ L!. S. Office of Education, Federal Security Agency, 1943. 11 p Mitchell, Sidney C. Supervised Correspondence Study for Individual Pupil Needs. Scranton, Pa.: International Textbook Co., 1939. 393 p Murray, Josephine, and Bathurst, Effie G. Creative Ways for Children’s Programs. New York: Silver Burdett Co., 1938. 396 p. National Education Association, Department of Rural Education. Guid ance in Rural Schools. Yearbook 1942. Washington, D. C.: the Depart ment, 1942. 127 p National Education Association, Department of Rural Education. Newer Types of Instruction in Small Rural Schools. Yearbook 1938. Washington, D. C.: the Department, 1938. 144 p National Education Association, Department of Rural Education, Organ ization of Curriculum for One-Teacher Schools. Yearbook 1933. Wash ington, D. C.; the Department, 1933. 44 p U. S. Office of Education, Federal Security Agency. Nutrition Education in the Elementary School. Nutrition Education Series, Pamphlet No. 1 Washington, D. C.: Superintendent of Documents, Government Printin Ofhce, 1943. 35 p Wilson, M. C. Extension Methods and Their Relative Effectiveness. U.S Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin 106, Washington, D. C Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, 1929. 48 p. fa Group 1X. Paying for Rural Education Ashby, Lyle W. The Efforts of the States To Support Education as Related to Adequacy and Ability. Washington, D. C.: National Education Association, 1936. 63 p. Also available as NEA Research Bulletin, May 1936 Burke, Arvid J. Defensible Spending for Tublic Schools. New York: Columbia University Press, 1943 379 p- Carr, William G. School Finance. School Economy Series, No. 7. Stanford University, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1933. 106 p. Cyr, Frank W.; Burke, Arvid J.; and Mort, Paul R. Paying for Our Public Schools. Scranton, Pa.: International Textbook Co., 1938. 197 p Mort, Paul R., and Reusser, W. C. Public School Finance. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1941. 569 p. National Education Association, Research Division. “Federal Aid for Education; a Review of Pertinent Facts.” Research Bulletin 20: 119-47; September 1942 Norton, John K., and Norton, Margaret M. A. Wealth, Children and Education. Second edition. New York: Teachers College, Columbia Uni versity, 1935. 135 p. Cie Woerk House Conrerenct Norton, Thomas L.. Public Education and Economic Trends. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1939. 196 p Soper, Wayne W., chairman Finance and Business Administration.” Review of Educational Research 14: 129-96; April 1944 Works. Creorge A. and Lesser. Simon O. Rural America Today: Its Schools and Community Life. Chicago: University ot Chicago Press, 1942 450 p Group X. Rural Education in the Structure of Democracy Brunner, Edmund de S. Working with Rural Youth. Prepared tor Amet ican Youth Commission, Washington, D. ¢ American Council on Educa tion, 1942. 132 p Columbia University, Teachers College, International Institute. Rara/ Education and Rural Society. Faucational Yearbook, 1938. New York Teachers College, Columbia University, 1938. 399 p. See especially “United States,” p. 347-91 Kalwards, Newton. Equal Educational Opportunity for Youth. Prepared for American Youth Commission, Washington, D. ¢ American Council on Fducation, 1939. 159 p Goldman, Franz. “Medical Cy urmers.” Medical Care % 1645 February 1943 Kirkpatrick, E. L. Guideposts for Rural Youth. Prepared for American Youth Commission, Washington, D. ¢ American Council on Education 1940, 167 p Kolb, John EHL., and Brunner, Edmund de S. 4 Study of Rural Society: Its Organization and Changes. Revised and enlarged edition. Boston: Hough ton Miflllin Co., 1940. O94 p Monroe, Walter S., editor, Encyclopedia of Educational Research. New York: Macmillan Co., t941. “Rural Education, p. 953-89 National Education Association, Department of Rural Education. Adjust ments in Rural Education. Yearbook 1937 Washington, D. ¢ the Department, 1937 National Education Association and American \ssociation of School Administrators, Educational Policies Commission Learning the Ways of Democracy. Washington, D, ¢ the Commission, 1940. 486 p Noble, M. C. S., Jr. Pupil Transportation in the United States. Scranton, Pa.: International Textbook Co., 1940. 541 » Parrott, George St. John, and Holland, Dorothy F. “The Nation's Health Resources.’ Survey ¢ raph gr: £3q; March TQ42 True, Alfred C. H1..tory of the Agricultural Extension Work of the United States, 1785-1923. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Miscellaneous Publication No. 15. Washington, D. C.: Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Ofhce, 1928, 220 p Wheeler. Marton. Rural Health and Medical Care: a Selected List of References. Lincoln, Nebr.: U. § Department ot Agriculture Library, | Lincoln Branch, April 1944. 27 p. Processed RADIO BROADCASTS Education for a Better Rural Life ! Forum Discussion Tuesday, October 3, 1944, 9:45-10:00 a.m., EW Columbia Broad: asting System Origination: WTOP, Washington, D. ¢ announcer: The little red schoolhouse has been the subject for some delight ful bits of Americana. But the story behind these stories is not quite so delight ful. In fact, within the field of rural education, lie some of the unsolved prob lems of our democracy. And here in our studio this morning to discuss these problems are four distinguished participants in the White House Conference on Rural Education: Miss Katharine Lenroot, Chief of the Children’s Bureau of the United States Department of Labor; Mr. M. L. Wilson, director of extension work for the United States Department of Agriculture: Mr. John W Brooker, field secretary of the Kentucky Education Association, and former state superintendent of Kentucky schools; and Miss Charl Ormond Williams, director of the National Education Association Division of Field Service, who will lead the discussion ot “Education for a Better Rural Lite Miss Wil liams WILLiaAMs: It isn’t news that our rural education is inadequate. What :s news is the fact that so many Americans have become aroused about the sit uation that a White House Conference on Rural Education is being held here in Washington to see what can be done about it. This Conference has been called by three divisions of the National Education Association. Two hundred professional and lay leaders drawn from all levels of rural education and every section of the country are attending—by invitation of the President, and Mrs Roosevelt who will open and close the Conference. It's our hope that this na tional Conterence will result in a much-needed charter for rural education to answer the needs of more than half our population. Mr. Wilson, what are some of these needs as you've seen them in your agricultural extension work? witson: T think perhaps the first need, Miss Williams, is for a more realistic understanding of what rural life is really like. Too many people think of the country and visualize a rambling homestead at the end of a lane of poplars Contented cows are grazing in a tield beside well-kept barns. The storage bins are bulging with food and the youngsters are bulging with robust good health The truth is that rural living doesn't always make such a pretty picture. Some of the things that interfere with it are such elementary problems as making a living, getting food and shelter for your family, living with your neighbors, and trying to find time for a little relaxation. It’s not always easy. Lenroor: Especially if you're a share-cropper or a migrant worker. They're part of the rural picture too And so are soil erosion, drylands and irrigated farms, and factories in the helds. Tue Wire House Conrerence BrookeER: And let's not forget the children in rural areas. They're growing up in a world of lightning changes—and most of them are being inadequately prepared to help shape that world. witutaMs: As Chief of the Children’s Bureau, Miss Lenroot, I'm sure you've scen many evidences of that LeNRooT: | certainly have and one of the most frightening evidences ts the large number of children who are working instead of going to school. We know that the manpower shortage has caused many high-school boys and girls to leave school for well-paying war jobs, but what isn't so well known is the substantial number of employed children eight, nine, and ten years old And of these, a greater proportion are children living on farms than nonfarm hildren witson: It isn't just a war problem, either. Take the children of those migrant workers, for example. They've always worked right along with their parents Lenroor: Yes, our Bureau visited some migrant worker camps this summer and learned that children as young as ten were working in the fields each day for a ten-hour day picking beans. Many of the youngsters of seven, eight, and nine did likewise, and even in cafmps where there were child-care centers chil dren five and six years old were sometimes made to go to the fields and pick into the family basket. wittiams: They should be in school, of course. Will you explain why they're not, Mr srooke r? BROOKER: One reason is that rural schools aren't open all year round, not even nine or ten months as city schools are. Rural terms are often shortened so children can help with seasonal farm tasks and, in a few cases, because of lack of funds. Generally speaking, rural children spend less time in school than city children. wittiaMs: They enter school later, of course, because of the absence of nursery schools and kindergartens in most rural areas. BROOK ER Yes and their attendance during the year 1s less regular mostly because of the distance pupils must travc!. School transportation isn’t always available, you know. Then, too, more rural pupils leave school as soon as the compulsory attendance law will permit. wittiaMs: And we know that even when rural children do jump the hurdles to attend school regularly, the school programs are often uninteresting and unattractive witson: The unfairness is that altho a majority of our American children live in rural areas, they have far less of the resources for the kind of education they need. BrookeR: That's right. The little red schoolhouse calls up few nostalgic memories for those who've been thru one of them. Rural schools are sometimes so dilapidated you'd mistake them for woodsheds. Rapto Broapcasts 253 wittiams: And, too, there are still a great many schools with only one or two teachers responsible tor the instruction of children ranging from primary grades thru high school BROOKER: The teacher problem is one of the most serious. Requirements tor rural teaching are as low as the salaries paid. And in all too many cases the result 's instruction by persons who are Meaye rly prepared, Some are not much older than the'r senior pupils and have little more to offer; others have grown old in thei jobs, and cling to outworn procedures because they've had no desire or opportunity to keep pace with educational advances witttamMs: And we know that the manpower shortage has caused teachers to leave rural areas for better city jobs. Or to go into the services or vital war work where they can help the war effort and at the same time earn enough money to lead tuller, happier lives WILSON: It’s not easy for a teacher to find professional or personal satisfaction working in a cramped, unhealthy building with antique equipment and inade quate teu hing tools wittiams: Of course, we don't mean to imply that all rural schools are like that. Many communities have recognized their educational needs and worked hard to meet them with school systems they can rightly be proud of. LENROoT: But isn’t it true that even where rural schools are good they tend to imitate the urban schools rather than adapt their programs to meet the rural needs of their communities? BROOKER: Yes, that’s so. A school should be a part of its community, not apart from it, particularly in rural areas where the school is often the only cultural agency the community has. Rural children need different subjectmatter than city children. witttaMs: It’s really wasteful to confine them to academic subjects designed for college preparation. BROOKER: They need courses in vocational agriculture, conservation, home economics, and health and safety education which they can utilize in farm life. They need citizenship training and cultural subjects such as music and art. And they need more pupil activity. witttaMs: IT think Mr. Wilson should take a bow there for the 4-H clubs sponsored by the Department of Agriculture. Their work has been an invalu able supplement to the rural-school program. witson: 4-Fi club work affords an experience beyond the classroom which develops leadership. It interests young people in taking part in the life of their community. It emphasizes the value of working with your hands as well as your head. It’s part of what I like to call the science of living. On the farm, study and work are closely linked to each other. wittiams: That calls for education of adults as well as youngsters 254 Cie Wuoere House Conrerence wWitson: It certainly does. The rural family ts more important as an educa tional institution than the urban family because it's within the family that the young are taught the way of lite on the tarm. Working and living are more integrated in rural areas than in urban. And | believe that for a better rural lite we need education not only in the primary ind secondary grracte §, but also } , ontinuous calucation Lenroor: | like your science of living tdea very much, Mr. Wilson, but don’t you think it requires a practh il toundation of such basn things as better health, housing, and working conditions There's the proble m of infant and maternal mortality, for instance The rate ts consistently higher in our rural than our urban areas. And poor housing is part of the health picture. Our summer study of farmers’ camps tor migratory workers revealed that most of the lived in shac ks or lean tos th at were crowded and Linse reened Jecause tamulies there was no refrigeration, food was lett on the tables with thes swarming about it from one meal’s end to the next. There were no facilities for bathing or washing clothes wittiams: And those workiny conditions are part of the educational picture Lenroor: Yes. Some of these camps were occupied by Southern migrant families, and many ot thet children never had an opportunity to learn to read and writ BROOKER: | suppose that in the section of the South from which they came schools had been closed several months tor the peak harvest season there, and when they irrived in the North schools were probably closing tor the sumMrniecr Vacation WILLIAMS What t seems to boul down to 1s that tarm tite, working condi tions, and education are all part ola whole, and to he Ip one you ve ,ot to work on them all Lenroor: Che whole rural standard ot living must be raised WILLIAM \nd that means more adult education—-which brings us back to you, Mr. Wilson, and the work of the agricultural extension service witson: We've secomplished a great deal with our agricultural and home demonstrations to the farmer and his tamily right on the farm. Extension work encourages the democratic use of applied science. By that | mean transla tion of screntific research and experimental findings in such a way that farm people can idopt them or reyect them weording to their own wishes and needs. But we need to de velop ilso a variety of tea hing methods to reach ditlerent community yroups on how to live Rural America ts a vital sey ment ot the wav ol | herish tor the treedom which it provides Scrence and education should offer the means whereby people who labor and live on farms can tree themselves trom unnecessary drudge rv and have le isure tor the science of living Rapto Broapcasts LENROOT: For national security they must get it. BROOKER: Yes, a democracy is shaped by the people who comprise it. witson: And Jefferson emphasized education as the first need of democracy wittiams: Well—what specihe things can be done to educate for a better rural life? BROOKER: The most basic needs, it seems to me, are for adequate school buildings and facilities, a curriculum that meets the needs of the community, and teachers who are adequately prepared to carry out that curriculum. wittiams: That means more thoro teacher training and more adequate teacher salaries. And I'd add to your suggestions the consolidation of schools and school districts, adequate transportation facilities, and administrative leader- ship witson: I'd add that, where it’s needed, there should be special means of providing instructional services such as circuit teaching, mobile units, and supervised correspondence courses. witttams: And we must have tighter attendance laws, for even a pertect school is worthless if youngsters don’t attend. Lenroor: Hand in hand with attendance laws must go child labor laws and their full enforcement. The problem is really one of family economics and community resources WILSON Rural areas have more children and less income. And their low incomes limit educational opportunities and limit their ability to expand them. witttams: So we arrive at the ultimate problem of paying for rural educa- tional needs BROOKER: | think there are three answers: an adequate system of state taxa tion for educational purposes, adequate methods of distributing state funds, and federal aid measures witttraMs: Federal aid means that urban areas must help to support rural areas LENRKooT: There's no reason why they shouldn’t when both are so inter dependent. We can't torget that cities depend upon the country for food, shelter, and « lothing. BROOKER And with a considerable migration of rural youths to the city, they're getting the services of workers educated at the expense of rural areas. VILSON Xe tually, the probl mi Of rural education is the probl m ot American education, and education which results in a better rural life at the same time results ina more democratic \merica. wittiams: And with America entering an era different from any other, our youth as well as our adults will be called upon to pass judgment on issue. of world importance They must be adequately educated for the job. | repeat the 256 Tue Wuire Houst ConFrerence hope that out of our White House Conference will come a one-volume report which we believe will chart the course of rural education for the next ten years. announcer: You have been listening to a discussion of “Education for a Better Rural Life” by Miss Katharine Lenroot, Chief of the Children’s Bureau of the United States Department of Labor; Mr. M. L. Wilson, director of extension services for the United States Department of Agriculture; Mr. John W. Brooker, field secretary of the Kentucky Education Association; and Miss Charl Ormond Williams, director of the National Education Association Divi sion of Field Service, and Executive Chairman ot the White House Conference on Rural Education being held here in Washington under the direction of three divisions of the National Education Association. Trouble at the Crossroads in Interview on Rural Education Tuesday, October 3, 1944, 2:30-2:45 p-m., EWT Mutual Broadcasting System Origination: WOL, Washington, D.C. \NNOUNCER: One of the events making news here in Washington this week is the White House Conference on Rural Education called by the Divisions of Field Service, Rural Service, and Federal Relations of the National Educa tion Association and participated in by two hundred professional and lay leaders in rural life and education thruout the country. They are the guests of the President and Mrs. Roosevelt. It's the hope of the men and women gathered here that out of this exchange of problems and plans may come a charter for rural education for the next ten years. Is that right, Dr. Dawson? pawson: Yes, it is. We are to consider the principal problems of public sc hools in the rural areas and to propose practical solutions. aNNoUNCER: Dr. Lloward A. Dawson is Director of Rural Service for the National Education Association, and he and Miss Gertrude Warren of the Extension Service of the United States Department of Agriculture are here in our studio this afternoon to discuss what they call “Trouble at the Crossroads.” Just what 7s the trouble, Miss Warren, and why should all of America, urban and rural alike, be concerned about it? WARREN: Trouble! Yes, but much is very good. However, too few of our rural youth are being prepared adequately to face the problems ahead. Inso- much as rural areas are produc ing a surplus population essential to the life of urban areas, it is now the responsibility of the whole nation to see that rural areas are well served. announcer: And what are these rural problems, Dr. Dawson? R ADIO Broa ASTS DAWSON: Educational advantages for too many rural children are too low. Rural schools have too little funds, teachers’ salaries are too low and as a result too many rural teachers are not sufficiently well trained tor their jobs, and too many schools are too small. warrEN: And high-school education has not yet become universal among the rural farm youth, by any means. To a large extent even the rural elementary schools are small institutions—over a third of the pupils being enrolled in schools having only one or two teachers. pawson: The small schools present three problems that are largely unsolved: First, they cost too much per pupil. Second, they do not offer an opportunity to learn as much as the children need to know. Third, the teachers are too often not trained to deal with the difficult problems of teaching in small schools and most of them have no expert supervision. ANNOUNCER: Has this situation developed as a result of the war? pawson: Much of the trouble is not new; it is the result of chronic ills. But much of it is now acute because of war conditions. During the last two years about one-fourth of the teachers have been new to their jobs. Thousands of classrooms have been closed for lack of teachers. The rural schools have suf- fered most. City schools with better salaries get many of the best rural teachers. Rural schools take whom they can get. warren: And this is happening at a time when the expansion of educational facilities is urgently needed so that young people may secure the foundations of a broad education that will prepare them to understand and defend democracy, to furnish leadership and cooperation in the reconstruction period, and to succeed in the highly competitive labor market of the postwar years. ANNOUNCER: You said before, Dr. Dawson, that tho the war had made the rural education problem acute it wasn’t the real reason for it pawson: That's right. Actually there is no great shortage of well-qualified teachers; there is a shortage of funds to pay living wages to rural teachers. $138.30 a week is just too little. The real long-range trouble, however, is due to at least six weaknesses in the structure of rural education. ANNOUNCER: And what are they? pawson: I think the first problem is the character and scope of rural educa tion. Would you agree, Miss Warren? WARREN: Yes, a major problem of rural education is that of adopting in structional programs and procedures that will best contribute to a satisfactory way of individual and community living in rural areas. The broad social and economic goals of education can be made real only in terms of the situations and needs of the children affected. Ways and means should be devised and utilized for developing their abilities and attitudes so that they may take their rightful places as American citizens in al! yrtant affairs both at home and abroad. t Woroert DAWSON tral ildren ght to have schools beginning with the kindergarten ; ing thru high school which perhaps should include the tourteenth vr ude. They need elementary school n which are offered not only the three R's well taught but also oppor tres to enjoy and learn history, geography, civics, literature, art, and 1 to participate in wholesome physical CXCTCISE and social relat oOnshil | uy schoois must olter a much wider range oft studies than is now totind in most small rural high schools Che second problem is that of unequal educational opportunities anNouNcER: | thought all American children were supposed to have every possible opportunity for educational development pawson: Unfortunately, they don’t. Children of minority racial groups and children tn poor farming areas too often have school facilities too meager to tolerate in modern America. WARREN: It is estimated that there are about one million children of school age in the families of migratory agricultural laborers. Many of these children do not attend any school, others attend only a short time at any one place. ANNOUNCER: What about the small schools? The one-room, one-teacher ones you mentioned I suppose they can’t atford to offer a lot. pawson: Most of them don't. They can if they have the advantages of book- mobiles, mobile shops, mobile health units, mobile units of visual aids, equip ment, and other services. ANNOUNCER: IT suppose none of the educational opportunities you've men tioned are possible unless you have competent teachers. pawson: Hardly. The school will never be any better than the teacher. Rural teachers must be specially educated for their jobs. Teachers colleges need to see that they are. The teacher must also be paid a decent salary, have a decent and secure place to live, and be assured of her job as long as she gives good and faithful service. She is also entitled to be an active and accepted participant in community affairs. WARREN: In my opinion, a modern educational program requires a school building planned and arranged to accommodate the kind of instruction needed. For the safety and health of pupils and teachers, modern equipment is needed. Moreover, they should be supplied with materials and apparatus necessary to rapid and effective learning. pawson: Another problem is the reorganization of local school units. ANNOUNCER: You mean there should be consolidation so there are fewer but better schools? DAWSON: To some extent. Many small schools ought to be consolidated with neighboring schools. High schools especially need to be larger where distance and travel facilities permit. But the most important need is to organize larger administrative units. Such units should be large enough to support at least Rapto Broapcasts 59 one high school and may have one elementary school or many. All schools in such a unit should be under one board of education and one superintendent of schools selected by the board. ANNOUNCER: Since most improvements cost money and rural areas seem to have less of it—on a per capita basis anyway—there must be a financial problem too WARREN: Much of the trouble is due to lack of adequate financial resources. Farm people are responsible for the care and education of some 31 percent of the nation’s children; yet farm income is only 9 percent of the national income. pawson: Too large a share of rural-school money comes from property taxes. Property is only a part of taxpaying ability. Taxes for the support of schools should come from a variety of sources, but they will do so only if the siate levies the taxes, except those on property, collects the money, and spends it where the schools are needed. The state should guarantee sufficient funds to each local school unit to maintain a defensible minimum standard of educational op- portunity. People ought to pay local school taxes but unless the state does its share educational opportunities will be too uneven. ANNOUNCER: What about federal aid? Wouldn’t that he a solution? pawson: It would help and it is absolutely necessary unless several millions of American children are to continue to be denied the education to which they are entitled. The extreme differences in the taxpaying ability of the several states make federal aid necessary. Children and money are very unevenly distributed. Fermer United States Senator Josh Lee once humorously but truthfully remarked: “It looks like where the kids are the money ain't.” WARREN: The most probable federal financial assistance to public education in the reconstruction and reconversion period following the war may well be a program that will furnish funds for school buildings and equipment. pawson: And rural-school leaders and administrators, and the farmers, ought to profit by the experience of the public works programs of the 1930's. Under that program many school buildings were constructed, but mostly in the cities. Rural areas will not be able to use public works funds if they are made avail- able again unless the people organize larger school districts and make plans now for the future development of their schools. State departments of educa- tion should be taking the lead in this matter. Surveys for the reorganization of rural schools and the planning of new school buildings should be under way now announcer. You feel then that the problems of rural education are not insuperable ? pawson: There is nothing involved that cannot be adequately coped with. What we need is good teachers and plenty of them, professional school leader- ship, public understanding and cooperation, goodwill and fairness, and adequate financial resources. 260 Tue Wuire House Conrer’nce warren: With an understanding of the part which rural America must play both here and abroad, with a vision of the rural civilization which can be developed thru coordinated effort, we now have the opportunity, with educa- tion as our instrument, to make the hopes and aspirations of our forefathers a reality—to make the American dream of equal opportunity for all come true in rural America pawson: I, for one, believe that the rural schools are a fundamental and indispensable means of building and maintaining in America the most glorious life anywhere in the world. aNNouNcER: You have been listening to a discussion on rural education by Dr. Howard A. Dawson, Director of Rural Service of the National Education Association, and Miss Gertrude Warren of the Extension Service of the United States Department of Agriculture—two participants in the White House Con- ference on Rural Education which opens today here in Washington. PROGRAM thee her g, October 4 : p.m Headquarters ot the National Education Association 1201 Sixteenth Sereet. N. W , Washington, 1). ¢ ups of the conterence BNERAL SESS! R owvse it rece e memi t nicrence ul Education State Teachers on, Washington Washington LN rerative harm Bure aia ; Tue Wuire House Conrer’ence Sgn? GENERAL SESSION Wednesday afternoon, October 4, 2:00 to 4: The Whire Hous Presiding MARL ES SKI! reside Nation. une of Chrel State ‘School O fx ers she ten ’ Publ Instruction Salt Lake City, Utah The Education of Rural Children FANNIE W. DUNN Professor Emeritus T cachers " dumina U aver Vew York Building Communities thru VYRIL W. GRACE President, State Teache The Rural Child and the ¢ KATHARINE LENROWY (Avett €, Atle ington D.¢ Building Rural Schools Tomorrow Panel D Leader——c ani ravior, Head, Du 1 Farm Populat Welfare, United Stat De partment ree r Wash ng Vember MILDRED 1 BA ELDER bie : School and Chik Labrary Dis } ‘ ; ry cn n, Cmecago lilinos ynmuittec of United State Chamber pmerce President ry Plan Bank, Richmond tf Industrial Organiza Farm Bureau Feder teacher, Aumar tor of Midwe / , f4 ConrERENCE PROGRAM Intormal Remarks rKRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT 30 p.m. Social hour on the White House lawn g, October 4 to to the Natrota du on .\ssox / cacne € aroiima 264 The Wurere totuse Conrerenct Group IV—Problems of the Protessional Personnel for Rural Education Chairman—k. 0. proapy, Director, University Extension Division. Univer sity of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska V pe Recorders—®BEN W. FRAZIER », United States Othce of Lducation, Wa not j PANE erRanserur, Dire y | i ' ' i Georgia lthens, Georgta Lis wssian (;roup \ T he Cry €.Aairman PULIAN ersity, lthaca ry Baton h AUSTIN R Rats Dy State De pahtment of Fda Discussion te Depart (,roup Vil ( Aagirmuar Senior | ! Jeneulture, VW ment Lise ussion ConFERENCE PROGRAM 265 Group VIII—Special Problems in Providing Instructional Opportunities in Rural Schoois Chairman—BARTON MORGAN, Head, Department of Vocational Education, lowa State College, Ames, lowa Maine Tea hers ( le ge INDEX \dmuinistration, 15, 153-62 Charter statement, 15 and organization otf rural education, erection ot, 168 tederal participation, 169-70 influence on program, 165-66 planned for Hexibtlity, 17071 postwar construction o ion ot tote 1isO5 } CSPOorsi ; endations, 1% INDEX Fducation, y-ro, Dennis, L. H., 5 216-28, 232- Dickinson, Mrs. Lafell, 5 Dunn, Fannie W., 61, 114, mterence on Rural 214-15, background ot, 22-25 W.G., 171 Economics. See Finance 42 Educational opportunity, 15 origin and organization ot : » 42, 54°55, 57 interpretation of police $, 214-15 membership of Conference groups, planning for the tuture, 15 114-16 recommendations and sugyestions 214, 217 Charter statement, summary statements of, 2102 curtailment of, 32 White House, 22-2 6 equalization of, ros, ri4, 13 existing inequalities in, onterences, n. SS. gy onsolidation, 157, 222 “as0 \dmuinistrative 16, 138 financial resources necessary, 42 importance of improvement in, §5§ s6 yanization of in rural secondary education, 184 CGoOpenalives tt otnell, Bertha, need for better rural, 54-58 orrespond school facilities, 9z-go State guarantee, 197 lementary education, 14, 144, ox, Helen, 2% llison, Lucile, 230 oxe. Warren W mbree, Edwin R., 5 merson, Ralph Waldo, 19 nrolment, 29, 30, 32, 95, 61, 64, nsminger, Douglas, 229 xceptional children, 36, 182, 192-93 ur Labor Standards Act, 86, 87, 92-03 ila, 118, 220 irley, Belmont M., 4, 2 irl) organizations, tf, yO, 100, 105, 1006, 107, 114, 130, I irm Security Administration, 99 cial ederal aid, 10, 13, 41, 57-53, 1o8, 113, 116, 149, 1670, mon hucation ! minor groups, 173-74 equality of edu itional opportun 202-204, 209, 211, nner, Mildred S . nance, T44, ror, 116, Pz, Ot, 169, 195 , , outiay ind debt services, 201 1compre he nsive progr im, ~QO f community life onom process , or “CONOM I ai rural ¢ 205 responsibility ot rural-school, 33, 3 154. “ hool State ranseth, I I I Fowl kes, I I razicr French 150, 1O1, 105 204, plant and equipment, assistance, 14 2.234, ate, John G | nme, Ben W 9 Harold I~ Frost Norman 21 Fuller, | dyat ! local (CON FERENCE mamtenance relation to rural education, 45; socialized medicine, 99, 106, 109 » U.S. Department ot Labor, ibd n’'s Bureau len Hay, 137 INDEX Lindsay, Samuel McCune, 86 Lindstrom, D. E., 6, Lynd, Robert, 46 215 Matthews, Mrs. J. F., Maurots, Andre, 101 Mayville (N. Dak.) program, 76-55 ' a | () Neal, TOs, Edward A., 27, 110, IIT, Ordinance ot 1787, 211 95, 532. QU, 113 109, Organization and administration rural education, 153-62 Parent education, 1 i.) ' ) ' i Patton Ja nes GCy., I earson, Irving | Perkins, Frances, 51 Personnel, teaching, 14 1452 statement, t4 onditions, ! $0 for, in rural communities, ration of, ie and 145-49, 15! rat boards ot tirement and pensioning, . holarship rosses 1m, awards, 150 14% flow of educat om ot ompetent THE WHITE House ¢ ONFERENCHE Protessional organizations of teachers, parent education tor preschool, 128 ITT, 152, 193 percent of births with specified at Professional personnel, nonteachiny, tendant, go 147-45, 157 residence, employment, and attend Program of Conference, 261-65 ance data, 91 Pupil transportation, 14, 29, 40, school plant, equipment, and facili 195, 200 ties, 31, 33, 35, 93-96, 126, 165-71 specific recommendations, 128 , Radio, classroom ural scl Rural community, 4 ros gS-1t4, 129-37, broack ists if ‘ 147 15, i tional actiy , yt, 219, Floyd W » at ability ot people to support schools, 243-5 101 adequate health facilities in, 99 National Convention. 26. 2° admepmistrative unit, 153-02 vid from teachers college Ss, I building thru ecdue wion, contribution of urban are: coordination of educational 26-37 coordination ol eflort, $2-85 definition of, 124 30 development ind maintenance ! modern son il SeTVices, 122 219 Ie ‘ It velop mt of dun ational velopment of Mayville program, = SS ition for community lin rural areas, 129-37 edu mon minority ind special groups, 172-5 family | functions ruture } hraovrrye libs wy lav in modern ci d tor nonteachit y prot sonnel, | articipation in government, plant d equipment, 165-71 problem of community problems ontronting, proper interpretation 103-104 public school plant, 136 INDEX atte ndance in, building tor, g8-114 levelopment of, 108 ul employment in, 29 activilles, recreational rural citizen as a part of, 47 social attitudes and values, 135-36 , =~), social stabilization, 130-31 education, 143-44 enrolment in, vocational Rural education, 29, expenditures, 2 65-07 ; hinancing of, 55-57, 65-67, 109-10, LIT, 12 ; future goals of i 14h ° revuipy pu i mayor enterprise, character of, 33-34 chron troubles in, comprehensive program ounseling and vurdance, CcTithe | problems current cris detects im suppor wd control 213-14 clistimetive COODODLY portunt earning tor Minority incl S}) V pattern cquipmcnt THe Wuire House Confer tNce educational opportunity in, 184, 22 Tombaugh, Clyde, 63 enriched offerings in, 184-87 major objectives, 218 Urban areas, 104, 140, 142, 143-44 need for adequate program of, 36, 57, contribution of rural 145, 209 142 proper buildings and equipment, 126 library services for, 1ro4 Selective Service System, 106, 115 Sewell, Mrs. Charles W., 6, 27 Sheppard-Towner Bill, 23 Shinn, FE. H., 180 Sitton, Paul, 98, tor, 108, 109 Skidmore, Charles H.. 6, areas tO, 140, vocational education, 143-44 Urban teachers, 30, 54, 56, 149-52 certification requirements, 151-52 salaries of, 3, 54. 56, 140-50 S. Bureau of the Budget, 25 SQ S. Chamber otf Commerce, Commit ’ Sloan I oundation, So Smith, Marion B., 162 Social Security Act, Title V, 86, Social services in rural communities, 114, 229 tec on Education, 110 S. Commissioner of Education, $7 Ql S. Department of Agriculture, 25, 8° + 2% * 132 U.S. Department of Labor, Children’s Southern States Work Conference on Bureau, 22, 24, 25, 73, 86-97 School Administrative Problems ', S. Indian Service, 179 155 S. Ofhce of Education, 25, 58, 7 *'y* State vid, 40-41, 197, 198-90, 201-202, , 156, 160, 162, 160, 19%, 223 avoiding rewards for lessening of ocal effort, 199 ational education, 33, 99, 127, 5 in establishing and financing schools, 44, 179, 188-89, 210 197, 201-202, 223 maintaining balanced program, Wagner, Murray, Dingle bill, 51 198-99 Wale, Fred G., 98, 102 to assure observation of minimum Walker, E. Jerry, 6, 26, standards, 40-41, 108 Warren, Gertrude I tate departments of education, 73, Warren, Julius, 159-60, 162, 169, 19%, 222, 223 Welt, Mrs. Josey State education associations, 27, White, Helen C., 6 State program of education, ( 4, White House, 9, 10, »>? 52 »h M.., 59, 119, 162 Stearns, Troy L., 128 Wilhelms, Fred T.., Strohm, John, 6, 26, Williams, Charl Studebaker, John W.., Itt, 220 Stullken, Edward H., 27, 22 Williams, R. C.. o& 106-107 Wilson, M. L., 6, 98, 104-106, Wilson, Woodrow, 22 Winn, Agnes, 4. 22 Wofford, Kate V Works, George A.. Works Progre World War I World War 230 Ormond, * * * e hur FLAG waves daily over palatial school buildings that house the children of those who can pay for the best, and over disgraceful shacks crowded with the underprivileged offspring of those whose financial resources are inadequate to provide the future generation with even the mini- mum essentials of citizenship. — —Brooks Fletcher * 7... 2