BULLETIN OF THE 
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF 
SECONDARY-SGHOOL 
PRINCIPALS 


Issued Five Times a Year 
January, March, April, May and October 


MARCH, 1928 


Entered as second-class matter, December 29, 1925, at the postoffice at 

Berwyn, Illinois, under the Act of August 24, 1912. Acceptance for 

mailing at special rate of postage, provided for in Section 412, Act of 
February 28,. 1925, authorized March 30, 1927. 








BULLETIN NUMBER 20 


Proceedings of the 


‘Twelfth Annual Meeting of the 
National Association of 
Secondary-School Principals 


BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 
February 27, 28 and 29, 1928 








Published by 


_ NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF .- 
SECONDARY-SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 
H. V. CHURCH, Seeretary 
3129 Wenonah Avenue, BERWYN, ILLINOIS 
J. Sterling Morton High School 

CICERO, ILLINOIS 
































NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF 
SECONDARY-SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 











Proceedings of the 
Twelfth Annual Meeting of the 
National Association of 
Secondary-School Principals 


at 


BOSTON, MASS. 


on 


February 27, 28 and 29, 1928 


Edited by 
H. V. CHURCH 


Secretary of the Association 


Published by the Association, 1928 



































CONTENTS 


OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION... ...cccccc cc ccctcccececeeee 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWELFTH ANNUAL MEETING, 1928...... 


“The Educational Program of Soviet Russia,” George S. Counts, 
Tee GOR oc cine ccnceensecs cessive sasvccesevenctus 


“Problems of Education in India,” Professor Rajarem V. 
Gogate, Chairman of Education Committee of the Hindusthan 
Agpostation Gf AMIR, «6 ccc cdctccducccvaverescateeess 


“Report of Delegates at Toronto Meeting of World’s Federation 
of Educational Associations, August, 1927,” William E. Wing, 
Principal of Deering High School, Portland, Maine........ 


Recommendations of Five Committees of Herman Jordan Plan. 


Report of the National Committee on Research in Secondary 
Education to the Department of Secondary-School Principals. 


“Some Important Problems of the Small High School,” Emery 
N. Ferriss, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.......... 


“Character Education in Secondary Schools,” Walter F. Downey, 
Head Master, English High School, Boston, Massachusetts. . 


“The Battle of the Specialists in Secondary Education,” Ban- 
croft Beatley, Harvard University.............csseeeeeeee 


“The Visiting Teacher in the High School,” Edith M. Everett, 
Associate Director of the White-Williams Foundation, Phila- 
CR, FO 6 6.5 0-4 6.06 00 nha 4d re hee ceccnwewds 


“Rating of Teachers by Supervisors,” Joseph F. Gonnelly, Dis- 
trict Superintendent in Charge of Junior High Schools, Chi- 
CU TR 4 x 4 iis sor neccaceniciscsrhpciadaredis 





15 


65 


72 








vi Contents 


“The Place of the Classroom Teacher in Curriculum Revision,” 
A. L. Threlkeld, Superintendent of Schools, Denver, Colo- 


SOUND .o.o.6.o.5 6: ONS A SERRE a Ae ees 


“Introducing an Extra-Curriculum Activities Program,” Joseph 
Roemer, Professor of Secondary Education and High School 
Visitor, University of Florida... ...ccccccscvcsvcccscssce 


“The Place of Research in Secondary Schools,’ Harold Ells- 
worth Warner, Principal of Hine Junior High School, Wash- 


en Gaia coc ccnrccessenuvxeteedenee vases 


CE PRs ota cee n eked +0 keceuaee meas 


Greetings from the National Educational Association, J. W. 
Combes, RNG s o's 60 civic cnneceven (ntaienns kieaew 


“How to Bring the Schools Closer to Business and Business to 
the Schools,’ Cameron Beck, Personnel Director, New York 


Sines TE 6.6 0a o ee cesasecetvedcsadivaiassees sean 


“Supervision in Secondary Schools; Statement of the Problem 
and Viewpoint of the Principal,” Francis L. Bacon, President, 
National Association of Secondary-School Principals........ 


“Supervision from the Viewpoint of the Superintendent,” /il- 
liam McAndrew, Editor, Educational Review............... 


“The Viewpoint of the Teacher,” Cornelia S. Adair, President of 
the National Education Association................2e000+ 


“Can High-School Supervision Be Made Scientific? Charles H. 
Judd, Director, School of Education, University of Chicago... 


“Report of Commission on Standard Blanks,” R. R. Cook, Prin- 
cipal of Roosevelt High School, Des Moines, Iowa.......... 


“Guidance Practice in Secondary Schools,” Leonard V. Koos, 
Professor of Secondary Education, University of Minnesota, 
A, TE 04:5 50d 0's Kivivinneeeeaked Satake ‘ 





PAGE 


2 


101 


114 


121 


131 
139 


147 


178 




















Contents Vii 


PAGE 
“A High-School Vocational Guidance Program in Operation,” 
Merle Prunty, Principal, Senior High School, Tulsa, Okla- 
RO bin ttesdeeneseereienaseainis tetas 185 
ns OE Oe TI oc kk kink cacvevevnceteeseesieededs 196 
“Promotion of International Understanding” L. N. Brooks, 
Principal of Senior High School, Wichita, Kansas.......... 199 


Constitution of the Department of Secondary-School Principals. 204 











THE OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION 
1927-1928 


First Vice-President: JEsst1E M. HAMILTON 


Principal of Morey Junior High School 
Denver, Colorado 


Second Vice-President: CHARLES F, ALLEN 


Principal of West Side Junior High School 
Little Rock, Arkansas 


Secretary-Treasurer: H. V. Courcu 


Principal of J. Sterling Morton High School 
Cicero, Illinois 


THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 


F. L. Bacon 


Principal of J. Sterling Morton High School 
Cicero, Illinois 


M. R. McDANIEL 

WitiiaM E. WING 

Deering High School 
Portland, Maine 
































TWELFTH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE 
ASSOCIATION 


The twelfth annual convention of the National Association of 
Secondary-School Principals was held in Boston, Massachusetts, 
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, February 27, 28, and 29, 1928. 


First SESSION 


The first session of the twelfth annual meeting was called to order 
at 2:13 p.m. Monday, February 27, 1928, in the Ball Room of Hotel 
Statler by the President of the Association, Francis Leonard Bacon. 

Mr. J. M. Gwinn, President of the Department of Superin- 
tendence and Superintendent of Schools, San Francisco, California, 
brought greetings from the Department of Superintendence, wished 
the Association a successful meeting, and outlined the program of the 
Department of Superintendence for the next year. 

Mr. George S. Counts, associate director of the International 
Institute, Teachers College, Columbia University, prefaced his paper 
. by a bit of prophecy that Russia and the United States would become 
the two great nations of the world. Mr. Count spoke without notes. 


THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM OF SOVIET RUSSIA 
GEorRGE S. CounrTs, 
TEACHERS COLLEGE 


The history of education offers no parallel to the transformation 
which has been worked in the educational system of Russia since the 
October revolution. As a direct consequence of this great upheaval 
the control of education was at once shifted to a new social class, the 
purpose of education was fundamentally altered, and the very con- 
ception of education was greatly widened. In obedience to these 
changes and within the brief space of ten years the entire educational 
program has been reconstructed, the administrative organization has 
been made to assume a new form, the system of schools has been 
profoundly modified, many new educational institutions have been 
created, the materials of instruction have been overhauled, and the 
methods of teaching have been reformulated. In a word, an alto- 








2 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


gether new turn has been given the evolution of education in Russia. 
This fact is indisputable. What of good or ill it may hold for either 
the Russian people or the world at large, only the passing years can 
reveal. But it is an event of such magnitude that it can be neither 


- ignored nor forgotten. 


The Purpose of Education—The most significant change which 
has been effected by the Revolution is of course the change in the pur- 
pose of education. Under the old regime the school was an instru- 
ment for the support of the House of Romanoff, the Greek Church, 
and, in general, the social and political status quo. Under the new 
regime the school is an instrument in the hands of a dominant minori- 
ty engaged in the creation of a socialistic and codperative common- 
wealth. To be sure, according to official pronouncements, education 
in Soviet Russia embraces the threefold purpose of fostering the de- 
velopment of an efficient economic system, of promoting the organiza- 
tion of the political life of the Union, and of furthering the evolution 
of national cultures. But achievement in each of these three realms 
is appraised in terms of a collectivistic social ideal. The present 
rulers of Russia, knowing that their own vision of a more perfect 
society is neither understood nor shared by the great majority of the 
population, are seeking through every agency available to transmit 
that vision to the coming generation. From top to bottom the entire 
educational structure is dominated by the urgent need of rearing a 
valiant and militant generation imbued with the ideals of socialism and 
eager to defend the Revolution before the world. The school in 
Russia to-day is dedicated to the twofold task of guarding and matur- 
ing the new social order born in the years of war. It is for this reason 
that the present educational experiment merits the attention of the 
world. Never before in history has the school been pointed so com- 
pletely and purposefully towards a great social objective. 


The Control of Education.—If the foregoing purposes of educa- 
tion are to be achieved, the question of the control of education takes 
precedence over all other considerations. Absolute control must be 
secured by that self-conscious minority which is committed to the 
creation of the new order. Since this minority is the Communist 
Party and since the state is ruled by the Party, the desired result is 
secured by making education a function of the state. Practically all 
education in Russia to-day, therefore, is in the hands of the govern- 











SSE 




















Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 3 


ment. In the field of special and technical education limited oppor- 
tunities are extended to private enterprise; but, with a few unim- 
portant exceptions, all institutions engaged in the promotion of general 
education are controlled by the state. 


The reason for the differential treatment of general and special 
education is patent. The present government is primarily concerned 
in organizing those phases of education which shape social attitudes 
and ideals. Since the ordinary forms of technical education, such as 
instruction in typewriting, surveying, or foreign language, can have 
but little influence on the economic and political philosophy of the 
student, the state may safely entrust this type of education to other 
agencies. On the other hand, if diverse interests were permitted to 
teach history, civics, economics, morals, philosophy, or even the 
natural sciences, the state might find itself hampered in its efforts to 
create a pre-conceived order of society. The present government re- 
gards the school, as it regards the army, as an instrument for achiev- 
ing predetermined ends. For this reason the entire field of general 
education, or social education, as it is very appropriately called in 
Russia, is monopolized by the state. 


The fact that education in the Soviet Union is almost exclusively 
a state function does not mean that education is controlled by the 
central government. As a matter of fact, in the formulation of edu- 
cational policy and in the administration of the program, complete 
autonomy is granted each of the six republics which comprise the 
Union. Except for the conferences of the several commissars of 
education, which are commonly held three times a year, each republic 
is apparently allowed to go its own way. However, an examination 
of policies, programs and institutions in four republics suggests the 
conclusion that this autonomy is largely illusory. Everywhere policies, 
programs and institutions are much the same. The explanation of 
this apparent contradiction is to be found in the influence of the Com- 
munist party. Since the more important questions are decided by 
this organization, and since the area of its dominance is coterminous 
with the boundaries of the Union, educational theories and practices 
are everywhere in fundamental harmony. Under present conditions 
it could not be otherwise. 


With respect to the education of the national minorities, Russia 
has pursued a policy of unusual interest. The cultural composition 








4 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


of the Union is extraordinarily complex. Within its borders and 
within the boundaries of each of the more important republics will 
be found many minority groups, each possessing its own language 
and institutions. And the complexities of the problem are increased 
because these various groups differ enormously in both the content 
and the level of their social attainments. There exists in Russia 
to-day every stage of culture from semi-nomadism to the highest type 
of western civilization. Thus, in addition to Russians, Ukrainians, 
Poles, Germans, Jews, and Greeks there are Kurds, Tatars, Uzbegs, 
Bashkirs, Kirghiz, Turkomans, Kalmucks, Buriats, and Votyaks. 


To each of these cultural minorities is given some measure of 
control over the education of its children. In this respect the present 
government has departed radically from the policy pursued under the 
Tsar. Each minority is allowed to organize its own schools under its 
own teachers and in its own language. Moreover, it is permitted to 
introduce into the program its own literature and art. How compli- 
cated a system of schools may become under such a policy is well 
illustrated by the little republic of Georgia. With a population but 
slightly in excess of two million inhabitants, schools are now organ- 
ized in which instruction is given in the Georgian, Armenian, Turkish, 
Russian, Greek, Ossetin, German, Hebrew, Assyrian, Polish, and 
Kurdish languages. But this freedom is confined strictly to the field 
of cultural interests. In the realm of economics and politics rigid 
adherence to the generally accepted policies of the Union is required. 
Thus, while refusing to follow the precedent of the Empire in an 
effort to make Russians of all these diverse races and peoples, the 
rulers of Russia to-day are endeavoring earnestly to make good 
communists of them all. As a price for a certain cultural autonomy 
they hope to exact a steadfast loyalty to the Revolution. In this 
they would seem to be building more wisely than their predecessors. 


‘The System of Education.—The revolutionary government, hav- 
ing made certain of the control of education at all vital points, has 
created a new system of education. The more important institutions 
comprising this system and their relationship to each other are 
graphically represented in Chart I. This chart describes the system 
of the R.S.F.S.R. only ; but since the differences among the republics 
are slight and since this republic overshadows all the rest, containing 
almost three-fourths of the inhabitants of the Union, no grave bias 


Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 5 


will be conveyed by confining the analysis to the institutions of the 
one republic. In any brief report a consideration of the differences 
from republic to republic would be of less value than an examination 
of other features of the system which such a consideration would 


force out of the picture. 


System or PopuLar EpucaTION IN THE R. S. F. S. R. 








SCTMRTIFIC MEStARCR « UNOTITUTIONS 
































soca = RBUKATIOW PRoressiomat Emcat ion roLirica «= ucaTiog 











According to the chart the educational system is composed of 
three major divisions. There are institutions of social, professional, 
and political education. While such an organization of schools may 
appear at first glance to differ radically from that to which we are 
accustomed in America, it resembles our system much more closely 
than it does the traditional systems of Europe. The familiar divisions 
of elementary, secondary, and higher are not immediately apparent. 
Moreover, the division of political education is set off by itself and 
sustains no organic connection with either of the other two divisions. 
But these differences are traceable, for the most part, to differences 
in the classification of institutions rather than to any fundamental dis- 
agreements in the general organization of education. A survey of 
the content of each of the three divisions will show this to be the case: 


Social Education—The basic division of education in Russia is 
that of social education. It embraces what in America is known as 





6 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


general education. The task of the institutions of social education is 
to transmit to the rising generation that body of knowledges, habits, 
attitudes, and dispositions which is regarded as an essential part of 
the equipment of every citizen of the Republic. 


On this foundation are erected the institutions to provide those 
forms of special education which the complexity and diversification 
of life make necessary or desirable. If the collateral institutions, such 
as schools for adolescents, schools for peasant youth, and factory and 
mill schools be disregarded, the system of social education will be 
seen to be composed of institutions of three levels. At the bottom of 
the system are various types of pre-school institutions which, though 
existing to-day only in very limited numbers, are designed to enroll 
children during the ages of three to seven years inclusive. Above 
these institutions is the unified activity school, as it is called, which is 
divided into primary and secondary divisions. The former, known 
as the school of first grade, is a four-year institution and normally 
enrolls children from eight to eleven years of age. The school 
of second grade then takes the pupil for another five-year period or 
to the age of seventeen years. This institution, however, is broken 
into a first division of three years and a second division of two 
years. A total of fourteen years of social education is thus provided, 
but as the chart indicates, for a particular individual this form of 
education may end on the completion of the school of first grade or 
on the completion of either division of the second grade school. 
The practice of cutting short the years of social education, according 
to the authorities, represents necessary but temporary concessions 
to the economic poverty of the country. They are agreed that the 
universal extension of the period of social education to seventeen 
years of age is highly desirable. 

In its broader outlines the curriculum content of the schools of 
social education is not unlike that of our institutions of similar grade. 
In the pre-schools emphasis is placed on free activity, habit formation, 
supervised play, and health ; in the school of first grade chief attention 
is devoted to the acquisition of command over the tools of learning; 
and in the school of second grade major consideration is given to 
science, history, mathematics and practical studies. 


Throughout the course of social education both the natural and 
social sciences receive consistent emphasis. The great object of the 








= 








Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 7 


instruction in the natural sciences is to combat religious influence 
and to develop in the coming generation a definitely materialistic out- 


look. That the instruction in the schools is positively anti-religious 


perhaps could hardly be maintained. Yet in Russia to-day the notion 
is current among teachers that faith in either God or the church 
is a superstition whose survival is a product of ignorance. 

The emphasis on history and the social studies is designed appar- 
ently to indoctrinate children with the ideals and attitudes of col- 
lectivism. In the teaching of history the class struggle is made 
prominent throughout and an extraordinary amount of time is devoted 
to the revolutionary movements of the 19th and 20th centuries. More- 
over, the story of man’s earthly adventures is made to culminate in 
the Bolshevik revolution of 1917. The heroes of the whole revolu- 
tionary movement are made the object of careful study and extreme 
veneration. And in its consideration of the relations of nations, 
the school seeks to substitute for the sentiments of nationalism and 
patriotism the sentiments of proletarian soiidarity and working class 
loyalty throughout the world. Let any event or movement touching 
the welfare or fortunes of the workers show itself anywhere in either 
hemisphere, from the revolution in China to the execution of Sacco 
and Vanzetti in Massachusetts, and the attention of the children in 
the schools will be focussed upon it. The all controlling purpose of 
social education in Russia would, therefore, seem to be that of 
making the coming generation friendly to the Revolution, hostile to 
all counter-revolutionary forces, and eager to further the develop- 
ment of a socialistic and materialistic civilization. 


Professional Education—Based upon the institutions of social 
education and articulating with them at various points are the pro- 
fessional and higher schools. Professional education, it should be 
observed, embraces all forms of vocational and special training and 
is therefore much wider in scope in Russia than in America. Under 
the present organization an individual may proceed to the special 
schools from any one of three levels of social education, depending 
on the nature of the specialty toward which he is aiming. And cor- 
responding with the three points of departure from the system of 
social education are three levels of institutions for professional edu- 
cation. To enter the schools, which prepare for the skilled occupa- 
tions of industry, the student need only to have completed the school 
of first grade. Above these lower vocational schools, in point of 











8 Department of Secondary-School Principals 





general preparation demanded, are the technicums. These schools 
may be entered from either the first or the second division of the 
second grade school. In them are trained the elementary teachers and 
many other workers who might be regarded as pursuing occupations 
at the semi-professional level. Of a higher grade than the technicums 
and articulating only with the second division of the secondary school 
or with the worker’s faculty are the universities. In these institutions 
are trained the teachers of secondary schools, agronomists, physicians, 
surgeons, engineers, linguists, historians, mathematicians, and pure 
and applied scientists of all kinds. Above the universities and ar- 
ticulating with them are numerous and varied agencies devoted to 
scientific research. These institutions may be said to form the cap- 
stone of the educational system of Russia. 


A consideration of the many points of interest in the system of 
professional education cannot be attempted here. There is, however, 
one question of such fundamental importance with respect to the 
extension of the opportunities of higher education that it merits brief 
examination. This is the question of admission to the universities. 
Immediately after the revolution all academic standards were abol- 
ished and the doors of the higher schools were opened to members 
of the working classes regardless of their qualifications. Circum- 
stances gradually forced the abandonment of this extreme position. 
To-day entrance to the universities, even for graduates of the sec- 
ondary school, is by examination only. Nevertheless, discrimination 
in favor of the working classes continues. Since the facilities for 
higher education are inadequate to meet the demand, selection must 
be made from those who pass the entrance examinations. In this 
selection the children of workers and peasants are favored. But the 
authorities have gone even further and adopted a positive policy with 
regard to the extension of higher educational opportunities to these 
classes. Every encouragement, both tangible and intangible in charac- 
ter, is given them to attend the universities. A special institution, 
the worker’s faculty, has been created to prepare them to pass the 
entrance examinations, and maintenance allowances have been pro- 
vided for those whose economic condition would otherwise keep them 
from the higher schools. According to the Commissariat of Public 
Education, approximately one-half of the students attending the 
universities to-day receive monthly stipends for maintenance. Clear- 
ly the present government wishes to make absolutely certain that the 















































Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 9 


technicians, intelligentsia, and leaders of the coming generation will 
be sympathetic towards the ideals of the revolution and the aspirations 
of the working classes. That this may involve some sacrifice of 
academic standards and a certain measure of injustice to individuals 
is fully recognized, but such sacrifice and injustice are regarded as 
the price which must be paid to insure the safety of the revolution. 


Political Education.—The division of political education has no 
articulation with the divisions of social and professional education. 
It lies outside the bounds of the conventional system and is almost 
completely a product of the revolution. Its great object is that of 
promoting political education among adults; but since the promotion 
of political education is practically impossible in an illiterate popula- 
tion, and since the present regime inherited from the Empire an evil 
legacy of illiteracy, the first charge upon this division of the system 
is the teaching of reading and writing. The attack on this problem 
has been undertaken on a large scale and through the instrumentality 
of many new institutions created for the purpose. Hand in hand with 
the war on illiteracy has gone the program of political education 
which has sought to alter the political ideas and philosophies of the 


entire adult population. 


The inclusion of the division of political education within the 
formal scheme of education constitutes one of the most interesting 
features of the new program in Russia. In the effort on the part 
of the government to control and utilize the various social agencies 
which have educational possibilities nothing has been overlooked, 
nothing has been left to chance. In its endeavor to reach the popula- 
tion all available channels have been used. The long list of institu- 
tions thus brought under the supervision of the Commissariat of 
Education reveals the thoroughness with which the job has been 
done. There are the museums, libraries, cottage reading rooms, 
people’s homes, clubs, correspondence courses, and the numerous 
schools for adults of a more formal type. And to this list which is 
taken from the chart might be added many other institutions, some 
of which, such as the theatre, the cinema and the red army, are as 
important as those included. In its scope the conception of edu- 
cation which prevails in Russia exceeds that found in any other 
great country. For this condition the development of the division of 


political education is largely responsible. 











10 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


The Admimstratwe Organization—For the administration of 
this vast network of educational institutions a correspondingly com- 
prehensive administrative organization has been set up. In harmony 
with the principles of republic autonomy in the field of education the 
Union as a whole possesses no organization for the administration of 
education. In this respect the Soviet Union is following a policy 
not unlike that pursued by the United States. In our country the 
administration of education is left, for the most part, to the several 
states. This apparent similarity, however, should not blind us to 
the fact that whereas the United States, with a population of 120,- 
000,000, is divided into forty-eight states and the District of Colum- 
bia, the U. S. S. R., with a population of 145,000,000 embraces but 
six republics and one of them, the R. S. F. S. R., contains approx- 
imately seventy per cent of the total population of the Union. 

Within the R. S. F. S. R. the administrative organization assumes 
an elaborate form. At its center is the People’s Commissariat of 
Education with offices in Moscow. Radiating from this center are 
numerous lines of influence which reach into the provinces, the dis- 
tricts, the volosts, and finally the peasant villages. On the whole, 
the system may be regarded as a highly centralized one. However, 
each of these local political units, except the village, maintains some 
organic connection with the institutions of public education and in 
an informal way even the village may play a part in the management 
of the primary schools. For the most part policies and programs are 
formulated by the central authorities and the adaptation of these 
policies and programs to local conditions is the responsibility of the 
local officials. An examination of the Commissariat of Education 
will reveal the more significant features of the administrative organ- 
ization. 

The nucleus of the People’s Commissariat of Education, or 
Narkompros, the abbreviated form commonly employed in Russia, 
is the Collegium. This body, which is a sort of educational cabinet, 
is composed of eight members. Presiding over the Collegium, and 
the official head of public education in the R. S. F. S. R., is the 
People’s Commissar of Education. The members of the Collegium 
derive their powers directly from the government and are responsible 
to the government. The People’s Commissar is appointed by the 
Central Executive Committee and the other seven members by the 
Soviet of People’s Commissars. Although a member may hold some 











Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 11 


other position in the Commissariat of Education at the time he is 
serving in the Collegium, no member serves ex officio. The function 
of the Collegium is that of any central agency in an administrative 
organization. It deals with the larger problems, formulates the more 
general policies, and codrdinates the work of the various depart- 
ments and bureaus. Its conclusions, however, are not final. The 
court of last resort in such matters, to which all decisions must be 
submitted for approval, is the Soviet of People’s Commissars. The 
latter may refuse to confirm the action of the Collegium, but in 
actual practice confirmation is the normal procedure. 


Below the Collegium the Commissariat of Education is organized 
into eight great departments. For the most part these departments 
are coordinate in authority and function, although their importance 
must vary with the importance of the work performed. In their 
organization they usually follow the pattern of Narkompros, In 
general charge of a department is a collegium with a president at its 
head appointed by the Soviet of People’s Commissars and with a 
number of other members appointed by the Collegium of Narkompros. 
In addition to these eight departments the Commissariat of Education 
embraces another institution or agency of great significance—the 
State Publishing House. A brief description of the function of each 
of the departments will reveal the breadth of the educational pro- 


gram in Russia. 


1. The Department of Literature and Publishing.—tThis depart- 
ment discharges a broadly social as well as a crucial educational 
responsibility. Its function is to plan, control and censor all pub- 
lishing within the Republic. Its influence therefore is felt not only 
in the schools but in every walk of life. No field of interest escapes 
its supervision. In every realm it passes judgment on both the 
number and content of publications. But its authority does not stop 
here. It is made responsible for the character of theatrical produc- 
tions and is empowered to censor both the cinema and the legitimate 
stage. As one contemplates such a concentration of power in the 
hands of a single agency, one can only hope that those to: whom the 
power is given will have sufficient wisdom to use it aright. 


2. The Council for the Education of National Minorities —The 
Russian Republic is a land of diverse races and cultures. This fact 
greatly complicates the task of formal education and makes neces- 








12 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


sary extensive modifications and adaptations of general policies and 
programs to the needs and conditions of numerous national minori- 
ties. No single formulation of procedure could possibly meet such 
dissimilar situations as the cultural diversity creates. To make the 
necessary adjustments and concessions is the task of this department 
of the Commissariat of Education. And to insure a sympathetic 
attitude on the side of the department toward the task, its personnel 
is made to represent these minorities. The Collegium of the Council 
to-day is composed altogether of persons chosen by the minorities. 


3. The Department of Science, Art, and Museum Institutions. 
The functions of this department are rather clearly indicated by its 
title. An examination of the present system of education in Russia 
showed it to include a great number of scientific institutions, art 
galleries, and museums. Through this department the administration 
of all of these institutions is brought under the jurisdiction of the 
Commissariat of Education and their activities are codrdinated with 
the work of other educational agencies. This department also has 
control over the exportation of objects of art to foreign countries. 


4. Department of Organisation and Administration.—In its or- 
ganization this department is somewhat different from the other 
departments. It possesses no collegium but the codrdinating and 
integrating functions are discharged by a central staff consisting of 
a president, an assistant, and two inspectors. The major responsibility 
of the department is that of perfecting the administrative organ- 
ization of the system of public education. Subsidiary functions per- 
formed include the gathering of statistics and information regarding 
education, the calculation of the social need in the Republic for 
workers requiring different types of special training, and the financ- 
ing of all educational institutions supported out of the state budget. 


5. The State Council of Education—This department is perhaps 
the most important of the eight departments of Narkompros. It 
carries the heavy responsibility of working into a single unified pro- 
gram the diverse plans and suggestions emanating from the other 
departments. It is a sort of educational clearing house for ideas and 
programs. It is also responsible for the appointment of all pro- 
fessors and instructors in the higher institutions. For the per- 
formance of these important functions it has an organization much 

















Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 13 


like that of the other departments except that it is a bit more com- 
plicated and possesses a somewhat larger staff. 


6. The Department of Social Education—The major function 
of this department, as the title suggests, is the development and 
supervision of the institutions of social education. It shapes pro- 
grams, develops textbooks, and formulates methods of instruction 
for these institutions. Under its general supervision fall the pre- 
school institutions, the schools of first grade, and the schools of 
second grade, as well as various other forms of educational enterprise 
which are commonly associated with these institutions. The latter 
would include Pioneer exercises, local programs, and certain outside 
activities of a cultural nature. 


7. The Department of Professional EducationUnder the juris- 
diction of this department are placed all forms of vocational, pro- 
fessional, and higher education except those types which are classified 
under adult education. It is immediately responsible for the curricula 
and the methods employed in workers’ schools, technicums, workers 
faculties, polytechnics, and universities. 


8. The Department of Political Education.—This department has 
general charge of the division of political or adult education. It bears 
the major responsibility for the liquidation of illiteracy and for the 
political education of workers. It organizes correspondence courses 
and prepares bibliographies ; it supervises libraries and cottage read- 
ing rooms; it is responsible for the organization of young people’s 
clubs, it establishes points for the liquidation of illiteracy and out- 
lines courses for self-education; and it develops curricula and meth- 
ods for the schools for political literacy. This department is the 
most powerful arm of the government in its efforts to reach the 
adult population in city and village. ° 


The foregoing analysis of the People’s Commissariat of Educa- 
tion invites one general comment—a comment which was also sug- 
gested by an examination of the system of education. Perhaps the 
most striking feature of the Soviet educational program is its breadth 
and comprehensiveness. Many interests and institutions which in 
other countries customarily fall outside the field of educational ad- 
ministration have been brought within the province of the Com- 
missariat of Education. Of particular interest in this connection are 








14 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


the Department of Literature and Publishing, the Council for the 
Education of National Minorities, the Department of Science, Art 
and Museum Institutions, and the Department of Political Education. 
Practically all the educational agencies of society, except the home 
and the church, have been codrdinated and made to work toward the 
same end. Moreover, no age or social group is overlooked; all are 
embraced in this gigantic program for remoulding the very character 
of a people. 

What the future will bring in the development of educational 
institutions in Soviet Russia is in the lap of the gods. He would be 
a rash man indeed who to-day would mark out the lines of change 
which will unfold themselves there in the coming years. So vast 
and varied is the geography, so complex is the cultural pattern, so 
fluid is the social life, so unknown is the Russian nature, and so 
many are the variables in the situation that the most astute observer 
must refrain from prophecy. Whatever may be said therefore re- 
garding the future of education in the Soviet Union must be highly 
conditional. During the ten years since the Revolution much has 
been achieved. To-day the educational system seems to be develop- 
ing rapidly and comprehensive plans for further growth have been 
formulated. However, it must be confessed that the program which 
the present government has outlined is far from fulfilment, that the 
material basis of education is very inadequate, and that large develop- 
ments must wait upon the successful organization of the economic 
life. Yet, if the Russian people are successful in the solution of their 
economic problems, if the support of education is provided on a — 
scale as generous as the program adopted, if the country is blessed 
with peace for half a generation, and if the present government 
remains in power, the current educational experiment should prove 
to be one of the greatest educational experiments of history. 











Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 15 


The Problems of Education in India were presented by Rajarem 
V. Gogate of Indore City, India. 


PROBLEMS OF EDUCATION IN INDIA 
ProFEssoR RAJAREM V. GOGATE 


CHAIRMAN OF EDUCATION COMMITTEE OF THE HINDUSTHAN 
ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA 


I consider it a happy privilege indeed to be asked to speak on 
behalf of my motherland, India. I also wish to express my gratitude 
to those who have shown this breadth of vision and sympathy of inter- 
est in inviting India to participate in this opening session of the na- 
tional convention of the Principals of American Secondary Schools. 


India is a country which occupies a space of about two million 
square miles with a population comprising one-fifth of the human 
race. India held a venerable position among the countries that laid 
the foundation of human civilization in the early days of recorded 
history, and she had made amazing progress in industry, commerce, 
science, politics, art, and philosophy. An unbiased evaluation of the 
culture and history of India will yield a record worthy of any people. 


One-sided Picture —Unfortunately, however, due to certain un- 
restrained, self-seeking, arrogantly self-righteous forces that have 
been let loose since the industrial advancement of Western peoples 
and that have been running amuck, particularly since the institution 
of nation worship, and flag symbolism among the Occidentals, many 
uncritical, unreliable and totally unsympathetic studies have been 
made public. According to these studies India is described as a land 
of teeming population of diverse castes and creeds, a country of con- 
tending religions and races where life is still uncertain because of the 
freedom enjoyed by the snakes and tigers, and where the elephants 
roam at large. Add to these other beliefs that the entire people of 
India are given to a sort of religious pessimism, that fantastic doc- 
trines of life sway the passions of men, that ignorance and supersti- 
tion are the order of the day, that every Hindu is a hand-reader, 
and that the dear mothers of India cheerfully throw their babies into 
the Ganges so that the “holy” crocodiles may not miss their usual 


breakfast. 








16 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


Mischief of Vested Interests—Those who either had little or no 
interest in the peoples of India beyond proselytizing them and those 
who looked upon the Orient as a free gaming ground for the eco- 
nomic gamblers of the West through their talks and writings prided 
themselves in their triumphs in exploiting these peace loving peoples of 
the Orient. Records of Western missions will reveal that, until very 
recently, their chief criterion for judging the work done by them 
among the Asiatic peoples was in terms of numerical conversions of 
the natives to any one of the 57 varieties of the Christian faith. 


Christianity under the growing impact of industrialization of the 
Western nations was becoming a worn out fabric of creeds, dogmas 
and rituals unable to clothe the ever increasing spiritual nakedness 
of its professed followers. Its attention, therefore, was naturally 
diverted from home to distant lands from where its missionaries could 
bring such tales of woe, misery, and ignorance, and thus cause 
the spiritually gullible men and women of their respective lands to 
open their purses wide to save the souls of the so-called “heathen.” 


Due to such abnormal approaches to the study of distant countries 
a serious damage has been done to the minds of the Western peoples, 
and of late both the Occidentals and Orientals are realizing the gravity 
of the situation which, if not carefully attended to, is calculated to 
lead to the building of unwholesome, indecent, and inhuman attitudes 
toward the life, ideals, and aspirations of one another. This, of 
course, will be mutually disastrous. 


India is not what the Western Indologists, save a few, would have 
you imagine. As a son of India who has had years of contact with 
the West and who is keenly awake to the true greatness of Occidental 
civilization, and who owes a debt of gratitude to the institutions of 
higher learning of this great republic for his higher training and educa- 
tion I wish to present to you, this afternoon, the case of modern 
India, with special reference to her educational problems. 


New Era in Education of India.—We stand to-day, in my opinion, 
at the threshold of a new era in the history of Indian education. The 
British system of education has had its hey-day, but to-day it stands 
condemned on all sides because of the results it has produced, and 
particularly because of the changed outlook on life on the part of 


Young India. 








Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 17 


For some seventy years Britain has ruled India’s educational 
destiny, and as at home she naturally was able to give India a type 
of education that is neither practical nor efficient. British education in 
India may be characterized, without fear of contradiction, as “a system 
of education offering training in the so-called liberal arts and sciences 
for the benefit of the ‘classes’ of the Indian population.” All the 
courses in the curricula were theoretical whether pertaining to the arts 
or sciences. The medium of instruction was English which success- 
fully contributed to retard more than to accelerate the advancement of 
education among the people of India. Those who were blessed with 
a rich inheritance of mind and money were able to survive through the 
educational nurseries of India, going beyond the secondary school 
and on through the colleges-and universities. These nurseries, how- 
ever, have been mostly replete with records of shocking educational 
mortality from the very early stages of the primary grades and espe- 
cially at the matriculation examinations which come at the end of 
the secondary-school program. Of course the apologists of British 
education have not been slow in offering excuses and inventing reasons 
for the high educational mortality by referring to India’s social and 
economic problems. We Indians, however, and those few Americans 
who have of late returned from India, after having made a truthful 
study of the real difficulties in the way of education in India, feel 
that there are three chief factors which are responsible for the slack- 
ness and retardation of education in India. 


Causes of Educational Retardation.—I. First, the medium of in- 
struction being a foreign tongue, it creates all those difficulties and at- 
titudes of indifference which your own boys and girls would not 
endure if they were made to study through German or Japanese while 
their own language at home and in their community remained English. 


II. Secondly, Indian education as exported: from England is merely 
cultural in its old-fashioned sense. It does not train character as you 
Americans say. It does not prepare for the battle of life. It fails to 
awaken potentialities of the child which will make him creative in 
his own way. Above all it is non-vocational, and as such useless for 
the many who in all countries, and especially in a country of India’s 
magnitude, must work and produce in order to make a decent living. 


III. Thirdly, it is not free and compulsory even in its primary 
stages. I know of no nation that has made education to serve as an in- 








18 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


strument for evolving and sustaining democratic ways of living where 
primary education is not compulsory. India cannot be an exception. 
Eighty-two per cent of India’s population lives in villages and depends 
on one or another phase of agricultural activity for its sustenance. A 
farmer in India is not anxious to send his child to school to get in- 
struction in the three R’s and to forego the economic returns of his 
services at home and on the farm any more than is an American farm- 
er in California. You know what difficulties attendance officers in the 
rural districts of the United States face in keeping the children in the 
schools. In spite of the compulsory education laws all through the 
United States this country has still far to go to be free from illiteracy. 
Had it not been for the vocational, part-time and continuation schools 
provided for the children of the masses of this republic, you would 
face the same situation as most European countries do, and that situa- 
tion is highly accentuated in India by the fact that India is not yet 


industrialized. 

Problems of Education in India.—l. So the first and foremost of 
our educational problems in India is that of organizing mass education 
as distinguished from class education of to-day. This education 
for the masses must provide for the minimum essentials of learning 
which, in my opinion, should consist of the three R’s plus training in 
some vocation which will fit the child to engage in a profitable and 
productive pursuit. Rural reconstruction is our pressing need. Be- 
sides giving our prospective farmers and farm laborers the essential 
minimum, as mentioned above, it is necessary that technological and 
vocational schools must be brought into existence to teach scientific 
methods of improving agriculture and its attendant industries. 
These technical schools will prepare workers who can lead and initiate 
movements for improving means of public utilities. Material comfort 
and convenience is badly wanting, and its possession will aid greatly to 
better the outlook on life on the part of our potential citizens. 


Industrialization— Whether one likes it or not the impact of West- 
ern industrialization is being seriously felt on our life in India. Bom- 
bay and Calcutta are no longer representative of the Orient but they 
present all those numerous problems that modern capitalistic in- 
dustries create. Our farmers do not possess any special gift of far- 
sightedness, not possessed by the farmers of the West. They are 


easily attracted to the centers of industry because of the immediate 
rise in their monetary earning capacities. 


They fail to see the in- 

















Proceedings of the Boston Meeting ; 19 


evitable price they and their children must pay, in the course of time, 
in point of health, dissipation, and drink. When a man works on 
the farm, he sings and practises human hospitality toward all, but 
when he gets under the influence of exploitative factory life, he spits 
and swears. His love for the family plays out, and he is gradually on 
the path of becoming a soulless machine. This does not mean that 
we in India object to developing industries and thus to improve our 
productivity. Our natural resources are enormous, and though 
greatly exploited by the Western capitalists for over a century, every- 
one who knows India will concede that she still holds enormous subsoil 
resources which are as yet untapped. Scientific methods, moreover, 
will help to increase the production of our raw materials, and if a 
system of cottage industries is built up, it will save our population 
from the evils of highly centralized and mechanized factory system as 
at present in vogue, and at the same time improve the economic and 
consequently the social life of our masses. 


Hence the importance of rural reconstruction and of facing the 
‘ problems of rural economy by providing that type of educational 
facilities which can solve the problems without calling for unavailable 
monetary aid and other facilities. 


Whose Responsibility?—Since India is a country of villages and 
the uttermost poverty of her masses does not enable them to finance 
the education of their children, the task will have to be shouldered by 
the Government of India. Instead of providing small one room 
schools for every village, in most cases the plan of consolidated schools 
as operated in the rural regions of the United States would seem 
highly advisable. This plan will enable the provision for fewer 
schools with better equipment and properly trained teachers. Indian 
children can walk the same distance to their schools that American 
boys and girls in rural districts do, and it will not be difficult under 
capable and loyal management to establish transportation facilities 
according to the nature of the place in question. 


Eight to ten years of educational career including the primary and 
vocational schooling should quite suffice for the present to revolution- 
ize the outlook as well as the understanding of the immediate prospects 
of a village boy or girl. 


The program of rural reconstruction, of course, will call for the 
introduction of modern methods of organizing economic and social 








20 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


life in villages such as the system of codperative societies, community 
hygiene, fostering of associated industries, such as poultry, farming, 
dairies, horticultural improvements, etc. 

A solution to this problem of mass education presupposes the 
presence of leaders who will be able to initiate and conduct the 
various agencies that are necessary for bringing about rural recon- 
struction. These rural leaders will have to come from the institutions 
at present financed and run for the children of the upper and middle 
class city population. Unless the education given to these sons and 
daughters of city dwellers is reformed and redirected, it is hopeless 
to expect the products of our present schools and colleges efficiently to 
shoulder the responsibilities of improving the lot of their rural 
brethren. 

Reform of Present “Class Education.”—II. Hence the second 
problem that calls our attention is in regard to the reformation of 
the education that is being given to-day in our schools and colleges. 
Instead of turning out clerks for government jobs or those who cannot 
do anything with their acquired knowledge except teach it to others, — 
we must face the problem differently. Education should be so or- 
ganized that it will be a paying concern to those who receive it. It 
should, as you Americans put it, prepare a product that will not be 
difficult to sell. I do not suggest that our present education should 
be completely thrown overboard. We must teach subjects that are 
conducive to the preparation of scholars, scientists, politicians, and 
so on, but our educational institutions, particularly our middle schools 
and high schools, must not be allowed to cater so much to the require- 
ments of our colleges and universities. Courses in practical arts, 
general science, industrial chemistry, food chemistry, designing, need 
to be introduced to shift students’ interests in wider field of choice 
than is possible at present. The curriculum instead of being ridden 
by the needs of the higher institutions should be worked out in 
terms of the needs of the society that we wish to create and in which 
the child is to grow and to serve. If India’s masses are to be lifted 
up from their present condition of illiteracy and poverty, her classes 
must, in the general interest of the nation as a whole, give up some 
of the false values of rank and prospects and agree to train their 
children for work in rural leadership. 

If a ten year experiment is made to turn out from our high schools 
boys and girls trained in studies that will enable them to work for the 























Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 21 


mass education movement, it will, besides doing good to the rural 
population, help to emancipate the city children from the clutches of 
narrow, circumscribed, interests and avenues of activity that have be- 
come more or less traditional to-day. When such'a movement is 
well under way our masses will become intelligent enough to under- 
stand our national aspirations and to appreciate the sacrifices of our 
leaders for the cause of India’s political, economic, and social regen- 
eration. It is the middle class and the intelligentsia in every country 
that is responsible for the general staggering apathy of the masses 
toward national ideals of prosperity and progress. 


III. Our third important problem is that of medical education. 
Our colleges and universities should become transformed into in- 
stitutions for the training of mid-wives, pharmacists, and doctors. 
India will hold her own much better when she will have more bach- 
elors of medicine and fewer bachelors of arts and science. I 
include in my criticism of the degree holders even the students 
of science because they are no better able to “do” things in their 
lines than are the students of arts. Our higher education is 
“all theory.” A few of our great universities have gone to an- 
other extreme; they have instituted highly specialized practical 
courses which result in the production of the research laboratory type 
of scholarship. These high grade research scholars may discover 
things and thus earn a reputation in the world of science, bringing a 
proud feeling of self-approbation to our land; but their discoveries 
and researches are calculated to be helpful only to the Occidental 
scientists and will be of little avail to India until Indian conditions in 
general are so improved as to make these discoveries applicable to the 
problems of our people: Individuals and private institutions may 
indulge in these high grade researches, but we cannot complacently 
view our state-supported universities spending our national funds on 
such endeavors when these are more urgently needed for other 
pressing and more important “national projects” of education. 


Here again the government must take the lead. Until the Indian 
Government becomes truly democratic and India has lived.a steady 
existence for a few decades at least, as a democracy, it passes one’s 
imagination to understand the logic of the ruling power in expecting 
“local-initiative” on the part of the public. You had and you still 
have to force education upon your citizens by law and until your 
commercial and industrial organizations came forward, your states 








22 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


had given freely for the practical education of your potential citizens. 
Your states, even to this day, when as a democracy you have lived 
over a century, spend enormous sums of money to encourage voca- 
tional education and your federal government has been largely re- 
sponsible for keeping up this policy on the part of your states. All 
this I say because one often hears apologists of the government of 
India accusing the public of that country of lack of initiative, and 
argue that by this policy of the government, viz., “wait till they wake 
up and demand,” India will be benefited. This to me is sheer sophistry 
and wrong reading of the history of education. 


Need of Social Hygiene.—India has made an enormous advance 
in regard to what is called “personal hygiene” but she has utterly 
neglected the problem of social hygiene. The first kind of hygiene, 
viz., personal hygiene, however, has been in vogue in the upper castes 
of the Hindu society. Now that national consciousness has been 
awakened and all solutions are to be worked out from the national 
standpoint, greater attention will have to be paid to the study of the 
numerous problems of social hygiene. In order that the future of 
our national stock be ensured a general provision for a good system 
of health correction for our people will be necessary. 


Preservation of Indigenous Culture-—IV. Our fourth problem 
is concerned with the preservation of the indigenous arts, literature, 
and philosophy. In short our Indian culture which is a combined 
product of the Hindu and the Moslem contributions, is in danger 
of being degenerated due to the unwholesome competition of the 
European culture which has been imposed upon our children in 
schools and colleges for the past hundred years. No people can afford 
to lose the good things in their social and national heritage. 


1. Arts—Long before Europeans emerged out of barbarism and 
learned to clothe their physical nakedness we in the Orient had 
developed arts and crafts to a very high level. The silk of China 
and the muslin of India were the marvels in the history of textile 
products. Without the use of machinery Indian artists had devel- 
oped the art of manufacturing all kinds of cotton, silk and wool 
goods, metal works, ivory products, sculpture, and architecture. Our 
Kashmir shawls, hammered brass, silver, and gold, engraved products, 
our beautiful temples with their images and mosques and mausoleums 
like the famous Tajmahal are to this day unsurpassed by any western 





Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 23 


creatian. These and numerous other arts of India have been carried 
on from father to son in the different vocational castes of that coun- 
try but owing to severe competition of the machine made goods and 
the general poverty of the people of India, these indigenous arts and 
industries are in a very precarious state. The famous arts of India 
will die out if not attended to and it will be a great loss to the world. 

The arts ar: at present in the hands of poor, ignorant artisans 
whose ranks are becoming thinner and thinner every day. Our schools 
therefore must take up these arts and preserve them by making them 
a part of the program for vocational and industrial education. This 
particular field has great potentialities for international commerce 
because under normal and carefully managed trade relations India’s 
art goods and curios can successfully compete in the western markets 
and help to improve the artistic tastes and appreciations of the Ot- 
cidental peoples. 

2. Indian Literature—Indian literature demands its rightful 
place in the curriculum of our schools and colleges. India has 
never ceased to produce, especially in the field of literature in spite 
of lack of state recognition or support. Dr. Tagore is one of many 
Indian creative writers and poets. He translated his works into 
English and even what he gave to the West in translation proved 
worthy of admiration and respect. He was consequently made 
a Nobel-prize man for literature. Of late our universities are in- 
troducing the literary contributions of our writers in the various 
languages of India for the study of our advanced students. This 
needs to be done on a larger scale and our high school and primary 
school pupils should be given to read and study books written by 
Indian writers. There will not be a lack of appropriate material for use 
in the lower grades of our schools if sufficient encouragement 
is forthcoming. Of course such a policy will prove a bit detrimental 
to the trade of western publishers and writers whose books are at 
present used in the most of our schools and colleges. 


3. Indian Philosophy—The most astounding and almost incredi- 
ble fact concerning higher education in India is that India’s own 
philosophy is not taught even up to the B.A. degree. Universities like 
Oxford and Cambridge, or those of Germany such as Leipzig, Heidel- 
berg, etc., and even your beloved Harvard consider Indian philosophy 
rich enough for a Ph.D. candidate and permit doctorate dissertations 
on the profound speculations in the Upanishads. Our Indian scholars, 








24 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


those who have attained scholarship through British colleges and 
universities have to go out of India to England, United States, or 
Germany to further their critical studies in Indology because there 
is no provision, whatsoever, in Indian universities for such 
studies. You may judge for yourself what it means for an Indian 
boy to study Sanskrit language and literature, the heritage that his 
forefathers have left him, through the medium of English. I have 
studied Sanskrit but I cannot give one rule in grammar of that lan- 
guage except in English. All the beautiful and profound writings 
of our master poets like Kalidis, Bhavabhuti, are taught us through 
English. Nothing more ridiculous and more vicious could be found 
in the educational system of any country. As I have already made 
clear I am not very enthusiastic over the studies in liberal arts at the 
present juncture in our program for nation building. I prefer the 
introduction of scientific education instead, in practical arts, vocations, 
and professions. But I cannot see how one could resist protesting 
while discussing the place of the so-called cultural studies in the curri- 
culum of our schools and colleges if he sees such glaring fallacies and 
uneducational practices undoubtedly aimed at throwing into neglect 
and thus destroying the heritage of a civilized people. Indian litera- 
ture, philosophy, and languages should be given their rightful 
place side by side with the contributions of Europe in those fields and 
not treated with criminal neglect as hitherto. 


V. Our fifth problem is that of the medium of instruction in In- 
dian schools. At present the instruction for the first four years of the 
primary education is carried on through the mother tongue of the 
child. Then in the middle schools or anglo-vernacular schools as 
they are often called, the study of English is introduced and it is 
compulsory although the rest of the studies are more or less carried 
on through the medium of the vernacular. This period lasts from 
two to three years. By this time a student comes to acquire, though 
not without a good deal of heartache and other troubles, due to the 
most “scientific” nature of the English language with which all of 
you are more or less familiar, a good working knowledge of English. 
Thereafter, for the coming six years of high school all his studies 
are carried on through the medium of English. As said elsewhere 
a student studies his lessons even in Sanskrit or Arabic or Persian 
through books which give grammatical rules and exercises for com- 
position work in English. 








Proceedings of the Boston Meeting — 25 


I must admit, however, in fairness to the study of English which 
is carried on with typical English strictness, and as such which does 
lead, in the case of those who successfully go through our colleges 
and universities to an admirable mastery of the King’s English. 
Knowledge of English on the part of most of our educated men and 
women has also helped substantially in the development of inter- 
provincial exchange of ideas and the building up of a national con- 
sciousness. Our Indian National Congress, for instance, which is 
our chief representative organization in politics has since its very 
inception carried on its activities and annual convention work for the 
past 42 years through the medium of English. As every province in 
India is like every nation in Europe, we have so many different lan- 
guages, and as we are forced by the logic of our political predicament 
to give up the idea of living as the little European countries do, each 
separate by itself, we must make the best of our adventitious need and 
accept a federated nationhood a. our ideal. The English language no 
doubt has helped much in the understanding and realization of this 
ideal on the part of our educated men and women. 


However, India cannot continue with English as the lingua franca 
of India for all time, as she cannot do what is expected of the South 
African or Philippino peoples by their English speaking masters, 
because in contrast with the above mentioned peoples, India has in her 
provincial languages a rich and remarkable literature, and most 
of these provincial languages have attained a high degree of devel- 
opment the same as the European languages. As such it is difficult 
and certainly not probable that India would ever think of giving up 
her languages and agree to become an English speaking land. 

There is, moreover, no such need either, when one sees the situa- 
tion more sympathetically and with deeper appreciation of the claims 
of the Indian languages. ‘ 

Tri-Lingual Plan—Most nationalists and nationally minded 
educators of India seem to agree that a tri-lingual plan will suit our 
needs and prove satisfactory both from the provincial, national and 
international points of view. This tri-lingual plan is as follows: 

1. All primary instruction should be given through the mother 
tongue of the child for the first two years of his school work. 

2. Then the study of Hindiisthanee should be introduced as a com- 
pulsory second language. This bi-lingual plan should continue until 








26 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


the end of the middle school period, i.e., for four or five years. As in 
other countries a large majority of our students will discontinue 
their school attendance around this stage in their education, and by 
this plan will have not only acquired the knowledge of the elementary 
subjects, but also a working knowledge of Hindusthanee which even 
to-day is and we wish to make it more universally so, the Lingua- 
Indica. The large majority of Indians speak Hindusthanee in one 
form or another. It is the commercial language of the people. It is 
also the street language in the majority of the provinces. This in- 
sistence upon making Hindusthanee more universally known than it is 
at present, is due to the sad realization of the fact, that in spite of the 
compulsory study of English for over 75 years, the gulf between the 
linguistic intercourse among the masses of people has'remained shock- 
ingly wide. It is not enough to have only the educated classes under- 
stand one another. A real sense of unity and fraternity cannot be 
invoked until our masses can communicate one with another. 


3. It is not proposed that the study of English should be neglected. 
It should be made optional in the middle school curriculum and should 
be strongly recommended for those who intend going to the high 
school. This policy will save the boys and girls who are not likely 
to continue after completing their elementary grades, from wasting 
time on getting a smattering knowledge of English which is naturally 
and inevitably lost, within a year or so. At the same time it will give 
them a working knowledge of Hindusthanee which they, in most 
cases, will need in their inter-provincial intercourse and which they 
will not have to pick up on the side as it is done to-day. 


English should be the compulsory second language all through 
our secondary education. I am one of those Indians who are not 
opposed to English on any sentimental grounds. We must and do 
recognize the cultural as well as commercial value of the English 
language. India, and for that matter any other country, cannot afford 
to lose the advantages that must accrue from the study of a language 
so rich in literature and so full of up-to-date information on science, 
art, and philosophy. Moreover our present relationship, even though 
it is only political in nature, with the British people, is sure to develop 
into other channels. With the gradual but unmistakable change in 
India’s political and economic fortunes that is quite obvious to those 
who can see, my people will be drawn commercially and industrially, 
into the wide markets of the world and since the emergence of the 

















Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 27 


United States as the greatest financial power on earth, the English 
language is already coming to be recognized as the universal lingo 
in the business world. 


In fact, in making English a compulsory second language in the 
curriculum of India, we have in mind the intention of perpetuating 
our relations with the western nations, but as in Japan and Turkey, 
by this policy we hope to succeed, on the one hand, in building up a 
universal language for India out of one of India’s own largely spoken 
dialects, and on the other hand to open doors for the study of foreign 
languages, particularly those of- European origin. English will be 
our first preference, but according to the needs of a student, he may 
be encouraged to study German or French as well if those languages 
are better fitted for the field of his special interest. In short, in due 
time, and it may take a few generations possibly, one European 
foreign language, according to this plan, will be required as a com- 
pulsory second language of all Indians going in for higher education. 
This appears to me a natural as well as a progressive solution to the 
most knotty and confounding problem of the medium instruction. 


VI. Our sixth and the last one of the most important problems 
in reorganisation and modernization of India’s education that I pro- 
pose to discuss with you concerns the need of civic education. 


A great deal has been said and written on the question of civic 
education in this country. Its place and significance in the training 
of the young is well known to you. It is the very life of that partic- 
ular aim which all coherent and comprehensive plans of education set 
before themselves to accomplish, viz., turning out efficient citizens of 
the nation. Education may be and is defined in various ways, but 
to me its greatest significance lies in the fact that it is an instrument 
for building community life that is ever: widening and deepening hu- 
man understanding, wordly relations and spiritual values of life. So 
conceived then, it behooves us in India, as elsewhere, to introduce 
civic education both in our primary and secondary schools. It is 
painfully absent to-day from our curriculum. The situation and the 
mischief wrought by it must be remedied without delay. No govern- 
ment or public leaders can be trusted in their professions and promises 
with regard to their efforts to build a nationhood for India in the 
modern sense of that term, unless and until their plans and schemes 
for education provide for the training in citizenship. 











28 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, kindly permit me to bring 
to your attention more specifically and emphatically some of the 
dangers and difficulties that beset us in our present efforts for cultivat- 
ing in our people a better understanding of modern civilization. 


In our efforts to solve our problems we are like any other people, 
beset with numerous difficulties, the financial difficulty being of the 
first magnitude. India, moreover, since the close of the World War 
has attained a peculiar status in the world of politics. She was 
admitted to the membership of the League of Nations as an equal 
partner in the British Empire. This position has, as yet, brought 
us little practical advantage as a people, although our financial re- 
sponsibilities have been increased. India pays for the upkeep of the 
League of Nations more than Japan does. It is fair, however, to 
say that in spite of all political and financial handicaps, the reformed 
constitution of India has put the portfolio of education in the hands 
of the Indians, and to-day although without any real control over the 
budget, Indian ministers are in charge of India’s education. This is 
of great significance, especially in view of our political dependence 
upon England. But of late a new and highly sinister form of propa- 
ganda has been set afoot to make out that Indians are unfit for po- 
litical freedom. 

In 1929, if all goes well, India is supposed to get the dominion 
status like that of Australia in the British Commonwealth of Nations. 
Hence those opposed to India’s political emancipation have already 
started to fabricate all sorts of myths, the same as was done during 
1916-17 to villify Germany. These propagandists hope to make you, 
in the Occident, believe that we in India are uncivilized, that our 
social life is barbarous, that we are nothing better than the savages 
in Africa or in the South Sea Islands. 


India’s physical life needs to be attended to as much as the phys- 
ical life of the peoples elsewhere. Her infant mortality, her back- 
wardness in community hygiene, recurrence of epidemics that carry 
away a toll of lives that is shocking, are all problems that cannot be 
explained away. Western tourists have often done us great harm 
by their injudicious study of these problems and particularly by their 
criminal interpretations of the causes of these problems. What is 
necessary is human and scientific understanding, for that alone will 
move one to give a helping hand or encourage the Indians to seek 
advice and accept help from all who can give it. Attempts of the 








Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 29 


foreigners to abuse our courtesy and hospitality by turning the studies 
of our social conditions into novels of morbid attraction and vicious 
propaganda, in order to spread inhuman and untrue scandals to de- 
feat our efforts for national development and international service 
will foster ill-will, and an attitude of retaliation will be generated in 
the minds‘of our young men and women who have seen and known 
the West at closer range. Will not this inevitably result in the spread- 
ing of hatred and contempt between peoples and peoples ? 

Dangers of Propaganda.—No Indian will deny that our social 
institutions need reforming in terms of modern life, but when our 
statements describing our social evils become mutilated and criminally 
falsified in the hands of a foreigner, then no matter whether the 
writer be a lady or an American, or even a direct descendant of those 
who came on the Mayflower, it will be difficult for us, as human 
beings, to pass her on unheeded. Miss Mayo is the American woman 
I have particularly in mind at this juncture. She is an American 
citizen and claims direct lineage from one of the Mayfower emigrants. 
She has abused the courtesy and hospitality of. our people and of the 
leaders in India’s public life, and has at present unfortunately busied 
herself is spreading the venom of her morbid gospel among the Ameri- 
can people. India is undefended, and in the face of the cheap, sen- 
sational journalism of this land, she must go undefended ; but I plead 
in the name of my motherland and appeal to your sense of honor 
as educators of this great republic to raise your voice and to let India 
and the Orient know before it becomes too late, that you are friends 
of all peoples who are struggling for freedom and progress, that you 
are our well-wishers, and that you are not willing to be represented 
by international scandalmongers of Miss Mayo’s type. You, as a 
people, are living in glass houses, most of humanity is doing so. 
Shall the American practical genius espouse the leadership of the 
world in launching a campaign to eradicate the evils from which man- 
kind is suffering, or will it wantonly indulge in mudslinging sport, 
setting a very deplorable and dangerous standard for the writing 
of travel literature and international social studies ? 

Missionaries have already realized the gravity of their misguided 
policy of the past. Their work is becoming more of service through 
education and medical help. 

India has become keenly aware, more than ever, of her matter of 
fact situation and she realizes that her communal differences must go, 








30 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


that her provincial consciousness must widen into a national view if 
she wishes to get her place in the sisterhood of nations. 


It is time that the Occidentals, whether of Europe or of America, 
whether Nordics, imperialists, or democrats come to understand 
that China and India are not South Africa or the South Sea Islands 
where they may send clothes and Bibles to cover the physical naked- 
ness or spiritual bankruptcy of the natives. We still produce enough 
in both fields under normal conditions to meet our wants, and even 
more, to offer to others elsewhere. It is no impudence when Indians 
warn the Americans to rise above their illiteracy and become educated 
by understanding human history critically and correctly. It is not out 
of rancor that India deplores the colossal superficiality and unthink- 
ing naive attitude of the American people concerning the culture and 
civilization of India. 

Our problems are not easy; we hope to solve them as fast and 
as best as we can. Give us a helping hand, your moral support at 
any rate. If not, at least do not impede our efforts by thoughtless 
criticisms or mischievous interpretations of our affairs. That will 
do you no good, but it may do us harm. 


I thank you for your kind attention and in the name of the an- 
cient people, whom it is my proud privilege to represent at this 
gathering, I bring you a message of good will and fellowship that 


brotherhood may prevail. 


Principal William E. Wing of Deering High School, Portland, 
Maine, made a brief report of the World Federation of Education 
Associations at Toronto, Canada in August, 1927. 


REPORT OF DELEGATES AT TORONTO MEETING OF 
WORLD’S FEDERATION OF EDUCATIONAL 
ASSOCIATIONS, AUGUST, 1927 
WitiiAmM E, WING, 

PRINCIPAL OF DEERING HiGuH SCHOOL, PoRTLAND, MAINE 


The fact that two million teachers are organizing for the purpose 
of eliminating intolerance and hatred among the nations of the world 
through the means of a better mutual understanding of each other, 
































Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 31 


and each other’s problems is in itself most impressive and carries an 
appeal to the patriotism of all peoples who enjoy peace rather than 
war. 

There was so much of interest at Toronto which really devel- 
oped from the work of certain standing committees which were ap- 
pointed at a previous meeting that it seemed desirable to give a brief 
history of the W. F. E. A. in order to understand the sequence of 
events, and especially to note what progress has been made by these 
standing committees. 

At the close of the World War, there was a universal desire to 
find some common ground upon which the nations could get together. 
The opinion was universal that some way must be found to drive out 
racial hatreds from the hearts of men and substitute the spirit of 
friendliness, good will, and justice. The nations could not come to- 
gether on political grounds, on economic grounds, or on religious 
grounds. Where, therefore, could there be found a common ground 
upon which the nations, regardless of the form of their religion, or 
their economic or political conditions, might’ get together ? 

The National Education Association of the United States believed 
that since education deals with truth, and that truth is universal, 
knowing no national boundaries ; since teaching is conscious guidance, 
and the schools must guide not only the individuals but groups of 
individuals which make up the communities, and nations, education, 
therefore, is the one great constructive force which should be utilized 
to advance the status of civilization. 

This organization instructed its Committee on Foreign Relations 
to prepare a program which should be a part of the general program 
of the N. E. A. convention, and which should emphasize the need 
of codperation and good will among the nations. 


After the committee began its work, it found an eagerness on the 
part of the educators of the world to get together, and many coun- 
tries suggested their willingness to send delegates to a world con- 
ference on education. The Association therefore directed its Foreign 
Relations committee to call such a conference, and to extend the hand 


of fellowship to all nations. 


The conference was called to meet in San Francisco in July 1923 
in connection with the N. E. A. It was attended by about 600 dele- 


gates from practically sixty countries. 








32 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


The outstanding achievement of the World Conference on Educa- 
tion held at San Francisco in 1923 was the formation of a permanent 
organization to be known as the World Federation of Educational 
Associations which should be placed upon a permanent basis with 
a suitable financial foundation; with a definite group of objectives, 
the work to be prosecuted vigorously to the end that education might 
render its share of service toward creating more tolerance among 
nations. 

SPECIAL OBJECTIVES 


1. To promote friendship, justice, and good will among the nations 
of the world. 

2. To bring about a world-wide tolerance of the rights and privi- 
leges of all nations, regardless of race or creed. 

3. To develop an appreciation of the value of inherited gifts of 
nations and races, 

4. To secure more satisfying information, and more adequate 
statement of facts for textbooks used in the schools of the different 
countries. 

5. To foster a national comradeship and confidence which will 
produce a more sympathetic appreciation among nations. 

6. To develop the consciousness of an international morality in the 
minds and hearts of the rising generation. 

7. Finally, throughout the world, in all schools, to emphasize the 
essential unity of mankind and the evils of war, and to develop a 
psychology of peace, based upon love of country, rather than upon 
hatred of other peoples and countries. 

After the San Francisco meeting, Mr. Raphael Herman of Wash- 
ington, D. C., a public spirited and patriotic citizen, became interested 
in the program proposed by the W. F. E. A. and placed $25,000 in the 
hands of the Federation as a prize for the best educational plan 
calculated to produce world peace. 

Plans were submitted in twenty-three different languages and 
from as many countries. The jury consisted of outstanding men 
and women in the professional and business world. The contest 
was world-wide and a year was devoted to the contest. Plans were 
limited to 5,000 words, and only such plans as could be undertaken 
by an education organization were considered. 



































Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 33 


The jury awarded the prize to Dr. David Starr Jordan, Chan- 
cellor-Emeritus of Leland Stanford: University. Dr. Jordan’s plan 
called for a series of fact finding committees to make definite studies, 
unprejudiced, open minded, and with only one aim, that of finding 
the truth. 


The Edinburgh meeting (1925) accepted the plan as proposed 
and authorized the appointment of the five committees. 


THE FIvE COMMITTEES 


1. The formation of a general world committee on education for 
peace to function with the several educational groups in the different 
nations and to cooperate with many already established organizations 
for peace in all parts of the world. 


2. A committee to investigate the present teaching of history the 
world over, reporting also upon textbooks used, their virtues and their 
delinquencies, and from the standpoint of international amity, stress- 
ing the need that history, whether elementary or advanced, should 
be just and true so far as it goes. Above all; history should not be 
perverted in the supposed interest of national honor or partisanship. 
It also provided within this committee for the study of intelligent 
patriotism built upon love of country, rather than upon hatred of 
national foes. 


3. The appointment of a committee to consider special plans for 
promoting mutual international understanding on the part of students 
of various ages including the possibilities of better relations through 
the international use of athletic sports, especially those games which 
involve codperative action as distinguished from individual competi- 
tion. 


4. A committee to investigate the. current arguments for war 
as a cosmic necessity. This committee should consider without preju- 
dice the question of military training in school and colleges, its 
possible advantages to the individual and the nation with the alleged 
accompanying drawbacks and dangers. This committee should also 
deliberate on standing incentives to war, and the possibilities of their 
abatement through the influence of public opinion or otherwise. 


5. A committee to study the Hague Court of Arbitration, also the 
present court of international justice, and the relation of these two 
judicial activities to world education, to determine what internationa) 








34 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


activities of this nature should furnish material for instruction 
within the schools, and how to broach the subject in a fair minded 
and open manner. 


The Edinburgh meeting also authorized the appointment of sev- 
eral commissions and special committees. 


1. A commission on illiteracy 
2. A commission on health 
3. A committee on universities 
a. To investigate the question of establishing a world uni- 
versity. 
b. To endeavor to bring about a greater unification of sci- 
entific terminology. 
c. To encourage the establishment of a universal library of- 


fice, and inquire into methods of bibliography and their 
possible advances. 


THE Toronto CoNVENTION. THE First MEETING OF THE 
W. F. E. A. 

When we realize that 7,500 educators representing thirty dif- 
ferent nations participated in a program extending over a period of 
six days, holding thirteen general sessions with fifty-one addresses, 
to say nothing of the thirty-one sections and comniittees, some of 
which held meetings every day, it becomes easily apparent that any- 
thing like a comprehensive record of the Toronto meeting could not 
be contained in this report. 


Throughout the general sessions, there was manifested in the 
speeches, a universal desire and unqualified willingness on the part of 
every delegate to continue ‘to work for the objectives of the W. F. 
E. A. The addresses of E. J. Hylla (see report W. F. E. A.), one of 
the German delegates and Deputy Minister of Education of Prussia, 
was of particular interest in that it portrayed the new educational 
viewpoint of Germany. 


Thirty-one sectional meetings embraced every phase of educational 
activities from pre-school instruction to university training. They 
included humane education, motion pictures, industrial education, in- 


























Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 35 


ternational correspondence, parent-teacher associations, sports and 
military training. 

Every program had a common theme always in evidence, i.e., that 
of international understanding, and how to promote it. 

The only meeting where any heated difference of opinion was in 
evidence developed on the subject of military training in schools and 
colleges. After much discussion, it was voted to carry over the dis- 
cussion until 1929. 

The good and evil aspects of the motion picture industry was 
forcibly depicted by ex-Governor Carl E. Milliken of Maine. Inas- 
much as the screen speaks every language, and there are approximately 
50,000 movie theatres in the world, one needs no imagination to 
picture the possibilities of this industry in promoting international un- 
derstanding. 


SECONDARY SCHOOLS 


A member of this committee, Principal L. W. Brooks, presided at 
one of the secondary group sessions. Mr. Brooks also contributed 
much to this meeting by his paper which was devoted to those subjects 
taught in secondary schools which would best lend themselves to 
international understanding. *A copy of Mr. Brooks’ paper is ap- 
pended to this report, by request of the other members of this com- 
mittee. 

One session was devoted to the discussion of extra-curriculum 
activities. The best contribution made at this meeting was given by 
Mrs. Rachel Duboist of Woodbury, N. J. Mrs. Dubois told of a 
series of assembly programs which she worked out, showing the con- 
tributions to civilization by different racial groups. 


The remaining portion of this report will be devoted to some of 
the speeches of delegates, expressing the good will and amity of the 
nations represented, together with an account of the meetings of those 
permanent committees and commissions previously mentioned in order 
to show what progress if any, has been made since their inception. 


The commission on health is carrying forward a special health 
program, and far reaching accomplishments are already recorded, 
especially in India. 


*See page 199. 
Send to her for a copy of this program. 





36 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


The commission on illiteracy reports that in the short space of 
two years, a reduction of Chinese characters from 4000 to 1000 has 
been accomplished, and that two million Chinese have been taught to 
read and write as a direct result of this reduction. 


RECOMMENDATIONS OF FIVE COMMITTEES OF 
HERMAN JORDAN PLAN 


CoM MITTEE No. 1—On COOPERATION. 


Recommendations 

1. That the membership of the World Committee on Education 
for International Understanding and Peace should include one per- 
son appointed by the President of the Federation from each member 
organization and such other persons as he may designate. 

2. That the World Committee on Education for International 
Understanding and Peace should proceed to develop its program, 
methods and activities in harmony with its general aim, subject to the 
approval of the Board of Directors of the Federation. 

3. That the activities of the committee should include the fol- 
lowing : 

a. The publication of a directory, periodically revised, list- 
ing the names, objects, and principal officers of organizations 
working for international understanding and interested in edu- 
cation for peace. 

b. The making of a comprehensive survey of the ways by 
which organizations are seeking to cultivate world mindedness 
through geography, world civics, history, literature, sports, 
modern languages, special programs, and special days, books of 
good will, visual education projects, borderline conferences, 
correspondence among school children, educational exchange, 
and other methods of value to teachers.. 

c. The publication and distribution of periodic reports and 
special bulletins regarding new developments in methods of 
promoting international good will. 

d. Codperation with other organizations in the preparation 
of bibliographies that will inform teachers regarding the 
literature most helpful to education for international under- 


standing. 






































Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 37 


e. Promotion of interim conferences of representatives of 
various organizations with a view to devising further ways of 
cooperation. 

4, That all groups having similar aims be requested to send to 
the committee two or more copies of each of their publications. 

5. That each organization affiliated with the Federation be urged 
to make known to its constituency the activities of other organiza- 
tions working for international understanding. 

6. That the World Committee of Education for International 
Understanding and Peace should follow the general principle of 
closely codperating with other organizations in the conduct of its 
activities, and when considered wise, of delegating specific under- 
takings to other organizations provided adequate execution thereof 
is assured. 

7. That the World Committee on Education for International 
Understanding and Peace should be provided with the facilities neces- 
sary for the immediate commencement of its work. 

8. That all associations affiliated with the Federation be en- 
couraged to organize a Committee on Education for International 
Understanding and Peace or to designate an existing Committee, to 
codperate with the World Committee on Education for International 
Understanding and Peace. 3 


CoMMITTEE No. 2—On TEACHING History. 

There have been two meetings of the committee during this con- 
ference. At our first meeting, there was a report by Mr. Roberts 
of London, England, a member of the National Union of Teachers of 
England. That report expressed the English Union’s sympathy with 
the aims and ideals of this Federation. There was a statement which 
I wish to pass on, coming from the meeting of the International 
Federation of Teachers’ Associations held last year in Europe, to the 
effect that the French teachers through their organization reported 
that they voluntarily were striving to take from their textbooks on 
history everything tending to promote ill will towards Germany. The 
question was asked whether the German teachers were willing to act 
in a like manner with respect to France, and it was reported they too 
were taking steps in that direction. It was agreed that this informa- 
tion should be mutually disseminated in the respective countries as a 
means of promoting better feelings. 








38 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


There was a brief report from the United States, setting out what 
was being done in the way of studying textbooks on their history 
from the standpoint of international understanding. Under the 
auspices of the American Association of University Women and the 
World Federation, working jointly, this committee is endeavoring to 
examine all the textbooks used in the elementary grades and high 
schools of the United States, to see whether they are fair and accurate 
in their presentation of history. This work is well under way, and it 
is hoped that the report will be completed by the first of next April. 


It was recommended at our meeting that the International Com- 
mittee on the Teaching of History should make itself acquainted with 
the textbooks used most widely in the different nations, feeling that 
this would lead to an international viewpoint in the minds of the 
members. The International Committee could then give the other 
committees in the various countries the benefit of its point of view. 
If one is thoughtlessly offending a friend, one ceases to do so on 
having one’s attention called to the fact. 


Another recommendation was that the International Committee 
should examine the courses of study in the various nations, so that 
we may learn what parts of the texts are taught to the students, what 
parts are emphasized, and so forth. 

The fourth recommendation was that the attention of the coun- 
tries concerned should be called to omissions in their texts on history 
which perhaps contribute to misunderstandings. 


CoMMITTEE No. 3—ONn TRAINING YOUTH IN Wor-p Amity. 
Committce Recommendations 

WHEREAS, The reports read before Committee No. 3, and the 
researches of its members show the value of personal contact in pro- 
moting friendly understanding among the youth of all nations, 
whether directly, by such means as international meetings and camps 
and properly supervised exchange, or visits of groups of children of 
elementary and secondary school age, or indirectly, by means of 
international school correspondence, essay contests and similar meth- 
ods; therefore 

BE IT RESOLVED, That we recommend that the World 


Federation endorse the continuance of these activities, and co- 
operate in every possible way with the agencies conducting 























Proceedings of the Boston Meeting — 39 


them, and ask the Federation to direct this, or a committee to 
study the problems involved therein, and to provide the means 
for making and. study and report ; and 


WHEREAS, The Committee believes that competitive sports by 
teams as illustrated by soccer football, which is played all over the 
world under uniform rules, are of increasing importance in bringing 
nations together, when the ideals of sportsmanship are adhered to; 
therefore 


BE IT RESOLVED, That we recommend the teaching of 
soccer and similar team games and competitions, with emphasis 
on the proper standards of conduct, as a part of the inter- 
national educational program, and we ask that a study be made 
of the scope, objectives, and procedure pertaining to inter- 
national competition and report submitted to the World Feder- 
ation of Education Associations, and made available to all 
interested organizations of whatever nation. 


President’s Note: The Committee also recommends that as soon as 
the Federation has sufficient finance to establish a secretariate that a 
person be put in charge of this particular phase of the program of 
international relations of youth for the development of the various 
sorts of contacts between nations including athletic sports, school 
correspondence, oratorical and essay contests, and other forms which 
will have a tendency to bring the youth of different nations into 
sympathetic relations with each other. 


CoMMITTEE No. 4—On PREPAREDNESS; MILITARY TRAINING IN 
ScHOooLs; STANDING INCENTIVES TO WAR. 
Resolution for Consideration 

WHEREAS “military preparedness” on an unrestricted scale, 
among nations is provocative of a war spirit, and is therefore contrary 
to the spirit of the Treaty of Versailles ; and whereas military training, 
as carried out in some countries in the R. O. T. C. in schools and 
colleges, tends to stimulate a militaristic spirit, and the view that 
disagreements among nations can be settled only by an appeal to the 
sword, the World Federation of Education Associations in conference 
assembled, resolves :— 


1. To use its best endeavours by codperation, among the educa- 
tional forces of the world, to secure at the earliest possible moment 








40 "Department of Secondary-School Principals 


a limitation of armaments leading eventually to the abolition of all 
needless “military preparedness.” 

2. To endeavour to secure that systematic and technical military 
training shall not be given in civil educational institutions to youths 
under 18 years of age, and that such institutions shall in no case make 
military training a compulsory subject of the curricula. 


3. To use every endeavour to secure the substitution of physical 
training, of exercise, and of sports for the military training too often 
now given in civil educational institutions ; and so to ensure a more 
adequate training in character and citizenship than at present obtains 
in these institutions, and thus to lead the youth of the world to a better 
and a wider appreciation of the real meaning of patriotism and the 
duties of citizenship. 

4, That steps be taken by the organizations connected with the 


Federation to carry out these resolutions as far as possible, in the 
educational institutions of the countries to which each organization 


belongs. 


CoMMITTEE No. 5—ON THE HAGUE CouRT OF ARBITRATION. 


The function of this committee is in general, to study methods and 
instruments used to settle international disputes without resorting to 


war. 
The function of this committee is not merely historical in charac- 
ter, but pedagogic as well. It involves not only the selection of sub- 
ject matter to be woven into the courses of study of the schools and 
colleges, but also the method of presentation of this subject matter. 


Methods of presenting the subject were discussed in various 
papers. All were in accord as to the efficacy of connecting this sub- 
ject with other studies as geography, history, and literature and of 
the teaching through pageants, plays, slides, firms, etc. One paper 
emphasized the importance of a definite place on the course of study 
with definite material prepared for the teacher. This was followed 
by a discussion on the necessity of including a course for teachers in 
training colleges. 

Whilst the survey of the subject made in the short time at the 
disposal of the committee was in a sense comprehensive, it was felt that 
a fundamental study of methods and instruments used to settle inter- 
national disputes without resorting to war involved a study of the 














Procecdings of the Boston Meeting 41 


economic causes of war which lie underneath the mental and emo- 
tional attitudes of hate, suspicion, fear and prejudice. 


Resolutions ; 

1. WHEREAS—One of the postulates on which the whole World 
Federation of Education Associations is based is the assump- 
tion that through the children of the schools of the world 
must come the ultimate fulfilment of the Federation’s pur- 
pose, namely to bring about amicable relations among all 
nations, by settling misunderstandings through arbitral meth- 
ods rather than by war. 

AND WHEREAS —+t is a general concession that new mental 
attitudes toward international problems must be established. 


AND WHEREAS-—t is universally recognized that the most 
powerful agency known to human society in establishing these 
mental attitudes is the teacher, in directing aright the minds 
of children in the schools. 

BE IT RESOLVED that Committee No. 5 of the Herman 
Jordan Plan recommend to the Board of Directors, the Dele- 
gate Assembly and the Committee on Resolutions, that as a 
result of this conference, a special committee be appointed 
for the formulation and declaration of certain fundamental, 
desirable, specific, social, and civic values that should issue 
from the teaching of arbitral settlement of misunderstand- 
ings. 

1. To little children 

2. To growing boys and girls 

3. To youth in the secondary-school age 
+. To college students. 

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED —that a special com- 
mittee be appointed for evolving some practical suggestive 
means for giving special preparation to those who in the vari- 
ous teacher training institutions of the world are being pre- 
pared to teach in the elementary schools to the end that em- 
phasis be placed upon the inculcation of the SPIRIT OF 
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD. 

2. WHEREAS—tt is a fundamental principle of education that a 
proper balance be maintained between the intellectual on the 
one hand and the moral, religious, and spiritual on the other, 








42 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


BE IT RESOLVED that Committee No. 5 of the Herman 
Jordan Plan of Education recommend to the Board of Direc- 
tors, to the Delegate Assembly, and to the Committee on 
Resolutions that as a result of this conference the federation 
advocate and promote in schools and colleges, the study of 
international civics including especially a study of the meth- 
ods and instruments already in operation to facilitate inter- 
national economic and political coOperation and friendship. 


3. WHEREAS—Committee No. 5, considering “The Study of 
Methods and Instruments Used to Settle International Dis- 
putes Without Resorting to War,” being sympathetic with 
every means for developing an international consciousness 
and feelings of friendliness among students and 

WHEREAS—the wide-spread use of a simple, easily learned 
and adaptable auxiliary language would greatly facilitate 
human contacts throughout the world and, by its neutrality 
reduce the distrust and the suspicion that frequently lead to 


war, and 

WHEREAS—the International Languages have been urged as 
this linguistic bond between the nations and apparently have 
had some degree of successful use therefore be it 


RESOLVED that this Committee recommend to the Board of 
Directors, the Delegate Assembly and the Committee on 
Resolutions that steps be taken at once to institute a Com- 
mission to investigate the International Languages, especially 
as to their practicability in realizing the aims of this Federa- 
tion. 

BLUEPRINTS AND SPECIFICATIONS FoR History TEXTS 

Just now, the World Federation is interested under the Herman 

Jordan Plan in a study of textbooks used in the different countries 
on the subject of history. The President of the World Federation 
has proposed to a number of history teachers in colleges that it would 
be an interesting project to collect the books generally used and have 
the students make a special study of the texts after having carefully 
studied the following ideals of history making. Students should 
observe the attitude of the author and the selection of the material 
in the attitude it develops. All events studied and all special charac- 
ters should have a direct bearing upon the events which follow. 











Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 43 


1. Should contain no braggadocio. 

2. Should not reflect upon the integrity of honor of other nations. 

3. Teaching must cultivate attitudes. All materials used in teach- 
ing history therefore should be earefully selected as to historic worth 
and accuracy. 

4. In presenting events representing conflicts between nations, the 
facts should be given with no attempt to determine the justice or in- 
justice of either, the student satisfying himself from the facts. 

5. Always there should be an attempt to relieve national jealousies 
and racial hatreds. 

6. The facts of history should be carefully selected with unfailing 
regard for those characters and events which have resulted in the ad- 
vancement of the race towards freedom, modes of better living, and 
culture and the realization of ideals. 

7. The study of wars need not be avoided. They were an instru- 
ment of means among primitive peoples and in use when nations had 
little other contact. It should be kept before the student that civiliza- 
tion and its advance is marked by the turning away from the military 
and accepting the civil rule. 

8. The great characters who have figured in history are closely 
connected with the events and conditions which have preceded and 
also these characters and events have helped to shape the future and 
direct its trends. This phase should be carefully worked out and pre- 
sented in such a manner as to give the student a proper visualization 
of the relationship of events to individuals. 

9, History texts should contain a proper balance of sources of 
historic information and the narrative in order to make of the student 
a researcher and to give him due regard for historic authority. 

10. Histories for schools should be written by committees rather 
than by one individual. Such committees should be made up of 
academic or professional and pedagogic authorities about equally 
balanced. The reason for this is obvious. ‘ 

11. Teachers of history with their students should delete their 
own textbooks of: (1) Braggadocio; (2) Statements which tend to 
prejudice towards national neighbors; (3) Chauvinism; (4) Senti- 
ment of revenge. The teacher could make a valuable project for her 
class by actual study of present day texts for these elements. 








44 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


12. The first teaching of history should be by story of events and 
great personages who present noble qualities and self-sacrifice and 
courage. This should be of the inductive type or of the nationalistic 
spirit. This should be followed by a world viewpoint and finally a 
study of the native land with the world setting. The teacher has a 
right to expect the student to be prejudiced in favor of his own 
country and not against any other. Patriotism comes from national- 
ism; not of the extreme. It should be based upon love of country 
rather than upon hatred of any other. The student should get the 
idea of the ensemble of nations, and that he serves best who develops 
his moral and intellectual gifts to the fullest extent and steps across 
his own national boundary in the service of humanity. 

Note: There should be no conflicting loyalties between our inter- 
est in humanity and our love of country. In fact, it should be con- 
sidered just as wrong to be disloyal to humanity as to be guilty of 


treason to one’s native land. 
Wm. E. WING 


L. W. Brooks 
WILL FRENCH 


In the absence of the chairman, James M. Glass of Rollins College, 
Winter Park, Florida, Mr. Charles E. Keyes presented the report of 
a committee to bring about the admission of the National Association 
of Secondary-School Principals into the National Education Associa- 
tion as a department. Mr. Keyes moved the adoption of the report. 
Adopted. 

Mr. Charles C. Tillinghast moved that the constitution as printed 
in the October (1927) Bulletin, No. 18 be adopted. Adopted. Thus 
the Association became a Department. 

In pursuance of Article V. Section 1, the chairman ruled that the 
Department proceed at once to the nomination of the nominating 
committee. The chairman further ruled that three nominees only 
could be proposed from each of six districts of the United States. 
The nominations were as follows: 

New England: Ernest G. Hapgood; William C. Hill; A. W. 
Lowe. 

Middle Atlantic States: Francis R. North; Harold A. Ferguson; 
Charles C. Tillinghast. 

















Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 


South: Galen Jones; M. Channing Wagner; Mr. Warren. 


East North Central: John L. G. Pattorf; H. W. Leach; Foster 
S. Randle. 


Western: L. W. Brooks; Paul W. Harnley; Merle Prunty. 
Far West: H. V. Kepner ; William F. Ewing; Mr. Burcham. 


While the tellers were distributing the ballots, Mr. William A. 
Wetzel presented Mr. Carl A. Jessen, specialist in Secondary Educa- 
tion, Bureau of Education, who reported as follows: 


REPORT OF THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE ON RE- 
SEARCH IN SECONDARY EDUCATION 


TO THE 
DEPARTMENT OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 


Allow me at the outset to speak my personal appreciation as well 
as that of the National Committee on Research in Secondary Educa- 
ation for the opportunity extended of participation in your program. 


Ever since the National Committee learned to talk it has been 
advocating coOrdination in research activities. We have been and are 
a coordinating, not a duplicating, committee. To the end that there 
may not be duplication it is desirable that we be informed of the 
activities of other agencies and that we acquaint these other organiza- 
tions with our undertakings. Accordingly, I appear before you this 
afternoon to give a brief report of the work of our committee. 


Preliminary organization of the National Committee on Research 
took place in Cincinnati three years ago when in response to invita- 
tion from Commissioner Tigert, a small group of men came together 
to form an agency for research in the field of secondary education. 
The following June permanent organization was effected and the 
National Committee began to function actively under the chairman- 
ship of Dr. J. B. Edmonson of the University of Michigan. From 
modest beginnings the Committee has come to have codperating with 
it at the present time 18 organizations. Nine of these 18 are regional 
agencies interested in the accrediting of secondary schools throughout 
various sections of the United States ; the remaining nine are national 
organizations operating in the secondary-school field. Each codperat- 
ing organization appoints one representative on the Committee ; these 











46 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


18 representatives and 11 members at large constitute the present 
personnel of the National Committee on Research. 


There has been placed in your hands a list of enterprises which 
have been carried forward since last February. I shall not attempt 
to go into detail with regard to these activities. May I be permitted, 
however, to summarize the accomplishments of the last 12 months: 


1. Four of the Committee’s investigations have been published by 
the United States Bureau of Education and the N. E. A. 


2. Two other studies have been completed and their publication 
arranged for with the United States Bureau of Education. 


3. Ten longer articles sponsored by the Committee have appeared 
in School Life. 
4. Eight major investigations of the Committee are in progress. 


As members of the Department of Secondary-School Principals 
you will be especially interested in noting that your own worthy 
representative, Dr. Wetzel, contributed two of the articles to 
School Life and is now chairman of the special committee study- 
ing the problems of the large high school. 


At our meeting yesterday morning another enterprise was 
launched. This contemplates a codperative study of member schools 
in 1930 by the five regional accrediting associations. Since these 
associations operate in 46 of the 48 States it is felt that a study made 
in the same year and on a comparable basis will approximate, giving 
a national view of secondary education. 


The Committee has been exceedingly fortunate in its relationships 
with the National Association of Secondary-School Principals. You 
have favored us by assigning Dr. Wetzel as your representative ; you 
have helped support us by appropriations from your association 
funds; and individuals in your organization have encouraged us by 
responding with information when asked, by giving time to commit- 
tee work when called upon, and by performing from time to time 
those “little nameless unremembered acts” which in their spontaneous 
doing reveal so much regarding attitudes. For all these courtesies 
we say, “Thanks.” And we hope you may see in the accomplishments 
of this last year prediction of greater attainments which we believe 
lie just over the horizon. 


Below are listed activities for year ending February 24, 1928, 








Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 47 


1. Comrteten Srupies AND PuBLICATIONS OF THE YEAR. 

A. Jones, Arthur J. An Outline of Methods of Research with Sugges- 
tions for High School Principals and Teachers. Printed by the U. S. Bureau 
of Education as Bulletin, 1926, No. 24. More than 11,000 copies have been 
distributed. 

B. Windes, E. E. Bibliography of Studies in Secondary Education, 
Printed by the U. S. Bureau of Education as Bulletin, 1927, No. 27. Approx- 
imately 8,000 copies have been distributed. 

C. Norton, J. K. Bibliography of Current Research Undertakings in 
Secondary Education. Published as a mimeographed circular by the U. S. 
Bureau of Education, March, 1927. The full edition of 2,000 copies was 
distributed. 

D. Roemer, Joseph. Study of Southern Association High Schools. 
Completed and accepted for publication as a bulletin of the U. S. Bureau 
of Education. 

E. Montague, J. F. Senior High School Promotion Plans. Completed 
and accepted for publication as a bulletin of the U. S. Bureau of Education. 

F. Proctor, Wm. A. College Entrance Requirements in Relation to 
Curriculum Revision in Secondary Schools. Reported in Chapter VII of the 
1928 Yearbook of the Department of Superintendence. 

G. The ‘following articles sponsored by the National Committee on 
Research have appeared in School Life during the year: 

1. Bliss, Walton B. Good Citizenship Built Upon Civic Integrity in 
High School. March, 1927. 

2. Ashbaugh, E. J. Need of Uniformity in Certification of High School 
Teachers. April, 1927. 

3. Windes, E. E. The National Committee on Research in Secondary 
Education. April, 1927. 

4. Koos, Leonard V. Conditions Favor Inttgration of Junior Colleges 
with High Schools. May, 1927 

5. Ferriss, Emery N. Wide Variations of Practice in Small Junior High 
Schools, June, 1927 

6. Reavis, William C. General Guidance Responsibilities of the Sec- 
ondary School. September, 1927 

7. Wetzel, William A. Plan of Rating Teachers Based Upon Pupil 
Accomplishment. October, 1927. 

8. Roemer, Joseph. Accredited Secondary Schools of the Southern Asso- 
ciation. November, 19: 

9. Roemer, Joseph. Secondary Schools of Southern and North Central 
Associations. December, 1927. 

10. Wetzel, William A. Must Consider Pupils’ Academic Ability and 
Requirements of Curricula. January, 1928. 
II. Srupres 1n Procress. 

A. Small High Schools. Emery N. Ferriss, Chairman. 

B. Large High Schools. Wm. A. Wetzel, Chairman. 

C. Junior High School Conference. James M. Glass, Chairman. 

D. Characteristics of High School Pupils. George S. Counts resigned as 
chairman. New chairman not named. 

E. Procedure in Secondary Education Research. Arthur J. Jones, Chair- 
man. 

F, Drafting a Program of Related Research Undertakings. H. V. Church, 
Chairman. 








48 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


G. Personnel Problems. F. J. Ashbaugh, Chairman. 
H. Educational Subject Headings. J. K. Norton, Chairman. 


The members of the nominating committee as shown by the elec- 
tion were: Messrs. Brooks, Jones, Hill, Hapgood, Prunty, Kepner, 
Tillinghast, Wagner, and Lowe. 


SEcoND SESSION 
The second session of the convention was divided into two sec- 
tions: (1) The Junior High School section, held in the Ball Room 
of Hotel Statler; (2) The Senior High School section, which met in 
the Georgian Room of the same hotel. 


Vice President Charles F. Allen, Principal of West Side Junior 
High School of Little Rock, Arkansas, called the Senior High School 
section to order at 9:15 A. M., Tuesday, February 28, 1928. 


Mr. Emery N. Feriss, Professor of Rural Education of Cornell 
University, Ithaca, New York, read his paper, Some Important 
Problems of the Small High School. 


SOME IMPORTANT PROBLEMS OF THE 
SMALL HIGH SCHOOL 


Emery N. Ferriss, 


CorNELL UNIVERSITY, ITHACA, NEw YorK 


In the time at my disposal this morning it will be necessary for me 
to concentrate my attention upon certain selected problems of the 
small high school. I shall, therefore, take up three broad but rather 
closely related problems that I consider of much importance. The 
first that I have chosen for consideration is one bearing upon the 
work of all small high schools as a class and upon the educational op- 
portunities open to all youth living in territory served by small schools. 
It is the problem of administrative organization of high schools in 
rural and village communities. It involves the three sub-problems of 
accessibility, adequacy, and continuity or articulation. The second 
problem chosen for consideration is that of the curriculum; and the 
third, the problem of classroom instruction. A small high school, for 
the sake of supplying a tangible concept to guide us, is arbitrarily in- 
terpreted as one enrolling in the neighborhood of 150 or fewer pupils 








Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 49 


and comprising as a class around 75 per cent of the public high schools 
in the United States. 


The first phase of the problem of administrative organization is 
concerned with making secondary-school opportunities accessible to 
all adolescents of all small communities. In the solution of this 
phase of the problem much progress has been made especially in the 
last two decades. In many of our states much is still to be done before 
every adolescent will live within a secondary-school district with a 
high school reasonably accessible and with an open road to a secondary 
education suited to his needs, with transportation provided for, where 
he lives beyond walking distance of the school, and with his tuition 
taken care of out of public funds. Wisconsin and Colorado may 
serve, perhaps, as examples of what is yet to be accomplished before 
all adolescents live within a high-school district. In 1926 less than 20 
per cent of the area of Wisconsin lay within high-school districts. 
Twenty-five per cent of the pupils enrolled in high schools were tui- 
tion pupils. In Colorado in 1926 it is estimated that 122,000 pupils 
were without high-school privileges and 24,000 without district aid 
for needed high-school tuition.2 To have all rural and village terri- 
tory within some high-school district is a goal that must be attained 
before our system of secondary education is complete. 


Our efforts to solve the problem of accessibility of high-school 
training, as far as it has gone, has brought us face to face with another 
difficulty almost as hard to solve. It is the problem of providing an 
adequate secondary-school education for boys and girls in the smaller 
rural and village communities. In the development of high schools to 
reach all adolescents living in the more sparsely populated sections of 
the country thousands of very small high schools staffed by two, 
three, and even one teacher, have been established. Large numbers 
of these smaller schools are poorly housed, poorly equipped, and 
poorly staffed. They can offer at best but the merest skeleton of a 
secondary education at a very high per pupil cost. Often their work is 
of a very traditional, formal type, ill adapted either to the needs of the 
majority of the pupils served or of modern society. Much less ade- 
quate would they be if all the children of high school age in their com- 


John Callahan, The Financial Situation in Wisconsin High School Dis- 


tricts. 
*High School Opportunities in Colorado, Colorado State Teachers Col- . 


lege Bulletin No. 5, 1927. 








50 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


munities were enrolled. In too large a proportion of these schools, 
operating as they do under serious handicaps, the work done is of poor 
quality. From every angle they are inadequate to meet the require- 
ments of modern secondary education in a democracy. It is clear that 
in the attempt to solve the problem of accessibility, a problem that 
must still occupy our attention, the result has often been such as to 
operate against the solution of the problem of adequacy of educational 
opportunities for the youth of country and village. 


A third phase of the problem of administrative organization of 
small high schools is that of giving continuity to the educational path 
of the child of the small community so that he can go from the 
elementary school into and through the high school without unneces- 
sary breaks and obstacles and with the successful performance of 
his work each year of his school career leading directly into the edu- 
cational activities and advantages of each succeeding year. Often the 
situation he faces when through the elementary school is such as to 
discourage him from attempting to enter the high school. 


Studies have shown rather definitely that the percentage of farm 
populations of high school age enrolled in high school is markedly 
lower than that of urban populations. Wéindes! found it to be ap- 
proximately 29 per cent for rural populations, ages 15 to 19, as com- 
pared with 44 per cent for urban populations in the same states. In 
part the relatively small percentage in rural areas is due to the fact 
that many boys and girls are not within the zone of influence of a 
high school and in part, undoubtedly, to the lack of articulation be- 
tween the elementary school which they have attended and the high 
school to which they must go if they continue their education. In 
part it is probably due to the limited academic character of the train- 
ing offered by the small high school, little suited to the abilities, in- 
terests, or purposes of a considerable proportion of its potential 
pupil population. In general the small high school has been much 
more concerned with lighting the way to college of the relatively 
small percentage of its pupils going in that direction than it has in 
inviting, receiving, and making at home the large number who are 
just leaving the elementary school. 


The task of making high schools accessible to all adolescents in 


*E. K. Windes, High School Education of the Farm Population in 
Selected States, U. S. Bureau of Education Bulletin 1925, No. 6. 








Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 51 


the country and small village is still unfinished as are the other tasks 
of furnishing adequate educational advantages in the small high 
school and of developing proper articulation between it and the ele- 
mentary schools from which it draws. The solution. of these prob- 
lems of administrative organization will demand careful study and 
much time. To realize the goal of bringing every child of high-school 
age within a high-school district will require painstaking, statewide 
study of districting for secondary-school purposes and the determina- 
tion of satisfactory secondary-school units. It seems quite clear also 
that the intermediate units of administrative control for elementary 
and secondary education will necessarily need to be coterminous to 
ensure as far as possible close articulation between the elementary 
and secondary schools that draw their enrolments from the same 
areas. Furthermore, in many communities there will be necessary 
a carefully planned educational program to bring the people to a 
recognition of the impracticability of attempting to maintain locally 
a complete system of secondary education and of the desirability of 
codperating with neighboring communities in providing a centralized 
high school for at least the senior high school work. For satisfactory 
results all portions of the codperating territory will need to assume 
their share of financial responsibility and have a voice in determining 
the character and control of the school. 


Careful study will need to be made of the junior high school plan 
of organization and its basic characteristics and functions with 
reference to what it can offer in the way of answering all three ques- 
tions of accessibility, adequacy, and continuity. Enough studies have 
already been made to show rather conclusively that the 6-3-3 plan 
as developed in cities, with segregated junior schools, is not adapted 
to small systems. Yet, there is no doubt in my mind but that the 
essential features of the junior high school can be advantageously 
used in small centers if intelligently modified to suit the peculiar 
conditions under which the schools must operate. The question is: 
What particular modifications or types of organization will best meet 
the needs of certain types of conditions, giving them in the largest 
measure the advantages and benefits of this new plan of organization. 


That a high school of 25 to 50 pupils with a staff of two to three 
teachers cannot in any real sense realize fully all the objectives of 
modern secondary education would seem to require no argument. In 








52 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


some communities it may be necessary to maintain such schools as the 
best that can be afforded under existing circumstances. Generally 
speaking, however, the average size of the small high school must be 
much increased if these schools are to have staffs and facilities in the 
way of libraries, laboratories, shops, and the other equipments, suffi- 
cient for offering standard-school training of satisfactory standards 
and variety to meet adequately or well the diverse needs of their pupil 
populations and the increasing demands upon the secondary school. 
Consolidation and centralization of secondary schools into larger 
units with larger enrolments must come, it would appear, if 
the youth attending small high schools are to have in any genuine 
sense educational advantages comparable to those offered in large 
urban schools. Fortunately improved roads and improved means of 
transportation are making these larger secondary-school units not only 
possible but feasible in an ever increasing percentage of the areas 


served by small high schools. 


In districts too small to maintain either effectively or economical- 
ly six years of secondary-school work beginning with the seventh 
grade and where, because of geographical isolation or other reasons, 
complete centralization with other districts is impracticable, a three 
or four-year junior high school may be the best solution. Boys and 
girls completing the work of this school must have, however, an open 
road to a senior high school the work of which is closely articulated 
with that of the junior school. This is frequently not the case at the 
present time where junior high schools are in operation. 


In communities capable of maintaining six years of secondary- 
school work, but too small to support effectively segregated junior and 
senior schools, the six-year high school with desirable differentiation 
between the junior and senior units may be superior to any other plan. 
Careful study and experimentation should within a reasonable length 
of time indicate the types of organization suited to the various types 
of situations. One of the greatest dangers of the small high school 
in its future development is that of having forced upon it any uniform 
administrative organization of the junior high school either in terms 
of the number of years included or of its administrative relationship 


to the senior school. 


The second problem of the small high school that I wish to 
consider is that of the curriculum or more accurately speaking of 

















Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 53 


the program of studies and its organization into curriculums. It is 
one of the main problems in providing adequate educational oppor- 
tunities in the small school. The larger proportion of the small high 
schools the country over, though many of them attempt more than 
they should with the facilities available, do not contain in their pro- 
gram of studies a sufficient range and variety of subjects to permit 
of their functioning in the direction of all the seven cardinal principles 
or any of the other recent lists of ultimate objectives set up for 
secondary education in a democracy. Usually their curriculums are 
deficient in health education and in the elements that promote worthy 
home membership or that bear upon the development of vocational 
intelligence and understanding. In civic education and training for 
leisure there is considerable room for doubt as to the functional 
character of the training offered. Much of it has been of such a 
formal nature and so far removed from the actual life situations faced 
by boys and girls of to-day in small communities that it probably has 
had the minimum of value. Even in the so-called fundamentals much 
of the work done has been along lines not genuinely fundamental in 
terms of the abilities, attitudes, and appreciations basic to modern 
life as it is participated in by the major proportion of youth attending 
and going out from the small high school. With too few exceptions 
the program of studies of the small high school is strictly academic 
in character. -While the range of ability and the variety of aptitudes, 
interests, and purposes represented by its pupils are broad and diverse 
its educational offerings have been narrow and almost exclusively of 
the type suited to preparation ultimately to a very limited range of 
professional and non-manual occupations. 


* Without discounting the excellent service that has been rendered 
by the small high school in the past, to-day the great problem of its 
program of studies is to modernize it: to make it up-to-date and to 
make it representative of all the major groups of life activities, prob- 
lems and needs as they actually exist. The small school cannot con- 
tinue to restrict its work so exclusively to that type of training to be 
gained through the mental manipulation of symbols and ideas. It 
must give opportunity also for educational activities and exercises 
dealing with things where problems are met and solved involving the 
handling and shaping of concrete materials. It must have a more 
balanced program. Especially must it offer educative work in the 
fine arts and in practical arts suited to both sexes and in those phases 











54 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


of science and social science suited to the capacity and interests of the 
adolescent and directly helpful to the layman in adjusting himself in- 
telligently to the common elements of his physical, economic, and 
social environments. 


There is need in the small high school in curriculum organization 
of a new interpretation of the fundamentals. This will involve a 
distinction between fundamental as applying to the special needs of 
particular groups and fundamental as applying to the common needs 
of people in general. In the past fundamental has been interpreted 
largely in terms of the needs of a special group, those preparing for 
college. The content of nearly all academic subjects in the small higt 
school has been influenced in large measure by the demands made 
upon this special group. Correctly interpreted, the real fundamentals, 
it would seem, should be those elements of secondary education most 
valuable in helping the individual to meet the common demands of his 


everyday life. 


This interpretation of fundamentals as a step in modernizing 
curriculums and curriculum organization in the small high school will 
require a realignment of the elements common to all curriculums. 
The constants, or subjects required of all pupils regardless of the par- 
ticular curriculum pursued, will cease to be those primarily of value 
for college entrance, so frequently the case at present in the small 
high school, and will become those subjects possessing greatest values 
for the citizen of a community in the United States in meeting the 
obligations of his everyday affairs and in utilizing and improving in- 
telligently the opportunities of his environment for esthetic, intellec- 
tual, and recreational enjoyment and healthful living. : 


These constants are probably to be found in an analysis of the 
health, economic, vocational, civic, social, intellectual, recreational 
and esthetic activities of to-day with the moral-ethical habits, atti- 
tudes, and ideals desirable in connection with them. From this anal- 
ysis must be gradually determined those elements commonly de- 
sirable, because of their universal utility, in the educational equip- 
ment of all normal individuals. In other words, the constants will be 
those subjects promising the greatest functional values to high- 
school pupils regardless of whether or no their formal schooling stops 
with the high school or continues on into higher institutions of learn- 


ing. 

















Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 55 


In meeting these common needs of the great mass of secondary- 
school pupils the small high school has its primary responsibility. 
This it should meet above all things else. Its secondary responsibility, 
in the meeting of which it should go as far as its facilities and num- 
ber of pupils justify, is concerned with the differentiated or special 
needs of important pupil groups. These special needs should de- 
termine the major community adaptations of the small high school so 
far as concerns the general problem of differentiated curriculums and 
will ordinarily include such differentiations as are made desirable by 
the requirements of the group preparing for college, the major in- 
terest and aptitude groups in the school not planning to go beyond 
the high school, and the major vocational groups. These are the 
determining factors in curriculum differentiation in the small four- 
year or senior high school. The school should go as far as it can 
in partially or fully meeting the needs of these special groups with- 
out, however, impairing the work necessary in satisfying its primary 
responsibility. 

Two other phases of the curriculum problem in the small high 
school are those concerning the content of the curriculum in its 
adaptation to the experience background of the pupil and in its 
provision for differences in ability. It is a psychological principle 
of sociological significance that learning is most meaningful when 
the learning activity is closely linked up with the learner’s life. In 
the past the small high school has made but little use of this principle 
and has utilized little if at all the educational materials of the com- 
munity in which it was situated. The educational activities of the 
school have had but little relation to the school’s physical and social 
environment. Progress is being made slowly, especially in certain 
types of practical arts and vocational work where these have come 
into the curriculums of the small school. Much is still to be ac- 
complished before the small high school will capitalize upon the 
educational resources at hand in the fields of the physical and bio- 
logical sciences, in civics, government and institutional life, in eco- 
nomics, in health and sanitation and in the materials of value in the 
development of recreational habits and attitudes and in esthetic ap- 
preciation and enjoyment. To utilize its local educational resources 
as educational instruments and the materials of educational growth 
and life enrichment without making these the end of its instruction 











56 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


and so restricting the youth in his perspective of life in general, pre- 
sents one of the curriculum challenges of the small high school. 


To adapt its work to differences in ability is another curriculum 
challenge to the small high school. With its limitations in numbers of 
both pupils and teachers it has done but little in this direction. 
Ability grouping as practiced in the large urban school is not feasible. 
Cther means must be found if the small high school is to meet the 
demands of modern secondary education. While no final solution 
of this problem can be offered it would appear that experimentation 
is desirable along certain lines that are apparently feasible. Their 
real values can only be determined through experimentation. In the 
first place, may it not be well to permit and even encourage healthy 
pupils of superior ability in greater numbers than are ordinarily per- 
mitted at the present time to carry more than the standard load and 
by so doing to complete their secondary-school course in less time 
than is required by those of average ability or less? This would 
mean for a considerable percentage of pupils the saving of one to 
two years in completing their course in the junior and senior high 
schools. Guidance would be necessary, to be sure, to protect the 
health of such pupils, to guarantee a reasonable amount of participa- 
tion in extra class activities, and to keep those whose mental maturity 
is far in advance of their physiological and social development from 
undue strain because of lack of adjustment in these respects. 


A second feasible means of adjusting the work of the small high 
school to individual differences in ability is the organization of each 
course of study on the plan of minimal requirements and additional 
opportunities for those who have sufficiently mastered the require- 
ments. This plan is based upon the principle of enriched courses for 
the more capable pupils rather than that of more rapid promotion, 
though it might be well to combine the two. To conduct a course 
successfully according to this plan the teacher must set up definitely 
the objectives of the course and determine carefully in the light of 
these objectives the minimal requirements. The additional activities 
and exercises should be valuable, integrally related to the objectives, 
and should challenge the interests and abilities of the superior pupils. 
Their performance should be recognized in the quality of credit 
gained. To inaugurate this plan in the small high school will require 
more facilities in the way of instructional materials than are afforded 
by a single textbook. 














Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 57 


There are other possible ways of providing for differences in 
ability in the small high school as, the Dalton plan or modifications 
of it, the use of the project, and permitting superior pupils to pursue 
more or less independently the work of a course. All of them de- 
mand better prepared teachers and more supervisory assistance than 
are at present available in the majority of small high schools. 


Improving the character of classroom instruction in the small 
high school is the third and last problem that I wish to present. It 
has many angles and is closely bound up with the problem of cur- 
riculum just discussed. Because of its many aspects and complexity, 
it is a difficult problem. It is a problem of teaching facilities in the 
way of materials and other equipment, of teachers, of teaching load, 
of teacher experience and training, and of supervision. 


Practically all studies of instruction in the small high school have 
resulted in the conclusion that it is formal and inflexible. The sum- 
mary of the study? of classroom instruction in the small high schools 
of New York state was as follows: “In the main the teachers showed 
a conscientious, earnest attitude toward their work. Many instances 
of teaching strong in certain respects were found. As a whole, how- 
ever, the work of the classroom was of a formal, abstract type. Few 
supplementary materials were used in the way either of readings or of 
devices to make teaching more concrete. But little use was made of 
the sources in the community available to the pupils. In the main 
the work lacked definiteness and immediacy ‘of aim; no real objec- 
tives standing out as the goals to be attained. Almost no use was 
made of the assignment as an integral part of the teaching process. 
The major part of the work might be characterized as informational, 
with emphasis upon the memorizing of a mass of material. Finally, 
the teaching as a whole was not of a type to stimulate pupils to in- 
itiative, to originality, or to the assuming of personal responsibility 
for results.” Rufi,? after an intensive study of a group of small high 
schools, came to practically the same conclusion and writes with re- 
gard to instruction: “It is conservative to say that ninety-five per cent 
of all the material presented and studied in all of the courses in all 
of these schools is found between the covers of the textbooks used. 
Not one recitation was found in which reference or supplementary 





*F, N. Ferriss, The Rural High School, Vol. 7, Rural School Survey of 


New York State. 
2John Rufi, The Small High School. 











58 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


material played a dominant part. . . . No cases were found where 
the teacher either urged, expected, or required the brighter pupils to 
do work not assigned to the entire group.” 


There are several factors operating to make difficult the vitalization 
of classroom instruction in the small high school. In the first place a 
large percentage of its teachers are inexperienced. Again, the turn- 
over in teaching personnel each year is very high. The more capable 
and better prepared teachers after a year or two of apprenticeship in 
the small school move on to a position in a large village or city high 
school where larger salaries are obtainable, where better social ad- 
vantages exist, and where the teaching conditions are better. To an 
undesirable degree the small school serves as a training school for 
the large centers. There is undoubtedly a tendency also for the ex- 
perienced teachers in the small school to be either those who have in- 
sufficient training to enter the large high school or those who possess 
mediocre teaching ability and personality. To be sure there are some 
very comforting exceptions to this tendency. The last but not the 
least of the difficulties to be mentioned in the task of improving class- 
room instruction in the small high school is the lack of effective super- 
vision and of the means of providing opportunity and incentive for 
group consideration by teachers of their professional problems. 


In New York state in 1920-21,1 75 per cent of the teachers in 
the small high schools had been teaching in the school where they then 
were but two years or less, 49 per cent of them being in their first year 
of service. In Wisconsin? in the same year over 50 per cent of the 
instructors in two-teacher high schools were teaching their first year 
in the school. The data also showed that in three-teacher schools al- 
most 60 per cent remained two years or less. The median teaching 
experience of teachers in high schools of two to six teachers was four 
years as contrasted with eight years for high schools with more than 
fifteen teachers. In Texas Judd* found the median amount of ex- 
perience in high schools of one to ten teachers to be approximately 
three years as contrasted with approximately eight years for city high 
schools of the state. 


The academic and professional training of the teachers in the 


*Emery N. Ferriss, The Rural High School. 

*C,.J. Anderson, The Status of Teachers in Wisconsin. 

*C. H. Judd, Secondary Education, Vol. 3, Texas Educational Survey 
Report. 















































Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 59 


small high school is in most states relatively meagre in amount. 
In Wisconsin in high schools of two to five teachers only 21 per 
cent were college or university graduates as compared with 31 per 
cent for six-teacher schools, 64 per cent for schools of eleven to 
fifteen teachers and 69 per cent for high schools of more than fifteen 
teachers. In Texas, in the smallest high schools, 34 per cent of the 
women and 19 per cent of the men held college degrees, in ten- 
teacher schools 58 and 51 per cent respectively, and in high schools in 
first class cities 86 per cent of the women and 73 per cent of the men 
held college or university degrees. 


Another factor entering into the problem of instruction in the 
small high school is the teaching load. The only bright spot in the 
teaching load in the small school is the small total number of pupil 
hours for the teacher. In most small schools this advantage is more 
than offset by the operation of other factors. As a general thing the 
number of periods of teaching is large. More serious than this, 
however, is the number of different subjects for which the teacher is 
responsible daily. In New York state the median number of different 
subjects handled daily was 3.3 for instructors in high schools with 
enrolments of 150 or fewer. Available figures for other states show 
an even larger number. Studies of the number of different daily 
preparations necessary in the work of the teacher in the school of three 
to five teachers indicate that five to six different preparations repre- 
sent a conservative estimate. When these preparations are distributed 
over three or four subject-matter fields as they frequently are, it is 
readily to be seen that the teacher’s task is tremendous and that the 
problem of vitalizing instruction in the small high school is exceeding- 
ly difficult. This already serious problem is made more serious by 
the fact that a considerable percentage of the teachers are giving 
instruction in one or more subjects in which they have had little 
training in subject matter and no training in methods of presentation. 
In fact, in many cases teachers are giving no instruction in subjects 
representing either their major or their minor field in their academic 
preparation, all their teaching being done in a wide variety of sub- 
jects in none of which they have had an adequate background of 
training. In the face of these facts one answer to the question, 
why is such a large proportion of the instruction in the small high 
school limited to a single textbook, becomes plainly evident. It could 
be of no other sort under the conditions. 














60 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


How may improvement in instruction in the small high school be 
brought about? One answer is by better library facilities. The 
small school in many instances, perhaps the majority, does not have 
adequate library facilities. In most cases those in charge have not 
recognized the important place of the library in modern secondary- 
school instruction. There is great need in the small school of a library 
with rich supplementary and reference materials in the way of books, 
periodicals, bulletins, and newspapers, and particularly the three last, 
covering the various phases of modern life and achievement and 
suited to catching and stimulating the curiosity and interests of high- 
school pupils and affording fruitful leads for their intellectual de- 
velopment. This library must be so organized and managed as to be 
available for use at all times during the school day. Its resources must 
be utilized in classroom work and training must be given in the use 
of library materials. 

Although a good library is fundamental in the equipment of the 
small high school, it can never occupy the place it should in instruc- 
tion until changes can be effected in the teaching staff and its teaching 
load. Minimal requirements for teaching in the small school must 
be placed upon the same level with regard to academic and profes- 
sional training as is required for teaching in the city high school. 
Salaries must be placed on comparable levels. To bring about these 
changes will probably require a greater proportion of state support 
for small high schools than is commonly available at the present 
time and perhaps even the tapping of some of our national resources 
now devoted to building huge navies for peaceful purposes. 

Ways must be discovered also of reducing the number and variety 
of subjects in the daily program of the teacher and in the number 
of different daily preparations demanded of the teacher. Much can 
be accomplished in this direction, even with schools as they are, by 
more careful organization of the teaching schedules in the small 
school and the determination of desirable subject combinations to be 
handled by each instructor. If these combinations can be partially 
standardized so that they will have some similarity in different 
schools, teacher training institutions can more intelligently plan the 
curriculums of prospective teachers and guide their preparation. 
Early planning by principals or other officers in charge of employing 
teachers with regard to the subjects for which these teachers will be 
responsible will help to improve conditions. Carefully planned sys- 





























Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 61 


tems of subject alternations will assist materially in reducing the 
number of subjects handled by a teacher in any one year without 
necessitating the contraction of the already limited program of 
studies. The organization of six-year schools with instructors teach- 
ing in both the junior and senior units will automatically increase the 
size of the teaching staff and make a greater amount of specialization 
practicable and possible. It will reduce the number of different 
subject-matter fields in the teacher’s schedule even though it does 
not reduce the number of different preparations required. 

Here as in the other problems discussed the fundamental change 
necessary in reducing the teaching load to a reasonable figure will 
depend upon the elimination of the extremely small high school 
wherever practicable and the development of schools serving larger 
areas, with larger pupil enrolments and larger staffs. To bring into 
the classroom of the small high school the use of modern methods of 
instruction, a better selection and organization of teaching materials 
and learning activities, wider use of the library and other sources 
beyond the textbook, and the adaptation of instruction to differences . 
in ability, there must come into the small high school more better 
trained teachers and more teachers with successful teaching expe- 
rience. In addition there must be in operation an adequate system 
of supervision. 

The supervision of instruction should be the responsibility of 
someone well-trained in the purposes and technics of supervision, 
who is intimately acquainted with the conditions under which the 
teacher works and with the material with which he works. This 
person should understand the special problems of each teacher and 
should be able to determine the direction in which improvement is 
most needed and the ways in which it may be most effectively re- 
alized. His task is a difficult one since he must devise ways and 
means of helping teachers, often with a moeity of experience or 
training, who are at best responsible for instruction: in several sub- 
jects, whose time and energy available for studying, planning, and 
organizing their work is very limited and at whose command is often 
the minimum in the way of instructional materials and aids. 

Ordinarily, with the conditions as they are, supervision in the 
small high school should not be aimed exclusively at the direct im- 
provement of classroom procedures and management as such. It 
will need to be much broader in its actual operation and give emphasis 














62 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


as opportunity permits to the building up of fundamental principles 
of teaching. It should lead the teachers to an understanding of the 
purposes of modern secondary education and its ultimate objectives. 
It should lead them to see the place of their particular subjects in 
the general scheme of things. Often it will be necessary to develop 
in teachers a new conception of the curriculum, of courses of study, 
and the principles of selection, organization, adaptation, and use of 
instructional materials as means to an end rather than as ends in 
themselves. It will often mean training in modern means and meth- 
ods of testing the results of instruction and of diagnosing teaching 
and learning difficulties. It will usually mean providing teachers 
with helpful guides and suggestions for the conduct of their work, 
and building with them courses of study or of interpreting and 
adapting state courses to local needs. It will involve the planning 
of teachers’ meetings where common teaching problems are co- 
operatively considered. It will involve providing opportunities for 
teachers to observe superior teachers at work and to study their 
methods. Among other things it will mean making available to 
teachers current professional literature pertaining to their teaching 
problems and the stimulation of teachers to become acquainted with 
such literature. It should mean also within reasonable limits the 
encouragement of teachers to make small studies of their own and 
to experiment under guidance with new methods and devices. 


These are some of the things that, as opportunity and need point 
the way, supervision in the small high school should be concerned 
with if it is to be reasonably effective in improving classroom instruc- 
tion. Unfortunately, however, the supervision in the small school 
at present is ordinarily not of the type to accomplish these things. 
Data could be offered in support of the statement just made if time 
permitted. The principal is usually responsible for a heavy teaching 
schedule in addition to his various administrative duties. Often he 
has little or no clerical assistance for the routine work of his office. 
Much of his time is devoted to the direction and supervision of pupil 
activities both in the high school and the elementary school of which 
he is often in charge. Consequently, the time at his disposal for 
the improvement of instruction is extremely limited. Frequently, he 
does not have the training needed in supervision and the theory of 
secondary education to make it possible for him to utilize profitably 
the little time that he has. 


















































Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 63 


Is there any solution to the problem of making supervision in the 
small high school a positive instrument in the improvement of class- 
room instruction? It is difficult to see what the solution can be so 
long as the majority of such schools are as small as they are and 
so long as they exist as independent supervisory units. State super- 
vision, except possibly in a few of our smallest states, can never, 
I believe, solve the problem. It is too infrequent and works at too 
long a range. Genuinely constructive supervision must be more 
intimate ; it must obtain its results through the close codperation of 
supervisor and teacher and be based upon a common understanding 
of the teaching problems involved. 


It seems evident that the problem must be solved, if at all, either 
through supervision by the local principal or through a supervisor 
responsible for a group of small high schools with a total of twenty 
to thirty or thirty-five teachers. 


In four-year high schools or junior-senior schools with staffs of 
eight to twelve teachers the principal may well be responsible for 
the supervision of instruction in his school. With two hours a day 
devoted to classroom observation, individual conferences, the planning 
of teachers’ meetings and other supervisory duties, a trained prin- 
cipal can do effective supervisory work. In many schools this would 
require that he be relieved from a part of his present teaching load 
_ and some of the clerical work for which he is responsible. 


In smaller high schools the more practicable solution of the prob- 
lem of supervision, if it could be brought about, would be to have 
a supervisor of instruction for a group of schools. This person might 
be the principal of one of the schools but with no teaching schedule. 
The principals of the other schools in the group would be teaching 
principals primarily but with responsibility for the general admin- 
istration of their schools. Such an arrangement would necessitate 
the codperation of the schools concerned, a thing not easily brought 
about in sections of the country where the high schools are inde- 
pendent units. Under the county plan of school organization one or 
more high school supervisors for the small high schools of the county 
might offer the best solution of the problem. 

The county or the group plans of supervision would have some 


distinct advantages with respect to certain of the broader aspects of 
supervision and the training of teachers in service. Teachers’ meet- 








64 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


ings in small high schools are frequently difficult to manage, partic- 
ularly in the study of problems of teaching, because the numbers of 
teachers are too small to make discussion either interesting or profit- 
able. In general there is no opportunity in small schools for teachers 
to discuss with others teaching the same subjects their common prob- 
lems. Groups are not large enough to do any real constructive work 
on curriculum and other problems. In other words, the teacher in 
the small school is in a sense isolated professionally. The conditions 
are lacking for professional stimulation. In the city high school the 
teacher is always in competition with others doing the same type of 
work. He is continually in contact professionally with his colleagues 
in his own school and at frequent occasions with the teachers of the 
other high schools in the city. Important problems are worked out 
in large groups. Group discussions of common teaching problems 
are an integral part of the city teacher’s professional life. This 
stimulation is ordinarily lacking in the small high school. County 
or group supervision might in part supply the basis for this needed 
professional life. The teachers of the schools in a supervisory group 
would make a natural unit for teachers’ meetings. In these meetings 
all the teachers would frequently come together to discuss the ques- 
tions presented by programs growing out of the common teaching 
problems of all the codperating schools. 


In conclusion, the problem of improving classroom instruction 
in the small high school is one of better teachers, better equip- 
ment in the way of materials of instruction, a longer tenure of 
teachers, and an improved teaching load. It is also a question of 
more effective supervision and the frequent bringing together 
of teachers in sufficiently large groups for the interchange of profes- 
sional ideas and the profitable discussion and study of professional 


problems. 

































































Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 65 


Character Education in Secondary Education, a paper, was pre- 
sented by Walter F. Downey, Head Master of English High School, 
Boston. 


*CHARACTER EDUCATION IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS 
WaLter F, Downey, 
Heap Master, ENGLisH Hicgu Scuoor, Boston, MASSACHUSETTS 


In presenting this statement relating to character education in 
secondary schools let me say that it is the result of over four years 
of intensive study, investigation and experimentation by the High 
School Head Masters’ Association of Boston. 


Our purpose is to submit certain principles and illustrative ma- 
terial of practical value in shaping and conducting a program of 
character education in the secondary schools of Boston. The As- 
sociation has endeavored to prepare a suggestive, workable plan of 
procedure. It includes the factors involved in the proper conduct 
of this important work of developing right attitudes in the youth of 
our city, and is an attempt to formulate a plan by which specific 
worth while qualities of character may be developed through definite 
life situations. 


The development in the individual pupil of a good character which 
shall rightly shape and control his conduct in and out of school, and 
throughout his later life, is an educational task of no mean order. No 
plan, however well conceived and organized, will, of itself, bring 
about the desired result. The successful achievement of our great 
objective can be secured only through the loyal, painstaking, and 
intelligent cooperation of every teacher. The teacher must make all 
the life of the school, the teaching of every subject, the dealing with all 
matters of discipline, the atmosphere and spirit of the school, count for 
good moral education. The teacher must realize that the work of 
character education is a practical everyday matter demanding constant 
attention and practical wisdom in its conduct. And to the degree 
that the teacher measures up to this ever present responsibility, to 
that degree will the success of this character program be assured. 


*Discussion of a report by the High School Head Masters’ Association 
of Boston, School Document No. 14, 1927, published February, 1928. 





66 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


The Pupil and the World of To-day.—What is the exact situa- 
tion faced by a teacher who has the responsibility for developing 
right character in secondary-school pupils? In the first place, it 
must be recognized that these young people have arrived at the age 
when they are thoughtfully keen and critical concerning all matters 
which secure their attention, more especially those things which seri- 
ously affect any purpose or result upon which they have set their 
hearts. Therefore, situations which arouse strong satisfaction or 
strong dissatisfaction are likely to be of frequent occurrence. Again, 
these pupils are engaged in that most interesting but baffling process 
of finding themselves, which further complicates the situation. They 
are living in an age of phenomenal change and progress as well as of 
intense activity and competition. The world about them is full of 
challenge, arousing their curiosity at every turn and constantly 
stimulating them to interested inquiry and investigation. All parts 
of the globe are so intimately linked together to-day by the telegraph, 
the radio, and other recent inventions that, without leaving his own 
community, the child may be brought each day into direct contact 
with the life of far distant lands, and, as a matter of fact, the city in 
which he lives is cosmopolitan in its population, customs, language, 
and ideals. The individual boy and girl in the group varies widely in 
native ability, in environment and cultural opportunities, in knowl- 
edge and background, in disposition, ambitions and ideals. 


Mastery in All Undertakings.—In the modern conception of educa- 
tion a most important phase of character development lies in guid- 
ing the pupil to complete achievement in all of his tasks, so that he 
may acquire what is sometimes spoken of as achieving power and 
habit. The process of education through self-activity requires three 
conditions to operate effectively: (1) That the pupils should be given 
opportunity to be problem finders as well as problem solvers, be- 
cause problem finding and solving are infinitely more productive 
in the development of vital minds than is problem solving alone; (2) 
That whatever activity is undertaken, whether it be academic study, 
mechanic arts, practical arts, fine arts, or athletics, the principle 
should be accepted and followed that if the thing is worth assigning 
and is properly assigned it is worth mastering one hundred per cent, 
not sixty per cent or seventy per cent only, before passing on to the 
next bit of work; and (3) That, before considering any problem as 
completed, the pupil should feel sure in his own mind, through the 



































| 
| 
F 
F 
j 



































Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 67 


use of checks and other means, that his work is correct. In this way 
he reaches that assured success in one undertaking which brings to 
him great encouragement amounting to a strong motivation for the 
next undertaking. This is in accord with the fundamental principle 
that character building is a cumulative process. 

Character Traits —These should include the following habits and 
attitudes : 

1. Responsibility —The willing acceptance of personal and social 
responsibility. 

2. Justice —The cultivation of habitual acts of fair play, honesty, 
truthfulness, and honor. 

3. Strength—The development of strength of various sorts, 
including independence, bravery, industry, perseverance, self-respect, 
self-control, moral cleanliness in thought, word and act ; cheerfulness 
and self-sacrifice, with their varieties and inter-relations. 


4. Good Will—The promotion of good will, including kindness, 
generosity, open-mindedness, sympathy, service, respect for the rights 
of others and reverence for all that is good. . 


5. Loyalty.—The development of loyalty, in thought, word and 
deed, to the ethical and moral standards of the family, school, church, 
community, state and nation, and a proper regard for duly constituted 
law and authority. 


(Note.—These qualities of character are not mutually exclusive. 
In general, one quality cannot be developed fully without the cultiva- 
tion of others.) 


Factors Involved in Character Education in the School_—The 
character developed in the pupil by the school is the result of all the 
experiences which constitute his school life. Therefore, everything 
which enters into his life as a pupil must be thought of as contribut- 
ing its share to the result, and each activity and influence must be so 
guided and controlled as to work toward the desired goal. Many and 
varied are the factors which have a part in this complex business 
of making strong men and women. 


Functions of the High-School Principal—The head master has 
a number of important and difficult functions to perform in the gen- 
eral scheme of moral training. He is the liaison officer between the 
school and the parents.. He is the interpreter to the public of the 











68 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


aims and the achievement of the school. To the faculty he is not 
merely an administrative superior; he is both counsellor and friend. 
To the students (besides being judge and court of appeal) he is a 
quickening, vitalizing influence, a perennial source of encouragement. 
Moreover, he represents the school to the alumni, and endeavors to 
make them realize their part in fostering the ideals of the school 
and in maintaining as an active force for good that larger community 
which is made up of past and present pupils. 


The Teacher—The head master sets the scene for those activi- 
ties of the school out of which moral training grows. The organiza- 
tion of the school and the final control of policy are in his hands. But 
it is the teacher who has the close and constant daily contact with 
the pupil. His, therefore, is the great molding influence: “As is the 
teacher so is the school.” Day after day, by word and deed he touches 
the emotions, influences the thoughts, guides and inspires the actions 
of the pupils with whom he comes into intimate contact. The teacher 
stands before his class an open book read by them at all times. There 
is no more alert audience than a group of pupils. “Actions speak 
louder than words.” Therefore, the teacher’s ideals of life, his habits 
of action, his character, are making daily impress on the lives of his 
pupils, and are received by them as his real teaching concerning 
character and citizenship. 


Included in our report we present a professional code of ethics 
for the teachers, as well as two moral codes for pupils. Experience 
has shown us that student participation in school government appears 
to be an important means of promoting worthy citizenship training 
in the school.* 


A school wishing to introduce student participation will do well to 
consider the following conclusions, drawn from a study of practice 
throughout the country for two decades. 


a. Student participation should be introduced gradually. 
b. The machinery for its administration should be simple. 


c. The students themselves must desire in a genuine way to par- 
ticipate in the government of the school. 





*By permission: See The Twenty-fifth Yearbook of the National Society 
for the Study of Education. Part II. 
































Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 69 


d. The faculty must be sympathetic, patient and willing in every 
way to make the movement a success. Student participation is neces- 
sarily a cooperative matter. 


e. The plan must provide for means by which all students are 
given opportunities to participate in the government of the school. 


Student participation seems to aid in developing important quali- 
ties, such as responsibility, initiative, leadership, fellowship, school 
pride, and a respect for law and order. 


To assist others in the organization and control of student par- 
ticipation we have included constitutions of student councils now in 
use in some of the Boston high schools. 


Student Group Activities—The word “extra-curriculum”* as 
commonly applied to student group activities is something of a mis- 
nomer. It is questionable whether it is wise to use a term which 
seems to make a decided separation between the curriculum itself and 
activities which have their rise in the curriculum. Since, however, the 
connotation of the term is generally understood, it will doubtless con- 
tinue to be used until a better one is accepted by educators. 


Character Values of School Clubs—The following character 
values are claimed for school clubs: (1) They furnish the opportunity 
for adolescent boys and girls to express themselves in wholesome 
and recreative instead of dangerous activities; (2) They serve as 
a training ground for leadership, not self-appointed or self-willed, but 
a socially-minded leadership; (3) They offer training in codperative 
team work; (4) They provide an opportunity for the development 
of loyalty; (5) They help to development character by the over- 
coming of unsocial or purely individualistic tendencies. 


Among many clubs it is possible for each pupil to find a place 
where, led by his individual tastes and interests, he may learn to 
follow as well as to lead, to codperate as well as to initiate. Loyal 
“fellowship,” leadership, cooperation, and initiative may be developed 
through club organizations. 


Principles Underlying a Club Program—For a successful club 
program the following principles should be observed: 


1. Time should be set aside for the club activities. 





*By permission: See The Twenty-fifth Yearbook of the National Society 
for the Study of Education. Part II. 











70 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


2. Only those clubs should be introduced which meet the aims of 
education. 

3. Enough clubs should be included in the social program so that 
the varied interests of all pupils may be met. 

4. Each club should be sponsored by a teacher who is interested 
in individuals as well as in subjects, and who knows how to work by 
indirect and suggestive methods. 

5. Each club must stand for something worth while so that it 
will hold the interest of its members. 

6. Guidance of pupils in choice of clubs is often necessary. 

A list is given of twenty-four different clubs found in secondary 
schools of the country, with the purpose of each and the type of stu- 
dent activity represented by each. 

Next we call attention to the character values of: (a) The high- 
school library and; (b) The various forms of visual aids including: 

1. Sculpture 
. Mural Tablets 
. The Flag 
. Announcements of Student Activities 
. Honor Rolls 
. Thrifts and Other Educational Charts 
Films 
. Exhibition Cases 
. Exhibits 
. Moral Code Posters 


. Messages through Art Display Posters (Copies of large dis- 
play posters, issued by the Mather Co., Chicago, IIl., are in- 


cluded ) 
The character values which may be obtained from each subject 


in the curriculum of the secondary school are analyzed, organized 
and presented. For this purpose the curriculum has been divided as 


CHRHNA UNA WH 


=—_ ea 
= © 


follows: 
1. Social Studies 
2. English Composition and Literature 





























Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 71 


. Foreign Languages 
. Mathematics 

The Sciences 

Music 

Art 

. Commercial Subjects 


WON Am b&w 


. Domestic Arts 
10. Physical Education for Boys and Girls. 


In addition, we have studied various specific forms of personality 
records, with which we have experimented for many years. Definite 
suggestions for the necessary administrative technique relating to 
these records are given. Abundant material has been supplied for 
special instruction by section and home room teachers as well as a 
list of specific school situations in which character traits are stressed. 


We have included also in our report twenty-four pages of quota- 
tions classified under the headings responsibility, justice, strength, 
good will and loyalty, as well as an extensive bibliography on the sub- 
pect. 


This report on Character Education is released for the first time 
to-day. We submit it to the National Association* as our contribu- 
tion to this important topic. Character training in the abstract is 
not new; valid methods and organized material for their effective 
use in the secondary-school program have been difficult to secure. 


In presenting our report to you to-day we do so with the hope 
that it may be in the nature of a definite forward step in organized 
material, which will be of assistance to you, as administrators, to 
your teachers, to the boys and girls in your charge, and that it may 
assist the secondary schools in achieving their great aim—“to equip 
pupils as fully as possible with the habits, insights, and ideals that 
will enable them to make America true to its traditions and its best 


hopes.’’T 


*Bureau of Education Bulletin (1917) No. 51. 
+Of Secondary-School Principals. 








72 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


Professor Bancroft Beatley, Assistant Professor of Education, 
Harvard University, read his paper, The Battle of the Specialists in 
Secondary Education. 


THE BATTLE OF THE SPECIALISTS IN SECONDARY 
EDUCATION 


BancroFrT BEATLEy, 
HarvArRD UNIVERSITY 


It is becoming increasingly evident that even the most competent 
secondary-school principal is incapable of dealing adequately with all 
the phases of education which are his concern. A series of brief 
quotations from the report of a recent school survey will make this 
clear. 
; . the . . . supervisory and administrative authority 
(of the Director of Vocational Education) over the high 
schools as a whole needs to be strengthened by a clear under- 
standing that he is in charge of public vocational education 
in the city. . . . The very nature of industrial education, 
ever-changing as it must be to meet new demands and circum- 
stances arising in industry, demands that there be direct and 
speedy contact between the Director and the Superintendent 
of Schools. . . . we recommend that the Director of Vo- 
cational Education be given the responsibility and the official 
title of “Associate Superintendent of Schools in charge of 
Practical Arts and Vocational Education.” 


A Director of Commercial Education should be appointed. 
He should be held responsible for the development of com- 
mercial education in the junior high schools, senior high 
schools, evening high schools, and continuation schools. 

. a Director of Home Economics, with rank and 
salary equal to that of the directors of other subjects, should 
be appointed to unify and develop the program of home eco- 
nomics education in the schools of the city. 

Everything relating to this (physical education) should be 
put directly under the supervision of the Director of Physical 
Education. 








Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 73 


There should be some central supervising authority (in 
English) that will ascertain where the strong work is being 
done, discover the methods that give the best results, and have 
them generally used to equalize the educational opportunities 
of pupils throughout the city. 


Competent general supervision and leadership in the social 
studies for the system as a whole would be justified by the 
number and size of the departments and the importance of the 


field. 


In order to insure continuity of instructional aims and pur- 
poses, the science work of both the elementary and high school 
grades should be organized as a single supervisory unit. The 
need of the agency of a supervisor of science in the . 
school system is urgent. 


In order to provide a uniform excellence of organization 
and of method in the teaching of foreign languages . . . it 
is . . . recommended that a foreign-language director . 
be attached to the superintendent’s office. 


Unified supervision of school libraries should be provided 
for by the appointment of a School Library Supervisor. 

It is clear from the foregoing quotations that the responsibility 
for determining what shall be taught and how it shall be taught is 
to be transferred from the domain of the high-school principals to 
that of the newly appointed specialists. The principals are to be 
“yes” men as far as the supervision of instruction is concerned. 
But no—the survey report is quite emphatic that the principalship 
shall not diminish but increase in importance. 


It is strongly recommended that all the principals of . 
secondary schools accept the improvement of teaching as 
their primary responsibility and that they codperatively and 
individually devise means of performing this duty more ef- 
fectively. 


It is obvious to one who studies the secondary schools of 
. that what is needed more than anything else is leader- 
ship. A definite general policy must be enumerated by the 








74 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


Superintendent ; sympathy with it and a willingness to work 
for it must be developed in the teachers. But it cannot be ef- 
fective without professional codperation and active leadership 
by the principals. Stimulated from above and agreeing among 
themselves on the purpose of secondary education as the fitting 
of each individual adolescent for better social living, they can 
lead their teachers to mighty accomplishment for public good. 
The secondary school to-day is a potent instrument to deter- 
mine the progress of the next generation. Its success depends 
on the vision, the courage, the industry, the tact—in short, on 
the leadership of its principal. Hence the emphasis in this 
report on the fact that the principal should be professionally- 


minded. 


These sharply contrasting points of view suggest that it is the 
work of the specialists to take the child apart and the job of the prin- 
cipals to put him together again. Such a conclusion would be grossly 
unfair to the specialists ; they have a significant contribution to make 
to the advance of secondary education. The purpose of this dis- 
cussion is to analyze the functions of specialist and principal and 
indicate the administrative relationships which should obtain. The 
problem is by no means confined to the largest cities. It will be found 
in any community which has two or more distinct units for secondary 
education, as, for example, a junior high school separate from a senior 


high school. 


Consider the problem in a typical setting. Community X has a 
junior high school and a senior high school. The principal of the 
junior high school is a man who has made considerable study of 
junior high school education and is attempting to offer a progressive 
type of secondary education in grades 7, 8, and 9. The principal of 
the senior high school is a man who has had difficulty in adjusting 
himself and his school to the junior high school movement. The 
department heads in the senior high school have supervisory re- 
sponsibility for junior high school work in their respective fields. The 
specialist in English believes that the objectives of language and 
literature are sufficiently distinct and the needs of children in these 
aspects sufficiently diverse to demand the separation of language and 
literature throughout the secondary-school period. The junior high 
school principal agrees. The principal of the senior high school dis- 


























Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 75 
sents. He believes sincerely that the proposal of the specialist is 
inconsistent with effective work in his school. Here is an apparent 
conflict between the needs for a course of study in English which will 
unify effort in this field throughout the secondary-school period, and 
the need for integrating the education of the pupil within the senior 
high school. 

Again, the specialist in home economics conceives the functions 
of her field as transcending training in the techniques of home mak- 
ing. Her course of study must include hygiene and sanitation, home 
decoration, responsibilities of parenthood, and community relation- 
ships of the family, and in addition vocational training for girls. 
The principals of both junior and senior high schools are unsym- 
pathetic. They contend that much of what she plans to include is 
already being treated in general science, biology, art, and community 
civics. She argues that educational materials should be realigned 
according to objectives. Home economics is a field of education, not 


just a subject. 

These illustrations will serve to point out the following possi- 
bilities of conflict. 

1. The specialist and one principal agree; the other principal dis- 
sents. 

2. The principals agree; the specialist dissents. 


It need hardly be pointed out that the question of who is right does 
not enter. All three may agree perfectly and still be wrong. 


The issue is: in case of conflict of purpose between principal and 
specialist, who shall have the authority to resolve the conflict? In 
our schools as at present organized, principals pretty largely have 
final authority in such matters. The principal’s lack of true under- 
standing of some of the problems which the specialist faces, and the 
need for unifying the objectives and content of courses in two or more 
articulated or parallel schools have given impetus to the movement to 
free the specialist from the domination of the principal. In the cases 
sighted above, the adjustment arrived at in many school systems 
would be that the work in English would lack unity as it would be 
organized differently in junior and senior high schools; the home 
economics teacher would be forced to limit. her activities to training 








76 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


in the techniques of home making, securing such codperation as she 
could from teachers of related subjects. 


The constitutional optimist will say that the situation pictured 
is overdrawn; that in an actual case the principals and specialists 
will take counsel together and work out a plan that is agreeable to all 
concerned. True, in some cases; in others, false. When the lines of 
authority and responsibility give control over the industrial work in 
all secondary schools of a system to a director of vocational education, 
with the salary and title of assistant superintendent, the principals 
must accept his dicta if they cannot persuade him to consider their 
views. True cooperation is possible only among those of approxi- 


mately equal status. 


Before defining the relationship which in the writer’s judgment 
should obtain between principal and specialist, it is of value to 
point out that both principal and specialist have distorted views of 
secondary education. The principal tends more than the specialist 
to look at the pupil as a whole, but the principal’s training and ex- 
perience have been almost completely along academic lines. He has 
probably given more time to the study of education than the specialist 
and he thinks more readily in terms of the general objectives of sec- 
ondary education. The principal tries to look at the whole picture, 
but his experience throws an academic haze over it. He sees certain 


details clearly, others vaguely, if at all. 


The specialist, on the other hand, has had to give so much time 
to the mastery of his special field that his recognition of the general 
objectives of education is likely to be superficial, if not definitely 
faulty. His work forces him so constantly to view only one phase of 
the pupil’s development that it is little wonder he tends to magnify 
the importance of his field. The specialist who combines: (1) A 
mastery of his subject; (2) Knowledge of the details of content and 
method appropriate to his field; (3) A general competence in the 
principles of education; and (4) An unexaggerated sense of the 
importance of his field is so rare that it is hopeless to expect to find 
him in quantities sufficient to supply the demand. 


If it be granted that the specialist is needed to work out the 
details of curriculum and methodology and that the principal is 
needed to integrate all phases of instruction within his school in the 











Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 77 


direction of appropriate general objectives, does it not follow that the 
principal and specialist must be on an equal footing in the school 
system? Such a conclusion appears inevitable if we are to secure 
proper leadership in both kinds of position. If the specialists are to 
be subordinate to the principals, there is little to attract competent 
people to undertake the training necessary for leadership in a special 
field. If the principals are to be inferior in rank and authority to 
the specialists, the principalship will be a post for relatively second- 
rate men. The thesis here advanced is that both types of position 


demand leadership of a high order. 


The effective working of a plan of supervision wherein principal 
and specialist are freed from domination by each other implies the 
necessity for determining their respective functions in such a manner 
that responsibility for a given function may be located in a single 
individual. Otherwise, neither principal nor specialist will know 
where his job begins and ends. Teachers need to know to what 
quarter they should look for guidance on a given phase of their work. 
The accompanying analysis indicates the lines along which the dif- 
ferentiation of function between principal and specialist may be at- 
tempted. Such an analysis is helpful only as it ‘tends to create 
conditions favorable to codperative effort. It is not intended that the 
responsibilities of either principal or specialist shall be narrowly 


defined. (See chart page 79.) 


It will be noted that, in some phases of instruction, the responsi- 
bilities of principal and specialist overlap to such a degree that joint 
responsibility is indicated. The highly important function of recom- 
mending teachers for appointment is just such a responsibility. The 
specialist may argue that he should initiate a recommendation for 
appointment, as he alone in the system is competent to judge the 
candidate’s technical qualifications for the work of his field. The 
principal, on the other hand, maintains that the method of appoint- 
ment should be such as to give the teacher a sense of loyalty to the 
organization over which he presides. The existence of a joint re- 
sponsibility here is apparent. The solution suggested is that the 
specialist certify to the competence of several candidates, any one 
of whom he would be willing to see appointed, and that the principal 
make the nomination from such a list. If, in the case of joint re- 
sponsibility, principal and specialist cannot reach an agreement, either 








78 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


should be free to take the issue to higher authority. This recourse of 
the specialist to the superintendent should not be regarded as “going 
over the head” of the principal. If the principal and specialist are 
to be on an equal footing as is here proposed, neither stands between 
the superintendent and the other. The superintendent is the arbitrator 
of their differences. 


Only the largest school systems in the country can justify the 
employment of a group of specialists whose entire time is devoted 
to the problems of their respective systems. In a city of 100,000 or 
over, it is probably desirable that a director of secondary education 
be employed who would coordinate the activities of the specialist 
and the principals. He would be chairman of a council on secondary 
education composed of the principals of all schools of secondary grade 
and specialists representing every phase of the work of instruction 
and guidance. Jointly, this group would work out an integrated 
program for secondary education in that city. 


In the medium-sized and small cities, the organization need not 
be so elaborate. The superintendent of schools or one of the prin- 
cipals (not necessarily the senior high-school principal) might serve 
as chairman of the council on secondary education. Perhaps only a 
few fields would justify the employment of full-time specialists. In 
other fields, a leading teacher might be designated to deal with the 
problems of the specialist in that field and to represent the field in 
the council on secondary education. Specialists attached to state 
departments of education or university schools of education could be 
employed from time to time in an advisory capacity. The details of 
the supervisory organization would necessarily vary from community 
to community. Even the smallest community should make some 
provision for directing toward common ends, the activities of teachers 
who, to a marked extent, are necessarily specialists. 


The creation of a council on secondary education in which prin- 
cipals and specialists are coordinate does not imply that the strong 
secondary-school principal will not continue to determine, in large 
measure, the policies which are adopted. He will prove his strength, 
however, not by the display of authority, but by the soundness of 
his points of view and the conviction which they carry. 





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Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 








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80 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


Miss Edith Everett, Associate Director, White-Williams Founda- 
tion of Philadelphia, read her address, The Visiting Teacher in the 
High Schools. 


THE VISITING TEACHER IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 
Epitu M. Everett, 


ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF THE WHITE-WILLIAMS FOUNDATION, 
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA 


When I try to think of how I can make clear to those of you 
who are only vaguely familiar with the term “visiting teacher” what 
her function in the school—and particularly in the high school— 
really is, my mind goes back over the experiences of my early years of 
high-school teaching, and I am beguiled as I often am, with the vivid 
memory of one young personality after another, which stands out 
from the group because of some very definite lack of conformity to the 
required pattern. 


I see Bill Sullivan, a charming Irish youth, destined to be a suc- 
cessful traveling salesman, failing cheerfully three times in succession 
the work of his first high-school term, regretfully bidding farewell ‘to 
the baseball team and leaving school for a job. I see Margery, pretty, 
easy-going, popular with boys and girls alike, cutting her Latin 
class whenever she saw an opportunity and copying her algebra home- 
work regularly—married at eighteen and divorced two years later. 
I see Otto, whose older sister was a teacher, his older brother the 
highest honor student in his class at college. But Otto, the most skil- 
ful truant in a club of twenty habitual “baggers,’”’ dedicated all his 
really good intelligence and interest to his effort to get ahead of school 
rules, and had nothing left for lessons. And there was Vivian, earn- 
est, ambitious, but too serious—often unable, no matter how carefully 
her lessons were prepared, to say a word in class because of what we 
thought was extreme shyness. Vivian graduated from college, but 
has been a nervous invalid for the past two years. These are real 
people. Their stories are true—so far as they go. Dozens of others 
pass through my mind, as they passed through my classes, pathetic, 
amusing, irritating; marked in the daily record book—present or 
absent—passing or failing—judged by the standards of high-school 
scholarship, and for the most part found wanting, treated at the best 








Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 81 


with kindly sympathetic interest, but never by any chance was their 
behavior regarded as symptomatic of conditions which challenged itr 
telligent effort at solution. 


And then there were the later years, in an administrative position 
in the same high school—when day after day the office was full of 
the school non-conformists—sulky or flippant or merely indifferent, 
—and yet always the most interesting of the high-school population. 
By this time schools were beginning to wake up to some of their 
social responsibilities. Intelligence tests were helping us not to expect 
more proficiency of dull normals than they could give—and helping 
us to group likes together, and fit the task to the ability of the person 
upon whom it was imposed. We were all being influenced by the 
teachings of a new psychology, under the impulse of the mental 
hygiene campaign. And yet, in spite of the efforts of mental tests, 
special classes, broader choice of subjects and visits of parents to the 
school office, some of the Bills continued to fail repeatedly, some of 
the Margerys to bring in lying excuses, some of the Vivians to be 
caught in the grip of some obscure inhibition, some of the Ottos to 
be truant, and a dozen and one other exponents of high-school failure 
and delinquency, to flourish. For there was still no way of con- 
necting up the experiences and influences of the eighteen daily hours 
outside the school, with the six short ones spent within its walls. 


You will pardon me if I repeat some facts and inferences 
which must seem very obvious. During those six hours the student 
meets and recites to five or six different teachers, in subjects which 
he in varying degrees enjoys, tolerates, or dislikes. He must sub- 
ordinate his personal interests to the interests and points of attack 
of each of these different dominating personalities,—a necessity which 
he meets with success or failure, according to his poise and adaptabil- 
ity. There is little wonder that there ate frequent instances of failure 
to meet successfully this complex situation. Nor is there much to be 
wondered at in the failure of teachers to understand and help in the 
adjustment. The average high-school teacher in a large city school— 
meets from 150 to 200 pupils in a day—in periods of about 45 
minutes—and her chief preoccupation must be the necessity for cover- 
ing in that time a certain required amount of work. Stupidity, flip- 
pancy, indifference, insubordinaton, become unit characters, promptly 
judged and usually summarily handled. There are two sides to 
every question—and even those who insist that a good teacher must 











82 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


think of her pupils as individuals, and should take a scientific at- 
titude toward their performance, must also admit that there are 
almost insurmountable difficulties in the way of putting such an at- 
titude into practical operation beyond the limits of her classroom 
contacts. Even the principal and the dean, though free from class- 
room pressure, are usually too much occupied with administrative 
duties to go farther than office interviews with pupils and parents. 
It is to meet the need created by this situation, that many schools 
are employing a new member of the staff—whose function it is to 
bring to bear upon the treatment of school failures in either scholar- 
ship or behavior a specialized technique of personality study. Wheth- 
er this person be called a student adviser, as I was, a school counselor 
as she is called in Philadelphia, a home and school visitor as here 
in Boston, a director of personnel or a visiting teacher—the most 
widely used title,—is of little importance in comparison with the def- 
inition of her function in the school. Her work does not overlap 
that of the school nurse, attendance officer or vocational counselor, 
all of whom have specialized functions dealing with some one phase 
of the individual pupil. It is more apt to be confused with that of 
the dean. I have been interested in studying an article in the Janu- 
ary 21 number of School and Society by Dr. Sarah Sturtevant of 
Teachers College, on the Dean of Girls in the Secondary School. 
Dr. Sturtevant is undoubtedly the outstanding authority on this sub- 
ject. She defines the work of the dean as primarily administrative, 
concerned with educational guidance and the planning and regulation 
of extra-curriculum programs, in order that positive social health 
may be the attribute of all girls. As an additional function she men- 
tions the personal adjustment of girls by the intelligent diagnosis of 
special problems and states that this adjustment requires the skill of 
the trained social worker to handle (it). I should add two other 
elements, without which skill, in this difficult task of re-education, 
can accomplish littkek—those other elements are time and freedom 
from routine duties. 

Through the offices of principal and dean, of physical training 
director and of vocational counselor, sift those cases—fortunately 
a minority of the whole high-school population, whose difficulties 
stubbornly refuse to yield to the treatment which can be provided 
within the four walls of the school. 


May we go back to truant Otto for illustration of just what I 








Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 83 


mean—Otto was the youngest of three children. His parents were 
German with old world ideas of authority and respect due to elders. 
His father, once a successful business man, had become a helpless ex- 
acting invalid before Otto entered high school. The older children had 
grown up comfortably and had done well in school. Otto, the young- 
est boy, was the mother’s baby. He had been always indulged and 
had been the object of his mother’s chief attention. Suddenly, just 
at his adolescence ; the scene changed. The invalid father claimed the 
mother’s care; without his business to think about, the father turned 
his attention to Otto and was bitterly critical of his spoiled child 
ways in the home. The sister, a teacher, nagged about study and 
table manners. The successful brother was constantly both at home 
and at school held up as a model of whom Otto was proud, but 
whom he also secretly hated. Although fifteen years old physically, 
in his emotional development he was only a baby. He had never 
had any chance or encouragement to grow up. School routine irked 
him—he had no normal, healthy athletic interests; he was a coward 
physically, and so he developed a skill in evasion—he ran away from 
everything unpleasant—not having the courage to rebel openly he be- 
came a liar and a cheat. Having no outlet in healthy constructive ac- 
tivity he spent his time with a gang, secretly smoking and reveling in 
the reading and telling of obscene stories from cheap periodicals—get- 
ting even, in his poor fumbling way, with the adult world that had 
suddenly turned against him. You will ask—what could a visiting 
teacher do in such a case? 


With time at her disposal, and the skill which comes from training 
and experience—for both of these are essential to success in any effort 
to help such a boy find himself, she set herself to the study of the 
boy as the school knew him. The psychologist’s record indicated 
normal intelligence—quite adequate for mastery of high-school sub- 
jects. The medical record was negative. Only one teacher, however, 
had anything good to say of his accomplishments. In his English 
work he showed spasmodic interest and effort—especially in com- 
position, which was original and well-expressed. Then -Otto was 
invited into the little office which the visiting teacher had found es- 
sential for the successful carrying on of interviews with her boys 
and girls. At first, of course, he was suspicious. But he failed to 
find any ground for keeping up the suspicion. There was no scold- 
ing—no lecturing. ‘The cards were on the table—good and bad— 








&4 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


‘school reports, attendance record, psychologist’s and doctor’s reports— 
and Otto was invited to discuss them. That was uncomfortable— 
he didn’t know how to do it. But slowly—iittle by little—after sev- 
eral talks, beginning with the English, he began to respond to this 
method of thinking of himself objectively. Being treated like a 
grown up person was a new experience—very reassuring to his 
adolescent vanity, and almost before he knew it he was talking about 
himself—and his family—revealing attitudes and feelings that he 
had hardly known he had. Then, with his knowledge and agreement, 
the visiting teacher called on his father and mother and tried by 
showing her interest and belief in him, to make them a little proud 
of him—a little tolerant and gradually a little ready to trust him. 
Slowly there grew out of his sense of being one with his family, 
not an outcast from it, a self-respect which left him free to win for 
himself the respect of the school. For always that is what the visit- 
ing teacher has as her aim. 

She is in the school to help insure that every child may have equal 
chance to profit by the educational facilities offered. The misfit, the 
inadequate and misunderstood are not to be coddled and wheel- 
chaired, but to be helped to find and use the tools of self-assurance, 
pride and competency. She is by training, interest and function, a 
specialist in personality study and adjustment, as a psychiatric social 
worker is, but always in relation to preparing the boy and girl in 
whom she is interested, to fit into the social institution of which he 
and she are parts in order that it may function successfully so far as 
they are concerned. To this end, as I have said before, she must 
have her time and responsibility quite free to devote to interviews 
with what we might call her patients, with psychologist and teachers, 
to visit their homes, to get in touch with community resources for 
recreation, medical or psychiatric care as needed. She cannot carry 
any other responsibilities which will interfere with this major func- 
tion :—Necessarily because of the delicacy and difficulty of the task 
of changing attitudes and habits built up over all the years of infancy 
and childhood, she must work slowly and cannot undertake intensive 
work with a great many boys and girls at a time. 


As to the kind of skill required, there are I think, three major 
factors involved. First, are personality qualities ; openness, simplicity, 
and sincerity—an ability to make people feel at home, a positive 
tolerance and understanding are some of the qualities which count 











Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 85 


heavily toward success. With the adolescent particularly, a person 
with a keen but kindly sense of humor and a poise which makes it 
possible for her to listen and wait, will make most headway. 

As to previous professional experience, nothing counts more than 
successful teaching. Those of us who have been watching the work of 
visiting teachers carefully in order to evaluate standards of success have 
learned to be wary of the teacher who is tired of her job and wants a 
change, or who for some reason has not been successful in it. The 
best visiting teacher is the one who knows about teaching, is profes- 
sionally up to date, and cares about it intensely in terms of boys and 
girls. And as to special training—first and foremost, there should be 
a thorough grounding in the psychology of human behavior—by 
which I do not mean behavioristic psychology—but the kind of under- 
standing of the development of personality which is being so widely 
taught and written by the mental hygienists. Especially should the 
visiting teacher in the high school use every opportunity to keep up 
to date in regard to the psychology of adolescents, knowledge of the 
science of social case work and close association with the social re- 
sources of her community—religious, recreational and health—are also 
essential to her training. 

The secondary schools have accomplished wonderful adjustments 
in the past ten years to meet the new burdens placed upon them. We 
have accepted the responsibility of providing special facilities for 
pupils of varying kinds and degrees of intelligence, of fitting for citi- 
zenship, and home membership and worthy use of leisure, of provid- 
ing vocational information and guidance. There is only one grour 
neglected in our scheme—those whose life experience has left them 
so emotionally insecure or unadjusted that they are forced to adopt 
patterns of behavior quite inadequate to meet the social demands of 
the high school. It is to help them to grow up emotionally, so that 
they may be equipped with the well-integrated personality which alone 
can fit them with tools adequate to carry on in this rapidly changing 
civilization, that the visiting teacher in the high school finds her 


vocation. 








86 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


Vice President, Jessie M. Hamilton, Principal of Morey Junior 
High School, Denver, Colorado, presided over the Junior High 
School section, which met in the Ball Room at 9 A. M., Tuesday, 


February 28, 1928. 


Mr. Joseph F. Gonnelly, District Superintendent of Schools of 
Chicago, read his paper, The Rating of Teachers by Supervisors. 


RATING OF TEACHERS BY SUPERVISORS 
Josepu F. GoNNELLY, 


District SUPERINTENDENT IN CHARGE OF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS, 
Cuicaco, ILLINOIS 


Who Are Supervisors?—The topic as stated leads immediately to 
the question: “Who are supervisors?” The answer given in this 
paper will include three types of school workers in this category ; viz., 
the school principal; the school superintendent including assistant 
superintendents; and supervisors of special subjects. The school 
principal is embraced in this classification because his major function 
is supervision. It is true that he has administrative and clerical duties 
also; but these occupations are of considerably less importance than 
is that of supervision. A business executive and a person trained in 
office practice can, conceivably, do a good job of administering the 
work of a school and compiling necessary records and reports; but 
the work of supervision requires ability and power that come only 
through professional education and experience. The principal who 
allows admniistrative and office routine to absorb his energies and 
time, so that the vital work of supervision suffers, is guilty of a 
serious professional error. 

The district, assistant, and general superintendent are compre- 
hended in the list of supervisors because, although much of their work 
must necessarily be of an administrative character (dealing with sites, 
building plans, choice of teachers, textbooks, school equipment, sup- 
plies, etc.,) ; still the chief reason for the existence of all these officials 
is supervision ; i.e., improvement of instruction. The superintendent 
can, because his territory is more extensive than is that of the school 
principal, advise with the latter on ways of bringing about improve- 
ment in teachers whose work is not satisfactory in certain particulars. 

















< 











Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 87 
He can recommend visits to be made by these teachers to other schools 
where an outstanding piece of work in mathematics, science, English, 
a foreign language, or what not may be observed. He may arrange 
for a school clinic at which teaching under ordinary conditions is per- 
formed by one instructor and noted by many teachers of the subject, 
either accompanied or followed by a full and free discussion of the 
excellencies or defects revealed. Because the superintendent comes 
into contact with many schools and teachers, his criticism of the 
teacher will probably be less influenced by local considerations than 
is that of the school principal. On the other hand, the superintendent's 
estimate of the teacher will be, to some extent, less valid than is that 
of the school principal ; because the latter will have the opportunity of 
daily, intimate contact with the classroom work and a more sympa- 
thetic understanding of local problems. 

The third type of supervisor referred to in this paper is the man 
or woman who supervises special subjects; e.g., commercial work, 
technical shops, art, music, household arts, and the like. The special 
supervisor should be freed from practically all administrative work 
to devote all his resources of education and experience to the improve- 
ment of instruction in the schools. He should have first hand knowl- 
edge of the teacher’s stumbling stones through having risen from the 
ranks. Many times the anomalous situation is presented of a person 
attempting to oversee a subject ; e.g., art; when the supervisor has had 
no experience in teaching that subject, or any other, to pupils under 
ordinary classroom conditions. Such a person can, of course, do lit- 
tle to aid a teacher who is in distress; because he does not, from 
first-hand contact, know why the teacher is failing or in what partic- 
ular. The well-trained special supervisor can, however, contribute 
points of view and assistance that are unattainable by either the school 
principal or the superintendent. It seems wise, therefore, that three 
types of supervisors—school principal, superintendent, and special 
supervisors should participate, perhaps in varying degrees and in 
different modes, in the rating of teachers. 

Why Rate Teachers?—The next problem to be examined in this 
paper is that of why teachers should be rated. The reasons for such 
rating may be stated as follows: 


1. That instruction may be improved. 


2. That supervision may be more intelligent and more 
effective. 











88 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


3. That hopelessly weak teachers may be separated from the 
educational system. 

4, That promotion may be based upon merit rather than 
upon personal preference. 

5. That teachers may be furnished with a rational urge for 
development professionally. 


A brief discussion may serve to elucidate these points. The 
chief raison d’étre of teachers, school principals, special supervisors. 
and superintendents is the placing of instruction upon a higher planc. 
How will rating of teachers promote this desirable design? 


It will do this by inducing and compelling all the persons men- 
tioned in the sentence preceding the last to analyze more solicitously 
and more heedfully the teaching process. Such rating implies, of 
course, conscientious and faithful endeavor on the part of all con- 
cerned. It purposes that the various supervisors mentioned in the 
early part of this paper shall make numerous visits to the teachers 
rated; shall record data secured on these visits; shall hold individual 
and group conferences with teachers; shall invite and solicit sugges- 
tions from the teachers ; and shall, finally, in every way possible seek 
to instigate an analytical point of view with regard to classroom pro- 
cedure so that the causes and circumstances of excellent work may be 
discovered and made habitual, and that the sources and conditions of 
unsatisfactory work may be understood and eliminated. When the 
problem of teacher-rating is approached in such an impersonal, ob- 
jective fashion ; when the teachers are led to realize that the rating of 
their efforts is not directed against them; but that they and the 
supervisors are engaged in a codperative effort to determine the tech- 
nique of efficient instruction—then, and then only will systems of 
rating teachers be viewed as valuable and worthy, and not as means 
for teacher intimidation. 

It is the obligation of the supervisors to codrdinate and systema- 
tize the work of the various classroom teachers. This coordination 
can be secured only by the observance of two vital stipulations: first, 
all programs of supervision should be carried out through the office 
of the school principal ; secondly, the program should be expounded 
and defined to the classroom teachers in order that they may co- 
operate wholeheartedly and intelligently in carrying out the program 
This intelligent codperation of teachers in the supervisor’s program 

















Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 89 


can be carried out more competently and effectively if teachers and 
supervisors have collaborated in analyzing the teaching process and 
in formulating and executing a rating scheme for teachers. The 
supervisor who gives a teacher a rating of satisfactory rather than a 
rating of e.rcellent, should have given the work of that teacher a very 
searching scrutiny. He should have led the teacher to try out various 
methods and devices in the effort to improve and enhance instruction 
and to rectify errors. In this way, the supervisor's insight into and 
his discernment of his own problems are also deepened. The case is 
similar with respect to excellent or superior teaching. Oftentimes a 
teacher is unable to repeat a piece of splendid teaching because of his 
failure to note the principles involved. The supervisor should be able 
to “set” in the teacher’s mind the principles and modes of procedure 
that make for superior teaching. 


That supervisor is a good supervisor who stimulates teachers to 
undertake new types of work. Such effort keeps the teacher from 
degenerating into the “day-laborer” attitude, and leads him to greater 
professional growth and enthusiasm. Full and free discussion of 
teacher-rating by supervisors and teachers will tend to develop friend- 
lier feeling, more democratic supervision, and more effective in- 
struction. 


It is probably true that in every system there is a small number 
of persons employed in classrooms who are totally unfitted by nature, 
education, professional equipment, or personality to teach effectively. 
Such a person should, of course, be separated from the system as 
speedily and as painlessly as possible. The supervisor should, how- 
ever, be sure that the person so handicapped cannot, by encourage- 
ment and guidance, be developed into a satisfactory teacher. The 
supervisor should hold in mind that those who know little readily 
pronounce judgment, and that the truly scrupulous supervisor will 
recommend separation of a teacher from the system only as a last 
resort and after every means to promote improvement has been tried 
and found to be futile. The teacher should be led to locate persistent 
errors and the reason for these errors as well as remedial -work de- 
signed to alleviate the situation. If the case remains hopeless, dis- 
missal from the service should be recommended by the supervisor. 
Most teachers fail because their discipline is weak; their power to 
instruct is poor; their personality is colorless; or they lack interest 
in their work. Sometimes these deficiencies exist in such degree that 








90 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


no remedial work can be successful. The person simply is not a 
teacher and cannot be assisted in becoming a teacher. 


Not much discussion is needed, it is to be hoped, to establish the 
thesis that rating of teachers may be used to secure promotion of the 
more valuable teachers. This will be of value in two ways: first, the 
higher position will then be filled by a competently trained person ; 
secondly, other teachers will feel the urge to put forth their best 
efforts and to develop professionally to the maximum of their 
potentialities. 

How Rate Teachers?—The third problem set the writer of this 
paper is how teachers shall be rated. Shall teacher efficiency be de- 
fined in terms of the teacher’s own qualities, or in terms of results 
achieved by his pupils? The latter plan might seem, on first thought, 
to be preferable in that it could be made specific, factual, objective. 
If this method of rating were to be used, certain facts should be 
heeded ; viz., the length of time the pupils have been with the teacher ; 
what their achievements were at the beginning and at the close of this 
teacher’s instruction; what outside influences affect their work, and 
similar considerations. If such safeguards are observed, this plan 
has value; but it needs to be supplemented by the sane opinions of 
wise leaders. In any event, the supervisor should avoid uncertain, 
unrecognizable, and unmeasurable values. The supervisor should 
visit, record the observations and suggestions made by him, and visit 
again and again. The rating finally given to the teacher should be 
the summation of these visits. 


Various plans have been suggested for rating teachers. Usually 
they have comprehended the following points: teaching technique, 
classroom management, personality, professional attitude, and re- 
sults. Each of these is usually subdivided into several subheadings. 
Teaching technique, for example, is concerned with knowledge of 
subject matter, definition of aims, skill in organizing discussion, ex- 
pertness in making assignments and in formulating questions, ability 
to train pupils in correct study habits, and similar matters. 


Classroom management deals with discipline, routine factors, neat- 
ness of room, care of light, heat, and ventilation, and like topics. 
Personality includes such considerations as initiative, health, appear- 
ance, reliability, industry, enthusiasm, tact, voice, honesty, etc. Pro- 
fessional attitude involves academic and pedagogical preparation, 

















Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 91 


understanding of pupils, spirit of codperation, professional interest 
and growth, daily preparation, and so on. Results comprise growth 
of pupils in subject-matter, general development, attention of pupils, 
moral influence, etc., , 


It is evident that opinion enters into the rating of teachers on cer- 
tain characteristics cited in the foregoing paragraph. To guard 
against this possible weakness, it would be well to have more than one 
supervisor participate in rating the teacher; the efficiency rating 
should be the outcome of several visits made to the teacher ; and finally 
the highest awards should be accorded those teachers who possess dy- 
namic characteristics such as originality and the power of self-de- 
velopment. Thus, the supervisor can refute the argument that super- 
vision and rating of teachers make for imitation and sycophancy and 
tend to crush originality and individuality. Teaching efficiency exists 
—it exists in varying degrees it different persons—it can be measured 
or at least estimated by conscientious supervisors. The rating of 
teachers should be regarded as a very serious matter—not something 
to be undertaken in a sketchy, temperamental manner. 


Each Supervisor's Part in Teacher-Rating.—The fourth and last 
problem to be considered here is the part to be taken in rating teachers 
by each type of supervisor mentioned ; viz., school principal, superin- 
tendents, and special supervisor. 


It probably is not desirable that each of these supervisors should 
turn in efficiency ratings for all teachers. The school principal should 
record the efficiency rating of all teachers in his building. He should, 
as a matter of course, utilize the insight into the technique of teach- 
ing possessed by the special supervisor and the broader point of view 
possessed by the superintendent. 


The school principal is well-fitted and strategically located to rate 
his teachers on such points as personality, class room management, 
and professional attitude. He should be able to secure fairly reliable 
answers to such questions as the following: “Does the teacher possess 
initiative and originality? Is he loyal to the school and enthusiastic 
in codperation? Is he studious? Is he industrious? Is he gifted with 
tact and self-control? Does he possess a sense of humor? Is his 
general appearance commendable? Does his discipline result in 
growth of his pupils in self-control? Is he able and willing to carry 
out suggestions? Is he well-versed in modern educational move- 














92 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


ments? Are his pupils active and orderly in carrying out their 
projects?” j 


In matters of skill in teaching and results of teaching effort, the 
special supervisors can lend valuable assistance to the school principal 
in the rating of teachers. By the codperative efforts of these two 
supervisors, fairly adequate data may be advanced with reference to 
the following : “Does the teacher know the subject-matter of his own 
and related fields? Does he clearly define the aims of instruction to 
himself and to his pupils? Are the lessons and exercises well planned 
to carry out these aims? Is he systematic in preparing questions and 
spontaneous in propounding them? Is he resourceful in organizing 
projects and discussions? Is he gifted in stimulating his pupils to 
formulate suitable questions? Does he prepare carefully for the new 
material by insuring the bringing in of relevant past experiences on 
the part of the pupils? Does he exhibit skill in conducting snappy 
drills? Do all members of the class participate in questioning or any 
other activity of the class? Is he able to train his pupils in correct 
study and work habits? Does he show skill in making assignments ? 
Does he know the minds of the learners—their powers of comprehen- 
sion—their individual differences—their difficulties? Does he suc- 
ceed in getting optimum results?” In securing answers to such queries, 
the special supervisor’s intimate knowledge of the subject and meth- 
ods of teaching will be found most helpful. 


The superintendent should assist in rating the efficiency of teachers 
who are deemed by the school principal to be, on the one hand, on the 
borderline of inefficiency, or, on the other hand, to be nearing the 
highest degree of efficiency. In the one case, the superintendent can 
assist in deciding whether or not the teacher should be recommended 
for dismissal ; in the other case, he can help determine whether or not 
the teacher merits promotion. Because of the superintendent’s 
broader field of operations, he may be able to judge a teacher's effi- 
ciency more justly than can the school principal. The superintendent 
may recognize the fact that the teacher, whom the school principal con- 
siders inefficient, may be doing as good work as are teachers in an- 
other school who receive the mark, satisfactory. On the other hand, 
a teacher, whom the principal considers superior, may in fact not 
deserve that rating when compared with excellent teachers in nearby 
schools. 























Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 93 


Summary.—1|. The three types of supervisors should be con- 
cerned in rating teacher-efficiency—the school principal, the special 
supervisor, and the superintendent. 

2. Teachers should be rated to secure improvement of instruction 
and supervision ; to provide for the elimination of teachers who are 
hopelessly unfit; to facilitate promotion for merit; and finally to 
stimulate teachers to develop professionally. 

3. Teacher rating should be based partly upon the teacher’s own 
qualities and partly upon the results achieved by his pupils. 

4. The school principal should turn in the efficiency rating of the 
teacher, assisted in such aspects of the work as teaching technique, 
and results by the special supervisor. The superintendent should 
lend assistance in rating teachers who are either very good or very 
poor. 


The Place of the Teacher in Curriculum Revision was presented 
without notes by Superintendent of Schools, A. L. Threlkeld, Denver, 
Colorado. 


THE PLACE OF THE CLASSROOM TEACHER 
IN CURRICULUM REVISION 


A. L. THRELKELD, 
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, DENVER, COLORADO 


The teacher-pupil situation should be the focal point for any pro- 
gram of curriculum revision. Curriculum revision should begin and 
end here. In other words, curriculum construction is the problem of 
the teacher as he faces the pupil who is to learn. From the point of 
view of the schools it is primarily the teacher’s problem. This is a 
problem made up in terms of pupil nature, social inheritance, and the 
needs of present life. Around this problem centers all which can 
actually be called a curriculum revision program. 

Principal, supervisor, research expert, all must participate if the 
best possible pupil-learning situation is to be created. They are essen- 
tial but they should be thought of as extensions of the teacher. The 
teacher must reach out to the principal, to the supervisor, to various 
specialists for the contributions which they severally can make to the 
problem which he faces. No modern-teacher can be sufficient unto 











94 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


himself. He must rely upon what has been contributed by research 
investigations wherever they may have occurred; he must rely upon 
the expert study of method which principal and supervisor have made ; 
he must rely upon the social service of the attendance department ; the 
visiting teacher ; the health service of the medical and physical educa- 
tion departments; and various other special agencies which in a 
modern school system are now at the command of the teacher who 
knows how to use them. In a school system having a department of 
curriculum revision the teacher must rely upon the director of this 
department for assistance in the procuring of curriculum materials 
for the classroom situation, such a director working through and with 
teacher committees and all others involved. Whether these materials 
are furnished in a printed course of study, in several such courses, 
or in any other way are details which may be changed from time to 
time as conditions warrant. The essential point of view here being 
presented is that the teacher facing the pupil who is to learn is the 
center of the process. Curriculum revision begins and ends right 
here. 


Obviously this point of view demands that all who are in a position 
to contribute to the learning process of the pupil participate in the 
construction of the curriculum. This participation begins when the 
classroom teacher is actively interested in contributing to the growth 
of his pupils. This interest reaches out in various directions as in- 
dicated above. To the extent that it does reach out have we a sound 
basis for the very important contributions which the experts of vari- 
ous types referred to above are in a position to make. Their insights 
and knowledges cannot be forced into this learning process. They 
must come in response to a felt need. Coming in response to such 
a need, they serve their true purpose. In this situation, that which 
they have to contribute actually functions. 


Looking at it from this point of view it is clear that a curriculum 
revision program cannot be measured in terms of what is found be- 
tween the covers of printed courses of study. Such an examination 
would tell only part of the story. The most vital thing would be left 
out of consideration ; namely, to what extent is this course of study 
genuinely accepted by the teacher as an important help in his teach- 
ing? In the first place, does he understand what is in the course of 
study and does he accept it as being appropriate to his task? No 
course of study, from a practical point of view, is worth any more 














Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 95 


to a school system than the extent to which it actually results in growth 
on the part of the pupils. It cannot be judged apart from this. 

Then quite aside from what may have been worked out in research 
laboratories, quite aside from what may now be the best theory which 
students of education possess, no curriculum revision program can 
succeed if it is limited to a consideration of these sources of material. 
If the active participation of the classroom teacher is left out of the 
plan, the whole structure is superficial and will amount to nothing. 

The purpose of this brief paper is not to make the impression that 
supervisors, principals, curriculum experts, research investigators 
are not important as compared to the teacher. To repeat, they are 
essential. The conception here being presented is that their function- 
ings are the reachings out for help of the teacher. Without the in- 
telligent reachings out of the teacher, they are impotent. All are part 
of one process which centers in the teacher-pupil situation. 

Practical ways by which this point of view may be worked out 
in a school system involve a discussion of teacher committees, when 
and how they shall work, how they shall be related to principal, super- 
visor, curriculum specialist, and the like, but the topic of this paper is 
the place of the teacher in a curriculum revision program. Therefore 
nothing more than a mere statement of this place is here attempted. 


Mr. Joseph Roemer, Professor of Secondary School Education of 
the University of Florida presented his paper, /ntroducing an Extra- 
Curriculum Activities Program. 


INTRODUCING AN EXTRA-CURRICULUM ACTIVITIES 
PROGRAM 
JoserH ROEMER, 
PROFESSOR OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
AND 
HicuH-ScuHoor Visitor, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 


Perhaps there is no phase of secondary education that calls for 
special training and leadership so much as the extra-curriculum activ- 
ities program. Not only does it require that the principal and faculty 














96 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


have specific training in the aims, functions, and activities of such a 
program, but real leadership is necessary to carry through anything 
like a real, vigorous, constructive piece of work ; consequently, it is 
the opinion of the writer that in trying to do anything of value with 
the high school along the line of extra-curriculum activities the place 
to begin is with the faculty. Unless the faculty has the definite 
training, appreciative background, and wholehearted attitude with 
willingness to codperate thoroughly in a program, the project is a 
failure from the beginning ; but with a trained principal with strong 
leadership and a co6perative faculty, there are untold possibilities in 


this field. 

During the scholastic year of 1926-27 the writer had an experi- 
ence with the Memorial Junior High School of Tampa, Florida, which 
he feels is of enough significance to illustrate the possibilities in this 
field when properly understood and attempted. 

Tampa, Florda, is a city of approximately 200,000 people. It has 
four junior high schools operating and one under construction, beside 
two large senior high schools. The Memorial Junior High School, 
the one concerned in this study, is one of the four junior high schools 
mentioned above. It had at the time of this experiment a student body 
of 1500 pupils of grades 7, 8, and 9 and a faculty of approximately 
40 members. It had the regular routine work of an academic nature 
found in the ordinary junior high school. Besides this there was the 
usual work in home economics, manual arts, music, drawing, and 
commerce. In the closing days of the preceding school term the 
building was completed and the pupils transferred to it just a few days 
before the end of the term ; consequently, the principal, J. W. Comp- 
ton, used the first semester of his next school term for the purpose 
of amalgamating and cementing, as it were, his pupil body into one 
organic whole. The pupils came to this building from fourteen ward 
schools, three private schools, and several rural schools in the adjoin- 
ing vicinity. As a result there was brought together a very hetero- 
geneous group to begin with. At the close of his first semester the 
principal felt that he had solidified his school and that it had settled 
down to the routine of work well enough for him to begin a construc- 
tive program of extra-curriculum activities. After a conference with 
the writer on details, Principal Compton arranged with the faculty 
for six three-hour faculty meetings on six consecutive Saturday after- 
noons from 2:00 to 5:00 o’clock. There was a distinct understanding 

















Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 97 


between the principal and his faculty that the purpose of these ex- 
tended faculty meetings was to make an intensive study of the matter 
of student activities with the express purpose of organizing a program 
that would fit their school and introduce such parts of it as were ad- 
visable during that spring semester ; consequently, there was a most 
wholesome attitude on the part of the faculty from the very beginning 
and a clear understanding as to the purpose of the meetings. 

In order to educate his patrons the principal went before the 
Parent Teacher’s Association and explained to them in detail what 
he was proposing to do with the faculty and requested their codpera- 
tion and interest. The Parent Teacher’s Association very whole- 
heartedly endorsed the program and very generously agreed to bear 
the largest share of the financial burden for the faculty. It was 
arranged among the mothers of the Parent Teacher’s Association so 
that a large percentage of them attended each of the conferences or 
classes that were held. In this way when the program was over, the 
mothers of the school had about as firm a grip and as intelligent an 
understanding of the whole project as did the faculty, because many 
of the parents came regularly and did a large share of the assigned 
readings in order to get the most out of the study. 

To make each meeting count for the greatest good, the writer and 
the principal agreed upon the following topics for discussion during 
the six meetings that followed. 


Topics 
1. (a) Aims and Functions of an Extra-Curriculum Activities 
Program. 
(b) The Faculty’s Part in Such a Program. 
. Home Room 
. Club Program 


2 
a 
4, Assemblies 
5. Publications 
6. Student Participation in School Control 
7. Thrift Program 
8. Health Program 
Through the codperation of the City Superintendent of Schools, 
the County Superintendent of Schools and the Director of High 








98 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


Schools, copies of all the books at the time in print in the field of 
extra-curriculum activities were purchased for the high-school library 
and put at the disposal of the teachers. A great deal of additional 
collateral reading was added to the library temporarily through the 
General Extension Division of the University of Florida under whose 
auspices the work was carried on. 


As a preparation for the first meeting definite assignments were 
made and placed in each teacher’s mail box. In this way the whole 
faculty came to the first meeting prepared for an intelligent group 
discussion of the topic in hand. 


In order to make the work most effective the forty teachers were 
divided up into groups of approximately five persons to a group. 
This was arrived at by asking each teacher to select the topic that 
she most prefer working on as a member of a group. It just so 
happened that each group was approximately the same size. Each 
group was asked to be responsible for its report at one meeting. The 
groups organized and elected their chairmen and began a definite study 
of their topics. Asa piece of good luck it so happened again that the 
first committee to report did an unusually good piece of work. The 
report consisted of six mimeographed pages. This was worked out 
and placed in each teacher’s box two days before the meeting. When 
the group met the report was thoroughly familiar to every person and 
it was largely the work of the instructor to head up the discussion and 
to direct the thinking and working of the group during the three-hour 
period.’ From the very beginning the meetings were stimulating in 
the extreme. The second committee report was equally as good and 
again early distribution of it made it possible for each teacher to 
study the report before coming to the class. This was the procedure 
for the entire six three-hour-group meetings which were held. 


To summarize or to pull together in final form the entire work of 
the course the principal and assistant principal together with the chair- 
man of each of the eight groups, acted as a general committee to take 
all eight of the reports and unify them into one which was to be the 
basis of the administrative machinery in the new project. At each of 
the eight group meetings before the discussion was closed the entire 
faculty agreed upon the details of the organization of that particular 
topic that would be appropriate and adaptable to their local school 
situation. Consequently, the general committee referred to above 























Proceedings of the Boston Mecting 99 


merely had to take these committee reports and their findings and 
schedule them into one general working program. Frequently the dis- 
cussion waxed warm among the teachers as to the advisability of cer- 
tain points of administration in some of the reports but the whole mat- 
ter was worked entirely upon a democratic basis with the majority rule 
operating in every instance. 

To conclude the project and get it reduced to a working basis 
thoroughly understood by both patrons and teachers, the following 
program was used to close the work. At this program the large per- 
centage of the members of the Parent Teacher’s Association were 
present and listened to the discussion. 


PROGRAM 
2:00 to 5:00 p.m. 
THEME: TRAINING IN CITIZENSHIP 
I. Greetings. 
II. Teaching Citizenship : 

(a) Through a thrift program inaugurated in Memorial 
Junior High School. 

(b) Through a better health program operating in Memorial 
Junior High School. 

(c) By so organizing Memorial Junior High School as to 
convert it into a laboratory for practice in developing 
right habits and attitudes of proper conduct. 

(d) Through a club program that develops the best social, 
moral and intellectual side of children joyfully partici- 
pating in it. 

(e) By making the Home Room, home. 

III. How the P. T. A. can assist in furthering such a program (by 

President of P. T. A.). 

IV. Echo from the Director of High Schools. 
V. Address by Instructor (Summary of Course). 
VI. Refreshments Served by P. T. A. 
VII. Adjournment. 
It was the purpose of the above program to show how the whole 
matter of high-school training gathers around the central thought of 














100 Department of Secondary-School Principats 


training for citizenship. This idea is evident by a careful reading of 
the program that was rendered. 


Immediately upon closing the work of the course, the general com- 
mittee referred to above, began its work of programming a line of 
activities that would be adaptable to the school. The work of the 
committee was completed and time was left for one or two general 
faculty meetings on it before the closing of the school year. When 
the school opened up for the fall semester of 1927-28 it was fortunate 
in losing only a few of the faculty members of the previous year ; 
consequently, the principal and assistant principal were able to begin 
shortly after the school opened in the fall the inauguration of the 
student activities program that had been worked out the previous year. 


In planning a really substantial extra-curriculum activities pro- 
gram the principal felt keenly that all pupil activities must be dignified 
and programmed as other curriculum activities. He recognized the 
fact that the social and moral training resulting from such a procedure 
was just as essential and just as valuable as that from any other phase 
of school training. 

* Acting upon this philosophy he provided in his daily schedule one 


regular period a day to be known as “Activities period.” By so’ 


doing he was enabled to organize, systematize, and program every 
desirable student activity of the school. Below is his program in his 
daily schedule: 

Monday—Clubs 

Tuesday—Home Room (Citizenship Work) 

Wednesday—Assembly (Half of School) 

Thursday—Home Room (Health Work) 

lriday—Assembly (Other Half of School) 


In her work in clubs, citizenship, and health each teacher used as 
her guide and reference the full, mimeographed report prepared by 
the Committee when the special study work was being done in the be- 
ginning. This report, consequently, served not only to direct the 
teachers but in a large measure to unify the work of the various home 
rooms. The citizenship and health work was done by home room 
teachers as the program indicates. 

Thoroughly inoculated with the idea that any dynamic student 


activities program must in the final analysis be carried by the faculty, 
the principal set up a faculty committee of five, with the principal and 




















Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 101 


vice principal ex-officio, which acts as an advisory board on all extra- 
curriculum activities. This Committee meets weekly and spends con- 
siderable time in studying the problems that arise and in advising 
with the principal as to the administrative and supetvisory phases of 
them. In this way the whole project is participated in to the fullest 
extent by the faculty. 

By the end of the fall semester an activities program had been 
launched and developed to a most satisfactory stage. In October 
appeared the first issue of a weekly school paper; in December an 
excellent handbook appeared; a home room organization took form 
in the early fall; a very satisfactory system of pupil participation in 
school control is getting well under way; and practically all the 
assemblies are now in the hands of the pupils. In cooperation with a 
local bank a strong thrift program is being developed ; and finally a 
club program of a most pleasing sort is coming along well. At present 
there are forty-one clubs in operation. Enough has been said to show 
the reader that real progress is being made in organizing and launching 
a student program of a substantial nature on a sound basis. 

In planning his program from the very start the principal saw that 
the first step was to “sell” his faculty the big idea; and secondly to 
take his P. T. A. into his plans and educate the parent along with 
his faculty. This done he would then be ready to begin work with 
his pupils. Finally in laying his plans and arranging his program he 
so managed that every teacher was enabled to work out the particular 
thing in which she was most interested and thus to find the supreme 
joy that comes only to one lost in the enthusiasm of her task. 


An informal discussion from the floor followed. 


Mr. Harold E. Warner of Hine Junior High School, Washington, 
D. C., read his paper, The Place of Research in the Secondary School. 


THE PLACE OF RESEARCH IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS 
Haro_p ELLSworTH WARNER, 
PRINCIPAL OF HINE JUNIOR HiGH ScHOOL, 
WasHINcTON, D. C. 


I. Definition of Research—tThe U. S. Bureau of Education has 
published a most helpful little pamphlet of aid to those who would en- 








102 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


gage in research in the field of secondary education, entitled “An Out- 
line of Methods of Research, with Suggestions for High-School 
Principals and Teachers” (Bulletin No. 24, 1926). In this pamphlet, 
research is defined as “not merely a search for truth; it involves a 
systematic, purposeful search for truth” (pg. 3). And again “All 
sustained, systematic investigation or inquiry which seeks facts or 
their application is, then, research. Although investigations and in- 
quiries concerning educational procedure are largely inductive, reflec- 
tive studies that result in new applications of established principles 
may be included under the term educational research. Any testing of 
educational beliefs or theories by their consistency with ascertainable 
facts is research” (pg. 5). 


The key words in an adequate definition of research investigation 
seem then to be systematic and facts. Research is the effort, by 
systematic investigation, to substitute facts for opinions, expert or 
other. 


II. The Need for Research—tThe need for research—continuous 
research—is inherent in the very spirit and purposes of 20th century 
education. During the latter portion of the 19th century, when 
secondary-school enrollments were comparatively small, and school 
populations more homogeneous, it was thought satisfactory to pro- 
vide “a common education which gave intellectual power through 
general discipline, acquired through struggle with logically organized 
academic subject matter, which power would, through transfer, en- 
able the individual to apply his ‘learning’ to any life situation.”* Edu- 
cation in these terms required little research. 


The newer concepts of educational purpose involve many projects 
calling for continuous research. Education for citizenship calls for 
conduct curricula which wait upon adult activity analysis. The newer 
revelations of educational psychology centering in the “specific nature 
of learning, and individual differences of ability to learn, etc.t—de- 
mand the continuous use and application of inductive science. 


The need for research is also inherent in the spirit of up-to-date 
teaching method. Only in so far as teaching is put on the basis of 
continuous research does it become professional. The good teacher, 
like the good physician, must be continuously making a case study of 


*U. S. Bureau of Education Bulletin No. 26 (1927) pg. 4. 
tIbid., pg. 2. 























Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 103 


each pupil and each pupil group under her direction. She will carry 
them home in her thought at night, saying: “I tried this method to- 
day ; but tomorrow I have a plan of attack that will, I hope, produce 
better results’”—and so forth. 

E. M. Paulu, in the very selection of his book title: “Diagnostic 
Testing and Remedial Teaching” has, in my judgment, hit upon a 
marvelous slogan and epitome of the modern teaching spirit. 


In Minneapolis some teachers of English in the Commercial High 
School ran a series of “Stenographer-Wanted” advertisements and 
then checked-up on the English expression of the replies received. 
Kind of a mean trick to play on the applicants—but an excellent 
illustration of the research spirit—getting the facts. 

A friend of mine, teaching commercial methods at the Columbia 
University summer school is about to present a topic that will cover 
two or three days in discussion. Before presenting the topic at all, 
he gives a true-false test covering the entire topic to be given. After 
having presented and discussed the topic, he gives the same—or a 
similar—true-false test again, and compares.the results. That’s the 
research spirit. But how much more of it we need. How generally, 
alas, do we set up a curriculum with certain objectives, and then pro- 
vide little or no really scientific test procedure to find out whether the 
objectives are being realized. 

III. The Technic of Research—Regarding the technic of research 
the U. S. Bureau of Education’s Outline of Methods* tells us that “In 
general, the steps in research are the same as those in any process of 
reasoning. They are as follows: 


1. The formulation of the problem 

2. The assembly of relevant data 

3. The critical analysis of data 

4. The development of an hypothesis or possible solution 
5. Testing the validity of the hypothesis or verification.” 


“A problem carefully stated is more than half solved.” Great 
care is of course necessary in the assembly of data. Whether objec- 
tive or subjective, data to be of value must be accurate, the best ob- 
tainable and relevant to the problem under investigation. This means 


first-hand inquiry—actual contact with facts. 


*Ibid., pg. 5. 








104 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


In forming the hypothesis or tentative conclusion it is important 
that the mind be freed from prejudice—pre-judgment—so that “un- 
influenced by tradition or personal bias, the tentative conclusion may 
be the result of the data obtained.’’-—That is, if the investigator wants 
to discover truth. Sometimes, alas, I fear that there have been inves- 
tigators who really have not wanted to know the truth—they have 
sought instead, argumentative support for some cherished opinion. 
Do we need an illustration? Turn to page 62 of the 26th Yearbook 
of the National Society for the Study of Education (1926) and read 
Dr. Harold Rugg’s critical evaluation of the Classical Investigation 
of 1921-5. 

He says: “The General Report of the Classical Investigation is, 
therefore, a conspicuous illustration of the use of facts to substantiate 
one’s point of view.” Then after stating that the investigation had 
been conducted in a very scientific fashion and had accumulated a 
wealth of objective data, Dr. Rugg concludes: “But instead of using 
the facts to consider whether and to what extent Latin should be 
taught, they resorted to special pleading for the retention of Latin 
in the schools.” 

The report of the National Committee on Mathematical Require- 
ments (1920-1923) is hinted at as having been of the same tenor: 
“Both committees, mathematics and classics, made much use of the 
problem of ‘transfer of training’ . . . . Let us consider how they 
studied one of the major curriculum questions of mental discipline: 
Does the study of high school Latin (or mathematics) as now con- 
stituted increase one’s ability to ‘think’? There is only one way by 
which this question can be answered definitely—by the careful meas- 
urement of the ability of a very large group of high-school pupils to 
‘think’ before and after they have had instruction on the subject in 
question. Did either of the committees undertake to do this? They 
did not. 

“Professor E. L. Thorndike did, however. He showed by measur- 
ing carefully the ability of 900 tenth-grade pupils before and after 
taking a year of Latin that one year’s study of Latin as now organized 
does increase one’s ability to reason—by a small amount—but that 
the gain is no larger than that due to the study of other school sub- 
jects as now organized. It is of great importance to find, for example, 
that book-keeping, cooking, and sewing increase one’s ability to gen- 
eralize even more in some instances than does the study of the classics ! 








Proceedings of the Boston Meeting . 105 


“Did the classic committee discuss the Thorndike investigation ? 
It did—in two sentences. After referring to the fact that the study 
was made, it says that ‘the study shows that the amount of growth 
produced by certain school subjects in the ability measured by this 
test varies so slightly that no definite conclusions can be drawn there- 
from.’ 

“Here is a conspicuous instance of the refusal of the committee to 
consider impartially the facts of objective investigations. Is not the 
very fact that Latin made no greater contribution in a year to the 
thinking power of pupils than did commercial or social studies, a 
‘definite conclusion’ of importance to the curriculum-maker? Can 
there be any doubt? 

“Instead of utilizing the Thorndike investigation, the committee 
collected the judgments of 70 psychologists, following out the program 
of the National Committee on Mathematical Requirements, as to 
whether, in their judgment, training transfers.” 

Let us as as educators get the facts, but when we have them, let us 
use them fearlessly in the best interests of the boys and girls so that 
we may, if possible, never become subjects for such an embarrassing 
criticism as that which I have just quoted. 

IV. Preparation for Research—B. R. Buckingham, in his Re- 
search for Teachers mentions the following six types of understand- 
ing that the teacher should have who would engage in research: 


He should understand : 

1. The statistical meaning and use of educational record 
forms 

2. The numerical treatment of educational facts 

3. Filing and indexing 

4. The statistics of average, variation and of relationship 
(correlation ) 

5. Types, use and the handling of score sheets of standard- 
ized tests—intelligence and educational 

6. Preparation and use of new type examiations* (short- 

answer ; true-false, etc.) 


Le In this connection Paterson's “Preparation and use of new type examina- 
tions’? (World Book Co. 1926), has been of estimable aid to my faculty. 














106 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


S. A. Courtis in an article on “The development of ability in re- 
search”* sums up the qualifications of a research worker as follows: 
He must have: 


1. Drive 

2. Efficiency 

3. Volitional-control 

4. Certain general powers such as, independence in thought 


5. Certain convictions such as, those of evolution, and of 
cause and effect. 

If we wait for the individual who fits all of the above specifica- 
tions, I fear we shall delay the work of research. However, they are 
all in point and serve to emphasize the fact that it is probable the ex- 
ceptional teacher—and for that matter, principal or other school 
ofticial—who is fitted to make research contributions. 


Yet given the bump of curiosity ; the faculty of accuracy ; and an 
I. Q. of the upper ranges (if we dare even to suggest the classification 
of teacher mentalities) and the problem-attitude should result. 


V. The Follow-up of Research—Someone has written a book en- 
titled “After Research What?” I think in many cases the problem of 
largest magnitude is not the research problem itself ; but what to do 
with the results of the research problem. As in the game of golf, the 
important thing is not the swing at the ball, or even the hitting of the 
ball, but the “follow-through.” 


More often our “follow-through” is hampered, I believe, by pres- 
sure of work than by lack of appreciation of what we ought to do. 
Confession is good for the soul. I recall at this minute three small 
studies that I have made at my school in Washington during the past 
two years, that are reclining inactively in my files waiting for that 
happy moment when I shall be able to get them out and put them to 
work. One is a study of the uses of movable classroom furniture ; 
another of drop-outs from our school; and the third an analysis of 
factors that enter into a pupil’s winning, or failing to win, the coveted 
school letter, H. 


I suppose the only cure for such a situation is constant renewal 
of energy through renewal of inspiration. I usually go away from 


*Studies in Education. Yearbook No. XV of the Nat. Society of College 
Teachers of Ed., 85 pp., 1926. 

















Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 107 
professional gatherings like this, with re-inspired determination to 
work even harder and longer in the harvest fields of education. 


VI. Some Illustrations of Research Studies Made.—In preparing 
this paper I wrote letters about the country, somewhat, in an endeavor 
to learn of any secondary schools that seemed to be outstanding in the 
promotion of research within their walls. In going over my returns 
I was impressed most by the apparent lack of organized intra-mural 
research. However, one or two excellent examples came to my at- 
tention. Among them the DeWitt Clinton High School of New York 
—or perhaps I ought rather to say the Principal of this School, Mr. 
Francis H. J. Paul, seemed most progressive. 


Mr. Paul very kindly sent me two of his research studies that I 
wish to refer to with a brevity that cannot of course do the studies 
justice. The first was a Self-Survey made by the faculty of the 
DeWitt Clinton High School, under direction of Principal Paul, com- 
pleted in November of 1924. This survey as typewritten makes a 
volume of approximately 300 pages, legal cap size. It takes up such 
topics as: 1. The work of the teachers and the improvement of 
teachers in service, etc. ; 2. The Program of Studies :—a discussion of 
objectives of the various subject departments, prepared by the 
teachers under leadership of the department chairmen; 3. Schedule 
making—both an art and a science in this great school of over 5000 
students; +. Methods of individualizing instruction; 5. Methods of 
teaching ; 6. Supervision ; 7. Cooperation of faculty, student body and 
home, including an interesting description of their system of student 
self-government ; 8. Character building ; 9. Pupil-welfare work ; and 
10. Equipment and the physical plant. 


At my request, Principal Paul sent me the following estimate of 
evaluation of the survey: 


“Concerning our self-survey I feel briefly that the following are 
among the benefits we consider have resulted from making it: 


(1) It has served the purpose of stock taking. We have found 
exactly what the procedures in the several departments -have been 
under the headings of the survey ; 


(2) It has been of value as a means of self criticism, as it has 
enabled us to see clearly and definitely the lines of progress for the 
immediate future; 











108 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


(3) It has aided very much in correlating the work of the several 
departments under certain unifying principles in order that the school 
as a whole might codperate towards the fundamental objective of 
secondary education ; 

(4) It has served as a point of departure for progress in many 
lines which has continued since the period when the survey was made.” 


The second is a study made by Mr. Paul in September of 1922 
of 1030 pupils of low intelligence quotient just entering the senior 
high school. This report, which covers some 400 typewritten pages, 
investigates the habits and interests affecting progress; parental and 
home influences ; causes of failures, etc. The concluding chapter on 
‘Remedial Measures” sums up in admirable fashion the various ex- 
pedients, developed at DeWitt Clinton for attempting to deal most 
efficaciously with the low I. Q.—including such things as use of 
standard tests; elimination of subjects; changes of rate; minimum 
essentials ; and the guidance program. The report concludes with an 
excellent bibliography of books and articles dealing with the student 


of the low I. Q. 

In addition to the above, Mr. Paul sent me a three page mime- 
ographed circular entitled “DeWitt Clinton High School Research 
Projects” wherein the Chairmen of several of the Departments outline 
briefly the research projects that they have now under way. This I 
take to be an excellent example of organized intra-mural research. 


The Business High School of Washington, D. C., under the direc- 
tion of Principal Allan Davis has been conducting some interesting 
researches in the field of commercial education. One of their most 
interesting projects is that being conducted now by Dr. Frances M. 
Butts on “The Associative Method of Teaching First-year Shorthand 
and Typewriting.” First semester shorthand-typewriting pupils are 
required to write the shorthand outlines of the material appearing in 
their typewriting manuals just above the lines of copy. In the type- 
writing lesson they were required to typewrite alternately from copy 
and shorthand outlines. By comparison with a control group using 
traditional methods, this rather novel associative process seems to be 
getting marked results, in the development of transcription ability. 


There came to my attention during my recent correspondence in 
developing this paper, also, some interesting work of Mr. W. A. 
Wetzel, Principal of the Senior High School at Trenton, New Jersey, 























Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 109 


in developing objective measures of pupil and teacher efficiency. And 
from Providence, Rhode Island, I learn that Mr. Richard D. Allen, 
Assistant Superintendent and Director of the Department of Research 
and Guidance, has made some outstanding developments in the modus 
operandi of guidance. 

To go further in the citation of individual examples of secondary- 
school research would be unwise for the interested schoolman has but 
to consult the several bibliographies which I shall mention in a moment 
to get on track of hundreds of excellent studies. I have mentioned 
a few specific cases simply because the concrete adds vitality to the 
discussion.* 

VII. Some Research Studies that should be made.—In spite of the 
large number of research studies that have been made in the secondary 
field, there are still of course many unsolved problems. Professor P. 
M. Symonds in an article in the September 1927 number of the 
Journal of Educational Research suggests no less than eighty live 
problems in the field of measurement alone. 

In all the other fields we can think of .many more. I shall, in 
conclusion, mention five or six of the most pressing, and to me most 
alluring : 

There’s the problem of individual advancement of pupils—how to 
get “custom fabrication” and “quantity production” at one and the 
same time. The problem has its analogies, I fear, in “how to keep 
your cake and likewise eat it” but it’s interesting ! 

Then there’s the nation-wide, yes the world-wide problem of the 
low I. Q. I’m going to venture to coin a new term and call them the 
“Opifers”—that vast army of souls with I. Q.’s ranging, roughly, be- 
tween 75 and 90. Your Latin memories will doubtless give you the 
significance of my terminology. 

Then there is guidance—the soul of the modern educational move- 


ment. 
And the problem of child accounting: what systematic records 
ought the principal to keep looking toward future determinations ? 
Then there are the researches of psychiatry and so-called “mental- 
science” which ought to receive close attention these days, for too 





*I wish at this point to make thankful acknowledgment to Dr. Philip W. 
L. Cox, Professor of Secondary Education at New York University, for help- 
ful suggestions and leads to most of the cases cited in this section. 











110 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


long has the educator neglected the affective—the emotional side of 
child life and of the learning process. And this leads me to, and keys 
up with, my final suggestion: namely, the crying need for research in 
character and particularly sex education. 


There is a certain sense in which every child leads a double life— 
I mean a double thought life. One is the thought life that his parents 
and his teachers know something about, as manifested by the pupil's 
various self-expressions in their presence. The other is his free 
thought and action when alone, and especially when with his contem- 
poraries—apart from teachers, parents or other adults. 


If there were only more accessible ways of studying this private 
thought life of children, I suspect we should learn much for the im- 
provement in our educative processes. Psycho-analysis, word associa- 
tion, etc., are perhaps helpful. In the meantime we have plenty of evi- 
dence pointing to the existence of improper thought life on the part 
of our young people that should stimulate us toward research for bet- 
ter sex education. 

In a half-page advertisement in the Saturday Evening Post of the 
past month, the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company declares that 
“it is estimated that more than 12,000,000 persons in the United 
States have or at some time have had” a certain ailment originating 
in improper adjustment of the sex life. “The deaths of 200,000 
Americans each year, are directly caused” by this disease. Then, 
continues this published statement “Just so long as men and women, 
and boys and girls approaching maturity are not taught to recognize 
the cruelest of all foes to health and happiness—just so long will 
many lives be wrecked, lives which could have been saved or made 
decently livable. . . . Men and women should learn the truth and tell 
it to those dependent upon them. It is a helpful sign that the best 
educators deplore the old habit of secrecy and urge widespread knowl- 
edge and frank instruction.” 


In Washington we have made a beginning. Covering a period 
of about two years, our teachers and parents were provided with 
periodic lectures by trained specialists from the American Social 
Hygiene Association. Two big achievements have resulted from these 
meetings: First the parents and teachers of Washington have learned 
that sex problems can be discussed frankly and effectively ; and sec- 
ond, our parents and teachers have been made ready for the next step, 























Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 111 


possible only through the first ; namely, practical sex education in the 
schools. We now have, therefore, teacher committees at work, with 
social hygiene specialists in consultation, endeavoring to incorporate 
real sex education material into our several courses of study. 


Oh that we educators, the country over, might become more active 
in attacking the most vital life-training problems so that it might 
never be necessary for an insurance company or any other organiza- 
tion or person outside of our profession to call us to a sense of our 
manifest duty. 

VIII. Organization for Research—But we know that no social 
movement is going to get very far in this age without organization 
and centralized direction. Up to the present, research in our sec- 
ondary schools, has been sporadic, with countless duplications of work 
inevitable. To bring some sort of order out of the existing chaos 
certain movements for the organization of research work are now 
under way. 


Thus far the movements have manifested themselves largely in 
the work of preparing bibliographies of research studios completed and 
under way—but this of itself is an inestimable step forward. Pro- 
fessor Symons, in his article on “Needed Research in the field of 
Measurement in Secondary Education” in the September 1927 num- 
ber of the Journal of Educational Research, points out the danger and 
wastefulness of educators undertaking researches that have long 
since been made and definite conclusions established—citing the case 
of those who attempt correlations between intelligence and accomplish- 
ment. Unquestionably the first task of any person about to under- 
take a research should be to find out so far as possible what has 
already been done along that particular line. Fortunately there is 
now a considerable amount of research bibliography available. 

Foremost in the promotion of the bibliographical work has been, 
the “National Committee on Research in Secondary Education’”— 
of the U. S. Bureau of Education, with the National Education As- 
sociation’s “Department of Research” a close second—or perhaps 
I should say cognate—agency. , 

In 1925 the National Committee on Research in Secondary Educa- 
tion was organized and it proceeded at once to prepare a Bibliography 
of research studies that had thus far been made in the secondary 
field. This Bibliography was issued in 1926 as Bureau of Education 





112 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


Bulletin No. 2. It lists 785* studies made between the years 1920- 
1925 classifying them under 63 topic heads. 
Bringing the good work forward from 1925 to 1927 the Bureau 


issued in 1927 its Bulletin No. 27, which lists 287 studies under 58 
classification heads. 

Cognate with the work of the bureau, the Department of Re- 
search of the National Education Association under Dr. John K. 
Norton issued in 1926 a mimeographed bibliography of research 
studies of the secondary field in progress, listing 366 studies under 
76 classification heads; and following this in 1927 with another 
bibliography of studies in progress containing references to 303 
studies under 85 heads. 

Continuing the inventory work, the U. S. Bureau of Education 
has issued this month its third bibliography of studies in secondary 
education . 

These bibliographies are literally gold mines of valuable sug- 
gestions to the secondary-school administrator and teacher, and 1 
certainly wish there were some way in which their contents might 
be made known to every such educator in our country. 

Coéperating with the National Committee on Research in Sec- 
ondary Education are some 17 organizationst including several of 


*There is some duplication in this figure as some of the studies are listed 
under two or more classifications. 

tAmerican Association of Collegiate Registrars 

Association of Colleges and Preparatory Schools of the Middle States 

and Maryland 

Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools of the Southern States 

Educational Research Association 

Head Masters’ Association 

National Association of High-School Supervisors and Inspectors 

National Association of Secondary-School Principals 

Nation Education Association 

National Catholic Welfare Conference 

National Society for the Study of education 

National Society of College Teachers of Education 

North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools 

Northwest Association of Secondary and Higher Schools 

Phi Delta Kappa 

Private School Association of the Central States 

Progressive Education Association 

The California Society for the Study of Secondary Education 

U. S. Bureau of Education 














Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 113 
the regional associations such as the North Central Association which 
has done some excellent research work in the secondary fields.* 


Valuable summaries of researches in the secondary field are found 
also in the Fifth and Sixth Yearbooks of the Department of Super- 
intendence, N. E. A. 


In the matter of state organizations specifically for research in 
the secondary field, there has come to my attention only that of the 
“Virginia Committee on Research in Secondary Education” of which 
Professor W. R. Smithey of the University of Virginia is Chairman. 
This committee has already held one annual meeting and published 
the proceedings thereof,t and work is now in progress for the second. 


*Cf, Report of the North Central Association on standardization of the 
junior high school, as reported in U. S. Bureau of Education, Bulletin No. 26 
(1927) pp. 32. 

+See University of Virginia Record for Oct. 1927—“A High School Test- 
ing program for the State of Virginia.” 








Department of Secondary-School Principals 


Tutrp SEssIon 
The third session of the twelfth convention was a luncheon ses- 
sion held in the Georgian Room of Hotel Statler at 1 P. M. on Tues- 
day. Over four hundred sat down for the luncheon. The Varsity 
Club, Clifton Johnson and Raymond Simonds, tenors; Ralph Tailby 
and Robert Isensee, basses; and Earl Weidner, accompanist, sang 
excellently the following songs: 


SO OE DORs oao5 ces ccsececncxses Moya 
NG as danciaiwertkesedaaeesoees McGill 


Re TN, 6 ccd vintccnsxcnves Maunder 
Annabelle Lee (popular ) 
Bells of St. Mary ( popular ) 


Hello Swanee (popular ) 


President F. L. Bacon presided. The former presidents of the 
National Association of Secondary-School Principals were at the 
speakers’ table. The President introduced the former presidents who 
were present. Mr. M. R. McDaniel, Principal of Oak Park and 
River Forest Township High School spoke as follows: 


CLAUDE P. BRIGGS 


The first name mentioned in the first article of the First Year 
Book of our Association is that of Claude Briggs. That first article 
is a brief history of the formation of the National Association of 
Secondary School Principals. It tells how the small group of high 
school principals met in Detroit, February, 1916, to discuss the ad- 
visability of forming a Department of Secondary School Adminis- 
tration. Mr. Briggs was chosen secretary of this informal confer- 
ence. From that first meeting in 1916 to the time of his sudden death, 
September 2, 1927, Claude Briggs was closely associated with our 
organization. His interest was not merely a passive one, but was 
active and vital. He was not only willing to help when called upon, 
but was ever ready to volunteer his help when needed. In recogni- 
tion of his service for the Association and of his ability and fitness for 
the position we honored ourselves by electing him our President for 
the year 1923-24. 


But the great influence of Mr. Briggs was with the teachers and 
with the boys and girls with whom he worked. To an unusual de- 





Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 115 


gree he inspired loyalty in his teachers and in his pupils love of what- 
soever is true and of good report. His teachers and his pupils loved 
him for his kindly interest, his sympathy, his encouragement, and 
for his big heart. As Emerson said of another, ‘He had a heart as 
large as the world, but no room in it for the memory of a wrong.” 


His last day on earth was a busy one. After the day spent in get- 
ting ready for the opening of school, he was still thinking of others, 
still trying to help some one. As he walked toward his home he said 
to his assistant, “Well, John, you think it over and we will see if we 
can’t do something to help the boy.” 


Recently when I visited Lakewood, Ohio, where he had been 
principal for seven years, I could not help but notice how the whole 
atmosphere of the school was vibrant with the spirit of the man who 
so recently had been their leader. 

We who knew him intimately loved Claude Briggs for his sterling 
qualities of manhood, his straightforwardness, his dependability, his 
downright honesty and sincerity. We may rightly hold our heads a 
little higher and face a future which is a little brighter because Claude 
Briggs was a member of our profession. 


GREETINGS FROM THE NATIONAL EDUCATION 
ASSOCIATION 
J. W. CRABTREE, SECRETARY 

It is a great honor to be called upon to extend the greetings of the 
National Education Association to the National Association of Second- 
ary-School Principals, yesterday a noted national organization co- 
operating with the National Education Association—today an integral 
part of the N. E. A. itself with power and prestige almost on a par 
with that of the Department of Superintendence. What could mean 
more to the N. E. A. than for this outstanding organization to come in 
with its history rich in achievements, and with a complete leadership 
and control of policies in secondary education and administration! 
This is one of the greatest acquisitions of strength in the history of 
the Association. It is equally great for your own group. It adds to 
efficiency and professional success as those mergers in industry, such 
as that of the General Motors adds to business success. The previous 
codperative relations were cordial and effective, but now the organiza- 
tion becomes like the Department of Superintendence, a powerful 
link in the chain of strength of the greater association. 





116 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


What an opportunity the larger National Education Association 
has before it! The fullest co6peration and support of all levels in the 
profession. -The confidence of other leading professions. The ear 
of the public as no other association could have. No other organiza- 
tion of teachers in all history in this or any other nation has had the 
opportunity which these relationships and conditions make possible 
for the National Education Association. 

That which has given the association this unparalleled opportunity 
is the fact that it works to promote great causes rather than to pro- 
mote selfish ends. Its work and ideals are set forth in the following 
which is printed again and again in its publication: 

It works for the youth of the nation. 

It advocates better salaries for better teachers. 

It brings to the spotlight worthy school activities. 

It broadcasts progress and worthy achievements. 

It is a clearing-house for local and state associations. 

It is the voice of those in the service. 

It shapes the ideals of the profession. 

It is the power plant of educational progress. 

Its goal has been for a decade “A stabilized, all-inclusive member- 
ship and the entire profession at work on its problems.” 

Your group has been guided by these same high ideals but it now 
pledges itself anew and will codperate in a more effective way than 
in the past. Of course the general association through its secretary 
greets you and welcomes you into these larger opportunities. It has 
unlimited confidence in your department. It hopes you may center 
your efforts more than ever before on certain vital wmnees which 
you naturally desire to promote: 

1. Organizing to study the problems of the profession - of the 
schools in every high school in the land. 

2. Giving particular attention to the questions growing out of the 
proposal to permit only potential leaders to attend college. 

3. Striving to offset the influence of the propaganda sent out re- 
cently by the Manufacturers’ Association which advocates releasing 
for employment all pupils in the upper grades and high school who 
are not doing satisfactory work. 

4. Doing investigational and research work better to adapt the 
high-school organization in its curriculum, and in its appliances and 





Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 117 


equipment to meet the actual needs of young men and women, carry- 
ing out the principle of providing all with an opportunity for coming 
into their own, and making a more intimate connection between the 
work of the high school and the work and needs of the home and 
community. 

5. Taking into account the fact that adjustments in education are 
necessary in all nations as in our own, and that other nations are de- 
pending on us to work out plans of fundamental importance. It is 
your great privilege and your special responsibility to show wise 
leadership in the entire field of secondary education. 


6. Carrying out in short the ideals of your department and the 
Association in every way possible. 


The educational world is moving forward. Industry is setting a 
challenging pace, but with the profession united as it is educational 
progress of to-day is not so far behind. Our biggest problems are 
still ahead. The greatest value of the work of your association to- 
gether with that of the general association during the last decade is 
to prepare for meeting the larger responsibilities just ahead. 

Greetings and congratulations. 


Mr. Thomas H. Briggs, Professor of Education, Teachers Col- 
lege, Columbia University, spoke as follows: 


I have been asked by your president to speak briefly about the 
accomplishments of the National Association of Secondary-School 
Principals. Although until recently never legally a member (the old 
constitution excluding all but principals and executive heads of second- 
ary schools) I have paid for membership, nevertheless, from the 
time of organization and have attended every meeting but one. In 
1916 a small group of men interested in secondary education met in 
Detroit, when the Department of Superintendence was in session, 
and decided to organize some such association as this. Later in that 
year a similar movement was initiated by principals in and around 
Chicago. Wisely the two groups cooperated, and in 1917 the National 
Association of Secondary-School Principals was organized and held 
its first meeting in Kansas City. The Yearbook records 245 paid 
members; in 1928 we have 3500. 

In his address President B. Frank Brown stated that the reasons 
for this organization are as follows: 








118 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


“a) It will give us the proper basis for the development of a 
proper professional consciousness among all secondary school princi- 


pals. 

‘‘b) It will become a clearing-house for the exchange of new ideas 
and experiments in administration, and a forum for the discussion of 
all educational questions that pertain to secondary schools. 


“c) The consensus of opinion represented in the judgment of a 
national body of experts will give increased influence and power with 
our superior officers, with other educational organizations, and with 
the general public on all matters that relate to our schools. 


“d) There will be the possibility of an organized inspection of 
colleges and universities by high-school men and women with respect 
to the welfare of the boys and girls who enter these schools for the 
purpose of intellectual, physical, social, and moral development.” 


“Will it be hard,” he said, “to see how the backing of such an 
organization as this will assist you in bringing about educational 
changes in your school, or how it will aid you when you wish to re- 
sist encroachments upon the field of your endeavor? ....... We 
shall from now on act intelligently and unitedly ....... We shall 
now take our place among the organizations that are dictating the 
policy of the schools today.” 

These are brave words, worthy expression of hopes now as then. 
There can be no doubt but that the Association has been of material 
aid in developing “a proper professional consciousness” among us, 
for attendance at any of the meetings where so many obviously able 
men and women represent the secondary schools can not fail to 
hearten any individual by making him more keenly aware of the 
company in which he works. And a reading of the yearbooks will 
amply justify the claim for success of the Association as a “clearing- 
house” for an exchange of new ideas and somewhat of the results 
of experimentation. How far beyond that we have succeeded is a 
matter of question. , 

In preparation for this paper I have refreshed my memory by 
going over each of the eleven yearbooks, which the faithful and loyal 
secretary has issued with a promptness that could well be emulated 
by all similar officials. This review reveals that the papers presented 
are in variety and in value comparable to those heard in our best 
associations or read in our professional journals. One is led to 

















Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 119 
wonder, however, what has been the result. It can never be known 
how many principals have from these papers been given new ideas, 
stimulated to apply them, or strengthened in their attempts to better 
their schools. Probably the effect has been good. But, with equal 
probability, it could have been much greater if the Association con- 
centrated its attention each year on some one project or if there were 
more committees continued and financially aided to develop concrete 
and constructive programs. 


In the proceedings may be noted from time to time that, some- 
times following a paper, there have been committees appointed to 
work out detailed programs. Some of these committees have, un- 
fortunately, done nothing. The ones that have been most successful, 
like those on uniform blanks, on the honor society, and on class size, 
have been continued, and some of them subsidized, until highly 
valuable reports are presented. To make such reports even more 
effective than they are some machinery is needed for getting and 
keeping the results before all those concerned with secondary schools. 
This might well be done by having reported at subsequent meetings 
the success attained in application with suggested modifications grow- 
ing out of experience. Something of this has been accomplished 
regarding the National Honor Society. 


Some variety in the programs is doubtless desirable, but would it 
not be wise, as recommended by one of the committees on resolutions, 
for the Association each year to consider more intensively one gen- 
eral topic? The underlying theory or philosophy might be presented 
in one paper and specific, concrete applications be presented in others. 
Three of the programs this year have some such unity. 


It would be unreasonable to expect only praise for what we have 
attempted and accomplished. Proud of our record, as we have a 
right to be, we are open-minded to consider any frank criticism. 
Consequently I quote a paragraph from a nationally known educa- 
tor, formerly one of our members: 


“The Association, in my judgment, has almost completely fallen 
down in dealing with the major problems of secondary education. I 
do not think it can claim credit for many, if any, of the major move- 
ments that have arisen in this field in the past decade. The leaders 
of this association have not forged to the front as thinkers in the 

















120 Department of Secondary-School Princtpals 


curriculum field, and they have not shown originality in inventing 
solutions for pressing problems. They have been content for the 
most part to administer the curriculum very conventionally and very 
like the one that has obtained in secondary schools for many, many 
years. This group has by no means been as alert to the curriculum 
problem as have the superintendents of schools. The next decade of 
the life of this Association ought to witness some really hard thinking 
and some real leadership in the study of some of the big problems of 


this field.” 


In our loyalty we may dissent from some of these statements, but 
the result doubtless will be to stimulate us to a more earnest effort to 
think largely of the big problems of secondary education and to 
attack them courageously and continuously. During the past few 
years we have had other associations undertake problems which 
naturally should have been ours. I speak especially of those on extra- 
curriculum activities, by the National Society for the Study of 
Education, on junior and senior high school curricula, by the De- 
partment of Superintendence, and on research, by the National Com- 
mittee on Research in Secondary Education. Perhaps the challenge 
in the quoted criticism may better be met now that we have, throug 
the provision that the three most recently retired presidents are mem- 
bers of the executive committee, possibilities for a more continuous’ 


policy than formerly. 


Our growth in membership, though it is not so well distributed 
over the country or so stable as could be desired, our papers and 
committee reports, our yearbooks, promptly issued and much im- 
proved by the omission of the directory and the annual necrology, 
our financial balance, which is respectable even in this day of big busi- 
ness, and the fine professional spirit are all matters that give us just 
cause for pride. What association has accomplished more in eleven 
years than this? But there is still more to do. In no phase of edu- 
cation are the problems so important, complex, and difficult of solu- 
tion. I congratulate you that this is so, for their recognized im- 
portance, complexity, and difficulty will inevitably prove the challenge 
which will stir so powerful a body as this to constructive action. 


The Chairman next introduced Mr. Cameron Beck. 








Bs 











Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 121 


HOW TO BRING THE SCHOOLS CLOSER TO BUSINESS 
AND BUSINESS TO THE SCHOOLS 


CAMERON BECK, 
PERSONNEL Director, New York STtocK ExCHANGE 


When your President asked me to speak at this meeting I told 
him, frankly, that I felt that my message had been heard in so many — 
high schools and before so many of your state meetings, that I was 
not the man for this hour. I assure you, however, if it were not for 
the feeling that I am in the hands of sympathetic friends, I would 
hesitate to appear before this mighty aggregation of men and women 
gathered here from every state in the Union. The board of gover- 
nors of the New York Stock Exchange recognizes the importance 
of this meeting. 


Wall Street.—the place that still seems to be such a mysterious 
place to educators and citizens generally—is the recognized head- 
quarters of the great financial and industrial concerns that mean so 
much to the economic structure of the nation. There will be found 
leaders from the main streets of the nation. Men who by reason of 
their outstanding character and ability have been hand picked from 
every state to be the directive heads of our great concerns. In Wall 
Street will be found the pulsating heart whose beats are felt to the 
furthermost corners of Main Street to give America her leadership 
among the nations. 


But to-day, it would seem to me, that Wall Street must give place 
to Boston—for here this week are gathered LEADERS OF AN 
ORGANIZATION—an organization that is farther reaching in its 
influence than Wall Street. 


The Public School—An organization that represents : 23,000,000 
of our children that has 263,000 public school buildings that has an 
invested capital of $4,000,000,000, and supervised by 700,000 teachers. 


What man would attempt to measure the mighty leadership, the 
potential power of the nation’s educational life represented at this 
National Education Association? The decisions made at this con- 
vention will be felt to the corners of the public. Grave responsibilities 
rest upon those who share in its deliberations. 











122 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


America stands preéminent as the greatest industrial nation of the 
world. Her place in the financial world is recognized. The automat- 
ic machine, technology of production, efficient methods, and stand- 
ardization have been mighty factors in attaining this place. Stand- 
ardization may have its place in industry. I question its place in the 
educational life on the nation’s children, at least, until the time when 
some wise leader will show us the way to standardize the individual. 


But I come to you to-day not as a teacher or a preacher, but 
simply as a business executive, to bring to you out of a busy life 
merely some observations, some experiences, some convictions and 
then with your permission perchance a few suggestions on the sub- 
ject of creating better understanding between the schools and business. 


In preparation of this talk I wrote to nearly a hundred leaders 
in the business world in many states asking for their viewpoint. At 
the suggestion of your President some of the replies have been 
printed and will be distributed to-day. So you see I have garnered 
from many fields and in many places—but what I have to say comes 
largely out of nearly 12 years service at the New York Stock Ex- 
change. 

Last year 13,000 people, for the most part representing youth, 
called at our office to ask the eternal question “What about a job— 
how much does it pay—what are the hours?” Nowadays if we can 
get one out of a hundred applicants to ask “What are the op- 
portunities ?”” we would be happy. 


Yet, for the most part, these folks have been in the public schools 
8 to 12 of the most plastic years of their lives. 


So I ask the question—No. 1: Are you teaching your children that 
work should be something more than a job and that wages can be 
something more than money? 


On our own payroll we have nearly 1400 different folks, repre- 
senting 62 vocations, all the way from the pretty manicurist in the 
barber shop to the highly paid technical experts. In this group of 
workers, I am told, we have the largest number of the “teen age” or 
high school age boy in the employ of any financial organization in 
the country. Now a man does not see interviewed in his own de- 
partment 13,000 people in the course of a year or be the responsible 
head for everything that has to do with employment, the education 





izsachinadina dedneheeea 


meaner 








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Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 123 


of the worker of his job, for at the Stock Exchange our Institute is 
giving systematic instruction in economics to nearly 500 employees— 
the program of which may be had is outlined in the Personnel Re- 
ports at the door—wages, promotions, separations, -pensions, group 
insurance, without recognizing that the high speed age in which we 
find ourselves has caused folks to face problems and make decisions 
for which many seem ill-prepared. 


Six years ago I thought I saw evidence of something happening 
and with the permission of my Chairman visited the High School 
Principal of the commuting zone. I wanted to check up with you 
folks. Upon my return from Europe three years ago I found re- 
quests from 72 high-school principals of the Empire State asking if 
sometime I could visit their schools and speak to their students from 
the business man’s viewpoint. I took those requests to my Chair- 
man, and after reading them he turned to me with these words— 


“These letters from these school men present a tremendous ap- 
peal for help. It seems to me that it is the smallest thing any business 
organization can do in an hour when morale is being so shot to pieces 
is to release any man on its staff that can help the educator to build 
back. If you want to go, go with our compliments.” 


And so I have done the best that is in me to answer the calls that 
have come—41,000 miles last year—23 states. What an obligation 
I owe you, what hours of privilege have been mine. But is this piece 
of service from the business world to the schools to be the work of 
one individual ? 


How can the leaders of our great corporations, our national busi- 
ness organizations, be made to see that codperation of this kind is a 
fundamental necessity if the product of our schools, which for the 
larger part finds its way in to the business world, is to have proper 
conceptions of the structure of which they are to become a part. 


Would the schools welcome such a service? I think they would. 
Yet in my journeys I find few teachers who are willing to visit places 
in the work-a-day world to get first hand knowledge of the condi- 
tions their charges must face when they go out to work. At a recent 
convention of 150 commercial teachers, I asked how many had made 
calls on the business houses or industries of their communities during 
a year and not one was willing to admit having made a call. 














124 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


And so I ask another question—No. 2: Js something wrong with 
the curriculum or is something wrong with the teacher that such 
conditions exist? 

Then I have discovered a number of principals who see little value 
in having business men speak to their students on vocational oppor- 
tunities offered by the various concerns of the commimity. As 
one banker stated to me recently, “Outside of myself, Beck, you are 
the only business man in three years that has spoken to our high- 
school students.’ Scarcity of speakers from the business and pro- 
fessional world to put it across? I do not think so—for youth to-day 
cares not so much for oratory as for facts. 

What greater opportunity presents itself to the local high-school 
principal than to start a public speaking class for the business men 
of the community and train for such a service a group of leaders of 
affairs as vocational lecturers and advisers? Such a group of care- 
fully chosen men and women giving them an intimate contact with 
the school program and school problems, should be of vital help in 
the launching of new projects that demand public approval for their 
adoption. “The undeveloped resources of the American community” 
what a story could be told. 

Not once in 11 years in Wall Street has a leader of affairs re- 
fused me in the request for him to interview a boy about his life 
vocation and | am going constantly to the top. Dr. Loomis of our 
own Institute has so won his way into the hearts of our lads at the 
Stock Exchange that I am tempted to call him at times our “Father 
Confessor,” for the lads go to him not only for educational guidance 
but with their private problems as well. 


So I ask another question—No. 3: Do the students of your school 
look upon you as their principal or as their friend? Do they seek 
your counsel after school hours, or do they hold aloof? Have you 
the confidence of your pupils? 

Not all the children from high schools go on to colleges and uni- 
versities. In my own state 59% do not finish their secondary edu- 
cation. 

I often wonder if there is something fundamentally wrong with 
the present secondary educational program that produces such a turn- 
over. Let a turnover like that happen in a modern business establish- 
ment and the powers that be will snap into action over night. 


‘ 
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Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 125 

So I ask another question—No. 4: When will children be taught 
the things they are fitted to do? In one of our smaller cities I spoke 
to 600 wide-awake young people in a private business college and I 
asked myself the question— 


What were the circumstances that forced these young people out 
of a million dollar high school to pay from their private funds for a 
course of training they knew they wanted? Six hundred future citi- 
zens, six hundred future tax payers whose only memory of the public 
school was that it was inadequate to meet their needs. They simply 
refused to be standardized. Someday perhaps children will be taught 
and not subjects. 


Then I would make an appeal for the teacher with a warm and 
understanding heart. Who are the leaders in Wall Street that men 
turn to? Are they the cold calculating intellects? What led Mr. 
Simmons, our President, in his address to our boys on the life and 
service of Seymour L. Cromwell (our former President) to give to 
them a message that has been called “A Gettysburg Speech to the 
American Boy”—30,000 copies of which we have supplied to you at 
your request. What led Mr. Whitney, one of the Governors of the 
Exchange to introduce, at our athletic dinner last year Mr. William 
B. Potts, President of the N.Y.S.E. Building Company as the “best 
beloved and most kindly governor of the Exchange.” 


If you were to ask me about the greatness of my own Chairman, 
Mr. Billings, I would tell you to find it in this story. In the midst of 
a seething market (and may I add, little does the public appreciate 
the mental and physical strain of the member during those great 
markets) a member called a boy. The boy gave him evidence that 
he was engaged. Well, the member forgot hims~'f and struck the 
boy. He didn’t hurt him and it is the only case on record. Word 
was passed to Mr. Billings. In the midst of a trading day he went 
to the member and told him he wished him to apologize to the boy. 
He said—“Why, I am a member, he is an employee.” Mr. B. told 
him he would give him 5 minutes to apologize to the boy.. And a 
member of the Exchange apologized to a seventeen-year-old boy. 


These men occupy enviable positions in the world of finance. I 
think their greatness comes because they are men with understanding 
hearts—so approachable that scrubwomen or oilers would find no em- 
barrassment in their presence. 














126 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


Yet it was but a few months ago that I was told that the teachers 
of a certain high school would rather contribute $25 to their retirement 
fund than have an interview with their own principal. A man told 
me recently he would rather try to call on God than on a certain per- 
sonnel director. Men and women, boys and girls rise to the heights 
not by criticism, but by way of encouragement. And I know men who 
are ready to fall by the wayside, not because they have not done worth- 
while things, but because their supervisors, have withheld the cup of 
cold water, have bestowed upon them the severest criticism of all by 
not even noticing them. 


Within six weeks, a young coach full of enthusiasm and good 
works, opened up his heart to me in a conference that lasted to the 
midnight hour. He said he was ready to give up, for the reason that 
not once in a year and a half had his superintendent even noticed him. 


I do not know of anything more iniquitous than a combination of a 
keen intellect and a cold heart placed in a position that has to deal 
with human beings. 


At a recent meeting of “The Wallmen,” an organization of 25 
personnel men in Wall Street, I proposed that this year we organize 
a Society of Encouragers among our members and that we make an 
effort in each of our organizations to discover those faithful souls, 
who are the mainstays of business, folks who always work back-stage, 
who applaud and are never applauded—to hunt them out and give 
them a word of appreciation for their fidelity of service. What one 
of us is not susceptible to the good wishes of our fellow men? Again 
I ask a question: Is there not more room for just this sort of thing 
in the schools? 


At one of those great meetings for the boys of the Financial Dis- 
trict, conducted under the auspices of the Y.M.C.A., John D. Rocke- 
feller, Jr. was the speaker. At the close of his talk a boy asked him 
how to attain success. He gave the lad the best answer I have ever 
heard, when he said: “Success comes to the person who does the 
common things of life uncommonly well.” 


The Common Things: I suggest a few that are sometimes over- 
looked in the quest for high intellectual ratings. Surely twelve years 
of public school life should send a boy out with deep convictions of 
the following commonplace requirements : 


ae mI 


een recrey wars 


SADA Set Rhee Aon 








Ce ee 































127 





Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 


1. Cleanliness—A soiled collar has kept more than one lad out 
of a front office job. 
John—carrying samples of real estate under his fingernails. 
Howard—57 varieties over his coat—and yet I met a high- 
school principal lately who wore his food well. 


2. Courtesy—Old fashioned common courtesy—to superiors— 
to subordinates, the same. Page—headed for member- 
ship—because of courtesy to scrubwoman. 


3. Honesty—Old fashioned. 
Harry—the boy who would not take the firm’s money, not 
so particular about firm’s time. 


4. Obedience : Instant—constant—obedience—The lad who has 
never been willing to take orders will never give them. 


. Integrity—Absolute old-fashioned integrity—The hardest 
person in the world to help is a liar. Nine lads lied to us 
on their application blanks for employment two years ago. 
Nine of them became problems. In November, Dr. 
Hughes, President of Iowa State College, told me he had 
instructed the Registrar to refuse admission to any candi- 
date who lied on his application blank. So close is the 
scrutiny of the Governing Committee of the Stock Ex- 
change, so closely does it guard the reputation it has main- 
tained through the years-—that if a member repudiates his 
word he is expelled. 


or 


Now quickly may I outline what I like to call my four responsi- 
bilities. 1 do so with the hope that there may be something in them 
that may be of some service to you, who in a real sense are personnel 
directors : 


1. My first responsibility is to my employer—the man who gives 
me my job and the man who pays me my salary. The man who does 
the worrying and the man who takes the risks. He is the man often 
overlooked in educational circles, but nevertheless the backbone of 
America’s prosperity. 


2. Second, I believe I have a responsibility to the individual on our 
payroll. That’s hard, you say. Of course it is, especially in these 
large organizations. I like to think that each employee on our pay- 














128 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


roll is an individual who has hopes, who has ideals, and who has as- 
pirations. 

May I say to you that our “top management,” and by that I mean 
our Board of Governors of the New York Stock Exchange, will go 
the limit in the defense of a boy if we believe he is right. There are 
a lot of times, I have found out in eleven years’ time, that it is per- 
fectly possible for an eighteen-year-old employee to be absolutely 
right, and a foreman of forty years, dead wrong. We won't allow 
any: disciplining in the presence of others and neither will we allow 
an employee to be disciplined until the employee has had a chance in 
the quiet of the private office to tell his story. When you take time to 
listen to their stories you learn a lot of things. 

A while ago my automatic rang and a foreman phoned and said 
that he had had a little trouble with a boy. . 

“Bring him up.” 

He came up, his face just as red as it could be and Herbert’s as 
white as a ghost. I asked them to sit down and then in order to give 
the older man a chance to get his blood pressure back to normal ’I left 
them for ten minutes. Finally he said: 

“This boy called me a lot of dirty names.” 

“Bad stuff. Saw them suspend a member of the Stock Exchange 
thirty days for that once. When did he call you the names ?” 

‘He didn’t call me the names.” 

“What on earth happened.” 

“He went back into one of the telephone booths (we have 750 
telephone clerks who operate the private wires) and used this lan- 
guage.” The telephone clerk had told him about it. 

“Give me the name of the clerk and I will get him right up here.” 

“He doesn’t want his name known.” 

“You want me to discipline this boy on the testimony of a man 
who won’t come up himself? That stuff died nine years ago.” 

In a manufacturer’s meeting I told that story and a prominent 
manufacturer came up to me and said: 

“You'd call a foreman down in the presence of an employee?” 
(Referring to this story.) 

“Sure. Why not?” 
“If I did that in our factory the whole works would blow up.” 



































Proceedings of the Boston Mecting 129 


It hasn't done that for us. I will tell you exactly what it has done 
for us—it has made our foremen very careful to analyze a case be- 
fore they bring it to the mat. We haven't had a bit of trouble at all. 

Yet a while ago I witnessed a high school principal at an assembly 
call a lad by name and tell him to finish his breakfast out in the 
corridor. 

3. The third thing I would suggest is a civic responsibility. 1 feel 
that more keenly than I ever did before. I like to feel that we have a 
definite responsibility to the community that sends us our help, to see 
to it that the people who work for us go back at night better citizens 
than they were when they came to work in the morning. And when 
we lose that feeling it is time to look in the looking-glass. 

Then Last, I like to think I have a responsibility to the people who 
come in our office, who are looking for employment. You folks look 
prosperous and I do not suppose you ever had to go out and apply for 
a job. If you want an experience sometime, get out of your glad rags . 
and offer your services at the employment windows of some of our 
concerns and see how many times they kiss you in the course of a 
week. Of all the bunk that they are still handing out in some 
companies ! 

He came into my office one day, one of those future leaders, a kid 
with a blue calico shirt, part of his toes sticking through his shoes 
and after I motioned to him he dropped down beside my desk, 
trembling like a leaf. He had a rose on his coat. I said: 

“Otto, I suppose some lady pinned that rose on your coat.” He 
blushed and said : 

“Yes, Mr. Beck, she did. I live over in a tenement house with my 
mother, who has been sick in bed for weeks. Every day a little girl 

gives mother some flowers and this morning she gave me one of the 
flowers to put on my coat.” 

I chatted with him and finally he pulled out the rose and handed 
it to me across my desk and said: 

“Mr. Beck, I would like you to have this rose.” 

“Oh no, Otto, that looks too good on your own coat.” 

“T want you to have it.” 

“Why ?” 

“Because, Mr. Beck, you're the only man who has been kind to 
me this week.” 





130 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


So it seems to me, leaders, that these folks that are in your hands 
and in my hands are there to be led out into a bigger and a fuller life— 
not by some professor in yonder university who is still to write a 
book on “Youth,” or yet by some preacher who is yet to preach a 
great sermon. It seems to me that right here to-day are gathered 
those mighty forces than can go out from here to make the start. 


The President of the Elementary Teachers Association of the 
state, whose guests we are, sounded the keynote in her address the 
other day.—Kindliness, sympathy, a sense of humor and an under- 
standing heart are the guide posts along the road to successful teach- 


ing. 
Let business and the schools combine in using these guide posts— 
and we will find the common meeting ground for the days that are 


ahead. 
It has been a privilege to have been here with you and I leave with 
you Douglas Mallock’s. .. . 


Gold, yes a man must have his wages, 

It has been so through all the ages. 

A man must also have his hire, 

To set his table and feed his fire. 

And yet his wage, however much, 

Is never quite enough to touch 

His weary hands and heart with healing, 
He must come homeward, somehow feeling 
That not with this a man is paid. 


But if we can come home tonight 

And know to-day we did the right, 

And made the world that never knew it 
A little better passing through it, 

Can know we caused a life to smile, 

Or lightened someone’s load a while, 
That something we have made or done 
Has brought delight to anyone, 

Yes, know we have served our fellowmen. 
Then we are paid, but not till then.” ° 


After a short intermission the presiding officer introduced Gerrit 
A. Beneker who gave an illustrated talk, Art in Education. 


PTR RRR RUN AN aR NIeeystenx pine 2 


PRL RN A I, das Bt 


renee 


a ree 





Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 131 


FourtH SESSION 
The fourth session was a joint meeting of the Department of 
Secondary-School Principals and the Department of Superintendence. 
It was held in Mechanics Hall at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 28. 


The session was opened by a program of music by the combined 
bands of the Boston High School of Commerce and of the Boston 


Latin School. 


Superintendent J. M. Gwinn of San Francisco, California, Presi- 
dent of the Department of Superintendence opened the program with 
a brief word of welcome and with the introduction of Francis L. 
Bacon, President of the Department of Secondary-School Principals, 
who set the background of the subject of the evening session, Super- 
vision of Secondary Schools, in his address, The Statement of the 
Problem and the Viewpoint of the Principal. 


SUPERVISION IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS 
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM AND VIEWPOINT 
OF THE PRINCIPAL 


Francis L. Bacon, 


PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL 
PRINCIPALS 


Considering the country, at large, the secondary school knows lit- 
tle and does less about supervision. This statement is supported by 
the interpretation which denotes supervision as the attempt to im- 
prove classroom procedure or what is often called the technique of 
instruction. Instruction has been and still is, most of us believe, the 
crux of the whole educational process. The function of supervision 
is the improvement of instruction through the recognition of effective 
content and methods and elimination of ineffective material and 


practice. 


The elementary and grammar schools have done much with this in- 


terpretation of supervision. These units have not orily established 
techniques ; they have put them to work. In the main the secondary 
school has done neither. There are many trained supervisors in the 
grade schools who give daily demonstration of the values which may 





132 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


come through supervision. A very small number of high schools can 
show comparable supervisors. For the most part the grammar school 
principal and teachers have acquired a viewpoint toward supervision 
far different in its sympathy and understanding from that which may 
be discovered in the secondary school. 


The contribution of the normal school to the professionalization 
of the grade-school teacher has been the outstanding influence in 
bringing recognition and development of supervision in the elemen- 
tary schools. [or the secondary school there is no counterpart. The 
majority of high-school teachers have not received professional train- 
ing of any kind prior to their first jobs. They are merely college 
graduates. The acquisition of certain degrees, has seemingly pre- 
pared them to teach in all units of public education. These college 
graduates, suddenly turned to the field of teaching, enter, for the most 
part, the small high schools. The larger schools insist upon experi- 
ence and experience, such as it is, must be obtained in the smaller 
schools. In these latter schools the principal is usually as much a 
neophyte in the art of instructing youth as the members of his staff. 
If experience and training are his, use of them is generally nullified by 
his own heavy program of teaching, plus a multiplicity of management 


detail which is overwhelming. Often in such situations, the superin- 
tendent presents a similar picture; and generally, the major portion 
of his supervisory interest and time are given to the lower grades. 


Out of such conditions, in general, the inexperienced, untrained 
college graduate becomes in time, an experienced instructor and 
passes on to the higher salaries of the larger schools. Habits and 
methods, to large degree, have become formulated and static. These 
teachers have learned to teach, perforce, as they were.taught. Oddly 
enough, such methods have usually been quite sufficient for the defi- 
nitely specialized, strongly formal, and traditional subject-matter of 


the high school. 


The small high-school principal, likewise gradually advances to a 
larger school. He is usually selected for such advancement by reason 
of his personal qualities plus the ability he has demonstrated in the 
organization and administration of his school. Rarely, if ever, is his 
promotion dependent upon what he has done specifically to improve 
the quality of classroom instruction. The latter is usually taken for 
granted as a by-product of successful management. The principal’s 




















Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 133 


teaching experience is generally meagre and unnoticed. Once, par- 
ticularly in New England, and vestiges may still be found, the prin- 
cipal or headmaster, by virtue of his position was, first of all the head 
teacher. Accordingly, he taught the most important of all subjects, 
the subject through which all pedagogy has been most unchanging 
and unchangeable. And that same Roman influence was observable 
in all his contacts with the school. This tradition has been powerful 
in shaping the attitude of principals. But again, generally, the ad- 
vancing principal with teaching experience often outstanding in its 
limitations, has been forced to forego teaching altogether and im- 
merse himself in an overwhelming burden of organization and mana- 
gerial duties. Meanwhile the larger the high school involved, the less 
help is forthcoming from the superintendent. 


In the middle and larger schools there are often department heads 
When there are such, the reduction in teaching load is usually merely 
sufficient to provide some additional time for routine duties connected 
with books, supplies or details of management. As supervisors of 
instruction most department heads fail to function either because of 


lack of time or ability or both. 


The lack of professionally trained teachers and principals, the in- 
heritance of formal and traditional subject-matter, the dominance of 
the highly specialized requirements of higher schools and the huge en- 
rollments, prohibitory of cost extension, other than for the basic pro- 
vision of rooms and full time teachers, are briefly, some of the most 
important factors which have hindered the development of supervision 


in the secondary school. 


Though there are exceptions to this rather sombre picture and re- 
cently a much more hopeful attitude is abroad, yet it is quite apparent 
that the major problem of supervision in secondary schools is one of 
adequate recognition. Recognition which will come through the de- 
velopment of more suitable professional training schools for high- 
school teachers and principals; recognition by school boards, in 
stipulating definitely such training for incoming high-school teachers 
and principals; recognition by superintendents of schools that they 
should place more definite responsibility upon themselves and upon 
their high-school principals for obtaining a balanced program of 
supervision in the secondary school. The more complete development 
and broader standardization of state and other accrediting agencies 





134 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


will be of much valuable influence in gaining desirable recognition. 
These are some general factors which may aid in developing a co- 
operative outlook favorable to the growth of an adequate conception 


of the art of supervision. 


The specific problem which follows the general one of recognition 
has to do with the place and character of the supervisor in the de- 
velopment of supervision. Much has been said about the high-school 
principal as the supervisor of instruction. Ideally he has been named 
as the proper supervisor. Upon analysis it may be found that this 
customary conception is open to much qualification. Conditions in 
the small high school, already referred to, make the principal either 
unsuitable or unavailable. 


In schools with less than 200 enrolled (an arbitrary number, 
merely indicative) it may be strongly argued that it is the obligation 
of the superintendent to meet the problem of supervision in the 
secondary school as fully as in the grades. The high school is much 
more in need of trained and experienced service. The superintendent, 
generally, is more mature, more experienced, more permanent than 
the high-school principal. A wide recognition of the responsibility 


of the superintendent for at least, more specific leadership in the 
solution of this problem might clarify and develop the existing situa- 
tion to great advantage. 


In schools with enrollment between 200 and 1000 (again merely 
an indicative spread for general groupings) the problem is obviously 
more clearly up to the principal alone. For this reason he is all the 
more in need of help. Though the superintendent can give less time 
to the high school, in systems large enough to support high schools 
within this great middle grouping; he can easily be of much more 
help to the principal than is generally true. It is not unreasonable to 
expect that a program of supervision should make both superintendent 
and principal effectively operative in its development. However well 
such a program is planned the chief load will rightly devolve upon the 
principal. Schools of this size, in the main, will not be able to sup- 
port trained and capable department leaders. Leadership in supervi- 
sion as well as in other things must be the definite obligation of the 
principal of the middle-sized high school. For such leadership he 
must obtain; specific, adequate training in well established schools of 
education. The summer school, of necessity, must play an important 





Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 135 


part in such training, for most of the specific preparation will become 
effective after the teacher has become a principal on the job. Much 
of the training will be vitalized by the use of the position in the field 
as the medium for experiment and practice. The principal who is to 
supervise must know the characteristics of good teaching. He must 
learn and apply the art of supervision in a variety of forms. If he 
is to do all this, school boards and superintendents must make it 
possible through adequate office assistance both clerical and man- 
agerial. Until this latter is reasonably done the immediacy of business 
management, startlingly insistent in the modern high school, will pre- 
clude the principal’s satisfactory leadership in the improvement of 
classroom teaching. 

In schools larger than 1000 in enrollment capable and properly 
trained assistants to the principal are possibilities. They may be 
departmental leaders, curriculum or subject supervisors or assistant 
principals especially selected for instructional supervision. For the 
principal of one of the large schools to supervise satisfactorily, the 
instruction in the broad and varied fields of the modern curriculum, 
as it exists in our large secondary schools is, i1i most cases, to beg the 
issue. He must, perforce, become a general manager; and if he 
devotes anything like the time to supervision which should be given, 
other phases of his school organization will suffer to the extent that 
there will be serious interference with instruction. If the principal 
of the large school is especially qualified in the art of supervision, 
then, he should delegate many important managerial and executive 
duties to capable assistants and give largely of his time to classroom 
supervision. Few, if any, principals are as well qualified for de- 
tailed and specific supervision as departmental specialists. The 
principal of the large school, as far as intelligent practice is concerned 
must, of necessity become a supervisor of especially trained and 
appointed officers of supervision. His great obligation to the super- 
vision of instruction is likely to be that of coordinating and articulat- 
ing the work of several supervisory assistants, a challenging, neces- 
sary and skilled work in itself. From this brief analysis it becomes 
obvious that the size of the school and the qualifying conditions must 
determine the nature of the executive plan for supervision. 

We have stated that the accepted interpretation of supervision is 
in respect to the improvement of classroom instruction. The oldest 
and most firmly established conception of supervision carries the idea 





136 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


of classroom observation by an officer who is superior to the teacher. 
This officer is to make constructive suggestions relative to the or- 
ganization of subject matter and the method of developing the lesson. 
While this conception of supervision properly carried forward should 
be productive of valuable results; it is too often the sum total of the 
supervision within a given school. Such supervision is good as far 
as it goes; but it should be emphasized that there are many other 
phases of supervision which are intimately related to the teaching 
process and fully as necessary to the improvement of learning. 


The principal who faces the problem of supervision squarely, 
whatever the conditions, will first, view the situation administra- 
tively. He will organize a plan of supervision. Not a highly complex 
and mechanical arrangement which will be put into effect by the 
issuing of a bulletin or sudden announcement in faculty meeting but 
rather a plan which will be of a gradual developmental character. A 
plan which will provide for the working out of several phases of the 
whole problem with correlation and coordination as rapid as the 
school may be carried along in effective spirit and work. 


The first step in such a plan would be that of encouraging the 
training of teachers in service. This is an effective way of improving 
classroom work by obtaining the interest of the teacher in attacking 
the problem through sustained personal effort. Professionalized 
activities by departmental, faculty and extension groups, individual 
research and study, summer school work, all of these will give strong 
impetus to the growth of the necessary professional spirit and will 
give much aid in solving the difficult technical phase of the problem. 


A plan of supervision will also include the professionalized 
faculty meeting as a medium of cooperative enterprise and common 
understanding of problems intimately related to the classroom. The 
importance and the place of the assignment as a simple factor in 
classroom procedure may easily form an excellent project for faculty 
discussion and realization. Such an opening followed by observation, 
demonstration, and report could be carried throughout the school as 
a special project in supervision. This accomplished, another phase 
of supervision could be advanced and similarly developed. By a de- 
velopmental plan of this character the principal can learn and apply 
the technique of supervision as his teachers practice the technique of 


teaching. 





Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 137 


A definite supervision program should recognize pupil control and 
management and the physical conditions of the classroom as a specific 
phase of the general problem. These are considerations basic to the 
best teaching. Oftentimes, there is much confusion incident to inspec- 
tion as supervision or supervision as inspection. lor purposes of 
efficiency inspection should be recognized as merely a definite part 
of the whole program. Much argument can be advanced for inspec- 
tion in relation to physical conditions, pupil control, and for checking 
certain specified phases of class procedure. However, it should al- 
ways be understood as merely a legitimate follow-up efficiency proce- 
dure and surely never as the sum or emphasized part of the supervision 
program. It should not be permitted to operate alone but as a well 
understood item among several more important parts of the general 
scheme. 


Once there is an attitude within the school favorable to construc- 
tive progress in educational method, there comes the challenge of the 
curriculum. One of the most important phases of the problem of 
supervision is that connected with the selection and organization of 
the subject matter to be taught. The relation of this question to the 
improvement of teaching is obvious. A successful plan of supervision 
will provide for the constant reorganization and adjustment of con- 
tent with corresponding discovery and application of suitable class- 
room methods. An answer to the inevitable question: What shall we 
teach, raises, at once, the insistently pertinent question, how shall we 
teach it? The supervision of instruction if intelligently done, de- 
mands selection of ‘text and organization of content conforming to 
the needs of the school population. It means supervising outlines of 
work, consideration of method in advance and the preparation of 
daily plans. 


Now the alert principal will not be content with merely starting 
things. He will insist on knowing what happens. His whole pro- 
gram of supervision will be objective in its character. He will test 
the component parts of his plan. He will be especially interested in 
knowing whether the sum total of his plan has made a difference in 
the quality of the educational process. Unquestionably a very im- 
portant phase of his program is that which has to do with the measur- 
ing of classroom instruction. To what end all the effort over the 
supervision problem unless results are checked. The knowledge of 





138 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


results may easily disclose the need and furnish the starting point 
for definite supervisory practice. 


More objective material is necessary. Standardized subject-mat- 
ter tests are increasingly available. Tests of such character should 
and can be developed by the local school as a part of the program of 
supervision. An attempt to improve the testing practice will open up 
the whole problem of instruction. Curriculum matter must be 
selected, organized, certain essential parts emphasized, and non-essen- 
tials eliminated. If teachers’ results are to be evaluated, charted, 
compared, methods of obtaining the best results are, at once, in 
demand. The principal who interests himself in supervising a subject 
testing program will do much to forward the cause of efficient in- 
struction in his school. 


Perhaps the most marked weakness in supervision has been that 
of insufficient standards. The question of standards for measuring 
classroom instruction has been extremely difficult in the secondary 
school. The multiplicity of specialized subjects, each with its own 
peculiar technique has made the setting up of suitable standards ex- 
ceedingly complicated. Once the various phases which have been 


mentioned as necessary parts of a balanced program of supervision 
have been worked out in a given school, they will tend to create a 
set of standards for that school. It will be the particular job of 
the principal to keep such a set of standards refined to the best 
thought and practice available. But this will not be sufficient. The 
principals as a group need very greatly to study this problem of 
standards of supervision for secondary schools. A pooling of efforts 
and findings will aid in clarifying the existent haze on this important 
problem. In time, supervision will, of necessity, be based upon a set 
of principles and standards with accompanying procedures which 
have survived through experiment and demonstration to convincing 
proof. 


This statement on supervision, necessarily brief and general in 
its character has not made any attempt to develop argument for 
supervision. The necessity and importance of supervision have been 
assumed. There has been no attempt to present its technique. We 
have been interested in defining the problem which supervision faces 
in the secondary school; and in offering somewhat comprehensively, 
the attitude of some of the principals. 

















Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 139 


At the close of his paper, President Bacon introduced William 
McAndrew, sometime Superintendent of Schools of Chicago, who 
was given an ovation by the great audience. Mr. McAndrew spoke 
without notes on High-School Supervision from the Viewpoint of the 
Superintendent. 


SUPERVISION FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF THE 
SUPERINTENDENT 


WittiAmM McANpreEw, 


Epitor, Educational Review 


Most of the superintendents of my acquaintance see the high- 
school workers confronted with a bewildering change of circum- 
stances and problems. Those good people need all the sympathy, 
help, and guidance the heads of their school systems can give them. 


Many of you present who are not yet Methuselahs—may you 
continue your service through vigorous maturity, rich in days abound- 
ing in good works—can remember when high schools regarded them- 
selves as constituted for sifting from the product of the elementary 
schools the most scholarly, and for maintaining through four years a 
still further selective process, determining who might pass on to 
higher education. You had the entrance examinations required for 
admission to high school. You recall Maxwell, voicing in his annual 
report, only twenty-five years ago, his conviction, a common one, that 
—‘“many children get into high school who should not be there at 
all.” You are familiar with the old high-school slogan, “through the 
survival of the fittest we train for leadership.” As compared with 
their present perplexities the task ofthe high-school teacher was 
simple, indeed. His children had a definite college entrance standard 
to attain. A teacher made no study of teaching. He could give out 
lessons, hear them recited, put marks in a book, and draw his pay. 
His pupils were selected on the basis of ability and desire to learn. 


Now comes the astounding revolution! Compulsory laws extend 
the school age. Everybody goes to high school. Over three millions 
are in the public institutions of secondary education. The amazing 
increase of 610% confronts these schools. The common-minded, the 
lazy, the uninterested, the mental pauper—all are in a refectory whose 





140 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


menu and service were planned for the select, robust appetites of a 
few. It is a situation which no ridicule of methods, however inept 
they may be, can greatly help. It is a case for compassion, for con- 
structive sympathy, for intelligent guidance by the head of the school 
force. 

Tell Them the Truth.—It is no kindness for a superintendent to 
feed the high-school people with honeydew. He who called himself 
the Third Napoleon was given that diet until he thought he had an 
invincible fighting organization. When he put his troops against a 
real army it was crumpled in a few days. The sorriest thing a super- 
intendent can do is to let the high-school principals get their heads into 
the sand. The futility of continuing high schools on the old basis 
needs especially to be sensed by the superintendent. His responsibility 
demands that unpleasant facts be known about what is now the most 
expensive and least efficient part of the public-school service. 


Let him be sure that the high-school managers realize that college 
preparation is not now their main business. The high schools are paid 
for by every person in the town. From every cent spent for anything, 
a part goes to the high-school tax. Unless one keeps that essential 
fact near the top of his consciousness, he will run a high school for 
getting a few boys and girls into college. But, as Thomas Finegan 
hammered into the Pennsylvanians, “Every child of fourteen is a 
high-school obligation, not to prepare so much for residence in the 
University of Pennsylvania as for contributing benefit to the State of 
Pennsylvania.” 

Let the superintendent see that the high-school people appreciate 
the hollowness of the old training-for-leadership fallacy. It was a 
high-sounding cymbal, mere noise. Those who had innate power of 
leadership, no doubt got into high schools where, in sooth, they were 
so diverted by scholarship and pedantry from the paths in which 
America needs to be led that we see our educational products playing 
golf on election day while the real leaders, who never saw the interior 
of a high school, are herding their votes to the polls to keep in power 
the sorriest set of statesmen to be found in any country on the globe. 


Let the superintendent, while praising honest and intelligent effort 
of high-school people, see that they realize the growing power of Dr. 
Pritchett’s protest against rising costs, the formidable movement of 
chambers of commerce, of granges, of associations of mayors, and of 








Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 141 


governors, seriously inquiring whether the American people are get- 
ting a fair return for what in many localities is much the largest item 
in the public budget. We have the advantage of a supreme American 
faith in education. The marvelous growth of the demand for it 
should not lull us into complacency. The amount and keenness of 
criticism from without is growing. 


Meantime our own school people have developed a discontent with 
high-school results which no superintendent may ignore. I see some 
men here who remember Jacob Gould Schurman’s criticism of us at 
the Poughkeepsie meeting of the Association of Colleges and Pre- 
paratory Schools, well back in the last century. You remember him 
deploring that we were organized on the basis of teaching subjects. 
“Your high schools,” he said, “are bibliocentric, or thermocentric, 
directed towards imparting the contents of a book or covering a 
course of study. What the country needs is a more paidocentric serv- 
ice in which the high school will determine what the boy is, who 
comes; what he ought to be, who leaves; how he can be made to 
grow from one to the other. We need a service,” he said, “which 
shall deliver that kind of American who will render the social, civic, 
political service for which the makers of America instituted public 
schools and made them a tax on all people whether parents or not.” 
You remember at that meeting McKeen Catell proposed that by tests 
and measurements we should determine whether high schools are 
doing their work. It seemed Utopian. Yet now comes Henry Morri- 
son with the most talked-of book of the time and shows us that by 
centering on the subject, by mere covering of the lesson, we have 
seasoned society with a distressingly large proportion of people who 
know education as a partial performance of tasks only up to a low 
average that will relieve the doer of requirement to undertake them a 
second term. It is a cause for congratulation that the proposition of 
Catell and Rice and Ayers and others, to devise a means of knowing 
how well a school is succeeding, is worked out in this enheartening 
Morrison book to a system of simple mastery units for every high- 
school activity, with means of demonstrating in greater -accuracy 
than ever before that they are really mastered. 


You will remember, too, James Russell’s Excursions through Ger- 
man Schools before the war and his book, the essence of which is 
that those people know what they are aiming at and how to hit it; 











142 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


ours don’t. Now comes David Snedden with a whole book on what’s 
wrong with American Education. The theme of his high-school 
chapters is, “Nobody Knows. Nobody knows why Latin, plane 
geometry, and chemistry are taught in high school, nobody knows 
whether English as taught in high school functions as worthwhile 
culture, nobody knows whether history in high school has well de- 
fined objectives of civic conduct. Of belief and faith, we have much,” 
he says, “but of sound, dependable knowledge, none.” It reminds 
you of Paul Hanus’s figure of the high school: a great ship with all 
sails set and going nowhere; or, of the subject of a New Jersey 
Education Association meeting: “Resolved that the high school is 
a chaos.” Of the notable number of books on high-school manage- 
ment coming from the press in the past five years, the conclusion of 
those by both the Douglasses, by Hollister, by Uhl, by Barr and 
Burton, by Judd, by Snedden, is “the work of the high school leaves 
much to be desired.” 


The constructive, optimistic Morrison declares the result of these 
four years upon our youth, at the time when their duty in the world 
begins naturally to dawn, is “the making of an adult incapable citizen 
albeit he may be legally entitled to vote and hold office.” 


Supervision, the Answer.—What is the remedy? All the students 
of productive organization answer, “supervision.” The workers re- 
quire guidance. Percival Hulson, who was awarded one of the Sachs 
prizes for an essay on high-school improvement, reaches the conclu- 
sion that the teachers are not prepared for what the high school should 
do. Edward Fitzpatrich, the other prize winner, reports thousands 
of instructors, whose only teaching preparation was for English, 
found in charge of classes in geometry, French, and domestic science. 
Hundreds of high schools are like a fake hospital whose specialists 
qualifications are that once they had the measles or the smallpox. 
Williams Burton’s book puts first the training of teachers now in the 
service. John Withers makes it the immediate paramount need. Barr 
and Burton feel justified in saying that supervision is already recog- 
nized as the foundation on which school procedure must be built. 
They add these requirements to training those already in service. 
Second, employment of only teachers who are adequately trained for 
teaching. Third, reorganization of the school activities with definite 
human abilities in view. Fourth, testing and measuring the results 








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Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 143 
and improving them. And Fifth, appraising the work of separate 
teachers and replacing those who fail to meet requirements. 


This is a formidable task enlisting the highest ability and courage 
of superintendent and principal. “It is not,” said the progressive 
Professor Inglis, within a short walk of this spot, “so much of a 
problem to improve high-school supervision as how to get any.” 
While, a thousand miles further west, Professor Judd responded, 
“The part of the high school job poorest done is supervision. It needs 
a tonic dose of honest self-criticism.” 


Obstacles——To have such agreement among the bookmakers that 
supervision is the high schools’ greatest need is something, but who 
thinks human nature rushes gladly to the benefits conferable by the 
supervisor? Douglas Waples ought to know. His book is the result 
of wise acquaintance with us. He remarks, “Few high-school teachers 
get any supervision. They don’t want it. It is considered bad form 
for a teacher to admit the need of help with school problems.” Out 
on the shores of the Peaceful Sea, where every prospect pleases and 
only man is vile, a gentle and sympathetic woman, Susan Dorsey, 
grieves over teachers who, shouting for liberty, refuse freedom by 
creating an atmosphere of strife in their own souls against the im- 
agined bondage of supervision. If you tell them that all the tests 
establish that the best method is this one; they immediately want to 
do differently. 

On the Eastern coast is Hosic declaring that “where supervision 
is functioning there is little excuse for agitation for democracy in 
the school system. Under the disguise of academic freedom they want 
the liberty of wasting youthful lives and setting up the ugly form of 
teacher Bolshevism.” 


Let the superintendent realize that a principal who sets out to get 
each member of his corps to use the road which surveyors have 
agreed is ‘the safest and best often has a backwash of teachers who 
flood the offices of the superintendent and of board members with 
complaints which would make workers in other lines laugh and 
wonder. New York held meetings of protest against the raising of 
requirements of new entrants into teaching. “Teachers to Arms,” 
read the circular, “Your rights are assailed. A tyranny more dire 
than that against which your fathers fought is upon us.” In Chicago, 
a circular assembling the friends of freedom recounted that the 














144 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


principal invaded the classroom, sat in a back seat, took notes and 
imposed them on the teacher.” These things impress the honorable, 
the members of the board of education. A distressed gentlewoman, 
tastefully clad, inevitably awakens the chivalry of the layman. He 
who would dismiss a neglectful nurse, however beautiful, will gallant- 
ly champion a handsome incompetent if she is merely wasting the 
lives of a few score of other people’s children. Let a superintendent 
support his honest and thorough people against the opposition of his 
board and note what happens to him. Ettinger resents the proposed 
replacement of hard-working progressive Edson. Ettinger protests 
the promotion of an unscrupulous woman school politician. Ettinger 
insists that the judgment of a school system shall be based upon the 
measured accomplishment of it as shown by standard tests. Ettinger 
refuses to permit a political school board to violate the law secured 
by years of struggle against political domination. What does his 
board? Discontinues him. Finegan reorganizes the supervision of 
the schools of Pennsylvania. By the opinion of all those open-eyed 
observers, the travelling bookmen, Pennsylvania schools came up into 
the van. What happens to Finegan? Politicians pinch him out. 
What did Baltimore do to Van Sickle and West? Newark, to Corson? 
Terre Haute, to Englemann? What were the deeds of that choir 
invisible, the company of superintendents that were? Winship has 
told us that more school men lose their positions for improving the 

service than for leaving it as it is. This leads your John Beveridge to 

tell the life insurance men that school superintendency is the most 

hazardous of all occupations. This leads to a type of supervision by 

principals and superintendents of the sort that justified Dr. Eliot to 

tell this Association that school service is fifty years behind the science 
of it. This produces the “inspirational address” and a sort of evan- 
gelical supervision in which the Third-Napoleon-fallacy persists in 

telling teachers how noble, conscientious, and able they are, with no 
other basis for the declaration than a desire to please. 


Coffman sneers at us when he quotes a well-known superintendent 
of 1917: “The business of a supervisor is to cast a genial influence 
over his schools, but otherwise he is not to interfere with the work.” 
As long as I can remember, the favorite pose of principal and super- 
intendent has been that of a dear little Coué, saying to all his school 
people, “Every day in every way you're getting better and better and 
better.” The result may be a coming Gravelotte and Sedan. It may 





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Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 145 
be a setback resulting from the protests of the Pritchetts, the Lowells, 
the granges, the chambers of commerce and the associations of the 
mayors and governors. But that is not the main consideration. The 
question is what is the chief end of principal and -superintendent ? 
Truly there is no respectable theory of their service other than to 
do their stint in a thorough and workmanlike manner. Let the ax 
fall where it may—good-bye popularity. 


Let them each, therefore, throw away those shiny baubles of 
long ago: poise, creed, personality, and the attainment of popularity. 
Nobody really loves a lazy commander. The old conception of prin- 
cipal as foster father to delightful boys and girls is not satisfying 
the Pritchetts. “The principal is on the platform; let all the school 
keep silence before him,” hasn’t brought us any whither worth coming 
to. Let the superintendent now say, “My son, your main business 
is with teachers; not with pupils and parents. Let me see your plan 
of organization. Simple Simon had not any, but he is dead at pres- 
ent. The motto of efficient service, as Thomas Briggs reminds us, 
is organize, deputize, supervise. Let me see your plan; your institu- 
tion is part of the public school system. I am responsible for it. 
I want to know how you deputize the supervision of the English 
teachers, of the Latin teachers, and of all the people who teach any- 
thing. I want to know what you do to see that the habits of pen- 
manship, language, and other things that we have built up at much 
expense in the lower schools are prescribed in yours. I want you 
and your deputized supervisors to get into those schools enough to 
know how they are doing things so that you may direct your people 
to work accordingly.” (Head Architect Burnham had the planners 
of every building in the great World’s Fair inspect the whole plan 
every morning to get unity, harmony, and completeness.) “I want 
you to tell me what abilities you expect your children to have at 
definite periods. I’ll send somebody to go and find out by tests 
whether they have those abilities. What book on high-school super- 
vision do you set most store by? What have you learned about the 
attention-holding quotient of your various teachers? What mastery 
units have you decided on for your history? Have you made them 
few and simple enough to leave the teachers time for their favorite 
and valuable hobbies? Understand, my son, that I am not trying to 
dominate you, dear no. I merely want to be sure that you are making 
a business of your business and not running a Sunday School in 








146 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


which nobody interferes with teachers. I want you to understand 
I’m with you. Your success is my chief desire. If you have super- 
intendentitis, I consider that all right too. Although to tell the honest 
truth high-school principals are happier. So organize, my son, organ- 
ize and deputize, and supervise. I’ll back you. Tell your teachers 
they mustn’t run to me. I'll hear them, of course, but never unless 


you're present.” 


That, ladies and gentlemen, is high-school supervision from a 
superintendent’s standpoint. He can’t help high-school education 
much unless he can get principals to roll up their sleeves and remake 
their high-school systems. They need sympathy and help. They 
have inherited a silk mill, built and equipped to weave the most 
delicate threads into ornamental patterns. A cataclysmic change has 
dumped among their raw material wool and flax, sisal, hemp, and 
wood pulp. They must be helped so to reorganize as to deliver a well- 
woven useful fabric suitable for stout sails for the ship of state. 


Who despairs ? 


So far as I can see, every one worth knowing is glad that the hun- 
dred researchers in the laboratories of the schools of education and, 
under their inspiration, teachers in the classrooms of high schools are 
reducing our profession from a mess of glittering generalities to a 
nearer approach to a science of surety. We want to be in line with 
the progress of those material constructionists who can build a car 
that inevitably runs, who manage a railroad that gets you to your goal. 
We want to be in the class of those engineers in human welfare who 
know they can prevent cholera and yellow fever, who know an in- 
creasingly number of diseases they can cure. All around us in the 
humbler occupations we see the conquering of uncertainty as in that 
beautiful rhythmic sign in Albany, “No woman so fat but we can make 
her stylish,” or that other proud boast of a master of trade on Warren 
Street, New York, “You don’t have to try on the pants I make for 
you.” 

From these ridiculous examples to that sublime realization of the 
hope of the fathers is a step, long enough, no doubt. But the best men 


of our time have faith that the schools can take it, for from Washing- 
ton to Coolidge it has been the faith of the fathers that the schools are 


the hope of the world. 


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SDR LAIN Setar Ss ec ig wie pt: 


Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 147 


President Gwinn then introduced Miss Cornelia S. Adair, Presi- 
dent of the National Education Association who presented from her 
manuscript, Supervision from the Viewpoint of the Teacher. 


THE VIEWPOINT OF THE TEACHER* 
CorNELIA S. ADAIR, 
PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL EpUCATION ASSOCIATION 


When one considers the topic ‘What Teachers Want in Supervi- 
sion,” another question arises in the mind demanding instant solution, 
“Why Is Supervision?” Mature consideration of the two questions 
brings to light the fact that there is little if any difference between 
what teachers want in supervision and what other thoughtful educa- 
tional workers want. The ultimate aim and measure of all supervision 
is the progress of the child. All school machinery exists that his 
growth may be guided in the right direction. That teacher is great- 
est who creates within the school an atmosphere of freedom, growth, 
and responsibility. That principal is greatest who gives teachers. the 
maximum freedom and who secures the largest growth and self im- 
posed responsibility. That superintendent is greatest who is most 
able to develop principals and teachers and to keep them free in their 
work with the children. That system of city or state supervision is 
best which fosters the finest adaptation of the schools in each local 
community to the highest needs and ideals of that community. 


Supervision has been influenced in spirit and method by the shift 
from autocracy to democracy in the management of human life. 
While there is still much in our educational practice that belongs to 
the Middle Ages, steady and substantial progress is being made in the 
direction of wiser and more wholesome methods of handling people. 


This is nowhere better illustrated than in the epoch-making Sixth 
Yearbook of the Department of Superintendence on the Development 
of the High-School Curriculum. This yearbook is literally an exam- 
ple of super vision. It is the vision of the best minds in American 
education working on the greatest collection of facts relating to the 


*An address made before the National Association of Secondary School 
Principals, February 28, 1928. 





148 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


secondary school ever brought together. Its aim is not uniformity 
or standardization in the narrow sense, but diversity and the adapta- 
tion of the school to the needs of individual children and of the vari- 
ous communities. Its aim is not to enslave the teacher to a fixed way 
of doing things, but to free the teacher by bringing out the facts and 
the principles so that they may be applied in the re-adaptation of our 
secondary schools. * 

This is a democratic attitude. In this Yearbook is also found a 
clear statement of the responsibility of the secondary school for all 
adolescent youth rather than merely for a part of them. The high 
school of the past may have excluded many pupils because they were 
restless or uninterested or could not profit from what it had to offer. 
The high school of to-morrow, following the lines laid down in this 
Yearbook, will find a way to meet the needs of all youth. It will 
recognize clearly that the pupils who tend to drop out at early ages are 
often the ones who need the atmosphere of the school most. Super- 
vision developed in accord with this ideal will lead teachers to elevate 
student growth above the mere mastery of subject matter. This does 
not mean that we shall value scholarship less but rather that we shall 
value growth and the all around development of young people more. 


Modern supervision recognizes the simple principle that children 
grow through their own activity. It seeks therefore to guide and 
direct their activity and not to repress it unnecessarily. Through the 
teachings of John Dewey, which have profoundly influenced educa- 
tional theory and practice there runs the doctrine of guided growth. 
This great philosopher emphasized the need of a kind of supervision 
which shall give to the individual child greater freedom and respon- 
sibility. Under the Dewey dispensation each school is a little society 
in which the embryo citizen under simple and guided conditions is 
enabled to make his mistakes and learn his lessons protected from the 
exploitation and the penalties of a selfish and competitive civilization. 
If a child is to grow there must be things to do that involve more than 
mere verbal situations. Progress is not made by don’ts and stops. 
Necessary as these may be at times, they are not the normal approach 
to growth, and joy, and power. 

Just as the supervision of children has been made more construc- 
tive by the modern educational advance, so has the supervision of 
teaching become a profession in itself. The development of the de- 
partments within the National Education Association suggests this 








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Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 149 


growth. The Department of Secondary-School Principals is larger 
than the whole Association was a few years ago. It is a far cry from 
the so-called early supervision which consisted of an occasional visit 
to the school by the district trustees, to the highly trained, sympa- 
thetic, and efficient supervision of the modern school principal and his 
staff. 


This development has been made possible by the improvement in 
the status and training of teachers. If teachers are to be free and 
effective in the larger sense—if they are really to be great technicians 
as well as fine and noble personalities—they must be well trained. It 
is for this reason that the National Education Association has said 
that every teacher should have four years of training beyond the four- 
year high school. 


The growth of the teacher training movement is most encouraging. 
Normal schools are becoming teachers colleges. Two-year normal 
schools are becoming three-year schools. Attendance at summer 
schools is increasing. During the summer of 1927, according to 
figures published in THE JouRNAL of the National Education As- 
sociation, 250,000 teachers took courses in education. Study on the 
part of teachers in service has also grown until in cities like New 
York, Boston, Cleveland, and Detroit there are thousands of practising 
teachers who take extension courses from the best talent in the teacher 
training field. Cincinnati put into operation in September a salary 
schedule which encourages training for all teachers through the four 
year level and beyond. 


Directing the work of a corps of teachers such as is being built 
up in Cincinnati is very different from the sort of petty direction re- 
quired for many teachers in rural communities who have had no 
professional training at all. This petty supervision, which may have 
been inevitable in the pioneer stages of teaching, becomes less and less 
necessary as teachers improve in training and working skill. Early 
supervision was often unwelcome because its real purpose was mis- 
understood both by the teacher and by the supervisor. Sometimes 
supervision is not kindly received because of the personality or spirit 
of the supervisor himself. But such cases are growing rarer as the 
principles of supervision are becoming better understood. 


Supervision has to do with the improvement of the teaching act, 
the selection of organization of subject matter, testing and measuring, 











150 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


and the improvement of teachers in service. Everyone grants that 
the principal aim of supervision is the improvement of teaching., This 
end will be accomplished by inspiring and encouraging the good 
teacher to further study and experimentation, and by redirecting and 
improving the work of the average and the poor teacher. 


Good supervision has definite, well understood standards and a 
well organized program. It is essentially a codperative procedure. 
It supplies the means which enable teachers to live up to the set 
standards and to carry out the authorized program. 


One who goes about as an inspector or detective will not gain 
cooperation. He will never see the best work of teachers, because of 
the nervous strain to which he subjects them. A dictator is of no 
real assistance to teachers! What teachers need is inspirational lead- 
ership. Much that is superimposed is valueless. Encouragement 
and suggestions together with helpful demonstrations will build up a 
teaching morale worthy of the name. 


In their supervisors, teachers hope to see the qualities they them- 
selves should possess and more. They demand in them a certain 
amount of personality and enough power to inspire confidence in their 
professional ability. They want them to have a thorough knowledge 
of the art of teaching and willingness to make, occasionally at least, 
a carefully detailed study of a recitation before entering upon any 
criticism of it. In conference, teachers would have their supervisors 
speak sincerely, make a simple straight forward statement of facts, 
and give them an opportunity to do likewise. 


I must pause to make a special plea for better supervision in rural 
schools. In spite of our theory that every child should have a fair 
start in life, it is possible to find in many states of the union wonder- 
ful city schools side by side with rural schools that are utterly inade- 
quate when measured by the needs and standards of modern life. 
Too often county and even state superintendents are selected for 
petty political reasons rather than for educational qualifications. The 
National Education Association has said in its resolutions that such 
officers should be chosen by lay boards—that they should be selected 
not from the small areas they are to serve, but from the best talent 
available anywhere in the country. 


Only thus can we bring to rural schools the professional super- 
vision which they need even more than city schools. In spite of the 





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Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 151 


rich educational materials that lie at its very doors; in spite of the 
crying needs of rural life for a curriculum that will develop men and 
women able to deal with rural problems in a large way, the course of 
study in rural schools is in sad need of revision. Few workers are 
trained to undertake the task. It has been made evident by the studies 
of the Curriculum Commission of the Department of Superintendence 
that the typical high school is still the small semi-rural high school. 
And yet how few there are at work on its problems! 


Beyond the work of the principal there is in every school system 
a wider direction—perhaps more accurately called administration than 
supervision—which concerns intimately the growth of every child and 
teacher. Consider for example the sweeping implication of the course 
of study itselfi—a schedule of work which largely determines all 
school activities. 


Every educational system which tries to keep its education abreast 
of the needs of a rapidly changing civilization must wage a constant 
battle to keep its course of study flexible enough to be in accordance 
with the needs — f the children. Courses of study reflect child needs 
best when they are the product of the codperative effort of teachers 
and supervisors. Curriculum building has proven one of the best 
means yet found for training teachers in service. As such it yields 
advantages to the school system in ways not obtainable through other 
processes of supervision. It helps to train each teacher to study the 
problems of the individual child. It encourages them to seek a new 
content in education and to vitalize the old content by more effective 
forms of organization and interpretation. It inspires to wider vision. 


Supervision once meant inspection. Later it meant petty dicta- 
tion. Now it means inspiring leadership. For the masses of teachers 
this leadership will be associated more and more with supervising 
principals of broad training and fine personal character. 


As Van Dyke sang the praise of the unknown teacher, may I sing 
the praise of the unknown principal? Great superintendents plan 
school systems, but the principal leads and guides the teachers. He 
communicates his own joy in service and shares with them the treas- 
ures of his mind. He lights many candles which in later years will 
shine back to cheer him. This is his reward. 


I have chosen to develop the meaning of supervision in this broader 
setting rather than in its narrower definition, because it has seemed 





152 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


possible thereby to emphasize the new ideals that are guiding not only 
school management, but also sound management in business, in indus- 
try, and in the home. 

What teachers want—what we all want—most in supervision is 
leadership, human, constructive, inspiring. We want our leaders to be 
men and women of sterling character, possessed of penetrating dis- 
cernment, boundless sympathy and an insatiable desire for the com- 
plete development of youth. We want them rich in experience and 
culture, open-minded in training, clear-eyed in purpose, embodying in 
their personalities high ideals of work, lofty standards of achieve- 
ment, and a keen dissatisfaction with less than our best. 


President Bacon then presented Charles H. Judd, Director of the 
School of Education of the University of Chicago, who read his 
paper, Can Supervision Be Made Scientific? 


CAN HIGH-SCHOOL SUPERVISION BE MADE 
SCIENTIFIC? 


Cuar.es H. Jupp, 
Director, SCHOOL OF EpuCATION, UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO 


High-school supervision cannot be made scientific without arduous 
labor. There are unfortunately some people who think that science 
is easy to inject into all kinds of situations. For example, a prin- 
cipal writes to a college professor as follows, “Our school has a 
six period program; each period is 55 minutes in length. Do you 
think this program is too heavy for pupils of high-school age?” The 
college professor who gets this letter knows that the principal who 
wrote it is in trouble with a local physician, or with the president 
and secretary of his parents’ association. What the principal wants 
is a document that he can lay before his board with the statement 
that it comes from a scientific expert. There is a quieting effect 
on some boards of education in the words “scientific expert.” The 
local physician is scientific; members of boards of education know 
about scientific business management. If the principal can get a 
pronouncement from someone far enough away from his town, he 
may be able to convince his board that he is operating under the 
sanctions of science. 














Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 153 


I shall not pursue this matter of the correspondence between the 
principal and the college professor further lest it lead to revelations 
which probably ought not to be made public. My purpose is served 
if I add the statement that no one knows whether that program is 
too heavy or not until he has studied the situation with sufficient 
care and detail to arrive at a verifiable conclusion based on facts 
not supplied in the off-hand letter. The get-scientific-quick method 
of extricating one’s self from supervisory difficulties may serve the 
temporary purpose of quieting an aroused community, but it is not 
a safe or valid method of scientific control for the schools. 


There are some principals who are willing to go further than to 
write letters to supposed experts. They go so far as to take a 
summer quarter course or two in the science of education. They 
establish themselves after these courses on the firm ground of one 
of the leading scientific generalizations and begin operation. There 
came into my hands some time ago an application for a fellowship. 
The applicant was a high-school principal. Among the achieve- 
ments which he enumerated as entitling him to favorable considera- 
tion was one on which he laid great stress, evidently considering it 
a mark of the most advanced training and an evidence of his deter- 
mination to be in the front rank of educational scientists. He said, 
“Since I came to this school, I have completely reorganized the 
method of marking. Every teacher in this school now follows strictly 
the normal curve in distributing his or her marks.” 


I have a vivid picture in my imagination of the way in which 
the teachers in that school have been browbeaten into adopting the 
normal curve. I can see the pride with which this enthusiastic youth 
looks over the bookkeeping which he has perfected and reports to 
the neighboring county institute the unqualified success of his efforts 
to bring science into a situation which was formerly conducted in 
utter ignorance of the findings of the best educational research. 


I trust that no one will misunderstand my position. The normal 
curve is a most useful instrument in the hands of one who under- 
stands its value. I know of no more stimulating method of inducing 
teachers to study the whole problem of developing an equitable sys- 
tem of grading pupils than to have them compare the distribution 
of their own marks with those of other teachers and with the normal 
curve. On the other hand, I know of nothing more stupid than to 














154 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


dictate as a matter of invariable rule that the normal curve shall be 
followed rigidly by all teachers in the distribution of their marks, 
The trouble with the young applicant whom I quoted is that he had 
too slight an acquaintance with the normal curve. 

It would be possible to offer an endless number of examples of 
what may properly be called ignorant enthusiasm for the science 
of education. The latest which came to my attention was in the 
form of an article submitted for publication to the School Review. 
The article in question was written by a professor in a university 
department of modern languages. He had evidently participated in 
some of the testing initiated by the national commission in charge 
of the Modern Language Inquiry. Evidently also, he had never 
heard of the long labors by which educational tests in other fields 
have been refined. He wrote in glowing terms of a new educational 
era when other subjects in the curriculum will adopt the practice 
which the modern languages have found to be productive, namely, 
the practice of judging the success or non-success of instruction by 
tests. He pointed out that tests will show any teacher exactly how 
the results secured in his class compare with results secured else- 
where. The writer of this article urged all schools and colleges to 
use tests. The author evidently felt it to be his duty to bring the 
overwhelming importance of tests to the attention of a hitherto un- 
enlightened public. Our editorial board considered seriously pub- 
lishing this article as a means of introducing a little humor into the 
sometimes too somber pages of the School Review. 

There would be very little justification for the present paper if 
it could contribute nothing but examples of the misuse of the science 
of education. I have ventured to report such cases as I have cited 
because I believe the science of education is in critical need of a kind 
of support which the great body of administrators do not fully 
understand. The science of education requires at this moment the 
expenditure of an enormous amount of energy. The science of edu- 
cation is understaffed and undersupported. The number of workers 
who are attempting to carry on educational research is pitifully small 
and wholly inadequate to the demands. I have thought of this occa- 
sion as a strategic opportunity to make a plea for a new type of 
support for the scientific study of high-school problems. I shall try 
to persuade you that the high schools of this country must think of 
their task in a new way. I shall try to convince you that it is 






























































Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 155 


expedient and economical for high schools to become centers for the 
scientific study of the problems of adolescent education. 


Let me be concrete. I remember some years ago visiting the 
New York City High School of Commerce when the late Mr. 
Shepard was principal. There was a record in the principal’s office 
of the activities of each of the teachers in the school. The record 
showed what subjects the teachers taught, how many pupils were 
in each class, how many pupils passed and failed, and so on. There 
was one item in the record which interested me very much. It 
showed how many pupils in each class elected a related subject during 
the year following instruction by a given teacher. I was interested 
in this item because it revealed very clearly the fact that some teach- 
ers influenced their pupils positively while others did not. I recall 
that there was one teacher of mathematics whose pupils in large 
percentage went on with advanced courses in that field and that 
there was another teacher working under almost identical conditions 
as to subjects of instruction and numbers of pupils whose influence 
was almost zero as shown by subsequent elections. 


It required some energy to compile the records to which I have 
referred and there were a number of items on which information 
was collected year after year which did not seem to be as significant 
as the one which I selected for special comment. The energy required 
for the compiling of the record undoubtedly lessened the amount of 
time which someone could expend in supervising extra-curriculum 
activities or in holding conferences with parents or teachers or in 
performing some of the other duties which principals ordinarily think 
of as normal routine. I do not hesitate, however, to assert that such 
careful and complete records kept in every school in this country 
would give an objectivity and precision to high-school supervision 
which are at present largely lacking. 


Why is there so little work done in high-school offices in the 
preparation and study of scientific material on which supervision is 
to be based? We all know the excuse commonly offered. It is said 
that there are no funds available for such records. Or it is said that 
the principal is so fully occupied that he cannot find time to think 
of such matters. 


At the risk of making a statement that will not be palatable to 
some of the members of my audience, I shall say what I believe to be 

















156 Department of Secondary-School Principais 


true and | shall depend on your good nature to hear me through in 
the hope that we may ultimately part on amicable terms. It is my 
firm conviction that the reason high schools are not scientifically 
conducted is not that resources or time are lacking but that high- 
school principals are as a class uninterested in scientific methods of 
investigation. It is my belief that if principals were scientifically 
minded, they could persuade communities to provide the necessary 
energy to put high-school education on a thoroughly sound and valid 


basis. 


In making this assertion, I do not for a moment overlook the 
fact that the high-school principals of this country are a highly 
educated and highly intelligent group. Many of them are thoroughly 
grounded in literature and history and some are productive scholars 
in mathematics and physics. They were, in many instances, trans- 
ferred overnight from the field in which they were doing effective 
work as teachers and were transformed into principals without being 
changed internally in any respect. The result is that they do their 
thinking, when they indulge in that higher form of intellectual exer- 
cise, in the fields of literature or physics and they carry on their 
activities as supervisory and administrative officers with no more 
special skill than would be brought to the task by ordinary men. 


What I am saying does not imply that these non-scientific prin- 
cipals are failures in conducting their schools. Quite the contrary, 
many of them are men of such good sense that they find what seem 
to be in most instances adequate solutions for the problems which 
arise among teachers and pupils. The solutions which are ade- 
quate are, however, seldom of the type that can be defended as well 
founded on scientific grounds. The high schools of this country are, 
for the most part, conducted with the best of intentions and with a 
high degree of success but by methods which are only vaguely de- 
fined and often quite tentative and fluctuating. 


The remedy for the present situation does not lie in mere in- 
dividual change of attitude. If some principal becomes aware of the 
necessity of finding scientifically defensible grounds for his action, 
he immediately discovers that he is an isolated individual. There is 
very meager information about the practices of high schools in 
general to which reference can be made by any individual who begins 
to study high-school problems. 




















Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 1357 


Let me cite a few cases in point. It has recently been said of 
American high schools that they administer curriculums which are 
“ropes of sand.” This rhetorical phrase is, I admit, somewhat vague. 
I am interested in emphasizing the fact that when one begins to refute 
the charge, one finds in the literature of high-school supervision very 
little definite material with which to answer or confirm what is said. 
An answer from a single school is inadequate. We ought to know 
much more than we now know in a definite way about the extent 
to which the studies pursued by individual high-school pupils really 
weave themselves into coherent curriculums. 


Again one hears the statement that there is here and there an 
oversupply of teachers. What constitutes an oversupply? How does 
an oversupply in one city—assuming that it exists—affect the supply 
in other centers? 

Additional examples of uncertainty in regard to the conduct of 
schools appear when one tries to find out what are the relations of 
a high-school principal to the city superintendent of schools. Or 
what are the relations of a principal to his teachers in such matters as 
the determination of the methods which shall be followed in the class- 
rooms, in the disposition of disciplinary cases, and in so fundamental 
a matter as initial appointment. 


There must be broad general principles to which appeal can be 
made in dealing with matters of the various types mentioned. These 
broad general principles cannot be ascertained through purely per- 
sonal endeavor. The profession must address itself as a body to 
the study and scientific solution of the general problems of high- 
school administration and supervision. A thoroughgoing science of 
education will be possible only when codperation is established on a 
sufficiently broad scale to supply a vast body of energy and full use 
of the facilities for experimentation furnished by all high schools. 


At the present time there are a few men in scattered university 
centers, in state departments of education, and in a few isolated high 
schools who are carrying on studies on the margin of time left after 
performing other duties. Each man does a small piece of work 
periodically and timidly publishes his results. The stream of com- 
mon practice flows on very little affected by these side eddies. The 
magnitude of the educational enterprise is enormously great, the 
magnitude of the scientific output is relatively insignificant. 





158 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


Very often scientific research is seriously limited by the fact that 
the man who would be interested in carrying on the research is with- 
out the authority necessary to permit the work. Colleges of educa- 
tion have tried in many instances to secure opportunities for scientific 
work by organizing schools under their own control. Individual 
investigators have often found themselves so entangled in red tape 
and so inhibited by tradition that they have been completely blockaded 


in their inquiries. 


The fact is that schools are organized as operating concerns. 
Means for the study and criticism of school operations have not 
been provided as a part of the routine. This appears in the fact that 
an ordinary principal of a middle sized high school has more dis- 
tracting duties than would be assigned in industry to any kind of a 
supervisory officer. While industry has learned to set up well 
equipped laboratories and to guide its activities by the exercise of 
the most drastic scrutiny of its results, schools have been asked by 
the public to use every ounce of available energy in operation. If 
fifty new pupils come to a high school, the board of education may 
employ a new teacher but it will certainly not think of providing an 
assistant to the principal. Among new pupils there may be problem 
cases which call for careful diagnosis; some of the pupils may come 
ill prepared and be, for this reason, in need of special attention ; they 
may be undecided in their interests and in need of training of a 
type not commonly provided in the school. Does the community 
supply expertly trained research people to study the fifty new pupils? 
Not at all. It is commonly believed that the principal who is now 
dealing with seven hundred pupils can take on fifty more without 
any recognition of the fact that his duties have been increased. 


The public is not wholly to blame for its attitude. Very few 
principals have ever asked for facilities with which to make a care- 
ful study of teachers and pupils and the public does not know that 
teachers and pupils need to be studied. I must repeat in substance 
what I said a few moments ago. The profession must become 
scientifically minded or the schools will continue to be supervised on 


the basis of purely personal judgments. 


Since I have urged the profession to take up scientific studies, 
it may be thought that it is my duty to outline plans which will insure 











Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 159 


the achievement of the end which I have advocated. I have several 
concrete suggestions to offer. 


First, I suggest that high-school principals develop as frequent 
opportunities as they can for conferences with one another regarding 
the problems which they encounter and regarding successful devices 
for meeting these problems. Principals in neighboring communities 
could very advantageously meet at least once a month and ask one 
another regarding such a matter as their respective methods of judg- 
ing teachers. President Eliot is said to have formed his judgments 
regarding the teaching ability of members of the Harvard faculty 
by reading the examination questions which these teachers set for 
their classes. A canvas of the school supervisors of the country 
would undoubtedly bring to light a number of other useful plans. 
My colleague Morrison has suggested that the extent to which a 
teacher holds the attention of his or her class is an objective indica- 
tion of the degree of the teacher’s success. Principals could well 
afford to spend much time and energy gathering suggestions of this 
type. . 

Another question which principals might discuss in conference 
is the question of how far the results of tests are to be used in rating 
teachers. I know one great school system which holds that the 
results of tests are not proper bases for the rating of teachers. It is 
argued that the individual teacher is not responsible for the kind of 
pupils that are sent to his or her class through promotion, nor for 
the curriculum which is required to be administered. Why, then, 
should the classroom teacher be responsible for the results of tests? 
It is the obligation of the central officer to adjust matters if pupils 
are found to be deficient. In direct contrast with the attitude of 
the school system to which I have just referred is that of another 
system where the curriculum is assumed to be correctly standardized 
and where promotion is thought of as properly adjusted. In this 
second system, teachers are rated strictly in accordance with the 
showings made by their pupils on the tests arranged in the central 
office. I can think of nothing that would furnish a more appropriate 
theme for a principal’s conference than the problems suggested by 
this contrast in attitudes on the value of tests. 


In suggesting that principals meet and discuss such questions as 
those proposed, I am not assuming that the science of education will 





160 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


be directly advanced by the early meetings. I am confident, however, 
that after men have discussed such questions, there will very soon 
develop an interest in supervisory problems which will inspire the 
participants in the discussion to seek objective evidence on which to 
base decisions and practices. There will begin to appear a scientific 
mind which is essential to participation in the productive study of 
school problems. 

My second suggestion is made in the belief that a scientific attitude 
once established will seek and find means of promoting widespread 
research. I suggest that principals go about the task of converting 
boards of education and the public to an understanding of the fact 
that decisions about school policy should be reached in the light of 
facts. We are in a period of serious jeopardy to school interests. 
The expenditures for schools have come to be so vast that all kinds 
of sinister forces are beginning to seek places in the councils of public 
control of education. Conscientious educators are so busy with their 
daily tasks that they seldom take the time to show the public the real 
character and complexity of school supervision and management. 
The result is that the public consumes the energy of school officers 
in meeting trivial demands. The public seems blind to the fact that 
absorption in petty details interferes with the real interests of pupils. 
The principal of a high school who with sensitive conscience gives all 
his time to answering miscellaneous office callers is not really serving 
the public as he should. As the leader of the school, the principal 
ought to take time to plan for the development of the institution and 
he ought to devise ways of convincing the public that he is serving 
them when he works behind closed doors. The principal ought to 
prepare reports which will keep the public reading. 


In direct line with this suggestion is another of like import. The 
public ought to pay for expert research assistance in every school. 
There is nothing so convincing to the public as a draft on its purse. 
The public will not understand and appreciate educational research 
until it has paid for it. At present, the public pays most of its money 
for teaching and appropriates only a small amount for supervision. 
The public pays outside of the schools a great deal for science. I 
have waited in the outer office of my oculist, as I dare say the rest 
of you have done, and I have contemplated with respect the diffi- 
culty of securing his services and the amounts which he is likely 
to charge me. I have noted the eagerness with which people await 





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Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 161 


their turns. He is a scientist. When he decides that I do thus and 
so, I do it. I have been unable on occasions when holding such 
meditations with myself to avoid contrasting the way in which the 
scientist disposes of people with the way in which people impose on 
educators. I repeat what I said a moment ago. The public must 
be taught to pay for expert research of high-school problems. I 
suggest that every high school with ten members on its faculty employ 
an expert to gather information about teachers, pupils, and curric- 
ulum. The public is getting less education for its present invest- 
ment than it should. The public deserves to have its educational 
problems subjected to the most critical study. Let us give the public 
what it needs. 


One of the chief reasons why a school should be supplied with 
time for scientific study of its problems is that records may be kept 
which will make possible comparisons of different schools with one 
another. One of the most striking indictments against the high schools 
of this country is that they demand of the colleges that credentials 
of graduates shall be asked for only on uniform blanks, but they do 
not, so far as I know, exhibit the slightest interest in uniformity of 
records in any other connection. High schools have their private 
methods of registering pupils, of reporting grades, of keeping account 
of discipline, of crediting extra-curriculum activities, and of recording 
the activities of teachers. ‘ 


The financial officers of schools long ago discovered the advantages 
of comparisons which are made possible because of the existence of 
uniform methods of bookkeeping. Principals seem to be wholly un- 
aware of these advantages. The highest ambition of each high-school 
principal seems to be to invent a new blank on which academic 
records are to be recorded. I know a great city in which the high 
schools of the single system are so divided in their practices with 
regard to records that scientific studies through comparison are im- 
possible, even if there were anyone in that system interested in the 
science of education. 


The high-school principals of this country will some day keep 
uniform cumulative records of their schools. Even a change in 
administration will not result in a destruction of records or a break 
in the continuity of standard information. The profession as a whole 
will dictate as a matter first of response to the demand for public in- 





162 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


formation and second as a contribution to scientific studies ‘that 
academic officers do as well as financial officers and as well as the best 
public utility corporations. It is an astonishing fact that it is im- 
possible in many high schools to ascertain what courses of study were 
offered ten years ago and even more impossible to find out how many 
pupils elected certain subjects four years ago. The state of public 
high school records is chaotic beyond all possible defense. 


My next suggestion is a negative one but it is offered with all the 
emphasis that I can put into words. High-school principals should 
not expect educational science to be brought to them in the form of 
simple rules of conduct which are merely to be followed. Projects 
are undoubtedly good when they are genuine, but there are times when 
school work cannot be cast in the project mould. New type examina- 
tions are very useful when one wants an objective measure of the 
extent to which pupils have absorbed one hundred items of informa- 
tion. There are occasions, however, when an examination should test 
the pupil’s ability to formulate a train of ideas into a coherent discus- 


sion. On such occasions, the new type examinations should not be 


used. He who is truly master of scientific research will not think of 
projects and new type examinations as devices to be used without 


discrimination. Science is above all analytical and discriminating. 
He who would use science must become critical and discriminating 
in his own personal thinking. The science of education is a stimulat- 


ing body of thought. It is not a series of rules to be slavishly fol- 


lowed. 

I picture to myself the future principal of a high school, the man 
who fulfils in the most complete measure the injunction to approach 
his task as a scientist should. This man will be equipped with such 
information as others have collected and made available in educa- 
tional literature. He will know the types of pupils who have been 
measured and described through tests and laboratory experiments. 
He will understand the various learning processes by which pupils 
respond to instruction in different departments. He will be acquainted 
with the discoveries that have been made in regard to methods of 
teaching. He will be familiar with the devices of supervision used 
by his fellow principals. He will be employed by a board of educa- 
tion who will say to him that it is not his duty to cater to the wishes 
of every parent and teacher. He will have time to use his scientific 
training and he will approach each of the large problems that con- 





Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 163 


front him as his professional colleagues, the doctor, the lawyer, and 
the engineer approach their problems. He will have a reasonable 
number of assistants and he will be responsible for results of a 
superior type. 

I am frank to say that I do not expect to find this type of princi- 
pal where men have been catapulted late in life into supervisory office 
after spending their best years specializing on Virgil, or physics. I 
expect to see the principalships of this country occupied by men 
trained in the methods of scientific supervision. Then supervision 
will become scientific exactly as all the other modern undertakings 
have become scientific because they are in the hands of competent 
men who have learned that success depends on the collection of ob- 
jective facts, on the derivation of broad principles of action from 
these facts and on the discriminating application of these principles 
to the emergencies of practical life. 


FirtH SESSION 


The fifth session of the convention was called to order at 2.20 P.M. 
in the Ball Room of Hotel Statler by President Bacon. 

Mr. H. B. Wilson, Director of the Junior Red Cross Society of 
America, gave a cordial invitation to the principals to the end that at 
least two high-school students from each state may attend the national 
meeting of the Junior Red Cross Society in October, in Washington, 
D.C. 

The ballots for the election of members of the National Council of 
the National Honor Society were distributed. 


BALLOT 


For Members of the National Coun- 
cil of the National Honor Society 


(Vote for three) Those listed below were elected : 


( 
( 
( 
( 
( 
( 


Cuar tes E. Keyes, California 
P. C. Bunn, Ohio 

N. V. Kepner, Colorado 
MERLE Prunty, Oklahoma 

L. W. SirH, Illinois 

R. R. Coox, Iowa 


(Vote for one) 
(To fill vacancy) 
) Water Downey, Massachu- 


setts 
) E. H. Kemper McComs, In- 
diana 


(For three years.) 


CHARLES FE. KEYES 
MERLE PruNntTY 
L. W. SmitH 


(For two years to fill vacancy.) 
Wa ter DowNnEy 





164 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


Principal Milo H. Stuart of Arsenal Technical High School, In- 
dianapolis, Indiana, presented the reports of the Committee on Class 


Size: 
Mr. President: 

The committee of the Association on class size was authorized dur- 
ing the annual meeting of 1925. It was organized in Chicago May 
8th of that year and has been in continuous operation to date. The 
personnel from the first consisted of 

F. S. Breep, Assoc. Professor of Education, University of Chi- 
cago. 

C. P. Brices, Principal of Senior High School, Lakewood, Ohio. 


C. A. Fisuer, Principal of Central High School, Kalamazoo, 


Michigan. 
Eart Hupetson, Professor of Education, University of Minne- 


sota. 
P. R. Stevenson, Research Associate, Ohio State University. 


M. H. Stuart, Chairman, Principal of Arsenal Technical School, 


Indianapolis. 
H. V. Cuurcu, Secretary of the Association, acted as committee 


secretary. 

It will be noted from the composition of the committee that almost 
every phase of the question of class size as relates to secondary educa- 
tion is represented. Without specific subdivision, the committee has 
divided itself into three rather natural lines of work. Dr. Steven- 
son of Ohio and Dr. Breed of Chicago have made specific contribu- 
tions in directing experimentation relative to class size. The work 
that Dr. Stevenson had done prior to the organization of the committee 
and the contribution which he and Dr. Breed made jointly has 
been of great value to those inclined to test experimentally the results 
of various class sizes. These people have also done considerable in 
supervising experimentation in this field. It fell to the lot of Dr. 
Hudelson to develop the subject of technique as relates to class size. 
In this work he enlisted the efforts not only of his colleagues but of 
some eight hundred high-school teachers interested in finding the 
most advantageous techniques for both large and small classes. Dr. 
Hudelson took the position that a comparison of class size could not 
be made to any advantage unless we first develop the optimum 


sialihitabhiineeiiiiniiee aide Mamta ec 





NPRM ELAR Ae Hes yen en pe 


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Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 165 


techniques best suited to each. This he has attempted to do through 
great effort and with quite appreciable results. The chairman with 
Principal Briggs and Principal Fisher have kept in mind all the while 
the administrative aspects of class size and have attémpted to show 
that there are advantages growing out of the formation of large 
classes in that small classes may at the same time be advantageously 
maintained without increasing the per capita cost. 


At the Washington meeting in February 1926, the report as given 
by the chairman was devoted to an administrative consideration of the 
subject. At the St. Louis meeting in February 1927, Dr. Hudelson 
represented the committee in the presentation of his report on tech- 
niques as related to class size. During the summer just passed Dr. 
Hudelson and Dr. Breed have produced a combined report for the 
committee including techniques for handling large classes and direc- 
tions for further experimentation with large classes. Anyone in- 
terested in knowing more about this study should communicate 


with them. 


The committee feels that the subject has now been presented in its 
various phases whereby the Association is at liberty to continue ex- 
perimentation in the many directions suggested without the neces- 
sity of further help from the committee. We do not imply that the 
work in any sense has been finished, but that the initial job has been 
attempted with more or less success and that we are now in a posi- 
tion to throw the task open to the Association at large or re-commis- 
sion another committee to carry the work forward. This position is 
here taken on behalf of the committee growing out of the fact that its 
membership is now reduced to one half. Principal C. A. Fisher of 
Kalamazoo has undertaken other work and as a result withdrew from 
the committee. The Association well remembers that Dr. P. R. Ste- 
venson died more than a year ago and that a second loss was recently 
sustained through the death of Principal C. P. Briggs of Lakewood, 
Ohio. For these reasons alone it is apparent that the Association 
should take action with respect to future committee work along the 
lines of optimum class size. , 


Appreciating the honor, courtesies and privilege of serving this 
Association in this capacity during the last three years, we respectfully 
submit this summary of our activities and ask that the committee be 


discharged. 





166 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


Moved that the final report be adopted and the committee be dis- 
charged. Carried. 

Principal F. J. DuFrain of Pontiac, Michigan, in the absence of 
the chairman, Principal R. R. Cook of Roosevelt High School, Des 
Moines, Iowa, read the report of the Committee on Standard Blanks. 


REPORT OF COMMISSION ON STANDARD BLANKS 


R. R. Coox, 
PRINCIPAL OF RoosEVELT H1iGH ScuHoot, Des Moines, Iowa 


Your commission desires to submit the following report of its 
work on the development of a standard record form for secondary 
schools : 

A year ago the commission reported the details of an analysis of 
about two hundred and fifty permanent record forms gathered from 
representative secondary schools in different parts of the country. 

After the meeting a year ago we submitted to a number of the 


members of this association the list of items found in the analysis of . 


these blanks and asked them to evaluate the various items. By a 
combination of the weightings thus secured we were able to determine 
the relative values of the items according to the judgments of a good- 
sized group of judges. Evaluations were received from sixty judges. 
Included in the list were thirty-four principals of senior and four- 
year high schools, nine principals of junior high schools, four princi- 
pals of junior-senior high schools and thirteen specialists in secondary 
education who are teaching in institutions of higher learning. 

We are further indebted to Mr. B. Lamar Johnson, a graduate 
student at the University of Minnesota, working under the direction 
of Dr. L. V. Koos, a member of this commission, for the labor in- 
volved in sending out the lists of items and preparing the tables of 
values. 

The five uses of permanent record cards were ranked by the sixty 
judges as follows: 

1. To assist in guidance of pupils (including classification and 
placement). 

2. To improve classroom teaching methods by giving the teacher 
access to information regarding the individual differences of pupils. 


jdhikiptiekilnctkis tin doeat 








Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 167 


3. To assist in research. 

4. To meet requirements of and provide basis for reports to state, 
county, and local authorities. 

5. To motivate pupil’s work. 


The ranks of the 237 items appearing in permanent record forms, 
based on the average value assigned to them by the sixty judges were 


as follows: 
I! I III* Iv‘ VI VII? 

Pupil’s name 1 1 1439 
Pupil’s date of birth .. 3 2 1301 
Intelligence quotient 8 1161 
Score in standard tests 0 1103 
Pupil’s age at entrance 4 1099 
7 1097 

3 


Score in intelligence tests 

School entered from 1087 

Absence summaries 5 1067 

Mental age 14 1035 
13 1030 


Marks in each subject by semester . . 1027 
Ratings on personal traits : 1026 
Pupil’s nationality 5 1003 
Tardiness summaries 995 
Color or race 


Date of school entrance 

Class score in standard tests 

Honors received 

Credits upon entrance 

Positions of responsibility held. . . . 


Space for extra-curriculum activities .. 

Reason for leaving school 936 
Amount of credit—total 929 
Name of standard tests 929 
Chronological age : 927 





Membership in organization 925 
Pupil’s address A 920 
Name of intelligence tests 917 
Days present summaries 917 
Date left school 912 


? Rank on basis of frequency of appearance on 249 permanent record forms. 

2 Rank on basis of ratings by thirty-four principals of senior and four-year 
high schools. 

§ Rank on basis of ratings by nine principals of junior high schools. 

‘Rank on basis of ratings by thirteen specialists in secondary education who 
are teaching in institutions of higher learning. 

5 Rank on basis of ratings by combined group of forty-seven principals. 

6 Rank on basis of ratings by combined group of sixty judges—forty-seven 
principals and thirteen specialists in secondary education. 

7 Value assigned to item by group of sixty judges. 





168 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


Subject age 
Meaning of marks 
Pupil’s place of birth 
Date re-entered 


Upper, lower, or middle one-third of 
each class in which pupil took work. 

Intention to graduate from high school 

Suspended 

Parents’ name 

Classification upon entrance 


Rank in graduating class 

Parents’ address 

Are parents living? 

Reasons for irregular attendance . . . 
Intention to enter college 


Reinstated (after suspension) : 
Reason for not intending to graduate : 
Standing at last school 

Number of weeks each subject taken . 
Athletic record 


Home surroundings 

Date of intelligence tests 

Date of transfer to other school 
Education quotient 

Father’s occupation 


Date of graduation 

Date of standard tests 

Times per week of each subject 
Language of the home 

Daily attendance record 


Course taken 

Parents’ attitudes 

Honor points in extra-curriculum ac- 
tivities 

Is mother employed outside of the 
home? 

Course graduated in 


Grade last attended 
Home duties of pupil 
Length of recitation 
Parents’ nationality 
Space for tests in general 


General health 

After-school and Saturday employment 

Amount of credit in each subject by 
years 

Extra-curriculum credits 

Marks in each subject by years 





Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 


ITEM 


Date each subject completed 
Date each subject taken 

Name of city 

Record of service in elected offices 
Name of school 


Vision 

College preparing for 

Pupil’s adviser 

Length of school year 
Amount of credit by subjects 


Date of promotion 

Vacation and other employment . . . 
Hearing 

Course entered 

Record first year in college 


Parents’ telephone 

Pupil’s telephone 

Pupil’s group number 

Total days taught 

Credit in each subject by semesters . . 


Mark in removal of condition . .. . 
Date of transfer to senior high school . 
Has pupil a step-mother? 

Address of guardian 

To what school (under date of transfer) 


Credentials for entrance 

Name of guardian 

Space for general remarks 

Date of school entrance each year 
Elementary school graduated from . . 


Subjects liked best 

Number in graduating class 
Intention to get B.A. or B.B. degree 
Date of leaving last school 

Class of 19— 


Father’s business address 
Conference with pupil. 

Has pupil a step-father? 

Other high schools attended—when? 
Subjects liked least 


Year of each activity 

Parents’ birthplace 

Pupil’s home room teacher 

Father’s business telephone 

Years parents have been in the United 


States 


II 
101 
70 
59 
89 
50 


III IV 


47 
164 
82 
113 
133 


73 
58 
53 
42 
33 


99 
106 
143 

87. 








170 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


ITEM I 

Honor points for subjects ...... 226 
List | extra-curriculum activities 

printed on recordform ...... 90 
College entered .......... 36 
General physical condition ..... 98 
Subjects very poorin. ....... 198 
Subjects very goodin. ....... 198 
Other high schools attended ..... 90 
Pupil’s home room ......... 108 
Parents’ choice of calling ...... 226 
SR a spevett ab ne ish Neca ai be 120 
Average mark forfour years. . ... 63 
Other high schools attended—how long? 198 
Resident or tuition pupil ...... 120 
Physical education. ........ 171 
Grade in final examination. .... . 33 
i a ee are er er 171 
Oi 226 
eee eer 171 
Interview with parents ....... 226 
oe a 80 
Remarks by examiner (Physical) . . . 135 
Date of elementary school graduation 135 
OO SS eae 135 
Number of pupils ineach class. . . . 120 
Credits not counted towards graduation 98 
Outside readings in English ..... 90 
SNR 5: igi “5, Fea ae ees oe 135 
Amount over or under weight .... 135 
Average of periodic class marks . .. 72 
College entrance credits by years. . . 198 
DRUG GE TBOONS 6 5 tk te 86 
Remarks concerning health ..... 171 
Log fa 108 
Brothers and sisters—younger . . . . 226 
Brothers and sisters—older. . ... . 226 
ee ee rae a ae 171 
Other schools attended ....... 66 
ENN 5 5-65 gs tag, SekAS ein) ec cece 120 
fo 198 
Date when weighed and measured . . 135 
Summary of graduation requirements . 120 
Birth certificate 2... st wt ee 135 
Course incollege.......+..-. 171 
Occupation of brothers and sisters . . 226 
ee ke ee 120 
MUO is. ss 6 ew LS a wa 152 
Name of principal ......... 39 
Name of teacher for each subject. . . 30 
Grade at physical examination. . . . 108 
Date of entering college. ...... 198 


WN GEE kk ce ke ee we 86 


II 
130 


159 
122 
138 
134 
131 


94 
148 
164 
135 
135 


112 
126 
105 
124 
155 


149 
163 
144 
114 
145 


110 
158 
129 
141 
136 
167 
186 
146 
140 
121 


166 
153 
143 
142 
172 


156 
180 
161 
149 
137 


170 
185 
159 
187 
132 
151 
184 


176 


III IV 
74 29 


91 115 
123 91 
110 69 


V 
153 


123 
128 
139 


VI 
121 


121 
123 
124 
125 
125 


127 


. 128 


129 
130 
131 


132 
133 
134 
135 
136 


137 
138 
139 
140 
141 


141 


151 


152 
153 


155 
156 


157 
158 


160 
161 


162 
163 


165 
166 


166 
169 


169 
171 


EERE ATED ENE 2 ARETE ey LY, TS tenn 


eS NAC RE et eH er RONEN 


Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 


ITEM 
Age at physical examination 
Marks in each subject by six-week 
periods 
Number of brothers and sisters 
Years parents have been naturalized 
Nasal obstruction 


Employer’s reason for leaving work. . 
Date of physical examination 

Spine 

Height .. 

Summary of credits by subject groups 


Course number of each subject. . . . 
Mouth breathing 

Other physical defects 

Vaccination 

Ward in which pupil lives 


Remarks for each subject 

Marks in each subject by quarters . . 

Text used 

Advancement in work entered . . 

Units allowed by teacher for each 
subject 


Signature of persons making record . . 
Normal weight for child of his age 
College recommended to and entered . 
Work entered—positions 
Degrees—date 


Employee’s reason for leaving work. 
Other schools attended—grades attended 
in 


Age at entering college 
Vaccination results 


Weight 

Pages covered in text 

Room number of each class 

College recommended to 

Other schools attended—date of admit- 


Name of employers 
Vaccination date 

Other diseases or injuries 
Cervical glands 

Work entered—salary 


Classification of each subject under one 
of main subject groups 

Scarlet fever 

Hour of each class 

Phimosis 

Orthopedia 


II 
192 


156 
153 
175 
189 


215 


III IV 


124 
142 


158 





172 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


ITEM II Ill IV V_ VI VII 
Small pox 204 198 203 209 217 297 
Work entered—date left 223 222 145 228 218 293 
List of main subject groups 226 110 198 220 219 287 
Name of superintendent 195 192 222 208 220 285 
Size (subjective) 217 215 228 205 281 


Ns ce nce kaos a Se Sate eee 207 209 206 211 279 
Diphtheria 207 210 206 212 279 
Credits sent—date sent 5 220 201 200 223 277 
Mumps 209 212 224 214 273 
Whooping cough 212 219 271 
Marks in each subject by months . . 231 165 270 
Number of pupil’s card in filing system 231 156 207 226 267 
Signature of teacher recording grades . 224 194 226 225 259 
Batismal certificate 212 232 231 227 224 
Work entered—date 233 221 203 232 225 


Passport 35 227 230 230 231 196 
Space for subsequent history 237 184 168 233 194 
Date of death ' 234 220 222 234 182 


Evidence of age—other documentary 
proof 35 228 237 232 234 168 
Date of marriage 236 224 229 236 158 


Vaccinated by 235 236 237 237 237 = 132 


It will be noted that these items are not grouped according to the 
types of uses to be made of them. 

The sixty judges ranked the importance of certain mechanical 
features of permanent record forms as follows: 

1. Permanent record card should provide space for records be- 
yond time ordinarily required to complete high school course. 

2. One year’s space should be provided. 

3. Junior and senior high school permanent records should be 
included on one form. 

4. List of all required subjects should be printed. 

5. List of all subjects taught should be printed on the permanent 
record. 

6. Blank spaces should be left for writing in names of all subjects. 

Upon receiving Mr. Johnson’s report on the rankings of the items 
by the codperating judges, the commission met and determined the 
general form of the blank to be submitted, including the first forty 
items most heavily weighted by the judges and certain scattered ones 
below that point. 

It was decided to submit to the judges who had coéperated in this 
project, two tentative forms, one 5’’x8’”’ and the other 8'%4’’x11" 
inasmuch as these two sizes are standard and are most frequently 
suited to the filing systems now in use in high school offices. 

Forms I and II on the following pages show the fronts and backs 
of the two tentative forms: 





Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 
FORM I 


(Front) 
PUPIL’S PERMANENT RECORD 
Mo, Day_.- Yr 
Date of birth 


“Rank in class” No. in class 


Credits “sent to : Date 





~~" Father's Birthplace“ ~"""~"Mothee’s “Biethplace ~~ 
ar living? “Mother living? No. Brothers “No. sistens 
“fathers occupation “““” ~"" "Home ‘conditions ~~~ 
“General” fieaiti ““"“"  “""~"~ Phrysicat” defects ~*~ 
intend ‘to graduate? 
~ “College preparing for ~~ Curriculum 





Department of Secondary-School Principals 


(FORM II) 
(Front) 


PUPIL’'S PERMANENT RECORD | 
eeccegeccenees SeX--. Race..-... Births Place._........ Date: Me...... 





a 
Tuition: Yes_ ...No..... 


Explanation of symbols and marks 
Re-entored: Date... ....-..------ 
Transterred to 
Graduated: Date... _.. ..- 


Crofts amt te ..... ..---- | Name of School and City ~......-..-. 


(Back) 


EXTRA-CURRICULUM RECORD ATTENDANCE SUMMARY 
Dates Honors or Dffices 








PERSONAL TRAITS 


INTELLIGENCE-TEST RECORD 
of Test 


ACHIEVEMENT-TEST RECORD 
Date Name of Tost Form | Score 





Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 175 


These forms were printed from zinc etchings, made from original 
drawings, so do not have the lettering in quite the same sizes and 
positions that they will have on regular printed forms. If these forms 
were set up and printed from type it would be possible to economize 
on the amount of space needed for the titles and thus leave more room 
for writing. These tentative forms were made merely to obtain crit- 
ical comments on the general form and position of the various items. 


At the time this report was written, thirty replies with comments 
and criticisms had been received from the men to whom the tentative 
forms were submitted. There has been no time in which to revise the 
blanks since receiving these criticisms so the most significant of them 
are here listed with comments by the chairman of the committee : 


1. I should call attention first to the size of the blanks. They are 
larger than the final forms for the reason that they were printed from 
the engravings which were the exact size of the forms planned. This 
matter would be corrected if the forms were set up in type as they 
should be in case the Association goes into the record-card business. 


2. There are a number of requests for “smaller type.” It will of 
course be possible to use smaller type in setting up the forms. Hand 


lettering, from which the zinc etchings were made, must be larger in 
order to reproduce well. Smaller type will give more space for 
entries. 

3. We were guilty of an oversight in omitting the “Science” or 
“Natural Science” group from the large form. 

4. More spaces for subjects will be provided on the small form— 
probably not less than seven. The increase will be possible from space 
saved by smaller type at top and bottom. 

5. There should be provision for a middle name. 

6. “Group” or “Group number” should be placed somewhere on 
the large card. It is already on the small one. 

7. Perhaps “Periods per week” would be better than “Days per 


week.” ‘ 
8. We need the length of period inserted at some point on the 
smaller form. It is now on the larger one. 
9. There should be at least one more “Latest address” on the small 


card. 





176 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


Certain comments relate to organization of the forms. Of those I 
think the following most pertinent : 

1. On small card “General health” and “Physical defects” should 
be placed at the top of the division in which it appears. 

2. “Industrial Arts” and “Home Economics” can be provided for 
under the single heading, “Practical Arts,” on the large card, thus 
saving space for additional subjects and subject groups. 

Other suggestions that scem to be worth considering are, the heavy 
vertical lines separating each pair of semesters on the large card and the 
provision on the large form of a wide margin suitable for punching, 
should the school use a book or binder instead of a drawer file. This 
would need to be an option in ordering.” One principal objects to too 
much writing in making entries. It would, of course, be out of the 
question for us to attempt to print in the specific courses or extra- 
curriculum activities provided in particular schools. Many of the 
comments will be displaced by the directions for use which should 


accompany the form. [or example, one principal would like to insert 


“conduct.” The users can be told in a pamphlet that such additional 
qualities may be cared for in blank spaces under “personal traits.” 


Another commented that the space for writing in the name of each 
subject was too short. It was the intention of the committee that 
symbols rather than full names of subjects be used. For example: 
the various semester of English could be designated as E1, E2, etc. 

Space was provided on both forms for the records of ten semesters 
as a majority of the high schools of the country are four-year schools 
and a majority of the judges codperating in this project recommended 
space for one year more than the regular course. 

Many minor criticisms with reference to the amount of space and 
location of items on the two blanks will be considered when these 
blanks are given their final revision. Lack of space on a 5” x 8” or 
even on an 81%” x 11” made it impossible to include all items desired 
by critics of the blank, so the committee had to leave out some bulky 
items even though weighted by the judges more heavily than others, 
that were included but required less space. 

When this project was undertaken it was understood by the com- 
mittee that its chief purpose was that of bringing about a standard- 
ization of the kinds of records kept in high-school offices so that 
transcripts, from one high school to another or from high schools to 





Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 177 


colleges would contain data comparable to that kept by the school re- 
ceiving the record. Therefore, your committee has attempted to 
make this a codperative project participated in by a large group of 
principals and a group of university specialists in secondary educa- 
tion. In reaching this objective it is not necessary that all schools 
use exactly the same forms. It might be quite desirable in some cases 
that schools print their own forms with adaptations to suit some local 
needs. However, it does seem very desirable that all shall include in 
their records those items which, it has been found, are desired by a 


large number of schools. 


If, the forms that we are developing, when finally completed, seem 
to fit the needs and meet the approval of the members of this Associa- 
tion, the Association might well arrange to print them in large quanti- 
ties and sell them to the member schools at cost. 


Within the next few weeks we hope to complete our task of revis- 
ing the tentative forms herewith submitted, in accordance with many 
of the excellent criticisms received, and have them put in printed form 
for final inspection. In the meantime it might be well for this Associa- 
tion to decide whether it desires to go into the business of printing 
these forms as it has been doing with the transcript blanks. 


Respectfully submitted, 
L. V. Koos 


F, J. DUFRAIN 
R. R. Cook (Chairman) 


Moved that the Department print the completed blanks in large 
quantities for sale to members. Carried. 


The President then introduced Mr. Edward Rynearson who ad- 
vertised Bulletin 19 of the Department and reviewed the history of 
vocational guidance in America. 


Mr. Rynearson then introduced Professor L. V. Koos, Professor 
of Secondary Education of the University of Minnesota, who read a 
paper entitled, The Status of Counseling and Guidance in Secondary 
Schools. 





178 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


GUIDANCE PRACTICE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS 
LEONARD V. Koos, 


PROFESSOR OF SECONDARY EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF 
MINNESOTA, MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA 


The endeavor in this presentation will be to make a brief and 
partial description only of a rather extensive study of guidance prac- 
tice in secondary schools being made at the University of Minnesota, 
and, because the study is nearing completion, to draw at least in a 
limited way on the findings. This study is being made by the writer 
in collaboration with Mr. Grayson N. Kefauver, an instructor in the 
College of Education, who, during his previous experience in prac- 
tical school work, gave a good deal of attention to problems in the 
field of guidance. It has been generous of your Committee on Guid- 
ance to suggest that some report be made concerning this study on the 
program for this afternoon, especially in view of the many valuable 


papers already provided for. 


The study to which I refer is a sort of extensive survey of guid- 
ance practice in which doubtless many in this audience have co- 
operated. It seemed to the writer, at the time that it was undertaken 
something more than a year ago, that one of the most helpful things - 
that could be done at this time in this important field of activity would 
be to take stock of these activities now going forward in our schools. 
To this end we first prepared an extended checking list of these 
activities, the items appearing in it being drawn from many sources, 
such as a number of articles in periodicals, chapters in books, and 
memories of many contacts with schools in which vigorous efforts 
have been made to develop guidance programs. An impression of 
the completeness of this list of items may be gained from the state- 
ment that only a small number of additional practices were reported 
in the spaces provided, although entries of this sort were called for 
at several points throughout the blank. Moreover, the large amount 
of work on the study since the data were returned has suggested few 
possible additional practices. 

We have had a good deal of assurance on the score of the time- 
liness of the study. This was provided first in the promptness and 
large proportion of returns. Despite the laborious task involved of 
filling in a large four-page blank crowded with six-point type and pro- 





Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 179 


viding for more than five hundred spaces for entries of different 
kinds, the proportionate response has been practically a half of the 
blanks sent out. This is somewhat out of the ordinary in view of 
the current resentment at the numbers of questionnaires of various 
sorts that have been flooding the offices of school administrators. The 
timeliness is attested also by an unusual proportion of commendatory 
notes sent with the returns or written on the margins of the checking 
forms; by an exceptional number of requests for additional copies 
of the form on account of its suggestiveness for practice, compliance 
with which quickly exhausted the excess of unused forms provided 
for just such a purpose ; and by the amount of subsequent correspond- 
ence inquiring as to the nearness to completion of the study. We 
have been very much gratified at these evidences of the timeliness 
of the study, as they at the same time point to its usefulness. There 
is nothing that brings more pleasure to some of us who undertake 
research in education than to feel that what we are trying to do 
promises or turns out to be of practical use in schools. 


It is out of the question to attempt to report in the brief time 
allotted for the presentation, much in the way of detail from the 
study. In view of the large amount of numerical and tabular ma- 


terials descriptive of practice which have grown out of the study, 
the listeners here should be thankful on this account. For the most 
part these details, tables, and figures are of the sort that one should 
sit down to and ponder over when ample time is available, rather 
than listen to in a program of this type. What will be attempted is 
citation of illustrative evidence of a more general nature and of sig- 
nificance emanating from the detailed data. 


A word should be said first concerning the schools represented in 
the study. Although the number of checking lists finally returned was 
somewhat larger, a total of almost 340 different institutions are rep- 
resented in our analyses. They are widely distributed over the entire 
country and to practically all our forty-eight states. They are of 
four main types, four-year high schools, three-year senior high 
schools, six-year high schools, and junior high schools. The order 
of frequency from largest to smallest numbers is that in which they 
have just been named and the numbers of each type are large enough 
to afford a basis of comparison as to the provisions for guidance 
which are made. The returns are also well representative of 





180 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


schools of different enrollments, from small schools with less than a 
hundred pupils to large schools with two to four thousand pupils. 


The checking list itself was organized into five divisions, the 
items distributing themselves to four divisions logical for the con- 
sideration of guidance problems. (1) The first of these four divisions 
was a long one comprehending the practices aiming at informing the 
pupil concerning educational and vocational opportunities. Illustra- 
tive of these are: publishing a program of studies with its arrange- 
ment of curricula, subjects, etc.; issuing a handbook much of whose 
content relates to guidance; providing a program of studies in- 
tentionally flexible; providing elective subjects; providing curricula 
leading to specific occupations; offering composite courses; offering 
exploratory courses; offering a course in vocational information 
(‘vocational civics,” “occupations,” the “life-career course,” etc.) ; 
setting forth the vocational opportunities in the community ; provid- 
ing information concerning requirements for entrance to colleges and 
other higher institutions; utilizing extra-curriculum activities gen- 
erally for their guidance value ; and arranging for employment during 
summer vacations. (2) The second division included those practices 
aiming at securing information concerning pupils. Illustrative of 
these are: having pupils indicate their educational plans ; having pupils 
indicate occupational plans; recording information concerning par- 
ticipation in extra-curriculum activities ; keeping a record of each pu- 
pils’ part time and vacation employment ; giving group and individual 
intelligence tests ; giving prognostic and aptitude tests ; securing ratings 
on personal qualities, and securing evidence on home conditions. (3) 
The third division included activities with the individual pupil. These 
follow naturally after we have informed the pupil and gathered in- 
formation concerning him—that is, after the way has been prepared 
for them. Here are included such items as provisions for interviews, 
records of interviews, intensive systematic study of problem cases, 
placement and follow up of individual pupils, issue of working 
permits, and the like. (4) The fourth and final division was con- 
cerned with the distribution and assignment of the activities named, 
that is the organization of guidance service in the school or school 
system. It inquired after the provision of the dean of girls, dean 
of boys, home room teachers, counsellors, committees on guidance, 
and visiting teachers, and after the extent of discharge of guidance 
responsibilities by these functionaries and by the principal himself. 





Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 181 


Adequate recognition of these four division of activities or relation- 
ships in a school, that is those aiming to inform pupils concerning 
educational and vocational opportunities, those aiming to secure the 
requisite information concerning pupils, those bringing the informed 
pupil and the person having the information concerning him together, 
and finally those relating te the most effective assignment and or- 
ganization of these activities, must after all constitute the future guid- 
ance programs in our best secondary schools. 


Having illustrated the types of items on the checking list we may 
venture a brief statement concerning the extent to which principals 
of the schools represented report providing them. For this purpose 
we may omit the fourth group having to do with organization and 
distribution of responsibilities and consider only the items in the first 
three groups. Of these there was a possible total of 71 activities or 
provisions. It is interesting to note the wide range in the number 
of activities carried on as few as six in one school and as many as 
fifty-three in the school reporting the largest number. The median 
was approximately 24, or about a third of the,total number. What 
the statistician refers to as the mode—the most common number— 
was in this case twenty to twenty-four. The remainder were, of 
course, spread between the two extremes cited with a notable tend- 
ency to pile up near these central measures. There is doubtless some 
selection represented in the schools making returns, those carrying 
on more in the way of guidance probably being more ready to 
respond. To the extent that this is true, the situation just described 
fiatters to some extent our secondary schools as a whole. At the 
same time it is unequivocal evidence that a significant proportion of 
schools have taken long steps toward a desirable guidance program. 


All will grant, [ presume, that everything is not being accomplished 
that can and should be accomplished. This is apparent at a number 
of points in the study. One of these is in an investigation of the 
relationship between what we may call the pupil-teacher ratio and 
the number of guidance activities being carried on. The pupil-teacher 
ratio is merely the number resulting from the division of the -enroll- 
ment of the school by the number on the staff (“teaching and ad- 
ministrative, but not clerical,” is the manner in which this number 
was reported). These ratios ranged as widely in the group of schools 
represented as from 8 to 34. The presumption would be that the 
smaller this ratio the larger might be the number of guidance ac- 





182 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


tivities. The data of the report do not at all bear out this expectation. 
For example, the numbers of activities for schools at the two ex- 
tremes of pupil ratio just reported are both 27.5, that is, they are 
identical. The median numbers for each ratio between these extremes 
disclose no such presumed relationship, being seemingly casually 
either somewhat below or above 27.5. The schools with smaller ratios 
do not appear to be utilizing the advantage over schools with the 
larger ratios on enlarged guidance programs. Doubtless, some are 
doing so, but it has no apparent effect on the relationship here meas- 
ured, or is offset by efforts of a similar sort among certain of the 
schools with the larger ratios. 


Because it was thought that the type of organization of guidance 
service or of the distribution of responsibilities for guidance might 
affect the number of activities going forward in a school, some special 
consideration was given to this relationship. One might quite 
naturally suppose that some type or types of organization would 
stand out above others in stimulating the carrying on of more activities 
than others. The importance of organization is implied, for in- 
stance, in the fact that the first main division after the introductory 
chapter in the report recently issued by this Association for your Com- 
mittee on Guidance is devoted to the plan of organization for guidance 
within the secondary school.* As far as we have been able to ascertain 
in the canvass of our materials to date, there seems to be no significant 
relationship here in the present state of guidance practice. Further 
development in this relatively new field of secondary-school activity 
may develop such a relationship, but thus far little is disclosed. 


Reference to the types of organization brings to mind the only 
_ other type of defect in practice to which this brief report can direct 
attention. Before it can be pointed out, it is desirable to indicate the 
percentages of schools having certain types of officers to whom 
responsibilities for guidance are assigned. Of all schools represented 
in this study about half have an officer corresponding to the dean 
of girls; about a third an officer corresponding to the dean of boys; 
about two-thirds provide for home room teachers; about a fifth us 
large proportions of teachers as advisers without the home room 
relationship ; about a seventh have a much smaller proportion of teach- 
ers designated as counsellors; even smaller proportions have guid- 


*Bulletin of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, 
January, 1918. Bulletin No. 19, Guidance in Secondary Schools. Chap. II. 





Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 183 


ance committees of the faculty and visiting teachers; in almost half 
the school the principal personally advises pupils along a variety 
of lines. All these proportions total about 250 per cent of all schools, 
which means that schools often resort to two or more types of assign- 
ment of responsibilities for guidance. 

We may now turn to the kinds of guidance service rendered by 
these different types of functionaries. In order to make the situation 
clear I must beg you to attend while I read a number of kinds of guid- 
ance service and the percentages of each of group of functionaries 
who render each kind of service. You are asked to note in particular 
the point at which for each group the percentages drop off markedly. 
The deans of girls render the different types of guidance service in the 
following proportions of cases: concerning matters of discipline, 56.6 
per cent; social conduct, 85.0; extra-curriculum activities, 73.4; 
quality of work, 41.6; curriculum guidance, 31.8; vocational guidance, 
23.1; placement, 25.4; follow up, 15.6. Corresponding percentages 
for deans of boys are; discipline, 77.1; social conduct, 67.2; extra- 
curriculum activities, 66.7; quality of work, 47.6; curriculum guid- 
ance, 44.8; vocational guidance, 31.4; placement 28.6; follow up, 
23.6. For home room advisers the percentages are: discipline, 69.0; 
social conduct, 65.5 ; extra-curriculum actitivies, 74.8 ; quality of work, 
61.9; curriculum guidance, 61.5; vocational guidance, 29.2. No 
inquiry was made concerning the responsibilities of home room 
teachers for placement and follow up, a tenable assumption being 
that the proportion would be negligible. For classroom teachers acting 
as advisers where a large proportion of such teachers are assigned 
such responsibilities, the percentages are: discipline, 69.7; social 
conduct, 66.7; quality of work, 77.3; curriculum guidance, 47.0; 
vocational guidance, 15.2; placement, 10.6; follow up, 10.6. Finally, 
for the counsellors where they make up only a small proportion of 
the staff, corresponding percentages are: discipline, 41.7; social con- 
duct, 43.8; extra-curriculum activities, 47.9; quality of work, 52.1; 
curriculum guidance, 60.4 ; vocational guidance, 43.8 ; placement, 29.2; 
and follow-up, 29.2. 


A significant inference from all these series of percentages is 
that they show a striking decrease at the point where vocational 
guidance is mentioned. For the most part they show some decrease 
also for the category just preceding this one, that is curriculum guid- 
ance, although the percentages for it are typically higher than for 




















184 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


vocational guidance and very much higher than for placement and 
follow up. It will help to an appreciation of the significance of the 
point of decrease to think of guidance under such categories as dis- 
cipline, social conduct, and quality of work as adjustment, in the 
sense of effecting a better adjustment of the pupil to the school situa- 
tion, and guidance under such categories as curriculum guidance, 
vocational guidance, placement and follow up as distribution, in the 
sense of distributing the pupils as advantageously as possible to the 
curriculum and vocational opportunities at hand. With this explana- 
tion before us we may now direct attention to the defect of guidance 
programs referred to above as the last that would be brought up for 
consideration in this paper: as far as may be judged from the evidence 
of this study, the distribution phase of the guidance program is being 
less well cared for than the adjustment phase, although, doubtless, 
much improvement could be effected in both in most of our secondary 


schools. 


In closing I should like to emphasize the great desirability of 
our seeing that both these elements of adjustment and distribution 
are kept in the coticept of guidance that should dominate the practices 
in guidance in our schools. One who reads the literature in the field 
frequently gains the impressions that one or other is being left out of 
account. Both elements are vital. They are both demanded by our 
highly and increasingly popularized secondary education. We may 
recall once more that this popularization has brought into the schools 
on the secondary level rapidly increasing proportions of types of 
pupils formerly seldom if ever seen there. It will tax all the resources 
at our command to adapt the training program within the schools 
to them, and to effect the adjustment of the pupil to such programs 
as we may see fit to provide. Notwithstanding its importance, this 
is far from all that is required. There is the complex economic and 
social life outside to which this large and increasing secondary-school 
population must be effectively distributed. Factors of this com- 
plexity are the increasing specialization of occupation, the shifts 
represented in the appearance of new occupations to take the place 
of the old, the shift of the rural population to urban centers, and the 
changing economic status of woman. In this complex situation self- 
finding of vocations is extremely wasteful to the individual and to 
society. In view of the profound influences at work both within 
and without the secondary school, it is unquestionably timely for this 












Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 185 


Association to have an active Committee on Guidance and otherwise 
to stimulate the study of guidance problems. 


Then Professor Jesse B. Davis of Boston University spoke briefly 
of his part in the production of Bulletin 19. 


Mr. Merle Prunty, Principal of Central High School, Tulsa, Okla- 
homa, read his paper, 4 High-School Vocational Guidance Program 
in Operation. 


A HIGH-SCHOOL VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE PROGRAM 
IN OPERATION 


MERLE Prunty, 
PRINCIPAL, SENIOR HicH ScHooL, TULSA, OKLAHOMA 


The choice of a life work is one of the most important decisions 
that a young person is ever called upon to make, It determines in the 
main the scope of his service, the degree of his success, and the ex- 
tent of his happiness. Both the opportunities and the obligations of 
youth in the increasingly complex society of our day are many and 
varied. Youth must, as a coisequence, not only discover but must 
assume wisely and well its share in the world’s work if the future of 
our citizenship is to remain secure. I believe therefore that no greater 
obligation rests upon the high schools of to-day than that of giving 
vocational guidance information and supervision in such a fashion 
that youth will determine upon his life work and as a consequence 
head directly and economically in his educational activities for the 
chosen objective. 


Within recent years young people from every stratum of our 
complex society have poured into the high schools at an amazingly 
increasing rate. They have either come voluntarily or have been re- 
quired by statute to come and partake of the free advantages designed 
by society to equip them for the effective discharge of adult respon- 
sibilities demanded in a democracy. At the same time with almost 
reckless abandon, many new subjects of study possessing vocational 
values have found recognition in our already elaborate high-school 
curriculums. Bewildering elective opportunities with relatively few 
core requirements have replaced in the main stratified and traditional 





186 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


courses of study until in many of our large high schools the consump- 
tion of all the elective offerings would require almost the normal 


expectancy of human life. 


How can the immature high-school student be led to choose 
profitably for vocational preparation from among the varied and com- 
plex offerings? The answer can be had only in a functioning pro- 
gram of individual orientation through educational guidance, a pro- 
gram which takes adequate account of students who are obliged to 
leave school before graduation ; which provides carefully for students 
who will not continue in school beyond graduation ; which has thorough 
regard for students planning to enter various higher institutions of 
learning ; a program which derives with precision all the knowledge 
possible about the social background, interests, abilities, weaknesses, 
and attitudes of students and applies appropriate educational treat- 
ment, meanwhile observing and recording systematically the results 
achieved by students both in the school and in the life situations be- 
yond whether in a life pursuit or in a college course. 


The means employed in Tulsa Senior High School for imparting 
occupational information and for directing the choice of a life work 


and the assumption of educational preparation for such work are as 


follows: 


1. A comprehensive study cf occupations. 

2. A systematic study both of immediate and remote educational 
opportunities which prepare for various types of occupations. 

3. A study of conditions favorable to securing and retaining a 
position. 

4. A guidance organization within the faculty based on personnel, 
educational and vocational information. 


The Study of Occupations——The study of occupations scheduled 
in the social science department is required of all students upon en- 
tering the senior high school. I should prefer to have this course 
required in the junior high school but certain administrative disad- 
vantages which we have thus far not been able to overcome have 
made this impossible. This course is taught in the main in segregated 
classes by experienced men and women whose graduate work has been 
done in the field of occupational guidance and counselling. The occu- 
pations classrooms are filled with valuable vocational books and 





Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 187 


guidance material with sufficient duplication to provide for all the 
students in a given period. The laboratory method of instruction is 
used during the sixty-minute period available for all classes. Teachers 
of all subjects in the high school are urged to recognize and emphasize 
the relational values of their subjects to the successful pursuit of 
various vocations. Extensive correlation exists between the English 
department and the occupations courses in readings and oral and 
written compositions. An organized system of interviews, talks from 
leading representatives of various vocations in the community, and 
visits to local institutions proves an invaluable means of deriving di- 

rect occupational information. . 


The occupations course follows a syllabus on vocational guidance 
prepared by one of our instructors in occupations.* The chief value 
of this syllabus is its carefully selected bibliography and thought-pro- 
voking exercises appended to the study of each vocation. The essen- 
tial steps which we observe in the analysis of occupational informa- 
tion as a background for intelligent vocational choices are detailed in 
the bulletin on guidance issued by the guidance committee of this 
association.t I shall therefore only mention that the occupational 
analysis includes a consideration of the following: (1) The import- 
ance of the occupation, (2) the work done in the occupation, (3) the 
income of the occupation, (4) the preparation required for the voca- 
tion, (5) the advantages and disadvantages of the occupation, and 
(6) the general requirements of the occupation. 


Analysis of Immediate and Remote Educational Opportunities — 
Not only is an analysis of occupational information in our occupa- 
tions course, but there is likewise in this course a careful analysis of 
educational opportunities. The educational opportunities open to 
students are also a part of the home room programs. Pupils in the 
junior high schools are given a knowledge of educational opportuni- 
ties open to them both in the junior and senior high schools. Students 
of the senior high school are made further aware of their educational 
opportunities in high school and in addition of those in higher insti- 
tutions beyond the high school. Junior and senior high-school man- 
uals of administration which are studied in the home rooms of each 
institution and exploratory classroom experiences give both educa- 


e *Teeter, Ver! A. Syllabus on Vocational Guidance. Chicago: Macmillan 


0., 1928. 
tpp. 21-26, Bulletin 19, N. A. S-S. P. 





188 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


tional and occupational information of great guidance value. The 
aims of the home room and occupations courses of study on educa- 
tional opportunities and the manner in which they are analyzed are 
also included in the guidance manual of this association and I shall 
not take your time to enumerate them here.* 


Factors Favorable to Securing and Retaining a Position.—Our 
vocational guidance program includes in addition to occupational and 
educational information a study of the factors which enable one both 
to secure and retain a position. The heads of the various vocational 
departments in addition to the dean of boys and dean of girls assist 
students in securing positions in the community for which they are 
prepared or in which they can function satisfactorily. 


An analysis of the factors mentioned are included in the guidance 
bulletin of this association and I shall pass any discussion of them, 
trusting that you who are interested in this phase of the discussion 
can turn to the guidance bulletin for it.¢ 

You will however I believe be interested in the organization of the 
faculty for personnel guidance effort. 


How Guidance is Organised.—The various phases of guidance 
operating in the Tulsa Senior High School include: (1) A carefully 
organized and directed home room system; (2) Curricularized extra- 
curriculum activities; (3) Two and three-hour combination courses ; 
(4) Reorganized courses of study and revised methods of teaching in 
homogeneously grouped classes; (5) Amended graduation require- 
ments including thirty-six credits; (6) A daily schedule admitting 
students to a work, study, and play program; and (7) A carefully 
selected library of vocational information. The school day which 
provides for guidance consists of a thirty-minute home room period, 
six clock-hour recitation periods clear of passing time, and a thirty 
minute lunch period. All teachers of work and play subjects, such 
as art, commerce, science, music, physical education, manual training, 
and home economics teach six groups of students daily. All regular 
teachers of study subjects teach five groups and have study groups in 
their rooms during their sixth period. Sixty-eight of the eighty-two 
full time classroom teachers of the staff are at present assigned to 
home rooms in addition to the teaching loads mentioned above. The 

*p. 16, Bulletin 19, N. A. S-S. P. 

Tpp. 24, 25; ibid. 











189 






Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 


fifteen administrative directors are relieved of a portion of the regu- 
lar teaching load, but every administrator including the principal is 
assigned classroom teaching. A description of the foregoing phases 
of guidance is already in print.* From a general standpoint they are 
vital. I shall, however, confine myself to a discussion only of those 
guidance features in the home room program which are more strictly 
vocational in value. 










Guidance Thru Home Room Organisation—The high-school stu- 
dent body of approximately thirty-two hundred members is this year 
assigned to sixty-eight home rooms, twenty-nine of which are for 
sophomores, twenty-one for juniors, and eighteen for seniors. In 
view of the fact that students are grouped homogeneously in their 
academic classes and segregated in much of their study and play 
work, we make each home room assignment as nearly a cross section 
of its class as possible. A personnel class director with two assistant 
class directors is assigned to each of the three groups of home room 
students and home room teachers. The class directors are trained 
administrators and counsellors. They integrate the home room pro- 
grams and guidance activities for each class. The sophomore direc- 
tor retains her assignment permanently. Her most important func- 
tion each semester is the induction into the senior high school of the 
students completing the junior high school. This induction involves 
numerous meetings with the groups and the individuals of the groups 
in the six junior high schools. All of the information that can be 
made available through the personnel records in use in the junior 
high school is considered by the sophomore director in working out 
the three-year course sheets to be followed by the junior high school 
students entering senior high school. The senior high school manual 
of administration and a letter to parents from the senior high-school 
principal regarding purposeful choice of high-school subjects are in 
the hands of the junior high school students, home room teachers 
and patrons during the last year in the junior high school. The letter 


follows: 





























In ever increasing numbers, boys and girls from the elementary 
schools, the country over, are pouring into the high schools for addi- 
tional education. The high school is rapidly coming to be a part of 











*Prunty, Merle C., “A Description of the Guidance Program in Tulsa 
Central High School” The Vocational Guidance. Magazine, December 1927, 


pp. 122-128. 















190 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


the common school education of all the children of all the people. 
High-school graduates promise to be more common among the men 
and women of to-morrow than grade school graduates are in our 
adult population of to-day. In recent years the courses of study in 
American high schools have been greatly enriched by the addition of 
many subjects intended to give specific training for the immediate 
assumption of a definite vocation. 

In my opinion the most fruitful opportunity of Tulsa High School 
in cooperation with the parents of its students is so to guide its stu- 
dents in choosing subjects of study that they will be specifically 
equipped following graduation to do well a work which they enjoy, 
which society wants done, and for which society as a consequence 
will reward them liberally. About two-thirds of the graduates of 
Tulsa High School each year enter immediately some life pursuit ; 
the remainder enter college. For some types of special and skillful 
service to society a college training is required while for many other 
types of work it is not in the least necessary. It is common knowledge 
that most of the “white collar” positions and professions are to-day 
already well over crowded. As I see it the most important problem 
in the educational training of our boys and girls is to urge and guide 
their decision upon a life work and then to direct effectively their 
training toward their chosen goal. 

Much loss of time, energy, and income is the result of aimless 
effort in high school. Students who do not plan to go to college should 
elect from the high school offerings those subjects which equip them 
for specific life pursuits. Abundant opportunities in Tulsa and its 
vicinity await the graduates of Tulsa High School in oil fields, re- 
fineries, offices, banks, stores, factories, shops, hospitals, homes, and 
on farms. Courses are offered in Tulsa High School in oil field 
mapping, shopwork, machine drawing, surveying, architecture, elec- 
trical appliances, auto mechanics, carpentry, cabinet making, commer- 
cial art, banking, bookkeeping, office appliances, filing, stenography, 
typewriting, salesmanship, printing, press work, linotyping, millinery, 
dressmaking, interior decoration, dietetics, agriculture, geology, phys- 
ics, chemistry, journalism, and music, all of which equip students 
to succeed in these fields immediately upon finishing the special 
courses. 

Students going to college should take only a very limited amount 
of any of the above mentioned special courses. In the main, the 








Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 191 


colleges demand for entrance, credits in English, mathematics, foreign 
language, science and history. The minimum entrance requirements 
for most middle western and western universities and colleges are 
two years of mathematics, two years of one foreign language, two 
years of history, two years of science, and three years of English. 
College entrance requirements, however, vary greatly. The minimum 
requirements for most eastern universities are four years of English; 
three years of Latin and two years of Spanish or French; three years 
of mathematics ; two years of history, and two years of science. Stu- 
dents and parents should decide on the college to be attended and 
then select the high-school subjects which absolutely meet the college’s 
entrance requirements. 

This letter is addressed to high-school patrons of Tulsa with the 
sincere hope and urge that thoughtful consideration be given to such 
a choice of subjects as will certainly equip our boys and girls for the 
opportunities that lie out just ahead of them on new levels of life 
either in an immediate life pursuit or in a college course. Within the 
next few days students will be making their choice of subjects for 
next semester. For those who are in the earlier years of the high 
school, a course for the remainder of the high-school work should be 
fully planned now not only for next year but for each of the succeed- 


ing high-school years. The home room teachers, class directors, de- 
partment directors, deans, and principal, either individually or collec- 
tively will be glad to counsel carefully with patrons and students to- 
gether in laying out purposeful courses from among the varied offer- 


ings. 
I most cordially invite your helpful codperation in guiding our 
boys and girls in a choice of subjects which will contribute directly 


to a definite life plan.” 

The selection of senior high-school subjects is therefore a thought- 
ful and carefully administered procedure with a definite vocational 
goal in mind. At each registration period all of the personnel in- 
formation available in the records of the school is in the hands of the 
class director for her aid in purposeful guidance of individual stu- 
dents. The junior and senior directors are promoted with their 
classes. The original group of home room teachers assigned to a 
class go through the three year period with the same group of students 
in so far as this is administratively possible. If due to shrinkage in 
enrollment a home room must be discontinued the students are dis- 





192 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


tributed to all of the home rooms of the class so that the home room 
teacher has only a few new students and parents with which she and 
her group must become acquainted each year. The students of each 
home room elect each year a patron or patroness from among the 
parents of the home room group. These patrons are frequently in 
the home rooms and class assemblies. The patrons of the home rooms 
in each class are organized with their patron president and class 
patron officers. The three patron presidents of each class sit with the 
executive committee of the high-school parent-teacher association and 
serve as an unique and ready means for home contacts and for dis- 
cussing home room, class and school policies in which parents may be 


of help. 


Results of Guidance.—I mentioned at the outset of this discussion 
the necessity of observing and recording the results of guidance effort. 
We have found that the recording and analysis of such information 
has in itself furnished us with excellent guidance material to be used 
both with students and patrons. Within the past two years two 
masters theses submitted to the faculties of the University of Chi- 
cago, and Teachers College, Columbia University have dealt with our 


experiences with our vocational guidance program. These have re- 
vealed to us the extent to which our vocational guidance has func- 
tioned and has enabled us to evaluate the various features of the 
program. Both of these theses were follow up studies. One of them 
was made to determine the extent to which vocational choices made 
in the sophomore year by different types of students continued 
throughout the high-school course.* We found that 72.4% of the 
students did not change their original choice. Twenty-three and five- 
tenths per cent changed their choice, but only 4.1% of the students at 
graduation time still had no choice of vocation. The second thesis 
was a study of the extent to which the high-school courses of a given 
graduating class met the demands of the life situations in which the 
students found themselves.t 


Conclusion.—Our guidance machinery seems adequate, but we are 
not wholly satisfied with the results. Continued study and evaluation 


of effort is necessary. The greatest obstacles at present are the atti- 
i fe 

*Beckington, Lulu B. “Experiences with a Vocations Program in Home 
Room Organization” Teachers College Record, February 1927, pp. 563-579. 
+Prunty, Merle C. “A Study of the Graduates of the Class of 1925 of 
the High School of Tulsa, Oklahoma,” University of Chicago, August 1927. 





Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 193 


tude of some patrons toward the program and the shifting interests 
of students. There are parents who want their children to follow in 
their footsteps. Others wish their children to pursue a profession for 
which they have neither the intelligence nor an aptitude. Still others 
are unwilling to have their children prepare for any particular ob- 
jective. These cases to be sure are in the minority, yet they are cause 
for concern. Just to the extent, I believe, that we can gather and make 
use of scientifically tested vocational material can we hope to over- 
come our chief difficulties and deficiencies. We do believe, however, 
that the most consequential efforts which we are making in our high 
school at present are those which surround the thoughtful administra- 
tion of the guidance program. On the whole the faculty and com- 
munity are sold on the program and we hope to improve it as scientific 
study of its results shows us the way. 


Mr. W. C. Reavis, Assistant Professor of Education, University 
of Chicago, spoke on the scope and content of Bulletin 19. 


A complimentary motion of approval of the report and dismissal 
of committee. Carried. 


In pursuance of the motion on p. 245 of Bulletin 15, Mr. M. R. 
McDaniel reported as follows: 


CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE 
Chairman: Dr. Jupp 


Professors of Secondary Education: 
LL. V. Koos, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn. 
William Proctor, Stanford University, Stanford, California. 
Jesse B. Davis, Boston University, Boston, Mass. 


From State Departments of Education: 
A. B. Meredith, Commissioner of Education, Hartford, Conn. 
Samuel M. North, Supervisor of High Schools, Baltimore, Md. 
Wm. H. Bristow, Dept. of Public Instruction, Harrisburg, Pa. 


Superintendents: 
Frank G. Pickell, Board of Education, Montclair, N. J. 
Wm. F. Ewing, Assistant Superintendent of Schools, Oakland, 


California. 











194 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


High School Principals: 








Francis L. Bacon, J. Sterling Morton High School, Cicero, Illinois. 
Milo Stuart, Arsenal Technical High School, Indianapolis, Indiana. 


L. W. Smith, Principal of High School, Joliet, Illinois. 
V. K. Froula, Roosevelt High School, Seattle, Washington. 


Mr. H. Ellsworth Warner, Principal of Hine Junior High School, 


Washington, D. C., read the following resolutions : 


WHEREAS many city superintendents of schools are each 
year dismissed for purely political and factional reasons, and 


WHEREAS the adequate tenure for city school super- 
intendents is just as advantageous to the best interests of 
American education as that of teacher tenure, and 


WHEREAS city superintendents the country over have 
cooperated effectively in the work for better teacher tenure, 


BE IT RESOLVED, That this organization favors and 
urges the adoption of, and legislation for, more adequate 
superintendency tenure throughout the country, in the best 
interests of American schools, American school children, and 
the teaching profession. 


RESOLVED, That inasmuch as “the first secondary school 
in America, as far as we have information, was the Public Latin 
School, established in Boston in 1635.” (From L. V. Koos 
“The American Secondary School,” 1927, page 17.) 


RESOLVED, That the incoming President should ap- 
point a committee of three (3) to study into the advisability of 
arranging for some sort of nationwide recognition during the 
year 1935 of the 300th anniversary of American Secondary 
Education, said committee to report back to this body in con- 
vention assembled one year from this date. 





Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 





the following report: 


PRESIDENT 


J. STEVENS Kapescu 
Head Master, Senior High School, Medford, Massachusetts. 


FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT 


TRUMAN G. REED 
Principal, Central Intermediate High School, Wichita, Kansas. 


SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT 


Ws. FerpinANp Ewina, Assistant Superintendent, 
Principal of Schools, Oakland, California. 


EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 


GALEN JONES 
Principal, High School, Port Arthur, Texas. 


E. H. Kemrer McComs 
Principal, Emmerich Manual Training High School 
Indianapolis, Indiana. 


FOR THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE 


Ernest G. Oscoop 
Chairman 


A. W. Lowe, Portland, Maine. 

Ws. C. HI, Springfield, Mass. 

CHARLES C. TILLINGHAST, New York. 
M. CHANNING WAGNER, Wilmington, Del. 
GALEN Jones, Port Arthur, Texas. 

MERLE C. Prunty, Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

L. W. Brooks, Wichita, Kansas. 

Harry V. Kepner, Denver, Colorado. 


The President asked for nominations from the floor. None. 
Carried. , 








At this time the Chairman of the Nominating Committee gave 








196 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


The incoming officers of the Department were called to the plat- 
form. 


Mr. I, J. DuFrain of Pontiac, Michigan, of the auditing com- 
mittee, reported that the books of treasurer were scanned and reported 


in good order. 


REPORT OF TREASURER 


NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL 
PRINCIPALS 


JANUARY 1, 1927 TO DECEMBER 31, 1927 
PRESENTED AT BOSTON, FEBRUARY 27, 1928 





RECEIPTS 
Balance in bank, December 31, 1926........  ........ $7,481.04 
Annual dues from members..............- $3,792.00 
Rn Or NOMINEE 5c. 55 0 ov sa wow sncdienewnes 186.75 
te OES 6 665s: cce seaweed Sao ocsa's eb 3.02 
Sale of Uniform Certificate Blanks......... 70.61 
MONO Boctety PGS... ccc siccecsccseess 4,904.5 
Exhibit booth rentals at St. Louis.......... 330.00 9,286.95 
$16,767.99 
EXPENDITURES 
SECRETARY'S OFFICE 
RMRORT MOONE 5 once usc ace iv cesiess $ 993.32 
Olas cone Wks ein abo wae eee wee 80.00 
NE 88 ie rare Li lala gig teases 19.00 
Refund of dues to members............... 6.00 
NINO 55: 5 0.0 aw 0 vib wis 4rd 9-8 Wie we es Ras OSS 3 40 
EXPENDED FOR N.E.A., 
RADEE BIBI. 66 icin sv sivicese ae $3.25 
ID CMG soe sc cen oesaea coon 3.00 6.25 $1,104.97 
Honor SOCIETY 
END io 6 siv'ninn O50 6 os haa eneeo nym ees $ 107.39 
RS 55a sig oes aratg araiat seh era ais eae 309.00 
Refund of charter fees................000. 10.00 426.39 
BULLETIN No. 14 (January, 1927) 

PTET OE ee ar $ 215.50 
PRES Sicx cows denis ax ee ee eek ee 6.15 221.65 

BULLETIN No. 15 (Eleventh Yearbook) 
CE TT ONE Re Pate ee $ 1,491.66 

29.64 


NN SPE OO rere te eee 
1 oer ee errr rer te eee 45.00 1,566.30 














Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 


BULLETIN No. 16 (April, 1927, Directory) 


Printing (first payment)................... $ 300.00 
(balance due $250) 








197 





p  OOESES EPEC E FSO PEROT SET Le 13.17 
WOGiiars cen io cece ci vetccwonerecccueys 25.00 .$338.17 
BULLETIN No. 17 (May, 1927) 
NNR. oo 8 edna ds eee va ed tesaeesareas $ 207.75 
URI yore dt geome eres cuacead teeee ee: 7.79 215.54 
BULLETIN No. 18 (October, 1927) 
Nooksack HEE NORE RRe HOEEEOS $ 187.50 
EME Ca her cae OR RAR ewe NREL REE 6.69 
I hic es ehh eek auelsnedecevekeenes 30.00 224.19 
CONVENTION IN St. Louts, 1927 
Printing preliminary programs............. $ 33.69 
Badges......se0- Pe arantue vas tekawees Peas 136.92 
SUI TIE TONOL 6.5 6: <5.5. 4 na-6-0.0:4 cde edie ee ce es 4.50 
Expenses of President (M. R. McDaniel)... 105.86 
Traveling expenses, President.......:...... 34.80 
Printing final programs................... 48.00 
Traveling expenses, Secretary.............. 36.90 
BRAUGORR CIOMEEE. coo ccc cere ccccccecwsces 29.36 
TIONOROTININE... 6n sce cccc sv ectsencecseces 378.75 
Expenses of clerk. ......... 000.200 eeeeee 41.87 
Expenses of speakers, traveling and hotel. ... 364.42 
Typewriting of committee report........... 3.00 
Expenses, Committee International Under- 
SEMIN oo siecle & RRR REO RE KS 11.28 1,229.35 
COMMITTEE ON VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 
Meeting in Chicago, May 8 and 9, 1927..... $ 641.37 641.37 
Delegates to Meeting of World Federation 
of Education Associations, Toronto, 
Canada, August 7-12, 1927............ $ 246.37 246.37 
Bonps 
10 First mortgage, real estate bonds, 6%.... $10,000.00 
Accrued interest on bonds at purchase. . 154.14 
Rental (one year) of safety deposit vault box 3.00 10,157.14 
Exuisits, St. Lours MEETING 
Booth construction...............cceeeeee $ 30.00 30.00 
Meeting of Committee on Standard Blank 
(Cicero, Illinois, December 5, 1927)..... $ 36.07 36.07 
Expenses of Wm. Wetzel to meeting of 
Executive Committee of National Com- 
mittee on Research in Secondary Edu- 
cation at Washington, June 6, 1927.... $ 19.97 19.97 
16,457.48 
$310.51 


Balance in bank, December 31, 1927........ $ 10.51 











198 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


Meeting of the National Council of the National Honor Society 
of Secondary Schools at Hotel Statler, Boston, Massachusetts, Sun- 
day, February 26, at 5 P.M. 

Present: President Edward Rynearson, M. R. McDaniel, E. J. 
Eaton, Merle Prunty, and H. V. Church. Absent: L. W. Brooks, 
R. R. Cook, L. W. Smith, and W. E. Wing. 

The minutes of the meetings of the National Council of February 
24 and February 26, 1927, were read and approved. 

The terms of the following members of the National Council ex- 
pire: R. R. Cook, Merle Prunty, and L. W. Smith. The succeed- 
ing were placed in nomination: P. C. Bunn, H. V. Kepner, Charles 
I. Keyes, R. R. Cook, Merle Prunty, and L. W. Smith. To fill 
vacancy for the unexpired term of C. P. Briggs, deceased, E. H. 
Kemper McComb and Walter Downey were nominated. 

The revision of the constitution’ so as to bring the aim of high 
scholarship before a larger portion of the student body was dis: 
cussed. 

On motion of Merle Prunty the Council adjourned. 

















PROMOTION OF INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING 


L. W. Brooks, 
PRINCIPAL OF SENIOR HiGH ScHoot, WicHiTAa, KANSAS 


(Read at meeting of World Federation of Education Associations, 
Toronto, Canada, August, 1927) 

I have been invited to discuss some of the subjects which lend 
themselves to incidental instruction in the promotion of international 
understanding. After a consideration of the curricula available to 
me I should like respectfully to suggest the following list : 


History Foods and Clothing 
Social Science Commerce 
Economics Music 

{Fine 
Geography Art{ Commercial 

| Applied 
Government Literature 
Foreign Language Science 
Esperanto Physical Education 
International Law (?) Ethics 
Biography Public Speaking 


Many of the above subjects were discussed at the Edinburgh 
meeting. 


The subject of history has doubtless the greatest possibilities in 
the development of the program of understanding. In my opinion 
the most significant suggestion in this field was the one to develop 
a series of textbooks which should be written by an international 
committee, in order to eliminate the bias. In the states I know of 
one firm of publishers that issues two textbooks in history—one for 
use in the North and the other in the South. Buy the prejudice that 
suits you best! We shall never attain the best understanding between 
nations until the truth instead of propaganda is printed in textbooks. 
A college professor from the States, visiting in a German University 
heard the German Professor of History state vociferously to his class 
that the United States of America is a hard-fisted, money grubbing, 


199 








200 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


land-grabbing, materialistic, cowardly Shylock, whose only excuse 
for existence was to line its pockets by the sufferings of other peoples. 
On the other hand, an essay written in England—supposedly in the 
interests of peace—states just as positively, but perhaps with less heat, 
that the States are idealistic, but impractical; that they need the 
ballast and poise of Britain to offset their dreamy, ethereality, or 
words to that effect. One of these statements might be true, but 
certainly not both! One of thetfavorite indoor sports of an occasional 
citizen of my country is “twisting the Lion’s tail to hear him roar” 
(we are thankful that such citizens are few) ; while American pro- 
hibition is the subject of perennial jocosity by the typical Briton. 
The same essay, referred to above, states that only a few people living 
on or near the Atlantic sea-board have any conception of European 
affairs, but passed glibly on matters of the Central West about which 
the writer apparently knew less than nothing, for he (or she) had 
wrong information. Long distance judgments of that sort are 
dangerous. They are loaded with explosives, and they cause much 
unnecessary ill-feeling. If people of different countries would with- 
hold judgment on such matters until they were sure of their informa- 
tion, considering it as an interesting point of view rather than some- 
thing to be combatted, matters between different peoples would be 
much more amicable. And so in like manner, judgment on our neigh- 
bors’ attitude in matters of history would be much more kindly and 
much more fair. Give the children the truth! That is the best 
propaganda. In the past, many writers of history have, consciously 
or unconsciously, colored the facts to make their own countries stand 
out in the right. “My country, right or wrong” is a pernicious doc- 
trine. If there is something wrong with my country, let me try to 
“get the machinery going” to have it corrected. Much has been said 
about teaching nationalism or, on the other hand, internationalism. 
We must not, in our enthusiasm, belittle patriotism ; every country is 
entitled to a proud love of its people; but “patriotism” (truly) is not 
enough! When the histories of the nations shall have been rewritten 
by a group of historians who have frankly tried to eliminate the 
venom, the untruths and half-truths; the hate, the suspicion and the 
propaganda ; and when the children of another generation have been 
taught toleration, respect for others, helpful codperation and the 
truth about history, then we may have some cause for hope for the 


future. 





Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 201 


A subject not before mentioned in any of the discussions, so far as 
I am able to discover, is the subject of public speaking. There are 
few subjects in the curriculum that lend themselves so well to our 
program, as public speaking does. It helps the pupil to develop proper 
methods of research; it helps him to analyze his material, separating 
important matter from that which is irrelevant and immaterial; it 
helps him to arrange his matter in an orderly and logical way; and 
it helps him, after all the intellectual preliminaries are cared for, to 
present his case in the most effective way to convince his hearers. 
The student is not limited to any particular content of subject matter, 
or to any particular field of thought. Instruction in public speaking 
is one of the most important factors in the preparation for leadership 
in the community. Properly taught, it requires the broadest prepara- 
tion, the keenest use of the intellect, and an all-around development 
of personality. Pupils who expect to enter politics cannot do better 
than devote much time to public speaking. Not only does it help in 
the sifting of material and in formal public speech, but it gives con- 
fidence and poise that are desirable in conferences with individuals, 
or with boards, committees, and other small groups. For the lawyer, 
the ‘clergyman, the teacher, such training is almost indispensable. 
Let us see what a class in public speech could do with such a subject 
as the Locarno Pact. The first assignment includes the acquisition 
of all books, magazines, newspapers, or other publications containing 
literature on the subject. This material is placed at the disposal of 
the class. Each individual is assigned some definite phase of the 
subject, or some definite article to read and analyze. The matter is 
sifted, digested, and arranged in logical form. Each pupil in turn 
presents his case while the rest of the class take notes. When the 
case is pretty well covered, one member of the class is selected to pre- 
sent the matter to the school. If other schools are interested and are 
doing similar work, contests between schools may be arranged (and 
since this would all be in the interest of peace, it might be a non- 
decision contest or debate, letting the interest center around the 
. subject itself, rather than around a decision as to who is the best). 
For several years past there has been an oratorical contest in the 
states, using for the general theme, “Our Constitution.” A long 
series of contests is held, culminating in a national contest. Much 
interest in our government has grown out of this movement. Such a 
movement or institution might be inaugurated by this body, and in- 











202 Department of Secondary-School Principals 


clude the whole of the civilized world in its scope, using some phase 
of international good will as its subject. Public speech has great 
possibilities for use in our program. 


There is a movement, somewhat new, in our country, which looks 
toward the development of a technique for education of the emotions 
of the pupil. We are inclined to smile when “emotion” or senti- 
ment” is mentioned. But we must distinguish between “emotion” 
and “emotionalism” and between “sentiment” and “sentimentality.” 
There is no other moving factor in the world so great as sentiment. 
The sentiment of patriotism has utterly changed the current of his- 
tory ; and let us hope that the sentiment of love for all mankind may 
ultimately direct it along new lines until it arrives at the goal of 
universal peace. I believe this to be possible. And so, it would be 
very desirable if some educational prophet might arise and develop 
a method of educating the emotions of our children. How it is to be 
done, I have no very definite idea; but it seems to me to be possible. 
Think what the possibilities would be if the coming generation could 
be taught so that the emotions of friendly affection and good will 
would eventuate when a thought stimulus, such as the word “for- 
eigner” is presented. Think what would happen if the stimulus 
“patriotism” could produce an emotional reaction which would be so 
broad that it would include in its scope the whole of mankind! If 
such a thing could be done; if pupils could be taught in such a way 
that the emotional life could be rationalized or that the intellectual 
life could be emotionalized, what wonderful things could be accom- 
plished! Some psychologist can make everlasting fame for himself, 
and do incalculable good to the human race if he can bring some- 
thing of this sort into being. The possibilities of this movement may 
be better realized by a group like this, if you will try to analyze your 
feelings when such stimuli as the following are presented before your 
consciousness: bandit, fundamentalist, Lindbergh, nausea, mountain, 
adore, Mussolini, 110°, the North Pole, flapper, Apollo, etc., etc. 


Most of the subjects included in my list have been discussed either , 
here or at Edinburgh. I just wish to say in conclusion, that I regard 
this matter of better understanding between peoples to be the most 
important question in the world to-day. If education is to win in 
the race with catastrophe, it will be necessary that you and I forget 
many of our hates and jealousies and prejudices, and develop a new 
method of thinking. Our emotions must be revised, and our attitudes 




















Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 203 


toward our brothers in other lands must take a new direction. Our 
race hatreds, our religious intolerance, our suspicions and animosities 
between various economic and social levels must be dissipated. 
The whole structure of society must be sublimated and refined 
into a new substance which will be without the harmful ingredients. 
The vision of a dreamer? Perhaps. At least the most promising 
door to this new world lies in the direction of our schools. Let us 
lay the foundations for a better to-morrow for our children. If we 
do not know all that we should do, let us make the most of the 
materials that we have, and go forward with faith in the justice and 
righteousness of our case, believing that the ideal of world peace and 
good will will ultimately eventuate. 














CONSTITUTION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 
SECONDARY-SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 


ARTICLE I—NAME 


The name of this Department shall be the Department of Sec- 
ondary-School Principals of the National Education Association. 


ArticLe IIT—A1m 


The aim of this Department is to promote the interests of sec- 
ondary education in America by giving a special consideration to 
the problems that arise in connection with the administration of 
secondary schools. 


ARTICLE I[I—MEMBERSHIP 


Section 1—Membership in the Department of Secondary-School 
Principals shall consist of Active and Associate. 

Section 2—All Principals of Secondary Schools, namely Junior 
High Schools, Senior High Schools, and Junior Colleges, their ad- 
ministrative and executive assistants, Heads of Schools of Educa- 
tion in Normal Schools, Colleges, and Universities, together with 
Professors teaching Secondary Education therein and Secondary- 
School Representatives of State Education Departments, who are 
also members of the N. E. A., shall be eligible to Active Member- 
ship upon payment to the Secretary of the annual fee of $2.00. Ac- 
tive members shall have the privilege of voting. 


Section 3—Members of State Organizations of Secondary-School 
Principals shall be eligible to Associate Membership of the Depart- 
ment of Secondary-School Principals, as a group, by the payment 
to the Secretary of the annual fee of $1.00.* 


Section 4—All others engaged in Secondary Education, who 
are members of the National Education Association, shall be eligible 


*Note: This clause shall become inoperative as soon as the respective 
state organizations can work out provisions for enlisting their membership 
as active members of this department. 


204 




















Proceedings of the Boston Meeting 205 
to Associate Membership upon payment to the Secretary, of the 
annual fee of $1.00. 


SecTIoN 5—AIl members both Active and Associate shall receive 
all publications of the Department. , 


ARTICLE IV-—OFFICERS 


Section 1—Officers of this Department shall be a President, 
First Vice-President, Second Vice-President, and Executive Secre- 
tary, who shall be the executive officer of the Executive Committee. 


Section 2—The Executive Committee shall consist of these 
officers, the retiring President, and two members of the Department. 
The Executive Committee shall be representative of Junior High 
Schools, Senior High Schools and Junior Colleges. 


ARTICLE V—ELECTION OF OFFICERS 


SEcTION 1—At the first session of the annual mid-winter meet- 
ing a nominating committee of nine shall be elected by ballot from a 
list of at least eighteen members nominated from the floor. This 
committee shall elect a Chairman, select nominees for all offices 
except the Executive Secretary, and report at the regular business 
session of the mid-winter meeting. After the report of the nominat- 
ing committee the President of the Department shall call for other 
nominations for the different offices and for the membership on the 
Executive Committee. 


Section 2—The Executive Secretary shall be selected by the 
Executive Committee for an indefinite period. 


ARTICLE VI—MEETINGS 


Section 1—The Department of Secondary-School Principals 
shall hold two meetings yearly. The regular annual meeting to be 
held at the time and place of the meetings of the Department of 
Superintendence of the National Education Association, unless ar- 
ranged for otherwise by the Executive Committee of the National 
Education Association. 

Section 2—The second meeting of the Department shall be held 
at the time and place of the annual summer meeting of the National 
Education Association. 








Department of Secondary-School Principals 


ARTICLE VII—AMENDMENTS 


The Constitution may be amended by a majority vote of those 
present and voting at the annual mid-winter meeting. A proposed 
amendment must be submitted in writing at the preceding annual 
meeting, or must be submitted in printed form to all members of the 
Department thirty days before the annual meeting. In case the 
latter method is used, such amendment must receive the approval 
of the Executive Committee before it can be printed and sent to 
the members of the Department.