SECONDARY-SCHOOL PRINCIPALS ‘OF THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION Issued Five Times a Year January, March, April, May and October | - MARCH, 1931 Berea, Dliccin’ under the Act of Araurt 2h, 191d. Acomoons tor mailing at special rate of postage, provided for in Section 412, Act of February 28, 1925, authorized March 30, 1927. 4 BULLETIN NUMBER 35 Proceedings of the Fifteenth Annual Meeting of the Department of Secondary-School Principals of the National Education Association DETROIT, MICHIGAN February 23, 24, and 25, 1931 Published by THE DEPARTMENT OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL PRINCIPALS OF THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION H. V. CHURCH, Secretary 3129 Wenonah Averiue, BERWYN, ILLINOIS J. Sterling Morton High School CICERO, ILLINOIS THE DEPARTMENT OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL PRINCIPALS OF THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION Proceedings of the __ Fifteenth Annual Meeting of the Department of Secondary-School Principals of the National Education Association at DETROIT, MICHIGAN on February 23, 24, and 25, 1931 Edited by H. V. CHURCH Secretary of the Association Published by the Department, 1931 CONTENTS PAGE OFFICERS OF THE DEPARTMENT......... ccc ccccccccceccecees ix PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIFTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING, 1931.... = 1 Sen1ork HiGH-ScHOooL SECTION FIRST SESSION “The Philosophy of General Education in the United States,” W.W. Kemp, Dean of the School of Education, University OF Caleta. 5.8 cies ki dee ew Rees Oe hee eee aee ears Z “A Philosophy of Secondary Education,” C. H. Threlkeld, Prin- cipal of Columbia High School, South Orange, New Jersey.. 6 “Discussion of Philosophy Underlying Secondary Education,” M. G. Jones, Principal Union High School, Huntington Beach, CD ni Vine er iniah osc eek e ee eee aeewes 15 Riera 8 os is Oise kos CORD ee Oe a eae 19 SECOND SESSION “Organized Orientation and Counseling,” F. O. Holt, Director of Bureau of Guidance, University of Wisconsin............ 21 “Extra-Curriculum Activities—A Training for Democracy,” M. Channing Wagner, Assistant Superintendent of Schools, Wil- eae, THE: «64:6 6:6 68 8 EENEK ane VL AUeb aE Vee eke 32 “Significant Values of Non-Academic Secondary Education,” Milo H. Stuart, Assistant Superintendent of Indianapolis Pub- lic Schools in Charge of Secondary Education.............. 44 Vv Contents THIRD SESSION PAGE “Making Teaching Methods Serve the Best Interests of Democ- racy,” John Rufi, Professor of Education, University of Mis- CE Lc wi COL aban jaadews Leacus se 53 “Making the High-School Curriculum Serve the Best Interests of Democracy,” Arthur W. Clevenger, High School Visitor, Unbrently G0 TING. cos oc ivcwdencnnscdennsdcededeanees 62 “High-School Play Material,” H. H. Ryan, Principal Wisconsin High School, Madison, Wisconsin..........+eeeeeeeeeeees 67 Junior HicH-ScHoo.t SEcTIon FIRST SESSION “The Secondary-School Principal as a Supervisor,” Rudolph D. Lindquist, Assistant Superintendent, Oakland, California.... 72 “The Functions of the Junior High School in a Democracy,” Galen Jones, Assistant Superintendent In Charge of Secondary Schaale.: "Tebins CH 6 6 ode ha wd e caedesv caeehine 74 “The Ohio Program of Guidance for Junior High Schools,” D. H. Eikenberry, Director of Guidance, Ohio State Department of Education and Professor of School Administration, Ohio Pe ee PL Ptr reer 82 SECOND SESSION “Democratizing the Home Room Program,” James M. Glass, Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida.................004. 96 “Seven Purposes of Pupil Participation in Government,” Elbert K. Fretwell, Professor of Education, Teachers College, Colum- B.S er ree rere ry Ter PE ee eee 108 “Interpreting the School to the Public,” L. N. Morrissett, Prin- cipal, Classen High School, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma...... Contents Junior CoLLecE SECTION FIRST SESSION PAGE “The Public Junior College as an Agency of Democracy—The Financial Aspect,” Walter Crosby Eells, Stanford University — 34 “The Public Junior College—An Agency of Democracy—The Social Aspects,” Doak S. Campbell, Professor of Secondary Education, George Peabody College for Teachers, Nashville, Wee 5k. ks 5 cv tnnns Gaeeen sehr as rcaegeu Ceabkaks 150 “Democratic Support of the Junior College,” Frederick L. Whit- ney, Director of Educational Research, Colorado State Teach- ers College, Greeley, Colorado..........ceeeeeeeeececeees 166 SECOND SESSION “The Relation of the Junior-College Curriculum to General Education,” William S. Gray....cccccccvccccccscccccsess 171 “The Organization of the Junior College as an Agency of Democ- racy,” Grayson N. Kefauver, Associate Professor of Educa- tion Teachers College, Columbia University, and Catherine Bullard, Dean of Girls, West High School, Waterloo, Iowa... 182 RESEARCH SECTION “Questions Concerning the Teaching Load,” J. B. Edmonson and George E. Carrothers, University of Michigan............. 192 “A Study of the Status of the Subject Supervisor in the Junior and Senior High Schools of the Largest 100 Cities of the United States,” Richard E. Rutledge, Director of Research of | the Oakland Public Schools, Oakland, California........... 194 “High School Libraries in North Dakota,” Robert D. Cole, Pro- fessor of Secondary Education, University of North Dakota.. 200 Contents Viii DEPARTMENT MATTERS PAGE “National Council Meetings at Detroit, Michigan............ 215 Deane Teatat TG «oo. «ce w s0s ee ede sis kaen padawndba 217 TES TE oa 56 05 exe beck tenders Se Reek coh ieenceeel 227 Report of Committee on Standard Forms.............0.0005 231 Constitution of the Department of Secondary-School Principals. 233 THE OFFICERS OF THE DEPARTMENT 1931-1932 President: C. H. THRELKELD Principal, Columbia High School South Orange, New Jersey First Vice President: W. W. HAGGARD Principal, Joliet Township High School Joliet, Illinois Second Vice President: H. L. HarrIncTton Principal, Hutchins Intermediate School Detroit, Michigan EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE L. N. Morrissett Principal, Classen High School Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Cuartes F,. ALLEN Director of Secondary Education Little Rock, Arkansas Vs ee «6 a eS Ss Ve —_ wo ww ow _ a ey, FIFTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL PRINCIPALS The fifteenth annual meeting of the Department of Secondary- School Principals of the National Education Association met in De- troit, Michigan, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, February 23, 24, and 25, 1931. SENIOR HIGH-SCHOOL SECTION First SESSION The first session of the fifteenth annual convention of the Depart- ment of Secondary-School Principals was called to order by the President, Louis E. Plummer, Principal of Fullerton Union High School and Junior College of Fullerton, California at 2:15 p. m., Monday, February 23, in the Ballroom of Hotel Tuller of Detroit. After two soprano solos, two vocal sextets, and two cello solos by pupils from the high schools of Detroit, the Department proceeded at once to the election of the nominating committee. The following men were nominated from the floor: Eastern section: Fred C. Mitchell, J. H. Adams, J. B. Somerville, H. D. Weber, Frank Gott, and E. E. Church. Central section: C. M. Milton, H. H. Ryan, D. W. McCoy, W. A. Goodier, R. C. Sayre, H. F. Vallance, M. Nielsen, and E. E. Born. Western section: S. F. Howland, Willard N. Van Slyck, Galen Jones, L. W. Brooks, F. R. Born, M. J. Jones, H. E. Blaine, J. W. Blair. The following were elected by the balloting as members of the nominating committee : (1) Eastern: F. C. Mitchell, H. D. Weber, E. E. Church. (2) Central: C. M. Milton, W. A. Goodier, E. E. Born. (3) Western: S. F. Howland, L. W. Brooks, F. R. Born. 1 Department of Secondary-School Principals The opening paper, The Philosophy of General Education in the United States, was read by W. W. Kemp, Dean of the School of Edu- cation, University of California. THE PHILOSOPHY OF GENERAL EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES W. W. Kemp, DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OF EpUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA The European, accustomed to look out on life from the more or less fixed standards of his own traditions, experiences much difficulty in his attempt to evaluate the effect of an American philosophy of education. True enough, the role of tradition has been markedly different with us from what it has been in other nations of the world. With eyes upon a to-morrow, “an ever more promising to-morrow” we have had little time and less patience to delve into the past for the purpose of rationalizing the present. Yet, to be sure, we have had some traditions, some underlying ideals. In particular, during the entire nineteenth century, some of these underlying ideals wove them- selves into the only philosophy of education which we possessed throughout that century. The origin of America’s fervor for the public school is found not in our early colonial history but in the period when, during the irrita- tions between England and the colonies, the influence of the New French school of philosophy began to penetrate. Liberty and equality were well suited to the fibre of a people about to set out on a vast program of colonization to the west and the incidence of the American Revolution but set the framework. The opening of the frontier, the redeeming of the wilderness, were mighty forces in the leveling of classes. Now began a steady movement away from the causes that formerly bound the colonies to European traditions, and a steady growth of independence and vigor on American lines. New attitudes toward control, authority and government were developed. Jefferson and Jackson symbolized the philosophy of the new democracy as op- posed to the older republicanism. Applied to the institutions of the west it meant the extreme form of local initiative and government. But it also came to mean free schools open to all the children and under the control of the people. Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 3 Democracy, with its liberty and equality, with its leveling of classes, also fostered the rights of the individual. Society must not contest the right of the individual to succeed. Frontier conditions provided abundant opportunities to the alert. A man could not only build up a competency, he could progress to great economic independ- ence and even to political power. The educational ladder must there- fore be extended to the upper reaches of schooling in order that no obstacle be put in the way of individual initiative. Free school no longer meant the elementary school. It must include the high school and the state university. Evidence showed that the longer period of schooling brought greater individual success. But individual success could not be allowed to lead to social superi- ority. The principles of democracy called for equal attention to social and national cohesiveness. Obviously a government which presumes to rest upon universal suffrage must make provision for the political enlightenment of the masses. The educational system must and is single, not dual as in most European countries; co-education of the sexes is the rule; and compulsory education, designed to bring the entire child population under the influence of the school has now spread to all the states of the Union, while various states are requiring either part- or full-time attendance at school to the age of eighteen. The nineteenth century American philosophy of education seems to have been derived from the conception of the public school as “a school established by the public—supported chiefly or entirely by the public, controlled by the public, and accessible to the public upon terms of equality, without special charges for tuition.” This concep- tion was in general acceptance by 1860 although its application to the field of the high school was still some years off. In answer to those who would point to European influences in America during the above century, it can be answered that England did not carry its influence beyond the colonial period ; that France for two or three decades of the century exercised some influence in lim- ited areas ; and that Germany must have great credit for her impress on elementary education and teacher training, later on the kindergar- ten movement, and still later through the popularizing of Herbar- tianism. Among all European influences none went beyond changes in methods and prc “ures; none is represented in our fundamental philosophy. Department of Secondary-School Principals It may be that reference to the American conception of public education in terms of a fundamental philosophy of education will be challenged as too elemental and a quite inadequate picture of educa- tional philosophy for the period. But we can consider for the moment what this simple concept of public education as developed during the nineteenth century represented in the way of discarded traditions of education. First there was the prejudice or tradition of sectarian control to be eliminated ; next, the tradition of the pauper school, or the charity school had to be overcome, then, the people had to be con- verted to the idea of partial support of schools by taxation, then com- plete support with the elimination of tuition rates; following this came the legalizing of the high school together with public support and freedom of opportunity, and finally the state university with its public support and its easy accessibility was brought into the concept. What century in the history of any nation has shown a more sweep- ing array of changes in developing a philosophy of education? It was not until almost the present century that we began to de- velop a really comprehensive philosophy of education. Under the leadership of William James and G. Stanley Hall during the nineties attention began to be directed to children. The original nature of children was to be studied through observation of their activities. These investigations were followed by the great work of Thorndike. Devoting himself to the field of a scientific psychology of education he was soon recognized as the leading exponent in this field, while his contributions were gradually to make a profound impression on the related field of educational philosophy. “Psychology,” says Thorn- dike, “is the science of intellects, characters, and behavior of animals, including man. Psychology makes ideas of education clearer... . Psychology enlarges and refines the aim of education. Psychology contributes to understanding the means of education. . . . Psychol- ogy contributes to knowledge of the methods of teaching.” With James and Hall psychology moved up from the purely metaphysical and scholastic to speculation about the child. Thorndike introduced the utilization of the schoolroom as the proper laboratory, and out of these intimate studies of human beings he developed his great opus on the concept of original nature, on the laws of learning fundamental to teaching, and on individual differences. There are educators of note who would not yield Thorndike a place of influence in the philosophy of education. Because of his leadership in the Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 5 measurement of intelligence and of educational achievement they would deny that any such science of education, representing after all only methods of the physical sciences, can determine its philosophy. They overlook the fact that their own philosophy of education must rest in part on some of the principles of the new psychology. Important as were the changes wrought by the new psychology, they were accompanied by changes in the philosophy of education which were little less than revolutionary. In John Dewey America has given to the world one of the most impressive figures of all time. No other individual has had so great an influence on American edu- cation. His philosophy, says one, “is distinctly American, sprung from American conditions, and interpreting the meaning of American democracy as no one else had ever interpreted it.” These facts alone would never have brought him favorable consideration by other nations. It is despite the facts and in response to a world cry for philosophic guidance that, since the World War, Dewey’s educational works have been penetrating not only Europe but the Oriental nations. Most of the world’s philosophers have not been educators. Dewey belongs to a small group of educator-philosophers. His predecessors were Socrates, Plato, Locke, and Herbart. These men were exam- iners of life; they thought of life in terms of action. They stand in juxtaposition to philosophers of the Aristotelian type whose interest was wholly that of theoretical knowledge—a contemplation of truth which must be unmixed with volition and action. Dewey’s philosophy is based on his interpretation of experience, for he says: “Only that which has been organized into our disposition so as to enable us to adapt the environment to our needs and to adapt our aims and desires to the situation in which we live is really knowl- edge.” Knowledge in other words is not something metaphysical— it is not the metaphysical conception of experience held by older philosophers ; it is that experience which is the interaction of exercise and its effects. In line then with this interpretation the function of the school be- comes largely that of guidance—a stimulating of the child’s environ- ment in such manner as will assist the child to develop his own per- sonality and to construct his own concept of society. Democracy, as Dewey views it, is the discovery that original capacities are as various as the individuals which compose it and as indispensable to the state. 6 Department of Secondary-School Principals Thus the modern school, taking for its foundation principles the philosophy of Dewey, can never subscribe to such former ideals of public education as group uniformity, or a “curriculum-fixed-in- advance.” : “Dewey has most helped us” suggests Dr. Kilpatrick, “by show- ing how in scientific method there may be found a way which puts common sense, science, and philosophy, all three, in continuous rela- tion. . . . Not in mere word but in very fact does his philosophy live among men. . . . Beginning with man’s life in and of itself, however and wherever it may be found, he gets from it the ways and means of making life better to live here and now.” . . . And “educa- tion, as he has taught us is one with the very going on of life itself.” What changes have been brought about by these views of the new psychology and the new philosophy? The twentieth century public school has been remade, despite the fact that nineteenth century schools are still amongst us. Come into the classrooms of the modern schools. Note how these classrooms are “equipped like workshops with little children not sitting all day at desks but going about the room freely at their group undertakings. They are constructing things, or experimenting to find out things, or conversing with their fellows and assisting them.” Teachers are seldom hearing recitations ; rather are they passing freely among the children, helping and en- couraging them in their undertakings. No problems of discipline, for all are at work. The school of the taskmaster has given way to the little community with many happy children playing and working together. Principal C. H. Threlkeld of Columbia High School, South Orange, New Jersey, read his paper, The Philosophy of Secondary Education. A PHILOSOPHY OF SECONDARY EDUCATION C. H. THRELKELD, PRINCIPAL OF CoLUMBIA HiGH SCHOOL, SouTH ORANGE, NEW JERSEY The theme of our discussions has been set as “The American Public Secondary School—The Agency of Democracy.” The impli- cation is, therefore, that the philosophy of democracy and the philoso- phy of free, public secondary education should be compatible both in Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 7 theory and practice. According to the American ideal, at least, democ- racy and free, public education go hand-in-hand and neither can be brought to full and complete realization without the other. Democracy and education for all on the secondary-school level is being freely and frequently challenged both in theory and practice. For one, I rather bemoan the fact that such a great part of these dis- cussions is pessimistic in tone and so very little is constructive in its influence. On the other hand, I would not have us lulled into passiveness and a false sense of security by inaccurate, ill-advised, and honey-coated assurances that “All is well.” I Have the conviction that there is more likelihood of our making real and true progress toward our goals if we realize that conditions are just what they are and not what some may imagine them to be or what others may like them to be. The most irritating and least stimulating are those critics who allow their imaginations to run away with them and who show so clearly that they are not posted on conditions as they truly are. It is time that those devoted to active leadership in the field of secondary education assumed that leadership in full realization of its responsibility. Secondary education will improve in proportion to the actual amount of thought and action evidenced by those within the fold. We need to listen to others but we can profit most by be- coming our own critics. We can accomplish little if we become as hysterical as some of the publicity-seekers that write the misleading articles which appear so frequently in the columns of the press. Neither can we discharge our duty nor realize our opportunity if we assume too definite an air of complacency. Thoughtful, conse- crated, well-poised, progressive, sane leadership is the call to which those engaged in secondary education should respond to-day. Democracy is rather an elusive ideal. The American free, public secondary school in its full and complete conception is also something that may be more satisfactorily realized in the future. Why become so excited as some do about the imperfections of each? Need we re- mind ourselves that each of these institutions is a mere infant in the span of time? Let us give them a chance to grow! When we consider the fact that Nature has taken more than one and one-quarter billion years in molding the creations of this world to even their present imperfect state of existence (you and I included) are we not just a little impatient in expecting to accomplish so much in one hundred 8 Department of Secondary-School Principals fifty years,—the entire period of history of the American scheme of democracy and education? ,Why not recognize the fact that progress comes slowly and only by continual “re-forming” and “re-creating” in the light of experience and proved fact. Let us learn a lesson from Nature and realize that the best way of eliminating the bad is by nurturing the good. This, to me, is an im- portant element in any one’s philosophy. There have been many definitions of democracy attempted in theory and practice throughout the ages. In America, democracy has come to mean a society made up of inter-related human beings, each having a life of his own to live, and each contributing to and being enhanced by the life of the others, all of which results in the well-being and common good of the state. In America, it is the set task of the public school system to bring realization of this ideal. Then the dual task of integration of society and exaltation of the individual is our challenge. While this is the goal of our entire sys- tem of education, yet we know that the fullest share of this responsi- bility rests with the secondary schools. In and through them we ex- pect our ideals of democracy and the democratic citizen to become realities. There is usually a point of departure in any philosophy that, if the sign-posts are read incorrectly, invariably lead to wrong conclu- sions. And so it is with the philosophy of democracy. As a result, we have to cope with that perverted idea of democracy that by its operation the best need be dragged to the level of the deadly average, that the interests and individual development of the superior must be sacrificed in favor of the “common man.” This false conception is due mainly, I believe, to incorrect interpretation of the real meaning of the basic ideas of democracy,—equality and liberty, which also form the keystone of American education. The idea of equality strikes out at once all artificial and accidental distinctions in society but does not, as some have assumed, deny the real difference in individuals. There shall be no caste system in a democracy. It must become true in both theory and practice that no one is bound because of birth, artificial placement, or arbitrary selec- tion to remain in the position or condition in which he temporarily finds himself. It must be recognized that there is ability in every man Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 9 and that he has the right to development of his endowments. The individual must have objective existence. He is to be given oppor- tunity to develop his own character and personality. He must be allowed to attain his own place in the group that best suits him. Democracy does not mean dealing with the mass as a mass. It truly means opening the avenues of opportunity to every individual of the mass and not just a few artificially selected or favored ones. Equality of opportunity for one must also mean equality of oppor- tunity for the other,—brilliant and non-brilliant, rich and poor, man or woman, this race or that race, this religion or that religion. Every one shall count for one, said Bentham, and not more than one: that is the maxim of democracy. Every man shall count for one and not less than one: that is the maxim of education, says Norwood. The twin-brother of this concept of equality is that of liberty. This idea and ideal has also assumed different and distorted mean- ings. Liberty of the individual must be thought of as not the end but as the means. It must be realized that only the possessor of real self- discipline and one who is amenable to social discipline has real liberty. Liberty should afford each individual freedom to improve himself and his status in the group in accordance with approved standards and methods of individual and societal development and welfare. The individual must see clearly his obligation as a codperative member of society or both he and society will pay the penalties that result from non-observance of this duty. Equality of opportunity and liberty for this development of the individual to permit him to live his own “good life’’ and to become a contributing member of society is the common goal of democracy and our public schools. The great common school, the elementary schools so-called, as- sumes as its main responsibility that of giving individuals a common set of integrating experiences. Democracy depends upon this being well done if its future is to be assured. It demands that this integra- tion be continued in our secondary schools but makes the special de- mand that their program conform to the variation in individuals’ native endowments, best interests, and future needs. It is simply expected that our secondary schools shall take an individual as they find him and do the most they can for him. The best interests of 10 Department of Secondary-School Principals democracy demand that these things be done and done well. Noth- ing is to be left to mere chance. It is evident, then, that the secondary schools of our country should be of many varieties. If individuals differ, so do localized groups of individuals differ. A specific secondary school should meet the needs of the specific group to be served. This argues against uni- formity in organization of our schools. If we are to preserve the individuality of the pupil it is necessary that we also preserve the in- dividuality of instruction and the individuality of the school. Our secondary schools must function to discover all the different types of ability and to give to each individual the experiences that challenge and develop him to the utmost. Democracy requires that we shall see to it that however different these schools are or however varied the training of individuals in them may be, all shall be motivated by the same ideals and loyalty to the best interests of all. The American secondary schools shall recognize as one of their main responsibilities that of training youth in right ideals and atti- tudes. What they know maiters little unless they are disposed to use that knowledge in the right manner. Trained intellect, command of information and skills are important but how and to what ends such are used is more important. Attitudes, emotions and ideals determine action for most people. Very few initiate or complete their acts by use of reasoning and intellectual powers alone. The tendency is to act first and think afterwards. The American secondary schools shall give more attention in the future to training in cooperation, open-mindedness, tolerance, unselfishness, service, and similar ideals and attitudes. They shall also give attention to the emotional element in the human being’s make-up that prompts most of his responses. Then and then only shall we be educating the whole person. Democracy has the right to expect that training of the individual in our secondary schools shall raise the standards of living for one and for all. We are confused with a conflict of ideas involving so- called “practical” and “cultural” education, training for vocation and for leisure, and the like. We seem to think at times that these ideas are wholly divorced from one another. It would seem that we should train a certain part of an individual to function when he is working at his profession or vocation and another part to operate when he is at leisure. When will we realize that a person cannot be divided into Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 11 parts in this manner but that he is one complete and intricate whole? His life is one continuous and whole experience. What he is in his vocation he is liable to be outside of it. It is right that we should expect each individual to become a pro- ductive unit of society. It is also true that one’s life should be more fruitful than just that of economic independence. It should include for each person those satisfactions that come from appreciation and love of beauty and truth as they may exist in more abstract and spir- itual forms. Creativeness, spiritual and moral values, intellectual and character growth come to one as intangible parts of his whole living. They come in differing degree for different people. It is doubtful that one person has complete possession of all these values and it is just as doubtful that another has none at all. The danger of fitting individuals into types of education instead of making education fit him is ever present because of the opposite point of view. It is time that the American secondary schools get this perspective of the whole individual. This is the job of guidance which is the greatest obliga- tion of secondary schools. Democracy requires able leaders and discerning followers. It is comparatively as good a virtue to be a good follower as it is to be a good leader. In a democracy, one has to be both, he may be qualified as a leader in some phase of life but can only be a follower in another. He needs to be trained to exert his leadership as it is needed and de- manded and also he must willingly subscribe to intelligent leadership on the part of others who are more qualified to show the way in cer- tain phases of life in which he is less able. Intelligent and discerning selection of leaders and acceptance of them because of proved worth ‘is a virtue in the citizen of a democracy as well as is his ability and willingness to exert his own qualified influence on the lives of others. This question of leadership and followership is not concerned alone with the political relationship of individuals in our democracy ; it involves all phases of life,—economic, social, and moral. The im- plications of the adaptations of this element of philosophy as affect- ing the social organization of our schools is apparent but not the province of this discussion. It follows that it should be the responsibility of our secondary schools to train individuals in and for power,—power to think, power 12 Department of Secondary-School Principals to search for and grasp truth, power to adjust to new ideas and new conditions, power to create, power to do. We should seek to preserve and to build upon that natural curiosity and questioning attitude of youth that leads to real power. All too often we stifle these qualities instead. ‘ Pupils should be trained to accept or promote practices in the ways of living and of life because they are so and not just because they have been practiced. Tradition, as a heritage of the thoughts and acts of men and peoples of history, is valuable as a balance wheel but dangerous as a control-lever of modern thought and action. To paraphrase Calileo, individuals should be trained to realize that the “world does change.” Our secondary schools should train pupils in the art of solving for themselves the new problems which they en- counter on the changing frontiers of life. Development of the indi- vidual, the cause of democracy, and progress of the world will come in no other way. , Power to think is the characteristic that marks man as different from other mammals. Unfortunately, it is sometimes forgotten that this power is a matter of degree, too, just like all other personal attri- butes and there is a tendency to assume that only a few selected indi- viduals can think at all. On the contrary, all above the imbecile type have some ability to use their intellect and this ability should be cul- tivated to the greatest extent possible. Questioning and thinking characterize this stage of civilization as different from any other period in the world’s history irrespective of what clamorous and pessimistic critics say. This is particularly evi- dent in science and invention although it may be somewhat lacking in other other fields. It is the job of the secondary schools to help man increase his power to question and to think and therefore to do. Even though I shall be venturing out of the field of pure philoso- phy by hinting at some of the practical implications of this idea of development of power, I cannot resist the temptation. It appeals to me that adoption of this principle would result in reformation in many ways in both our thinking and practice. In the curriculum, it would probably cause an inversion of the ratio of time spent on the acquisi- tion of skills and information as compared with that devoted to the creation of appreciations and evaluations. Instead of our allowing an Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 13 excessive amount of time and attention to be spent in the mastery of skills and information we would probably reorganize our curriculum so that it would include more of the real power-building elements and experiences. Attention to this creation of power in the individual might even cause us to realize that much of the time now being spent by critics in attacking the content of the secondary school curriculum might well be used in considering other relatively more important phases of our schools. Perhaps we might even conclude that it is probably more important to concern ourselves with how things are taught than with what things are taught. It may be that the curriculum is more a prob- lem of method and organization than it is of content. If we pursue this idea of development of power a little further, we may also conclude that the use of power is concerned as much with the adjustment and relationship to people as it is to ideas. We will then continue to regard the teacher as probably the most important element in the educational system which we are setting up for our youth. The teacher is the manipulator of all of these things that are known as educational materials and methods. Let us not lose sight of that fact. We shall also probably decide that this power of adjustment on the part of the individual is concerned with the practice of solving actual problems that appear because of his association with his peers. This contact between pupils in the same school passing through the same period of life and development will be recognized as just as important in the education of the individual as is his contact with _ideas and his manipulation of classroom materials. If we recognize the importance of this we may then realize the necessity of approach- ing this phase of education scientifically and not trusting so much to luck and circumstance. How long shall we allow an individual to remain in our secondary schools? I suspect we should continue the free, public education for each pupil until he is able to proceed by his own power as a mentally, morally, and physically healthy, contributing, and cooperative mem- ber of society but I do not know how this point may be e-actly deter- mined and I do not know of anyone who does. I rather have the feel- ing that the safe course of procedure is simply to err on the side of 14 Department of Secondary-School Principals generosity and charity in each individual case in making whatever judgments are necessary. Shall we arrange the situation so that each pupil has a maximum opportunity to gain the high-school diploma? I am inclined to believe that we have been concerned too much with this feature of organiza- tion as we are inclined to be with other routine features such as marks, credits, units, periods per week per subject, etc. The high-school diploma has ceased to mean much. It was originally granted to indi- cate a pupil’s preparation for college. It.no longer means even that. Why continue to conform to tradition and issue diplomas to all at a certain time only just because they have completed a certain number of credits and a certain number of years in high school? Why make all pupils fit a prescribed common pattern in this respect if we recog- nize that it is now an artificiality and not entirely in conformity with the adjustment to the individual? When the time arrives that a pupil should sever his connection with the school why not grant him a cer- tificate indicating his general accomplishments and fitness for life and its specific requirements whether it be at the end of one, two, three and one-half or any other number of years of residence and training? Laws, custom, tradition, guidance, and general interests of society would probably counteract any evil practices of such a policy. At least, this is an issue worthy of consideration and illustra- tive of the fact that we can become so obscessed with features of practice and tradition that we stifle objectives and ideals. In our attempts so to measure education we are losing sight of the fact that there are many qualitative features that cannot be quan- titatively measured. In making adjustments to permit of such meas- urements we are prone to place the individual last in the order of consideration. General standards, time, mechanics, economy, and ex- pense are seemingly of more concern than the best interests of the individual. In view of the fact that these other things can be esti- mated quantitatively and he cannot, then the individual suffers in the set-up. My plea is that we do not allow these comparatively insig- nificant elements of routine and organization to engage so much of our attention and to influence so much of our practice but that we keep working toward our goals in education and always favor the individual even if we have not the omnipotent power necessary to judge his specific progress and condition at the moment. Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 15 My thesis is that the public secondary schools of America have the main responsibility of maintaining and, perfecting the American ideal of democracy and the democratic citizen. It is your job and mine intelligently, sympathetically, and continuously to re-examine and re- organize our philosophy and practices to these ends. The job will never be finished, the perfect ideal will never be realized, but even the science of mathematics tells us that there is an approach to infinity although we may never quite reach it. Principal M. G. Jones of Huntington Beach Union High School, California, led the discussion of the papers of the afternoon. Fred H. Croninger, Central High School, Ft. Wayne, Indiana; Ray H. Bracewell, Burlington, Iowa; Truman G. Reed, Wichita, Kansas; G. W. Willett, Lyons Township High School, La Grange, Illinois took part in the discussion from the floor. DISCUSSION OF PHILOSOPHY UNDERLYING SECONDARY EDUCATION M. G. Jones, PrinciPAL Union Hicu ScHoot, HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA For the most part I can heartily ascribe to the educational phi- losophy which our speakers have so ably presented to us. Many of the factors entering into school responsibility in our scheme of democ- racy have been so well treated in the time given that I shall omit them entirely. However, on the basis of variation of experience, which has been so clearly expounded, it would be most unusual if any two individuals viewed all phases of a complex problem in exactly the . same way. If I misinterpret, I trust the preceding speakers will pardon me; if I enlarge upon points which the authors either took for granted or deemed unworthy of more extensive treatment it will be because my sense of values is different. At any rate, a better under- standing should result from frank, sincere discussion on these impor- ‘tant issues. As Mr. Threlkeld states it, “We (meaning school men) can profit most by becoming our own critics.” Mr. Threlkeld early mentions the impatience of some of our people with educational progress as evidenced by the criticisms which they aim at our educational institutions. School administrators sense that many such criticisms are unjust because those complaining have 16 Department of Secondary-School Principals not sought to acquaint themselves with school problems. Many of the changes they would make could not be backed by the findings of scientific and philosophical research. Moreover, the public as a whole is averse to change and requires much urging to follow the lead of the school administrator along well explored paths which promise much easier access to the destinations desired. But, on the other hand, do not these lay critics sense a situation which we as school men must grapple with? Has not the gap between school and society been materially widening within the past few decades? To be sure, we can point to many changes in school pro- cedure during this same period which mark rapid strides in educa- tional progress. Nevertheless, have not our many inventions and our accompanying machine age been accountable for much more rapid changes in our ways of living? Furthermore, have we not reason to look for even more inventions in the future which will continue this ever increasing change? Thus we face the question: how far can we afford to allow our schools to lag behind our changed ways of living? Prof. Kilpatrick of Teachers’ College, Columbia University says, “Democracy is essentially life, ethical life.” What is known as the “social lag” has ever operated in human relations. It represents in people a very conservative attitude which opposes change. This inertia is especially noticeable as it affects insti- tutions. Because of it many institutions far outlive their time. How then, can we overcome this ingrained tendency to cling to prac- tices which have outlived their usefulness? Can we not see a ray of light in the methods adopted by our major industries in creating a demand for the latest products that invention and science can produce? Is it not just as necessary to create a demand for the best educational procedures which scientific and philosophical research have discovered ? Educationally we can progress more rapidly and more safely than ever before, if we become so inclined. We have at our command the most reliable data so far produced. The experimental or scientific method is responsible in large part for this. Educational philosophy has given these data meaning. By this I mean that these data have been used in educational procedures, and philosophical research has determined which materials and methods work best in conserving all the values at stake. the ; of nole l of nise ion een an ch Hi- = SS Cl oe . Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 17 ‘ It remains for us to acquaint ourselves with the changes in school procedure that best conserve the values in our present systems and at the same time lead on to these other experiences which our dynamic civilization demands. All that I have said, in addition to what was so ably given by the previous speakers, argues for a philosophy of education that not only recognizes change, but has within it the essential element of change. It also argues for a philosophy that recognizes present living as all important. It must have within it the important element of time. If the individual grows through the process of “re-forming,” “re- creating,” or “re-constructing”’ his experiences, as has been stated this afternoon and which I believe, we should provide selected contempo- rary life activities with which our pupils are familiar but which con- tain sufficient novelty to create interest and which lead directly to- wards pupils objectives so as to produce real effort. The adolescent is directly concerned with things here and now. We need to train “in citizenship” rather than “for citizenship.” This training in turn promises more for tomorrow if tomorrow’s experiences are based on today’s, as we claim to believe. If I interpret Mr. Threlkeld correctly, I fear I shall have to be classed as somewhat impatient, for I am very anxious to see the gap between school and society rapidly narrowed. In my estimation we can do no greater service than to provide more timely experiences for our adolescent youth. Again, if I interpret Mr. Threlkeld correctly, he is less concerned with “curriculum content” than he is with method and organization. He highly estimates the personality of the teacher, which I can most heartily second. Moreover, I’m fairly well satisfied that the master teacher can overcome to a remarkable degree the shortcomings of the traditional curriculum. However, I hold that the master teacher can do a much greater work when dealing with materials and experiences which have more meaning in our daily living. This in no way excludes materials from the social inheritance which makes our present civi- lization meaningful but it does exclude that part which has little or no bearing on present day living. When we enter a present day university we have to evaluate courses carefully because a lifetime spent there would only give us a good start on all the courses offered. 18 Department of Secondary-School Principals In like manner we need to carefully evaluate secondary school expe- riences because four or six years permits but few of the many pos- sible. Moreover, recent psychological research emphasizes the neces- sity of selecting specific experiences which lead on toward our selected objectives. In other places in his paper Mr. Threlkeld spoke of adapting the curriculum to the needs of the community, so very probably I may have misjudged his meaning in the point concerned. Mr. Threlkeld brought to our attention one other point which I think merits more consideration. Referring to the necessity of developing power to think, he said: “We should seek to preserve and to build upon that natural curiosity and questioning attitude of youth that leads to real power. All too often we stifle these qualities instead.” If we can expect increasing novelty in life experiences, is this not the “crux” of our educational problem? Are not curiosity and interest much the same thing and is not effort directly connected with these? Why has curiosity been stifled so often? Has it not been because questions asked by pupils dealt with controversial issues which have been “taboo” in the schools? How many problems in real life are free from conflicting issues? How can we train our pupils to tackle problems with open minds and to properly evaluate warring issues if all controversial issues are ruled out of the schools? I'll admit, it seems like playing with dynamite to deal with issues concerning which personal feelings run high, but how else can we train our youth to meet these difficult problems? The President adjourned the session. Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting LUNCHEON SESSION At the luncheon of the Department of Secondary-School Princi- pals held in the Ballroom of Hotel Tuller on Tuesday, February 24, at 12:15 P. M. one hundred and forty-two were present. At the speakers’ table, presided over by President of the Department, Louis E. Plummer, were the guest speakers and six of the former presidents of the Department: F. L. Bacon, L. W. Brooks, J. Stevens Kadesch, M. R. McDaniel, Edward Rynearson, and Milo H. Stuart. Superintendent of Schools, Atlanta, Georgia, Willis A. Sutton; Commissioner of Education, William John Cooper; Mrs. Hugh Bradford, President of the National Congress of Parents and Teachers ; and Dr. Lester Rogers, Dean of the School of Education, University of Southern California were the guest speakers. Department of Secondary-School Principals SECOND SESSION The second session convened in the Ballroom of Hotel Tuller, Tuesday, February 24, at 2:35 P. M. The meeting was called to order by the President, Louis E. Plummer. After a piano solo and two numbers by a boys’ glee club, Mr. Lewis Williams of University School, University of Illinois presented the following resolution, which carried : Be it resolved that the Department of Secondary-Schools Principals commends heartily the purpose of Phi Beta Kappa to encourage and develop true scholarship in the high schools, colleges and universities of our land; that it accept with appre- ciation the kindly proffer to continue to gain helpful contacts with secondary education which were initiated in connection with the Vergilian Bimillennium celebration; that it, through its National officers, take definite steps to confer and codperate with the Phi Beta Kappa Foundation, toward the realization of its ideals in the field of secondary education. Mr. Wilford M. Aiken, Director, John Burroughs School, St. Louis, Missouri, presented a motion empowering the president to appoint two members of the Department to codperate with a com- mittee of the Progressive Education Association. Carried. The following amendment, presented a year ago, was read and adopted. ARTICLE V Section 1—The president shall, in advance of the annual meeting, ? ask each of the state associations of the Department of Secondary- School Principals to name a representative who shall then be appoint- ed by the president as a member of the nominating committee. Section 2—The nominating committee so constituted shall meet at the annual meeting, elect a chairman, and prepare a list of candidates for the several offices. Section 3—Eighteen members shall constitute a quorum with not less than three from each of the following regional associations of colleges and secondary’ schools: New England Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, the Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools of the Middle States and Maryland, the Associa- tion of Colleges and Secondary Schools of the Southern States, the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, the Northwest Association of Secondary and Higher Schools, and the | im no | Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 21 Western Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. Any lack in the representation herein provided shall be ates by nomination from the floor. Section 4—The executive secretary shall be appointed by the executive committee. Section 5—The president shall appoint, subject to the approval of the executive committee, two members who shall with the execu- tive secretary constitute a board of finance who shall act in the capacity of trustees, have custody of the funds of the Department, have same properly audited and submit annually a report to the Department. Mr. F. O. Holt, Director of Bureau of Guidance, University of Wisconsin, spoke without notes or manuscript on the subject, Organ- ized Orientation and Guidance. ORGANIZED ORIENTATION AND COUNSELING F. O. Hott, DirRECTOR OF BuREAU OF GUIDANCE, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN I assume that the invitation to discuss the subject which was as- signed to me came as the result of some report of the codperative program, which is under way in the state of Wisconsin, and which looks ultimately toward wiser and more intelligent vocational and educational guidance. I shall therefore confine my discussion to the program of orientation and counseling with which I have had direct and intimate contact. The privately endowed colleges, the state teachers colleges, the University of Wisconsin, the Association of Secondary-School Prin- cipals, the Association of City Superintendents, and the State Depart- ment of Public Instruction ; these institutions and organizations initi- ated in codperation, three years ago, the program which I shall present. The institutions and organizations which I have named approached what they conceived to be a common problem with a very definite philosophy as basic for their program. This guiding philosophy is that educational opportunity shall be viewed as a broad highway ex- tending from kindergarten to college graduation and that every child has a right to travel this highway as far as his native interest, capacity, and endowment will permit. Believing this philosophy to be sound it was felt necessary to think of the common problem, not in terms of that democratic principle which insists upon the political equality of 22 Department of Secondary-School Principals human beings but in terms of the scientific principle which demon- strates the biological inequality of human beings. The principle of the equality of opportunity was subscribed to but it was recognized that equality meant not identity of opportunity but diversity of op- portunity. A committee representing all of the interested groups was ap- pointed in 1928 and was charged with the responsibility of initiating a program in Wisconsin which would resuit in a more intelligent and effective conservation of the youth of the state. In analyzing its re- sponsibility the committee decided to move forward in terms of five definite objectives. These objectives were: (1) Codperation of the secondary schools and colleges of the state in promoting a program which would result in analysis of the native aptitudes and interests of high-school students. (2) Encouragement of high-school students to proceed intelli- gently from high school into that activity in which there seems to be greatest promise of success and satisfaction. (3) To offer to parents of high-school students such service as may be helpful in interpreting college opportunities, requirements, and possibilities. (4) To maintain a closer relationship with secondary schools from which students enter college and to provide the opportunity for contact with the parents of such students. (5) To promote and increase the possibilities for the happiness and success of all students after matriculation. The first objective has been realized in a very unexpected de- gree. As an initial step the committee made a very complete and careful study of admission blanks used by colleges and universities. The hope was to formulate a blank which would meet with the ap- proval of secondary school principals and college officials and which would do two things: (1) Reach back into the secondary school and encourage the maintenance of a system of records which would be based upon an analysis of individual abilities and traits. It was felt that this would lead not only to a more decided recognition of individual differences and their significance but that high schools would be encouraged to tabulate and cumulatively record facts of importance about every boy and girl in their charge. (2) It was Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 23 felt that such a fine fund of information when available would serve as a challenge to a college to use this information as the basis for establishing a program of effective and intelligent counsel. Practically all of the colleges in the state use the blank which was finally adopted and recommended. Probably no two colleges use the information provided by the admission blank in the same manner but all colleges report the excellent reaction of principals and applicants for admission who are the sources from which the information is secured. There is a very definite feeling by the colleges that the information available in the blanks is very worth- while and in some institutions this information has made possible the organization of elaborate programs of counseling and orienta- tion; programs which would have been impossible were the informa- tion not available. In another connection I shall indicate the signifi- cance to the program of one institution of the material which the new blank places at its disposal. ; I have suggested that through the medium of a proper admissions blank we hoped to encourage high schools to tabulate and cumula- tively record facts of significance about the boys and girls in their charge. Soon after the high schools discovered that an admissions blank for general use had been adopted by the institutions of higher learning many schools began to study and experiment with cumula- tive records and sufficient interest was aroused that requests became frequent for a type of record to be formulated which would be available for general use throughout the state. The many requests led to the appointment of a special committee of secondary-school administrators who have been making a study of cumulative records for over two years and are now ready to submit a carefully planned record for use by all Wisconsin high schools. The cumulative record, as it will be admitted, is much more than simply a device, it has far reaching educational implications and cannot fail to bring about a striking realization of the significance of character traits, motiva- tion and emotional stability as factors of success in any field of endeavor. In the consideration of the second objective, the encouragement of high-school students to proceed intelligently from secondary school into that activity in which there seems to be greatest promise of success and satisfaction we had two definite projects in mind. The 24 Department of Secondary-School Principals first was based upon a realization that the appallingly unintelligent decisions which both parents and high-school students make with reference to life careers are based primarily upon lack of informa. tion. We believe that it is possible to correct this situation in some degree by the preparation of vocational monographs which will give specific and definite information concerning vocational opportunities. The program in Wisconsin calls for the preparation of monographs which shall be distributed to high schools of the state with the antici- pation that such occupational information may be effective in afford- ing a basis for more intelligent decisions than have prevailed in the past. The second project which was suggested by the objective which I am discussing involved an attempt to discover whether there was selection of high-school graduates who enter our colleges. In order to determine the facts the colleges decided, in 1928, to bear the cost of testing all of the seniors in the high schools of the state for scholastic aptitude. The high-school principals indicated their will- ingness to cooperate and the state superintendent of public instruc- tion not only approved but heartily joined in the venture. It was esti- mated that there were about 17,000 seniors in the secondary schools. Tests were submitted throughout the state in May, 1928, and after the tests were secored it was found that 16,601 seniors had been tested. The test used was the Ohio Psychological Test. When the tests were administered each senior supplied certain information which was requested as a basis for making the program of broad significance. The senior indicated, among other things, his intention of entering college, suggesting the college of his choice. He indicated certain facts about his vocational hopes, concerning the occupation of his parent, etc. In scoring the tests, scores were indicated in terms of percentile ranks which made it possible to compare an individual senior with the total number involved. Each participating college was supplied with a report giving the percentile rank of each of the 16,601 seniors and each college was given also the information offered by each senior with reference to his desire to attend college and which insti- tution he hoped to enter. Each high school was supplied with a report indicating the percentile ranks secured by its seniors together with interpretations of the ranks and suggestions as to their signifi- Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 25 cance as additional information in advising students with reference to college decision. ; In 1930 the testing program was repeated. The high-school ad- ministrators believed the program of sufficient value that they will- ingly agreed to participate in bearing the cost of the program the second year. They contributed the actual cost of the tests. The test used in 1930 was the 1929 edition of the American Council Psycho- logical Examination. The number of seniors tested was just short of 17,000 and the same kind of reports were made to high schools and colleges as had been made in 1929. We have repeated and just completed the third testing program. This year there has been a significant increase in the enrolment in the senior year of our high schools. There are 19,970 names in our report and the information sent to all high schools and colleges is the same as that submitted in the previous two years. The test used this year was the 1930 edition of the American Council of Education Test. It was suggested that a real desire existed to know whether there is selection of high-school graduates who enter our Wisconsin col- leges. Having in mind a number of studies which had been made in Massachusetts, Indiana, and other states, all of which reported that there was no selection of high-school graduates who entered college, we were encouraged to find that in each year the evidence is perfectly clear that there is relatively high selection of students who enter the institutions of higher learning in our state. In April, 1929, as I have said, there were. 16,601 seniors to whom the tests were administered. Of these 7,704 declared their intention of entering college. The median percentile rank of this group was the 61 percentile, the upper quartile was the 84 percentile and the lower quartile the 36 percentile. In January, 1930, there were 17,000 to whom the tests were administered. Of this number 5,843 declared college entrance intention. The median percentile rank of this group was the 64 percentile, the median was the 84 percentile and the lower quartile the 39 percentile. In December, 1930, the tests were admin- istered to 19,970 seniors who anticipated graduation in 1931. Of this group 7,692 declared that they intend to enter college. The median percentile rank of this group is the 67 percentile, the upper 26 Department of Secondary-School Principals quartile is the 90 percentile and the lower quartile is the 40 per- centile. With reference to Wisconsin high-school graduates it is signifi- cant that over twice as many from the upper quartile intend to enter college as from the lower quartile. However, even more sig- nificant is the fact that each year the evidence indicates that over 1,000 seniors who are in the upper quartile in terms of ability to do college work have no thought of entering college while over 1,000 from the lower quartile, a group practically doomed to failure, are definitely planning to attempt a college career. The variation in the selective influence of the twenty participating colleges in relation to scholastic aptitude is striking and the data for three successive years illustrate the same facts to prevail each year. The median percentile rank ranges from the 76th to the 40th per- centile in twenty colleges. The selection in some of our institutions is disconcerting and indicates the need for educational statesman- ship. In our own university there is a wide range by colleges, schools. and courses, the range being from a median percentile of 90 to 49 in this institution. The valid question naturally arises as to the predictive value of the aptitude test. It has generally been assumed that the best single measure of prediction of college success or failure is the average secured in the academic courses pursued in the high school. We were therefore interested to determine the predictive value of the scholas- tic aptitude test in comparison with the high-school average. Using approximately 1500 cases in the freshman class of the university we find the following correlations with the index of scholarship in the University. 1st Semester 1st Year 1. High-School Average 53 50 2. Scholastic Aptitude Test 50 3. High-School Rank in class converted into percentiles 57 It is important to note that, first, the aptitude test gives as high a correlation as the high-school average, quite to our surprise and grati- fication, and second, that neither criterion is adequate for prediction. The combination of the two measures in team might be expected to raise the correlation appreciably. Taking 756 freshmen in the Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting: 27 college of letters and science for whom high-school percentile ranks and aptitude test ratings were available the correlations between the high-school percentile ranks and the grade points per credit as an index of scholarship was 61, between the aptitude test and scholar- ship the correlation was 58. The multiple correlation was 71 which will be recognized as significantly high and strikingly high for two readily available variables. Having the regression equation and the forcasting formula developed from it we can predict with a known margin of error what the student will be likely to acquire in grade points per credit if he enters the university. For that matter the data can be placed in the hands of high-school principals who can, with a little calculation, determine what grade points per credit the student will be likely to earn if he enters the university. The search for additional criteria is going on. For example our admissions blank calls for ratings by principals in ten traits and on a five point scale, such ratings have yielded a correlation of plus 36 with the index of scholarship. The introduction of this composite rating into the team may be expected to raise the obtained coefficient of 71 somewhat. Those who have either directed or participated in the three year survey in Wisconsin are moving with due caution and are not in- clined to be at all deterministic until sufficient objective data is avail- able as a basis for new policies or programs. Encouraging evidence is continually revealed as a result of our numerous studies. For instance a distribution of 410 honor graduates of 52 high schools of our state in 1929 showed that in these schools with enrollments ranging from 70 to 2400, 10% of the honor students had a percentile rank of 100, 50% ranked in the top decile, 75% in the upper quartile while but 9% were below the median for the state. Again in one of the colleges cf the state we find a most interesting distribution of honor students. In the cases of 266 students who won freshmen or sophomore honors, 25% were in the upper 8% in terms of percentile rank in the state test, the median percentile rank for the group is the 95 percentile while 80% of the 266 honor students were in the top decile. At the other extreme there was sufficient data to warrant the state superintendent of public instruction in acting upon the report of a 28 Department of Secondary-School Principals committee which he had appointed carefully to study the matter to recommend to the high schools of the state that it be a policy with the secondary schools to distinguish in their scheme of marking be- tween a passing grade and a grade which shall be known as a college recommending grade. One large high school reports that it is gradu- ating boys and girls upon two bases, one a certificate or non-recom- mending basis, :1e other a diploma basis. In that school the indi- viduals in the group which this year anticipates graduation on the certificate basis, were found, when the test was administered in December, to range in percentile rank from zero to the third per- centile. With the support of such evidence the educational administra- tors of Wisconsin have deliberately set out upon a program of en- couraging the students in our high schools, and their parents, to make decisions in terms of all information available. One definite project which the state committee felt to be justified was based upon the fact that the survey of the first year indicated that 1,000 high- school seniors who rated in the upper quarter had no intention of entering college. The committee decided to approach this group by correspondence, encouraging them to seek conference with the high- school authorities in their respective communities and then to get in touch with the college which might be their choice. All of the colleges were urged to communicate with the members of this group. The third objective suggests that parents be offered such service as might be helpful in interpreting college requirements and oppor- tunities. The procedure of the university has been typical of the procedure of other colleges. Each year the president of the univer- sity has written to the young people who expressed a desire to come to Wisconsin, suggesting in his letter that the university would be happy to have prospective students and their parents come to the campus during the summer months for counsel and advice. During the summer of 1929 upwards of 1,000 students and parents availed themselves of this opportunity. During the summer of 1930, approxi- mately 1450 visited the campus. With the new type of admissions blank which contains revealing information available, plus the record of academic achievement in high school and added to this the rating secured in the state-wide test the university official who confers with student or parent has a basis for intelligent advisement. Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 29 The fourth objective aims ‘to develop a close relationship with secondary schools and also with the parents of the graduates of such schools who are in the college. I refer again to the procedure of the university as it is guided by this objective. The registrar’s office arranged to-make reports to high-school principals at such times and in such manner as would be more effective in extending help to the student on the campus. Reports of all freshmen who are in difficulty at the close of the first six weeks of the university year, for instance, are made to high-school principals and suggestions are solicited and passed on to the proper dean or adviser for assistance in analyzing and interpreting indi- vidual cases. The university has made it possible for high-school principals to secure, upon call, a representative of the university who is expected to present to groups of students and groups of parents suggestions and interpretations of the possibility of predicting probable success or failure in college, of discussing with individual students in the high school and parents problems pertaining to college hopes and careers. The final objective was suggested as a desire to promote and in- crease the possibilities for success and happiness of students after matriculation. This brings us to the enrolment of the student in college. The high-school principals had said, in effect, “we are willing to cooperate by supplying the colleges with the best fund of informa- tion about an applicant which we can gather, but what use will the college make of the information which we supply?” Again I sug- _gest that no two colleges have used the material submitted in the same manner. I speak again of the program of the university of Wisconsin made possible and instituted as a result of the information gathered. In the fall of 1928 the university conducted its first fresh- man period. The purposes of freshman period as presented to the faculty when that body decided unanimously to try the venture were: (1) Freshmen period is designed primarily to give freshmen an opportunity to receive first impressions of the university from mem- bers of the faculty who are interested in developing a realization that the university is a human institution and that the faculty is in- terested in the problem of the individual student. 30 Department of Secondary-School Principals (2) The most significant activity of the program arranged is the program for an individual conference with a member of the faculty for every freshman. Such conference is to be concerned with gen- eral problems which confront a student entering the university en- vironment and with specific problems concerning the individual stu- dent as drawn from the complete record forwarded by the secondary school from which the student was graduated. (3) Other activities are scheduled for each student, such activi- ties to be so arranged that the critical and delicate transition from secondary school to university may be made as easy and natural as possible. All freshmen were required to come to Madison four days early. One hundred fifty members of the faculty volunteered to return and to act as counselors, each counselor to have not over seventeen coun- selees and each counselee to be assigned at least a thirty minute in- terview. In assigning counselors to incoming freshmen it was possi- ble to make assignments upon the basis of the special interest of the new student. A freshman who expressed interest in civil engineer- ing was counseled by a professor from that department, one who ex- pressed a special interest in medicine was assigned a counselor from the medical school, the student who contemplated the course in jour- nalism had a conference with a member of the staff of the school of journalism, and so on. Each counselor was provided with all of the information about his counselees which had been gathered by the office of the registrar, this included the complete information submitted in the admissions blank already referred to and also the percentile rank of the student in the aptitude test. A detailed statement interpreting the significance of the percentile rank and how it might be used was supplied, for the information of the counselor. While the individual conference was the real heart of the period other significant activities were scheduled. The problem of study in the university as contrasted with the problem of study in high school was presented in laboratory sections. There were library labora- tories for the purpose of explaining the opportunities offered by the library and the method of using the library. Certain psychological, placement, and vocational interest tests were given. Tours of the campus were conducted. Opportunities for entertainment, convoca- Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 31 tions, and other activities helpful in presenting the numerous phases of campus life were scheduled. Such matters as the process of regis- tration, payment of fees, and the actual arrangement of a program of studies were completed. The machinery of freshman period was arranged to reduce the possibility of confusion'to a minimum. It was found possible to arrange an individual schedule for each student and to provide com- plete and sufficient direction through the medium of a small coupon book. A survey of the reaction of freshmen at the close of the period indicated a gratifying degree of saitsfaction with the venture. I come finally to a continuous counseling program within the college. The whole problem of advising, of counseling, of personal relationship in a large institution is exceedingly complex. There is general agreement to the proposition that every student in a college of whatever size has a right to be considered as an individual and that it is the responsibility of the college, without coddling, to carry on a program which shall make it possible for every student to meas- ure up to the best that is in him. When one is on the inside viewing the situation he realizes how much more effective sympathetic coun- seling, how many more fine personal relationships exist between student and faculty than he can be expected to know if he stands on the outside looking in. In our institution as in all others there is now and always has been much superior counseling of students. However, both from the outside and from the inside it is perfectly obvious that there is room for significant improvement. There is not time to explain the detail of the organization of coun- seling in the University of Wisconsin, much of which is excellent. . But all of the colleges in our state have a common purpose with reference to the use of the valuable information which is being gath- ered about each incoming student. We are using this information as the basis for studies the results of which will be made available to both the high-school administrator and the college counselor. In our institution there has been organized a bureau of guidance and records which, with a reorganized registrar’s office, acts as a service organization to supply to deans and counselors such informa- tion as may be of significance in analyzing and interpreting individual cases. The bureau is primarily a fact finding organization. It, with the office of the registrar, represents the university in administering 32 Department of Secondary-School Principals the state wide testing program, together these two organizations ac- cept responsibility for gathering the information about each incom- ing student. They assume almost complete responsibility for the pro- gram and machinery of freshman period. The registrar is director of the bureau of guidance and records and this effective combination of the two offices makes possible the use of all records for purposes of study and also makes possible a program of record keeping which is of real value to the men and women who are assigned counseling responsibilities. After three years of effort to move forward in terms of the ob- jectives which were suggested at the opening of this paper both secondary schools and colleges believe that the possibilities involved in our state program are enormous and that there is much to be undertaken in the years that lie ahead. Assistant Superintendent M. Channing Wagner of Wilmington, Delaware, read his paper, Extra-Curriculum Activities—A Training for Democracy. EXTRA-CURRICULUM ACTIVITIES—A TRAINING FOR DEMOCRACY M. CHANNING WAGNER, ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, WILMINGTON, DELAWARE The American people have a profound faith in public education. The lavish use of time and money is evidence of the conscious will of the country to preserve its free institutions. Adequate preparation in citizenship has been the dominant objective of education in the United States for several decades. The school is not the only social agency which has been instru- mental in shaping the character of our generation, but the school is the only agency which has been established expressly for the purpose of educating all of the people in the duties of citizenship. Dr. Fretwell says: “It is the duty of the educator to arrange the whole school situa- tion so that there is a favorable opportunity for every member of the school, singly and in groups, to practice the qualities of the good citizen here and now, with results satisfying to himself. 6S ets 2 oe — = Au we Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 33 The fundamental principle of a democracy is the right of man to self-government, but recognition of the right does not necessarily insure the capacity in its fullest degree. It is for this reason that opportunity for education must be provided by the democratic state in order to develop the capacity for self-control which underlies self- government. As high school leaders we are interested in that educa-, tion which inculcates the qualities necessary in its citizens. The high school is the fertile field for this type of education for there will be found the leaders of to-morrow. The school must be conscious of the individuality of its pupils and of the fact that they are later to be the leading citizens of our country. Whatever the state may become will depend upon our conception of education for a democracy and the character of our citizens will be determined largely by the character of the secondary-school pupils and the program provided by the development of character. Dr. Kilpatrick in his book on Education for a Changing Civiliza- tion says: “We face as never before an unknown shifting future. This demands that our children learn to adapt themselves to a situation which we, their teachers, can only partially foresee. This in turn means the stressing of a new and different kind of learning, not as hitherto of fixed answers but of methods of attack effectual in novel situations. And also we must in the end turn our pupils loose to shift for themselves in a manner and degree true of no preceding gener- ation.” What then does life in a democracy require? Four things: (1) It requires the citizen be prepared to carry his own weight; (2) To have the fullest freedom in everything that does not interfere with the freedom of others; (3) That the citizen be interested in the creation and enforcement of law; (4) That the citizen respond to his personal obligation to contribute through voluntary cooperation for the common good, the best of which he is capable. The purpose of this paper is to show how the school through its extra-curriculum activities acts as a laboratory for training in citizen- ship for a democracy. Democracy implies “a form of government in which the supreme power is retained by the people, and is exercised either directly or indirectly through a system of representation and delegated authority, 34 Department of Secondary-School Principals periodically renewed.” It is ruled by consent on the basis of, majority decision. Every individual has an equal part in the control of the government and anyone who so wishes may offer his services to the public and may have a hand in making the law. Newman in Education for Moral Growth says: “Democracy is a way of life, a manner of living together that is intended to develop the distinctive best in every person as he seeks to release it in others. A true democracy welcomes the offerings of the least of its sons and daughters, and especially does it welcome their contributions in decid- ing what the collective purposes shall be.” From this statement we gather the meaning that true aim of democracy is to make men and women nobler and happier in every field of endeavor. It aspires to develop in the average man the many-sidedness of personality that comes from sharing the varied life of the entire community, the magnanimity of character that springs from complete respect for the rights of others. We must ever keep in mind that the enlightened thought of to-day agrees that youth shall enter into all the rights and privileges of the way of life that democracy implies. The modern school must do all : in its power to help boys and girls achieve the strength of character, the unselfish devotion to the common good, and the beautiful ex- cellencies of personality that are the goals of life in a free society. It is difficult to understand why principals and teachers sometimes hesitate to introduce democratic forms of control because they fear the pupils will lose interest when they discover that control rests finally in the faculty. It is all a matter of leadership for, when tact is used, boys and girls do not demand all or nothing. When they are working under the right kind of leadership for the common good of the school they do not worry about the faculty control. Too often we expect too much of them. The wise teacher and principal will study carefully the capabilities of their pupils and will allow them to assume responsibility as rapidly as they show the ability to take it. High- school principals and teachers express wonder at the ability of the rising generation and are continually surprised at the skill and judg- ment which pupils exhibit in the management of their affairs. It follows then that teachers need to study their pupils with an open mind to discover what their powers are. Schools must be re- organized to give boys and girls a chance to live on the plane of Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 35 freedom. Teachers will soon discover that the greatest limitation of democratic institutions lies not in the immaturity of pupils, but rather in the weakness of their own faith in the cultural processes of a free society and in their lack of courage to experiment boldly for the benefit of children. A program of extra-curriculum activities provides an excellent opportunity to learn by doing. The chief trouble in the past has been the neglect of this important principle of learning. The only genuine way of learning how to do a thing is to have the opportunity of doing it. A pupil cannot really understand what responsibility is until he has had an opportunity to assume responsibility for a task. Not until then can we determine whether or not he will succeed or fail. One of man’s greatest desires is to do what he does in his own way. Teachers can save their pupils many mistakes by continually telling them what to do, but mistakes on the parts of pupils who are interested in their work, are powerful educative experiences. Too many times teachers impose finished standards of workmanship on their pupils, but when the work is done the pupils will not be greatly strengthened for they know that it is not their own. Sponsors would have members of their dramatic club rival the actors on the professional stage; would have the members of the student council give decisions that would do credit to mature judgment; would have members of the debate club perform in a manner comparable to a lawyer before the court. It has always been difficult for adults to have the foresight to give respect to achievements that fall short of the ideals to which they have aspired for their pupils. The modern school is rapidly realizing the part that the social activities are playing in the life of the school. Teachers in the modern school must come to sincerely and intelligently respect the rights and abilities of pupils and maintain an attitude of friendship with them. When pupils have an environment of this type they will have the proper training ground for right habits in citizenship. The great problem of the school then is to select the experiences that are appropriate for training in habits of citizenship. The great criticism of the past has been that the activities in the classroom did not correspond to the aims of education. The school did not provide for those specific abilities necessary in adults life such as the effective work of presiding officers at public gatherings, of various organiza- tions, of chairmen of important committees, of citizens in the selection 36 Department of Secondary-School Principals of public officers, and the responsibilities of citizens in the perform- ance of civic obligations. We will now turn to the practical aspects of this subject. In what way may the modern school present opportunities for the pupil to practice the qualities of the good citizen so that he may become a good citizen in a democracy, that he may understand the underlying principles which will give him the judgment necessary to solve the problems continually arising in a democracy such as ours, that he may grasp a knowledge of social control which has not kept pace with the development in material fields? Of all the activities in the modern school which furnishes a training ground for citizenship the provision for student participation in the affairs of the school offers the greatest opportunity and entails the greatest responsibility. In the community, government exercises a predominating influence. Student participation through the student council offers a splendid opportunity to mobilize the full force of the school more powerfully than any other student organization. The student council can do much to facilitate the right kind of relationship between the faculty and the student body and the other organized societies of the school. The student council is an organization of representative students elected to assist through codperative effort in working out helpful social relationships in school activities and civic problems. Pupil participation in school government has arisen in response to the demand for citizenship training that will function after school days are over. Since it has been shown that adults evidence little of their school training with respect to citizenship, the need has been made more apparent, and, since functioning citizenship training must be given in life-like situations, the participation of pupils in school government has resulted. It is now generally accepted by progressive school men that government can best be understood by governing ; that pupils will best see the necessity for obeying rules which they have shared in making; and above all, that to have proper principles and ideals of citizenship function in life itself, one must create situa- tions comparable to life itself, wherein the student can practice activities leading to these ideals with satisfaction to himself. The participation of pupils in school government has been introduced to meet this demand, Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 37 This activity should not be expected to relieve the principal or teachers of responsibility: if anything the opposite is true. Student government associations are no dumping grounds for the principal’s administrative or disciplinary duties ; but opportunities for educating pupils. It is believed that this training can be accomplished by having the students take an active part in the government of the school; by letting them see the problems to be solved ; and by permitting them to cooperate in the solution. The multiplicity of extra-curriculum activities has lead to the need of their organization and control by some centralizing body. So also, student participation in school government has resulted in the neces- sity for a central governmental body to represent the student body and carry out its wishes. It is in response to the need of these activities that student councils have been inaugurated, they follow, never pre- cede extra-curriculum activities and student citizenship activities. The student council is the integrating and centralizing organization of the student body. Its functions are to secure that codperation and unification necessary to the success of student undertakings. Let us inquire into the value of the student council as a factor in training for democracy. In the first place it provides an opportunity for pupils to partici- pate in the management of a school community. This entails the. selection and training of leaders, enlisting them on the side of the law, order and social uplift. It means creating school spirit and the devel- opment of sound school opinion. Pupils come to realize that the school must develop a sense of civic responsibility. The activities in a school community are as numerous as those of government in a community. A school community must prepare rules and regulations for the government of the student body and means for their enforcement. Second it affords a channel through which the principal and faculty may work in bringing about desired action or attitude on the part of the student body as a whole. This arouses a spirit of codpera- tion with the authorities for the common good. Advising and co- operating with the faculty on school problems arouses a spirit of loyalty and good will towards school and faculty. Third, it provides an opportunity to exercise a general supervision over other student organizations. The object is to maintain smooth working relationships, set up standards of conduct, and promote the 38 Department of Secondary-School Principals welfare of the school in different ways through other organizations. Some of the activities are as follows: (1) Preparation of the school budget and the supervision of the finances of the school; (2) Initia- tion of new activities of group character and chartering new organiza- tions on the basis of predetermined standards; (3) Preparation of honor points systems to reward distinguished service, and to stimulate and limit pupil participation; (4) Determinating conditions of eligi- bility for school officers, election methods, varsity competition, etc. ; (5) Preparation of a school calendar giving schedules for the meeting of organizations, contracting for interscholastic games, debates, lite- rary competitions; (6) Regulating school events and social affairs ; (7) Promoting all school activities and competitive program of intra- mural contests in various fields; (8) Seeking information as to how other schools manage their community life. Fourth, it provides an excellent opportunity for the school com- munity to develop a department of public safety and welfare com- parable to the community department. Student council organizations have developed arrangements for handling crowds, maintaining sani- tary conditions and protecting school property. The increased en- rollment in schools has necessitated the regulation of traffic in and about the school building as in the corridors, lunch rooms, and as- semblies. They have provided for sanitary conditions in lockers, desks, workshops, lavatories, and home rooms. They have worked out plans for movement and conduct during fire drills. Fifth, it provides an opportunity for stimulating and encouraging the improvement of scholarship. The student council may stimulate competitive interest in scholarship by preparing graphic distribution of the marks of various groups of pupils; it may help stimulate scholarship by providing qualified pupils to give individual help to failing pupils and by providing study helps and study schedules for backward pupils and by campaigning for the reduction of tardiness and non-attendance. Sixth, it influences conduct and aids in discipline by emphasizing the socially constructive rather than the primitive methods. Social pressure by pupils tends to eliminate many of the vicious practices such as cheating, disorder in corridors and on the playgrounds, and aids in inaugurating campaigns for the improvement of school senti- ment against such practices. 01 Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 39 Finally, it develops and establishes a true and keen sense of justice, a spirit of social service in the student body, and teaches consideration for the rights of others. Thus we see that there is a great variety of activities in which the student council may engage. School after school has praised the notable contributions which student councils have made to the life of the school. Successful participation in the school community will insure social efficiency in the larger community. The work cannot be done without the codperation of the whole group. The school should provide the opportunity for the student body to do those things of educational value under competent supervision. Mere information about the problem of citizenship is insufficient to guarantee in pupils correct attitudes and relationships toward public affairs. It is necessary to employ such processes as will fire the human spirit with altruistic zeal. It is no longer a problem of the classroom teacher and to be solved by her, but the school authorities acting in a corporate capacity must now be called upon to take large control. The only way to inspire enthusiasm and zeal in others is to be en- thusiastic and full of zeal one’s self. The fundamental business of the schools is to train pupils to perform successfully their duties and meet their opportunities as citizens. We have come to realize that the way to develop pupils into good citizens of the future is to organize our educational systems so that pupils of secondary-school age are good citizens of the school and in all their activities in the community, now. “Pupils in our schools have their rights, duties, and privileges now and it is in meet- ing these obligations and opportunities that they develop the mental attitudes, habits, and skills that make them increasingly good citizens. Dr. Fretwell says: “The situation must be so arranged that the pupil finds satisfaction in creating new opportunities, in assuming successfully new obligations that make for the good of himself and of his fellows. This pupil is not to be a passive, harmless individual but a citizen who knows the facts, thinks straight, is morally earnest, and strives with enthusiasm to improve the conditions he finds. It is possible to organize the conditions so that the pupils desire to improve the school, and through repeated activities, form the habits and acquire the skills necessary for constructive citizenship. If the 40 Department of Secondary-School Principals good citizen is one characterized by such qualities as initiative, lead- ership, codperation and intelligent obedience to authority, it is of primary importance that all educational agencies enable pupils to practice these qualities with satisfaction.” Another of the educational agencies which enables pupils to practice these qualities with satisfaction is the school assembly. The assembly is closely related to the student council and is one of the best available means of unifying the student body. Thus the school assembly is one of the means which the school uses for the direct education of its citizens. It is a very important training ground for the formation of public opinion. The assembly offers a splendid opportunity for the participation of the whole school, faculty, and pupils, in a conscious effort to form intelligent public opinion. Just as pupils in the school through the school assembly may use their best judgment in the solution of a problem so can we expect those pupils as adults to bring intelligent opinions on problems affect- ing the community as a whole. No activity contributes more to the achievement of a spirit of solidarity in the school than the assembly, for it offers one occasion when the entire student body is called together for the consideration of matters of common interest. It is a place where the meritorious achievement and distinguished service of pupils may be rewarded. It is an easy matter for the principal to solve these problems and announce the solution to the school. Even if he could solve them to the satisfaction of all he would be robbing the pupils of their educative opportunity. The pupils by discussing these problems in the home rooms, in class organizations, in student associations, and in assembly are educating themselves. The wise principal will suggest problems to the pupils of his school. What is the attitude of the whole school on scholarship? What responsibilities shall the pupils with their advisers assume in the direction of extra-curriculum activities ? What is the attitude of the school toward the care of the buildings, toward punctuality, and regular attendance? What has the school done in the past to merit the estimation in which it is now held by the community ? The assembly is the forum, the town-meeting, the great get- together of the school where teachers and pupils work for the achieve- Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 41 ment of common interests and concerns. The assembly is the only phase of the whole school program which makes the student body conscious of itself as a group. It is possible, through this group consciousness, to establish higher ideals of student participation in those activities in which pupils are interested in taking part. The stage of the assembly is the plane for solving all matters regarding student life and everything is worth while which engages the interest of the school. With intelligent guidance the participation of the pupils in the planning and carrying out of assembly programs reveals to them and to their fellow students the ideals of their relation- ships, and presents the opportunity of gradually improving those re- lationships until the point is reached where the rights and obligations of every member of a democratic society is apparent to all. Thus we see that the assembly opportunity is a tremendous chal- lenge. Such activities as have been outlined all fit into the larger pur- poses of education, in giving practice in those things a pupil will be called upon to do, and to reveal to him higher types of activity. They all grow out of school work, and, as experience has shown, give genuine satisfaction in the performance here and now. The assembly, while it is not the end of the school work may be far more of a dynamic influence toward realizing the ends we are seeking. It is a part of the training for democracy. It is worthy of and can claim far more attention than it has ordinarily received. Let us turn to another phase of the extra-curriculum program which plays an important part in our training for democracy. How does physical education relate itself to the general program of educa- tion? The problem of physical education is to establish right habits of living. Right living must result in such a high level of vitality as to enable the individual to keep well, to be mentally and physically efficient in performing his school work, to have power, speed, and endurance and the nerve control to work consistently on a high level of accuracy and efficiency, to have the vitality to see problems clearly, to see them whole and to have the stamina to make moral decisions. This high level of vitality must exist if the high-school pupil or the adult in later life is to do efficient work in society. Fundamentally, the purpose of all education is to build adults. To build adults we must start with the youth. If we are successful in building the right kind of adults there will be no social problems, the home, city, state, and nation will be All Right. 42 Department of Secondary-School Principals Primarily physical education and athletics serve to develop and maintain in all pupils bodily health, strength, and endurance, to the end that they may lead more useful lives. Athletics bring out in those that participate many of the fine qualities that lie at the root of good citizenship. In fact, we may say that in athletics a boy learns his citizenship. The qualities of initiative, leadership, cooperation, clean sports- manship, intelligent obedience to the rule of the game and the ac- ceptance of responsibility are needed by all pupils ; and if athletics help develop these qualities, it naturally follows that not only the ablest pupils who play on the varsity teams should have the opportunity to develop these qualities, but that every pupil in school unless he is physically defective should play regularly on some organized team. Group games properly directed serve better than any other agency to develop many of the qualities of good citizenship and fine manhood. Chief among these is the spirit of fair play and good sportsmanship, that quality of honor that desires always to be courteous, fair and respectful. Sportsmanship does not end with the participant but takes in pupils and spectators. It represents the attitude of the school toward the official and the visiting teams and spectators. It represents the attitude of the school toward the official and the visiting teams and spectators. It teaches the spectator to be tolerant of the participants as they are only pupils like themselves and are doing the best they can. It means all this and more. It means courtesy and respect from spectators, as well as players, for opponents, for the rules, for officials and the game. As ancient Greece was supreme in democracy,'so she was supreme in games. To-day United States leads the world in athletics as she points the way to democracy. Is it not reasonable to assume that athletics offer a splendid training for democracy? Character education and training for good citizenship are definite aims of the extra-curriculum activity program. Character is the outgrowth of the moral principles that guide us in our practical responses to life situations. It is in the activities outside the classroom that the teacher gains one of his greatest opportunities to influence the character of his students. The real teacher, the teacher who grasps and the ose ood his Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 43 the character-forming possibilities of student organizations, is the one who sees in such organizations opportunities for direct contact with his students in vital social situations. Such a teacher regards the student organization as a laboratory in which character reactions can be determined. That which we wish our nation to be, our schools must first be. When we know the kind of citizens our country needs, we have deter- mined the type of students our schools must develop. Our country needs citizens that have had their individual talents so developed that they will render to the community the best of which they are capable. Our schools must reflect this need by providing opportunities that will enable those of special talent to discover and to develop their peculiar powers. Extra-curriculum activities that grow out of the subject matter of the curriculum offers a ready means to encourage those of special ability to develop their natural interests. Our country needs citizens who shall be able to think for them- selves on public questions, citizens who recognize the fact that the right of participation in government can be maintained only when all members of the community respond to the obligations upon them of respect for and obedience to self-imposed law, citizens who seriously assume the obligation upon them of wise choice of those to whom the enforcement of the law is entrusted. Practice in response to such obligations can, in the school, be afforded by extra-curriculum activities in which privilege and responsibility are recognized as common to all. Our country needs citizens who show that beyond the duty of self-support, beyond the duty of providing those dependent upon them, rises a greater duty, that of thinking and acting for the com- munity as a whole, that of making the community to some degree better because they have lived in it. Such citizens reflect the ideal of social responsibility, the ideal of service. This ideal should also actuate our student activities, both those that exist for the devel- opment of the individual and those that have as their aim the welfare of the entire student body. In closing may I stress the importance of this great field of student endeavor and that each one of us intrusted with the guidance of the youth of the secondary schools will make every effort really and truly to provide the opportunities which will insure for the American youth a proper training ground for citizenship in a democracy. 44 Department of Secondary-School Principals Milo H. Stuart, Assistant Superintendent in charge of Secondary Education, Indianapolis, read his paper, Significant Values of Non- academic Secondary Education. SIGNIFICANT VALUES OF NON-ACADEMIC SECOND- ARY EDUCATION Miro H. Srvart, ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT OF INDIANAPOLIS PuBLIC SCHOOLS IN CHARGE OF SECONDARY EDUCATION May we set forth our problem by a diagram? Here is a big letter X, symbolizing an unknown quantity, which we are here using to represent the non-academic in our public education. We start out to find its value. It may not be exactly according to algebra but let us divide this letter into parts. Let the base of the letter be the non- academic in the elementary school, the first six years. Let the lower part of the X be the seventh and eighth grades; the center, where the lines cross, be the ninth grade; the upper part of the X, the di- verging lines, be the tenth and eleventh grades, capped by the twelfth year. We are not discussing to-day the elementary part, the first six years. It might merely be noted in passing that as handwork proves its value, it is forthwith claimed as academic. It is only the compara- tively new lines which are labeled non-academic. Writing is hand- work; the making of figures is handwork; drawing of maps is handwork ; all drawing is handwork; making of notes in music is handwork. Of course it will be argued that all these things are truly academic in as much as they are simply means of expressing the activity of the brain. I wonder if building a great bridge is not pretty much a means of expressing the activity of the brain of the architect. May not the time come when mechanical drawing will be counted academic just as truly as is the making of figures? The elementary grades show us that the line between academic and non-academic is of the same stuff dreams are made of. By the time the child reaches the seventh grade the early manual processes have become routine and are called academic. The acquir- ing of new means of expression is called non-academic. If a boy prints by hand, that is academic. If he learns to use printing equip- Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting NON-ACADEMIC | SECONDARY EDUCATION [|peE-TECHNICAL TERMINAL vt G COLLEGE COURSES COURSES A at _ {GUIDANCE G )SSLPANSE 9 AND AND TRY-OUT COURSES _ \RESEARCH STUDY & 46 Department of Secondary-School Principals ment or a typewriter, that is non-academic. If he writes as he has been taught, longhand, that is academic. If he learns to write a new way, shorthand, that is non-academic. If he studies lines or angles theoretically in a book, that is pure mathematics,—academic—recog- nized. If he measures those same lines and angles with carpenter’s tools, constructs them into permanent form with beautiful wood, that is non-academic—questionable. A girl studies physiology and hy- giene, that is academic,—cultural. She dons a cap and apron; applies those theories in a home nursing course, or in a diet kitchen, that is non-academic—and may not make for culture. Now children of the seventh and eighth grades are curious. They long to explore. As evidence, try to keep a boy or girl of that age in one yard, no matter how attractive. They crave the new. They seek action. It is the age when clocks are taken to pieces by boys of doubtful ability, so far as assembling the parts again is concerned. Bicycles are taken to pieces, put together, handles readjusted, fenders taken off and put on again. The writer calls to mind a country boy who was a source of great annoyance to his father because he would take the reaper to pieces, tear up the clock, unbreach the rifle, and play havoc generally with the machinery of the farm. But that same father five years from that time found this boy his main reliance in repairing the reaper, repairing the clock, sharpening the plow, or re-tiring a wheel. For the most part, pupils of this age begin and do not finish. They spend the time an older person would take to finish a thing, beginning something else. The late Dr. Dennis of Earlham College was accustomed to use the development of a tadpole as the basis for a rather profound study of this period. Suppose you were to undertake to raise a frog and of course wished him to be well developed. Would you try to keep the tadpole from wiggling about so much, teach him to take on the frog habits he must use later, or would you just give him good food and plenty of space to swim as fast as he could? I think you would strive to make him the strongest tadpole in the- pool, and rest assured that, in due time, nature would see to it that the sturdy tail is absorbed, and the nutrition used in the development of strong, jumping legs. Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 47 The trouble with us is, we have been trying to get the tadpole to bask on a log as frogs do; jump into the water at pleasure, and croak when croaking is good. It is really ludicrous the way we sol- emnly inquire, “Is this the thing the boy is going to do in later life?” The whole point is—is this the wholesome thing for him to do now? So let the lower half of the letter X in the diagram find its value in mechanical exploration, using the term in the broad sense to include all exploratory courses. The pupil will be living, the teacher will be observing life, discovering aptitudes, and gathering data to be used later on in guiding the child into the right choice. And now the lines of the X converge at approximately the ninth year. All years are years for guidance but this one is pre-eminently so. It makes no difference whether this is the last year of a junior high school or the first year, when properly reorganized, of a four year high school; this is the year when every resource of the school should be focused upon the one point of guiding the boy into the right training for the right field of service for him. No one, who has ever seriously tackled the problem of giving every boy and every girl guidance as to the right road to take in life, will question the value of the non-academic. In so many cases it gives basis for deciding; it gives opportunity for pursuing the chosen course. In the school, which the writer has the best opportunity to know, we have organized the whole school with a view to right guidance. First, our teachers are chosen with a view to their interest in lives. Second, pupils on entering the school (which in this case is at the beginning of the ninth year) are given permanent sponsors to go with them through the ninth, tenth, and eleventh years. That means this teacher can learn the home, can check and recheck as the child advances, and know the success of each venture in choosing. She is assigned her pupils alphabetically which means she comes to know different children from the same home; since she is chosen for the position of sponsor on account of her sympathetic, human leadership, she becomes a real counselor to many a family. In addition to this continuous sponsorship, a Beginners’ Council is organized and operated during the ninth year. For this purpose 48 Department of Secondary-School Principals every pupil is assigned for one period daily to a teacher called a “freshman counselor.” This counselor makes guidance his or her special responsibility. Regular records of conferences are kept. Each pupil records his intentions as to going to college; as to occupation, if not decided, as to probable preferences. He lists his grades, his honor points, his reasons for preferences. His abilities are studied, both from the point of view of ability, tests, and achievements. He is instructed as to the studies which will lead to the goal desired, and the advice of the counselor as to the wisdom of his choice is made a matter of record. Next a formal course in vocational information is offered in the second semester of the ninth year. It is called occupational civics and has for its object: (1) To increase information about occupations to the end that a more intelligent selection of an occupation may be made ultimately, (2) To help the pupil to learn how to learn about occupations, (3) To offer opportunity for pupils to exchange ideas on occupations, that desirable attitudes toward various kinds of work may be developed, (4) To guide the pupil to the discovery of his abilities by all available methods and devices, (5) To guide the pupil on the basis of his own information to a choice of a curriculum which will best serve his individual needs, (6) To offer opportunity for discussion of important personal problems of boys and girls for which there is no opportunity for discussion elsewhere. Then there are many occupational tryout courses for those with purpose unde- fined but with a desire for a course in which a purpose inheres. There is also occupational study for those with defined plans who need occupational survey in order to see their chosen field in all its bear- ings. All this makes the pupil know the school is made for him. This ninth year leaves the student body in an attitude purposeful, re- sponsive, friendly. I wonder if anybody ever thinks to thank the non- academic courses for relieving the academic courses of those who grumble at Latin or formal mathematics; for giving to the school a spirit of contentment. For who can complain about his work when he has a chance to look the whole field over and make his own choice ? A fine atmosphere, a feeling of sympathy between pupils and teachers brought about by the teacher entering the world of the pupil and studying his problems with him, is the high intangible result of Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 49 the non-academic studies in relation to guidance. This result is not imaginary. One parent after another wishes to know by what miracle his child has been won over to a loyalty to school, to a real desire to contribute to it. But the work is not over. Jt is easy to enter a course with enthusiasm and grow weary when the work gets hard. There must be mid-high checking up of results by special teachers qualified to plan for college entrance or entrance to industry as the case may be, but that comes later. We have now reached the senior high-school years, ten to twelve inclusive. The two upper lines of the letter X as they diverge have new values. The one line goes out toward engineering and technical schools, the other direct to the field of life occupations. What is the value of the non-academic to those entering engi- neering and technical schools? Many are allowed to enter these in- stitutions without such courses. What do they lose? Have you not seen a drafting room headed by an engineer of practical experience without a college degree? Under him are men better trained from an academic or technical point of view. The whole story is this. If a man learns a thing from practice in his teens, it becomes a part of him. Did you ever see a man learn to ride a bicycle or learn to roller skate late in life? He can do it, but the boy who learns it early has a natu- ralness the older one cannot acquire. Then let the courses these engi- neers are to have be so practical and close to the ground that forever after the boys will seem to the manner born. They will have a sure- ness of touch which the college learner will have hard work to ac- quire. A man can learn to play baseball in college but the boy who has grown up with the ball in his hand surely has the advantage. Now the other line which diverges from this center goes toward life occupations direct. It ought to be big and heavy, it represents so many boys and girls. Broadly speaking we send to college a little more than half the children who graduate from the secondary school. We graduate from the secondary school a little less than half of those who enter. Out of four students who enter the secondary school but one, therefore, has a reasonable chance of entering a higher institution. The other three-fourths must go out to industry before graduation or at graduation. Since three students out of four are non-college as to plans and since they scatter into a thousand or more productive channels, it would follow that it is the teacher’s responsi- 50 Department of Secondary-School Principals bility to give largely of his time and his thought to serving those who are non-college. The non-academic secondary education comes in at this point as a God-send to seventy-five per cent of humanity. These courses for those clearly defined in purpose may conform to the vocational program, fifty per cent of time being given to the major line of work and to other subjects related. For others less definite in their objectives, we believe that one-fourth time to the major subject during the tenth and eleventh years is a safer program. The time given to such subjects should expand to half time in the twelfth year. It is ideal to have a thirteenth and fourteenth year, also to continue this half time work providing extended terminal courses so thorough that its graduates go into industry -with something definite to offer. Even where this is not possible, these terminal courses may be introduced in the eleventh year on a twenty-five per cent basis, ex- panding to a fifty per cent allotment of time in the twelfth year. This is advisable for two reasons: first, for trial purposes in the eleventh year ; and second because the student is carrying four sub- jects when he makes the election in the eleventh year. Usually one subject may be dropped without doing violence to his course and a year later a second subject may be dropped without damage or sacri- fice. This makes possible then one-half of the pupil’s time given to the subject of greatest vocational value to him. Such terminal courses may be as varied as industry itself. The writer has had direct ex- perience with successful development of such work in commercial art, office production, machine design, architectural drafting, advanced foundry practice, mill cabinet work, radio construction, dress-making and millinery, bake shop production, and many others. From an industrial and civic point of view it is of the utmost importance that we establish right articulation between secondary school and industry. As a nation we need to give much thought to this important topic. Many boys out of school have nothing to do, cannot find employment, consequently are tempted to get money ille- gally, steal automobiles or otherwise join the criminal class, not from inclinations within but from conditions which surround them. In our state it is unlawful to employ young people under eighteen years of age in hazardous undertakings. The statute fails to define in an adequate manner hazardous employment, hence any person Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 51 under eighteen who becomes injured, even to the slightest extent, in employment, possesses thereby prima facie evidence of illegal em- ployment.and may sue for damages under common law. The em- ployer is tried by jury; the recovery is in many cases forthcoming ; great expense for lawyer fees and otherwise is incurred by the em- ployer. No employer wishes to run this risk, so under such condi- tions, there is no place for anyone under eighteen in industry. If industry will not receive them until eighteen, what is the in- dustrially inclined boy or girl to do out of school? Regardless of our academic or non-academic allegiance, we need to codperate by redoubling our energy to make the non-academic courses as well as the academic so attractive that they will hold the boys and girls until they have an opportunity to articulate with some worthwhile life occupation. We have made a basic error in our education through these years. We have repeated again and again the stories of pioneer boys be- coming well educated men through the mastery of a few books. We have reasoned that great character forming value must attach to those books, but we have lost sight of the proposition that in the intensity of application lies a great part of the secret of such educa- tion. If we would find courses of like value for our boys and girls, we must seek whatever wholesome line of study will bring forth the same absorbing interest and habitual concentration. For one boy this may be strictly all academic work. His brother may find his educa- tion almost wholly in the non-academic. Each individual boy, there- fore, becomes the barometer which measures the teaching value. of any subject matter. There are then as many sets of values of both academic and non-academic subjects as there are pupils. All this means a flexibility of subject matter equal to that of the bark on a growing tree. Like that bark, each subject should nourish, protect, and then give way to other layers of bark of larger dimen- sions. The non-academic is especially adapted to growth like that. Its originators have obeyed the old injunction in modified form: Go to the youth, thou teacher, consider his ways and be wise. Department of Secondary-School Principals THIRD SESSION The last session of the senior high-school section of the convention was called to order by the President, Louis E. Plummer in the Ball- room of Hotel Tuller at 2:15 P. M. on Wednesday, February 25, 1931. A brief program of music opened the session with two numbers by the Boys’ Double Quartet of Central High School of Detroit. Milo H. Stuart of Indianapolis made a report for a committee on program for the three hundredth anniversary of the American high school in 1935. The tentative proposals for the program were: a centennial edition of books which would emphasize the evolution of buildings, textbooks, and philosophy of the secondary field. A com- mittee of the Department of Superintendence to codperate with a similar committee of the Department of Secondary-School Principals to plan a fitting program for the anniversary celebration was moved and carried. Edward Rynearson, President of the National Honor Society, made a brief report for this activity of the Department. There are now about eleven hundred chapters in the high school with about 65,- 000 members wearing the emblem of the National Honor Society. The ballot for the election of members of the National Council of the National Honor’ Society is below: NATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY Vote for three [_] C. F. Allen, Little Rock (_] Ira W. Baker, Oklahoma City (] W. E. Hawley, Rochester, N. Y. [_] Leslie O. Johnson, Rutland, Ver. [_] Fred C. Mitchell, Lynn, Mass. [_] Louis E. Plummer, Fullerton, Calif. Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 53 Mr. L. W. Brooks of Wichita presented the following report : Feb. 25, 1931 Your committee on nominations respectfully submits the following names for officers for the ensuing year: For President: C. H. Threlkeld, Columbia High School, East Orange, N. J. For First Vice President: W. W. Haggard, Joliet Twp. H. S., Joliet, Ill. For Second Vice President: H. L. Harrington, Hutchins Intermediate School, Detroit. For Members of Executive Committee: L. N. Morrisset, Classen H. S., Oklahoma City. Charles F. Allen, Director of Sec. Ed., Little Rock. F. C. Mitchell H. D. Weber E. E. Church C. M. Milton E. Born E. S. F. Howland F. R. Born L. W. Brooks, Chairman Professor John Rufi of the Department of Education of the Uni- versity of Missouri read his paper, Making Teaching Methods Serve the Best Interests of Democracy. MAKING TEACHING METHODS SERVE THE BEST INTERESTS OF DEMOCRACY Joun Ruri, ProFEssOR OF EpUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF MIssouRI, CoLtumBIA, MIssourRI Throughout the past three days we have considered the American public secondary schools as an agency of democracy. The civic con- tributions of the junior high school and the junior college have been presented ably and at length. The parts played by the curriculum and 54 Department of Secondary-School Principals by allied or extra-curriculum activities have been specifically discussed and evaluated. It is obvious that all of these subjects must be in- cluded in any serious attempt to appraise the public secondary school as an institution for the development of citizenship. Stimulating and valuable as these discussions have been, there yet remains one phase of the problem which clearly deserves our thoughtful consideration. This phase may be briefly summed up by the question, “How may teaching methods serve the best interests of democracy ?” During recent years we have devoted much time and energy to the study of the curriculum. Books, magazines, and other professional literature, as well as the proceedings of professional organizations offer unmistakable evidence of our interest in the question, “What shall we teach?” But, vital as this question is, (and its significance is admitted) thoughtful students of education are still concerned with a second question, “How shall we teach?” They believe that pupils are not effected solely by the subject matter they learn, but that they may be influenced quite as much by the methods utilized in teaching them. Although strictly scientific evidence on this point is not as plentiful as it should be, there are excellent reasons for confidence in methodology provided it is intelligently derived and applied. From the time of Socrates down to the present day, numerous examples might be cited of teachers who have exerted as much influence through the methods they utilized as through the subject matter they taught. A consideration of the teaching method must, therefore, be a part of any serious attempt to evaluate the school’s work. Regardless of its other duties the chief function of the public sec- ondary school is to prepare its pupils for efficient citizenship. Private institutions may, if they wish, give first place to other objectives. The public school has absolutely no choice in the matter. It is a public institution, created by the state and supported by taxes. Whatever else it may do, its first responsibility is for the perpetuation of the state through civic training of the right sort. This position may appear startling and untenable to some. It has been so competently set forth and defended by Briggs and others that I shall merely indicate my own acceptance of it. If we accept this position (and to me its logic seems unescapable) it becomes apparent that those who “foot the bill” have good reason to be concerned regarding the subject matter presented in the curri- Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 55 culums of this school. They may quite properly insist that much of this subject matter contributes directly to the major purpose for which this school exists. The same statement may be made with reference to methods of instruction. Those who support this school have every right to insist that the teaching methods used shall be consistent with the purposes of the institution. The task of evaluating our teaching procedure in terms of its effect upon democracy is obviously a very difficult one. The very term democracy is a nebulous one meaning one thing to some, an entirely different thing to others. Honest men differ both as to what it means and the best way by which it may be attained. This adds to the difficulty of determining the extent to which it is served by the meth- ods of teaching used in our classrooms. For purposes of clarification I should like to approach the problem by describing what I consider the very antithesis to a procedure which the American educator can justify and defend. I refer to the work of the Prussian elementary school prior to 1914. Of all the attempts to utilize the school as an instrument for serving nationalistic ends this is the most conspicuous, recent example. The procedure in these schools is admirably described in the book “The Prussian Elementary Schools” by Thomas Alexander. It should be remembered that this study was made before the World War ; that it was based upon the actual observation of more than 600 classes and that many stenographic reports of class procedure were analyzed in its preparation. Its findings, which appear to be reliable and which, so far as I know, have never been refuted, are significant to us for two reasons. First, the entire program of the school was definitely designed to pro- mote citizenship of the type desired by the leaders of the nation. Second, the teaching methods utilized were such as would contribute most to the specific end in view. With reference to the aim of the school and the general result it achieved, Alexander reached the following conclusions : (1) The schools have been used almost exclusively to establish more firmly the Hohenzollern upon his throne. (2) The elementary schools of Prussia have been fashioned so as to make spiritual and intellectual slaves of the lower classes. Department of Secondary-School Principals The Prussian citizen cannot be free to think and act for him- self. His learning, instead of making him his own master, forges the chain by which he is held in servitude. (3) The Prussian is enslaved through the medium of his school. So much for the major purpose of the Prussian elementary school and the outstanding result achieved there. Let us now examine the teaching methods which were used in bringing about this result. Alexander paid particular attention to the instructional technique employed in these schools. He reports: ’ ” (1) “There is much emphasis upon the lecture method. “There is a vast amount of repetition and much emphasis. upon review. The method is largely one of lecturing and repeti- tion.” (2) “The chief source of information is the teacher. . . .” “Text- books are used but very little. The teacher is the textbook to which the children listen. Reference books and supplementary books are very rarely used.” (3) “There is lack of independent thinking and action on the part of the pupil... .” “The child does not think for himself or act for himself... .” “. .. there is little opportunity for thinking.” (4) “Memory work is everything. The children are required to memorize so much that there is little or no time left. . . . for free exchange of thought between teacher and pupils or be- tween one pupil and another... .” “Even in much of the written work the thinking has been done by the teacher. . . .” “No allowance is made for the individuality of the children.” “Pupil questions are not encouraged.” (Alexander visited over 300 classes before he heard a pupil ask a question). . An inquiring frame of mind or a critical attitude is certainly not encouraged. The teacher’s attitude is “I have said every- thing about the subject that the child needs to know. What has the child to inquire about? . . .” (7) “The German child knows a great deal but it has been poured into him just as water is poured into a jug; he does not think for himself. He does not act for himself. . . .” “He is non- independent. His individuality has been left undeveloped.” This type of school, involving both the curriculum and the method of instruction did produce results. We may be entirely out of sym- Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 57 pathy with the major purpose or objective of the Prussian elementary school, but we must admit that the school did have a deliberate aim and that the methods of instruction used were thoroughiy consistent with this aim. The institution did produce results ; it did train pupils for the roles for which they were cast in the life of a monarchy. What teaching methods would appear most promising for a nation striving toward a democracy? What should be the characteristics of a teaching technique which would take us toward our goal as the Prussian method did towards theirs? If the teaching methods at- tributed by Alexander to the Prussian elementary schools were con- sistent for pre-war Prussia, what teaching methods wauld be consistent for us? Without attempting any detailed treatment it appears to me that for our purposes and for the achievement of our national goal our teaching methods should possess the following dominant character- istics : First, our teaching techniques should encourage activity rather than passivity on the part of the pupil. In the Prussian elementary school the teacher played an extremely active part while the pupil was equally passive. Through the use of the lecture system the teacher occupied the center of the stage and assumed the leading role ; the pupils were merely the recipients of the process. Whatever may be said in favor of the lecture as a teaching device one would scarcely advocate it as the best technic for securing pupil activity. Possibly Slosson was not entirely wrong when he described lecturing as “that mysterious process by means of which the con- tents of the notebook of the professor are transferred through the instrument of the fountain pen to the notebook of the student without passing through the mind of either.” As the late Harry L. Miller once said, “The lecture-examination system was created on the theory that the mind of the scholar, like a jug, was to be filled and then the contents should be examined to see how much had leaked out.” If we were concerned solely with the development of what might be termed “submissive followership” this method of teaching would be entirely satisfactory. But one of the insistent demands in a democracy is for trained and active leadership. We want to develop 58 Department of Secondary-School Principals among our people the habit of active participation in the affairs of adult life. Obviously this habit can be most easily formed during the formative period of youth and the method of the teacher can greatly assist in the process. Second, instead of constantly attempting to superimpose our own purposes upon the pupils, the pupils should be encouraged to share actively in setting up the purposes of their work. In the education of the past the interests, wishes, and felt needs of the pupils have received scant consideration. According to Mr. Dooley the ecuca- tional theory of the past was expressed in a simple three-part for- mulae. “If you want to educate a boy,” said he, “you must do three things. First catch your boy. Second, find out what he hates most to do. Third, make him do it.” In the instruction of the past the teacher presumably had a purpose but the pupil was rarely informed regarding it and few efforts were made to convince him of its validity. It was hardly remarkable that, so far as the pupil was concerned, much of the work of the school was entirely purposeless and was as careless and valueless as such work is likely to be. According to Alexander the work of the Prussian school master was highly purposeful. His criticism in this connection is that the purpose was determined by the teacher and the school and that the interests of the pupils were not consulted regarding it. Instead, the purpose of the teacher and the school was superimposed upon the pupil who was, therefore, deprived of the opportunity to do work that was really purposeful from his point of view. He was also deprived of highly important training in the making of choices. The same criticism has been made of our procedure. It is charged that much of our own work is purposeless so far as the pupils are concerned. In the words of Raymond Pearl, “It is now quite pos- sible, in fact it probably has been done, for a boy to go straight through from his letter blocks to his Ph. D. with precisely the same kind of cooperation in the enterprise that a sardine furnishes to the business of his translation from the state of innocence and freedom of his birthplace to the diploma-bearing tin on the grocer’s shelf.” Whether or not we accept this appraisal as just we will agree, I believe, that education in a democracy should not only be highly purposeful but that for excellent reasons these purposes should be directly related to the interests, desires, and felt needs of the pupils. a. oO .-* 4,0 Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 59 It is accordingly proposed that the pupils should actively share in setting up the purposes of the work they do. Where, because of previous bad training or for other reasons the pupils are unable to share largely in this activity, the teacher may temporarily be com- pelled to assume major responsibility for it. In such case the teacher should make every effort to convince the pupils of the validity of the purpose which has been set up and to secure their honest ac- ceptance of it. An honest effort to do this should yield valuable results not only in amount of learning but should afford training in judgment, discrimination and similar abilities essential to our national life. Third, our teaching methods should develop the pupil’s inde- pendence and increase his power of intelligent self-direction. Under the Prussian method the pupils were trained to place extreme re- liance upon the teacher whose word was considered final and authori- tative in every sense. Instead of placing too much reliance upon the teacher alone we should encourage pupils to rely upon teachers, books, supplementary materials, their own observation and experi- ences and their own thinking. The “age of authoritarianism” has passed and we as teachers can render little assistance to youth by posing as authorities whose word must never be questioned. Years ago as an ingenuous high-school boy I sent an inquiry to Dr. John Dewey regarding a subject on which I had every reason to consider him an outstanding authority. He had won international recognition in the field of the problem confronting me, and I, being a product of the old type of teaching, awaited his answer with naive confidence in its finality. I still treasure his kind and courteous but - disillusioning reply. He wrote as follows: “My dear Sir: I regret that I have given so little mature considera- tion to the questions you raise that I am not able to an- swer helpfully. Sincerely yours,” Here was a man who had for years manifested interest in the question I raised. But instead of giving a dogmatic answer, which I would have unhesitatingly accepted as authority, he indicated his inability to settle the question I had raised. 60 Department of Secondary-School Principals Our nation faces a multitude of problems to-day. These problems cannot be solved by a simple appeal to traditional authority. In the last analysis who is the authority any way? The solution of these problems calls for clear and independent thinking, for painstaking study and careful investigation. Teachers, who by their classroom methods make their pupils more self reliant and more capable of intelligent, self-direction in dealing with life situations will be making a major contribution to the solution of our national problems. Fourth, instead of closing the minds of the pupils our teaching methods, should within reasonable limits, develop a critical attitude of intelligent questioning toward present day problems. Judged by the teaching methods employed in their schools the Prussian leaders did not desire to make their subjects critical of established institu- tions or prevailing practices. On the contrary, the whole influence of the school was utilized to maintain the status quo and to bring about loyal, unquestioning conformity to the existing order. This purpose was plainly reflected in the classrooms Alexander visited. According to the report of this observer, pupil questions were con- spicuously absent in the recitations he observed. Indeed he visited over 300 classes before he ever heard a pupil ask a single question. The reason for this situation was not difficult to find. In the words of Alexander, “Pupil questions are not encouraged... .” “The teacher’s attitude is ‘I have said everything about the subject that the child needs to know.’ ” This method. of teaching may be satisfactory in the schools of a monarchy but it will render no service to the cause of democracy. We live in a changed and changing world. -Those who would make successful adjustments to this changing world must possess open and inquiring minds. “The school must, therefore,” says Cox, “stimu- late its pupils to be open-minded and frankly critical of all accepted modes of acting and socially approved attitudes. This does not mean that pupils will be encouraged to be non-conformists very frequently ; it does mean they should know why they conform if conformity is desirable.” It was my privilege as an undergraduate to take a number of courses under the direction of that rare teacher of social science, Professor Walter E. Myer. With the passing of years I have for- gotten much of the specific information gained in his courses. But Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 61 in common with his other students I have not forgotten his open- mindedness, his zeal for the truth, his lack of dogmatism, his liberal- ity, his tolerance, his unwillingness to accept stereotyped judgments on social-civic questions, his emphasis upon the necessity for con- structive thinking. Truly, his was a technique that might well be emulated by more of the secondary-school teachers of this nation. Fifth, our methods of teaching and class management should put a premium on intelligent pupil participation in dealing with common problems. The ability to codperate intelligently and the inclination to do so are now generally recognized as essential characteristics of efficient citizenship in our nation and yet on every hand we see evi- dence of the lack of both the ability and the inclination. Within recent years, progressive secondary schools have sought to give train- ing in this field by introducing supervised group activities. Clubs, class organizations, home room groups and similar media have pro- vided practice in the art of associational living. It is interesting to note that these opportunities have been offered through the so-called extra-curriculum activities rather than through the work of the curriculum. All this emphasis represents a long step in the right direction. Unfortunately, the method of the typical teacher in the traditional school has exerted a powerful influence in an exactly opposite direc- tion. The traditional question and answer type of recitation which has long been in vogue in many schools places its major emphasis upon individualistic method. The responsibility of the pupil was to the teacher rather than to the group. As a general thing there was no group aim; neither was there opportunity for group cooperation. Classes taught in this way seldom developed a codperative attitude. The method of teaching used produced an exactly opposite point of view. The incentives to good work were almost always based upon the appeal to personal rivalry and other equally individualistic tend- encies. Too often it was a case of “Every fellow for himself and the devil take the hindmost”. We have recently recognized that this method of teaching and class control is wholly inconsistent with out major purpose and we are seeking a method that will prove more effective of desired results. The socialization of our pupils is too important to be left solely to “extra-curriculum activities.” Instead, our teaching methods 62 Department of Secondary-School Principals must reenforce rather than hinder this program. With this in mind, teachers who wish to render a maximum service to democracy will utilize at least some form of socialized class procedure. The exact form is not necessarily of importance. It will partly depend upon the teacher and upon the group but the method of instruction will deliberately promote a spirit of codperativeness and of group respon- sibility. It will stimulate group activity and afford the opportunity as well as the impulse for group reaction. Through the training and the satisfactions it will offer it will increase both the ability to cooperate intelligently and the desire to engage in codperative activity. The five foregoing suggestions are not, intended to be inclusive. They are offered merely as some of the characteristics which should be dominant in teaching procedure designed to further democracy. A critical evaluation of the teaching procedure followed in many public high schools makes us suspicious that the teaching methods used have actually hindered rather than helped in the process in democratization. Too often we, as teachers, have been despots, benevolent perhaps, but none the less despotic. Every teacher and supervisor and principal in our public secondary schools is under obligation to insure that the teaching methods, as well as the work of the school in all its phases, is consistent with the purpose for which the school was established and is maintained. Mr. Arthur W. Clevenger, High-School visitor of Illinois, pre- sented without manuscript his paper entitled, Making The High- School Curriculum Serve The Best Interest of Democracy. MAKING THE HIGH-SCHOOL CURRICULUM SERVE THE BEST INTERESTS OF DEMOCRACY ARTHUR W. CLEVENGER, HicH ScuHoor Visitor, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS During the past few years the many changes affecting human living have been so great and of such importance to society that they no longer can be ignored by those who have the responsibility of making school curricula. There is a constantly increasing responsi- bility not only for providing educational opportunities for all but for making education compulsory. Recognition of the importance of both unspecialized and specialized training for all members of society Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 63 is rapidly becoming general. Democracy can succeed only in pro- portion to the general level of training possessed by the members of its society. Various kinds of attempts to raise the general educa- tional level are being made. Continuation school providing continued training for boys and girls who have found it necessary to withdraw from the day school have been established in many communities and attendance has been made compulsory for a few hours each week in many cases. Evening schools with attractive offerings have been established for the convenience of those who are unable to attend school during the day. An increasing number of adults are taking advantage of the educational opportunities offered in such schools. In a few communities vocational and educational advisors visit the individual at work and confer with him at convenient times on mat- ters pertaining to his continued training. A great deal more attention seems to have been given to the matter of providing various kinds of educational opportunity than to the importance of providing educa- tional curricula that are well-planned to serve the best interests of democracy. What should constitute the high-school program of studies and what should be the various curricula composing this program? The answer apparently is that no one knows. Curriculum making is a large cooperative undertaking and constitutes a type of work that must continue so long as civilization is growing and expanding. When the task of making curricula is completed democratic civilization will have started on a downward trend. The problem of curriculum making has been attacked in various ways and from many points of view. Hundreds of textbooks have been examined carefully for the purpose of securing the consensus of opinion of textbook writers regarding what the curriculum should be. The educational needs of workers in many fields have been studied through the method of job analysis with the idea of including in school curricula at least some of the educational training that appears to be needed. Various kinds of major educational objectives have been proposed, some of which are obviously highly idealistic. Thousands of teachers throughout the country have engaged in the task of making minor objectives designed to enable the school child in his educational training to attain the major objectives proposed. Most of the methods employed in curriculum making have practically ignored many of the great social changes which are taking place. 64 Department of Secondary-School Principals The result has been the so-called educational lag. It is obvious that methods of curriculum making that take into consideration only present day needs.or the needs of a generation past and completely ignoring future needs indicated by various deep-lying trends or tendencies cannot serve the best interests of democracy. Such methods will be fatal in education just as methods of planning that ignore trends and future needs in the fields of commerce and industry have failed to insure continued success. A careful analysis of trends and deep-lying tendencies that affect human living and a consideration of future needs are very essential to success in business. It must be admitted, however, that there are in every field many examples of success that have resulted from good guessing. It is perhaps not out of place to suggest that the successful curriculum maker must fre- quently use his imagination and even at times be a good guesser. On account of the fact that trends are sometimes very difficult to recognize, those charged with the responsibility of providing pro- grams of study have been very reluctant to regard modern deep- lying tendencies as factors to be considered. However, some of these present trends are becoming so thoroughly a part of modern civili- zation that they undoubtedly will extend far into the future and con- sequently cannot be overlooked. There appears to be a general trend toward democracy, a tend- ency that will unquestionably continue. Democracy as an effort to found society on ethics not only has a very great appeal to the American people but is spreading throughout the civilized world. It is becoming one of the general aims of education. If democracy is to succeed it must be practiced and lived in the school. A very en- couraging advancement appears to be taking place in both the ele- mentary and the secondary school along this line. The rigid discipline of the American high school of the past generation and the auto- cratic methods of teachers in the classroom are gradually disappearing and the school child is being recognized as a member of a democratic civilization. In many of the best schools an earnest effort is being made to carry out well-planned programs of training in school citizen- ship which promise much for the future. Democracy demands that there be thorough training in the use of a common language and that there be sufficient knowledge of foreign languages to make possible an increasingly better relationship Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 65 between the people of this country and those of foreign lands. There appears to be need for a better and more common knowledge of mathematics and especially of unspecialized mathematics. There is need for a thorough foundation in the social sciences in order that those who live in the present and future generations may have knowl- edge that will enable them to successfully attack the problems con- fronting society. Training which has as its aim the improvement of the home will become of increasing importance. Ethics is the founda- tion upon which democracy is built. A well-planned program of ethical training must of necessity become a part of the school curriculum. There appears to be a deep-lying tendency toward even greater industrialization, a trend which must be taken into consideration by those engaged in curriculum construction. The spread of industriali- zation has brought about shortened working hours and increased time for leisure. It has also made possible greater specialization. Edu- cation is faced with the problem of introducing training which will tend to offset the effects of the increasing narrowing of his life on the specialized worker. Education is charged not only with the task of providing various kinds of specialized vocational training but it must include in its program training in the worthy-use of leisure time. The addition to the secondary school curriculum of trying-out courses appears to be justified on the grounds that the worker, to be most successful, must be happy and interested in what he is doing. One of the most noticeable tendencies of recent years is that which is sometimes referred to as the changing mental attitude. There is a growing tendency to criticize and to question heretofore untested thought and procedure. There is at least one outstanding factor which distinguishes the present generation from any that have preceded. It is the growing tendency to test thought and to apply the principles and methods of science to the solution of the problems of modern society. Only a comparatively short time ago scientists accepted without question an untested and erroneous law governing falling bodies, a fact which appears ridiculous to those who live in the present age. And yet the modern school continues to include in its curriculum much thought which is untested and too frequently taken for granted. Even in this modern civilization there are many persons who believe in the signs of the Zodiac and the 66 Department of Secondary-School Principals various phases of the moon as guides to be followed rigidly in mat- ters pertaining to agriculture. In a recent number of, Field and Stream, there appears an article which points out the absurdity of a great many commonly accepted snake myths. The increasing interest in biological science and the growth of tested thought in the field of biology is rapidly eliminating many erroneous ideas concerning plant and animal life. There is some evidence that the methods of scientific procedure are beginning to be used in the solution of the problems of education. There is at the present time some tendency to accept without question anything which appears under the name of science. However, un- questionably much training in the various forms of science will have a very definite place in the program of studies of the high school of to-morrow. Health education and physical training as means of promoting better health in general and increased physical strength in the indi- vidual have a very strong hold on both elementary and secondary education. The tendency to include such training as a definite part of the program of studies of the American high school appears to be having increasingly greater support. Health education in the secondary school is still greatly handicapped by the enthusiasm which the American public has for athletics. Recently, however, there is a very wide-spread trend toward providing for every boy and girl a program of health education and physical training suited to the needs and capacities of the pupil. The educational needs of the local community must be taken into consideration to a greater extent than they have been in the past if even a small number of the high school’s graduates possessing capacity for future leadership can be expected to remain in the home community. This is especially true in the case of the rural high school. One of the most serious problems of American agriculture is the increasing loss of capable and intelligent leadership in the rural community. The increasing lure of college life and the growing tendency for both boys and girls to continue their training beyond high school have undoubtedly resulted in an over-emphasis on college preparatory courses. The requirements for admission to many of the higher institutions and the desire on the part of high-school authorities + PQ ‘= = oP Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 67 to meet the conditions for accrediting have had a tendency to handicap the secondary school in meeting the educational needs of the majority of the pupils enrolled. A thorough revision of college and university entrance requirements is badly needed. The best general solution to the problem of making the high school curriculum serve the best interests of democracy is the employment of well-trained and capable teachers, both men and women, and the selection of supervisory and administrative officers who are thor- oughly trained and capable of giving intelligent leadership. Mr. H. H. Ryan, Principal of Wisconsin High School, University of Wisconsin, read his paper, High-School Play Material. HIGH-SCHOOL PLAY MATERIAL H. H. Ryan, PrincipAL Wisconsin HicH ScHoot, Mapison, WISCONSIN It will be well for me to emphasize, to begin with, that I do not speak as a specialist in dramatics. I could not qualify in any company whatever as a dramatic coach nor as a dramatic critic. I speak as a high-school principal and as one interested primarily in the outcomes of the experiences which the secondary school offers its pupils. The following discussion is based upon the assumption that we are all agreed upon the importance ‘of dramatics in the curriculum and extra-curriculum life of the secondary school. This importance has been thrown into relief by the development of the junior high school _ and by the vigorous and independent stand which that institution has taken on curriculum matters. The junior high school has made a great deal of the principle that the drama is, of all vicarious experience, the nearest approach to reality. History, for instance as portrayed in the textbooks, may be described as “dessicated experience.” It takes pains to neglect the emotional elements, thereby leaving out the entire actuating principle. The drama revitalizes the complex of events, and brings out the human aspects. The shriveled cadavers of the curriculum morgue stir themselves, step on the starters of their circu- latory systems, and emerge into the spotlight as characters. So, whether it be history as it is written, or merely history as the imagina- tion of the playwright would have it, drama makes it live. 68 Department of Secondary-School Principals Let us not forget, too, that the improvement of the American taste in drama is a responsibility in which the secondary school has a large share. If the public is ever to acquire the ability to enjoy a theatrical production which is entirely wholesome, the beginnings of that train- ing will come in the school. Now put yourself in the shoes of the high-school play coach, as he sets about the task of selecting a play for presentation, let us say, to the public. As he surveys the field of possibilities his attention is attracted by four kinds of material. First, there are the lachrymose melodramas and bovine comedies which flourished about the time of the Spanish-American War. The hatchet-faced villain, the saccharine heroine, the milk-fed hero, the rube, the Irishman, the “Dutchman,” and the dude are portrayed with entrancingly intemperate exaggeration. Now these characters are worn out. We cannot find them in daily life. Without some ex- perience in hating them or ridiculing them in the flesh, we cannot thoroughly enjoy our contempt for them on the stage. As for the climaxes and problem situations of these plays, we no longer submit to such insults to our intelligence. We at least insist that the insults be new. Nobody to-day wants to see such a play, and nobody wants to be in the cast of such a play, except in a spirit of burlesque. Then there are the dramatizations of the pieces of literature which make up the courses in English. Sometimes we are deceived by the warm welcome accorded these dramas by the pupils. From the point of view of the adolescent, these plays are much more acceptable than the printed page, as consumers of school time. So, such dramatiza- tions are entered into with the spirit of the happy refugee. To see the pupil’s attitude in true perspective, however, it is necessary to offer him‘a choice between such plays on the one hand, and the general field of leisure time occupations on the other. It is safe to say that, while the pupil will enter with some enthusiasm into a portrayal of Silas Marner, and his father and mother will come to see him do it, the Silas of the stage is just about as outstandingly alluring in his own field as is the Silas of the printers’ ink. The third kind of play material is what to me is best described as the “paranoiac drama.” A series of delusions and hallucinations is woven together along a slender thread of plot, and is blissful defiance “The pensive goat and sportive cow Hilarious, leap from bough to bough” Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 69 of natural law. One lad said that he thought the play “Three Pills in a Bottle” was misnamed because most of the characters belonged in the bottle. He thought a better title would be “Three Pills in a Bottle and A Number of Others at Large.” A young lady said that while she had some mild curiosity about “Six Who Pass While the Lentils Boil,” a more practical theme would be “Six Who Do Not Pass, While the Parents Boil.” If my observations, in a dozen schools of all sizes and types, are accurate, this kind of play is to the typical adolescent the world’s most insipid form of escape from reality. Finally, we have the plays written for the legitimate stage and the silver screen.. These are planned for adult consumption and must draw crowds to insure financial success. Many of them are con- structed on so large a scale, and involve such a number and variety of characters and scenes, that it is idle to consider them for school pur- poses. “Moby Dick,” “The Big Trail,” “Feet First,” and “Cimarron” simply do not transplant to the high-school stage. An appalling number of the commercial plays depend for their drawing power upon a portrayal of some perversion of sex life. Cer- tain others contain no decidedly objectionable elements, but in their advertising try desperately to create an impression of salaciousness. I imagine that everyone here has had the experience of reading a lurid title, and then paying fifty cents, or four dollars and forty cents for a ticket, only to be disappointed. From the Puritan conception of sex as a thing essentially indecent, we seem to be swinging over to a theatrical conception of sex as a thing that is of no consequence except when it is indecent. Such an odor does not become the high-school actor. One cannot contribute to any of the Seven Cardinal Objectives through the use of such a theme. So far as high school use is con- cerned, the putrid drama is “out.” The upshot of all this is that there is no drama for adolescents. The little children have their fairy plays and other simple affairs. The adults have their commercial plays. For the critical, formative years of adolescence the playwright has so far had nothing to offer. Of course it is true that only recently has the human young been accorded an identity and a status of its own. Up to about the time of the Chicago Fair a child was looked upon as a kind of defective adult ; when he displayed tendencies and interests not felt by adults he was marked as deficient, and remedial treatment was prescribed. But now 70 Department of Secondary-School Principals we are disposed to classify a child simply as a child, and take him as is; we let him be a child ; we look upon his change to adult behavior as a matter of growth, not as a matter of repair. It is not unfair to say that this changed conception of childhood has been slow to show itself in the arts. A parallel case is to be found in music, for example. In the nineteenth century there were practically no songs for children—songs that were acceptable as good music. Mrs. Jessie Lee Gaynor started the movement which has now pro- vided a rich collection of songs for childhood. Early and middle adolescence, however, are still without song. The secondary-school pupil greets with a cod-liver-oil attitude the songs which are offered him. True, many schools have a capella choruses, to which it is a de- light to listen; such a chorus never includes more than one tenth of the school ; it cannot be regarded as typical of adolescence. In the same way, adolescence is poverty stricken in the field of dramatic material. There is almost nothing adaptable and at the same time worth while. Some things that could be used are held by pub- lishing companies which insist upon royalties out of all proportion to the worth of the material and the financial returns from the produc- tion. It is the feeling of this speaker that the condition is a critical one. It would seem that the needed remedy will come only as the result of conscious and deliberate effort on the part of persons and organiza- tions whose interest in the matter is educational and not commercial. Appropriate plays will not appear until plays are written with an understanding of drama and an understanding of high school pupils. It would seem that this calls for collaboration of teacher and play- wright. Since this collaboration has not come about spontaneously, it will have to be promoted. Some person, or some organization, must supply the energy. Some schools have written and produced their own plays, with quite satisfactory results. The chances are that such plays, to be suitable for general high school use, would need vamping at the hands of a professional playwright or dramatic editor. After such treatment these home-grown plays might serve as the nucleus of a collection to be added to as rapidly as possible. The critical need is for a person or organization to undertake, without assurance of finan- cial profit, the collection, editing, printing, and distribution of the Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 71 plays. This same person or organization should bring about the collaboration of two individuals in the writing of one or more plays; one individual should be a professional playwright, or at least a suc- cessful writer; the other should be an intelligent classroom teacher, preferably a teacher of speech. Then such an organization as this Department should undertake to see that these plays are carefully tried out in many schools; that the criticisms of the production are carefully noted and reported to the editors; that schools continue to use the plays until the experimental period is over and the plays are successful enough as high-school dramatic material to need no further hothouse treatment. I believe that only in this way can the drama, powerful teaching instrument that it is, be put to proper use on the high-school stage within a reasonable time. Dr. Georg R6mmert of the Biologisches Laboratorium of Miin- chen, Germany gave a demonstration of Micro-Projection As A New And Practical Method Of Instruction and Visualization of the Mi- crocosm. Mr. Louis E. Plummer, the retiring president, presented the in- coming president Mr. C. H. Threlkeld, Principal of Columbia High School, South Orange, New Jersey, who spoke briefly of the honor and appreciation he felt on his selection to this office. The president, Mr. Louis E. Plummer then adjourned the meeting. JUNIOR HIGH-SCHOOL SECTION First SESSION The first meeting of the junior high-school section was called to order in the Ballroom of Hotel Tuller at 9.45 A.M. Tuesday, Febru- ary 24, 1931, by Principal F. R. Born of Webster Junior High School, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Boys’ Glee Club of the Barbour ‘Intermediate School opened the program with four numbers. The first paper was read by Rudolph D. Lindquist, Assistant Superintendent of Oakland, California. THE SECONDARY-SCHOOL PRINCIPAL AS A SUPERVISOR RupotrH D. Linpguist, ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA A year ago in connection with a course in Supervision which I gave at the University of California, I had occasion to give some thought to the problem of what should be the set-up for supervision in the high schools. At the present time, the situation is as follows: (1) There is a principal who is supposed to be primarily inter- ested in supervision and to devote approximately 40% of his time to this work, but actually he devotes very much less time than this to supervision. In spite of all that we may say of the importance of supervision, in the high schools, administration must always be at- tended to first and the principal be hired with an eye to his ability as an administrator rather than as a supervisor. — (2) We have at the present time in our high schools a traditional position called department head, who is supposed to organize and supervise the instruction in his department. Actually his duties are limited to making a program at the beginning of the term, checking on supplies and textbooks and making certain reports of a clerical nature to the principal of the school. He neither has the time nor the training, nor the ability to act as a supervisor of instruction. In most cases, the teacher would resent suggestions from the head of the department concerning their method of teaching. 72 Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 73 (3) High-school teachers are subject-minded. There is jealousy between departments and a tendency to carry on propaganda through the children and through the counselors to keep up classes in the vari- ous departments. The primary motive thus is that the department may be large and flourishing rather than that the best interests of the children may be served. Assuming that this is the situation, what should the remedy be? I have the following suggestions to make : (1) That the principal be selected as heretofore with a view to his ability as an administrator and that we develop in him whatever latent ability he may have to administer supervision. (2) That three or’ four people be selected for each high school with a view to their ability as supervisors of instruction and that these constitute the supervisory staff headed by the principal and through whom he effects improvements in instruction in the school. Even the modest requirement of four to a school would be a hard one to fill in view of the shortage that exists in people who are capable of supervis- ing and the limitations imposed upon us by the salary schedule. (3) These four people could each be responsible for the improve- ment of instruction in a group of departments. I suggest the follow- ing as a tentative grouping: (a) Those departments that have to do primarily with preparing children for vocations. (b) Those departments that are concerned primarily with that which is artistic in nature ; such as art, music, possibly dramatic art. (c) Classes in subjects which are spoken of as academic and that constitute the core of the college preparatory courses. (d) Those departments and activities that have to do with the health of the child, such as physical education, health and sani- tation, cafeteria. These four people would each one handle the work of the depart- ments all in the interest of adjusting of the school program to the needs of the boys and girls. They would need to have special ability or training in two lines: (1) Special ability and training in the subject matter of the one or more of the departments within the group. (2) Special ability and training in dealing with teachers in a supervisory relationship. The advantages of such a type of organization are as I see them as follows: 74 Department of Secondary-School Principals (1) It permits the principal of a large high school to function as an administrator of supervision. (2) It recognizes the fact that supervision of instruction is a job for people who are especially fitted by nature and training for this highly important and very difficult task. By limiting the number of whom this task is required to four, it is more probable that competent individuals can be secured even at the present salary schedule than where we attempt to provide ten or fifteen people as heads of depart- ments. 7 (3) These three or four people working with the principal of the school are concerned primarily with building up the school as a whole and not with the building up of any particular department. They can organize instruction of the school in relationship to the needs of the children much better than could a conference of heads or could the principal himself. (4) The difficulties of adjustment of children’s programs due to jealousies of departments could be minimized. (5) The organization of the school would be more nearly in line with the objectives of secondary education since the subject groups conform in a general way to the most important of these objectives. These four heads of groups of departments should probably de- vote at least one-half their time to supervision and in the larger high _ schools probably all their time. I do not believe that it would cost any more than we are now spending for what we call supervision. The clerical duties attendant upon the administration department could probably be assumed by the different members of the department, each one a year at a time, thus setting aside no time for other than teaching duties. If there are clerical duties which they could not perform, it would probably pay to employ a clerk to attend to these matters. Galen Jones, Assistant Superintendent of Schools of Tulsa, Okla- homa read his paper, The Functions of the Junior High School in a Democracy. THE FUNCTIONS OF THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN A DEMOCRACY GALEN JoNEs, ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT IN CHARGE OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS, TuLsa, OKLAHOMA The subject under discussion bespeaks first of all for a treatment of the characteristics of a democracy. In the second place the topic Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 75 demands an analysis of the functions of the junior high school. Then with these two fundamentals in mind there is a call for a critical evaluation of the means by which the functions of the junior high school are and can best be realized in a democracy. One of the most challenging presentations of the significance of a democracy from the standpoint of education is that given in Part I of Philip W. L. Cox’s “Creative School Control.” He very color- fully points out that not only political democracy, but economic and social democracy are set up as the goal in the Preamble of the Con- stitution. He further notes that the hopes of the founders have not been fulfilled, and that even our political democracy has not yet proved itself. Then comes the challenge, “Whatever our personal predilections we are schoolmasters in the service of the republic and as such we are definitely committed to a whole-souled effort to make the program of democracy succeed. If it fails, failure must not have been caused through negligence on the part of the schools, supported as they are for the very purpose of assuring the success of democ- racy.” ? The writer cannot do better in attempting to define democracy than cite the definition given in the bulletin, “Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education.” This document asserts that: “The purpose of democracy is so to organize society that each member may develop his personality primarily through activities de signed for the well-being of “his fellow members and of society as a whole. “This ideal demands that human activities be placed upon a high level of efficiency ; that to this efficiency be added an appreciation of the significance of these activities and loyalty to the best ideals in- volved ; and that the individual choose that vocation and those forms of social service in which his personality may develop and become most effective. For the achievement of these ends democracy must place chief reliance upon education. “Consequently, education in a democracy, both within and without the school, should develop in each individual the knowledge, interests, ideals, habits, and powers whereby he will find his place and use that place to shape both himself and society toward ever nobler ends.” * 1Cox, Philip W. L. Creative School Control, J. B. Lippincott Company, 1927, p. 11. tCardinal Principles of Secondary Education, Bulletin, 1918, No. 35 Gov- ernment Printing Office, Washington. p. 9. 76 Department of Secondary-School Principals James Russell Lowell once made an observation about democracy that makes heavy demands on the schools when he said: “Democracy is that form of society, no matter what its political classification, in which every man has a chance, and knows that he has a chance.” I believe that it can be shown that the junior high school has enhanced this chance of which James Russell Lowell speaks. The movement for the reorganization of secondary education in the United States is one of the bright chapters in our educational history. Contrary to superficial observers. who.still characterize the junior high school as a fad, this unit of our schools came into being actuated by clearly defined motives and purposes. The story of this develop- ment is most clearly told by Dr. William A. Smith in his “The Junior High School.” The junior high school came into existence as the result of the purposes and aims promulgated and urged by early leaders. The point here emphasized is that before the establishment of the first junior high school there was developed a clearly defined and widely accepted group of purposes for the proposed new unit. Fortunately along with the rapid growth of the junior high-school movement there has been a steady refinement of statement and func- tion. This presentation does not presume to add to or restate the pur- poses and functions of the junior high school. It is within the province of this discussion, however, to consider those functions which appeal to the writer as primary to the junior high school. Practically every student of this new unit of our educational or- ganization has argued first of all for the importance of furnishing a suitable educational environment for the early adolescent. The im- plication is that in such a school the subject matter, the methods of learning, and the use of the life of the school for educative purposes would be largely determined by the needs of the early adolescent. By means of a school better suited to the adolescent age and based on a recognition of the nature of the child it was averred that America would realize a truly democratic school system. This new school would check the withdrawal of pupils from grades seven, eight, and nine ; it would economize time for the able; it would recognize indi- vidual differences; it would provide the educational and vocational 1Smith, William A, The Junior High School, The Macmillan Company, Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 77 guidance so greatly needed; it would socialize. all activities of the school and make them like life; and thus make for a democracy of opportunity. In the judgment of the writer, however, the most adequate and comprehensive statement of the aims and functions of the junior high school is that given by Dr. Thomas H. Briggs in Volume X of The Classroom Teacher, pages 28-59. A brief résumé of the five func- tions as delineated in The Classroom Teacher is, therefore, the most satisfactory for the purposes of this paper. The first function of the junior high school, then, is “to continue, in so far as it may seem wise and possible, and in a gradually lessen- ing degree, common integrating education.” That there is much de- sirable common education too advanced for children of the elementary school to value and comprehend ; that people are bound together by common knowledge, common ideals, and common prejudices; and many other similar statements are implied in this function. The second function lays upon the junior high school the responsi- bility “to ascertain and reasonably to satisfy pupil’s important imme- diate and assured future needs.” The emphasis is upon immediate values in contrast with the old education which has been largely aimed toward deferred values. Proper account of the increasing interest span which becomes manifest during adolescence demands, also, that the future needs which are assuredly needs must be included for provision. Further guides in answering the question as to what are immediate and assured future needs are found in Dr. Briggs now famous theses ; namely : The first duty of the school is to teach children to do better the desirable things that they will do anyway. Another duty of the school is to reveal higher activities and to make them both desired and to an extent possible. So far as possible every subject should be organized so that it is valuable to the extent which it is pursued. The third function proposes that the junior high school “explore by means of materials in themselves worthwhile the interests, apti- 78 Department of Secondary-School Principals tudes, and capacities of pupils.” This function presumes that inter- ests are the most important things which anyone can acquire, that both interests and capacities are highly individual, and that the junior high school was evolved primarily systematically to seek out these interests, aptitudes and capacities. The fourth function would have the junior high school seek “to reveal to pupils, by materials otherwise justifiable, the possibilities in the major fields of learning.” The old high school did some revealing, but it was largely incidental, came too late for many, and was based in the main on deferred values. This function recognizes that it is not democratic to leave the pupil entirely on his own, but that teachers and the administration are obligated consciously to endeavor to re- veal these possibilities through the medium of the regular course of study. The fifth function asserts that the junior high school must as- sume responsibility “to start each pupil on the career which, as a re- sult of the exploratory courses, he, the school, and his parents are convinced is most likely to be of profit to him and to the investing state.” This is assuredly the most challenging of the functions, and more will be remarked of it later in this discussion. The writer accepts the five functions above reviewed as the most satisfactory statement yet available. No apologies are made for not attempting to create a statement of the functions of the junior high school which is unique and original. In the first place I would likely not succeed. On the other hand, I have a profound conviction that that which is most needed is not new statements of the philosophy of the junior school, but rather the carrying into fuller operation of those already so challengingly stated. The next greatest need in the junior high school movement is to catch up in actual practice with the best that we know concerning what the functions of our unit are. Consequently, my efforts thus far in this presentation have been eclectic, and deliberately so. The remainder of this discussion is ad- dressed to those practices which, in my judgment, are most likely to bring actual operation more nearly in line with stated functions. During the early period of junior high-school development much was said and written concerning the so-called exploratory or broaden- @ da me ee ae a a Oo ee ee. ee ee r- at or se oe SS Se Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 79 ing and finding courses. Such offerings, no doubt, have been of great value, and will continue to serve useful purposes in the junior high- school program of studies. The course in general language is typical of exploratory courses which will undoubtedly persist. In the judg- ment of the writer, however, there have been some losses accrued from the emphasis given to short unit broadening and finding courses. All too frequently teachers and principals have relied solely on these spe- cial courses to carry out the exploratory and revealing functions of the junior high school. As a result little conscious endeavor has been made to so arrange the work in English, social studies, general mathe- matics, science, and languages that they reveal and explore. One of the most difficult yet significant challenges before the junior high school is that of writing courses of study in all fields offered so as to reveal to pupils the possibilities in the major fields of learning, as well as studiously to explore pupil interests, aptitudes, and capacities. Of course, as the functions insist, this would be done by means of material otherwise justifiable and in itself worthwhile. The curricu- lum department in Tulsa is alert to this responsibility, but most of the work of actual course of study construction is still ahead of us. Nevertheless, appreciable gains in this direction are achieved when principals repeatedly lead their staffs to consider what their school is all about. For the teacher who has the vision of this new school will provide exploration and revelation even though courses of study are not available in printed form. If the junior high school’is really to assume the obligation to start each pupil on the career which is most likely to be of profit to him and to the investing state, then more must be done than most of us are doing by way of personal records. In practice we tend to deal with the pupil as he exists at a particular time without due regard to the trends of his development. No individual can be adequately under- stood save as he is viewed as an entity in time, and no cross section view of his development is sufficient for this purpose. The service which a cumulative personnel record can render in enabling us to meet this responsibility is most convincingly told in The Educational Record, Supplement, No. 8, July 1928, published by the American Council on Education. After studying all available forms and con- templating the creation of our own form, the administration in Tulsa has begun the installation of the American Council on Education: Cumulative Record Folder for Secondary-School Students. 80 Department of Secondary-School Principals Concurrent with the development of courses of study which are designed to achieve the functions of the junior high school and the installation of scientific records which reveal pupil tendencies and achievements, there is a genuine need for increased guidance service. Many junior high schools have now included among their core re- quirements life-career classes or courses in occupational information. This is well, especially as we develop intrinsically worthwhile mate- rial and have it so presented as to make these courses peers in measur- able returns with the older, more respectable subjects. Much remains to be done, though, in providing sufficient counselling service so that each pupil may have the opportunity of an interview with a competent counselor at least once each semester. A conference, where the coun- selor has the use of comprehensive cumulative personnel records, is charged with incalculable value to the junior high-school pupil. It is impossible to write courses of study in line with stated func- tions, to secure the data which vitalizes a cumulative record, and to realize the value of counselling service, unless there is a thorough- going professionalization of the junior high school faculty. A policy which makes no salary distinction between a junior and a senior high- school assignment is of basal importance. In any event the principal is a social engineer who should lead his staff to repeated study of the functions of the unit to which they are devoting their lives. Teachers, administrators, students of education need to become “time thinkers” in the sense proposed by L. P. Jacks, Principal of Manchester College, Oxford University, in his Glasgow lectures on “Constructive Citizenship.” We need to realize that the issues of democracy are new and fresh each day. The question in any school where good citizenship is manifest is how long will such motives and actions be apparent, be lived? How long will it last? The answer obviously is: A fine school democracy will last just so long as the parties to it (pupils, teachers, administration) are animated by the spirit of mutual loyalty, codperation, and good will. Then, too, we who teach and administer need to remember that the personnel of our pupil population is constantly changing. We need to understand, to feel the impact of new personalities, similar in traits no doubt, but eternally different, and the more enticing because of 1 Jack, L. P. Constructive Citizenship, Doubleday, Doran and Company, 1928. are the e f 1 f | Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 81 their uniqueness. I may remark again without undue repetition that it is this awareness in the minds and hearts of teachers which is funda- mental to the demand for cumulative, objective personnel records, counselling and guidance. The organization, the machinery for pupil guidance may be present, yet unless the principal and teachers of the junior high school are forever conscious of the functions of the junior high school and live them out in daily contact with the youth, then all is “sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” The philosophy of the junior high school must be continuously refreshed, revived in the minds of all whose duty it is to administer and teach at this level. It is valuable occasionally to review the his- torical background of the junior high school and to reconsider the courageous thinking which brought the new school into being. In no other way will teachers habitually carry into application the idealism, the dynamic functions of the junior high school. To integrate, to satisfy, to reveal, to explore, to guide growing, changing, glorious personalities by means of materials (subject matter, clubs, assem- blies, student participation, et cetera) in themselves worthwhile is ever the goal of this school of to-morrow. Unless this vision is cen- tral and controlling in the thought of teachers, the junior high school has ceased to exist, whatever, the external conformance with the state department of education standards may be. As Dr. Jacks so well points out in applying time-thinking to social affairs, no institution or system, no matter how theoretically perfect, will function, will achieve its ends, will survive the fluctuations of human desire, unless we can find for the working of it, the guidance of it, the administration of it, that type of character described by the familiar word “trustee.” The “trustee” is the type of citizen who accepts a vocation, whatever that may chance to be, as a trust com- mitted to him, and who can be trusted and freely trusted, to carry out the work he undertakes with the utmost skill and fidelity the case admits of. The principal of a junior high school who is a trustee and who leads a faculty that are trustees of the responsibility placed in them to carry into continuously changing effect the objectives which the new school was created to perform for and with youth, will not give verbal obeisance to the functions above presented, but will live them out in the vitalized, pulsing atmosphere of the real junior high school. 82 Department of Secondary-School Principals The last paper of the morning session, The Ohio Program of Guidance for Junior High Schools, was read by Professor D. H. Eikenberry, Professor of School Administration, Ohio State Uni- versity. THE OHIO PROGRAM OF GUIDANCE FOR JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS D. H. ErkeEnBERRY, DrrEcTOR OF GUIDANCE, Oun10 STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND PROFESSOR OF ScHoot ADMINISTRATION, OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY The purpose of this paper is to present in some detail the program of guidance for junior high schools that is being developed by the Ohio State Department of Education. Since the plans for the junior high school are part of a comprehensive program for both elementary and secondary schools it is essential first of all to present a picture of the entire program that has been projected. Following a state conference on guidance at Columbus, January 30, 1930, a Division of Guidance was created in the State Department of Education. This Division began functioning in April with a series of conferences under the chairmanship of Dr. E. E. Lewis, Chairman of the Department of School Administration of the Ohio State Uni- versity, and Chairman of a State Advisory Committee on Guidance appointed in February by Dr. J. L. Clifton, State Director of Educa- tion. Through these conferences the nature and scope of the guidance program to be developed and promoted by the State Department of Education were decided upon. The members of the conference group were agreed from the beginning that the concept of guidance should be a broad one—one not limited to vocational aspects alone. The conception of guidance held by the State Department of Edu- cation is set forth in a bulletin entitled Guidance in Ohio Schools— Its Needs and the Program of the State Department of Education. In this bulletin the term guidance refers to all those activities of the school and of the school’s codperating agencies that provide oppor- tunities to pupils for self-discovery and for self-realization. For pur- poses of convenience all guidance activities have been grouped under six headings: (1) Educational, (2) Health, (3) Social-civic, (4) Ethical, (5) Avocational or leisure-time, and (6) Vocational. Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 83 The complete program calls for much research, for the establish- ment of guidance training in teacher training institutions, for codpera- tion with extra-school agencies, and for a series of manuals that will bring definite aid to every school in the state. The first manual, en- titled An Introduction to Guidance, was published in August, 1930. The second one which sets up a program of guidance for grades seven to twelve and concerning which this paper is chiefly concerned is par- tially complete at the present time (February, 1931). The remaining manuals in the series projected are as follows: . A manual describing educational opportunities in colleges and universities. . A manual describing educational opportunities in institutions of less than college or university rank. . A manual outlining a program of guidance for grades one to six. . A manual showing the opportunities for guidance through the various subjects of instruction. . A manual describing guidance plans in operation in various cities and counties of the United States. . A manual showing the contribution of various extra-school agencies to guidance. . A manual showing the opportunities for guidance through extra-curriculum activities. . A manual showing the contribution of standard tests and measurements to guidance. 11. A manual showing the contribution of mental hygiene to guidance. 12. A manual for the guidance of young men and women in rural districts who are still undecided concerning their life careers. 13. A manual for use in correctional and penal institutions in the state. The program for junior and senior high schools is being devel- oped in Guidance Manual Number 2 from plans prepared shortly after the Division of Guidance came into existence. This program is based on the assumption that guidance is a fundamental part of all education, and that as such guidance will function maximally only when the rank and file of classroom teachers accept it as a part of their daily work. Larger schools can and often do employ special 84 Department of Secondary-School Principals counselors; the middle sized and small schools cannot do so. The State Department has proceeded on the idea that if guidance is to be- come a part of the educational activities of junior and senior high schools the plan must be one that every school, large and small, can actually use. The first approach, then, was in the direction of a non- technical program which every school could immediately place in operation in whole or in part. The six-year program is based further on the idea that all guidance activities, regardless of classification, can be grouped into two broad divisions. In the first division are those activities that can be organized into group instruction units and definitely scheduled somewhere in the junior or senior high school program. Examples of guidance activities belonging in this division are: (1) Orienting the seventh grade pupil in the junior high school, (2) Giving pupils information concerning educational and occupational opportunities, (3) Teaching pupils to evaluate in terms of their own personal problems the things they have learned in classroom, in extra-curriculum activities and out-of-school experiences, and (4) Teaching pupils the problems involved in secur- ing a college education. In the second division are those activities that are purely personal in nature and which demand the personal attention of a home room teacher or counselor. These latter are the problems that constitute a large part of the work of the counselor, the dean of boys and the dean of girls. . The major problem in the development of the present program has been to organize for each of grades seven to twelve the activities of the first division that seem to be most appropriate to pupil needs. The whole program is based on the idea that through appropriate activities beginning in the first year of the junior high school it is possible semes- ~ ter by semester to build in the minds of the pupils, ideas and ideals that will function in the direction of intelligent and independent choices of future educational work, of life careers, of leisure-time occupations, of proper modes of conduct, and of other desirable life activities. The present program, then is limited in scope to those guidance activities which can be carried out through group discussions supple- mented by individual projects—to the activities that every intelligent and energetic teacher can use profitably in schools large or small with home room or classroom groups of pupils. Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 85 The State Department believes that if guidance work is to be effec- tive, manuals must be placed in the hands of pupils as well as in the hands of teachers. Mere outlines will not suffice, consequently the manuals are being developed in semi-textbook fashion. Our ideas have been gleaned from a variety of sources. Among these are the Manual of Administration and the Home Room Manuals of the Tulsa Central High School, the Manual of Activities and Administration of the Win- field, Kansas, Junior-Senior High School, the New York State Depart- ment of Education bulletin on the Study of Educational and Occupa- tional Opportunity, the Pennsylvania State Department of Education bulletin on School Opportunities, and the Boston Plan for Group Counseling in Intermediate Schools. In drafting the plans for the six-year program we first endeavored to select appropriate themes for each of the six years, and for each semester within each year. These grade and semester themes are as follows: SEVENTH GraDE—OvrR JuNIoR HicgH ScHOOL AND Its OPPORTUNITIES B—The Junior High School and Our Individual Problems A—Our Opportunities in the Junior High School ErcgHtH GrADE—Ovur AMERICAN SCHOOLS AND THEIR OPPORTUNITIES o B—Our American Schools A—Opportunities for Continuing Our Education NintH GrRADE—OvuR PREPARATION FOR THE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL B—Our Occupational Opportunities A—Choosing A Senior High-School Curriculum TENTH GRADE—CHOOSING Our LIFE Work B—Our Opportunities in Trades, Home making, Agriculture, Transportation and Communication A—Our Opportunities in Business, Professions, and Public Serv- ice ELEVENTH GRADE—OUvR PROBLEMS OF LEISURE AND Home MEMBERSHIP B—Our Use of Leisure Time A—Worthy Home Membership 86 Department of Secondary-School Principals TWELFTH GRADE—PREPARING FOR Our FuTurE EDUCATION AND Our Lire Work B—Choosing Our Occupation and Our College A—Entering Our Occupation and Our College The purpose of the seventh grade manual, Our Junior High School and Its Opportunities, is to provide for pupil orientation in the junior high school. To the majority of pupils the junior high school is an entirely new institution. In beginning the seventh grade there is a very definite need on their part for information that will reveal to them the purposes and the opportunities of this new school. The work of the seventh grade attempts to do this through emphasizing in Seven B the junior high school and its relationship to the individual prob- lems of pupils, and in Seven A through consideration of the ways in which pupils may profit most from their school. The Seven B work begins with a backward glance at the elemen- tary school and with a consideration of some of the changes that have taken place in our school system since the fathers and mothers of our pupils attended school. The next two lessons are concerned with the purposes of junior high schools and senior high schools. Then fol- lows a series of lesson units devoted to a detailed study of the things pupils need to learn about their own school. The first of these is con- cerned with the junior high school building and grounds, the next with the junior high school program of studies, the next with the junior high school faculty. Then follow in order lessons dealing with rules, regulations and courtesies of the school, school customs and traditions, provisions of the school for health and safety, the examination system and the marking system, and the program of extra-curriculum activities. Throughout all of these lesson units there is one outstanding purpose: namely, to orientate and accustom the junior high school boy and girl quickly to his new school and his new surroundings. Progress in the junior high school is dependent to no small extent upon the promptness and completeness with which every pupil is made acquainted with the rules, regulations, customs, traditions, practices, and opportunities of the school. Following these informational units are two which provide for self-analysis on the part of the Seven B pupils. In the first of these all pupils will use a very simple self-analysis blank designed to lead them to see the relationships between their own interests, aptitudes, a ee, ee, ei Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 87 and capacities and their future educational, social, civic, ethical, avoca- tional, and vocational careers. The second has as its purpose the leading of the pupils to a realization of the fact that even now they have important problems which they must recognize and which it is the purpose of the school to help them solve. For purposes of con- venience, these problems are classified as health, educational, social- civic, ethical, avocational or leisure-time, and vocational. A definite consideration of these six problems is a very important part of the guidance work of each semester. The work of the Seven B grade ends with an attempt to tie up everything that has been learned in regular courses of studies, in extra-curriculum activities, and in experiences out of school with the individual guidance problems of the pupils, and with a detailed con- sideration of their individual program for the Seven A semester. These concluding units which are common to all of the six semesters of the junior high school will be described in a later paragraph. The lesson units in the Seven A semester center around the idea of learning how to use the opportunities presented in the junior high school. The first lesson deals with the problem of using school time wisely. Emphasis is placed upon the waste of indecision, upon the value of a daily plan of work, upon the items that must be considered in planning the use of our time, and upon the value of punctuality and regular school attendance. This lesson is followed by one that at- tempts to lead the pupils to see that they have many things to learn from their classroom teachefs in addition to subject matter. Next follows a consideration of home room activities and how pupils can profit most from them. Attention is paid to the leaders in a home room, their qualifications, and their duties. The outstanding purpose of this unit is to lead the pupils to discover the many opportunities for self-development they have in home room activities. The next unit shows pupils how they can profit most from their subjects of instruction. The emphasis here is placed first upon rea- sons for studying the various secondary-school subjects: English literature and language, mathematics, science, social studies, Latin, modern foreign language, art, music, industrial arts, household arts, agriculture, commercial subjects, and physical education. It is empha- sized that each of these subjects has four very important contribu- tions to make: (1) In helping each student to have a better under- 88 Department of Secondary-School Principals standing of himself; (2) In helping him to solve his own personal problems; (3) In revealing to him new opportunities for future study ; and (4) In giving him an appreciation of the contribution of the subject to the civilization of the world. The lesson unit that follows is devoted to the use of the school and public libraries. The materials of the unit are organized around the following topics: (1) The library and the way its materials are classi- fied and arranged, (2) The library catalogue, (3) The book, (4) The dictionary, (5) The encyclopedia, (6) Magazine indexes, and (7) Reference books. The purpose of this lesson is to make the pupils as thoroughly acquainted as possible with all of the opportunities afforded by our school and public libraries, and with the procedures that are necessary in order to use these opportunities effectively. The remaining informational units of the Seven A semester are devoted to a study of how pupils may profit most from their school clubs, school publications, assemblies, dramatics, debating, student council activities, social activities, and their games and sports. In this last unit especial emphasis is placed upon the great desirability of every boy and girl learning to participate actively in games and sports which they can hope to carry over into adult life. Emphasis is also placed upon the rules of the major sports, upon the rules of the state athletic association, and upon the code of sportsmanship that should govern at athletic and other contests. The theme for the eighth grade is Our American Schools and Their Opportunities. The work for this grade is based on the assump- tion that our pupils need to become intelligent about our American schools and their many opportunities. For several generations in our courses in history we have been teaching our pupils a great many de- tails concerning the funding of the national debt, Westward expan- sion, the Civil War and Reconstruction, economic development in the latter part of the nineteenth century, but very seldom have we taught our pupils much, if anything, concerning the American public school system of which they are now a part. Although we look upon our public school system as perhaps the most thoroughly democratic in- stitution we have developed in America the great majority of our boys and girls leave our schools without an appreciation of the struggles the American people have gone through to build up this school system, without an appreciation of their own responsibility toward our schools of acc sys —_ eC CU hr Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 89 and school support, and without information concerning the many opportunities for continuing their education that exist regardless of the time at which they quit school. The lesson units in the Eight B semester provide for a discussion of the following topics: (1) How our American schools developed ; (2) Our elementary schools; (3) Our junior high schools; (4) Our senior high schools; (5) Our colleges and universities; (6) Our schools compared and contrasted with European schools; (7) How- our schools are controlled and supported; (8) Survey of our local school system; (9) The school system of Ohio, and (10) The obliga- tion of all citizens toward our schools and school support. The mere statement of these lesson units sounds very formidable. It must be understood that the materials included in these lessons are being organized in very simple and elementary terms. No attempt is made to go into great detail any more than one would in a course in history or geography for the same grade of pupils. The object is to give pupils a broad view of our American schools, of our Ohio school system, and of their own local school system. Using the unit dealing with the school system of Ohio, as an ex- ample, the following topics are included: (1) The state department of education; (2) Our system of elementary schools; (3) Our sys- tem of secondary schools; (4) Our system of higher schools; (5) Education in special institutions; and finally (6) The Ohio system compared with the school systems of other states. The section of this unit dealing with the state department of education brings informa- tion to the pupils concerning the objectives and organization of the state department. The pupil learns that the state department has specialists on its staff who devote their time and energies to such things as elementary education, high-school inspection, health and physical education, music, home economics, agriculture, parental edu- cation, scholarship contests, guidance, and film censorship. The chief justification for these units is the belief that the support of our schools in the future will depend largely upon our success in acquainting the present generation of school pupils with our school system, its problems, and the obligations of every American citizen toward this system. 90 Department of Secondary-School Principals In Ohio all pupils are required by law to remain in school until the sixteenth birthday. By the time the eighth grade is reached many pupils have arrived or will soon arrive at the age when the law will permit them to quit. Knowing that many will drop out just as soon as permitted, we have concluded that one of the important services that we can render to these people is to give them a bird’s-eye view of educational opportunities that they can pursue later if they choose. The work of this semester, however, begins with a consideration of the importance of stayingin school through the junior high school, through the senior high school, and through college or university. The next two units deal with opportunities in the senior high school and in colleges and universities. Then follows a series of lessons which re- veal the opportunities for continuing an education on the part of those who do not continue in high school. These lesson units are as follows: (1) Opportunities in our business schools; (2) Opportunities in our vocational schools; (3) Opportunities in our public night schools; (4) Opportunities in our private night schools; (5) Opportunities in part-time and continuation schools; (6) Opportunities in schools conducted by trades and industries ; (7) Opportunities in correspond- ence schools; (8) Opportunities in extension courses; (9) Oppor- tunities in libraries and museums; (10) Opportunities in radio edu- cation; and finally (11) A study of the educational opportunities in the pupil’s own community. Taking the lesson dealing with opportunities in schools conducted by trades and industries as an example, the discussion centers around the following topics: (1) Types of schools conducted by trades and industries; (2) The purposes of these schools; (3) The entrance requirements ; and (4) Occupations for which preparation may be made. In the discussion of types of schools, the pupil gets an ac- quaintance with apprentice and corporation schools. He learns, for example, something of the opportunities that exist in the training schools conducted by such industries as The Standard Oil Company, The Goodyear Tire Company, The Ohio Bell Telephone Company, and The Dennison Manufacturing Company. When the ninth grade is reached the pupil has arrived at the point where he is looking forward to entrance to the senior high school or to leaving school and going to work. The emphasis in this grade is on preparation for the senior high school. However, it is recognized Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 91 that a considerable number of pupils will not enter the senior high school, or if they do will drop out shortly after entrance. Both groups must be taken care of in any plan of guidance. The work of the Nine B semester centers around occupational opportunities and that of the Nine A semester around the choosing of a senior high-school cur- riculum. In this grade definite and specific consideration must be given to occupational information. In the tenth grade the pupil will select from curricula organized with vocational goals in view. In order to choose a senior high-school curriculum wisely, the pupil needs, then, to have a background of occupational information. The Nine B plan calls for a consideration of eight different occupational groups; namely, (1) Skilled trades, (2) Homemaking and allied occupations, (3) Agricultural occupations, (4) Transportation and communica- tion, (5) Business, (6) Professions, (7) Public service, and (8) Un- skilled and semi-skilled occupations. It is obvious that these occupa- tional groups can not be studied in detail, but sufficient time must be given to them in order that pupils secure sufficient information upon which to base the choice of a senior high-school curriculum. For those not planning to enter the senior high school this general survey of occupations will be of equal value. The work of the Nine B semester begins with a lesson dealing with the question “Why We Need to Know More About Occupa- tions.” In this unit it is emphasized that all of us must prepare for some worthwhile occupation in life, that there are many different occupations, that this is an age of extreme specialization, and that a background of knowledge concerning occupations is essential to the planning of a senior high-school curriculum and to the choosing of an occupation. The next eight lesson units are concerned with oppor- tunities in the eight fields prevoiusly mentioned. In each one of the lesson units devoted to occupational groups the discussion is concerned with the important occupations included, the status of the occupational group, working conditions, the possibili- ties for advancement and promotion, social standing and conditions of workers in the field, regularity and permanency of employment, financial returns, services performed, necessary personal character- istics, and the training required. 92 Department of Secondary-School Principals In the Nine A semester the chief problem is the providing of information concerning the senior high school and its work. The plan calls for a consideration of the different kinds of senior and four-year high schools, for a study of the way in which high schools are or- ganized, and for a study of the more common high-school curricula. Included here is an intensive study of the college preparatory curricu- lum, the commercial curriculum, the household arts curriculum, the industrial arts curriculum, and the agriculture curriculum. Special attention is given to the particular high school that the pupils are to enter. For purposes of orientation, a study is made, in addition to the study of curricula, of the customs and traditions of the senior high school, its rules and regulations, its examination and marking system, its extra-curriculum activities, and its other special features. The college preparatory curriculum is discussed under the follow- ing headings: (1) The purpose of the college preparatory curriculum, (2) Occupations to which the college preparatory curriculum leads, (3) Entrance requirements to the Ohio college and universities, (4) A detailed study of the college preparatory curriculum of the local high school. In the other curricula the same plan is followed ; namely, (1)A discussion of the purpose of the curriculum, (2) A list of some of the occupations to which the curriculum leads, (3) Examples of the curriculum, and (4) A detailed consideration of the particular curriculum in the local senior high school. The last lesson unit in the Nine A grade is concerned with the choice of curricula and courses of study for the senior high school. The pupil is guided in this lesson unit in the choosing of a particular curriculum and in the choice of his complete program for grades ten, eleven, and twelve. Throughout the six semesters the last four units are the same in their nature. First, a lesson unit which deals with the contribution of the courses of study of the current semester to an understanding of the pupil’s own interests, aptitudes, and capacities, to the solving of his individual problems, to the opening of future possibilities in school and in life, and to an understanding of the importance of these subjects in the civilization of the world. At the beginning of the semester the pupil is instructed that throughout the semester he should be constantly thinking of the various things he is learning in his courses of study in their relationship to the development of new in- EE a ee a a rs WO = © CO = VS YS OORT Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 93 terests, the discovery of aptitudes and capacities, and of their help in the solving of his health, educational, social-civic, leisure-time, ethical, and vocational problems. Second, a lesson unit dealing with the contribution of extra- curriculum activities. At the beginning of the semester the pupil is instructed that he is to think critically all through the semester of the things that he is learning in the various extra-curriculum activities in which he participates concerning the contributions of those activities to an understanding of himself, the solving of his problems, and the revealing of future opportunities. Third, a lesson unit which deals with the contribution of out-of- school experiences to an understanding of the pupil’s interests, apti- tudes, and capacities, to the solving of his individual problems, and to the opening of future possibilities. The purpose here is to lead the pupil to see that every experience may be and probably is of definite value to him. Fourth, a lesson unit which attempts to bring to a focus.every thing that has been learned during the semester. “This focusing re- sults in the selection of individual programs for the semester that lies just ahead. Before the choices are made, the pupils make a detailed study of the required and elective subjects in the work of the next semester, give consideration to all of the factors that should guide them in the choice of electives, and finally, under their home room or guidance teacher, determine their programs. In working out the detailed plans for those grade manuals, each unit has been organized in five different divisions or parts. The first part is called the statement of the problem. It usually consists of two or three paragraphs written directly to the pupil for the purpose of motivating the study and discussion that are to follow. The second part of the unit is called the development of the problem. This usually consists of a discussion outline and in many cases of several para- graphs of text. The third part of the unit consists of a number of study questions which are designed to stimulate thinking in terms of the pupil’s own relationship to the problem of the unit. The fourth part is a list of individual and group projects. These are prepared for the purpose of carrying both the teachers and the pupils beyond the activities contained in the discussion outline. By skillful use of 94 Department of Secondary-School Principals the questions and projects contained in the manual together with additional ones suggested by the teacher and pupil the activities can be greatly extended, especially in the direction of individual interests and needs. Part five consists of lists of references for the pupil and for the teacher. Assuming that the junior high school makes an earnest endeavor to use the material that is being planned, the junior high-school pupil should have accomplished the following things by the close of the Nine A semester: (1) He should have become intelligent about the junior and senior high school with respect to their purposes and op- portunities ; (2) He should have a useful fund of information con- cerning our American school system which will make him a more intelligent supporter of public education; (3) He should have ac- quired efficient techniques of study; (4) He should have a much clearer understanding of his own interests, aptitudes, and capacities ; (5) He should have a fund of occupational information upon which to base the choice of a senior high school curriculum or the choice of an occupation if he is leaving school; (6) He should have estab- lished a method of evaluating his regular subjects of instruction, his extra-curriculum activities, and his out-of-school experiences in terms of the contribution of these things to his own personal problems. If these things have been secured reasonably well, he is ready to enter the senior high school in an intelligent way. In the senior high school guidance activities will be concerned largely with the choosing of a life work, and with the acquiring of information that will function as leisure-time, social, and ethical guid- ance. The last year of the senior high school will be devoted to an intensive consideration of the choice of a college, the choice of an occupation and the preparation that is necessary for entering college and entering an occupation. At the present time the state department has in print the eighth grade manual entitled Our American Schools and Their Opportuni- ties. This manual has been distributed to all of the high schools of the state and to all of the schools that have an eighth grade. The manuscripts have been cor pleted for the seventh and ninth grade manuals. These will be printed just as soon as funds for printing can be made available. Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 95 For the present, the state department of education is recommend- ing that the activities outlined in the manual be administered in one of the following ways: (1) Through special guidance courses regu- larly scheduled two or three times each week as a part of the work of each pupil, or (2) Through two or three 30-40 minute home room periods each week. Attention of administrators is called to the fact that in either case the instruction must be in charge of teachers who believe that pupil guidance is a fundamental function of education. Success in each semester’s work will attend the efforts of teachers who live with the pupils through the activities outlined in the manual and through the other activities outlined by the guidance group. The division of guidance of the state department of education has stimulated a great amount of interest in guidance on the part of city, village, and county school systems. A number of school systems have already undertaken guidance work in the junior high school, basing their efforts upon a detailed mimeographed outline from which our grade manuals are being developed. It is expected that a number of schools will be ready at the beginning of the school year 1931-1932 to enter into a codperative experiment for the purpose of determining the worth of the present manuals. The state department realizes that these manuals are experimental only and tentative in form, but it also believes that out of its present and future efforts will come in due course of time a program of guidance for junior high schools and senior high schools that will reach in effective manner every high school boy and girl in Ohio. Department of Secondary-School Principals SECOND SESSION The second session of the junior high-school section was held in the Ballroom of Hotel Tuller on Wednesday, February 25, 1931. Principal F. R. Born of Webster Junior High School of Oklahoma City called the meeting to order at 9.40 A.M. After a brief program of music by the Detroit All-City Special Junior Orchestra, Professor James M. Glass of Rollins College, Win- ter Park, Florida, read his paper, Democratizing the Home Room. “DEMOCRATIZING THE HOME ROOM PROGRAM” James M. Grass, Ro.Litins CoLLEGE, WINTER PARK, FLORIDA Democracy is humanity’s great adventure. Education is the high- way steadily pushed forward to consolidate all advances of society upon its adventuring. To participate in advancing the frontier or in constructing the educational highway is one of the greatest rights of man. Education, however, has tardily reflected the great democratizing adventure of society. Very slowly has the concept of the teacher as the master changed to the ideal of guiding pathfinder. Only in com- paratively recent years has educational pioneering tended to trans- form the regal status of the teacher as the taskmaster to the demo- cratic status as a co-worker with youth. The setting of tasks, disciplinary domination, recitation-testing and the prerogatives of the master are slowly being replaced, as humanity’s great adventure finds its reflection in the school, by co- operation of pupils and teacher in the discovery of problems in learn- ing, pupil participation in school control, directed study, and the priority of the learner’s rights. The teacher-centered school is abdi- cating. The child-centered school is coming into its heirship. The passing of the recitation is bringing the coming of the laboratory. Gradually as the pioneering educational highway advances on the trail of society, the school, the classroom, and the teacher begin to reflect the great humanizing adventure of democracy. Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 97 The socialized curriculum, socialized classroom procedures, extra- curriculum activities, guidance, conference plans, individualized administration, creative education, and the whole kaleidoscope of comparatively recent educational experimentation are the outward symptoms of our own great adventure in democratizing educational content and procedure. Probably no single factor has contributed so largely to democratizing the secondary school as the home room movement. It is the child-centered ideal. It is a laboratory of youth’s experiences in the life of democracy. The home room and classroom duplicates of it have become the setting for all types of experiment to put into practice the philosophy * of the democratized secondary school. Extra-curriculum activities thrive in the atmosphere of a home room. Guidance places a chief dependence upon the human relationship of pupils and teacher in its natural expression in the home room. The laboratory ideal of the classroom finds its pattern in home room activities. Creative educa- tion finds its most favorable setting in the home room opportunity for pupil initiative. Character education functions concretely in the humanizing associations of the home room. Through these and other socialized procedures the home room largely conditions the enlistment of secondary education as an ally of society in the great adventure of democratizing human life. The home room is objective training in the practice of living. Thus it goes one step farther than the subjective teaching of ideals and attitudes in the traditional classroom. It provides the actual life situations for the functional conversion of ideals and attitudes into habits of right living. Home room associations are or should be natural relationships of youth with one another and with the home room counselor. The fact that youth requires a guide during the period of adolescent experiences with the problem of living should not alter the basic condition of pupil leadership, pupil participation, and practice. Initiative is the sacred right of every home room group. Guidance of the home room counselor, though indispensable, should be so unobtrusive as to be imperceptible. There has been a hazard everywhere present in the evolution of the home room idea. It arises from the delegation of sponsorship to teachers trained in traditionally subjective teaching. The home room has not yet wholly escaped this hazard of becoming exclusively cur- 98 Department of Secondary-School Principals ricularized. Many home room syllabi and outlines still partake of nature of merely curriculum practice. The home room still runs the risk of becoming only another classroom where personality traits, ideals of social relationship, and other personal, civic, and moral standards are taught subjectively as principles of right living. But democratizing the home room program as a laboratory of practice in living demands major stress upon objective training in converting these principles into habits of right living. If one’s mind is habituated to the search for one of two alternative and apparently conflicting points of view, then the home ‘room will become to such a mind either another classroom for the teaching of personal ideals and social attitudes or a social laboratory for learning by experience the art of living together. The caution we need to observe each for himself in the functional development of our philos- ophy of socialized secondary education is to hold fast to the attitude of mind willing to accept evolutionary experiment as a cumulative step of progress and not as a revolutionary change. From this point of view the new complements the old; it makes an addition—it does not demand a substitution. In the instance of the home room there apparently are to casual observations two alternatives—either another classroom for subjec- tive teaching or a new laboratory for objective learning. There will, however, inevitably come with further experimentation in home room programs a conviction that objective training in habituating ideals of conduct is the long needed complement of the subjective teaching of the ideals. It is futile to claim that we can dispense with teaching the personal and social attributes of right living. It is equally futile to claim that this subjective teaching will functionally become habituated conduct without the complementary agency of objective learning. Thus the objectified secondary school of to-day complements the sub- jectivized school of yesterday. More fully stated, the hazard which confronts the home room idea is that laboratory practice will not be added to classroom tradi- tion. Still more specifically, the danger is that after the home room program is curricularized with its appropriate outlines for creation of right ideals and attitudes, it will not be democratized as a child- centered laboratory for objective experiences in the practice of these ideals and attitudes. —— IY Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 99 The complete home room program would, therefore, comprise, first, an organized body of materials for the subjective creation of right attitudes, and, secondly, a laboratory plan of pupil activities for the objective creation of right habits. The outlines and suggestions of a director of activities would curricularize the program and pupils’ self-initiated and self-directed plan of activities would democratize the program. Our subject of “Democratizing the Home Room Program” is, accordingly, concerned with the second part of the complete program. Plans of activities will be as various as schools themselves or as home rooms within a school. We can consider only certain groups of activities within which home rooms will vary as they can and as they should. I. MosiLizATION OF HoME Rooms For AN ACTIVITIES ProGRAM. CREATING Esprit DE Corps. The election of pupil officers symbolizes the shift of initiative and activity from teacher to pupils. The almost instantaneous effect is to democratize the relationship of sponsor and class. Pupils soon come through experience to appreciate the need of systematic control of their discussions and decisions. The adoption of parliamentary prac- tice follows naturally the election of pupil officers. In consequence, two fundamental principles governing democratic society become habits of procedure in pupil association, first, putting into prac- tice the principle that “order is Heaven’s first law,” and, secondly, accepting in concrete situations the principle of the rule of the majority. Furthermore, the situation of home room organization stimulates another response which expresses itself in a written constitution for the home room or for the federation of all home rooms. Thus respect for a constitution is indoctrinated into the minds of adolescent youth by experiencing the need and value of a fundamental law in their own every day relationships. This democratized program of activities, founded upon basic constitutional law and parliamentary order, is the answer of the modern secondary school to the oft-repeated criti- cism that present-day youth lack respect for fundamental law. Six years of adolescent life under the operation of their own adopted standards of order and conduct go far toward transforming princi- ples of conduct into habits of conduct. 100 Department of Secondary-School Principals Junior citizenship in junior and senior high schools differs from adult citizenship not in kind but only in degree. Yet to those who have shared vicariously in the junior citizenship of secondary schools the reservation that it differs even in degree from adult citizenship will be questionable. When daily newspapers can reflect in adult society a higher respect for constitutional law than is to-day evident, then can secondary schools hope that the wholesome and inspiring citizenship of their youth will not be vitiated by the adult citizenship of these same adolescents .in their later disillusions with adult prac- tices. Yet, one may hope, if he dare ‘not predict, that the junior citizenship of our secondary schools of to-day, when it comes of age, will restore the respect for law which the present adult generation has so nearly lost or will enact constitutional law which will be respected. Without question, secondary schools are helpless to remedy the ills of adult society, but equally without question they can train the next generation now as youth in a type of junior citizenship which will prevent the continuance of disrespect of constitutional law into their adult citizenship. Meanwhile, more power to the home rooms of every junior and senior high school in the land, not only of the free but of the law-abiding. Let the ideals of American citizenship in- stilled in the minds of adolescent youth continue to be daily home room and school experiences until ideal is translated into habit so firmly intrenched that it will survive the test of disillusion. Creating Morale.—Another chief objective of every home room is to create morale. The loyalty of youth or adult to any organization is in proportion not to what the individual receives from it, but to what he does for it. A sense of proprietorship shared alike by pupils and teacher should characterize every home room. Dividends of morale can be declared only in ratio to deposits of service. The home room organization and program of activities should reflect the co- operative ingenuity of sponsor and class. The more originality put into the plan of activities the greater the spontaneity and enthusiasm. A principal or director of activities may formulate objectives and standardize suggestions, but neither can safely pass the point of sug- gestion. Thus far can home room programs be curricularized, but not to the extent of robbing home room teachers and classes of the thrill of initiative in devising organization or of the joy of self- expression in their own self-directed activities. Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting II. Home Room CLeARING-HousE FOR MAINTENANCE OF PERSONAL AND SOCIAL STANDARDS IN SCHOOL LIFE Each home room should become an occasional clearing-house for maintenance of right standards in home room and school life. Here again the two-fold procedure of creating these standards as ideals and of converting them into habits of conduct should be operative. Subjectively the home room teacher creates standards of scholarship, conduct, courtesy, regularity of attendance, punctuality, and pupil service to home room and school. Collectively these standards con- stitute the honor of the home room—that powerful lever of home room social discipline. Objectively the experiences of the home room class in personal and social compliance with these standards tend to habituate the ideals into home room and school practice. For example, the class report cards reveal an average falling off in some classroom work. The home room teacher inspires the pupil officers to raise the question of the causes of the lowered standard. Conditions of absence, ill health, misunderstanding of assignments, interference of excessive out-of-school interests, and other causes are revealed in the home room discussion. Remedies are proposed—a con- ference of home room teacher or pupil representatives with the class- room teacher, volunteer enlistment of home room pupils to coach one another, using home room time to strengthen classroom work, or soliciting assistance of coaching teachers. Then comes the application of the remedy. Eagerly the whole home room awaits the next report day. The graph line of the class average again resumes an upward trend. The standard of scholarship has been maintained. A new vic- tory for social codperation adds new prestige to the honor of the home room. Another example—an unfavorable report reaches the home room teacher of misconduct of the home room class. Quietly she investi- gates and ascertains the facts. No open reprimand is administered. But at the next weekly home room session chagrin is expressed that the standards of conduct and courtesy have even temporarily suffered eclipse. The responsibility to remove the stigma is thrown upon the class and their elected officers. A discussion ensues. Confessions are forthcoming in the presence of associates who participated in or wit- nessed the affair. There are admissions of responsibility and guilt which threat or plea of teacher, unaided by codperative pupil purpose 102 Department of Secondary-School Principals to support the honor of the home room, would probably not elicit. Confession is followed by regret and regret by apology. Mutual respect is restored because the guilty have regained their good stand- ing with classmates. The standard of conduct and courtesy has sur- vived the test of experience. At the beginning it was merely an ideal. Gradually through these laboratory experiences it develops into a practicable procedure to control personal and social discipline. A third example—probiems of attendance and tardiness can be solved by inter-class contests in maintaining records of regularity and punctuality. No amount of administrative checking of either can produce the effect which home room codperation to maintain stand- ards will produce. The administrator’s resource is individual. The home room teacher’s resource is social. One is mandatory and puni- tive. The other is voluntary and codperative. The first dictates by authority. The second educates by experience. Regularity and punc- tuality are ideals readily accepted by all, but habits only with those who rarely by force of will power and usually through compliance with social standards practice these virtues. Personal Guidance.—The home room clearing-house is designed not only for class guidance and adjustment of social problems but also of personal case-problems. The time of home room period can be occasionally used for diagnosis of social experiences from which arise individual case-problems. After the diagnosis comes conference of home room teacher and pupil for discovery of remedy of personal failure to comply with home room standards. The approach is not wholly personal. It makes a stronger appeal—the innate desire to deserve the respect of one’s fellows. Pringle says in his “Adolescence and High School Problems” that “the selfish instincts of the child are inhibited and finally superseded by the more social and less selfish instincts of young adolescents.” The secondary-school teacher learns through study of the psychology of adolescence and through experi- ence that adolescent youth “tend to become what those whom they respect think they are.” The home room teacher, therefore, approaches the solution of individual case-problems by way of the instinctive response of the individual to social appeal. The teacher’s strongest allies are the home room standards. These are criteria which define to the pupil “what those whom they respect think they are.” Thus the individual Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 103 is led to understand that he has deserved by personal wrong conduct the disapprobation of his classmates. He has dishonored the honor of the home room. He has lowered a standard of his own and his classmates’ choosing. He comes to desire ardently re-instatement in the respect of his associates. This repentant attitude of mind comes to him only when objective experience reveals to him personal respon- sibility to a social group. No amount of persuasion or retribution can so readily produce this voluntary eagerness to remedy personal wrong-doing. He does not grow resentful as he likely would were primitive measures alone applied to him. To claim that there are exceptions where social appeal fails does not disprove the efficacy of social control with the great majority. It only restates the truism that society, either adolescent or adult, has had and will have its incorrigibles, its custodial problems, and the other derelicts of human life. Unfortunate indeed is the secondary- school administrator who can not see the 95% body of law abiding pupils by reason of his absorption in the problems of the 5% body of lawbreakers. Most unfortunate is he because he is likely to choose for general policy authoritative procedures applied to the entire student-body, but designed only to dispose of the small minority of problem-cases and because he is likely to ignore developmental pro- cedures designed to employ personal and social experiences as chan- nels of educational growth for the great majority. Adequate Home Room Time Allotment and Freedom from too Prescriptive Supervision—This democratizing of the home room program requires two regulations on the part of principal, director of activities, and home room sponsor. First, a full period once a week should be alloted to the home room program. A brief period of a few minutes on the daily schedule inhibits the development of the mutual and intimate confidence which can result only from delib- erate and unhurried discussion. Secondly, supervision however kindly intended introduces the extraneous factor which invalidates the creation of mutual respect and intimacy of home room teacher and class. , Mrs. Emma V. Tindal, co-author of “Junior High School Life” was accustomed to free home room classes at the Holmes Junior High School, Philadelphia, from visitors during periods when prob- lems of personal and social maintenance of standards of home room 104 Department of Secondary-School Principals and school life were under discussion. She was justified in her con- viction that the intimacy of relationship of home room teacher and pupils was lost whenever a third personality was introduced. No home room teacher and no principal or director of activities can foresee the occasions when the need will arise for unsupervised home room periods. No home room teacher would respect them so frequently as to destroy their value. But the important consideration is that the administrator and supervisor must recognize that the home room counselor and class are free to depart from a scheduled program to meet emergencies whenever they do arise. Thus again the democ- ratizing of the home room program demands freedom of initiative for each home room to individualize its own activities as well as to participate in programs standardized for all home rooms. III. CoorpInaATING HoME Room PROGRAM WITH LIFE OuTSIDE THE HomME Room In many respects home rooms partake of the nature of civic service clubs. The channels of activities of both parallel outside so- cial, civic, and community interests. They both are codperating agencies to promote worthy enterprises. Accordingly, the home room is an embryonic service club. Opportunities for a home room class to codperate with other larger social groups arise through codrdinating its program with a student council, traffic and cafeteria committees, a safety first bureau, school grounds commission, athletic board, school paper staff, and with similar school organizations representative of several or all home rooms. These larger groups, through delegates or other means of communication, keep home room classes informed of their programs of service for the entire pupil body. Home rooms in open forum discussion devise ways and means for their own partici- pation and cooperation in these service enterprises. The voluntary enlistment of a home room to participate in or contribute to a school entertainment, a health crusade, a campaign for school beautification, or a project to raise funds for the library, teaches the democratic ideal that in union there is strength. Sub- jectively pupils have accepted the truth of the ideal. Objectively they discover through experience that it works. Coordinating home room activities with larger enterprises of the school provides opportunities for the wholesome friendly rivalries so Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 105 effective in sustaining lively interest. To win a banner in a school contest or campaign will create morale to a degree impossible to any other single experience in home room activities.. Nothing succeeds like success—another fact which experience teaches. This codrdina- tion of home room programs with larger school projects is an educa- tional experience which fixes in the lives of adolescent youth a conviction that codperation is the secret of social welfare. Furthermore, the coordination of a home room program extends beyond the confines of school life. It reaches out into the community and into the outside world to make contacts with larger interests. In this broader coordination arise opportunities for participation in local, national, and world events,—the celebration of holidays, Red Cross campaigns, a fire prevention drive, a safety-first program, a clean-up week, city beautiful plans, community chest subscriptions, and the many other welfare projects which democratize life. Home room classes are not content to be told or to tell about these activities for social betterment. They want to participate actively, if not by individual effort or subscription, at least by cooperative pool- ing of nickels into dollars or by uniting their worthwhile bits of help. Frequently the home room: becomes the agency to acquaint pupils with the world of work. This program of vocational guidance re- quires an organized course of study. It can be undertaken as a socialized project in which pupils individually or by committees report upon the large vocational fields and their chief sub-divisions or levels. The home room then becomes a socialized classroom or a laboratory for discussion and visualized instruction in vocational life. These vocational investigations through personal study, reports, and visits to industries constitute a program which every progressive secondary school to-day undertakes. Where home rooms are charged with the responsibility to make these vocational contacts with the out- side world, at least a second full period a week should be allotted to this vocational and educational guidance instruction. Where guidance teachers or advisers assume the responsibility, home room programs should share to the extent of discussion, debate, or dramatization of vocational life. Another type of codrdination, which is increasingly appearing in home room practices, is the integration of home room and assembly 106 Department of Secondary-School Principals programs. The assembly is made the opportunity to give inspiration and to create enthusiasm for a large school endeavor like school bank- ing or a picture fund campaign. The home room program, which is scheduled for the same or following week, is devoted to the planning of ways whereby home room pupils, individually and codperatively, can participate. Thus the assembly program provides the objective and inspiration. The home room program furnishes the practicable plan. Many secondary schools have adopted the practice, through published schedules of assembly and home room meetings, the school paper, the handbook, or other channels of broadcasting school events, of giving helpful publicity to these codrdinated home room and assem- bly activities. This publicity provides in itself another democratized activity to promote school welfare. The home room class through these and many similar experiences comes to appreciate that it is an integral unit of larger social groups ; that it is a mobilized agency for codperation with other home rooms ; that its mite of service and contribution, added to allied resources, constitutes a large sum total. Thus also the home room unit learns that the opportunity is available to enter into wholesome rivalry with other home rooms and to gain new prestige to enhance the honor of the home room. Creative Education and Character Training—The democratized home room program is a coOperative instrument to promote two other educational movements. Creative education and character training are individualized in the classroom, but they are socialized in the home room. Both creative talent and character traits require these twofold channels for individualized and socialized development. The individual pupil expresses and develops his personal creative genius by individual achievement in the classroom laboratory. On the other hand, the pupils of a home room collectively express and de- velop their social creative genius by codperative achievements in home room activities. Similarly, character building is individually developed by personal experiences of perseverance, concentration, honesty, self-dependence, and other personality traits in the classroom. Just as valuable aspects of character training are inculcated by practicing team work, loyalty to one’s fellows, sportsmanship, fellowship, sympathy, and charity in the socialized life of the home room. Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting SUMMARY No attempt is even contemplated in this paper to treat in detail the subject of democratizing the home room program. One fact above all others stands forth in the evolution of the home room—it is the individuality of each home room. These small units of individuals vary as greatly in personality and manner of expressing it as do the individuals who compose them. The principle of group differences seems to be as applicable to home rooms as the principle of individual differences is to individual pupils. No doubt this is one reason why the insistent demand for stand- ardized home room programs has gone so long largely unanswered. It is a baffling problem to standardize practices where the chief resource must be individual group initiative. This is the only alibi which the speaker can submit for a discussion restricted to the pleas—that initia- tive of home room teacher and class be allowed freedom of expression under the unobstrusive leadership of principal, director of activities, or other supervisory associate; that subjective teaching of ideal and attitude be complemented by objective learning through habituating practice of ideal and attitude ; that mobilization of each home room be effected for a working and democratic unit of organized effort; that respect for law and order be indoctrinated into the hearts of youth through their own experiences of need for constitutional law; that creation of morale become a primary purpose in every home room for the maintenance of that powerful lever of social control, the honor of the home room; that standards of control of home room and school life be objectified as the only effective means to maintain them; that the home room become the first concentric circle of ever enlarging concentric circles in social and civic life and thus promote through progressive experiences an ever enlarging social consciousness and a sense of correspondingly increasing responsibility ; that creative edu- cation and character building to be complete be both individualized in classrooms and socialized in home rooms; and finally that the great adventure of democracy, upon which society is embarked, be further paralleled by our own great adventure of humanizing educational content and procedure and of democratizing the home room, which is the heart of the modern socialized secondary school. 108 Department of Secondary-School Principals Elbert K. Fretwell of Teachers College, Columbia University, pre- sented his paper, Seven Purposes of Pupil Participation in Govern- ment in the Junior High School. SEVEN PURPOSES OF PUPIL PARTICIPATION IN GOVERNMENT* ELBert K. FRETWELL, ProFEssor OF EpucaTION, TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY If pupil participation in government is not simply a way of getting things done but a means, rather, of real education and training, any- one working in this field should think through what he is aiming to do. There is no need that all workers agree but it is necessary that what- ever the individual does should grow out of his educational philos- ophy. The writer, therefore, in accordance with this theory, before going on to analyze various types of student councils, stops to set down seven of the purposes he has in mind in considering pupil participation in government. One: Pupil participation in government provides a favorable opportunity for the pupil to have a definite purpose of his own. This purpose he must make clear to his associates through explanation if he is to get it accepted by his group. If it is his purpose, it has in it a drive for him that makes for action. Psychologically, this is the law of readiness wherein to act is satisfying and not to act is annoying. However, in working in the student council he has to present his case, to speak clearly and definitely, to an exacting audience; he has to work in accordance with orderly procedure; he must recognize the chairman, present his motion, struggle with the fickleness of public opinion, get a working committee appointed. The purpose that he has may make him strive for exactness, a completeness in result. Such action as is here described is not peculiar to student councils; it may exist and ought to exist, in regular recitation classes, but the council because of pupil responsibility is peculiarly favorable to the pupil’s having and carrying out a definite purpose. Furthermore, such action as has just been described has a very practical education and training in citizenship. Orderly, intelligent, *This paper is a summary of a book now in press, by the writer, on E-tra- Curricular Activities in the Modern High School. pre- ern- ing ny- do. jat- Os- ore set pil le 1iS if ors 2 wp Proceedings of the Detroit- Meeting 109 critical discussion cannot be carried on by a mob. The pupil, in order to get his purpose fairly and adequately considered, will be the first to insist on the observance of simple, orderly parliamentary procedure. It is necessary for him to learn the mechanics of free discussion and it is even more important that through experience he know why the forms of simple parliamentary procedures are necessary. Knowl- edge is not enough: the pupil must have practice. He can gain this practice in the small home room group, in the class organization, in the student council and finally, in the assembly of the whole school. It is this practice in carrying out a definite purpose that gives much of the intense drive that characterizes pupil effort in codperative school government. Two: Pupil participation in government tends to create a friendly feeling between teachers and pupils. The basis of this friendliness is cooperative effort. The first step here is a consideration, by pupil- representatives and teacher-advisers, of what are the conditions; second, what ought to be done; third, how can it be done; fourth, the selection of the best plan that stands at least a fair chance of being successful ; fifth, putting the plan into operation ; sixth, to what extent was the plan successful; seventh, revision of the plan for continuing it or, possibly, dropping it temporarily or permanently. The question in all this codperative planning is not what does the teacher want; rather, it is what does the situation require. If wisely directed, the work becomes objective rather than subjective. Friendliness between teachers and pupils is often a matter of personality and there is cer- tainly no desire here to disparage rich, interesting, many-sided per- sonality. However, there is a type of teacher that exploits at least some pupils on this basis. This type of teacher says or implies, “Do this please, dear, because it will make me so happy.” Government is necessary not on personality, not even on sweet personality, but on as nearly an objective basis as the group can work. Through codpera- tive effort in planning and in carrying on pupil participation in gov- ernment, friendliness on a high plane, may develop between teachers and pupils through shared experiences. This experience may enable teachers to understand and appreciate the pupils’ point of view and enable, likewise, the pupils to have a keener understanding and appreciation of the teachers’ angle of vision. The result may be that, through actual experience, all teachers and all pupils work together on a friendlier basis. 110 Department of Secondary-School Principals Three: Pupil participation in government can be psychologically remedial. The pupil may not have learned that, as Benjamin Frank- lin put it, “Vicious actions are not hurtful because they are forbidden but forbidden because they are hurtful.” Requirements of polite home behavior may have repressed perfectly natural tendencies until there are habitual attitudes of hostility toward anything that is for- bidden. Again, there is a type of pupil whose day dreams are so vivid, so distinct, that “he absolutely loses contact with the real world.” The classroom procedure is full of devices for catching and holding the attention of such pupils. Other pupils come to the school self-assertive as the result of bossing, or so inhibited from having been the victims of bossing that they are not free enough to guide themselves intelligently. As judges of juvenile courts have shown, youthful delinquents frequently come from such types of the psycho- logically unfree as have been mentioned. If there is some real parti- cipation in government, whether it is the gang in the alley, or in a group in school, the pupil may learn that the law which he helped make and which he may understand because he helped make it, does aim to forbid hurtful practices. The day dreamer, by becoming active with his fellows in creating a real world, may find this new creation more attractive than his “castles in Spain.” The boss may learn that his peers do not appreciate his superior dictation, and that if he wants to be part of the group he must play the game according to the rules. Finally, he is drawn into the group because he can have a part, though not the whole part, in making the rules. The shy little fellow, who may be simply a bundle of inhibitions, may find under wise guidance, that he can do something to contribute to the general wel- fare. It is neither good intentions nor advice on the part of adults that can do the remedial work necessary. Purposeful action of the pupil with his peers must do the work. Just enough guidance, but not too much, can help. Four: The development-of a plan of pupil participation in govern- ment is concerned with the development of attitudes in pupils, in teachers, and in administrators. There is the absolute necessity that individual, or group, opportunity be definitely associated with re- sponsibility. It is a virtue of this opportunity of pupils sharing in opportunities of government that the situation insistently demands that they do something. The pupils by nature are interested in action ; 1Greene, C. H. Psychoanalysis in the Class Room, p. 13. Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 111 ly to act is satisfying. To act in meeting the opportunity may mean to c- assume responsibility. The results of action in a school situation n usually have an immediate as well as a deferred value. Professor Bode i e defines democracy as “A social organization that aims to promote 4 il cooperation among its members and with other groups on the basis of - mutual recognition of interests.” The pupils probably see darkly : ) through the glass of their own activities, but the adult guide must see ‘ l clearly. Pupils, and, perhaps, especially American pupils, in their 4 1 idealism, inherit a belief in democracy and, to some extent, a belief in l education. Pupils under the pressure of immediate circumstances 4 are constantly desirous of modifying the form of school government and, if the guidance is wise, they can develop the attitude that they are not one hundred percenters, but that they are becoming effective in realizing what they are striving for. They are not killing the democracy they have by becoming satisfied with seemingly estab- lished forms. They are concerned with progress, with reform, with fitting their immediate society for themselves as well as fitting them- selves for society as represented in the life of the school. They are having a favorable opportunity to learn through stern necessity that the expression of their own native tendencies cannot exist except through what Professor Bode calls “codperation based on mutual recognition of interest and through progressive modification of insti- tutions and practices.” Pupils do not express themselves in the language of a professor of philosophy; they say, “Oh, you got to learn to give and take or you get thrown out,” but, painful as it some- times is, they can learn how to work together. Pupils themselves are interested in getting things done. While the guide may be interested in civic or character education and see pupil participation in government as means to this end, the pupils are inter- ested chiefly in action. They desire to organize the games, to celebrate a victory in assembly, to regulate traffic, to see that the activities in which they are especially interested, share in the school budget. Teacher-guides see in these desires a basis for enabling pupils to want better conditions and to strive codperatively to satisfy these improved wants. The working out of the attitude may establish desirable habits and ultimately result in a knowledge of how to work in situations requiring individual initiative and codperative effort. 1 Bode, B. H. Democracy and Education, Eighth Yearbook, National Asso- ciation of Secondary-School Principals, p. 123, 1924. 112 Department of Secondary-School Principals Five: Pupil participation in government tends to provide for emo- tional satisfactions. In this discussion emphasis has been placed con- stantly on practice with satisfying results with the recognition that the emotions must be included. There is the desire of most intellectual workers to be free from envy and worry and emotional disturbances. Probably most wise people desire to bring feeling under control of the intellect. “’Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.” However, the human family does not live on so high a plane. In everyday life it is usually the emotions that give the drive to human endeavor. The high-school boy or girl is guided very largely by feeling. To say that it should not be so, may be true but it does not affect the facts. There must be provision for education in right feeling in connection with right acting. It is a healthy emotional satisfaction for a pupil to share in directing affairs, in the home room, class or council ; to have one’s opinions courteously considered by one’s associates and especially by the members of one’s own group; to have the consciousness of being expected to do the right thing and to help others to do it; to be a part of an organized group that in the very nature of the situation demands one’s best effort in creating, building, promoting through cooperative effort. Action and emotion are inseparably associated. While emotional satisfactions should be provided for in the upper levels of the pupil’s range, it must be recognized that the satisfactions are satisfactions suited to youth rather than to age. Since youth can- not suddenly become old, the only hope seems to be that teachers, possibly wise in years, stay young in spirit. Six: Participation in government can make for intelligent obedi- ence to authority. There is no instinctive tendency that makes youth recognize that freedom comes through law. Even if it were desirable, there is not time, as Kipling has pointed out, “to ask for the reason of every command and argue with people about you.” In a complex world it is necessary for learners to realize that there is authority, so long as it is authority, that must be obeyed. The individual cannot know everything about everything. Authority in many things must be accepted—but accepted how? Blindly or intelligently? Authority is changing; the doctrine of the Divine Right of Kings has passed. If the pupil can have a hand in making the school laws about smoking, corridor traffic, returning report cards, parking automobiles on school ground, conduct in study hall or assembly, a point system for regulat- ing pupil participation in extra-curriculum activities, he can be more Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 113 intelligently obedient because he knows why, ‘in the opinion of the majority at least, these laws are necessary. If he has a part in making the laws it is probably true that the laws will be better enforced but this is not the fundamental idea. The primary thing is for him to’ understand why the law is necessary and that it is only through law that he can have either freedom or safety. Seven: Participation in government is a means of education. As Carl Schurz has remarked, “Self-government as an administrator is subject to criticism for many failures but it is impossible to over- estimate self-government as an educator.” Writers on the govern- ment phase of school life, however, frequently emphasize that pupil participation is “an effective way of developing and controlling the school situation ; that the intimate contact of principal and pupils in government brings to light “knowledge of many situations undis- covered by the faculty” ; that the “council takes the lead in organizing pupils to observe regulations”; that “pupils are more responsive to conventionalities’” when they have part in the government. These writers also claim that when pupils share in the government, they “re- duce tardiness,” “solve difficult disciplinary problems,” “care for petty offences,” “develop and conserve public opinion as to what we do and what we do not do.” There are also repeated claims that squads or patrols—sanitary, lunch room, corridors, lockers, study hall, grounds, and so on—make it easier for school officials to control the school. In fact, out of two hundred and ten claims for pupil participa- tion in government, in orfe analysis, twenty-one of them are to the effect that such participation makes for efficiency and ease in running the school. All of these claims and many others that could be made, are in many cases, true. Yet the fact remains, as Dean Kerr pointed out at a national meeting of the deans of women, in 1920, “Student government is not an end but a process; it never will be, nor can be, expert government.” W. D. Lewis went a step farther when he said in the President’s address at the meeting of the National Association of Secondary-School Principals in 1919, “I believe it is supremely important that principals and teachers recognize student participation as a principle underlying proper training in democratic thought, feel- ing, and action, and not as a device for getting desirable work done.” There is no doubt that a benevolent despot, or a school principal de- voted to paternalism, if he be supremely wise, absolutely just and not self-seeking, can furnish either a community or a school, “as far as 114 Department of Secondary-School Principals the practical working of administrative machinery goes,” better gov- ernment than can citizens who are subject to the vagaries of public opinion. There is need for good government in schools but the reason for developing pupil participation in government is not just as a means to get things done. Rather, it is a means of enabling pupils, intelli- gently guided, to practice the qualities of the good citizen here and now with results satisfying to themselves. : The seven purposes of pupil participation in government cited here may not be the most important. Certainly, they are not mcant to be all inclusive. In any event, however, the worker in this field should be guided by the definite purposes which grow out of his educational philosophy. With a firm belief that pupil participation in government furnishes specific, favorable opportunities for educative experience, the present writer knows that for himself these seven purposes are important : (1) Pupil participation in government provides a favorable op- portunity for the pupil to have a definite purpose of his own. (2) Pupil participation in government tends to create a friendly feeling between teachers and pupils. (3) Pupil participation in government can be psychologically remedial. (4) The development of a plan of pupil participation in govern- ment is concerned with the development of attitudes in pupils, in teachers, and in administrators. (5) Pupil participation in government tends to provide for emo- tional satisfaction. (6) Participation in government can make for intelligent obedi- ence to authority. (7) Participation in government is a means of education. Superintendent J. R. Barton of Oklahoma City read the paper, Interpreting the School to the Public, prepared by L. N. Morrissett, Principal of Classen High School, Oklahoma City. INTERPRETING THE SCHOOL TO THE PUBLIC L. N. MorrisseEtt, PRINCIPAL, CLASSEN Hicgu ScHoor, OKLAHOMA City, OKLAHOMA As a focusing introduction to the thought of this paper, may I quote briefly from Glenn Frank’s ‘Salesmen of Knowledge’: “The J- n 1S i- Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 115 future of America is in the hands of two men—the investigator and the interpreter. We shall never lack for the administrator, the third man needed to complete this trinity of social servants. And we have an ample supply of investigators, but there is a shortage of readable and responsible interpreters, men who can effectively play mediator between specialist and layman. The practical value of every social invention or material discovery depends upon its being adequately interpreted to the masses. Science owes its effective ministry as much to the interpretative mind as to the creative mind. The knowledge of mankind is advanced by the investigator, but the investigator is not always the best interpreter of his discoveries. Rarely, in fact, do the genius for.exploration and the genius for exposition meet in the same mind. Many negro mammies of the south can make a strawberry shortcake that would tempt the appetite of the gods, but they might cut sorry figures as domestic science lecturers. The interpreter stands between the layman, whose knowledge of all things is indefinite, and the investigator whose knowledge of one thing is authoritative. The investigator advances knowledge. The interpreter advances progress. History affords abundant evidence that civilization has advanced in direct ratio to the efficiency with which the thought of the thinkers has been translated into the language of the workers. Democracy of politics depends upon democracy of thought. ‘When the interval be- tween intellectual classes and the practical classes is too great,’ says Buckle, ‘the former will possess no influence, the latter will reap no benefit.’ A dozen fields of thought are to-day congested with knowl- edge that the physical and social sciences have unearthed, and the whole tone and temper of American life can be lifted by putting this knowledge into general circulation. But where are the interpreters with the training and the willingness to think their way through this knowledge and translate it into the language of the street? I raise the recruiting trumpet for the interpreters.” If education is to continue to receive and enjoy something like adequate moral, popular, and financial support, two things seem cer- tain; first, the gap between the thinking of our professional leaders and that of the laymen must be kept relatively small. This must be accomplished without penalizing or impeding the progress of our leader. Second, blind faith in education, educational institutions and methods must be replaced by a well informed, intelligent understand- ing of what we are doing and what we propose to do. 116 Department of Secondary-School Principals Institutions of government, including the public schools in a democracy, are controlled and limited by the knowledge, thinking, judgment, and emotional attitudes of the average or middle group of our citizens. I mean to say, that something like 15% of our most intelligent, best informed citizens are striving toward the ideal in pub- lic education as well as in other agencies government—but at the other extreme there is a group of poorly informed citizens whose thinking, attitudes, and votes somewhat counter balance efforts and expended energies of the most forward looking and enterprising friends of edu- cation. This condition places the future of democratic education in the hands of the large group who in the end determine and define the levels of education as well as furnish its support. Thus it is clear and certain that in our several communities the processes and results of our secondary schools must sympathetically permeate the thinking of the masses of our people if we are to progress. The secondary school must be realized as the pupil’s school—a product of democracy. At present this is more nearly true of the junior than the senior high school because the junior high schools have been more alert, quicker to sense and seize their professional obligations and opportunities relative to interpreting their schools to the public. If we agree with Albert S. Cook in his oft quoted, significant and pragmatic statement in which he says, “To see to it that the general public is at all times informed of the purposes, activities, and accomp- lishments of the public schools, is both a professional opportunity and a professional obligation.” If I say we accept this theses, can we ex- pect, can we anticipate a sympathetic understanding of our work and needs on the part of the public? I believe educational experience is replete with examples which clearly demonstrate that whenever and wherever Commissioner Cook’s philosophy is put into full and free practice, ill advised questions and attitudes on the part of patrons ;— also wondering, questioning, non-understanding, inquisitively critical complexes are supplanted by healthy, vigorous, understanding, con- structive, codperative attitudes which result in happiness, harmony, sustained progress, and growth. Enough for the philosophy underlying the principle that it is our duty to interpret our schools to the public. Let us view the problem from four lookouts ; first, what does the public want to know about our schools, their purposes, and activities; second, what do we want the public to know about our schools their purposes and activities ; third, | a ng, ost ib- er lg, ed lu- in he id of of al \t Proceedings of the Detroit-Meeting 117 what purposes and activities are receiving the major emphasis in our present educational publicity; and fourth, what are the methods, avenues and ways of interpreting secondary schools to the public. What does the public want to know about our schools? One junior high school principal in Oklahoma City submitted the following ques- tion to one hundred patrons of his school (names selected at random). ‘“‘What one question concerning this school and its work, as it relates to your child, is uppermost in your mind?” The following ten an- swers were selected for this paper from the eighty-seven replies re- ceived. In each case the answer is quoted without any change of meaning—(in some cases the English needed attention). “Will this kind of school work fit (meaning equip) my boy for active competition in our business life as a wage earner ?” “Will this school have a decided influence for good upon the formation of his character?” “Will this school better prepare my daughter to live in our com- plex social life and to pursue advanced study? If so, how?” The next question is from a lawyer and former judge and is given verbatim. “Will my children have a higher regard for the ideals of peace, citizenship, parenthood, liberty under the law, and a more noble and wholesome attitude toward their fellows because they have spent three years in your school ?” “In return for my support of the school, just what am I getting in return?” “What do you mean by such terms as ‘BP’s, ‘IQ’s, diagnostic tests, classification program, accelerated groups, retarded groups, and remedial work? Just how do these effect my two boys and their progress?” “Why the constant change and added cost of textbooks ?” “What is your school doing to teach the dignity of labor, especially what is known as common labor?” “Tf nine months of school are good why would not eleven or twelve be better? Why let the building stand idle and the teachers and pupils take a vacation for three months when the teachers need more pay and the children need more schooling ?” Such questions as these in the minds of our patrons surely justify Glenn Frank in raising the recruiting trumpet for the interpreters of secondary education. 118 Department of Secondary-School Principals Mr. Earl Sifert while principal of a junior high school in Minne- apolis prepared a questionnaire for his patrons on the subject, “What do parents want to know about public schools?” This questionnaire contained forty graphic, definite, well stated questions which were given to one thousand patrons with the following instructions : (quoted in part) “Will you please check (x) the items in which you are most inter- ested, that is, those items about which you would like to know more. In doing so please check without any particular consideration of the grade in which your boy or girl is now enrolled. Your codperation will be heartily appreciated. Please check only the items about which you desire information, and check any number, as you see fit.” Eight hundred eleven replies were returned to this questionnaire. I am presenting here in order of rank and with frequency the ten items in which Minneapolis patrons were most interested. Rank Frequency lst “What parents can do to promote pupil accomplishment” 2nd “How the school guides a child in finding his life’s work and in pre- paring for it, that is, vocational and educational guidance” 283 3rd “What aptitude tests tell about the special abilities of children” 4th “Information the school can give you regarding your child” 5th “Provisions for character training” 6th “Qualities of a desirable pupil” 7th “The how, when and why of home study” 8th “How to prepare for college entrance” 9th “Use and misuse of mental tests” 10th “How courses of study are determined” The following three items were of least interest to those replying : 38th “School building specifications—Present trend in school building”.... 27 39th “What happens in the kindergarten” 20 40th “The work of the primary grades” The last two frequencies might well be expected as the replies were from junior high-school patrons. Mr. Sifert’s study has another interesting and telling story. At the bottom of his questionnaire he placed this pertinent question: “Now, that you have read all of these items, do you believe there is a sincere desire on the part of parents to study any of these problems? Yes——515 No——29 Not replying——267 Is not the interest expressed by these fathers and mothers of junior high school boys and girls a direct and definite challenge to us as educators. I interpret it as a challenge for us to take the people who patronize our schools and who support them into our confidence ; Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 119 to tell them in their language about the school, its purposes, its activi- ties, and its accomplishments ; a challenge to lay aside our pedagogi- cal, psychological, technical, and mystical terms and expressions; a challenge correctly, completely, and graphically to interpret the schools as the most potent agency of democracy. The management of the Oklahoma News of Oklahoma City (a Scripps Howard Paper) has just recently invited our profession of that city to express its philosophy—to present its views through its columns on a number of questions. The following fifteen were pre- sented by the paper as being subjects of interest to the readers of this large afternoon paper. One of the editors addressed Dr. J. R. Bar- ton, our superintendent : “Here are several questions which would in- terest a majority of parents, I think, and at the same time should induce principals to develop interesting similar points that are aside from the routine of teaching and learning. Our aim in this series, is to strike at angles of education rather than at the front, or ordinary parts of it. These questions are incomplete, and intentionally only suggestive, but I think educators of such long experience as your principals will have definite opinions on them: Who learns the fastest, boy or girl? Why? Is it really true that athletes are dumb? What about beauty? Handsome boys and beautiful girls, are they more intelligent than those not so good looking? Isn’t physical development along the lines of beauty more apt to be accompanied by intelligence? If the “handsome” are more intelligent, does it follow they make better grades? What do schools do toward instilling honesty in students and emphasizing the moral aspects of life? What could be done? Is it futile to teach these things, or are they a function of public education ? Schools teach leadership, but do they teach modesty ? Schools teach the grip of the hand, the look in the eye, the funda- mentals of Babbitry, but do they teach gentleness, dignity, quiet poise, and other fundamentals of refinement ? Isn’t it absolutely unfair to make potential Babbits of children? 120 Department of Secondary-School Principals Is it the school’s primary purpose to make material success easy ? Is there danger that schools will drift too far away from cultural education ? Should a principal presume to decide a pupil’s career? Should a parent ? Is any sort of vocational advice dangerous? What attracts men to the teaching profession ? Does student self-government build character, or does it destroy discipline and self-restraint ? What independent action may a principal take to aid students ? How does the wealth of a student’s parents affect his position in school life? In the classroom? In the corridor? Speaking in masses, which is likely to be the best student: the wealthy, the one in moderate circumstances, or the poor ? If a youth intended to be a professional man, what one subject should he pursue most ardently in high school ? If a youth intended to be a business man, what one subject would be his most dependable aid in college or in later life? If a girl were to be the wife of a business man, what one subject would you urge her to take? If she were to marry a professional man, what one subject would help her best to be an interesting wife ? If she intended to remain unmarried past the time when it would be fair to depend on her parents for support, what one subject would help a girl most in the business world? Why should a wife be educated ? Should she be educated to the same degree as her husband ? Should she have had more schooling than he, or would it be more conducive to happiness for her to have had less ? Along what lines should a wife be educated to be most interesting and attractive ? What THREE high-school subjects, aside from those which would aid material success, are most important in developing a gentle,: in- formed background for home, club, social, civic, and “inner man” purpose? These are only ideas I jotted down as being along the line I had in mind. usy ? ural Ilda roy Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 121 But as we agreed in our conversation, I might have ideas about the newspaper business that would never occur to you to ask me, and in the same way, high-school principals undoubtedly have ideas it would not occur to me to ask. Any similar ideas that would interest parents will find a place in the series, if the principals will be kind enough to outline them when I get around to them. These subjects are indeed both challenging and gripping. They are of more interest because of their source. They indicate what the press feels its readers want to know about public schools. I think this paper is representative of the press in its willingness, eagerness, and desire to help us interpret the schools. Another challenge! What do we (principals and supervisors) want the public to know about our schools, their purposes, and activities? Ten secondary- school principals were asked to write a concise reply to this question : ‘For the presentation of what specific or particular topic do you desire newspaper help and space?” Our colleagues gave the following re- sponse : “T should like to see the newspapers give more publicity to the parent-teacher association, its purposes, functions, and importance.” “To what extent should a pupil specialize in high school ?” “What is the place of aptitude tests in the public schools? What information do such tests give parents ?” “The relative importance of physical education in the school pro- gram.” “The attempt of the junior high schools to teach citizenship in its fullness by participation activities.” “Ever changing methods in schools keeping pace with the progress of time and the actual progress of the schools themselves.” “The importance of social and personal guidance in the junior high school.” “How may a teacher show that she loves children ?” “How do you (any parent) measure the success of your school ?” “What happens to a boy, what experiences does he have, after he enters school at 8:15 until he leaves at 2:15 on a given day?” Examination and analysis of the questions of parents, and the items, suggested for publicity by the press and secondary-school prin- 122 Department of Secondary-School Principals cipals disclose that the chief interests of all may be classified under the following heads : What is the school doing to my child? Character training and development The school as an aid in developing personality and qualities of good citizenship Social training Economic values of high-school training Methods and organization Guidance, leadership, and importance of specific subjects You no doubt will observe that football and other sports, as such, extra-curriculum activities, by name, teachers and school officials, boards of education, administration, business management, and finance have not been suggested as meriting either publicity or interest. May I ask in all seriousness if these facts do not warrant a close scrutiny of our publicity programs and methods? Frankly, have we anything like adequately interpreted the schools to the public? Let the record speak. Belmont Mercer Farley, in his dissertation, “What People are Being told about Public Schools,” states that the percentage of news space devoted to various school topics is extra- curriculum activities 47.1; teachers and school officials 9.2; parent- teacher association 8.2; pupil progress and achievement 5.6; board of education and administration 5.2; course of study 5.0, and lists seven other items totaling the remaining 19.6. Editor and Publisher is the authority for the statement that 75% of all school news space is given to athletics and sports. The Oklahoma City Times assigns one of its premier reporters to the gathering of school news. This large afternoon daily gives one entire page each Friday to educational publicity under the headline “The Times Friday Page of School News.” This page carries pictures, announcements, feature stories, and topics intended to interpret the schools to the public. This page over a period of four school months, carried on the average thirty-six arti- cles and four cuts of varying size each week. From one hundred Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 123 eighty-one headlines found in five non-consecutive issues of this paper we find the following as representative : Girl Reserve Will Take in 200 Members Pupils Offer Designs for School Front Schools Give Beyond Quota To Aid Needy Schools Begin Holiday Rest, December 19 Parents Will See Classes at Work Classen to Name Its Royalty Pair for Friday Night Losing Legion-Teams Will Entertain Winners Teachers in Extension Classes to Meet Here Putnam Heights Girls Are Given Athletic Badges Roosevelt Juniors Try Hand At Dealing In Stock Market Full Program Fixed by Camp Fire Members Group to Put Goodwill Idea Into Schools Student Work Journal Uses Gets Mention Miniature Golf Idea Now Inside At City Schools Dates Chosen For Inter-City Junior Splash Lessons Will Tell Parents Child’s Views Senior Clubs Ready to Push Semester Work Schools Will Start Second Period Monday We would not have you believe that we consider the newspaper as the only avenue through which schools may be properly interpreted. Indeed not! However, we would emphasize the importance, willing- ness, and desirability of the press as a means of educational publicity. Other avenues of instruments available may be summarized as fol- lows: a. Official publications : Reports (annual, biennial, special). Bulletins. Handbooks, directories, manuals. Surveys. Monographs, catalogues. b. Newspapers : News articles. Feature articles. Editorials. Display advertisements. Illustrations, pictures. 124 Department of Secondary-School Principals c. Student Publications : School newspapers. School magazines. School annuals. School handbooks. d. Other types: Posters. Teachers. Public programs. Visitors’ Day. American Education Week Programs. Exhibits both at and away from school. Parent-Teacher Association, __ Father-Son, Mother-Daughter Banquets, and Mixers. Commencement. Movies, slides. Bill boards. Street car signs. Banners. Athletic, literary, and forensic contests. Mimeographed letters to parents. Pupil reports. Alumni organizations. Radio. Demonstrations of school work by pupils, given at Chambers of Commerce. Civic Clubs, and Churches. Open House. Back To Youth programs given in the evening with parents following their children’s daily program. Proceedings of the Detroit M eeting 125 Here is an actual program of a Back To Youth Night attended and enjoyed by more than fifteen hundred parents and friends of the school. BACK TO YOUTH NIGHT! For PATRONS AND FRIENDS OF RoosEVELT JUNIor HicH Wednesday Evening, November 9, 1930 Cafeteria Service 6 o'clock Come and Have Your Evening Meal With Us (Services, food, and prices exactly as offered our students daily) COME AND SEE Assembly Program in Auditorium (After classes—9 :15) Meet-in auditorium for instructions at 7:30 CLASS SCHEDULE (Classes begin at 7:45) Student (Last Name First) Locker No. Class. Class periods ten minutes ; five minutes for passage. Subject ; Teacher Room Assembly Auditorium I accept this invitation to visit Roosevelt Junior High Wednesday evening, November 9, and expect to eat dinner in the Cafeteria at o'clock. (Signed ) Father Mother Friend 126 Department of Secondary-School Principals From this list three have been selected as especially deserving men- tion and development. The pupil, the radio, and the parent-teacher association. Some one has said—“‘Have a good school and the public will know it”, perhaps so, but “knowing it” is not synonymous with understand- ing. There is still room for interpreting. The alert, keen, interested pupil of a good school will in turn share his understanding and enthu- siasm with his parents and friends in a most effective way. We cannot afford to overlook the pupls who are in.our schools as the most desir- able avenues of interpretation. The radio has annihilated distance ; ushered in a new and effective mode of advertising and presented to the educator the opportunity of interpreting his school, its purposes and its activities to the entire community at one time under the most desirable conditions. Can you imagine a more ideal situation for informing the public about the schools than to have the family at home around the fireside listening to a program from the school produced by children with father and mother learning and understanding while their emotional attitudes are being toned by their own children’s enthusiasms and suggestions? One of our Oklahoma City junior high schools presented the fol- lowing program which was highly approved by thousands of proud parents. Introduction of Program—President, Student Council “The Mill in The Forest” King “Dancing Moonbeams” (School Orchestra) “How the Student Council serves our Student Body” (Student) “Our Health Program” (Student) “The What, How and Why of our Ninth Grade English (Student) “The Mound Builders” Bliss (Glee Clubs) (The story of this composition was first told by a pupil) This program consumed forty minutes and served three purposes. It created interest on the part of pupils; it afforded favorable oppor- ‘Sv oom vs 6CDlUelCU DC OD Proceedings of the Detroit M eeting 127 tunity for participation in the school’s activities, it proved an effective means of informing the public about some of the work of the school. This is another example of an honest attempt to use the radio as a means of keeping the public informed concerning their school. This program was presented by a group of senior high-school students. INTRODUCTION OF PROGRAM Triple Trio “The Snow” (Girls’ Glee Club) Statistical Information about Classen High School Cultural Opportunities offered at Classen The Athletic Program of Classen The Extra Curriculum Activities of Classen “Fifty Million Frenchmen” (Eight selected pieces from the Orchestra) The National Congress of Parents and Teachers offers one of our best avenues of contact, as well as one of our best methods of ap- proach. This devoted organization stands ready and willing to foster the ideal of intelligent understanding of the school and its work on the part of the public (the owners of the school). The National Congress of Parents and Teachers is dedicated among others to these ideals: : That its great object should be to interest all people in all children and to link in common purpose the home, the school, and all other educative forces in the life of the child, té work for his highest good. That it should learn first-hand all school conditions and all town conditions affecting the child. That it should work actively to supply the school and community needs by creating a public sentiment which shall favor and provide good teachers, good school equipment and adequate recreation for leisure time. That it should give service to the home by training for parenthood and homemaking; and to the school, by adding parent power to school power. Certainly it must follow in a democracy that citizens who have been blessed with the privileges and responsibilities of parenthood and 128 Department of Secondary-School Principals who acknowledge, accept, and cherish such noble aspirations and worthy ideals, will eminently satisfy the public’s mind concerning our school if given a full understanding of the practical aims and workings of the school. I submit, that where needed, programs for our parent-teacher as- sociations should be of a revealing nature, and should be of such an interpretive character as will correctly inform its members exactly what the school is doing for its pupils—a set of programs that will ‘sell’ the school, its methods and purposes ; a set of programs that will enable its members to tell their neighbors the W-H-Y of physical training, the assembly period, the diagnostic tests in English, or the special room for retarded children. . In other words, I propose a set of programs to open the school’s inner workings and methods, to brush aside pedagogical mysteries and psychological phrases and show the patrons of our school exactly what their boys and girls are doing as well as what is being done to them; and further to tell them in common, plain, everyday language, our exact purposes and aims. A procedure of this type and character will, I believe, be an effec- tive avenue of constructive publicity for our schools. Each of these programs should be strictly of the revealing type. Each program should have certain characteristics as: (a) The setting forth of actual classroom or laboratory work. (b) The giving of an actual cross section of students and work. (c) The presentation under classroom conditions and regulations —as to dress, uniform, number, materials used, and procedure. (d) The introduction of program by the teacher in immediate charge. (e) Pupil participation in the program. (f) The showing of aims, purposes, methods, comparisons, achievements, and special interests. (g) The emphasizing of the pupil’s viewpoint. (h) Concluding each program there should be two features: first, An attempt to show why each subject is taught ; how it functions in life and how it is linked with the community ; and second, A round table discussion, conducted by the principal or his representative. A feature of this should be an honest effort to answer in a common sense manner, invited questions. Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 129 Here are two programs, one from the junior and the other from the senior high school field which are characteristic of the type under discussion PARENT-TEACHER ASSOCIATION PROGRAM Junior High School I. Introduction of program by Head of the Mathematics De- partment who will briefly state: (1) General aims of the mathematics offered in junior high school. (grades 7 to 9) (2) Courses offered as arithmetic, general mathematics, in- dustrial arithmetic and algebra. (3) Scope and aims of each course. II. Explanations of school’s standing and accomplishments in mathematics—as shown by grade level achievements as compared to national norms ; display and explanation of exhibits ; also achievement charts showing progress within the school over a given period of time —By a teacher. _ IIL. Junior High-School Arithmetic from an eighth grade pupil's viewpoint. (1) Aims and purposes (2) How it functions (3) What we learn (4) Our project IV. A twenty-five minute lesson in 8th grade Mathematics. (1) This lesson from this day’s program—An actual class room recitation, developing and bringing out— (a) Purposes of the recitation unit—with acceptance of same by class (b) Method—(Socialized recitation) (c) Emphasis on the objectives (d) Drill (e) Relation and practical application (f) Summary V. Round Table Discussion—Leaders—Head of Mathematics Department and a Patron. (1) An honest effort to relate the mathematics taught in school to the mathematics used in the life of the community Department of Secondary-School Principals (2) What parents expect from the mathematics department (3) Discussion of method used (4) Discussion of invited questions PROGRAM FOR PARENT-TEACHER ASSOCIATION Prepared by the English Department Aim of program: To give parents a bird’s eye view of what our English department seeks to accomplish, with some illustrations of the product. I. Introduction—General aims and personnel of the department —Director of English. II. The Problem of Reading—(One of teachers) Results of a scientific investigation into the reading of high school pupils with an explanation of what our department is doing to raise the standard and introduce pupils to better literature. III. Linking our Department with the outside world—(by a teacher. Discussion and display of pupil anthologies, notebooks, scrapbooks, and various projects with which we try to make English more viral and by means of which we stress its relationship with life outside the English classroom. IV. Literature and the Ideals of Youth—————-John Matthews, pupil. (I feel that this example of a pupil’s conception in this field of thought, deserves our careful consideration—may I read it ?) The best authorities tell us that a chemistry book ten years old is out of date. They tell us that because of modern thought and inven- tion, this chemistry book can no longer be put to a practical use. Fortunately, it is not so with literature. Character types endure the centuries. The great truths of human nature, whose expression makes great literature great, exist to-day as they did in the time of Chaucer. Literature has well been called a “guidebook to human nature.” This is well, for the boys and girls of to-day more and more need such a guidebook. Youth, more than any other age needs literature. The high ideals of youth, for youth does have high ideals, receive a severe shock through contacting actuality too suddenly. Youth, without sufficient experience in life to correlate properly these actualities—to see behind it all an infinite plan, is made to conciliate these findings with its idealism. A hopeless task! And the ideals which perhaps, have never been expressed to another living soul are ur of nt Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 131 lost. The number from which our really great men come is reduced by one. Hence the youth’s need for literature. Middle age has either found something in life worth tying to, or has taken the suicide route. When youth has stood alone for an ideal, not once, but many times, he begins to think that perhaps it would be better just to throw every- thing over and lose his identity in the crowd. Then he reads Emerson, who said, “Who so would be a man would be a non-conformist”, and “Greatness appeals to the future.” Then faith is restored—he has been standing for the right things. From Shakespeare the boy or girl learns that he was correct in thinking that idealism can be overdone. Brutus was too idealistic and Cassius too practical. He comes to the conclusion that a combina- tion between the two is the ideal condition, and so moulds his life. “Babbitt” shows youth that his ideals must be strong, clear-cut, and held ever before him, else he falls into the ranks of the hypocriti- cal slaves of convention. Youth, temporarily disillusioned wonders if mankind is worth his worry. He reads Dickens’ “Tale of Two Cities” and becomes con- vinced of the inherent weakness and good of mankind. He becomes convinced that the ideal of service is not a false ideal. Will the boys and girls of to-day retain their present high ideals in becoming the men and women of tomorrow? In the answer to this question lies the answer to the world’s destiny. V. Creative Writing in Classen High School (a) Discussion on opportunities offered ———————Leo Goggin, pupil. (b) Examples of original poems read by pupils. Again may I read: CLARION CALL Wild birds winging northward, A pattern on the sky, A crying, flying untamed horde They go winging by. Wild and strong and unafraid Like spirits of the wind, Department of Secondary-School Principals They'll seek the sheltered places Where reeds and cat-tails bend. Wild birds winging northward Honk out their mating call ; Mid stirring beat of hurried wings The weak will pause and fall. Their brothers in the farmyard Will hear and yearn to go; They'll feel the age-old wanderlust The blood of long ago. But cruel and swift and steady The flock will hurry on. With clear, keen eyes they pierce the night And greet the coming dawn, Then pause to rest and chatter — Before they rise and fly. Wild birds winging northward Against a morning sky. They take my restless heart with them, And I must seek my solitudes In a roaring market place. BERNIECE ALLISON—12B THE Gossips Small, taunting things they whisper Over china cups. Their thoughts are prowling alley cats And yellow gutter pups. Their skulking words are Idle lies. They’re made of filth and Probing Eyes. All day they twist what truth they see All day they sneer and drink their tea. BERNIECE ALLISON—12B Gop A little bit of beauty— Star-mist-silver flame ; A glimpse of autumn gardens Gleaming in the rain. The moonshine on the harbour, A bit of sunset glow, And all the lovely golden words That thoughtful people know. A sheaf of snowy lilies, Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting And a flash of smashing red— The kindest, calmest, coolest things The world has ever said. A tiny, tender, emerald root That pushes through the sod— Kindness, beauty, tenderness— All this, I think, is God ELotsE JaRvis—11B Fellow principals, supervisors and directors of secondary educa- tion, may we accept this thesis: “It is an important obligation of the principal to keep the public informed concerning the policies and sta- tus of his school.” May we as interpreters of our profession answer the clarion call of the recruiter’s trumpet ? JUNIOR COLLEGE SECTION First SESSION The first session of the junior-college section of the convention met in the Egyptian Room of Hotel Tuller at 9.43 A. M. Tuesday, February 24, 1931. The meeting was presided over by E. E. Ober- holtzer, President of Junior College, Houston, Texas. The Symphony Choir of Central High School, Detroit, opened the program with three numbers. The paper, The Public Junior College As An Agency of Democ- racy—The Financial Aspect, was read by Professor Walter Crosby Eells. THE PUBLIC JUNIOR COLLEGE AS AN AGENCY OF DEMOCRACY—THE FINANCIAL ASPECT! WALTER Crossy EELLs, STANFORD UNIVERSITY Perhaps the most potent agency of the twentieth century for the democratization of higher education has been the junior college. From the standpoint of attendance, curriculum, social relations, and other features, it has had a remarkable place in the popularization of college education. During the next decade or two this development is doubtless destined to be even more extensive and significant. In one respect, however, the junior college has lagged far behind its demo- cratic progress in other lines—namely, the financial one of demo- cratic support. This paper will be devoted to a brief consideration of four phases of the financial aspect: (1) Costs, (2) Sources of in- come, (3) Tuition, and (4) State aid. 1. Juntor CoLLEGE Costs The first question to come to the attention of the administrator of a new junior college, to the citizens considering the establishment 1This paper is a condensation of a portion of Chapter XIX of the author’s book, The Junior College, to be published by the Houghton Mifflin Company in the spring of 1931. 134 Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 135 of one in the community, or to the law-maker when junior college legislation is proposed, is “What will it cost?’ There is no question more difficult to answer definitely and without numerous qualifica- tions to insure against danger of misinterpretation. Involved tech- niques lie behind cost studies that have any reliability. Careful defini- tion is necessary if the results are to be properly interpreted. The difficulty is greater than definition, however,—it is a matter of ac- counting in the institutions themselves. A majority of the junior colleges are operated in more or less close relationship with high schools, and the finances of the two institutions are inextricably inter- woven. The only statement that can be made with confidence re- garding cost data collected from such institutions is that they are sure to be not strictly comparable. It is necessary to have a general knowledge of cost data as a background for the two constructive proposals later to be made. Time will permit only a brief summary of the results of some of the cost studies that are available, without a statement of the limitations and restrictions necessary to understand them completely. Koos, in a study of costs in ten California junior colleges in 1928, found an average cost of $331 per student in average daily attendance, or the approximate equivalent of $242 per student enrolled. These costs varied, however, from $200 to $700 per student in average daily attendance. Reports of the California State Department for 1928-29 showed an average cost per student in average daily attendance in the district junior colleges of the state of $285, with a minimum of $174, and a maximum of $452—two and one-half times as great as the minimum. The danger of placing too much confidence in the average in such cases is evident. In the district institutions the average en- rollment was in excess of 800. In the smaller high-school type of junior college the costs were considerably higher. In Texas, average costs are reported of $160 per student enrolled in institutions occu- pying separate buildings, and of $116 in ones administered in the high-school plant. The latter figure is probably nearer instructional cost than total cost. In general, it may be stated with some confidence that the cost per student in average daily attendance in the efficient junior college of moderate enrollment cannot well be much below $300, or about $225 per student enrolled. In the smaller units the costs are likely to be greater for instruction and other educational service and opportunities of equivalent value. 136 Department of Secondary-School Principals In the United States as a whole, the Office of Education reports $186 as the average cost per high-school student enrolled in 1925-26. College instruction, on the average, calls for better prepared and better paid instructors than in the high school, for smaller classes, and for more expensive equipment. It should be expected, therefore, that the cost per student in junior college should be considerably higher than in high school. Explanations are in order if junior col- leges are found with reliable per capita costs as low or lower than high-school ones in the same state or locality. The Economy of the junior college. From the statidpoint of de- mocracy a strong reason for the establishment of junior colleges is the economic one—it is frequently pointed out that junior-college education can be given at a great saving in the local junior college rather than in the university. There are two aspects to this question ; the cost to the individual student in attendance, and the cost to the taxpayer. From the standpoint of the individual student the argu- ment is perfectly sound, and is a very potent one. When the total cost to the taxpayer is considered, however, the argument is open to question. In the first place, gross cost to the tax- payers of the state as a whole is undoubtedly increased by the estab- lishment of junior colleges. When the total freshman and sopho- more population is increased from 50 to 150 per cent it cannot fail to increase the total cost of education. When educational opportu- nity is brought closer to the people, more of them take advantage of it, the total amount of education secured is augmented, and the total cost is correspondingly increased. Even on a unit basis, however, it may be questioned whether the argument is sound. Until reliable data are furnished giving actual costs per student in the lower division of the university, the real difference in cost cannot be stated. Even without such data actually at hand, if costs are adequately determined on’a comparable basis, there is no reason to suppose that cost per student will be less in the local junior college than in the university. If it is, something is seriously the matter with the educa- tion given in the local junior college. The general economic law of ° economy of mass production is just as valid in education as in .in- dustry. Ten thousand freshmen and sophomore students herded to- gether in one university, in large classes, with poorly paid instruc- tors, with greater common use of the same library and laboratory — /_ 4 2 Fo wee wre «a Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 137 equipment, and with one set of administrative machinery can surely be given a certain kind of education at less net cost than the same stu- dents can be given the same amount of education in a hundred scat- tered units, with smaller classes, duplication of plant and equipment, and separate administration. The justification of the junior college is not in terms of reduced cost per student, but in larger educational opportunity to a larger number of students, in better instructional methods, and in adapta- tion to local community needs. Mass production unquestionably is more economical in education as well as in industry, but it does not follow, at least in education, that mass production is more efficient and of a higher quality. It would be well to admit frankly that real junior-college education is more expensive to society as a whole, both in total cost and in cost per student, but to justify it on the basis of increased quantity and improved quality of instruction resulting. If junior-college costs per student are in reality markedly lower, it is probably secured at the cost of underpaid or overworked instructors who cannot maintain a real college standard, or of inadequate library or laboratories, or in terms of similar deficiencies. The costs may seem to be lower because of inadequate accounting methods, particu- larly in incomplete segregation of high-school expenses; but if they are really lower it should be a cause, not for congratulation, but for grave concern and prompt investigation. 2. Sources or INCOME oF JUNIOR COLLEGES The main sources of income for public junior colleges may be classified as follows: (a) Local taxation. (b) Tuition paid by county or district. (c) Tuition paid by student. (d) State aid. (e) Gifts. (a) Local taxation —lIn most states where public junior colleges have been established, they are operated in connection with the high school and expressly or by implication the local tax is the same for the junior college as for the support of the high school. In some states, however, a special junior-college tax is authorized, as in Cali- fornia and Arizona. 138 Department of Secondary-School Principals (b) Tuition paid by county or district—In California, when stu- dents attend a junior college from outside the district of residence, the county of residence has to provide by local tax for the entire cost or tuition of the student at the junior college, such cost being deter- mined as total current expense, less state aid received, plus $65 per student to defray estimated cost of interest on plant investment and depreciation. This is a substantial amount in the case of some three or four junior colleges, where almost half of the students come from outside the district. Modesto for enamnghe received $50,000 from this source in a single year. (c) Tuition paid by student—lIn most states where public junior colleges have been established, the students are charged tuition. The highest one noted is $200, but in 46 institutions it is $100 or more. The only states where tuition to local residents is not charged in any of the public junior colleges in the state are California, Kansas, North Carolina, and Arizona. Approximately half the students in public junior colleges in the country are in states where tuition is charged. Of the 133 public junior colleges for which information is available, 72 or 54 per cent charge their students tuition. In some of these it is rather nominal, but in many it is a substantial sum. The enrollment in the tuition- charging colleges, however, is only 29 per cent of the total enroll- ment. The average enrollment in the tuition-charging institutions is 122; while in those not charging tuition it is 359—almost three times as great. It may be estimated that the 9,000 students in institutions which charge tuition are paying close to $1,000,000 annually for edu- cation similar to that furnished an equal-sized group in California and Kansas without any tuition charge to the individual student. (d) State aid—In the case of the so-called state type of junior college, the support is entirely or largely from appropriations by the state legislature, supplemented by special or permanent funds, and in some cases, although rarely, by student tuition fees. In the district and municipal junior colleges, however, California is the only state providing regular substantial state aid.’ The high-school depart- ‘Perhaps an exception should be made in the case of Mississippi, where special biennial appropriations are made. In 1930, the legislature made a blanket appropriation of $170,000 to be divided as the Board of Education saw fit on a per capita basis among the public junior colleges of the state. This was double the appropriation made two years earlier. Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 139 mental junior colleges receive, like all high schools, $30 per student in average daily attendance; the district institutions are supposed to receive $2000 per year plus $100 per student in average daily attend- ance. The fund to provide these payments is derived from federal oil and mineral land leases, which was ample to meet the demand upon it up to 1928. With increased junior-college attendance and de- creasing federal income, this fund was insufficient, and a special act of the legislature in 1929 provided for making up the balance up to $30 per student, from the state treasury. Even this amount pro- vided insufficient, however, in 1930, and the junior colleges this year are likely to receive less than $60 per student unless the legislature of 1931, now in session, affords further relief. A deficit of $500,000 in the state junior-college fund was anticipated for 1930-31. The only satisfactory solution will be to separate state support entirely from the fluctuating, uncertain, and inadequate federal mineral fund and to make it a general charge on the state treasury. No other state has gone as far as Texas, in its new 1929 law, in its expressed antipathy to state aid. That law provides (Section 14) : No funds received for school purposes from the state avail- able school fund * * * * shall be used for the establishment, sup- port, and maintenance of the junior college, and provided further that the legislature shall not make an appropriation out of the Gen- eral Fund of the state for the establishment, support, or maintenance of any junior college established or that may be established under the provisions of this Act. It also provides for a fine up to $1,000 or imprisonment up to six months, or both, for any presumptious official who dares think of violating this section. Contrast this attitude with Zook’s recom- mendations for state aid in Massachusetts; or with California prac- tice. The contrast is as great as that between daylight and darkness! It is interesting to compare this Texas legislation with the recom- mendation of the Texas Educational Survey Commission that the cost of junior colleges should be borne in part by the community and in part by the state! (e) Gifts——This is a relatively small source of incomes for most public junior colleges. The bequest of $2,000,000 to the public junior college of Little Rock, Arkansas, is a notable exception ; similar gifts will doubtless be made in the future as the institution becomes better established, just as generous benefactions are coming to be the case 140 Department of Secondary-School Principals with state universities. Until the passage of the law of 1929, Texas municipal junior colleges could not be supported by taxes, but de- pended largely on tuition. However, they could accept donations from the public-school funds in the local-school districts, and such gifts, or donations comprised an important element of support in several cases. In the State of Washington, where there is no legal warrant for junior colleges and where they have to exist largely on a tuition basis in the high-school plant, over a hundred business men of the city of Centralia have signed a guarantee to make up any deficit that may occur in operating expenses of the local junior college for the year. A similar situation has been found in at least one Texas com- munity. Relative amount of income from different sources—The relative amount of income received from various sources may be shown in the case of two groups of public junior colleges, those in California and in Texas. The relative amounts received from the three principal sources of revenue are shown in Fig. 1, page 146. California has been credited with a strong attitude of state support. It was originally in- tended that the staté support should be approximately 40 per cent of the total cost, which in 1921 was estimated at $250 per student. It was on this assumption that the state appropriation was made $100 per student. Why then, does the California section of Figure 1 show only 19 per cent of the cost furnished by the state? The answer is to be found in two directions: (1), Total cost is closer to $300 per student than to $250; (2), More important, the payment is made for the current year on the basis of the average daily attendance of the preceding year. For several years the attendance each year has shown an average increase of 36 per cent over the attendance of the previous year. These two factors make the proportion of the current cost fur- nished by the state for the current year less than one-fifth of the total. Direct local taxation is required to care for two-thirds of the total current cost. The corresponding distribution for the sixteen Texas municipal colleges in 1927-28 as shown in Fig. 1 is very different. City dis- tricts could make donations to their local junior colleges and this was done to a limited extent in a half dozen cases. In the cases of nine institutions, however, the entire support was reported as coming from student tuition and fees. The fact that 77 per cent of the income was Proceedings of the Detroit M eeting 141 from tuition and fees for the entire group, and 100 per cent of it in the case of over half of the institutions considered, is in marked con- trast with the California situation where none came from student tuition. Probably the situation for Iowa, Washington, and other states would be similar to that for Texas, if data were available for analysis. 3. TurTiIon In JuNIoR COLLEGES The two parts of Fig. 1 illustrate two entirely different concep- tions of the proper support of public junior colleges. Shall the student be expected to pay the major part of the cost of his college education, or shall he be expected to pay little or none of it? Before discussing this question, it will be enlightening to consider the major divisions of income for the 226 public and 850 private colleges and universities in the United States as given by the United States Office of Education for 1927-28. This is shown in Fig. 2, page 147. While it is our general theory that public education should be free from tuition charges, this is unfortunately not always the case in the field of higher education. With the marked increase in college and university at- tendance, many of the state universities have added tuition or fees, or both. In many states the enabling act of the state university speci- fies that there shall be no charge for tuition. To keep within the letter of the law various fees are charged instead. In one, for ex- ample, there is a janitor fee of $50; in another each student pays a fee of $5 per month for heating the classrooms. Education is free, but the student should pay roundly for having it delivered to him properly swept, dusted, and heated! Whatever may be the practice of charging fees and tuition in state universities, it may be defended if not justified on the basis of need rather than by sound reasoning. If there is any justification for it at all, it is far more defensible in the upper division and graduate fields of specialization and professional preparation, than in the fresh- man and sophomore field of general education. In many cases the students in the local public junior colleges are paying a far larger pro- portion of the entire costs of the institution than is the case even in the private institutions of the country, as shown by Fig. 2. In public colleges and universities, the student pays 15 per cent of the cost of his education: in private colleges and universities he pays 48 per cent ; in Texas public junior colleges he pays 77 per cent. 142 Department of Secondary-School Principals Tuition indefensible on either of two theories——There are two theories of the junior-college years. These two years are collegiate, or they are secondary. The above facts have shown the injustice and lack of logic in such heavy junior-college tuition, on the tacit assump- tion that it is collegiate work, i. e., the same grade of education as furnished by the lower divisions of universities. Suppose, however, that it is secondary. Even more firmly established in almost every state is the theory and practice that secondary education should be free to all the youth of the land. If this theory of the place of the junior college in the American educational system is accepted the tui- tion charge is still less defensible. It sounds like a return to the old public school rate bills which were eliminated after such a fight in the middle of the last century. Dr. Eby, of the University of Texas, well expresses the situation in that state :! Who should bear the cost of instruction of the junior-college child? Everyone must agree that this is a practical question. If the student is sent away from home to anyone of our twelve state col- leges, all instruction is free. If he is sent to the public school in his home district, provided he is not yet 21 years of age, all instruction is free. But if he happens to be a smart and promising child, and he is sent to a public junior college in his home town, except in South Park and Wichita Falls, he is fined for his ability and in all places must pay a heavy tuition. Now just why this discrimination? There does not seem to be any way for honest folks to get rid of the appli- cation of logic in our affairs. Why should a child under 20 receive free schooling in the home high school, but not in the home college ; why if he goes away from home, but not at home? Are students in Texas, in Iowa, in Washington and in other states attending public junior colleges or are they really attending private institutions supported by their own contributions, but main- tained in public buildings? There can be but one logical answer to the questions thus raised. Abolish tuition in the junior college, or at least reduce it in any state to an amount no greater than that charged students in the state university, preferably lower. The only procedure logically possible in a country which has adopted the gen- eral principle of free public education at least through the period of general education prior to specialization, is to make junior-college 1Eby, F. “The Junior College Movement in Texas”; in Texas Outlook, vol. II, p. 10 (February 1927). Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 143 two education completely free, as in California. Cubberley has outlined jiate, seven great battles which have been fought for free public schools in and the United States in the last century. Are we faced to-day with an imp- eighth battle before true freedom is won? a Can society afford junior-college education?—The answer of the very taxpayer to the suggestion of abolition of tuition is that the state 1 be cannot afford such educational expense, even if it is logical. It-is the admitted that California spends more money per capita and more as tui- a total sum on junior-college education than any other state. Let us old see, then, just how great a part of the total educational burden in : dan California is furnished by the junior college. California is spending over $160,000,000 a year on education, and on the whole considers it an excellent investment, paying the richest of dividends, economi- ion cally and socially. Already the thirty-seven public junior colleges are doing much to popularize higher education and to raise the cultural level in the state. The distribution of this educational expenditure : among the various units of the system is shown in Fig. 3, page 149. y1- The narrow wedge representing the expense of over $2,000,000 for is junior college education in 1927-28 is only one and one-third per cent mi of the entire circle. Two and a half times as much was spent in the h state for kindergartens; six times as much for the state university. “ Society can well afford to expand the narrow black sector of Fig. 3 e considerably before claiming inability to support junior-college educa- - tion. Society should support the public junior college in large part, e if not exclusively ; but how? Shall this support be state, or county, ; or local? It remains, then, to discuss the important question of state aid. 4. Strate Ai For JUNIOR COLLEGES Even if it be admitted that society as a whole ought to support the junior college, should it be done by the state, or purely as a local matter? Theory and practice vary widely in this respect. Various proposals and practices are found regarding the proportion of the cost which should be borne by the state treasury. The following are typical and illustrative: (a) 100% state support—state junior colleges. (b) 75% state support—Zook’s suggestion. (c) 50% state support—suggested by various writers. (d) 40% state support—California theory. Department of Secondary-School Principals (e) 33% state support—Eby’s suggestion. (f) 20% state support—California practice. (g) 0% state support—practice in most states. (a) 100% state support.—This is found in most of the so-called state junior colleges. It is also the case in the lower division of most state universities. (b) 75% state support—Dr. Zook, in an address before the Na- tional Association of State Universities in 1922, proposed that the state should pay 90 per cent of the expenditures for salaries of all junior-college instructors and administrative officers. Assuming these to be about 80 per cent of the total cost, would lead to approxi- mately 75 per cent of the total cost to be met by the state. This was also the suggestion that he made in recommending a state system of junior colleges for Massachusetts, although it was never adopted. (c) 50% state support.—This is discussed in detail below. (d) 40% state support.——As already stated this was the theory behind the California law of 1921 providing for state support of $100 per student in average daily attendance when total cost was estimated at $250. (e) 33% state support—Eby suggests $150 as the normal cost of junior-college education in Texas, which he says should be di- vided equally between the state, the local district, and tuition paid by the student or his parents. This is only half the amount provided by the state of California. Texas, however, as already seen, has actually adopted the strongest possible non-state-support attitude. (£) 20% state support——This has been shown to be the Cali- fornia practice, under conditions of the past four or five years, i. e. one-half of the expected proportion. For Kansas, Mort advocates an equalization plan such that the wealthiest districts in the state would receive $30 per junior-college student, out of an estimated total cost of $150 per student. (g) 0% state support.—This, unfortunately and indefensibly, is the practice in every state where local public junior colleges have been established except in California and Mississippi. In some states, junior-college students are treated in the same category as high-school students, and state aid is given in the same Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 145 amount as to high-school students, but this is usually only nominal. In some, however, even this slight acknowledgment of its place is re- fused. Legal decisions in North Carolina, and Indiana, for example, have said that the poor junior-college student is literally a homeless waif, financially speaking; he is neither entitled to the support ac- corded high-school students, nor that given to college students. Pos- sibly he may be graciously and generously permitted to make use of public-school buildings, if space can be found and if he will agree to pay sufficient tuition to meet the entire costs of instruction! That the public junior college has made its way under such formidable financial disability and handicap is nothing short of remarkable! Proposals for state aid—As early as 1921 the Ohio Joint Com- mission on Administrative Reorganization recommended state aid to junior colleges. Bills similar to the California one, providing for state aid to the extent of $100 per student, were introduced in Kan- sas in 1925, in Colorado in 1927, and in Nebraska and Utah in 1929, but in each case failed of passage. Again in Kansas in 1929 a plan was proposed that would provide from state sources approximately $800 for each junior-college instructor, but failed of passage. In states where a strong attitude of state aid has not already been taken for the support of local elementary and high schools the fight is harder, and it will require longer to educate the people and their legis- lative representatives, but it is bound to come in time. In such states it may be wiser to stress the similarity to the state university, already state supported, to which it will afford a relief, at much less cost to the state treasury, if something following the California plan is provided. Why state support instead of local?—The principle of equalization of school costs over a larger area has been discussed and accepted in theory if not in practice as a sound principle of educational finance, in the general education field. It is peculiarly applicable in the junior- college field as a few concrete illustrations from California and Texas will show. Some districts are much richer than others, but the local district educates people from many parts of the state, and those it educates go to all parts of the state. Thus at Chaffey (California) Junior College it was found that three-fourths of the graduates were living outside of the district. Because of the difference in ability to pay, and the fact that any junior college is serving a much wider territory than its local community, ultimately, if not immediately, the "S8}2}g OMY, Ul Sada][o_ sown oyqQng Joy suOOUT Jo seoInog jed~UNg ‘| “Oly VINAOUITVO BS) U01}OXO| plsysig UdYA 20UepIse4 P) fi,unos ebalj0> youn (puvm] \ouaunw ‘sn) 27046 e 3 s uo S = ~ AY ~ Ss Ss Ss 4 5 3 S S Sy WH ~ Ss — = = s ~ } an S QA d ~ = ~— S = — Ss ~~ ~~ S S _ ~ ~ Ss 6 > Ss 3 S S S Ss ~~ Qy *S9}B1S poyiuy) ou} ut SotPISIOATU n pue sada][OD zea A-InO oyeAL pue oTqnd jo suloouy jo S90INOS ‘7 “OIT (oss) (972) aLVAIad OITEdNd ASS %I9 spun 4 sa0unoc Loe 77. MrPOnPOd josapa pun ‘i719 ‘23039 $004 pud YOUN) ez | agi ea04nog 42430 4240 148 Department of Secondary-School Principals state should have a liberal share in support. The total assessed valua- tion in 1928-29 was thirteen million in Yuba County Junior College district ; it was more than sixteen times as much in Long Beach. The assessed valuation per student was $37,000 at San Mateo, while at Long Beach it was more than eight times as much, or $300,000. In Texas, total assessed valuation varied in 1927-28 from four million at Clarendon to $300,000,000 at Houston. Assessed valuation per junior college student varied from $33,000 at Paris to $471,000 at Houston—fourteen times as great. Similar examples could be given in other states. What should be the proper amount of support for the junior college?—There is much logic in favor of 100 per cent support. If free public education is furnished to a student in the elementary grades, in the high school, in the university, in the state college, in state teachers’ colleges, in state normal schools, why should it be denied to the same individual if he chooses instead a local junior college? No state, however, has gone thus far in its educational practice, or thought. It would be folly to advocate complete support as a practical matter at this time. It is a condition and not a theory which confronts us. Furthermore the junior college has resulted in popularizing education to such an extent that at least half of the students attending it would probably never have gone to college at all (at state expense). Further, the individual community receives great value, directly and indirectly, from the presence of the local junior college in its midst. Complete state support, too, presumably would imply complete state control, with loss of local interest, pride, and responsibility. From many standpoints of local interest, control, advantage, and responsibility, it would seem that the states and the local district might fairly meet each other halfway. Let each furnish 50 per cent of the cost. It is worth noting in this connection that a plan has been proposed in California to raise state aid from $100 to $150, which would approximate 50 per cent of the cost if conditions should become static. It is significant to consider the opinion of two nationally recog- nized leaders in the general field of educational administration and finance. Cubberley says :' 1Cubberley, E. P. State School Administration, Houghton Mifflin Co., Bos- ton, 1927, pp. 436-37. CrCcClU TOrlUCU hl OOP OeséCU|} Proceedings of the Detroit M eeting Junior College 3% Dr Elementary Schools 45.7% Schools 59.3% Fic. 3. Distributiof of Total Expenditure for Education in California, 1927-28. “Just how large a proportion of the total cost for education the state should provide is as yet an unsettled question, and one capable of different answers in different states. That it should be large, in view of the growing needs for education and the marked inequalities of resources of the different counties, there can be little question. * * * * That from 40 to 60 per cent of the annual maintenance cost for elementary and secondary education ought to come from state sources, under modern conditions of wealth distribution, probably would be approved by most students of educational finance.” Swift feels that 65 to 75 per cent of the cost of education ought to come from state sources. If Cubberley and Swift are right, as applied to elementary and high-school education, there is all the more reason why at least 50 per 150 Department of Secondary-School Principals cent of the support of the local junior colleges should come from the state, when practically all of the support for state universities and teachers’ colleges come from it. 5. SUMMARY This paper may be summarized in two sentences: (1) Little, if any tuition should be charged in public junior colleges ; certainly not any greater in amount than that charged freshmen and sophomores in state colleges and universities, (2) The state, from state funds, should provide at least fifty per cent-of the total costs of junior college education. When these two principles have been accepted in fact as well as in theory, we shall have gone far toward making the junior college not only educationally and socially democratic, but financially democratic as well. The eighth, and perhaps final, battle for free public schools is at hand. What shall be its battle cry? Elimination of tuition: at least fifty per cent state support! The foes are firmly entrenched behind defenses of conservatism and tradition. Let the friends of the junior college rally to the standard and win another battle for free public schools in America! Professor Doak S. Campbell of Peabody College, Nashville, Ten- nessee, read his paper, Democratic Support—The Social Aspect. THE PUBLIC JUNIOR COLLEGE—AN AGENCY OF DEMOCRACY—THE SOCIAL ASPECTS Doak S. CAMPBELL, PROFESSOR OF SECONDARY EpucATION, GEORGE PEABODY COLLEGE FOR TEACHERS, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE Two fundamental conceptions of education as an agency of de- mocracy have come to be widely accepted: (1) It must be available to all persons alike, supposedly upon equal terms; and (2) It must provide training suitable to the needs of those whom it serves. The minimum amount of education required of all our youth and made available to them has varied from time to time. As our society has become more and more complex, new and larger problems have arisen which have produced the necessity of increasing the amount of edu- cation required for all its citizens. the and , if not res ds, or he ut at St id or ic Proceedings of the Detroit M eeting 151 In the Revised Education Bill of 1779, Jefferson expressed the belief that elementary schools, open alike to all for a period of three years, were an essential safeguard to the successful growth of Ameri- can democracy. His conception of secondary schools, however, was that they should be selective. When he says, “By this means (selection) twenty of the best geniuses will be raked from the rubbish annually, and instructed, at public expense, so far as grammar schools go. At the end of six years of instruction, one half are to be discontinued and the other half are to be sent and continued three years . . . at William and Mary College . . .”* he clearly indicates that he does not consider universal education on the secondary level necessary or desirable for the welfare of a demo- cratic society. His reference to “rubbish” has a strangely familiar and modern sound to those who have been concerned with the transfer of graduates of secondary schools to American higher institutions. As early as 1800, when de Nemours? presented to Jefferson a com- prehensive and detailed statement of the organization of a system of public education, he presented what might be termed a European sys- tem adjusted to the needs of an American democracy. College as proposed in this report represents rather closely what has later been proposed as the junior college. He believed, however, that the elementary schools alone were es- sential, alike to all citizens, as is shown in the following statement : Secondary schools are intended for those students who are being prepared for learned professions, and for those who, having sufficient means, wish to find in literature an occupation that will be agreeable and lasting. The schools also serve to determine which students are capable of success in the highest fields of science.* The nineteenth century, however, saw the rise of the public high school and its general acceptance, at least in theory, as a part of the scheme of universal education. From Jefferson’s recommended upper age of ten years for attendance at public schools by all children, we have seen a gradual increase until, in 1913 the average maximum age requirement for compulsory school attendance was 14.8 years ;* and *Charles Flinn Arrowood, Thomas Jefferson and Education in a Republic. we de Nemours, National Education. i - 2 iid eeniencieei Compulsory School Attendance, U. S. Bureau Bulletin, 0. 914. 152 Department of Secondary-School Principals by 1927 it had risen to 16 years ;' thus including approximately two years in high school. Notwithstanding the fact that we have had several decades of public secondary education, during which time there have been in- creasing attempts to make it universal, it is still democratic only in theory. As late as 1922, Counts? finds that we have not abandoned in practice the selective principle in secondary education, even though we have established a public high school in almost every community in the country. The same pressures which have caused a gradual advance in the amount of education which our democracy has deemed essential to its welfare have given rise to the junior-college movement. Although the beginnings of the junior college date well back into the last century, it has achieved the greater part of its growth during the past fifteen years. As was the case with both elementary and high schools, the junior college appeared first as a private institution. Its recent growth, however, has been almost entirely in the field of public education. The latest published reports show that there are at present 178 public junior colleges in this country which have a reported en- rollment of 45,021 students, while the total number of junior colleges of all types is 436 with a total enrollment of 74,088 students. The earliest conceptions of the junior college were that it should include the completion period of secondary education. The idea of democratization was probably not present and certainly was not fore- most. It was proposed as a selective agency for the university. The proposal for a state system of education by de Nemours, already re- ferred to, recommended a number of secondary schools or colleges strategically located throughout the state which would bring educa- tion of this grade closer to those who might profit by it. The set up of his scheme, however, clearly indicates that the selective function was in mind. When the University of Michigan began to develop a state-wide system of public education, secondary schools of the junior college type were planned, one for each county in the state but later a 'Ward W. Keesecker, Laws Relating to Compulsory Education, U. S. Bureau Bulletin, No. 20, 1928. 2George S. Counts, The Selective Character of American Secondary Educa- tion. Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 153 few regional schools to serve groups of counties. Again it appears that these were primarily to be selective agencies for the university. It was not until within the present century that the idea of the public junior college as an agency of democracy which would carry equal opportunities for the masses was conceived. In his study of the junior college Koos’ finds that there are three major proposals in democratization with respect to the junior college: (1) That such an institution would offer completion courses to the masses who might not otherwise have the privilege of such courses. This could include adults. (2) That it would offer occupational training on what might be termed a semi-professional level to those for whom trade training was not sufficient and professional training not necessary. (3) That proximity would act as the major factor in democratization. Since these considerations have been outlined by Koos, and since they have become current in a large part of the junior-college literature it may be profitable to investigate the extent to which the junior college is an agency of democracy, measured in terms of these proposals. It has been well established that costs and proximity are influential factors in determining the extent to which a population will avail themselves of educational opportunities. The fact that the location of public junior colleges within easy access of population centers has been a factor in increasing the total number of persons attending college is generally admitted. The fact, however, that other con- siderations in democratization are still largely inoperative seems to be easily demonstrable. There is no doubt that the same arguments are made for wide distribution of public junior colleges as have been made for making high-school advantages universal in this country. The offering of educational opportunities which will fit one for citizenship and for a degree of independence at whatever level he may be forced by social or economic pressure out of the school system, lends itself readily to theoretical discussion, but in actual practice has little to show by way of accomplishment. In order to gain an idea of the extent to which the junior college is an agency of democracy, measured in terms of the considerations heretofore mentioned, it may be well to inquire: IL. V. Koos, The Junior College Movement. 154 Department of Secondary-School Principals (1) To what extent it is available to all alike, supposedly upon equal terms. (2) To what extent it provides training suitable to the needs of those whom it serves. (a) Preparation for higher training in college or university. (b) Terminal education, both vocational and cultural, suit- able to the junior-college level.. For lack of space the first of these main considerations is passed over with the remark that the public junior college provides for only a small fractional part of the population of this country who might profit by instruction in such an institution. Furthermore, there is nothing to indicate that any state has reached the point where junior- college opportunities are available to its population of junior-college age on anything like equal terms. The nearest approach to this con- dition is found in California where such opportunities are available to a large proportion of the population. Approximately fifty per cent of public junior colleges charge tuition fees. If we leave out those in California, and those in other states that are supported directly by the state, the large majority charge tuition fees, which consideration alone is sufficient to prevent the application of the American conception of democracy in education at this level. To the second of these main con- siderations, therefore, we devote this discussion, in the order above mentioned. A. PREPARATION FOR COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY So far as organization, instruction, and controls are concerned, the dominating pattern in American education has been that of prep- aration for the level immediately above. It is, therefore, not sur- prising to find the preparatory function of the junior college most frequently mentioned in educational literature and most generally found in practice. A number of published studies of the statements of the purposes of the junior college show that, both in their catalogs and in other literature preparation for higher institutions greatly predominates. And, while many public junior colleges state that one of their major purposes is democratization, their curriculum offerings fail to show any marked tendency to perform this function. on Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 155 In a recent study! the catalogs of 343 junior colleges were checked for the occurrence of four well known types of junior-college cur- ricula. It is admitted, of course, that a check of the offerings of a junior college does not necessarily give a picture of what the junior college is actually doing. The catalog statements as to the offering of certain well-known types of curricula, however, may be relied upon as a valid source upon which to base conclusions as to what the college actually proposes to do. The following table (1) shows the frequency of occurrence of these types of curricula in the 343 catalogs examined. The junior colleges have been grouped according to types of control in order to ascertain whether a given type of curriculum predominates in any particular type of junior college. TABLE I TyPEs OF CURRICULA OFFERED IN THE CATALOGS OF 343 Junior COLLEGES IN THE UNITED STATES FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE Pub. Pvt. Denom. Total Type of Curriculum State College Preparatory 21 115 44 132 312 Pre-professional 10 56 15 29 111 Terminal, General 6 26 20 23 75 Vocational 20 72 30 94 216 Total Catalogs Studied 22 116 65 140 343 It will be noted that in all types of junior colleges studied the predominating type of curriculum is college preparatory, while second in importance are those curricula which are distinctly vocational in nature. Pre-professional curricula are offered in a little less than 50% of the publicly supported junior colleges, but they do not occupy so prominent a place in those junior colleges which are under private and denominational control. Due to the fact that the ability to secure students in junior colleges has been largely conditioned by the possibility of transferring credits to higher institutions, the college preparatory type of curriculum has of necessity been the core around which the junior college has pro- jected its work. Standardization, both by state agencies and by the regional accrediting bodies, has been confined almost wholly to the _ 4D. S. Campbell, 4 Critical Study of the Stated Purposes of the Junior College. 156 Department of Secondary-School Principals preparatory function. Furthermore, the pre-professional courses are in a very certain sense merely specialized types of preparatory cur- ricula and again are intimately involved in the movement for stand- ardization. Offerings of vocational curricula were found in 67% of all cata- logs studied. Seventy-eight per cent of these, or 52% of the whole, were curricula for teacher training. In other words, 52% of all the 343 catalogs studied, contained curricula specifically designed for teacher training. These, for the greater part, were obviously outlined to meet the specific requirements of certificating authorities. THE CONTINUATION OF JUNIOR-COLLEGE GRADUATES Terminal courses are offered in comparatively few junior colleges. The terminal function, while appearing very prominently in the -literature of the junior colleges, does not seem to have become effective if we are to measure its scope by the occurrence of terminal courses in the catalogs. There is, however, another source of information which will probably indicate more nearly the degree to which this particular function of the junior college is operating as such. This is reflected in the proportion of junior-college students who continue their studies in four-year colleges or universities. The official annual reports of eighty-five junior colleges to the American Association of Junior Colleges for the year 1927-28 were examined in order to find the number of graduates from junior col- leges who continued their studies in four-year colleges or universities during the school year 1928-29. The reports from these junior colleges were tabulated so as to show the enrollment; the number graduating in 1927-28; and the number of these graduates enrolled in four-year colleges or univer- sities during the school year, 1929. The junior colleges were divided into four groups with respect to types of control. The results for the twenty-six public junior colleges under local or district control are shown in Table II as follows: Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 157 TABLE II ENROLLMENTS, NUMBER GRADUATING, AND NUMBER OF GRADUATES ConTINUING THEIR CoursEs IN Four-YEAR COLLEGES IN TWwENTy-S1x Pusiic JUNIOR COLLEGES IN 1928 Ke Enrollment Graduates Per Cent Continuing Number 1927-28 1927-28 Graduating Number 210 48 20 89 1 1 102 22 15 113 260 30 148 48 107 702 98 137 153 86 97 177 1,607 46 71 304 95 343 126 295 84 417 287 228.4 34.0 15.0 . 62.8 Median 119.5 22.0 17.0 4 67.5 The proportion of graduates of all types of junior colleges con- tinuing their studies in four-year colleges or universities was found to be 57.8%. Distributed by types of institutions the percentages are as follows: In thirty-three denominational junior colleges, 50% ; in seven state junior colleges, 55%; in twenty-four public junior col- leges, 67.5% ; in twenty private junior colleges, 63%. In each case the median is used to represent the average. Recognizing that there might be a considerable number of these junior-college graduates who did not continue their college wark in the school year immediately following their graduation, but who might have entered later, a check was made by means of a questionnaire sent to a random selection of twenty schools from this group of eighty-five whose reports were studied. The questionnaire covers a period of five years and endeavors to find the proportion of graduates who continued in higher institu- SONA Mw WO 158 Department of Secondary-School Principals tions at any time since their graduation. On the basis of this study the per cent was reduced from 57.8 per cent to 52.3 per cent. We may conclude, therefore, judging by the catalog offerings of the 343 junior colleges studied, that the preparatory function greatly predominates. Furthermore, it is more pronounced in the public junior college than in any other type. Several questions suggest themselves when we consider the pre- paratory function. Two of them bear directly upon the present discussion : (1) Is there a demand for additional facilities for the perform- ance of this function? (2) Can the junior college perform this function as effectively as it can be done in the lower division of the four-year college? These questions are considered in the order here mentioned. Is THERE A DEMAND FOR ADDITIONAL FACILITIES OR AGENCIES FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PREPARATORY FUNCTION ? That we have not yet reached the peak of attendance in higher institutions is indicated in the impressive annual increase of entrants in American colleges and universities. Table III shows the enroll- ments in the higher institutions in the United States for the period 1916-1926. There seems to be little in this table to indicate that the trend shall not continue upward, at least for a time. TABLE III CoLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY ENROLLMENTS IN THE UNITED STATES FOR THE PERiop 1916-1926! Year Number Institutions Total Enrollment 1916 662 329,387 1918 672 1920 670 462,445 1922 780 550,906 9139 664,266 975 Per Cent Increase 48.8 Certain sections of the country do not have facilities sufficient to accommodate those who desire to enter college and who can present 1Data from Biennial reports, United States Bureau of Education. Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 159 acceptable credentials. Cortright' in a study of conditions in the North Atlantic and New England States in 1927-28 finds that a se- lected group of twenty outstanding colleges in the area studied were able to admit just 50% of the qualified students who applied for ad- mission. The highest per cent of applicants received was 80% while the lowest was 20%. The fact that large state universities find it difficult to restrict enrollments of freshman students renders it necessary for these many institutions to adopt measures for the early elimination of large numbers of such students at the first examination period. Such practices are not compatible with the aims and purposes of public education in a democracy. For this reason many of the universities have, for the most part, been favorable to the development of the junior college as a means of relief and as a selective agency. Furthermore, the rapid increase in the output of the secondary schools during the past fifteen years leads one to believe that the demand for increased facilities has not reached its peak. Cortright? has shown that, while the increase of general population in the United States from 1890 to 1924 has been 79%, the increase in enrollments in elementary schools has been twice as great, and the increase in enrollments in high schools has been thirty-one times as great. Furthermore, the percentage of increase in college and university was four and one-half times as great as the increase in general popu- lation. In other words, the enrollments in high schools have increased seven times as rapidly as have the enrollments in colleges and universities. It would seem reasonable, therefore, to expect that the demands for increased facilities for the accommodation of high-school grad- uates will continue to be made. CAN THE JUNIOR COLLEGE PERFORM THE PREPARATORY Function EFFECTIVELY ? The answer to this question is sought from studies extending over a period of years in certain well-known universities which have accepted considerable numbers of students who have transferred from junior colleges. Reference is here made to only a few of these studies. IF, E. Cortright, Experience of Freshmen Applying to Enter Colleges in New a and Middle States. (Unpublished Study.) 21 bid. 160 Department of Secondary-School Principals Koos! in a study of junior-college graduates during the first year of subsequent attendance in colleges and universities compared with students in the University of Minnesota during the third year of residence found “that there is no appreciable difference in the degrees of success in the work of the junior years of junior-college graduates and of those who do their first two years of work in a standard university.” Eells? in a study of 510 junior-college students entering Stanford University during a five-year period concludes that the junior-college graduate who transfers to the university will make good, both from the scholastic and from the athletic standpoint. Jones* and Robison in 1928 made a study of the records of 409 students who, from 1923 to 1927, had transferred from junior col- leges to the University of California and who had completed from one to two semesters of work. Their records were compared with the records of 538 “native” students in the university. “The signif- icant finding of these studies is not the differences between the work of the whole group of junior colleges and of the university so much as the great differences existing between the junior colleges them- selves.” This study lacks something of the impressiveness of the study of Eells referred to above, in that the cases studied by Eells were followed through to graduation. In fact, Eells found that the junior-college transfer students did not make impressive records in the university until after at least one semester. Showman‘ in 1929 made a study of the records of fifty-three junior-college transfer students with the records of 250 “native” students at the University of California at Los Angeles. His study shows inferiority of the junior college group at several points. The study has been criticised on account of the small number of cases studied. The differences between the groups is small but would be significant if enough cases had been used. 'Koos, op. cit. 96. 2W. C. Eells “Records of Junior College Graduates at Stanford Uni- versity.” Proceedings of the American Association of Junior Colleges, (1928), 3. 3A. H. Jones and C. H. Robison, “Studies Based on Scholarship of Students Transferring from Junior College to the University of California at Los Angeles.” California Quarterly of Secondary Education, (June, 1929), 313- 18. 4H. M. Showman, “Junior College Transfers at the University of California at Los Angeles.” California Quarterly of Secondary Education, (June, 1929). Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 161 Stoddard! gave the Iowa comprehension test, the lowa placement examinations in English and mathematics, and the Iowa high-school content examination to 385 students taken from eleven junior colleges in Iowa. The results of the study show that the junior-college group show a significant superiority over first-year students in the University of Iowa. This study has little bearing upon the quality of teaching done in junior colleges or the university, but it does indicate that so far as the State of Iowa is concerned it is entrusting its good students to the junior college for their preparatory work. Although no comprehensive study has been made to show the records of all junior-college transfer students in universities, those which have been made are sufficient to show that the junior college may be expected to perform the preparatory function satisfactorily, success being measured by the students’ ability to continue and com- © plete a four-year college course successfully. B. TERMINAL EpuCATION, VOCATIONAL OR CULTURAL The whole program involving the preparatory function is pred- icated upon the selection of those students whose records indicate that they may be successful in pursuing higher studies. This, in theory, at least, proposes to select continuing students from the upper fourth or the upper half of the group. Conversely, it definitely tends to exclude the “non-recommended” group from further organized educational effort. That the educational program of a democracy must include pro- vision for those who by economic pressure or for other reasons may be forced out of the continuation process at various levels is assumed as fundamental. That this applies to the junior college quite as logi- cally as to the other levels is the belief of practically all students who have attempted to describe the functions of the junior college. Thomas’ in discussing the terminal function says: “Any thorough-going attempt to make the junior college serve the higher educational needs of its community inevitably reveals another function which is coming to be recognized as perhaps the peculiar province of this institution. This is the providing of terminal 1George D. Stoddard, “A Mental Educational Survey of Iowa Junior Colleges.” School Review, (1928), 36, 346-49. 2Frank W. Thomas, A Study of the Functions of the Public Junior College. (Unpublished Dissertation.) 1926. 162 Department of Secondary-School Principals courses, usually vocational in character, so that the student may at the end of two years have ‘rounded out’ his education and be qualified to take up vocational activities in a competent and well-prepared manner.” Leonard! says: “The laws of economy ultimately determine the char- acter of institutions and ultimately bound their efforts. Thus, without conscious planning social forces themselves finally operate so as to give life and vitality to educational institutions of certain types, while those of other types are eliminated.” He further finds that there are distinctive fields for which the junior college is particularly fitted. He bases his belief upon three broad generalizations : (1) Occupations tend to be up-graded. (2) Resulting from this tendency whole professions have been broken up into parts. (3) Individuals in the main no longer pass from the pursuits of one level to those of another level in the same field. When the university undertakes to train for professions it con- fines its efforts to the upper levels. These are agreed to be the field belonging to the university. Occupations, however, which come within the middle level and which are frequently designated as “semi- professional” seem to be potentially within the field of the junior college. So long as the junior colleges do not attempt to perform this function, the universities will be compelled to do so. It has already been shown, for example, by Spahr? in engineering, that large numbers of students who pursue engineering courses do not become engineers but fall into those occupational levels below the strictly engineering group. With no other adequate provision for the training of such students the technological schools find themselves taxed either to train for these middle level occupations or see students desiring such training denied. 1Robt. J. Leonard, “The Contributions of a Study of Occupational Levels to Junior College Policy.” Proceedings of the American Association of Juntor Colleges, (1925), 94f. 2R. H. Spahr, “Engineering Education on the Junior College Level.” Proceedings of the American Association of Junior Colleges, (1920). at ied red 11 Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 163 The tendency to furnish terminal vocational training is found in liberal arts colleges and universities. Reeves' finds in a recent study of the catalog offerings of one hundred colleges and universities that, “Thirty-three of the one hundred four-year institutions offer two-year curriculums for students who do not plan to continue their training beyond the Sophomore year. Twenty-four of these institu- tions are independent colleges, all of the two-year curriculums are of a vocational or pre-professional nature. The same is true of the two-year curriculums offered in five of the nine universities. The other four offer both vocational and pre-professional two-year cur- riculums and two-year curriculums designed to provide terminal education of a general nature for those students who do not plan to proceed with their education beyond the Sophomore year.” As has already been pointed out, of the 343 junior colleges examined 216 are offering vocational curricula. It is significant to note that of this number 197 are teacher-training curricula which have been wrought out to meet specific certification requirements set by the state. That a large field is scarcely being touched by the junior college is, therefore, quite evident. That the need for such training is evident is indicated by Leonard,’ who suggests that “clues” to most of these “ ... will come from a study of the cultural and civic needs of the millions of young people of the ages 18-21 who are not enrolled in our American colleges.” In a recent study of vocational training Bennett*® found a great gap between the high-school and university vocational groups. In part, he says: “A brief reference to catalogs of publicly-supported schools will show that there is a group of occupations which have been neglected by the public, and that this group is one for which education should be of junior-college grade. ..... It ‘is quite obvious that there is a wide gap between the occupations for which public university educa- tion is given and those for which public high school vocational training is given, that is, between class A and class B. In this gap lie scores of occupations, such as nurse, librarian, optometrist, watchmaker, and railway station agent. A person desirous of preparing himself for one of these callings must learn his trade by the antiquated method of apprenticeship, or choose to pay either the high tuition of a good private school. Publicly-supported educational institutions have not IFloyd W. Reeves, “The Junior College Curriculum in Colleges and Universities,” The Junior College Curriculum, (1929), p. 77. 2Leonard, op. cit. 3G. V. Bennett, Vocational Education of Junior College Grade, 13-16, 164 Department of Secondary-School Principals as yet seriously entered the field of vocational training for this middle group of occupations.” In a previous chapter of this study it has been shown that ap- proximately 50% of those who graduate from junior colleges do not continue their studies in higher institutions. That the junior college owes it to this group of students to provide them with such training as will fit them for gainful occupations would seem to require no argument. Furthermore, little account is taken-of that group of students who complete a high-school course but who belong to the “non- recommended” group. The large majority of the high schools do not provide adequate vocational training for such students. To say to such students that there are no further provisions for their training would seem to represent a huge waste which could hardly be justified in a democracy. This would be an admission that there are no logical terminal courses which could profitably be given to the products of the American high school except those which anticipate four or more years in college or professional school. This leaves out of account the majority of American boys and girls whose ages range from seventeen to nineteen years. In 1920 there were 13,500,000 persons in the United States between the ages of thirteen and nineteen years.' Of this number 7,300,000 were attending school while 6,200,000 were not in school. Of this number 5,593,623 were of ages seventeen to nineteen in- clusive. Of these there were 4,284,964 who were not in school while 1,308,659 were attending some school. The same report shows that there were 3,179,894 of this group who were engaged in some gainful occupation including home farm labor. Exclusive of home farm labor, 2,798,228 persons seventeen to nineteen years of age were engaged in gainful occupations. There are no available data from which to determine just what pressures have sent these individuals into gainful occupations. That additional educational facilities have not been placed within easy reach of these individuals, either for additional general training or for specific octupational training might have been one of the causes, seems reasonable to suppose. 1U. S. Census Report (1920), 2, 1045. lle Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 165 Although there are a few notable examples of comprehensive attempts to make the public junior college serve the needs of all persons who might profit by instruction therein, these are, indeed, few. Several public junior colleges have attempted ambitious pro- grams with the whole scheme of democratization included, only to find that the public had not reached the point of demanding universal education at the junior-college level and consequently of contributing the necessary financial support. SUMMARY 1. Preparation for levels above predominates in junior college cur- riculum offerings. Judged by their catalog offerings, the preparatory function of the junior college greatly predominates, many junior colleges attempting to perform no other function. Vocational curricula, mainly teacher-training, are offered in two-thirds of the junior colleges. In terms of the trends of the continuation of graduates of junior colleges, at least fifty per cent of the junior college effort should be directed toward the provision of terminal courses. 2. In practice the junior college is performing the preparatory function. The rapid growth of the junior college which has been pri- marily a preparatory institution, indicates an increasing demand on the part of the public for the performance of this service. So far as available evidence is obtainable it has been shown that, as a rule, the junior college performs this function satisfactorily. 3. The junior college is only partially performing the function of providing terminal education. In theory, the junior college is a logical unit in which large numbers of students should complete their training with courses definitely terminal in nature. In practice, the efforts of the junior college have been confined quite largely to the field of teacher- training. The junior college is the completion school for practically one-half of its students. 166 Department of Secondary-School Principals Professor Frederick L. Whitney, Director of Educational Re- search, Colorado State Teachers College, Greeley, Colorado, read his paper, Democratic Support of the Junior College. DEMOCRATIC SUPPORT OF THE JUNIOR COLLEGE FREDERICK L. WHITNEY, DrrEcTOR OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH, COLORADO STATE TEACHERS COLLEGE, GREELEY, COLORADO Democracy in public school education in America has developed from the time of the colonial dame school and the selection of the “lad o’pairts” to represent adolescence to the present conception that secondary-school opportunities should be provided for all. Acceptance of the principle of democratic support in education has developed from colonial controversy about paying for the schooling of other people’s children to the levy of mill taxes as a matter of annual routine. The trend toward democracy in curriculum making is from the blue-back spelling book to a complex offering which attempts to reflect modern society. The change toward what may be called occu- pational democracy in education is from colonial college preparation for the ministry to participation of the federal government in indus- trial education on both high-school and college levels. Many aspects of public education give evidence of more democracy year by year, in spite of an opinion held by a small group that the mental testing movement may isolate an IQ aristocracy for specialized treatment, at the same time delegating to dire determinism the common run of ability. It is probable that the junior-college movement represents a more or less conscious attempt on the part of society to reorganize secondary and higher education to conform more closely to principles of educa- tionai democracy. In financial support, this would mean an extension of free high-school privileges, for the junior college has been found to be secondary not collegiate; and it should remain so. Experience to date has shown that the cost to the individual is perhaps some lower but that there is a greater total expenditure with a junior-college system, largely because more are enrolled. However, if the junior college is to be justified as an agency for democracy, it will be because, although it costs more, it is worth more, in terms of broader, more P= iS Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 167 social offerings to meet specific needs, and because of better in- struction. It has been shown that one state only has accepted the junior college as an integral part of the state educational system in terms of financial aid. The criterion advanced is that the state should accept responsibility for one-half of the cost of the junior college ; and on the theory of the formation of larger administrative units for cost equalization this is logical. However, it cannot be meant that in every state the inauguration of such a policy should be attempted at once. The principles of democracy would demand that first of all the existent lower schools should be brought to a level of efficiency in the preparation of American citizens, capable of intelligent participation in social and civic life, before more funds are appropriated for the education of leaders or specialized workers. It has been shown that as high as 10 per cent to 15 per cent of total local school revenue is in some commonwealths coming from state aid, and it may be that a similar generosity toward the extension of secondary-school offerings to include two more years is all that should be expected in many states. In one western state, where state aid for present local schooling is only 2 per cent to 10 per cent (with an average of 3.5 per cent), it was decided through the deliberations of one state legislature, and is now being confirmed successfully with another representative group, that no additional state aid for junior colleges would be justified until the lower schools already organized, and in particular the rural elemen- tary and high schools, were adequately supported so that they might be brought to a respectable level of efficiency. This would seem to be in accord with a larger conception of democracy in public education. Again, the opinion is held that junior-college education should be free, a part of free secondary-school offerings in any state. This means, I suppose, free to the individual pupil in terms of no tuition, possible and easy accessibility, free textbooks, equality of curriculum content, of teacher skill, and of administrative and supervisory con- trol. But surveys have shown that the high school is not a free public school in any state, if total adolescent population be considered coming from all levels of social status and residing in all types of localities, near and far, in city, town, farming community, and sparsely settled mountain region. The fact is that, if optimum secondary-school opportunities be held in view as the criterion, a large proportion of the high-school population is now discriminated against in that the 168 Department of Secondary-School Principals type of education they are compelled to accept is not of first rate value. The best is not free in the sense that it is always obtainable. Further, in a check of high-school opportunities in one western state, it was found that on several counts the secondary school was not an integral part of the so-called free public school system. To quote from this report: “The whole attitude of the community, as represented by the board of education, is to nullify whatever legal status the high school has attained as an integral part of a free com- mon school system in the 53 years since the Supreme Court of Mich- igan in the Kalamazoo case gave it such. It is found, even in the matter of free textbooks, that there is more universal provision in the elementary schools. And, when pupils must attend away from home, but 19 out of 6500 were found to be provided with board and room, while only 2.3 per cent were given work for pay so that they might be self-supporting in part. “Further, while a nation-wide checking shows at least 25 states requiring the local district to pay high-school tuition when pupils must go away from home to get secondary school privileges, ten other states having tentative provisions for taking care of all or a part of it, and ten more with universal county units, the state in question has simply a permissive law which makes it a matter of agreement between district boards. Detailed returns from 93 per cent of 582 such boards in 11 representative counties indicate that this cannot with safety be left to the judgment of the boards with assurance that no pupil who is eligible for high-school membership will be deprived of it. Only 50 to 60 per cent of these boards were reported as paying any high- school tuition at all for outside attendance, and these expended but an average of $55 to $60 per pupil per school year. Returns from 54 of the 63 counties of the state show also that: (1) At least three- fourths of the districts are without high schools, (2) Sixteen per cent of the boards in such districts do not pay any outside high-school tuition, (3) The boards in 13 per cent of all districts in the state do not pay outside high-school tuition, and (4) This refusal is confined to boards of directors in third class districts only. “The 231 boards of directors who are reported as refusing to pay outside high-school tuition are found in 24 counties. A checking of crop, valuation, tax, and school expenditure facts in these counties, in comparison with like data in the 39 other counties and in all 63 counties in the state shows that they are as able to take care of high- a a ee es Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 169 school education as are counties where boards take a more liberal and broader minded attitude. “Further, when the educational ability and achievement of this state is compared with country-wide conditions, no reason appears why the facts of deprivation of high-school opportunities should attain such a bad eminence.” More data like these from nation-wide surveys might be given. For example, it is known that if all children fifteen to eighteen years old are considered, only one-fourth of the half of them living in the country go to high school at all, and only 70 per cent of the other half found in the cities are enrolled in the secondary schools. In view of these facts, I would say again that it may be better to build our house in American fashion, not as in the Philippines where the roof is made first. However, no doubt it is not intended that in the junior college, the two higher years added to the present high school, standards shall immediately reach ultimate goals in any respect. Certainly, it will be more logical and more democratic to build from below on both elementary and existent secondary levels, expecting eventually to do better in every educational unit from kindergarten to university. It has been said that to date the junior college is in the large a preparatory school, organized for the benefit of a chosen few. As a completion school, providing terminal courses for life preparation or to represent a total rounding out of available schooling of any kind for individuals who will not go farther, it serves only a part of its present enrollment ; and this in a restricted manner, as pre-teaching offerings seem to predominate. It may be argued that the junior college serves a higher, more important function, than popular education in the lower schools for large majorities, in that it provides extended opportunities for the training of leaders. For in educating for a democratic life, the needs of both leaders and followers must be envisaged; and perhaps the perpetuity of a happy, efficient society is more dependent on the former than on the latter. The acceptance of wider offerings on both secondary and collegiate levels by greater numbers of American youth ought to result in more intelligent leadership. The Commonwealth Study of ten years ago found this objective among the stated purposes of a few of the 33 private junior colleges included in the survey, and 170 Department of Secondary-School Principals over 9 per cent of the 162 private colleges reporting in the Colorado check of 1928 mentioned a similar aim in their advertised offerings. This is a gain of 50 per cent in emphasis, in terms of percentage of institutions. As for the public junior college, in neither survey was this function found as a stated aim, except in the case of one school of the 132 included in the Colorado study. However, if participation in extra-curriculum activities be assumed to have some relationship to a development in leadership which will appear in later social life, the surveys found both types of junior colleges doing something, the private schools having the larger avetage organization membership and the public colleges the smaller, each being about what was found in four-year colleges and in state universities respectively. The con- clusion may be that there is an opportunity for the junior college to make a contribution in this field of preparation for democratic leader- ship, both because the individual school is smaller and because total enrollments in thirteenth and fourteenth grades are becoming larger. Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting SECOND SESSION The second session of the junior-college section was called to order in the Egyptian Room of Hotel Tuller by E. E. Oberholtzer, President of Junior College, Houston, Texas at 9:40 A. M., Tuesday, February 25, 1931. After a short program of music by the Small Orchestra of Western High School of Detroit, Dean William S. Gray of the School of Education of the University of Chicago, read his paper, The Relation of the Junior-College Curriculum to General Education. THE RELATION OF THE JUNIOR-COLLEGE CURRICU- LUM TO GENERAL EDUCATION WILu1iAM S. GRAy The junior college is essentially a democratic institution. As such it is charged with the responsibility of providing instruction adapted to a wide range of interests, needs, and capacities. The courses offered in many institutions vary from those which are planned specifically to meet very definite vocational needs to those which serve primarily to broaden and enrich the general education of students. As indicated by the title, this report is concerned with the latter function of the curriculum. An analysis of curriculums in current use shows clearly that two radically different plans are followed in extending and enriching the general education of students. In a very large percentage of junior colleges, the courses offered all too faithfully duplicate the highly specialized, departmental courses which have been given for decades in liberal arts colleges. These courses are organized on the assumption that every student who takes one of them is planning to specialize in the field represented. As a result, large emphasis is given to the subject-matter, techniques, skills, and habits of thought which are essential for advanced study. With respect to breadth of training, it is assumed that students acquire from the various specialized courses taken a broad understanding of different fields of learning and their interrelationships. The foregoing plan has been subjected to vigorous criticism during recent years. It has been pointed out repeatedly, for example, that 172 Department of Secondary-School Principals the courses offered are dictated all too largely by departmental in- terests which are strongly intrenched ; that they emphasize technical aspects of fragments of fields rather than a clear understanding of broad fields and’ their relationships ; that the subject-matter presented lacks vitality and fails to prepare students to understand and inter- pret the issues and trends of contemporary life; that the training provided is too highly specialized to enable students to deal effectively with numerous personal and social problems that arise today; that the courses given often duplicate rather than supplement the work of the high school ; and that the total training provided is incomplete due to the specialized character of most of the courses given. Time will not permit a detailed discussion of the various criti- cisms suggested. The plan has therefore been adopted of quoting briefly from eminent authorities in support of at least two of the criticisms. During the Institute for Administrative Officers of Higher Institutions held at the University of Chicago in July, 1929, Dr. Judd referred to the practice in junior colleges of presenting spe- cialized courses with the hope that they will initiate students into the methods of critical thinking in a given field. “The objection,” he: said, “to this emphasis on the methods of thought peculiar to a single field is that the training in self-directed thinking is narrow. The student who is too early absorbed in a limited group of ideas may ultimately become expert in dealing with these ideas, but he will lack the advantages which might have been gained from the cul- tivation of breadth and variety in thinking. There are dangers in too early specialization which are no less serious than the dangers of superficiality resulting from the effort to cover too much ground.” The view was also expressed that more general courses had unique advantages. In addition to giving the student the best that civiliza- tion has to offer, they stimulate thinking and aid the student in recog- nizing general principles. “They come at a stage in the individual’s intellectual history when he is beginning to be aware of methods of thought, and they furnish him with models which he can follow without becoming slavishly subject to the mere routine of the teach- er’s mode of presentation.” 1Charles H. Judd, “Adapting the Curriculum to the Psychological Charac- teristics of the Junior College,” The Junior College Curriculum, p. 10, Pro- ceedings of the Institute for Administrative Officers of Higher Institutions, Vol. I, The University of Chicago Press, 1929. Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 173 Vigorous criticism of highly specialized training has also been offered by President Butler of Columbia. After deploring the decline of classical scholarship, he pointed out the fact that its fall “has been hastened and made certain by the attitude and influence of a host of those who were themselves teachers of the classics and who were engaged in the promotion of classical scholarship. They saw fit to supplement understanding of the ancient world with a myriad of minutiae of highly specialized learning, and to push far into the background the vitally important art of interpretation which is the essential element of real teaching.” President Butler also empha- sized the fact that the natural sciences which have enjoyed increasing educational dominance for a half century are now in danger of pursuing the fatal course of the classics by their extreme emphasis on highly specialized training. If they are to escape this fate, he says, those who represent them in the academic life of the world must be able to follow the example of a Huxley, a Helmholtz, a Millikan, and a Jeans, and “interpret the facts, the findings, the methods, and the lessons of the natural and experimental sciences to that multiply- ing host of intelligent men and women who seek a liberal education im the true sense of that term. Narrowly limited specialization be- tween mounting walls of closely restricted interest, knowledge and skill will not do. That way lies the path to the academic graveyard.” The quotations from Judd and from Butler are but examples of the numerous protests which have been voiced recently against the character of the training given all too frequently at the junior-college level to students who seek to extend thier general education. Failure to provide appropriate training may be attributed to two general facts. The first is lack of clear understanding of the nature and scope of general education at the junior-college level. As will be pointed out later, very hopeful attempts are now being made to clarify thinking in this connection. The second is the almost complete dominance of the curriculum by highly specialized departments. Secondary schools, including both senior high schools and junior colleges, face the responsibility of affecting some type of internal reorganization which will enable them to provide breadth of training, supplemented by such departmental courses as may be necessary to prepare for later spe- cialization. In subsequent sections of this report several types of 1Report of the President of Colimbia University for 1930, p. 25. Columbia University Bulletin of Information, December 27, 1930. 174 Department of Secondary-School Principals reorganization which have been affected recently or which are now in progress will be described. A radical departure from the traditional curriculum of junior colleges has been exemplified during recent years in an increasing number of institutions which provide general survey and orientation courses. The distinctive contributions of such courses in expanding and enriching the general education of students can be clearly de- fined through brief descriptions of them. One such course is entitled “The Nature of the World and Man” as given in the freshman year at the University of Chicago. The purposes of this course as de- scribed by Professor Merle Coulter are as follows: “(1) To give the student a survey of the natural sciences, for purposes of orientation. This would presumably develop.a well-rounded idea of the bearing and value of the natural sciences upon human affairs, and would enable the students to choose more intelligently such future courses as they might wish to take in the various natural science departments. (2) To instill in the minds of freshmen an understanding of, a re- spect for, and an ability to employ the so-called ‘scientific method.’ It was thought that perhaps this might be done more impressively in a course of this sort, with its tremendous scope, than in any previously existing courses.” A second example is the Course on Contemporary Civilization as given at Columbia University. This course is an introduction to some of the social problems of the present-economic, governmental, national and international—and to some of the intellectual trends of the present—scientific, religious, cultural. As explained by Professor Coss, the chief purpose of the course was to present the contemporary social problems of man in the light of the contributors of the various social sciences. The insistence upon departmental sequences and the planning of courses with a view to professional preparation became far less prominent than formerly. “The fact that all the social studies,” as Coss points out, “pooled their resources kept the treat- ment non-departmental, for each specialist was interested not only in holding up the hands of his fellows but also in keeping his fellows from putting their specialities too much in the foreground. As long 1Merle Coulter, “A Critical Report of the Chicago Experiment with the Course Entitled, ‘The Nature of the World and Man,’” The Junior College Curriculum, pp. 120-1. Proceedings of the Institute for Administrative Officers of Higher Institutions, Volume I. The University of Chicago Press, 1929. now Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 175 as all were engaged in the study of one problem, no one could charge that another department was getting a lion’s share of attention. The effort became wholly codperative because the objective seemed eminently worth while.”? A third example is the course on aesthetics as given at Stephens College. The chief purpose of this course is to increase appreciation of the fine arts, which in this case includes literature, music, painting, sculpture, and architecture. “The second purpose of the course,” as defined by the instructor, “is knowledge of the subject as a whole. An orientation course in the fine arts should give an understanding of the relations between the various arts; it should also give an under- standing of each art as a whole. Most of our knowledge is piecemeal ; we learn a little of this and a little of that; and we never get the broad view of a subject in all its relationships.”* The examples which have been presented indicate that notable progress has already been made in providing improved types of courses for extending and enriching the general education of students. Such courses have developed in direct response to a clearly recognized need for a different educational procedure at the junior-college level. Such courses are not mere repetitions of high-school courses, nor are they specialized invasions of fragments of fields. By surveying re- lated fields of knowledge, they greatly extend the student’s range of information. They also clarify his vision by presenting materials in significant relationships and give training in critical thinking by familiarizing him with the methods employed in different fields. The development of such courses represents one of the most promising innovations of the last decade. Announcements made recently by several institutions indicate that far more fundamental changes are now in progress than the mere development of general survey courses. These changes are accom- panied by a genuine effort to define the purpose and content of general education. Strange as it may seem this has never been done 1John J. Coss, “A Report of the Columbia Experiment with the Course on Contemporary Civilization,” The Junior College Curriculum, p. 134. Pro- ceedings of the Institute for Administrative Officers of Higher Institutions. University of Chicago Press, 1929. 2Louise Dudley, “A Report on the Stephens College Experiment with a Survey Course on Aesthetics,” The Junior College Curriculum, p. 149. Pro- ceedings of the Institute for Administrative Officers of Higher Institutions, Volume I, The University of Chicago Press, 1929. 176 Department of Secondary-School Principals in the past with definiteness and clarity. Several efforts have been made, however, the results of which were very suggestive. One faculty committee, for example, after deliberate study and analysis a few years ago defined it first in general terms, second in terms of abilities, and third in terms of specific subjects or fields. It will suffice at this point to present a few of the more general statements tenta- tively adopted by the committee and presented to the faculty for consideration. General education “involves the attainment of at least three types of independence: intellectual, or ability to think in the major fields in which civilized societies of the past and of the present have done and are doing their thinking; aesthetic, or power independently to enjoy the fine arts and to absorb their values into one’s own life; and moral, or the power to live as a responsive member of society. The attainment of such independence involves : (1) Ability to identify and to use methods of valid thinking. (2) Ability to conceive the past of the physical world as a process of evolution as disclosed by a study of the natural and physical sciences. (3) Ability to think of the survey of civilization not as a chronicle of events, but as a study of the great movements in human develop- ment. (4) Ability to use the vernacular correctly and clearly. (5) Ability to use at least a non-vernacular language as a means of understanding the racial habits of thinking employed by other peoples, and as a means of access to the materials of learning and culture. (6) Ability to appreciate literature, music and the pictorial and plastic arts. (7) Ability to apprehend the principles of ethics and the obliga- tions which the individual owes to society, and the active fulfillment of such obligations. (8) Acquisition of habits conducive to the intelligent maintenance of well being. Although the foregoing definition or analysis was never formally adopted, the discussions which accompanied its presentation empha- sized the need for a re-evaluation of the junior college courses offered. Accordingly, a critical study was made of these courses to determine been One lysis s of ffice nta- for pes Ids ne to fe; ty. SS al )- Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 177 their adequacy and appropriateness in providing students with a broad grasp of important fields of human knowledge. In this connection the need was recognized of developing courses in various departments for students not specializing in those fields, that would give them a com- prehensive view of problems with which educated people should be familiar. The results of a very recent effort to define the nature and content of general education has just been published in the February number of The Journal of Higher Education. I refer to the article by Presi- dent Wilkins entitled, “The Revision at Oberlin College,” which is a description and interpretation of the “Sevenfold Plan” recently adopted by that institution. Oberlin College, along with other pro- gressive institutions, is engaged in a genuine revision of its curricu- lum. In this connection, the principle has been accepted that “a large part of the college experience should be devoted to a broadening of general education.” In providing necessary courses it was assumed that they should not be courses taken merely at random outside the field of. specialization, nor courses chosen in two or three other de- partments selected with or without specific purpose. A plan was developed, on the other hand, “whereby each student should gain a measure of significant and ordered knowledge in each of the main fields of general human interest.” In developing this plan an effort was made to define the major fields of human interest in terms that could readily be related to the curriculum resources of the college. These fields were distinguished and analyzed in the light of the concept of evolution. Seven such fields were identified. The specific basis of discrimination in each case and the corresponding subject fields follow: 1. In a universe built up of like materials which undergo like changes under like conditions, upon a tiny changing planet—The Physical Sciences. 2. Many forms of life, including man, have evolved—The Bio- logical Sciences. 3. Man possesses a complex and highly integrated organization— Psychology. 4. Living in society with other men, he tries to understand group life, to adapt himself to it, and to mold it to his needs—The Social Sciences. 178 Department of Secondary-School Principals 5. He has achieved effective forms of thought and of the com- munication of thought—Language, Mathematics, Logic. 6. He learns to enjoy the beautiful, and, so far as he can, to create it—Literature, The Fine Arts, Music. 7. He tries to understand the sum total of life, and to live with reference thereto—Philosophy, Religion. A critical review of the foregoing outline led the Oberlin faculty to believe that anyone who seeks to be an intelligent and useful member of society should not ignore any of these seven fields. It is the plan of that institution to see that each student does some work in each of the fields, preferably during the junior-college period. The regulations concerning course requirements are very interesting. Eng- lish composition is the only specific required course. Work in each of the seven fields is expected, excepting in psychology. Courses in that field are strongly recommended, however. Three elective orienta- tion courses are provided: (1) “A year-course, without laboratory work, in the field of the physical sciences, (2) A similar course in the field of the biological sciences, and (3) A one-year course in the field of philosophy and religion.” It is obvious that Oberlin’s new plan differs radically in basic philosophy from the highly specialized junior- college programs referred to earlier. It provides a breadth of training rarely dreamed of in earlier days. Furthermore, it recognizes clearly the distinction between general education and specialized study which are sadly confused in many institutions today. A second example of a radical reorganization at the junior-college level may be appropriately described at this point. I refer to the new program of instruction at the University of Chicago which illustrates several types of reforms to which little reference has been made thus far in the discussion. In October, 1930, the University approved a recommendation that the Junior College, the Senior Colleges, and the Graduate Schools, be replaced by five divisions, namely the College and four Upper Divisions, embracing the Humanities, the Social Sciences, the Physical Sciences, and the Biological Sciences. We are interested on this occasion only in the nature and purpose of the Col- lege which provides training for students who were formerly regis- tered in the Junior Colleges. The Upper Divisions register students who were formerly classified as Senior College and as Graduate students. us cc Ww te Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 179 The educational aim of the College is two-fold, namely, to provide students with a superior type of general education, and to give spe- cific orientation in divisional fields to those planning to enter them. Two distinctly different types of courses are being organized to meet these needs. The first is a series of four divisional lecture courses, one each in the Humanities, the Physical Sciences, the Biological Sciences, and the Social Sciences, which will provide the fundamen- tals of a broad general education. These courses will be organized by the faculty as a cooperative undertaking without reference to specific departmental interests. It is proposed that each of the four divisional lecture courses should extend throughout an academic year, with pro- vision for students to take all four of them during the Freshman year. It is also contemplated that provision be made in these courses for discussion sections and other means of direct contact between students and faculty. The second type of course is for those who contemplate specializa- tion later in a specific division or department and who show keen interest in and aptitude for advanced work in that field. Three dif- ferent kinds of courses have been suggested for this purpose: ad- vanced divisional general courses extending through three quarters ; advanced divisional conference courses for students who qualify ; and divisional or subject sequences approved by the Curriculum Com- mittee. The chief purpose of such courses is to give students the information and specialized training prerequisite to advanced study in particular fields. Courses will also be provided in English com- position. However, students who demonstrate that they have mastered the elements of written expression will not be required to take them. Placement tests will be given at least three times a year, and in the light of the results students will be assigned to sections adapted to their needs. In addition, tool courses in the foreign languages, in mathematics, in statistics and in other specific fields will be given as they are found necessary. Wider liberties in pursuing the college curriculum than are usually granted have been suggested. Regular attendance at the divisional lecture courses will not be required. Since syllabi of courses and sample examinations will be printed, great flexibility will be possible in preparing for examinations. Students may at- tend those lectures that will be helpful and omit those which cover 180 Department of Secondary-School Principals fields previously mastered. Furthermore, a student who enters the College with an adequate mastery of foreign languages but with meager preparation in the biological or social sciences may make up such deficiencies by special attention to these divisional fields in and out of the classroom, on or off the campus. These provisions recognize that students differ radically in interests, needs and ca- pacities and that provisions should be made for them. The completion of the requirements of the College will be meas- ured by means of comprehensive examinations. Progress from the College to. the Divisions will therefore indicate real educational achievement rather than the mere fulfillment of time requirements. In the administration of this system, the College Board of Examiners may take into account not only the performance of students in the examinations, but also whatever other information may be secured regarding the student’s abilities and attainments. As recommended by the College Curriculum Committee, a certificate signifying the satisfactory completion of the College division shall be awarded to any student who may desire it, when he shall have pursued a full program of work, in the University for at least one academic year and shall have passed the examinations. This. provision recognizes the fact that students may enter the College primarily for an enrich- ment of their general education and may not care to pursue a program of specialized studies. In order that the completion of the requirements of the College may signify a wholesome balance between breadth and depth of educational experience, the following requirements shall be fulfilled: (1) The attainment of the minimum essentials of factual information and an introduction to the methods of thought and work in each of the four divisional fields; (2) The attainment of such mastery of the subject-matter, techniques, skills, habits of thought, and methods of work in two of the four divisional fields as may be expected of students who have through three quarters pursued appropriate courses in each field; (3) A demonstration in the examinations of the student’s ability to express himself with clarity and accuracy in writ- ten English; and (4) The mastery of a foreign language and of mathematics at the level of attainment expected of students who offer two acceptable entrance units in each of these fields. These require- ments have not been formally adopted by the faculty; they reflect = moe to oS | te & =e Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 181 the judgment of the Curriculum Committee at the present stage in the development of the new plan. The examples of reorganization which have been described show clearly that extended and enriched opportunities in the field of gen- eral education are now being provided at the junior college level. The basic principles which determine to a large extent the new educational plans may be summarized briefly as follows: (1) That general edu- cation and specialized study should be clearly distinguished in organ- izing courses at the junior college level; (2) That the scope of the courses provided for extending and enriching general education should prepare students to understand and interpret contemporary life rather than for specialization in specific fields; (3) That a valid practical definition of the nature and scope of general education is essential in developing the curriculum ; (4) That the content of the courses pro- vided should include the most valuable information that civilization has to offer, independent of departmental boundaries, and should give training in modes of thinking that involve the organization and in- tegration of broad fields of subject-matter ; (5) That the requirements with respect to courses should recognize individual differences and make adequate provision for them; (6) That the completion of gen- eral education should be measured in terms of real achievement rather than in terms of time or course requirements; (7) That the comple- tion of general education at a satisfactory level of attainment should precede specialized study. These then are principles which are deter- mining the new place of general education in the junior-college cur- riculum. Professor Grayson N. Kefauver, Associate Professor of Education of Teachers College, Columbia University then read a paper, The Organization of the Junior College As An Agency of Democracy. 182 Department of Secondary-School Principals THE ORGANIZATION OF THE JUNIOR COLLEGE AS AN AGENCY OF DEMOCRACY Grayson N. KEFAUVER, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY and CATHERINE BULLARD, | DErEAN oF Girts, West: H1iGH ScHOOL ‘ WaTERLOO, Iowa I CHANGES IN SECONDARY EDUCATION TO PROMOTE DEMOCRATIZATION Much progress has been made during the last twenty years toward achieving a democratic secondary education. We are now not only serving many not formerly cared for, but we have developed a program which makes more adequate provision for those served. We ‘ are no longer content to conceive secondary education as education for a selected group intent upon entrance to college and to ignore those without capacity or inclination for work of the traditional academic type. The point of view has changed from that of selection of the few who are adapted to a narrow program of education to the } ‘ education of the many with curricular provision of types and levels of work to serve the different needs represented in the heterogeneous student body. From the selection of the few, we have moved to the " distribution of the many to the types of work which best serves F their needs. This program has necessitated the development of a , highly differentiated program of training in the senior high school, a pre-exploratory program in the junior high school, and a guidance program throughout the secondary school to provide the basis for the distribution of students to the subjects, curricula, and schools that best serve their needs. Adequate curriculum materials have not yet been developed for all groups and only the beginnings have been made in providing guidance service in many schools. However, the acceptance of the responsibility and the progress that has already been made augers well for more adequate educational opportunity for all of adolescent youth. oe 7 = =—*- »¢ us Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 183 The junior college is one of the several extensions of the secondary school to provide improved educational opportunities for groups not formerly served adequately. The demand of the people for more education has caused the acceptance of a high-school education as desirable for everyone. Large numbers have not been content with the regular high-school course, but have had the leisure and desire to continue their formal education beyond high-school graduation. The increase in the number entering college from 1918 to 1926 was 145.8 per cent, an increase in percentage greater than that of any other unit in the educational system. Many colleges have not been able to accept all of the students who have sought admission and have been interested in admitting only the more capable students. Con- sequently many students were excluded from admission to the regular colleges. The scholarship requirement in California has been esti- mated by Ricciardi, Chief of Secondary Schools, to exclude more than half of the graduates from entrance to the higher institutions. The junior colleges have rendered a democratizing function by providing educational facilities for those unable to gain admission to colleges. It has also provided local education for those unable to meet the larger costs associated with attending a higher institution when it is necessary to live away from home. There are other elements of democratization in the junior college but these two relationships will serve to illustrate. GENERAL FEATURES OF JUNIOR COLLEGE TO SERVE FUNCTIONS OF INSTITUTIONS The organization of the junior college cannot properly be con- sidered apart from its special functions. The plan of organization or administrative procedures which makes conditions most favorable for the achievement of the objectives striven for should, of course, be chosen. Ease or difficulty of administration should not be a deter- mining factor except as it adds or detracts from the outcomes of the activity. It is not possible here to review all of the purposes proposed for the junior college. Instead, certain general features of organiza- tion will be presented with indications of relationship between the features and the purposes they are intended to serve. Junior colleges should be prepared to serve all graduates of the high school even though many of them do not have the ability to meet the present entrance requirements of higher institutions. The 184 Department of Secondary-School Principals philosophy of the junior college is the same as the philosophy of the high school,—to furnish education adapted to the different levels of ability and different types of interests. As in the high school, this means the development of a differentiated program of training so that each student can choose an individual program which is a real challenge for him and in which he has reasonable chance for success. For some students, the program will be similar to that they might have obtained in regular colleges. For others, the program will be very different. This distribution of students to types of work which will best serve their needs presents a need for a functional program of guid- ance. Not all can find employment in the professions and not all have the capacity to succeed in the courses preparatory for the pro- fessions. There is not only responsibility for junior colleges to set up a variety of offering, but also to interpret the offering of the school and the opportunities and demands of different vocational fields so that students can make wise choice of subjects. The junior college should be administered under local control so as to be responsive to the educational aspirations and needs of the people of the community served, as is now true for the high school. In many cases, junior colleges have been organized not because of the promotion of the school administrators but because of com- munity pressure for provision for more extended education. It is important that there be community support in the junior college. It is equally important that the people of the community have an understanding of the breadth of the purposes of the new unit. The fact that “college” appears in the title, probably causes many to think of the institution in terms of the regular college and advanced training in the university. If semi-professional or terminal vocational training is provided, employers should be in agreement with the training of- fered so that they will seek the services of those with such training. In some communities, at least, closer relationships might well be set up to provide cooperative training with students spending only part of their time in school and part in supervised employment. Higher institutions might properly set up certain standards for the courses taken by students who will transfer to them and the state department of education or other accrediting agencies might properly give atten- tion to the establishment of general standards for junior colleges as st d- ill et 1€ al — ee = we a Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 185 is now done for the high school. It is important, however, that the entire program of the junior college not be forced into the pattern that has been set up in higher institutions for these years. The junior college should be closely articulated with the high school. One of the important contributions of the junior college is the elimination of objectionable overlapping in the curriculum of the high school and the first two years of college. The closest possible articulation would be obtained by merging the two upper parts of high school and the first two years of college into one institution under the same administrative and supervisory control. There there is a separate organization of high school and college, articulation can be promoted by the organization of curriculum committees in the dif- ferent subjects with representatives from the high school and junior college, and charged with the responsibility for mapping out a program for the entire secondary school. ‘In order to achieve economic democratization, it is desirable that the junior college be a local institution with opportunity for students to live at home while in attendance except when compliance with this principle would lead to the establishment of institutions too small for the development of a satisfactory program. This principle is generally realized for the students in public junior colleges and for a large fraction of the students in private institutions. Studies by Koos indicate that the presence of advanced educational facilities in the local community has a large influence on the number who will continue their education beyond graduation from high school. Re- ports from parents and students indicate that the lower cost is an important factor in the decision to attend a junior college and many students report that they would not have been able to continue their education if facilities were not available in the local community. DEGREE OF INTEGRATION OF JUNIOR COLLEGE WITH SECONDARY SCHOOL The relationship between the junior college and the high school is the principal theme of this paper. In some communities the junior college is completely segregated from the high school. In other com- munities, the junior college years are completely merged with the high school with the two upper years of the high school and the junior college years combined into a four-year institution. This is an issue 186 Department of Secondary-School Principals that has been widely discussed in junior-college circles. In connection with an investigation of students activities in the junior college it seemed desirable to obtain somewhat detailed information on the relationship between the two institutions. Data were obtained from 104 junior colleges, 48 of which were public and 56 were private. These institutions varied in size and were distributed throughout the country. As junior colleges have been developed what relationships have been built up between the high school and the new unit? RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ADMINISTRATIVE Heaps oF H1GH SCHOOL AND JUNIOR COLLEGE Probably the most significant administrative relationship between the high school and the junior college is in the assignment of responsi- bility for the management of the two institutions. In forty per cent of the situations the same person is at the head of both institutions. The smaller institutions are placed under the same administration more frequently. This practice was followed twice as frequently for public institutions with enrollments under 100 as for those over 100. Size of junior college was of much less significance in affecting this practice in the private institutions. This plan of organization is the one most frequently used. The head of the junior college is frequently entirely independent of the high-school principal. This arrangement is the most frequent one used in public junior colleges the percentage using it being 45.7 Tt was used in only a sixth of the private institutions. This practice is followed much more frequently in the larger institutions. In a fifth of the schools, one of the administrative heads is responsible to the other. The heads of the public junior college are responsible to the high-school principals much more frequently than the reverse relationship, the contrasting percentages being 17.4 per cent and 6.5 per cent. A negligible percentage (1.9 per cent) of the heads of the private junior colleges are responsible to the principal, but as many as 15.1 per cent have the high-school principal responsible to the junior-college head. In reality, when the head of one institution is responsible to the other, the two institutions are under the same administrative direction. Interpreting the data in this way, as many as 54.3 per cent of the ion it the om ite. ips OL a a a eS ee ee Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 187 public junior college and 83.1 per cent of the private junior colleges are under the same leadership as the high school. RELATIONSHIP OF TEACHING STAFF OF HigH SCHOOL AND JUNIOR COLLEGE There is considerable overlapping of the teachers of high schools and junior colleges. In 72.7 per cent of the junior colleges, some of the junior college teachers also teach classes in the high school. In four of these institutions, all of the teachers handle some high-school classes. There is remaining only 17.2 per cent of the institutions reporting that junior college teachers teach only junior-college classes There are no large differences in practice between public and private or between large and small institutions. RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN HIGH-SCHOOL AND JUNIOR-COLLEGE STUDENTS IN CLAss ENROLLMENT Junior-college students and high-school students are sometimes enrolled together in the same classes. Junior-college students are permitted to enroll in high-school classes and high-school students are permitted to enroll in junior-college classes. When junior-college students enroll in high-school classes, they may either receive no credit for the work, receive high-school credit, or receive junior- college credit. High-school credit is allowed in over a third of the public and a fifth of the private institutions. Junior-college credit is allowed for work in high-school classes in a much smaller number of situations, the percentage being 8.3 for public and 5.4 for private. Only a few institutions, 4.2 per cent of public and 8.9 per cent of the private, fail to grant credit of some type. The comments made by administrators who furnished the information would imply that it is not the general practice to permit junior-college students to enroll in the classes of the high school, but that permission is granted only when the needs of students required it. Among the comments made are: “Only occasionally ; make up one required entrance credit ; make up high school entrance deficiency in special curricula; commerce only; Latin only.” High-school students are permitted to enroll in the classes of junior colleges. In approximately a fifth of both public and private institutions reporting, high-school students were permitted to enroll 188 Department of Secondary-School Principals in courses in junior college and receive junior-college credit. In ap- proximately a tenth of all the institutions, high-school students were permitted to enroll in junior-college classes but received only high- school credit. The conditions under which students were allowed to enroll in the advanced institution are suggested by the following comments made by administrators furnishing data: “If within two credits of graduation ; only in language, and then very seldom ; home economics only ; if have 13.5 units completed; if have 15 units com- pleted ; in individual cases.” Both of these privileges of enrollment are made in nearly every case to make possible adjustment to the needs of individual students. That the needs of students are recognized and the combined resources of the two units are used to meet them is most favorable. The gen- eral practice in the junior colleges canvassed is to organize separate classes even though the same identical courses are offered in the high school. Only four public and five private junior colleges indicated the contrary practice. RELATIONSHIP OF JUNIOR-COLLEGE STUDENTS AND HiGH-SCHOOL STUDENTS IN STUDENT ACTIVITIES There is much association of junior-college students and high- school students in student activities. Public and private institutions differ greatly in this respect. The dominant practice in the public institutions involves segregation of the two groups of students; whereas, the dominant practice in the private institutions involves the participation of the two groups together in at least some of the ac- tivities. Eighty-five per cent of the public junior colleges have sepa- rate participation for all activities; 13.8 per cent reported that the two groups participated together in some activities but were segre- gated in other activities. All of the students participated together in all of the activities in only one public institution. The practice is strikingly different in the private junior colleges. Junior-college and high-school students participate separately in all activities in only a fifth of the institutions. In as many as 31.5 per cent, the two groups participate together in all of the activities. In nearly a half of the institutions, 48.1 per cent, the junior-college and high-school students participate together in some activities but are separate in others. The private junior colleges have brought about a hh — — aa _—_— —_ ~~ oF —- © = —— i= «2S Ue Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 189 closer association of the students of the two institutions. In the smaller institutions, this combination of groups makes possible a greater variety of activities because of the larger numbers of students obtained by the combination. However, the larger institutions joined with the high school as frequently as the smaller units. RELATIONSHIP OF THE JUNIOR COLLEGE WITH THE HicH ScHOOL In HousInc Some of the junior colleges canvassed had no direct building con- nection with the high school. The percentage of such institutions was 14.2 for the public and 10.7 for the private. For those with con- nections, we find a number of degrees of integration of the two divisions. They vary from a separate building in the same plant, to separate section of the same building, to same section with only one or more rooms designated as junior college headquarters, and to the same building with no segregation. The institutions canvassed are distributed somewhat equally among the four situations described. Of the public junior college, a third has a separate building of the same plant, another third has a separate section of the building, a fourth has only a junior-college headquarters with otherwise general use of the plant along with the high-school students, and 8.3 per cent have no segregation. In the private institutions, the percentages are somewhat the same except that 30.4 per cent have no segregation within the building and only 12.3 per cent report the use of a head- quarters for junior-college students. In both public and private insti- tutions, the practice is affected by the size of the institution with more segregation of students in the larger units. VARIATION IN PLAN OF ORGANIZATION The data presented from 104 junior colleges indicate that most junior colleges have functional administrative connections with a high school. It was suggested earlier in the paper that close articula- tion of the two units is to be desired. There is much justification for complete merging of the two units to form two rather than three units in the local secondary-school system to make conditions more favorable for articulation in the curriculum and to make possible larger adjustments in the programs of individual students. Occasion- ally, one hears objections to the close association of high schools and 190 Department of Secondary-School Principals junior college based on the belief that such contact would have an injurious effect on the instruction in the junior-college classes. There are probably siiuations where this undesirable outcome has been obtained. In general, however, such statements show an unreasoned disrespect for instruction in high schools and an exaggerated estimate of quality of instruction on the college level. There is also the failure to recognize the elevation of the standards for the upper years of high school when such relationship exists. Two investigations of achievement of students is of interest in this connection. Stoddard and Cornog measured and compared the achievement of students in chemistry in high schools and in univer- sities. The test for the high-school students was given about three months after the completion of the course and the college students were tested at the close of the course. Stoddard reports: “The best scores made by college freshmen are virtually the same as the best scores made by high-school students while the poorest scores made by the freshmen are but slightly better than the poorest scores made by high-school students. The range and general form of the distribu- tions of scores are very similar in both cases.”! The second study by Boardman? compares the achievement in senior college of students trained in junior colleges closely articulated with the high school with the achievement of students trained in junior colleges more completely segregated from the high school. The re- sults of the study suggest that the degree of relationship with the high school does not affect the quality of the preparation for advanced study in higher institutions. The variation in plan of organization of the junior college in its relation to the high school represents a healthful state of affairs during the early stages of this reorganization of secondary education. In many cases, it reflects local conditioning factors, such as building, staff, size of school, and in others, it reflects the thinking of the administrators on the desirable plan of organization of secondary education. It is desirable that we seek objective evidence on the achievements of institutions working under different conditions. It is desirable also that we not be dogmatic and extreme in our 1George D. Stoddard, “The Articulation of High School and College Subject Matter.” School Executives Magazine (April, 1930) Vol. 49, p. 357. 2 Boardman, Harry, Separation of Junior College from High School. River- side California Junior College Occasional Papers, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1925. 22 pp. Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 191 defence of a particular plan of organization. Local administrators should be encouraged in making a fair trial of the plan which appears to them to be adapted to local conditions. It is only through such trial and testing that we can obtain a more valid basis for judgment. In time, we should have adequate bases for evaluating the different types of arrangements. Until then, we can only proceed subjectively to set up organizations we believe to give the most favorable condition for achieving the special functions of the junior college. RESEARCH SECTION ! The Committee on Organization of Investigations in Secondary Education met in the Blue Room of Hotel Tuller on Wednesday, February 25. Professor W. C. Reavis of the University of Chicago called the meeting to order at 9:40 A. M. Professor George E. Carrothers of the School of Education of the University of Michigan led the discussion of The Teaching Load. The outline of his talk follows: QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE TEACHING LOAD J. B. EpmMonson AND GEorGE E. CARROTHERS, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN I. How does the load of the teacher compare with: (1) The load of other government employees? (2) That of heads of departments in stores and workers in business and industry holding corresponding positions? (3) The work accomplished by lawyers, doctors, and other professional men and women? (4) The load carried by women in the home? (5) The load which the public often thinks is carried? II. Does the work of the teacher seem heavier and more exacting since : (1) The teacher deals with human beings almost all the time and under restricted conditions? (2) The teacher deals with immature rather than with mature human beings? (3) The teacher deals with boys and girls who do not choose their schools and teachers, or even choose to go to school ? (4) There is to-day a better understanding of child nature, or is the work thus made lighter? (5) The curriculum is greatly enriched and broadened? (6) The youth of this day appear to be quite sophisticated ? 192 Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 193 (7) Better measuring rods are now available for use by school administrators ? (8) The compensation is a stated, previously known amount which is not always related to the amount or quality of service rendered? ‘y (9) The results of efficient teaching are extremely difficult y, to show to the public? 0 (10) The work of the school is considered everybody’s business ? yf i III. To what extent can administrators help to lighten the teaching : load by: (1) Selecting teachers who have developed efficient work habits ? (2) Properly inducting teachers into their new positions? (3) A careful distribution of the teaching load? (4) Helping in the development and maintenance of a whole- some staff morale? (5) Encouraging staff teamwork and codperation? (6) Assisting in the grouping of pupils according to their ability? (7) Providing good teaching materials and equipment, mimeo- graphing service, and needed clerical assistance? (8) Working with entire staff in the discovery and use of more efficient methods of teaching? (9) Selecting helpful, codperative supervisors? (10) Developing an efficient administrative policy ? (11) Disregarding and working to eliminate petty regulations which tend to repress and restrict teachers? (12) Encouraging initiative and sense of responsibility through the giving of due credit and recognition for work well done? vs V. To what extent can teachers help in lightening their own loads by: ’ (1) A more careful planning and preparation of daily work? (2) Making assignments clear and definite, and setting teaching goals in the form of problems? (3) Teaching pupils useful study habits? Department of Secondary-School Principals (4) Having pupil monitors take the roll and assist in collect- ing and distributing materials? (5) Opening the class on time with some definite work that will involve all the class? (6) Giving five-minute written quizzes in order to test daily preparation? (7) Giving true-false, completion or association tests rather than the long essay type of examination? (8) Developing a spirit and plan of codperation which will tend toward the holding of pupils responsible for good penmanship, good English, correct mathematics, etc. in every school activity? (9) Avoiding the common practice of saving examination papers or other large tasks for Saturday or Sunday? (10) Using standardized tests so that pupils may know def- initely their standing as compared with that of other pupils? (11) Developing a work-play-recreation-professional-develop- ment program suited to oneself? Mr. Richard E. Rutledge, Director of Research of the Oakland Public Schools, Oakland, California presented the following report: A STUDY OF THE STATUS OF THE SUBJECT SUPER- VISOR IN THE JUNIOR AND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS OF THE LARGEST 100 CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES I. THE PROBLEM At the suggestion of members of the San Francisco Bay Section of the National Education Association Committee on the Organization of Investigations in Secondary Education this study was undertaken by three of its number. The objective of the study was to determine the administrative relationship existing between the subject super- visor, principal and superintendent as shown by certain practices in city school systems. II. DELIMITATIONS OF THE PROBLEM Realizing that only the largest cities would be likely to employ subject supervisors it was decided to confine the study to the largest Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 195 100 cities choosing these according to populations given in the Edu- cational Directory: 1930 (census 1920) U. S. Department of the Interior. The 1930 census was not available and while it would have changed somewhat the membership of the cities studied, it would probably have had no significant effect as changing results or values of the study. According to the census of 1920 the cities ranged in population from 69,525 for Chattanooga, Tennessee to 5,620,048 for New York City. III. Sources or Data The committee relied solely upon the data obtained through ques- tionnaires sent out to city superintendents. IV. METHODOLOGY On December 8, 1930 a questionnaire of the all-checking type was mailed to each superintendent of the 100 cities selected, enclosing also an explanatory letter and a self-addressed, stamped envelope for reply. By January 19, 1931, 71 completed questionnaires had been returned to the chairman of the committee. Four letters in lieu of the completed questionnaire had also been received explaining why the questionnaire could not be completed. On January 19, 1931 airmail letters were sent to the 25 super- intendents not yet heard from, enclosing an additional letter of appeal as well as a copy of the original explanatory letter and questionnaire, but not the self-addressed stamped envelope as was done in the first letter. ‘ By January 30, 1931 an additional 11 completed questionnaires had been received by the chairman of the committee, making a total of 82 completed questionnaires returned. V. TREATMENT OF DaTA The data embodied in completed, returned questionnaires was tabulated as shown on pages 7, 8, and 9 of the report. SUMMARY OF QUESTIONNAIRE CONCERNING SUBJECT SUPERVISORS 1. Do you employ subject supervisors in your system ? Percentage of Replies ee eee eee ee wee eee ee eee eee reer eeoeee 196 Department of Secondary-School Principals Replies to Other Questions of Those Answering “Yes” to Question Number One 2. Upon whose initiative do your subject super- visors visit the teacher in the classroom? a. Superintendent’s ............seseeeeeeee *Includes: Sometimes..... 1 Any teacher..... 1 i DE b bini vhs cos cc ew da oe eicae eres *Includes: Older teachers..... 1 C. Supervisor's ........cseececccsseccenece *Includes: Chiefly..... 1 New Teachers..... Sometimes all others....1 ee Sometimes..... 1 By Request..... Older teachers..... 1 3. In which of the following ways do your subject supervisors carry out their program? a. By consultation with the principal?....... b. By consultation with the individual teacher d. Teacher’s *Includes : i?) se < 3 38 =. s gQ 8 ) = io ba 7) ese 4] et lo) i= ao] a d. By visiting the teacher in the classroom and conference with that teacher afterwards?.. . *Includes: Seldom..... 1 4. Do your subject supervisors always report to the principal’s office before visiting classrooms? 6 TE oi baes eet kinks chee *Includes Supposedly..... 1 Usually..... 2 Except for new teachers..... 1 DH 00an eae po a ace a ewes ewe choke c. No Answer 5. Do your subject supervisors secure the approval of the principal in modifying classroom pro- cedure? Ce Ne se Sk Sa ae at eae aia ere Rak *Includes: Indirectly..... 1 In general..... 1 Supposedly..... 1 Advisory..... 1 Percentage of Those Employ- ing Super- visors 28* 50.0% 34* 60.7% 48* 85.7% 25* 44.6% 52 92.9% 48 85.7% 53 94.6% 56 100.0% 42* 75.0% 45* 80.4% 10 17.9% 1 18% 46* 82.1% Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 197 Percentage of Those Employ- ing Super- visors bi Ms veh i 5* 8.9% *Includes: Usually..... 1 Not Necessarily..... 1 The directions of Sup. take precedence. 1 6, FE ROE 6a bib oo Cased bhaks tenes 3 5.4% D 6. To which of the following do your subject super- visors submit written administrative ratings of ) the teachers of their respective departments,— DO 5. bos eke one veas rs 14* 25.0% *Includes: No policy..... 1 be. Seipariatemtamt? «.....csociesictavssvievecs 39* 69.6% *Includes: Of their assistant supervisors, not of teachers in schools..... 1 a ee ON c. No Answer or Definite Statement that Supervisors do not Rate Teacher......... 11 19.6% 7. On which of the following do your subject super- visors make specific and regular recommenda- tions to the principal,— a. Employment of teachers? ............... 16* 28.6% *Includes: Sometimes..... 1 At times....1 All irregularly..... 1 Advisory..... 1 Usually on request of principal..... 1 b. Assignment of teachers?.............50.. 29* 51.8% *Includes: Some extent..... 1 At times..... 1 All irregularly..... 1 Usually on request of principal..... 1 c. Transfer of teachers? ..... Licewageaee ns 24* 42.9% *Includes: At times..... 1 All irregularly..... 1 Usually on request of principal..... 1 d. Dismissal of teachers? ...............005 18* 32.1% *Includes: At times..... 1 Sometimes..... 1 All irregularly..... 1 Usually on request of principal..... 1 Ge: i CI i. aaa DEE had auenceeseeass 24 42.9% 8. On which of the following do your subject supervisors make specific and regular recom- mendations to the superintendent,— Department of Secondary-School Principals Percentage of Those Employ- ing Super- visors 64.3% *Includes: At times Occasionally Not regular When requested by Superintendent 69.6% 73.2% *Includes: At times Not regular When requested by Superintendent 64.3% *Includes: At times When requested by Superintendent e. No answer 21.4% Note: Received 4 replies from Superintendents by letters which did not have the desired information, so were omitted from the summary. VI. Discussion oF REPLIES A study of the summary of replies to the questionnaire reveals many points of great interest to those deeply concerned with the effectiveness of the subject supervisor. In our discussion of these points we shall offer no theories of supervision by recognized authori- ties in this field, much less theories of our own. The fact that the questionnaire reveals practices only in the different city systems represented in the summary, is strongly emphasized, and our dis- cussion will be confined strictly to that field. It is noted that 56 or 68.3% of the 82 cities reporting employ sub- ject supervisors other than principals and heads of departments in the secondary field. The initiative of the supervisor relative to visits of the supervisor to teachers in the classroom is most prevalent and the teacher’s initiative least prevalent of all. It should be pointed out that there is considerable overlapping here, many of the 56 school systems prac- ticing more than one type of initiative and some all four of them. In all city systems subject supervisors carry out their programs in part by visiting the teacher in the classroom and following this e of ploy- 37o Jo %o To ot Se fee * 7) Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 199 visit by a conference with the teacher concerned. Consultation with the principal, consultation with the individual teacher at the super- visor’s office, meeting teachers in groups and bulletins to teachers are all quite generally employed also, the last however least of all. In more than four-fifths (80.4%) of the school systems the sub- ject supervisor always reports to the principal’s office before visiting the teacher in the classroom. The subject supervisor secures the approval of the principal in modifying classroom procedure in a little over four-fifths (82.1%) of the school systems employing subject supervisors. The most general practice is for the supervisor to submit written administrative ratings of teachers to the superintendent while in about one-fourth of the school systems these ratings are submitted to the principal. About one-fifth of the superintendents either do not answer this part of the questionnaire or state that supervisors do not rate teachers. There is considerable variation in the practice with reference to subject supervisors making specific and regular recommendations to the principal upon the employment, assignment, transfer, and dis- missal of teachers. Only in the assignment of teachers does the total exceed half of the systems involved. A little over two-fifths of the superintendents do not answer this part of the questionnaire thus implying either that their subject supervisors make no specific and regular recommendations to the principal with reference to employ- ment, assignment, transfer, and dismissal of teachers, or that they preferred for one reason or another, not to reply to this part of the questionnaire. In somewhat more than three-fifths of the school systems return- ing completed questionnaires subject supervisors make specific and regular recommendations to the superintendent upon the employment, assignment, transfer and dismissal of teachers. In the matter of transfer of teachers almost three-fourths of the subject supervisors make recommendations to the superintendent. A little over one-fifth of the superintendents do not answer this part of the questionnaire implying either that their subject supervisors do not practice such recommendatory functions at all, or they for one reason or another decided not to reply to this part of the questionnaire. 200 Department of Secondary-School Principals A rather extensive study of the summary will reveal many other points of interest which the committee has not called to the attention of the reader in the present brief discussion. Submitted by the Committee H. N. Massey, CHAIRMAN, PRINCIPAL CLAREMONT Junior HicH ScHooLt, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA R. H. LEHMAN, Principat RoosEvVELT JUNIor HicH Scuoot, SAN Francisco, CALIFORNIA L. L. STANDLEY, PRINCIPAL BURBANK JUNIOR HiGH ScHOOL, BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA Robert D. Cole, Professor of Secondary Education, University of North Dakota read the following paper, High-School Libraries in North Dakota. HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARIES IN NORTH DAKOTA Before remedial work can be done efficiently in any situation it is of course necessary to make an intensive study of conditions as they exist. The Certain Report to the North Central Association in 1920 concerning standard library organization and equipment for secondary schools of different sizes suggested that a committee be organized in each state to make a survey of library conditions in high schools. So far as the writer knows no such committee was ever appointed in North Dakota. This present report represents a belated personal at- tempt to make such a survey, and supplements the scanty information given by the schools in the state in the Report of the North Central Association’s committee on Libraries made in 1928. The information following was obtained by questionnaires con- structed to elicit as much of the information as possible as is contained in the “List of Questions Concerning the High-School Library” issued by the Department of Secondary-School Principals. One question- naire, designed to obtain the views and practices of superintendents, was sent to the 190 odd schools of the state rated as classified by the state department of education. It was believed that a better response would be had if this questionnaire was short, simple, and concerned library practices from the administrator’s point of view. Such proved to be the case, for 78 per cent of the superintendents replied—a fine Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 201 evidence of codperation in what is ordinarily considered a disagreeable task. From these answers the names of many school-librarians were obtained to whom a more detailed inquiry blank was sent. About sixty replied. In the North Central Report of 1928, only twenty-one North Dakota high schools reported, presumably those in which library conditions were reasonably acceptable to the respondents. The tables in that report show that the state ranked, with three others, third from the bottom of the list of twenty states. This present report will show that conditions are not better now. The school-librarians were asked to give their opinion concerning possibilities for the improvement of the fibrary situation. The following answer from one young teacher who was acting as librarian with no previous preparation or expe- rience, is illuminating and probably not far from typical of the average situation. She had been made school librarian, according to her superintendent, because she seemed interested in reading guidance, and because her teaching subject seemed to correlate with library work. She writes: When I received your questionnaire in regard to the library I had to smile, because our library is a farce. It consists of rows of open shelves across the front of our very much used assembly and study hall with a few shelves in the superintendent’s office. It has long been a sore spot with me, and I have not yet conquered the situation. Due to the fact that the books are always available, it is hard to keep them in order. We tried to appoint a person for each study period to give out books, but the workers are apt to be lax. Our only source of money for books, which by the way are very much needed, was a carnival which I put on. Although this netted us several hundred dollars, there were several other places for the greater part of it, so my library fund came to naught. We are very poor here, so don’t judge us too harshly. I select the books and I find myself choosing fiction, because these youngsters need it. And I don’t buy many books by Dickens or Browning either ! To understand library and educational conditions in a state like North Dakota, its excessive rurality, and hence, poverty must be kept in mind. It is extremely probable that the meager salaries already paid as well as school appropriations in general, will be cut in several of our counties which were stricken by drought last summer. With us prosperity and progress depend almost wholly upon the price of wheat. We rank second among the states in the per cent of our 202 Department of Secondary-School Principals population which lives in towns of under 2,500. Seven-eighths of our people are rural in life interests. Only three cities in the state have over 10,000 population, none over 30,000. Eighteen other com- munities have populations between 2,500 and 10,000. Yet the state contains nearly 71,000 square miles. This excessive rurality and dependence upon one crop naturally affects adversely our school and library situation. We find it ex- tremely difficult, in fact impossible under existing legislation, to equalize educational and cultural opportunity. We are a state of extremely small high schools. Twenty-one per cent of our classified high schools enroll less than 50 pupils; 43 per cent, between 50 and 99 pupils; and 30 per cent between 100 and 249 pupils. Only 6 per cent of our schools have more than 250 students. The natural consequence of this condition is that the curriculum is limited and the numbers of teachers to a school is small. Moreover, each teacher must teach many subjects.- Seventy-one per cent of the classi- fied schools employ less than six teachers; the details are: 15 per cent with five teachers, 23 per cent with four, 23 per cent with three, and 9 per cent with two. The state does, however, make a substantial effort to support its schools. It ranked eighth among the states of the country in 1928 with respect to its per capita support of public elementary and secondary education, and second in the per cent of income spent for public schools. In spite of the difficulties in providing educational advan- tages, the per cent of illiteracy is only 2.1 as compared with the national figure of 6. The Report of the State Librarian for 1928 shows but twenty- eight public libraries in the state, averaging 16,000 volumes for the three large cities, and 7,500 volumes for cities between 2,500 and 10,000. The seventeen towns under 2,500 population fortunate enough to possess a public library average 2,500 volumes. Thirty-five asso- ciation libraries are found averaging fewer than a thousand volumes each. The State Library has some 12,000 books. There is available through public and semi-public libraries a book to every three people in the state. If we add in the books in school libraries, but exclude those in the libraries of higher educational institutions, there is still less than a book per person furnished at public expense. This scanty Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 203 library consciousness of the state as a whole cannot help but retard the development of school libraries. Our state department of education is actively promoting the cause of adequate high-school libraries. It requires for accreditation that high schools enrolling less than 100 students must have at least ten books for each student enrolled. Schools having an enrollment of between 100 and 200 pupils must have at least a thousand volumes, and schools enrolling between 200 and 500 pupils, at least 1,500 volumes. Each high-school study hall must have at least one un- abridged dictionary, and there must be an up-to-date abridged dic- tionary for each eight pupils, and a set of standard up-to-date ency- clopedias, consisting of ten or more volumes, for each forty pupils in the high school. Until these standards are reached, schools are expected to spend at least $1.25 a pupil for books per year, and every school is urged to spend a minimum of $15.00 a year for magazines. Suggested lists of books and magazines are furnished by the depart- ment. These requirements follow closely the Certain recommendations of 1920 and are higher than the suggestions of the Miller Study of 1928. The official North Central Association standards prescribe a catalogued library “adequate to meet the needs of instruction in all courses offered.” The Report of our High-School Inspector for 1928 showed that only 12 per cent of the schools had libraries in excess of 2,000 vol- umes ; 30 per cent had between 1,000 and 2,000 books, and 58 per cent less than 1,000. This latter figure includes 14 per cent that had libraries containing less than 500 volumes. These figures roughly conform to the percentages of enrollment. The average number of volumes per pupil was 9.6. Superficially the showing is not bad. But, to quote the high-school inspector, included in the number of books reported “are still many worthless volumes.” From personal observation, the writer would consider this statement to mean out-of-date sets of encyclopedias ; gift sets of books and bound magazines, valueless to donor and worse than valueless to schools; free state and national reports, filling up space but good for almost no other purpose, and aged textbooks. Ten per cent of the schools take twenty or more periodicals ; 36 per cent take between ten and nineteen; and 54 per cent less than ten. Ten 204 Department of Secondary-School Principals per cent of the schools subscribe to fewer than five periodicals or magazines. The Certain Report gives as standard for housing and equipment for high schools of less than 200 enrollment the following: separate room where possible ; if not possible, a classroom fitted up with book- cases and a reading table, and the creation of a library atmosphere even if recitations have to be held in the room. The room should be easily accessible from the study hall and open to students only when the librarian or her assistant is in the room. The report also com- mends the common practice in schools enrolling under a hundred students of having the common study hall where each pupil has his own desk as a suitable place for the library, provided reading tables, bulletin boards, and ample bookshelves are available. The later North Central recommendations do not differentiate between larger and smaller schools, but describe a model high-school library with a read- ing room near the study hall, conference, and lecture rooms, etc. The small rural high school needs, in addition to standards, suggestions concerning the most efficient use of the space already available, for the possibility of conforming to the model is very remote in our small and out-moded school buildings. At first glance the recommendation for a separate library room is well carried out in North Dakota. The high-school inspector’s last report lists 77 per cent of the schools as having a separate library room, and 16 per cent as having the library in the study hall. Three per cent use both. In the remaining schools the city libraries are used, or the library is located in classrooms, alcoves, or offices. An examination of the questionnaires, however, presents a slightly different picture. Some of these separate rooms are merely stock rooms or storage rooms for books with no seats. In twenty-six cases the library is reported as being in the superintendent’s or principal’s office, where of course other school business is transacted. In fourteen cases it is in the assembly room or study hall, which in many cases mean one and the same thing. The teacher-librarians were asked “What purposes other than real library service does the library room in your school serve? Use word ‘much’ or ‘little’ in spaces indicated.” The uses suggested were superintendent’s or principal’s office, over-flow study hall, class recitations, and other purposes. The superintendents were asked whether or not the high-school library nt ite k- Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 205 was reserved entirely for real library functions, whether or not it was used as an overflow study hall and for what other purposes it served. Sixty-five of the 150 superintendents replying stated that it was used only as a library, but a comparison with the teacher replies shows some disagreement concerning the facts. Eleven superintend- ents replied that it was used much as an over-flow study hall and thirty-seven that it was used little. Combining the superintendents’ and the librarians’ replies we find that in twenty-eight cases classes are held in the library room, and, it is interesting to note, in thirteen cases, the classes were in typewriting. The attempt to find out the proportion of the total high school accommodated effectively at one time in the library was unsuccessful, because of the many different locations used for libraries. The gen- eral impression gained is that few schools are able to create a real library atmosphere. Yet there are many praiseworthy attempts in this direction. In about one third of the schools, the library is closed when the librarian is teaching, which, as we shall see, is most of the time. In the remaining instances various methods are employed of keeping the library open. Use of students and other teachers is the most common. The Miller Report to the North Central Association set forth as a “tentative and attainable standard “that schools under 250 should have a half-time librarian who shall be a college graduate and shall have completed an accredited library-science curriculum of at least sixteen semester hours and who divides her time between the school and the public library or between school library work and teaching, and who devotes at least half of each school day to school-library service. So far as the small schools in North Dakota are concerned such a standard is absolutely unattainable. In the first place, we have seen that there are but twenty-eight public libraries in the state, which effectively disposes of any wide codperation between the school and the public library. In the second place, important as is the work of a school librarian and as full of potentialities as it is, the number of volumes in the average library at present or even under the standards suggested does 206 Department of Secondary-School Principals not warrant half the time of a teacher. I select one of our second-class schools at random. It has forty-four pupils and three teachers. Each teacher teaches six periods a day besides her extra-curriculum work. The library, located in the study-hall, contains 400 volumes and the school takes three magazines. There is no other library, public or otherwise in town. What would the librarian do with her half-day? We all grant that the situation is deplorable, yet it is typical. Fifty- five per cent of our schools have less than five teachers in the high school ; and 58 per cent have fewer than a thousand volumes. So far as these small schools are concerned, the present need is for books, and suitable library and conference rooms. Rather than expect for many years a half-time librarian we must bend our efforts toward better training for those teachers who will act as librarians and a more effective use of student librarians. In this connection let us examine why superintendents and prin- cipals in North Dakota appoint certain teachers as librarians. One hundred and fifty superintendents answered the question. Sixty one said the teacher had had special training in library technique; sixty that her teaching subject seemed correlated with library work ; fifty- two that she seemed interested in reading guidance ; and twenty-four admitted that she was the only teacher having no other outside work. In eleven cases the superintendent, for one reason or another, acted as librarian. More detailed information concerning the qualifications of li- brarians was obtained from the teachers themselves. Of fifty-three answering, 30 per cent had had no previous training, and 26 per cent no previous experience. Fifty per cent had had college courses of one sort or another in library methods and 74 per cent had had previous experience either as librarian in schools or as assistants in public or college libraries. Only three of the fifty-three had ever attended a library school. About one-half of those reporting training in college are known to have had but one course which meets one hour a week for one semester. Obviously the training of these girls is pitifully meager and far from meeting the standards set up as attainable in the Miller Report. Both superintendents and teachers were asked whether teacher- training institutions should do more than they do toward the training of school librarians. Of the 140 superintendents who answered the Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 207 question, 96 per cent responded in the affirmative, and 48 per cent made specific suggestions. All the forty-five teachers who answered, believed that more library training should be given, and offered sug- gestions. The great need felt by these teacher-librarians was a knowl- edge of cataloging, the organization and administration of the library, care of books, book selection, and how to teach the use of the library. These points were also important in the estimation of superintendents, but in addition there was evident in their replies a truer conception of the library as the scholastic dynamo of the school, as is seen by mention of the need on the part of teacher-librarians of a knowledge of books, both fiction and reference, of the stimulation of reading and of preserving a file of clippings. Many superintendents complain that teachers do not know suitable reference books in their own subject-matter fields—an indictment of the institutions which trained them. Several speak of the English teacher as the logical person to act as school librarian. Mention has been made of the heavy schedules of teacher libra- rians. The actual data are at hand. There are four all-time librarians employed, naturally enough, in the large schools. Teaching schedules from fifty-two teacher-librarians were secured. Two taught seven periods a day ; sixteen taught six ; seventeen, five ; sixteen, four; and one, three. Thirty-eight of the fifty-two had duties other than library work or teaching. It is interesting to note that thirty-five taught English, usually as a major subject. Of the others, ten had a social science in their schedule. | Adequate appropriations for building up, equipping, and main- taining high-school libraries are a fundamental necessity. The crux of the situation lies in the definition of the word “adequate.” The Miller Committee in reporting to the North Central Association sug- gested as “possible standards to be recommended for the guidance of schools during a reasonable period, and at its expiration to be required,” among other things, the following: a minimum allowance of $1.00 per pupil for books, $100.00 for binding, $75.00 for supplies, $1,200.00 for equipment, and an initial collection of books costing $4,000.00. Nowhere in the report is it suggested that a small school can or should do with less. Moreover, $75.00 a year is to be spent for periodicals. In many North Dakota schools, this would mean an expenditure of from $1.00 to $2.00 a year per pupil for periodicals alone. 208 Department of Secondary-School Principals A criticism of the recommendation contained in the Miller Report as well as of the literature in general concerning school libraries is the tacit assumption that all high schools enrolling less than 200 or 250 pupils should be grouped together and that all can meet the same standards. In actual practice there is a vast difference in the pos- sibilities for effective library work, and for meeting the same standard even between high-schools enrolling less than fifty pupils, of which we have forty in North Dakota, and between high schools enrolling between 150 and 200 pupils, of which we have but six. A high school of 200 pupils is a large school with us, for our average high school has but about 75 pupils. At the rate of $1.00 a year this means that only that amount can be spent in the average school that is the sum recommended for periodicals. The evidence shows that North Dakota is doing all that can be reasonably expected in the matter of expenditures for books. Twenty- four per cent of the 150 schools reporting fall below the $1.00 a year recommended by the Miller Report and 76 per cent above. Forty- seven per cent are spending between $1.00 and $1.99 per pupil for books this year, 17 per cent between $2.00 and $2.99, 8 per cent between $3.00 and $3.99, and 4 per cent over $4.00 per pupil. And this in spite of an economic depression which affected rural com- munities earlier than others. It is becoming more and more the accepted fact that a high-school library has a wider service to perform than simply be a depository for books. Ideally it should provide systematic. instruction in the use of books and libraries, offer an opportunity for each pupil to use it for reference and general reading, render intelligent service to the classroom teacher, and provide a place for socialized study activities. Some data are at hand concerning certain of these functions. Housing facilities in many cases make it impossible to provide seats for general reading or in some cases for effective reference work. We have seen that in many cases the library is closed when the librarian teaches, which is almost every period. A careful analysis of available space by superintendents and a more effective use of student librarians would ameliorate conditions in many schools though not in all. The possibility of socialized study activities depends upon the possession of an abundance of supplementary reference material ort he 50 ne rd ch 1g ol ol at Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 209 and proper supervision, neither of which are at present available in many schools. The paucity of periodicals and books and the many other duties of the librarian make it difficult to render intelligent service to class- room teachers. Superintendents complain of the lack of knowledge on the part of many teachers concerning the material in their own fields. Our librarians are primarily teachers and, tf they are not’ familiar with material in their own fields, how can they be expected to know that outside? One answer is increased training, but we have not yet brought some superintendents, to say nothing of school boards, to believe that library work is more than a comparatively unimportant extra-curricular activity. . Only one-third of the librarians reported that they submitted lists of titles available in the various fields to the teachers in those fields. One teacher writes: Owing to my schedule of class work my library work is stinted. I hold a Minnesota State Librarian’s Certificate and have a wealth of knowledge that I could put to use if I had time and means. All library authorities point out the desirability of codperation between the school and other libraries in the community. This is dif- ficult in North Dakota, since 68 per cent of the superintendents replied that there were no other libraries in town. In the smalter towns, those under 2,500 population, are found only seventeen public libraries, and thirty-five libraries other than public. Many of this latter type are run by woman’s clubs or fraternal organizations. The state library is used to a greater or less extent by thirty-five schools, particularly its travelling libraries, and for assistance in organization, book lists, etc. The state library would doubtless be used more had it greater facilities in books and personnel. Occasional complaints were noted concerning the selection of books in the travelling libraries, which may or may not be founded. Thirty-five schools report greater or less assistance from the university extension service, and few from other sources such as the agricultural extension department and, where a higher educational institution is located in the community, from it. The presence of other libraries in town affects the school library in various ways. In six cases the school has no library, but uses the city library. Most frequently there is an attempt to avoid duplication of books, by exchanging proposed purchase lists. In other cases the See eee 210 Department of Secondary-School Principals school devotes its funds to the purchase of reference books and material, and uses the other libraries for fiction, except in cases where duplicate copies are needed. The use of other libraries is natu- rally attended with some difficulties, chief of which are inaccessibility, abuse of privileges by pupils, a greater demand for certain books than can be supplied, the difficulty of teaching pupils the use of the library when the books are not in one place, and occasionally rather definite evidence that professional librarians do not understand how to deal with the adolescent. In these very small communities with no library outside the school, there would seem a fine chance for a constructive work in the use of the school library by the community. In thirty-two cases only of the ninety-nine possibilities was this done. It would seem probable that the townspeople could be educated to library possibilities if they could obtain books from the schools, and even that by this means, larger library appropriations might be made available. Moreover, it might lead to better quarters and the possibility of securing a better-trained librarian, who divides her time between school children and towns- people. Of course there is the danger that townspeople might want books needed by the students. The attempt was made to ascertain from the librarians what ef- forts are being made to stimulate voluntary reading by the students. The English teacher plays the principal role, as she assumes the major responsibility in 72 per cent of the cases, and with the librarian in 14 per cent more. In 10 per cent of the cases stimulation of voluntary reading is left to no one in particular. The librarian plays a small part, due principally to her numerous other duties. Over and over again the librarian reported that she would like to do more but simply had not the time. This is significant when we remember that these girls have had little training or experience, and led to see the possibilities of service as they are trained on the job. This is further shown by the fact that 90 per cent of them believe the library should be open after school hours on school days, and 25 per cent that it should even be open on Saturdays and holidays. In actual practice in the schools represented by these fifty-odd librarians, the library is kept open after school for a length of time varying from a half-hour to two hours in half of the cases, but on holidays and Saturdays in but two instances. _ F5 — as —_e ~ ne und ses ity, an ry ite eal == ™ = FF Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 211 The teacher-librarians were asked what plan if any was used to teach pupils the proper use of the library. Fifty-three answers were received. In only twelve cases was any systematic instruction given, in seven cases by the librarian, in five by the English teacher. In- dividual teachers instruct concerning the necessary library work in their own subjects in thirty-four cases, and in twenty-two cases the librarians frankly admitted that little or no instruction was given. In only one or two cases was a course in library methods reported. Apparently there is room for great improvement in this respect. Various devices are mentioned as helpful in stimulating outside voluntary reading. Credit for this is given in one way or another, the librarians report, usually in connection with English. Class discus- sion or review of interesting books read has proved effective, as have recommendations of books either directly in class or indirectly by displays, bulletin boards or in the school papers. No doubt more of this could be done if the teachers themselves were better read. Many superintendents believe they are not, which sentiment is en- thusiastically echoed by at least our own university English depart- ment. Some form of pupil participation in library work is common in North Dakota high schools, though not as effective nor wide-spread as might be expected. In ten schools pupils assume the entire re- sponsibility for the library. In the same number, the principal or superintendent acts as librarian, but the actual work is done by stu- dents. In seventy-eight schools when the librarian is teaching student assistance is utilized. Usually these students volunteer their services, are chosen by the superintendent or principal, less frequently by the librarian, on the basis of marks, interest, and personality. Their training appears to be very haphazard, though in a few cases they are carefully trained. Their work is necessarily of a routine nature, consisting of lending books when called for ; it could not be otherwise when so many superintendents and teachers have themselves no train- ing in the mechanics or possibilities of the work. The proper training and use of student librarians in small schools seems a distinctly promising field for experimentation, always providing the school has a library worth the name. In a half-dozen cases or so pupil recom- mendations are considered in the selection of books. Various methods are employed in the distribution of library funds, as may be seen from the answers of 145 superintendents. Depart- ss = 2s =~ = 212 Department of Secondary-School Principals mental needs, as indicated by teacher requests, play a part in 70 per cent of the cases. Closely allied with this is a basis, except that teacher requests were not specifically mentioned, were 50 per cent of the schools which considered departmental needs as indicated by lack of books in the several fields. The lack may have been ascertained by either the superintendent, principal, teacher, or librarian. In 40 per cent of the cases the superintendent is mentioned as playing a part ; but in only 30 per cent of the cases, the librarian. Combinations of the various bases of course brings the total over 100 per cent, and the figures can be only approximate. The distinct impression is gained from the replies that the superintendent plays the predominant rdle, and the librarian a minor part. This is to be expected from the very nature of the case. A few actual replies by superintendents may illustrate typical procedure. A succinct statement from one school where a fair- sized library exists reads as follows: The teacher requests are taken into consideration. The librarian’s suggestions are considered seriously. But the final decision is made by the superintendent on the basis of the greatest need as shown by the complete inventory taken twice a year. Another superintendent is trying to build up his library. He says: Each department head is asked every year to supply a list of books needed for his department. We allow $150.00 a year for the purchase of new books and replacements for the library. The agricultural department is allowed a special appropriation of $25.00, and we pay $35.00 more for periodicals. An allowance of $210.00 a year for a high school of 72 pupils certainly shows a commendable effort. The usual method seems to be illustrated by another letter : Each teacher requisitions the books needed in her field or fields. A check is then made to determine the cost. This in turn is checked against the books already available, and also against the urgency of the need. Finally the money is distributed as the teachers, principal, and superintendent see fit in a conference. This might not be possible in a larger school, but it seems to work satisfactorily here. A statement from a school with 225 pupils in the high school and 450 in the grades which utilizes to a large extent the town library may well complete these quotations: —_3e? = ot oe oe er er 1€ Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting 213 We contribute from school funds from $300 to $500 a year to the city library to which we have access. Both grade and high-school books are purchased with this money. We do not have sufficient room for a suitable library in our school, although we do have an alcove provided with books for reference. New books bought for use in the school are placed in classrooms under departmental supervision. Teachers are responsible for books in their department. It may be remarked in passing that the practice is common of having encyclopedias and other books of general reference located in the assembly-study hall, with small departmental collections in the various classrooms. An attempt to study more intensively the details of selection and ordering of books did not bring a usable number of replies. Wide variation of opinion exists among the superintendents in regard to the space which should be devoted to various library func- tions. Twenty per cent believed that much space should be devoted to the storage and distribution of textbooks and supplementary texts required by the course of study; 37 per cent answered little; and 43 per cent, none. Much use of the library to select and provide collateral or supplementary reading in addition to texts required by the course of study, such as source books, reference books, etc., was advocated by 82 per cent, little by 18 per cent. One man answered none. Much space in the library should be used to stimulate extra-curriculum read- ing in the opinion of 85 per cent, and little by 15 per cent. The use of library space for the stimulation of professional reading by teach- ers is frowned upon, comparatively speaking, since only 35 per cent of the superintendents answered “much”, 61 per cent “little”, and 4 per cent “none”. Peculiarly enough, 4 per cent believed that no space should be devoted to giving instruction to pupils in the use of reference tools ; 43 per cent replied “little”, and 53 per cent “much”. Either this question was misunderstood or some superintendents need to read up on the present conception of library purposes. What can be done to improve the situation? Replies from the librarians are instructive. Less other work for the librarian and more books are the most frequent suggestions. More space is another fre- quent plea. Better training for librarians is another. Less frequent pleas call for better books, more pupil participation, keeping the library open more, more attention to the mechanics of lending books, a wider use of the state library facilities, more tables and chairs, and 214 Department of Secondary-School Principals the use of the library solely for library purposes. We see that the librarians themselves have suggested the most natural remedies. Progress in bettering conditions is clearly discernible. The state department of education and the state committee of the North Central Association insists that standards be met. The state library and the university extension service is being used more and more. A library consciousness is being developed gradually. Two or three years ago the secondary section of the North Dakota Educational Association devoted considerable time to a round-table discussion of high-school library problems. At least one study of the voluntary reading prefer- ences of high-school pupils is under way. A course for school libra- rians has been offered by at least one of the state teachers’ colleges, and the university will offer such a course this summer. It is hoped that considerable attention will be devoted to the problem at the next meeting of the state educational association. To sum up, then, the status of high-school libraries in North Da- kota. If, as has been said the two legs upon which our democracy stands are the public schools and the libraries, the body politic in North Dakota is seriously crippled in the library leg. Due to the rurality of the state, the schools are small, the housing facilities for libraries inadequate ; the number of books is scanty, and the selection poor. Librarians are very poorly trained and so burdened with teach- ing and other duties that they have little time or energy for library work. Possibilities in the use of pupil librarians are overlooked. Teacher-training institutions have not made adequate training pos- sible. It is impossible in most cases to codperate with public libraries because they are so few. There are few attempts made to teach the proper use of the library. On the other hand, the communities, in spite of their poverty, have made and are making as large a financial contribution for the purchase of books as could be expected. The state department of public instruction, and the state librarian, are playing an increasing helpful role. There is evident an interest in, and an understanding of, present theory concerning the proper function of high-school libraries and many definite attempts are found to stimulate wider and better reading. Plans have been made and are being carried out to better the situation. A realization of actual conditions and a study of what is possible even under unfavorable conditions may be expected to better the conditions as time goes on. ral he ry go on 01 ar- .. eS, xt yn y; yf g f, »S e iS DEPARTMENT MATTERS NATIONAL CounciL MEETINGS AT DETROIT, MICHIGAN Meeting of the National Council of the National Honor Society at Hotel Tuller, Detroit, Michigan, Sunday, February 22, 1931. The National Council met at 2 P.M. Present: Members Brooks, Kepner, Rynearson, and Church. Absent: Members Downey, Mc- Daniel, Murdock, Keyes, Prunty, and Seybold. The terms of the following members expire: Downey, Keyes, and Prunty. The following were nominated: Ira W. Baker of Oklahoma City, C. F. Allen of Little Rock, W. E. Hawley of Rochester, Leslie O. Johnson of Rutland, Fred C. Mitchell of Lynn, and Louis E. Plummer of Fullerton. On motion of member Kepner and second of member Brooks, members McDaniel and Church were instructed to prepare a large membership certificate. Carried. The President was authorized to prepare a circular to be sent to the active chapters. On motion of member Brooks and second of member Kepner the National Council adjourned to meet at 5 P.M. on Wednesday, Febru- ary 25, 1931. Carried. The following were elected to the National Council: C. F. Allen, Ira W. Baker, and Louis E. Plummer. Meeting of the National Council of the National Honor Society at Hotel Tuller, Detroit, Michigan, Wednesday, February 25, 1931. The National Council met at 5:10 P.M... Present: Members Brooks, Kepner, McDaniel, Plummer, Rynearson, and Church. Edward Rynearson was elected president of the National Council on motion of member Kepner and second of member Brooks. 215 216 Department of Secondary-School Principals — On motion of member Brooks and second of member Kepner the members of the National Council were empowered to wear the Na- tional Honor emblem engraved “Member of the National Council.” Carried. On motion of Member Plummer and second of member McDaniel the Council adjourned. il ” niel NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY Over tenyears ago the Department of Secondary-School Principals (then the National Association of Secondary-School Principals) or- ganized the National Honor Society with the end in view of stimulat- ing scholarship in the secondary schools of the United States. To-day there are over one thousand chapters and these are in the best high schools in the country. The four objectives of the society are: to create an enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render. service, to promote worthy leadership, and to encourage the develop- ment of character. Every high-school principal who has a chapter is enthusiastic over the productive results of this organization in his school. Direct all requests for literature to H. V. Church, 3129 Wenonah Avenue, Berwyn, Illinois. WARNING The National Honor Society has met with such great success that imitations are springing up in differ- ent parts of the country. These pseudo honor societies seem to have largely a commercial objective, and plan to exploit scholarship for financial ends. Members of our department are warned to beware of any plan to sell pins or emblems to pupils under the guise of scholar- ship, and are urged not to lend their aid or influence to such organizations. The Department of Secondary-School Principals recommends only the National Honor Society and the National Junior Honor Society. THE NATIONAL JUNIOR HONOR SOCIETY The National Junior Honor Society is patterned very closely after the Senior Honor Society. The Junior Society is designed for ninth and tenth grades in four year high schools, and for eighth, ninth, and tenth grades in junior high schools. This organization is now a going concern, and already there are a number of chapters, both in senior 217 218 Department of Secondary-School Principals high schools and junior high schools. The national constitution, the model constitution, and booklet of information as well as the applica- tion blank will be sent on request. Direct all applications to: H. V. CHURCH, Executive Secretary 3129 Wenonah Avenue Berwyn, Illinois SEALS AND MEMBERSHIP CARDS Membership Cards—Since the organization of the National Honor Society there has been a growing demand for membership cards in the organization. Cards of membership both for members of the National Honor Society and for the members of the National Junior Honor Society are now on sale. The cards (214"x334”) are engrossed on a fine quality of cardboard, have the emblem of the Society embossed upon them, and require only the insertion of the name of the member. The price of the cards is five cents apiece. Seals—The seal (144”x1%”") is a gilt embossed sticker to be affixed on the diplomas of members of chapters. A replica of the emblem is embossed on the seal. The price of the seals is five cents apiece. Plaques—A bronze wall plaque has been designed and manufac- tured. Schools that have chapters of the National Honor Society will now have the opportunity of having this plaque. It consists of a solid bronze casting mounted on a walnut back. The size is thirteen by six- teen inches and the weight is ten pounds. A chain is furnished. All lettering, as well as the name of the school chapter and the emblem, is raised and polished above the bronze background. The price is $30.00, which includes transportation and packing. Order only from: H. V. Church 3129 Wenonah Avenue Berwyn, Illinois i, Ce .20.ob ——— “| ae So Sep SN Proceedings of the Detroit Meeting PUBLICATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL PRINCIPALS OF THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION The publications below are sent postpaid. In lots of ten or more of the same issue a reduction of ten per cent is granted, and the shipment is by express collect. PUBLICATIONS First Yearbook, 1917, Kansas City. Papers on Student Government, Cardinal Principles, Supervised Student Activities, Supervised Study, Measurement Tests, Credit for Quality, and Relations between High Schools and Colleges. (pe .) oo eer eer ree eseeeree eee eee eeeeeeeeseeeeere ee eeeseeeeseeeeees Second Yearbook, 1918, Atlantic City. Papers on The All-Year Schools, Administration, Physical Edu- cation, Military Training, Social Life, Junior High-School Curricu- lum, and the Place of the Junior College. (66 pp.)........... $2.00 Third Yearbook, 1919, Chicago. Papers on Student Government, Cardinal Principles, Democracy and High School, Social Science, Curriculums, Homogeneous Group- ings, and the Social Recitation. (87 pp.).............eeeeee $2.00 Fourth Yearbook, 1920, Cleveland. Papers on Training for Leadership, Technique in Teaching, Pro- gram of Small High School, Continuation Schools, Social Studies, High-School Principals, Homogeneous Grouping, and Co-operative COs SEO RE eo oc onde bane dhuscacrcenehescets eceuse $2.00 Fifth Yearbook, 1921, Atlantic City. Papers on Pupils with Less Than Average Ability, Moral Educa- tion, Character Education, the Principals’ Duties, and Intelligence DR So as 8 a Sins sthaveeeatereavewess Pete vk eouns $2.00 Sixth Yearbook, (out of print)—— Seventh Yearbook, 1923, Cleveland. Papers on Guidance, Rating of Pupils, Moral Training, Sex- Social Training, Finances (2)*, Curricula (4), Social Life, Platoon Plan, Student Activities, Cardinal Objectives, Physical Education, Deans of Girls (4), Compulsory Education, and Supervision. (150 GT. hac dced oad ees ot aen pene hha Or TRL ARLE Re ees cha $2.00 *Figures show number of papers. Eighth Yearbook, 1924, Chicago. Papers on Retention, Student Activities, Adjustment of Curricu- lum to Pupils, Faculty Meetings, the Small High School, Teacher 220 Department of Secondary-School Principals Development, Finances (3), Social Science (4), and Deans of Girls (5). Junior High School: Curriculum (4) and Guidance. Junior College: in California, Co-ordination of High School, and Place of. COTA WD. «os 4.03