VotumME 23 Fesruary, 1939 Numser 80 The Bulletin of the Department of Secondary- School Principals of the National Education Association The Articles in This Bulletin Are Listed in Education Index SERVICE ORGAN FOR AMERICAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS The Bulletin VotumeE 23 Fesruary, 1939 Numser 80 Contents Book Notes Calendar of Professional Meetings Convention (February) Program in Cleveland Guidance for the Modern High School: G. D. Brantiey Implications of Individual Differences: C. Currven SMITH News Items Possible Changes in the Constitution “Reading Maketh a Full Man .. .” (Book-of-the-Quarter Club) Secondary School and Social Stability, The: Wut Frencu Supervised Correspondence Study in America: R. C. Haicur Issued Eight Times a Year $2.00 a Year Fifty Cents Monthly, October to May inclusive Published at Berrien Springs, Michigan, by the Department of Sec- ondary-School Principals of the National Education Association 5835 Kimbark Avenue, Chicago Entered as second-class matter, November 8, 1938, at the post office at Berrien Springs, Michigan, under the Act of August 12, 1912. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage, provided for in Section 1103, Act of February 28, 1925, 38. authorized November 8, THE FEBRUARY CONVENTION of the DEPARTMENT OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL PRINCIPALS Cleveland, Ohio Headquarters: Hore, CLEVELAND February 25- March 1, 1939 CONVENTION THEME: Tue Mopern Seconpary ScHoot at Work LOCAL COMMITTEE Honorary Chairman: Cuarves H. Lake Superintendent of Schools Cleveland, Ohio General Chairman: Epcar A. MILLER Principal of West High School Cleveland, Ohio SPECIAL COMMITTEES Housing: E. E. Smertz Principal of Lincoln High School Cleveland, Ohio Special Functions: B. R. EcceMan Principal of John Marshall High School Cleveland, Ohio Publicity: C. R. Wisk Principal of Glenville High School Cleveland, Ohio THE PROGRAM FIRST GENERAL SESSION SATURDAY Dinner Session. February 25 Presiding: Paul E. Elicker, Principal of New- 6:00 P. M. ton High School, Newtonville, Massachu- Ball Room setts, and President of the Department of “Hotel Cleveland Secondary-School Principals. 3 DEPARTMENT OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL Principats [February Music: West High School, Cleveland, Ohio The West High-School Choral Club, Glen R. Montgomery, Director. Tantum Ergo (Humming) Ave Maria... Rachmaninoff Hear My Prayer _... Arkhangelsky Soprano Solo—Caro Nome (Rigoletto)— Mary Rocco Verdi The Echo Song (Double Choir) . Di Lasso The Bells of Saint Michael’s Tower— Knyvett-Stewart The West High-School Madrigal Singers My Bonnie Lass She Smileth German In Pride of May... West All Creatures Now Are Merry Minded— Bennet The West High-School Choral Club Let All My Life Be Music... Noble Cain EN Address of Welcome: Harold H. Burton, Mayor of Cleveland. Address: “Education for Democracy,” Lord Bertrand Russell. SECOND GENERAL SESSION MONDAY THEME: Pup Activities oF THE Mopern Szc- February 27 ONDARY SCHOOL. 2:00 P. M. Presiding: John E. Wellwood, Principal of Ball Room Central High School, Flint, Michigan, and Hotel Cleveland Member of the Executive Committee of the Department of Secondary-School Principals. The Philosophy and Purpose of an Activity Program. Address: “The Aim and Object of an Activity Program,” Edgar G. Johnston, Principal of the University High School, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Discussion: A panel of students from East Technical High School of Cleveland. Summary: By the leader of the panel, Elbert K. Fretwell, Professor of Education, Teachers TUESDAY February 28 2:00 P. M. Ball Room Hotel Cleveland WEDNESDAY March 1 2:00 P. M. Club Room A Public Auditorium FOURTH GENERAL SESSION Tue Fesruary CONVENTION College, Columbia University, New York City. THIRD GENERAL SESSION THEME: Tue DepartMentT aT Work. Presiding: K. J. Clark, Principal of Murphy High School, Mobile, Alabama, and First Vice President of the Department of Sec- ondary-School Principals. Address: “The Purposes and Policies otf the Planning Committee,” Francis L. Bacon, Chairman of the Planning Committee, and Principal of Evanston Township High School, Evanston, Illinois. Address: “Educational Problems Causing Ad- ministrators Most Concern During the Past Two Years,” Francis T. Spaulding, Depart- ment of Education, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Demonstration and Discussion: Chairman, Walter E. Myer, Director of the Discussion Group Project, Washington, D. C. “The Guidance Function,” a faculty group, led by Frank P. Whitney, Principal of Collin- wood High School, Cleveland, Ohio. Business Session: Report of committees. Elec- tion of officers. THEME: SicniFicant CoNnTRIBUTIONS TO SECOND- ARY-SCHOOL IMPROVEMENTS. Junior High-School Division Presiding: Virgil M. Hardin, Principal of Pip- kin and Reed Junior High Schools, Spring- field, Missouri, and Member of the Execu- tive Committee of the Department of Sec- ondary-School Principals. 5 DeEpARTMENT OF SECONDARY-ScHOOL Principats — | February WEDNESDAY March 1 2:00 P. M. Club Room B Public Auditorium Address: “Can Marks Be Made Meaningful?” J. D. Hull, Principal of Springfield Senior High School, Springfield, Missouri. Address: “Administering an Integrated Pro- gram of Education in the Junior High School,” C. Benton Manley, Principal of Horace Mann Junior High School, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Address: “Reading and Remedial Reading in a Junior High School,” C. Elwood Drake, Di- rector of Research and Guidance, Newton Schools, Newtonville, Massachusetts. Discussion: J. Paul Leonard, Associate Professor of Education, Leland Stanford University, Stanford University, California. Senior High-School Division Presiding: Oscar Granger, Principal of Haver- ford Township High School, Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, and Second Vice President of the Department of Secondary-School Prin- cipals. Address: “Significant Contributions from the New York State Regents’ Inquiry,” Francis T. Spaulding, Department of Education, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachu- setts. Address: “Significant Contributions from the Modern High School at Work,” William C. Reavis, Professor of Education, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. Address: “Outcomes of the Codperative Study of Secondary-School Standards,” R. D. Mat- thews, Assistant Professor of Education, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. WEDNESDAY March 1 2:00 P. M. Ball Room Annex Public Auditorium Tue Fesruary CoNnvENTION 7 Discussion. George Galphin, Professor of Sec- ondary Education, Drexel Institute, Philadel- phia, Pennsylvania. Junior-College Division Presiding: McClellan G. Jones, Principal of Union High School, Huntington Beach, California, and Member of the Executive Committee of the Department of Secondary- School Principals. The Junior College Serving Its Sectional Needs. Address: “Problems in Evolving a Junior- College Curriculum to Meet Community Needs,” J. L. McCaskill, Principal of Senior High School and Junior College, Meridian, Mississippi. Address: “How One Junior College Serves Its Community,” Byron S. Hollinshead, Presi- dent of Scranton-Keystone Junior College, LaPlume, Pennsylvania. Address: “Meeting the Junior College Students’ Needs,” Louis E. Plummer, Superintendent of Fullerton Union High School and Junior College, Fullerton, California. Discussion. Evaluators: Chairman, Truman G. Reed, Prin- cipal of Lewis and Clark High School, Spo- kane, Washington, and Member of the Ex- ecutive Committee of the Department of Secondary-School Principals; L. W. Brooks, Principal of Wichita High School East, Wichita, Kansas; Harrison C. Lyseth, State Supervisor of Secondary Education, Au- gusta, Maine; Galen Jones, Principal of Plainfield High School, Plainfield, New Jersey. DEPARTMENT OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL PRINCIPALS SPECIAL GROUP MEETINGS (Hotel Cleveland:—State Coérdinators Meeting, Room 9; FRIDAY February 24 10:00 A. M. SATURDAY February 25 9:30 A. M. SATURDAY February 25 12:00 Noon SATURDAY February 25 3:00 P. M. SUNDAY February 26 10:00 A. M. SUNDAY February 26 12:30 P. M. MONDAY February 27 8:30 A. M. MONDAY February 27 12:00 Noon MONDAY February 27 5:00 P. M. TUESDAY February 28 8:30 A. M. TUESDAY February 28 11:00 A. M. all others, Room 3.) Implementation Committee Executive Committee Luncheon National Council Planning Committee Executive Committee Luncheon Committee on San Francisco Convention Breakfast Chairmen of National Honor Society Revolving Scholarship Loan Fund Luncheon State Coordinators Nominating Committee Breakfast Presidents and Secretaries of State Associations of High-School Principals Executive Committee [ February The Bulletin of the DEPARTMENT OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL PRINCIPALS National Education Association VotumE 23 Fesruary, 1939 Numser 80 IMPLICATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES C. Currigen SMITH New York State College for Teachers, Albany, New York It is perhaps a rare individual who does not remember the feeling of wonderment and amazedness which accompanied the growing realiza- tion that no two things are ever exactly alike, in so far as man has been able to determine. Of the millions of trees, no two are alike; not even two of the leaves which provide the varying shades of green in the spring, and which supply the variegated and fascinating colors in the fall. Of the billions of snowflakes which envelop the landscape at Christmas-time, no two are alike. The crystals of ice which decorate the windowpanes with fantastic shapes in winter are always different one from the other. No two grains of sand are exactly alike; not even two of the molecules of one grain of sand; not even two of the atoms of one molecule. Wherein lies there a phenome:on more wonderful? There is no telling the time when the universal law of difference first became a part of the intellectual possessions of man. It may be assumed that the concept is not a modern one. There are evidences to indicate that it was applied to human beings early in the history of education. The Greeks, at the time of Aristotle, held to the view that some were born to toil with their hands and that others were born to be the leaders of men and the disciples of culture. Formal education in Europe and, conse- quently, formal education in the United States has, from the beginning, exercised a selective function which has been based on no other premise than the principle of individual difference. Nevertheless, concern for individual differences received its greatest impetus with the advent of intelligence testing during the World War. Through the use of standardized tests, we proved, at least to the satisfac- tion of all except the most skeptical, that the universal law of difference ts as applicable to human beings as it is to the fauna, the flora, the snow- flakes, and the grains of sand. Every individual differs from every other 9 10 DepaRTMENT OF SEconDARY-ScHOOL Principats [February individual in size, appearance, mental acuity, motives, likes and dislikes, wishes and desires, aptitudes, abilities, and interests. The implications for education were obvious; if the work of the school was to be effective, it must be adapted to the individual differences of students. But, alas! We were not starting anew. It was not like starting at the beginning, laying our plans carefully in accordance with a democratic philosophy of education and in conformity with newly acquired concepts of the nature of individual differences. We already had mass education. We already had grade standards which must be attained if the pupil was to gain respectability. We already had units of subject matter which had to be covered. We already had a system of bells, schedules, credits, and Regents examinations. We already had a system of schools manned by a body of teachers, supervisors, and school administrators who were edu- cated in the old regime. We already had school buildings composed of corridors for pupils to drill through, classrooms with fixed seats for stu- dents to keep still in, blackboards for students and teachers to demonstrate their academic knowledge on, and benches for pupils to sit straight on while they recited their memorized tricks which had value only because they were not possessed by the rank and file. We already had a philosophy of education which, theoretically, held to the democratic principle of the equalization of educational opportunity but which, actually, was tolerant of the supposed rights of only a selected few. In order to meet the new challenge, school people in general began to look around for some administrative device, some panacea or short cut, by means of which provision for individual differences might be made, without tending too much to disturb the mental complacency of the edu- cators, or without requiring too much of a shift from the conventiona! type of content, method, and physical surroundings. The administrative provisions for individual differences, many of which were in vogue before 1918, are of three principal types: (1) different types of institutions, (2) different types of curricula within institutions, and (3) different meth- ods of instruction within curricula. SEPARATE INSTITUTIONS A moment’s reflection is all that is necessary to indicate the extent to which different types of institutions have been established in order to pro- vide for individual differences. Depending somewhat on his interests, capacities, and abilities, but also, let it be remembered, on his financial status, an individual may choose to attend any one of several types of in- stitutions, including schools of medicine, engineering, agriculture, mines, law, pharmacy, architecture, art, education, dentistry, music, liberal arts, and many others. Often, many of these schools are combined under a central administration to form what is called a university. The first two 1939} ImMpLicATIONs OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 11 years of work in these institutions may be thought of as secondary general education. Besides the institutions which fall within the realm of intellectual or cultural respectability, are the schools of barbering, commerce, auto me- chanics, and Diesel engineering. If one wishes a course of comparatively short duration after completing the high school, it is possible to attend a junior college or a finishing school. If one is belligerent, he may select a school. If one has aversions to the opposite sex, it is easy to find a school which is noncoeducational—a school for boys, a school for girls. Those who cherish the spiritual or metaphysical may choose a denominational school. If one is a little slow mentally, slightly obstreperous socially, or somewhat puny physically, nearly any popular magazine will provide a long list of schools which supposedly may be attended with profit. For those who dislike Uncle Sam’s type of education, private schools are avail- able. If one wishes to be sure of meeting college entrance requirements, there is little possibility of going astray by choosing a preparatory school. If one happens not to be academic-minded, choice may be made from a school of the dance, a school of horseback riding, or a school of golf. Also set up for no other purpose than providing for individual differences are the reform schools, industrial schools, and insane asylums. CurricuLa WITHIN INSTITUTIONS Differentiated curricula within given institutions constitute a second administrative means of providing for individual differences. The single curriculum, through which all students are expected to pass and in which there are no electives, is no longer commonly found. Ordinarily, the cur- riculum organization is of the pure-multiple type, the constants-with-vari- able type, or a combination of these. In the pure-multiple type of cur- riculum organization, there are two or more curricula within each of which all courses are prescribed. A student may select any curriculum offered by the school, such as the college-preparatory curriculum, the com- mercial curriculum, or the agricultural curriculum, but cannot elect courses after the curriculum has been selected. In the constants-with-variables type of organization, certain subjects or courses are required and others are elective. A school may have multiple curricula and still utilize the con- stants-with-variables technique within any one of its curricula. It probably should be pointed out that all electives are not free, some being available only in case certain conditions are met. Actually, the amount of free elec- tion allowed candidates for diplomas is practically nil. DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION WITHIN CuRRICULA - The third type of administrative provisions for individual differences has been labeled differentiated instruction within curricula. The plans 12 DepaRTMENT OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL Principats [February are varied and numerous, but most of them may be classified under seven major headings as follows:’ (1) Homogeneous grouping (2) Special classes (3) Plans characterized by the unit assignment (4) Scientific study of problem cases (5) Variation in pupil load (6) Out-of-school projects and studies (7) Advisory or guidance programs Under these headings would be classified such schemes as the Dalton plan, the contract plan, the project method, the laboratory plan, the Morri- son plan, special coaching plans, differentiated assignments, variation in the number of subjects a student may carry, opportunity rooms for slow or fast pupils, promotions more frequently than each semester, the Batavia plan, the Pueblo plan, and many others. The first three divisions, namely, homogeneous grouping, special classes, and plans characterized by the unit assignment have been referred to as the core elements in any adequate pro- gram of individualized instruction.’ EVALUATION OF PLANS It is probably safe to assume that the administrative provisions for in- dividual differences discussed above constitute a representative sampling of plans now in use. Apparently, the plans are compatible with the uni- versal law of difference and, therefore, lead in the right direction. Each individual is unique in his interests, needs, capacities, and aptitudes. In conformity with this generalization, separate institutions have been estab- lished, curricula within institutions have been varied, and instruction within currcula has been differentiated. Following this line of reasoning, the nearer we can come to a completely individualized program of instruc- tion, the sooner will we attain the ideal of educational efficiency. Obviously, such an ideal can be accomplished only under the condition that a distinct program of instruction is provided for each individual pupil under the guidance of a private teacher. Anything less than this would not be com- plete individualization. Naturally, such a program would be somewhat expensive, for under present conditions there would be thirty million pu- pils, thirty million teachers, thirty million programs of instruction, thirty million objectives, thirty million teaching stations, and thirty million every- thing else; but, if this is the ideal of educational efficiency, it seems that we as educators should do all within our power to attain it. Certainly we should not be satisfied with anything less than the ideal. 1Billet, Roy O. Provisions for Individual Differences, Markings, and Pr D. C.: United States Office of Education, Bulletin No. 17, 1932, National Survey of B.. -. “Edu- cation, , Monograph No. 13, p. 9. 2Ibid., p. 11. 1939] ImMpLicaTIONs OF INDIVIDUAL D1FFERENCES 13 However, the fly in the ointment seems to be that, with all the admin- istrative schemes which we have been able to concoct, we have not been able to demonstrate wherein we have made significant progress toward a more effective attainment of the ideal of individualized instruction. Not infrequently, do we hear the appeal for a return to the methods of in- struction which characterized the one-room school. Kilpatrick, in his book called Remaking the Curriculum, advocates a return to the opposite of departmentalized instruction for the greater portion of the period of gen- eral education. The more progress we make toward departmentalization, the louder becomes the cry for integration and correlation. The closer we come to good old rugged individualism, the more we hear about social cooperation. Just about the time we think we have reached the acme in atomistic learning, someone begins to harp on the glories of the Gestalt configuration. Perhaps we should pause and ask ourselves why we have attempted to provide for individual differences. An answer to the question’ might possibly reveal some clues as to the reason we have not made greater prog- ress. First, much of our concern for individual differences had its incep- tion in the Ayres study of Laggards in Our Schools which appeared in 1909. Pupils were failing to make progress, or were being retarded, in their climb up the educational ladder. Second, the standardized testing movement showed that much of the failure to achieve grade standards was traceable to low intelligence quotients. We were duped into believing that only those students who had I. Q.’s of 120 or above should be per- mitted to pursue courses in the foreign languages. We seem to have over- looked the fact that every little urchin in France, whether a genius or a moron, having attended school or not, is able to make himself understood in French, and this is a feat that ninety-nine per cent of the superior stu- dents of American schools have been unable to accomplish. Third, when the intelligence tests revealed to us the startling phenomenon that half the I. Q.’s are above 100 and half below, we immediately jumped to the conclusion that the lower half was hand-minded while the upper half was academic-minded, whatever that means. Thus, the industrial arts, com- mercial, and home economics courses were inaugurated as a dumping ground for the poor benighted souls who were unable to succeed in a stilted academic curriculum. Interestingly enough, the greatest need for individualized instruction has not been evident in these courses. It is somewhat apparent, then, that the inability, or, more appropri- ately stated, the disinclination of a large percentage of all pupils to tread the academic mazes of the secondary school, coupled with a lot of hokum about different kinds of minds and the special aptitudes and peculiar psy- chology of the adolescent or junior high-school pupil, provided the impetus for the movement toward individualized instruction. The employed remedy 14 DeparTMENT OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL Principats — [February was in the form of administrative panaceas, which, although providing a new and interesting way of slicing the Bologna, contributed little or noth- ing to a change in the fundamental nature of the Bologna itself. Of course, method is important. The failure of American students to learn the French language cannot be ascribed to the nature of the content alone. But method and content are inseparable concepts. To examine one without examining the other is almost as futile as attempting to place a value on an automobile that will not run. To a considerable extent, we have attempted to make a streamlined model of the horse-and-buggy curriculum of the Latin grammar school. There is absolutely nothing inherent in homogeneous grouping, special classes, or unit assignments—the three core provisions of differentiated in- struction—which would cause the content of the curriculum under such plans to be anywise different from the content of the traditional curricu- lum. Calling a body of logically organized, academic subject matter a unit rather than a chapter does not change its nature any more than calling an academy a high school makes the type of instruction any less boresome. Furthermore, changing the rate at which subject matter is acquired does not affect its nutritive value. The administrative schemes have complied with the universal law of difference certainly. to the extent that they have added momentum to spe- cialized and compartmentalized learning: a school for boys, a school for girls; a college preparatory curriculum, an industrial arts curriculum; algebra 1, algebra 2; ability group X, ability group Y; the practical courses, the cultural courses. The secondary-school curriculum has become so highly specialized that half the teachers not only cannot teach but have no respect for what is taught by the other half. Oftentimes, the most valuable courses in a school are denied, by one means or another, to the students who would probably make the most of them. We have been offering a program of specialized education designed to appeal to the unique charac- teristics of a select few. Through the use of administrative devices, we have tricd to make these courses palatable to the masses. The thesis may be defended that the great concern about individual differences did not grow out of a zealous desire on the part of educators to make adequate provision for individual differences as much as it grew out of a realization that the program being offered was not adapted to mass education on a large scale. Close examination of many of the administra- tive provisions for individual differences will reveal that they are designed more for the purpose of relieving teachers than for promoting the educa- tional progress of youngsters. It is sometimes held that the problem of adapting instruction to individual differences arose when the new fifty per cent entered the high schools. It is believed that a new type of instruction or new methods of teaching were needed in order to cope with the new 1939] ImpLicaTions OF INDiviDUAL DiFFERENCES 15 fifty per cent. The chances are, however, that it took the new fifty per cent to awaken us to the fact that the instruction was not adapted to any- body or anything except the advocates of formal discipline and college en- trance requirements. The answer to the problem of adapting instruction to individual dif- ferences is not obvious. There is evidence, however, that there has been some fallacious and inconsistent reasoning about the problem. In the first place, we have tried to make a straight line out of the normal curve. Most of us subscribe to the theory of the normal curve. We also subscribe to the hypothesis that no two things are exactly alike. Yet, the normal curve is just as much a picture of similarities as it is a picture of differences. If it were not for the fact that traits and characteristics are held in common, the normal curve would be an impossibility. In the second place, we have tried to conform to the dictates of the universal law of difference by setting up a unique and highly individual- ized program of instruction for each pupil with a view to promoting each one’s peculiar interests and abilities, thus widening the differences, while, at the same time, holding to the philosophy that the main purpose of the school is to promote social efficiency and codperation which require the possession of common controls of conduct. In the third place, the plans designed to provide for individual differ- ences have almost universally encouraged further specialization while we have rapidly been swinging to the view that the fundamental purpose of the secondary school is general education. In the fourth place, we have been unable to resolve, and the adminis- trative schemes have not helped us much, the dilemma of interest which Mursell states in the following manner: “On the one hand, there can be no good and effective learning without interest. On the other, children must learn certain things, irrespective of interest.” The basis for the fallacious reasoning seems to reside in a false concep- tion of the universal law of difference, and the failure to recognize that in- terest is an evironmental affair, and, thus, can be created. The universal law of difference holds true when sufficiently particularized, but loses its va- lidity when sufficiently generalized. Even if the law held true both in detail and in general, this would not remove the desirability of educating people to be more alike, for to obtain similarity of actions, desires, and controls of conduct, broadly speaking, is the only valid excuse for the exist- ence of schools. If this objective is removed, the reason for public educa- tion is removed. Let us return for a moment to the original analogy and state it in an- other way, this time with emphasis on generalities, not particulars. Of the millions of trees, no two are different; not even two of the leaves which 3Mursell, James L. Principles of Education. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, Inc., 1934, p. 280. 16 DEPARTMENT OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL Principats [February provide the varying shades of green in the spring, and which supply the variegated and fascinating colors in the fall. They are not different because they all have the capacity for growth, the capacity for photosynthesis, the capacity to manufacture food with the help of the sun, the rain, and the soil. They all turn their leaves toward the sun for the same purpose. They all utilize carbon dioxide and they all throw off oxygen. They all seem to be working toward the same objectives—to live, to grow, and to repro- duce. The leaves are the same because they have the same function; they are of the same general color in the spring because they contain the same substance; and they are of variegated colors in the fall because of the same chemical and physical principles. Other similarities might be pointed out, and the same kinds of state- ments might be made with respect to the snowflakes, the crystals of ice, the grains of sand, the molecules, the atoms. Among human beings, the simi- larities predominate, not the differences. One is tempted to make the face- tious remark that the height of man is about 5 feet 8, his weight is about 150, his I. Q. is about 100, his pulse is about 72, his temperature is about 98.6, and his blood pressure is about 100 plus his age. His chief objectives seem to be to eat, to sleep, to live, to grow, to reproduce, and to listen to Jack Benny and Charlie McCarthy on Sunday night. Man seems to differ not so much in the kinds of traits and character- istics which he possesses, but in the degree to which he possesses them. The man who possesses a characteristic to an extreme degree, or who pos- sesses a trait seemingly possessed by no one else, is an exception, not the rule. Likewise, curriculum content which is so useless and unlifelike that it does not appeal, and cannot be made to appeal, to practically one hun- dred per cent of a reasonably homogeneous group has no place in a pro- gram of general education. Pupils have no interest, and possess no apper- ceptive background on which to build an interest, in curriculum content that bears no relation to their experiences in everyday life. A program of individualized instruction pushed to the extreme point at which there would be one teacher for every pupil, even if attainable, would not be desirable. Mass instruction is economical from an educational as well as from a financial standpoint. Furthermore, it is neither necessary nor desirable, in a program of general education, to attempt the impossible feat of adjusting every item of instruction to every individual difference in a school. The anticipated and final degree of attainment must, of neces- sity, be flexible and not fixed as a system of grade standards would indi- cate. But the content of the curriculum may, and probably should, be the same for all. The purpose of general education is to engender the con- cepts, attitudes. ideals, or controls of conduct which are necessary to effec- tive participation in, and preservation of, the society of which the school is a part. Such controls must be held in common if a democratic society 1939 | ImpLicaTions OF INDIVIDUAL DiFFERENCES 17 is to endure. It is only on this basis that public support of education can properly be defended. Specialization is, ipso facto, not a function of gen- eral education. There is hardly any limit to the size or heterogeneity of a group which can be brought to the state of interest in a program of education if the content of the program can be shown to possess value in satisfying a need which has come to be felt. He who doubts the validity of this statement need only recall the allusion to the radio programs mentioned above. Mil- lions of people find satisfaction in radio plays, news broadcasts, athletic games and events, picture shows, world fairs, et cetera; and admission to such programs is not dependent upon age, sex, race, creed, social or eco- nomic status, I. Q., or the grade one is able to earn on a new-type test. But someone may say that these programs are designed purely for pur- poses of amusement. The answer is that they are also most certainly edu- cational. Apparently the radio and cinema experts have discovered a con- tent and a method, the implications of which the educator has been too intellectually blind to comprehend. Neither mass instruction nor the fact that people differ gives rise to the problem which is under consideration. We are trying to administer a bitter pill to a group of youngsters who are sick only because we have made them so. Once we have made them sick, we attempt to devise an administrative panacea which will make them well again, little realizing that nutritive food possessing the capacity of being digested is probably the only permanent remedy. A pupil-teacher ratio of forty to one would not be excessive—might even make possible what we now refer to as indi- vidualized instruction or individualized guidance—if the ratio were really forty to one; if the forty were not forty different pupils every hour and every semester; if every hour did not represent a parcel of specialized sub- ject matter which has to be wrapped in a bundle at the end of every period and which is unwrapped, if at all, only at the same hour the next day or at examination time; and if all were not required to submerge their own individualities in order to meet the same grade standards or else fail. It is high time we began to realize that administrative schemes should be ad- justed to the program of instruction, and not vice versa; that one subject is as good as another for purposes of mental discipline; that the value of a subject resides in its content, not its method; and that the essence of culture is satisfactory adjustment to one’s environment, and not the pos- session of a body of superficial and useless academic knowledge. THE SECONDARY SCHOOL AND SOCIAL STABILITY Witt Frencu Professor of Secondary Education, Teachers College, Columbia University It is logical that we should consider how secondary. schools—and all other agencies at our disposal—might serve to promote stability since the world’s people are now quite generally living in acute instability. The, purpose of all social organizations is to assure greater security which is, in effect, not actually complete stability but a desirable degree of stability. Therefore, whenever instability becomes general and acute, as is now the case, we always scrutinize our social institutions in the hope that by reorganizing or modifying some of them they—through more effective performance of old functions or assumption of new ones-—will help us attain desirable stability. The school then, since it is commonly regarded as an active social catalysis, is logically subject to close examina- tion whenever anyone feels the social structure has fallen into decline. It is usually suspected of being the cause and always is regarded as the cure. So now we are asked to consider what the secondary school can do to promote desirable stability. What is desirable stability? It is a matter of amount and degree which may vary from culture to culture. Ideally it is a Utopian situation which leaves no one needing anything beneficial to him. Speaking for this country committed to democratic ideals and principles, we may say that desirable stability is a condition in which general welfare is being attained for all at a rate which corresponds with the best rate at which discoveries, inventions, and social arrangements may be made and validated. It is not a point or locus. It cannot be stationary unless general welfare is, to all practical purposes, completely attained. So long as it is not as generally or completely attained as we think it can be, then the best most desirable stability we, in a democracy, can approve is a rate of change to a better status—progress we call it—which is in proportion to our ability to create, invent, and assimilate. Represented graphically, it is therefore actually an ascending line—not a point. Theoretically, it is a smooth curve. Ac‘ually it is a fluctuating one. Those who long for complete stability long for what is not possessed on this earth, now even by the most privileged group in the most auto cratic societies. They certainly do not desire to live in any democracy: for, with the present level of development of technological skills and of the social sciences, life in a democracy cannot be stable. Those whose chief longing is for stability should go to a natural history museum, but they must remember that everything there is dead. Living in a demo- ‘racy is like living in an experimental laboratory. The unexpected and the expected both happen there. Life there can be only relatively stable and predictable in that it can be pointed toward certain goals and cnds—- 18 1939} THE Seconpary ScHOOL. AND SociAL STABILITY 19 those of democracy. Life is too stable in a democracy when these goals are being less slowly or completely attained than a society’s intellectual and scientific development makes possible. It is too unstable if, in an endeavor to make progress toward these goals, many novel and unvali- dated innovations are introduced. Desirable stability obtains only when the rate of change bears about a one-to-one relation to the society’s power to invent and assimilate; when the sharp fluctuations in the curve of progress have been ironed out into something resembling a smooth curve. From the foregoing, it is easy to guess that I believe the function of popular, tax-supported education in a democracy is to help the society progress at its best rate. An effective educational program modifies the character and rate of progress in several ways. It promotes invention, discovery, and social experimentation. It does this by identifying those able to carry on various types of this work and by providing for them both appropriate education and opportunity to do experimental work. It also cultivates receptivity by all of the results of the work of these ex- perimenters so that what is experimentally established as valid innovation is more readily accepted for general use. It thus acts as an accelerator to progress. It also cultivates the habit of using good methods of thinking in all aspects of living; it dispels fear; it disparages action on the basis of prejudice; it encourages tolerance and open-mindedness toward new ideas; it encourages critical evaluation of tradition as well as of innovation. Thus it acts as a governor on progress, softening resistance to change as well as preventing too hasty acceptance of ill-advised pro- posals. An effective educational program thus tends to reduce the fluc- tuations in the curve of progress—to smooth it out. Not all education performs these functions and no education does it well automatically. Not all types of societies want education to do this and even democracies want it done as a result of education only in the degree to which they enthusiastically embrace democracy. Func- tional education of this type flourishes only under democracy where there is an inherent commitment to “promoting the general welfare” or occa- sionally under the most benevolent of autocracies. Under routine dicta- torships, education is hampered in such a program, or is prohibited from attempting it, or is required to perform other functions which have little or nothing to do with “promoting general welfare.” The importance of popular education in a democracy has, therefore, long been recognized. There has been, however, a too general and too uncritical faith that anything that went by the name of education was beneficial to a democracy. This belief has been founded upon the fact that as compared to no educational program, almost any program of education is some improvement. But for maximum results, our American 20 DEPARTMENT OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL Principats [February democratic culture must have an educational program peculiar to itself. It must be designed specifically to move America at its best rate toward the realization of expressed democratic ideals. To support or advocate any programs of education which do this poorly or not at all is not only wasteful of time and money but unpatriotic in the best sense as well. We, as a profession, need to check practices, procedures, and programs of education to establish beyond reasonable doubt that they are the best means at our command for achieving the essential functions of education in our democracy. Secondary education operating under the conditions of modern Ameri- can life needs especially to scrutinize itself to see to what degree it is helping to attain desirable stability as defined above. That it has ac- quired much of its present form and character from times, places, and influences foreign to the existing situation need not be elaborated here. Neither need we catalogue the current conditions appearing concurrently with the depression which intensify the need for a reexamination of our present program of secondary education. In fact, would it not be a good idea to depart from the usual practice and, instead of approaching the problem as believers in education who also helieve in democracy, let us approach it as believers in democracy who also (and therefore) believe in education. Let us not stand within education and specify to America what to us seems possible to do within the limits of inherited educational folklore. Let us stand outside of education (but in America) and con- sider as any group of sensible men and women should, what needs to be done for America by education. How could secondary education help America attain desirable stability? At what points are we failing to attain desirable stability? Can secondary education be of any help? I suggest two areas in which I think any sensible person who made a matter-of-fact approach to these questions would observe: (1) Our social relationships are not as democratic as they could be. (2) We do not use and manage our natural resources as democratically as we could. That the principles and ideals of democracy should be utilized in both of these areas is inherent in our decision to be a democratic society. Social relationships, however, whether you use group life in the family, the school, or the constituent elements of the community and state as an example, exhibit large degrees of failure to utilize democratic procedures. This failure grows out of the incompetence of the individuals involved, incompetence arising from lack of ability or willingness on their parts. So also in managing our use of natural resources, our relative incom- petence is manifested by the degree to which our development of the physical resources of this continent has failed to provide even the basic economic elements of general welfare for all our people. In a large degree, ,we have failed to create the financial, industrial, technical, and 1939] THE SECONDARY SCHOOL AND SociAL STABILITY 21 distributive arrangements for effecting our democratically conceived in- tentions. We do not have the needed ability or will to effect these results. If in these two areas, we as a people had more competence, this country would now manifest a more desirable degree and amount of stability. The actual level of general welfare would move more rapidly toward our potential level. We would also move more steadily toward it with less tendency to try novel schemes which have not been experimentally validated. That is, desirable stability would be more fully realized. I submit this as the kind of appraisal of the current situation that an ordin- arily intelligent man would make. I repeat we are not doing as well as we could in these two impor- tant areas. We are doing not only less than we should but less than we could. The difference between should and could is the area in which education operates. Why are not these areas then, or others upon which we could come to agreement with more adequate study, the chief ones with which secondary education should be concerned? Under existing conditions, then, why should not the principal concern of secondary education be the creating of more competence (ability and willingness) to handle the problems and situations to be met as we work in these two areas of modern democratic living? The answer seems affirmative if we still believe in the function of education in a society which we set out earlier in this paper, and if we are still interested in desirable stability in our society. Now let us do an even harder thing than taking a sensible, matter- of-fact appraisal of the present socio-economic situation and do the same thing for secondary education. Our question then may be phrased as follows: What kind of educational program for high schools should be set up if we want to create more competence to deal with the problems and situations involved in the two areas proposed above? How much would it resemble the present program? What new or modified pro- cesses, procedures, and programs would be required? To what degree are the present ones effective instruments for the accomplishment of these purposes? Who has dependable answers to these questions? As far as I know no one has much to offer. The total amount of real evidence having a bearing on our problem is not great. Many schools have practices and pro- cedures which they think are working for them, but they have seldom subjected the situation to a real test so that they are certain. Are we, as a group of secondary-school workers, willing to help in a critical examina- tion of secondary education as it now is, as the first step in an effort to develop programs which contribute to desirable social stability? Are we willing to follow this first step with others which shall seek better practices to use in place of any now found ineffective? Are we willing to embark 22 DePARTMENT OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL Principats [February on a nation-wide effort to get the most effective practices and procedures more generally into use in all local high schools? In the belief that we who work in secondary education were ready and competent to do just these things and that this Department should act positively to maintain its leadership in secondary education, the Planning Committee of this Department suggested some time ago the creation of a committee to take the lead in such an effort, codperating with others. That committee was announced last spring at Atlantic City, and it is now at work. It is called the Implementation Committee because its function is conceived to be that of helping schools to decide what procedures and prac- tices are the most effective instruments in the achievement of the principal functions of secondary education in this country. It is not a committee to develop theory about what secondary education in this country should do. A comparative study of all the writings on ends, aims, purposes, and ob- jectives from the Cardinal Principles on down to the present will show largely that the ideas of Spencer and Inglis have merely been reworded, amplified, subdivided, and made more specific. This committee is one to help schools discover more effective ways of accomplishing the purposes of secondary education upon which during the last twenty-five years, be- tween the time of Spencer and 1938, there has been increasingly mure agreement. The committee expects to help schools test the effectiveness of existing practices; to help schools conduct experiments with new-type prac- tices and procedures under conditions which will permit of their validation; to set up in volunteer schools in most of the states demonstration centers where a new practice, once its effectiveness has been established in experi- mental use, can be transplanted for demonstration under actual working conditions. Lastly, it expects to publicize the success of these practices so that all school communities will know more about them and will more rapidly and more generally incorporate them into their school programs. Through this nation-wide linking together of experimentation, dem- onstration, and popularization, this committee hopes to do three things: (1) to get under way more research which has a direct bearing upon effective performance of important functions by our secondary schools, thus reducing the lag which always exists between theory and practice; (2) through validation and demonstration of the better practices now in use in some schools to get these practices more generally adapted by all schools, thus reducing the lag between the practices of the best schools and those of other schools; (3) through a popularization program, to se- cure not only more general understanding, within the profession, of the relative effectiveness of various procedures and practices, but ultimately develop a deserved public confidence in the leaders of our secondary schools as the best guide a community can have in developing a program of sec- ondary education. If anyone thinks this last point is to be taken for 1939 | THE Seconpary ScHOOL AND SoctAL STABILITY 23 granted, it is because he has not broadened his reading about education beyond the professional magazines. Any list of articles on education in the lay magazines will show about a four-to-one ratio of articles against secondary education to those for it. They range from mild satire to vitri- olic condemnation. The favorable ones are usually concerned with a spe- cial feature of a certain school’s program and indirectly are critical of all others for not having followed the excellent example of the selected school. The program of the Implementation Committee is still in process of formulation. Plans for immediate work involve the following in the ap- proximate order in which we hope to proceed: (1) Through consultation with every member of this Department, to determine what are the most critical problems of secondary education upon which principals and others would like for this committee to furnish any possible help. (2) To develop valid means by which any interested school may measure the results of its own effort to perform some of its most important tasks concerned with some of the most geuerally accepted functions of sec- ondary education. (3) Upon the basis of the statements of principals about critical prob- lems and also upon a study of existing research, to lay plans for the experi- mental validation of the effectiveness of existing and possible practices and procedures in schools which may volunteer to codperate with the com- mittee’s staff in such experiments. (4) When the success of any of these practices and procedures has been established in these experimental schools, to arrange to demonstrate them under the guidance of the committee’s staff in volunteer demonstra- tion centers in all of the states as a means of quickly acquainting schools throughout the country with the more effective ways and means of meet- ing some of the principal problems involved in the discharge of the func- tions of secondary schools. These four points represent the present status of the committee’s thinking on its problem. The execution of these plans depends upon many factors and conditions some of which are at present beyond the control and means of the committee. It will, however, devote itself wholeheartedly to the task of getting such a program under way in the belief that it is in line with the Department’s recent policy and program of working for the rapid improvement and development of our secondary schools through cooperative study and work by members of the Department upon the theory and practices of secondary education in our Democracy. SUPERVISED CORRESPONDENCE STUDY IN AMERICA R. C. Haicut Chairman of the National Conference on Supervised Correspondence Study State Department of Public Instruction, Helena, Montana In my opinion, supervised correspondence study has made six definite contributions to American Education. It has (1) stimulated improvement in all types of correspondence instruction, (2) improved student work habits and attitudes, (3) created better teaching conditions, (4) caused schools to improve their regular programs, (5) eliminated financial waste, and (6) served isolated rural youth. On the first topic, the brief but pointed remarks of S.C. Mitchell, origi- nator of the so-called Benton Harbor Plan in the United States, are very ap- propriate: “By bringing correspondence study into the high schools, it seems to me that we have focused the attention of educators more closely upon the whole field of correspondence study with a consequent improvement in the techniques of course construction and correspondence teaching methods.” In discussing the problem of student work habits and attitudes, I wish first to present some facts relating to the working environment of the students. The typical American high school is small: 46.4 per cent of all the high schools have an enrollment of less than 100, and 90 per cent of our schools are located in communities with a population of less than 2,500. You will also bear in mind that the American city of over 100,000 population is not self-sustaining. A recent government bulletin states that ten adults in the large cities are raising only seven children, whereas ten farm adults are raising fourteen children. This same bulletin states that 40 per cent of the youth who started to work in the cities from 1920 to 1929 came from the farms. The information which we have just given intimates that the typical small high school must outline a program of activities which meets the needs of both rural and city life. This is an additional burden which is not thrust upon our educational institutions in the metropolitan centers. Moreover, as the student leaves grade school, he plunges headlong into a college preparatory atmosphere. In one of our western agricultural states, nineteen students take algebra for every two taking agriculture, fourteen take geometry for every one taking some form of practical arithmetic, and twenty-three take a language course for every ten taking a homemaking course. Yet only fifteen to twenty out of one hundred enroll in college. National and local traditions, accrediting associations, teacher-training in- stitutions, and local, state, and national organizations, all share in the re- sponsibility for this unfortunate situation. The harvest is classes heavily weighted with noninterested students, classroom failures, forced attend- ance, heavy school mortality, and nonenrollment. The regrettable feature 24 1939} SUPERVISED CoRRESPONDENCE STuDY IN AMERICA 25 of the whole situation is that the morale of the entire student body is injured. For example: Six students. who dilly-dally, through lack of interest in a particular course, undermine the spirit and retard the progress of the nineteen who are interested. Nearly all high schools have been guilty, the small high schools perhaps more so than the rest. The saving feature has been the deep-seated human interest of the teacher and the spontancity of the student. Inasmuch as supervised correspondence study can effec- tively serve an almost unlimited range of student interests and capacities, many of our leading educators feel that this is one agency which will be of great aid in solving the present difficulty. In 1933, Dr. Gaumnitz, senior specialist in the United States Office of Education, stated, “Indeed the indications are that the movement holds much promise for the economical enrichment of secondary education in the United States.” Four years later, Dr. Jessen, senior specialist in Secondary Education, wrote, “According to a recent report, supervised correspondence study has now become offi- cially recognized in twelve different states, either by the state department of education or by the higher institutions of learning, as a practical means of providing and improving opportunities for secondary education in rural communities. Interest has also been shown in this movement in eighteen additional states, either through the use of such lessons in one or more of the high schools of each, or through other manifestations. If the growth of the use of this plan and the interest in it may be taken as proof of its possibilities, the conclusion may be drawn that great things may be ex- pected from it in the future.” To-day, twenty per cent of the high schools in Montana and fifty per cent of the North Dakota high schools are serving special student interests and needs through the use of correspondence work. I am sorry I do not have the data for other states. I shall mention a couple of examples which illustrate the points I have been attempting to make. Three students attending a high school with an enrollment of 225 informed the superintendent the past year that they desired to take a fourth year of mathematics, inasmuch as they planned to attend an insti- tute of technology which had as an enrollment requirement four years of mathematics. At the close of the present year the superintendent writcs, “The supervised correspondence courses have proved very valuable to our three students the past year. The students have mentioned several times the benefits derived and the excellent organization of the courses.” Please compare this with the experience of another Montana superin- tendent who handled a similar curriculum problem in the traditional way. The football captain of the school advised the superintendent that upon gr4duation from high school he expected to attend an engineering school and that he needed another unit in high-school mathematics. The school 26 DeparRTMENT OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL Principats [February advised him that a course would not be offered unless at least eight were enrolled. Thereupon, the captain persuaded eight of his teammates to reg- ister for advanced mathematics. Six weeks later, the captain moved to another state, leaving the eight to buck the line alone. It is worthy of note that interests multiply with added enrollment. A school, for instance, with enrollment of one thousand or more will in all probability have many student interests not being served by the present curriculum. This explains why Benton Harbor, Michigan, enrolls two hundred or more students in supervised correspondence study, even though the school has what would ordinarily be called a well-diversified regular school program. The high-school enrollment of Benton Harbor is about cleven hundred. It would be unfortunate, indeed, if the idea would be- come prevalent that this procedure only meets the needs of small schools. I do not want to imply that the bulk of the work will ordinarily be handled in this manner. In most high schools, not over ten to fifteen per cent of the work has been done by extension. Supervised correspondence study has then, through (1) the offering of courses in the field of intense student interests and (2) the freeing of the regular class of the so-called dead timber, made a definite contribution to better working habits and attitudes of high-school students. The third contribution relates to the improvement of teaching condi- tions. This has been accomplished in these five ways: (1) diminishing the number of subjects taught in which the teacher is poorly prepared or has little interest; (2) reducing the total teaching time through the elimination of small classes; (3) capitalizing on the native talents and interests of the teacher; (4) increasing the time the teacher may devote to self-improve- ment and in-service training; (5) providing more time for supervision and administration. Heretofore, the schools through increasing the number of subjects taught, as well as the teaching hours, have made a desperate effort to sat- isfy individual demands. In many instances, this expansion has unques- tionably lowered the teaching standards of the schools. It is self-evident that any procedure which will aid in the elimination of extremely smail classes without injury to the student, and which at the same time will give the teacher added time to work in more productive fields is improving the teaching status. The fourth contribution has been in the improvement of the regular program. The zeal with with some students, who were apparently misfits in the regular program, have successfully attacked correspondence instruc- tional material has exerted a potent influence on school reorganization. In other words, supervised correspondence study has acted as a leaven in breaking down traditional courses and procedures with the result that more 1939} SUPERVISED CORRESPONDENCE STUDY IN AMERICA 27 rational programs are established. The schools of Nebraska, for instance, placed educational and vocational guidance in the regular curriculum al- most immediately following the construction and use of a well-planned correspondence course in orientation and guidance. If it had not been for correspondence study, the period of adoption would probably have been indefinitely prolonged. The impact of this correspondence course has also been experienced by schools in adjacent states. One of the most interesting developments relates to the introduction of the nonacademic type of work in the small schools. Frequently, a school will start with one or two correspondence courses in the practical or useful arts field. The demand rapidly increases until a part-time or a full-time teacher is employed for these subjects. Stanford, Montana, has an enrollment of approximately cightv-five. The past year, four students enrolled for practical arts, supervised corre- spondence courses in gas engines and modern automobiles. On account of the success and the interest in this kind of work, the school has for the year of 1938-39 organized regular classes under the Federal ‘Trade and Industry program. The developme.t of a practical arts program at Kremlin, Montana, came about in a similar manner. Although the school was smaller, eleven students took practical arts courses in 1937-38. The success of the courses likewise created a demand for a more extensive program for 1938-39. However, since the entire school enrollment was less than fifty, the eim- ploying of a regular practical arts teacher or vocational teacher hardly appeared justified. The difficulty was met in this manner. Kremlin sug- gested to Gildford, a neighboring school, that the two schools jointly employ a well-qualified teacher. This codperative plan provided that the instructor in vocational subjects would spend the forenoon in one shop and the afternoon in the other. The plan has already been approved by both school boards, and the service of a well-qualified vocational teacher has been secured. Of particular interest is the fact that the codperative plan of vocational work of the two schools will be carried on under the Federal reimbursement plan for vocational education. The wing school is another form of reorganization which should be noted. Large school districts frequently have children living in isolated villages who find the central high school inaccessible. The Park County High School of Livingston, Montana, has attempted to solve the problem by supplying the remote isolated community of Gardiner, fifty-six miles distant, with a high-school teacher. The students who cannot obtain the work they desire in regular classes are able to take courses by supervised correspondence study under the general supervision of the local high-school instructor. It can readily be seen that the use of supervised correspondence study directly influences school reorganization. The introduction of new 28 DeparTMENT OF SEconDARY-ScHOOL Principats [February subjects, the codperative vocational plan, and the wing school are a few examples. The fifth contribution has been in the reduction of instructional costs in small classes. Thirty-three per cent of the schools using correspondence courses in my state report the reduction of costs as one of the reasons for giving this type of work. Fortunately, the elimination of high per capita costs through the use of self-instruction correspondence materials dees not jeopardize the educational welfare of the student. The few students, as we have stated, are still adequately cared for and are permitted, at the same time, more effective work with larger groups. This brings us to the last contribution, namely, the improvernent of rural education. The following figures will suggest something of the work that remains to be done. Again I am using figures from my own state, inasmuch as national figures are not available. Perhaps one-half of the states of the Union still face a serious problem in the education of the children of the isolated family. In Montana, during the 1937-38 school year, 7,699 children living three or more miles from school attended the elementary public schools, supplying their own means of transportation or making provisions for board and room. Of this group, 5,168 lived from three to six miles from the nearest elementary school; 1,577, from five to eleven miles; 540, from twelve to seventeen miles, and 414 children lived eighteen miles and over. The high-school figures for the same zones are 1,591, 1,740, 1,484, and 2,492 respectively, making a total of 7,307. In all, there were 15,006 chil- dren residing three or more miles from school who were compelled to get to school as best they could. I wish to call special attention to the fact that 3,796 high-school children, without bus service, made arrangements to attend high schools over twelve miles from their homes. The elementary and high-school figures which I have just given on out-of-school children are based upon a special clerk’s out-of-school report of approximately 80 per cent of the districts of the state having a total population of less than one thousand. According to this same report only 76 potential elementary pupils and 165 high-school students living one mile or less from an ele- mentary or high school failed to attend. In order to equalize the educational opportunities for the children of the state, approximately three hundred thousand dollars of state transporta- tion money was given to the parents of the 15,006 children as a payment in lieu of bus service. Even with supplementary payments from some of the districts, parents find the heavy transportation cost, the separating of parents and children during the school year, and the cost of board and room an unbearable burden. This constant financial and psychic drain caused one Montana legis- lator to declare, in defending his stand for a more liberal rural educational 1939] SUPERVISED CORRESPONDENCE StuDY IN AMERICA 29 policy, that more people had left the rural areas because of the lack af educational facilities than because of grasshoppers and low price levels combined. There is much truth in his statement, for those who are willing to face the realities of the agricultural situation know that food, clothing, shelter, medical service, to say nothing of expenditures for insurance and taxes, make, in most instances, heavy outlays for transportation for an aver- age-sized farm family a financial impossiblity. The survey further indicates that most of the children wanted to attend school and that distance and finance were the prohibiting factors. In many sections of the United States the situation has become acute. The fact that the American Association of School Administrators has taken cognizance of the problem is an especially good sign. In February 1936, that Association passed the following resolution: “We commend the in- creasingly large number of agencies that are devoting themselves to the solution of the problems of the small school. Wherever feasible, uneco- nomically small units should be eliminated. Many districts, however, can- not be consolidated and even when consolidation is effected in our more sparsely settled areas, the enlarged units thus formed usually have small enrollments. Recent figures indicate that more than ninety per cent of our school systems of the United States are in communities with popula- tions of less than twenty-five hundred. It is evidently necessary, therefore, that administrative, supervisory, and instructional techniques be developed which are suited particularly to the smaller schools of the nation. We urge, in view of this situation, that the Department of Superintendence devote a yearbook to the organization and administration of small schools and that more attention be given to the problems and opportunities of such schools in the planning of the programs of this department.” When this 1939 Association Yearbook is published, I am sure the members of this conference will read the volume with the greatest of interest. As we have indicated before, practically all of the public-financed cor- respondence programs are built to serve the children of high-school age. One notable exception is the Winnetka Extension School for Children. The need for such a service and the objectives of the Winnetka Extension plan are set forth in two recently published bulletins dealing with the for- eign and domestic extension ‘education problems. The Foreign Service Catalogue states, “The Winnetka Extension School for Children provides a modern elementary-school education for children living in foreign coun- tries who cannot attend a good English-speaking school. It brings to your home the educational program given in the public schools of Winnctka, Illinois. “The Winnetka Extension School is a nonprofit organization. It main- taims close codperation with the Winnetka Public Schools, which have, under the leadership of Carleton Washburne, received world-wide recog- 30 DEPARTMENT OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL Principats [February nition. The Extension School uses the curriculum, methods, and instruc- tional materials of the Winnetka Public Schools. It has the general super- vision of Dr. Washburne and the professional counsel of several outstand- ing members of the public-school staff. This codperation insures that each child enrolled in the Winnetka Extension School is taught by modern, progressive methods and that instruction materials are subject to frequent re-analysis and revision.” In the bulletin relating to elementary extension education in the United States, under the caption of “The School of To-day,” the following statement is made. “Modern schools are assuming responsibilities which have never been met before. They are trying to prepare children to face intelligently the problems of a changing world. They are beginning to provide for the emotional needs of their pupils. They are realizing that character is developed by experience and not by precepts. They are adapt- ing their curriculums to include the real needs of everyday living and to exclude the trivial, technical, and incidental. “But not all children can attend a good school. Some live too far away, some are physically handicapped, and some do not live long enough in one community. When it becomes necessary or expedient for children to study at home, intelligent parents will seek the most effective guidance available. The Winnetka Extension School for Children provides continu- ous guidance for home study, based upon the individual child’s needs and the demands of modern society.” This recent development of the Winnetka extension program is an- other expression of the progressive ideas held by the personnel of this noted institution. There are, of course, several well-known private schools doing work in this field. However, the present use of elementary extension courses is distinctly limited because of the necessary expenditures which must be made by the parents of the isolated children. In some instances, this difficulty is overcome by having the district take care of this kind of work. The ultimate solution to this problem appears to be in the setting up of a state elementary extension program. This extension service will then be made available to the children in isolated areas who find it exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to attend a regular elementary school. No doubt the various states undertaking such a program will profit from the experience of others and set up a codrdinated elementary and secondary program under a single state administrative agency. I anticipate that one of the results of this conference will be the early establishment, in some of the sparsely settled areas, of an integrated cor- respondence program embracing both the elementary and secondary levels. One marvels that such a program has not been put into operation before in some of our states in view of the outstanding work which has been done by such countries as Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. 1939] SUPERVISED CORRESPONDENCE STUDY IN AMERICA 31 Time will not permit an extended discussion of the high-school corre- spondence programs which are serving boys and girls living in the small towns and isolated rural communities. However, we cannot refrain from citing a few examples. In the East, the Massachusetts Department of Edu- cation has done a great deal of pioneer work. The Department now has 258 courses available to the students of the smaller towns and villages. In the West, the California State Department of Education in codperation with the Works Progress Administration has issued over eleven thousand certificates of completion (for individual courses) during the last four-year period. This service has been extended to the enrollment of the C.C.C. camps regardless of their grade status. In the South, the Phoenix Union High School, Phoenix, Arizona, is carrying on a most interesting state- wide program. In the central states, the University of Nebraska has carried on a most remarkable piece of work. For many years, attention in this institution has been centered on the improvement of correspondence materials and instructional service. The influence of this work has been felt throughout the United States. . North Dakota, ‘in the northern part of the United States, has devel- oped one of the most comprehensive of all state programs designed to aid high-school students residing in small towns and in isolated rural areas. The rural school is a vital factor in the program. Even though public-school correspondence education in America is in its infancy, there are many features of the future program which are now apparent. (1) It will be state-wide in nature, yet flexible enough to permit a free exchange of instructional service and material between states. (2) It will start with the children of the elementary years and continue into the posthigh-school period. (3) It will tend to be a codrdinated pro- grain in which all phases of the program, elementary, high school, and posthigh school, will come under one central state administrative organi- zation. In taking a general view of this procedure, we conclude that super- vised correspondence study has a positive effect upon American educa- tion. A movement which improves (1) school offerings, (2) regular cor- respondence instruction, (3). teaching conditions, (4) school finance, (5) student study habits, and (6) better serves that very deserving group of isolated rural youth has, indeed, a most promising future. GUIDANCE FOR THE MODERN HIGH SCHOOL G. D. Brantley Principal, Sumner High School, St. Louis, Missouri The modern secondary school of to-day is faced with heavy demands which, a few years ago, were a part of the duty of the home and, to a cer- tain extent, of the church. In order to meet these demands, the conception of the secondary school, as well as the philosophy in support of its exist- ence, has undergone great chances. The school has actually supplanted much of the training previously given in the home. Along with the increased demands made upon the modern secondary school, there has grown a need for guidance. This need for a program of guidance in the secondary school is due to: (1) Changed conditions of the home (2) Changed condition of jabor and industry (3) Changes in population (4) Changed standards of living (5) Increase in amount of general education (6) Elimination from school (7) Increased leisure (8) Moral and religious conditions (9) Need of developing qualified leaders No longer can the secondary school of to-day claim that its function has been met when it prepares young people for college entrance. In the first place, too few from the secondary school enter and remain in college; and in the second place, the need for preparing young people “to do better those desirable things which they are likely to do, and to reveal higher activities and to make them possible and desirable,” is far greater than that of preparing for college. In order to meet the challenge as indicated, the secondary school of to-day must devise a guidance program and must, through wise and intelligent education, sell the program to the commu- nity, faculty, and pupils. Because of a changed viewpoint, the home looks to the school for necessary training in guidance. While the home may evade its responsi- bility, the school cannot escape the “delegated” task. Modern life calls for specific and general training, and while the home may fail to do its share, no modern school can fulfill its obligation by omitting a definite procedure in guidance. There are varying conceptions of what constitutes guidance. To some, it is formal organization with necessary staff and office equipment; and to such people guidance can be given only through such a setup. To others, the meaning of guidance is incidental in that they believe that whenever 32 1939] GuIDANCE FoR THE Mopgern HicH ScHoot 33 assistance is offered, irrespective to what degree, guidance has been given. While I realize the importance of adequate staff and equipment, I agree with those who claim that guidance, to a degree, is given whenever the school assists the pupil in making a wise choice or decision. Other interpretations of guidance would include personal counsel or advice, educational service to pupils, vocational direction or advisement, assistance in securing employment, and assistance toward further training. These conceptions and others constitute education and vocational guidance. The school of to-day, however, must concern itself not only with guidance in these two fields but also with offering guidance for living in the politi- cal, social, and religious world of to-day. Likewise, there is the necessity of offering guidance in health, moral, and civic leadership. It is true that Dr. Brewer and others believe that through vocational guidance the real function of guidance has been met. Others believe that through educational guidance the real responsibility of the school has been met. I realize the importance of guidance and its being more inclusive than to comprise merely vocational or educational, or vocational and edu- cational direction. While this is my belief, the present paper will, how- ever, be confined to a discussion of educational and vocational guidance in the modern secondary-school program. The high school of to-day constitutes a highly democratic, cosmopoli- tan adolescent group. The fit and the unfit alike are encouraged to go and to remain. Procedures which require admission by certification based upon scientific investigations become unpopular and troublesome in so far as they cause the elimination of the child of a citizen who is economi- cally and politically substantial. Any process of elimination will, in time, prove embarrassing to those responsible for its administration. As has been indicated, the home no longer controls the life of the child. Practically all training received by the child in the home is a matter of chance. He finds little to inspire him to achievement. Too often the parent does not know what to do, and again it may be due to lack of in- terest. The child is, too often, considered to be a social handicap. The school then is looked upon as detention quarters, and the home becomes a rooming and boarding house. Ownership is often discredited because of mass housing, renting, and free school supplies. There is a correspond- ing loss of initiative and perseverance in the child, the responsibility for which falls upon the school. Another responsibility of the home now thrust upon the school is that of counteracting the baneful influence of un- desirable movies and bad adult associations. In meeting its responsibility of assuming the challenge thrust upon it, the school must devise a type of organization which will be effective. One ~ of the best codperating agencies is the home room, which might be the chief factor. In order to be effective, it is essential that the philosophy and 34 DePARTMENT OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL Principats [February objectives of the home room be understood by faculty and pupils. It is my opinion that so the home-room philosophy and effectiveness, so the school. Some objectives that ought to be achieved in the home room of the modern secondary school desiring to give educational guidance are: (1) Orientation of pupils to school life (2) Mapping out programs of study (3) Helping pupils to discover themselves (4) Teaching codperation in and through varied enterprises (5) Giving opportunities for development of leadership (6) Teaching pupils to love their school as a worth-while or- ganization (7) Assisting pupils in their various subjects (8) Encouraging studious habits (9) Stimulating interest in developing interesting personalities through dress, speech, posture, health, etc. (10) Showing advantages of high-school education (11) Training for wise use of leisure (12) Teaching right attitudes toward schoolmates, adults, and those in authority (13) Assisting pupils through parental codperation (14) Fostering those qualities that make for success such as honesty, perseverance, self-reliance, etc. While it is easy to state the objectives which should be met, there is still a responsibility in accomplishing the end. It is, therefore, suggested that the objectives be accomplished through: (1) Teaching by example as well as by precept (2) Using the school handbook or other publication (3) Having personal conferences before mapping out pupil's program (4) Securing parental codperation along all lines by letter, tele- phone, conference (5) Encouraging extra-curriculum participation along lines of real interest. Letting all programs be strictly educational Devoting some time to study guidance Letting carefully chosen officers run the room with the advisor in the background Encouraging membership in the Student Council, Honor Society, etc. Encouraging affiliation in the church, scouts, youth fo- rums, and in the Young Men’s and Young Men’s Chris- tian Associations GUIDANCE FOR THE MoperN HicH ScHoor (11) Telling pupils about desirable movies, adult associations, and school companions (12) Keeping pupils civic-minded through a weekly current events period (13) Emphasizing care of school supplies (14) Teaching good manners in the home, on the streets, and in school (15) Advising pupils privately concerning their personal habits The principal through his administrative and supervisory authority acts as the codrdinator of all guidance efforts. A study by Koos and Ke- fauver revealed that while the principal is the responsible head, he himself does very little actual work in the guidance program. In the small and middle-sized school, the principal discharges greater responsibility in the guidance program. According to the study, the principal, dean of girls, dean of boys, and home-room advisor usually have charge of the guidance program. While the information obtained by Koos and Kefauver might be of some value, it is not to be assumed that “whatever is, is right.” The classroom teacher, as a functionary, may supplement the home- room advisor in a guidance program in the following ways: (1) Insist on right pupil attitudes (2) Report special cases to the counselor (3) Suggest remedial measures (4) Encourage ownership of supplies (5) Discourage excuses to leave the room (6) Insist on neatness in work, correct English, and good pos- ture (7) From time to time, show bearing of subject studied on vo- cations In the guidance program, the parents must be made to realize their responsibility. They must be influenced to visit the school in the interest of pupils and the public. Through the Parent-Teacher Association, they may become acquainted with the program and be ready and willing to offer cooperation and suggestions. Through well-organized extra-curriculum activities, the guidance pro- gram may become valuable in training for leisure. There are also oppor- tunities for vocational exploration. A general self-improvement might re- sult through training in leadership and the opportunity to develop good citizenship. Vocational guidance should play an important part in any guidance program planned. Such a program might have as its objectives: (1) To prepare pupils for a livelihood 36 DEPARTMENT OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL Principats [February (2) tion (3) To displace the outworn apprentice system (4) To train pupils to work in highly organized groups (5) To put all vocational education on a more equitable basis (6) To reduce the number of misfits (7) To emphasize the necessity of academic along with voca- tional preparation (8) To afford prevocational self-analysis (9) To eliminate the job-tojob workers who eventually become dependent (10) To reduce the number of aimless high-school pupils who become problem cases In accomplishing the objectives of a proposed guidance program, the school should consider the existing types of organizations. There is no one type which might be made to meet the local needs and conditions. Types of organizations which have received favorable comment are: 1. Central guidance bureau for entire system—This is represented in Boston, Chicago, and Cincinnati. It is a distinct bureau under the super- vision of the superintendent. Trained workers give group instruction and individual counseling. The bureau provides for placement and follow-up work. 2. Central guidance bureau with each high school coéperating as a separate unit.—This type is represented in Providence and in Milwaukee. The responsibility rests with the principal, but the central office acts as an advisor. Guidance is integrated into the high-school program. Qualified officers and the classroom teachers are responsible for carrying on the work. 3. Centralized guidance organization in each high school_—This type is represented in Township High School, of LaSalle, Illinois. Responsi- bility rests entirely with the principal. He and the teachers set up and ad- minister the guidance program. This type gives excellent opportunity for principal initiative. 4. Central guidance organization in individual school independent of superintendent.—This type is represented in Joliet High School and New Trier Township High School. A specially trained counselor works largely through home-room teachers and school officers. A suggestive setup for a modern high school might be that the prin- cipal, through the central office, appoint a guidance committee from the faculty. One member of the faculty might give a course in, or talks on, vocations to freshmen. A specially trained member of the committee should be relieved of class work to give, at least, part time to vocational counseling. Some specific duties of the committee might be: To prepare pupils for professional and industrial competi- QQ. A. = mee re lUlUMU Oe (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) GuIDANCE FOR THE Mopern Hicu ScHooi Having conferences with parents Giving and interpreting vocational tests for comparison with mental and achievement tests Having conferences with home-room and classroom teachers Keeping of complete records of pupils in so far as these affect vocational careers Sponsoring assembly talks on vocations with successful men invited to speak Setting up and encouraging the use of a vocational library Suggesting vocational extra-curriculum activities Maintaining an up-to-date college catalogue file Working with various agencies for trade union recognition Suggesting definite curricula for various vocations Individual counseling, especially with seniors and freshmen Writing a vocational handbook While this paper has stressed an educational and vocational guidance program for the modern high school, it must be understood that guidance should project in other directions. Civic, ethical, personal, moral, and reli- gious guidance must be part of the program, if the modern high school is to meet the many responsibilities facing it as the result of our complex life and the changes in standards of living. And while organized guidance is comparatively new, it is here to-day; and the progressive school must devise means of offering a program based upon scientific, practical, and democratic principles. POSSIBLE CHANGES IN THE CONSTITUTION These suggestions are made by the Committee on Planning in the de- sire to stimulate worthy consideration of the Department’s scheme of or- ganization. It is believed that such consideration may bring desirable im- provement. Francis L. Bacon, Chairman, Committee on Planning 1. NAME The Planning Committee has from time to time given consideration to the name of the Department and has suggested to the Executive Com- mittee that certain changes might be significant. The title is somewhat confusing to those who are not conversant with the departmental organization of the N.E.A., and there are many such, particularly laymen as represented on boards of education. The national character of the organization loses some of its meaning under the empha- sized departmental nomenclature. The name suggested by the Committee is The National Association of Secondary-School Principals, with the subtitle A Department of Sec- ondary Education of the National Education Association. There is no thought of changing the status of the organization as affecting the Na- tional Education Association. It is believed that the title, as suggested, actually clarifies the character of the organization and emphasizes more clearly the specific relationship to the N.E.A. 2. MEMBERSHIP CLASSIFICATION The Planning Committee has also suggested that consideration be given to the question of membership classification. The dues for annual membership have remained the same from the beginning, although for more than twenty years the changes in the organization have been very great. The various services offered have been gradually increased until they have become far more varied and significant than is usually true of national organizations with such small fees. The present expanding program of the Department, already launched with amazing success, and the immediate promise suggested by such plans, as are now outlined by the Committee on Implementation, can scarcely hope to receive the encouragement necessary without more definite finan- cial aid from the Department funds. This is equally true of the interesting plans for a Committee on New Materials of Instruction and for other projects which must be made a part of the national program if the De- partment is to warrant its place as a distinctive national organization. 38 1939 | PossipLE CHANGES IN THE CONSTITUTION 39 To date the new program of accomplishment owes its start to the beneficence of a foundation. Continued or additional aid from such sources appears to be dependent upon a more specific contribution from our own membership. Comparison with other similar organizations of national scope will indicate, clearly enough, that our Department may well justify a more adequate classification of members in the light of the services given and the fulfillment of the plans necessary to guarantee the leadership in secondary education which would seem reasonable to expect. The specific suggestions on classification follow: 1. Associate membership—The annual dues to remain the same, $2.00. Open to all persons interested in secondary education who are mem- bers of the N.E.A. The annual report and proceedings of the national con- vention to be received as heretofore, also the regular bulletins but not the special reports. The special services, as insurance, etc., would also be open to this classification. 2. Participating or Active Membership—The annual dues to be $3.00, or $2.00 if paid as a part of the State Principals Association dues. Open to those who are also members of the N.E.A. The privileges of vot- ing, holding office, etc., to remain the same for this classification. The spe- cial services would also be open to this classification plus all the bulletins and special committee reports. The services of the developing research activity and the discussion materials would be included. 3. Institutional membership—The annual dues to be $5.00, to be paid by the school, the principal to be given credit for participating mem- bership, while the library of the school would be sent duplicate copies of all proceedings, bulletins, and special reports. This membership would also include library subscriptions to Student Life and to the special reports of the National Honor Society. The membership should be taken out by the board of education ordinarily as a part of the library budget. The principal would receive all of the services and privileges as under the par- ticipating membership. All other services would be included in this classi- fication. 3. EL%ecTION OF OFFICERS The following suggestions for changes in respect to election would seem to deserve consideration: ARTICLE IV. Section 3. The five members of the Planning Committee shall also beemembers of the Executive Committee acting in a special capacity as a subcommittee on Planning. 40 DEPARTMENT OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL Principats [February Sec. 4. The members of the Planning Committee shall be ap- pointed by the president and shall be subject to the approval of the Execu- tive Committee. Each member of the Planning Committee shall serve for a term of five years and may not be reappointed. Sec. 5. (Section 4, as now constituted, shall become Section 5.) ARTICLE V Section 1. State coédrdinators. In conformity to the plan already started, each state association may appoint a state codrdinator who shall jointly represent the state association and the national organization. When state associations do not provide such an officer, the Department may ap- point a state coérdinator. State associations should make it possible for state coordinators to attend the national convention. Sec. 2. The state coordinators shall constitute a board of nominators for the elective officers of the Department. Each coérdinator may send to the president, not less than sixty days in advance of the annual meeting, a nomination for each of the elective officers, the president having notified the codrdinators not less than ninety days in advance of the annual meet- ing. When possible the codrdinators should obtain the endorsement of the state association for the names submitted. With each name submitted the coérdinator shall send a supporting statement in accordance with the items listed in Section 4 of Article V. The president shall then see that a ballot carrying the names of the nominees for the respective offices with support- ing statement for each name, is prepared and returned within thirty days to the presidents of the state associations, or the state codrdinator, if there to the state codrdinator, who shall then choose a single name for each office and return the ballot of nomination to the national president within ten days. Sec. 3. The state codrdinators shall then meet as a Board of Nomi- nators at the annual convention of the Department to hear the tabulated report. This meeting shall be a scheduled part of the program. The report shall be presented by a chairman of the Board of Nominators, who shall be appointed from the Executive Committee by the president. Sec. 4. The Board of Nominators in making their final selections shall consider the tabulated returns in relation to (a) service which the nominee has given his State Principals Association and particularly the Na- tional Secondary Organization, (4) qualities and accomplishments which point to successful national leadership, (c) consideration of the standing of the school represented by the nominee, (d) consideration to the fre. quency of representation from the territory of each of the regional associa- tions of colleges and secondary schools, (¢) consideration to the balance of representation among the several offices in respect to the various geo- ready shall Vhen y ap- e for 1ators nd to eting, tified meet- of the d the items ballot dport- days there office n ten Jomi- slated ‘eport shall ctions h the e Na- which nding > fre. socia- lance ; geo 1939] PossiBLE CHANGES IN THE CONSTITUTION 41 graphical regions as represented by the Regional Associations, (f) consid- eration but not obligation to follow sequence of office in respect to the nominees, (g) freedom to propose other nominations under justifiable ex- pedient. Sec. 5. Eighteen codrdinators shall constitute a quorum for the Board of Nominators. Any lack in the representation herein provided shall be filled by temporary appointments made by the Executive Committee. Sec. 6. The Chairman’ of the Board of Nominators shall submit the list of candidates as prepared by the Board to the members of the Depart- ment at its annual business meeting. A written statement in support of each nominee shall be read by the chairman to the members assembled. Comments: It will be seen that there is specific attempt to broaden the representation of the membership in the determination of nominees. The stipulations would seem also to avoid the ever-present tendency to pack the offices with representation from a particular region. There is also a democratic check between coérdinator and state president. The scheme would appear to give desirable point to more efficient selection and at the same time provide necessary flexibility and guarantee a method of democratic representation. It should encourage the state associations to a more active interest and participation. It should be hoped that state asso- ciations would work out desirable democratic procedures for ascertaining worthy nominees from their own ranks. BOOK NOTES BOOK NOTICES Democracy and the Curriculum. Third Yearbook of the John Dewey Society, Harold Rugg, editor. New York: D. Appleton-Century Company, Inc., 1939. Pp. xiv+536. To help citizens generally, and especially teachers, to make constructive contributions to solving the American Problem is the object of this book. By “The American Problem” is meant, to quote from the book itself: ‘to bring forth on this continent—in some form of coéperative commonwealth— the civilization of economic abundance, democratic behavior, and integrity of expression which is now potentially avaliable.” The need for vigorous action, particularly in the educational field, is forcibly stated in the Foreword by Harold Rugg, who declares that govern- ment in a democratic society is synonymous with education, and that in fact, “government is social education—young and old citizens studying, thinking, discussing, initiating legislation, scrutinizing and reviewing acts of repre- sentatives, recalling them from office, ousting ineffective governments, and installing new ones. But if the democratic process is to be anything more than the will-o’-the-wisp-like political fluctuation of a blind and credulous people, the process must take on the very nature of education.” The volume focuses thought and feeling about the curriculum on (1) liv- ing, (2) design; and its four parts are devoted to “The Social Order and the School,” “The Creative Resources of America,” “The Culture and Growth of the Individual,” and “The Life and Program of the School.” Wiison, Howarp E. Education for Citizenship. The Regents’ Inquiry. New York: The McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1938. Pp. xii+272. $2.75. One of the several published volumes resulting from the Regents’ Inquiry. this book deals with the framework of social-studies instruction, evidences of civic competence on the part of pupils, the variety of pupils who study social studies, objectives of social studies instruction, the curriculum, the methods, materials, and evaluation of instruction, training and experience of teachers, school as experience in living, and conclusions and recommendations. The three major undertakings of the Inquiry are: (1) examination of the educational enterprise of the state of New York and analysis of its meth- ods, costs, and outcomes; (2) critical appraisal of the work now being done; (3) formulation of policies and programs for dealing with the immediate problems and issues, and long-range objectives of the educational system. Epwarps, Newron and Ricney, HERMAN G. The Extent of Equalization Secured Through State School Funds. Prepared for the Advisory Com- mittee on Education. Washington, D. C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1938. Pp. viii+55. Paper cover. Fifteen cents. The authors emphasize the present inequalities of opportunities in public education, and recommend distribution of federal and state funds to improve the schools which now have insufficient income or taxable wealth in propor- tion to the number of children of school age. “In fewer than one-third of the states examined do equalization plans appear to provide . . . for what appears to be a reasonably equitable distribution of aid to those areas that probably have the greatest need.” Charts are published in the report for twenty-six states that have been the subject of special study. Foster, CHARLES R., Jr. Editorial Treatment of Education in the American Press. Harvard Bulletins in Education, No. 21. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1938. Pp. 303. $2.00. A research that covers the opinions of a fair segment of the American press on the subject of education over a period of five years, the bulletin re- veals the impact of one social institution, the press, upon another, the 42 ciety, Inc., ictive book. . “to lth— ty of d, is vern- fact, king, epre- and nore lous liv- the h of New 75. iry. ; of cial ods, ers, of ath- ne; ate lie ove Or- the ars rly six 1939] Book Notes 43 school. To quote John Finley, of the New York Times, “the study should work beneficially in two directions. On the one hand, it should promote the improvement of editorial thinking about education. On the other, it should stimulate a finer appreciation of public opinion on the part of those who direct and manage our system of education in America.” LAINE, ExvizaBetH. Motion Pictures and Radio. The Regents’ Inquiry. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1938. Pp. x+165. $1.75. On the side of the motion picture, Miss Laine explains the role of the motion-picture theater, the production, distribution, and cost of nontheatrical films, adaptation of pictures to education, and the role of the state in an educational motion-picture program. On the subject. of radio, the author discusses its possibilities as a medium for mass impression, its adaptation to education, its place in the state educational program, and various apects of broadcasting educational projects on nation-wide, regional, state, and local bases. Teaching as a Man’s Job. Prepared by a committee of Phi Delta Kappa, Edwin A. Lee, chairman. Homewood, Illinois: Phi Delta Kappa, 1938. Pp. 79. Written especially for young men, the booklet endeavors to interest boys of high-school graduating classes in the profession of teaching and to tell them what they should know about the profession before deciding to enter it. Two chapters are devoted to the questions, “Can I Become a Good Teacher?” and “What Does Teaching Offer Me?” Other chapters discuss the teacher’s role in a democracy, the American school system, and the teacher at work. A seven-page bibliography completes the volume. RASELY, H1RAM N. Finding Yourself. New York: The Gregg Publishing Com- pany, 1938. Pp. 209. $1.00. The material of Finding Yourself in its published version, comprises twenty-six of forty-eight lectures which were originally presented in radio broadcasts. Mr. Rasely, who has been executive, teacher, and school admin- istrator, endeavors, through the means of narratives and case situations, to perceive, distinguish, and solve the perplexing problems met by persons seek- ing employment and advancement. Among the subjects considered are finding oneself, being afraid of oneself, interviewing the employer, thinking and doing, making a new start, presenting useful ideas. The suggestions are equally applicable by men and women. LAWLER, THOMAS BONAVENTURE. Seventy Years of Textbook Publishing. Bos- ton: Ginn and Company, 1938. Pp. xii+203. $3.00. The volume is not only a history of Ginn and Company but also a survey of American education from 1867, the year of the establishment in Washing- ton of a Federal Bureau of Education. BULLETINS RECEIVED CHAMBERS, M. M. and BeL_L, Howarp M. How to Make a Community Youth Survey. Foreword by Homer P. Rainey. Series IV, American Youth Commission. Washington, D. C.: American Council on Education, 744 Jackson Place, January 1939. Vol. III, No. 2. Pp. v+45. Twenty-five cents. JESSEN, CaRL A. and Herumy, Lester B. Offerings and Registrations in High School Subjects 1933-34. Washington, D. C.: Superintendent of Documents, 1938. Pp. v-+96. Fifteen cents. Thirty-eighth Annual Report of the Executive Secretary. New York: College Entrance Examination Board, 431 West 117th Street, 1938. Pp. 129. Twenty-five cents. Description of Examinations. New York: College Entrance Examination Board, 431 West 117th Street, December, 1938. Pp. 87. Thirty cents. NEWS ITEMS “Town Meerina Gors To ScHoor.”—Tall Hall Advisory Service issues a pamphlet with the foregoing title which describes uses made by teachers of “America’s Town Meeting of the Air” in their classrooms. Copies may be obtained by addressing Town Hall, Inc., 123 West 43rd Street, New York City. “ForuRE TEACHERS OF AmerIcA.”—Sponsored by the National Education Association, the plan, which grew out of the Horace Mann Centennial, is to form in each junior and senior high school a Future Teachers Club, granting that there is sufficient interest and leadership. The purpose is to give girls and boys a chance to learn about opportunities for teaching, to study the lives of great teachers, to cultivate qualities essential to a good teacher, and to foster student leadership. SPECIAL HOME-ROOM PROGRAMS. — Programs which feature ‘Hobbies,” “Manners,” “Parliamentary Procedures,” and “Public Speaking,” for the Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior high-school years respectively have been worked out at Central High School, Hopewell Township, Pennington, New Jersey. Principal Edward E. Pickard issues a bulletin to home-room teachers and advisors setting forth the methods to be followed and pointing out their responsibilities. IliG!i SCHOOLS HOLD EVENING DANCES.—Twelve Chicago high schools are holding dances in their gymnasiums every Friday from eight-thirty to twelve o'clock, with an admission fee of ten cents for each student. Dancing lessons are given before each dance; and to maintain order, two teachers act as chaperons and one as manager. Until the school groups can support the dances, the Chicago Federation of Musicians is coéperating with the school board in supplying the music. ScuooLt Tours.—The Office of Education has prepared “School Tours,” circular No, 177, for the purpose of helping educators to make their school tours more valuable and educationally significant. Also through the dissemi- nation of the circular, the Office hopes to arouse the interest of school leaders in making suggestions regarding further studies which the Office should under- take toward making its service more complete. This circular is obtainable from the United States Department of the Interior, Office of Education, Wash- ington, D. C. CHARACTER EDUCATION.—‘“Our school is organized on a home-room plan. Approximately thirty pupils are assigned to a room where they meet each week with the teacher to discuss problems which pertain to present-day life, the answers to which are not found in textbooks. The discussion book is pre- pared in our own school and deals with problems in our own community.” The foregoing statement is that of Principal Allen R. Edwards, Township High School, Marion, Ilinois, published in the January, Educational Press Bulletin, Springfield, Illinois. PART-TIME JOBS FOR STUDENTS DECRIED.—British teachers are perturbed at the “grave physical, mental, and moral effects of part-time employment upon school children.” The abuse of bylaws by which children are allowed to deliver papers and milk and do other work before going to school will be the subject of a complaint presented to the British Government by the Lanca- shire County Association of the National Union of Teachers, Information collected by the teachers reveals roughly that one third of the children work in employment which does not have to be licensed and is, therefore, to a large degree uncontrolled. EDUCATING FOR PARENTHOOD.—To combat increasing maladjustment and emotional instability among the young, colleges should establish courses on marriage to aid in the rearing of children, according to President Lewis, of Lafayette College, speaking before a recent school and college conference held in Easton, Pennsylvania. Dr. Lewis also asserted the need for reversing the system now prevalent in schools, a procedure which would place the best teachers in the lower grades. The theme of the conference was how to deal with faulty adjustment, and Dr. Lewis’ remarks emphasized preventive rather than remedial measures as being of first importance. 44 ean #& Fo lowe ee nw — 1939} News Items 45 COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS.—Scholastic Aptitude Tests, which in- clude verbal and mathematical sections, and Scholastic Achievement Tests will be held on April 15, 1939, by the College Entrance Examination Board for the use of colleges and universities in the admission of candidates and in the award of freshman scholarships. Requests for information in regard to the April tests and a description of June examinations should be addressed to the Executive Secretary of the College Entrance Examination Board, 431 West 117th Street, New York City. There is a charge of thirty cents for the bulle- tin covering the June examinations. ORAL EXPRESSION EMPHASIZED.—In order that students may receive train- ing in public “eee and make valuable contacts with their communities by giving short talks to adult groups as a result of some definite need, the Santa Rosa Junior High School program stresses oral expression in all classes, care- ful supervision in English classes of oral book reports, and talks on topics of interest; it also provides constant opportunity for students to appear before large groups by participation in assemblies. Student speakers have been in- strumental in the voting of bonds for a junior high school costing six hundred thousand dollars and in helping the Boy Scouts achieve their goal of from three to five thousand dollars. “OvD-JOBS DEPARTMENT.”—Junior and senior high schools of Knoxville, Tennessee, with the aid of vocational counselors, have each created an odd-jobs department and have invited citizens to send to the schools for pupils who can do various types of work. The department supplies students who can type letters, do miscellaneous office work, read to elderly people, care for chil- dren, attend convalescents, do sewing or housekeeping, assist in entertaining, distribute circulars, and run errands. A better-business club for boys has been organized in one of the schools for the purpose of finding odd jobs. The group earns money for various purposes, one of which is to set aside funds for college. COLLEGE FOR THE HIGH-SCHOOL STUDENT.—According to M. J. Nelson, dean of the faculty at Iowa State Teachers College, Cedar Falls, high-school seniors should not go to college unless they have an aptitude for bookish learning, and he believes the best ways to judge a student’s suitability for college is by his standing in a large graduating class and by intelligence tests. Dr. Nelson advises that by spending a like amount of time and money in travel and in schools other than college, some high-school graduates would receive more benefit than if they went to college. He further states that since only a person who is happy in his work is likely to succeed, interest and aptitude should be the deciding factors in an individual’s choice of occu- ation. 4 INDUSTRIAL JOBS AWAIT HIGH-SCHOOL Boys.—After devoting the second half of their high-school course to training in foundry and radio, most of the first thirty-six students to graduate from the Crane Technical High School under the Smith-Hughes plan for vocational education. will go to work imme- diately. Classes in auto shop, machine shop, printing, electricity, photog- raphy, and architecture are being developed at the school under the afore- mentioned plan, which provides that the federal government pay half of the salary of the instructors and that the rest be paid by the local school system. Robert Kennedy, secretary of the American Foundry Association, declares that the opportunity given the boys is also an opportunity for his industry as trained men are needed, and the quality of boys turned out at this Chicago school is such that any shop should be proud to have them as apprentices. “EDUCATING TEACHERS FOR CHANGE.”—This is the title of an article by Karl W. Bigelow, published in The Educational Record for January. Mr. Bigelow emphasizes the necessity of direct experience with children and young persons, of studying them as well as studying about them. He believes that it would be particularly useful if teachers could observe children in family situations and if such direct contacts could be supplemented by the study of case histories. Those charged with the education of teachers should seek con- stantly to aid them—through college, through apprenticeship, through years of active service—-in reaching tentative generalizations regarding human growth and development from such direct and indirect evidence. If genuinely grasped, regularly checked, and imaginatively employed, the generalizations or working principles could be modified by the teacher in the light of accumu- lating experience. 46 DEPARTMENT OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL Principats — [February “A TALE or TuREE Prrtes.”—This is the pithy title of an article by J. W. Haywood, Jr., published in a recent issue of The National Educational Out- look Among Negroes. Mr. Haywood recommends that educators face a few prosaic factors that, to an increasing extent, sterilize the effectiveness of many teachers. These are: Pity One—overcrowdedness in too many of our urban schools; Pity Two—the traveling teacher, a sort of pedagogical hybrid, born of excessive school enrollment and inadequate teaching facilities; Pity Three— clerical work, which requires teachers to moil through many a clerkly hour, tabulating data that are solemnly filed away to gather the dust of ages. The great pity of this tale is that the welfare of girls and boys is intricately bound up in the three factors cited. In the opinion of Mr. Haywood, the teaching situations which result, should be abandoned; and this calls for a “brainy” revolution, a sit-down “think,” on the part of the teacher. FoRUMS AS MEANS OF TEACHING CIvics.—Through a “Town Meeting” in their own school, students of O’Keefe Junior High School, Atlanta, Georgia, learn the technique of finding out things for themselves, as well as the con- duct of various types of forum—the panel, the one-speaker, and the discussion. Describing the procedure at O’Keefe, George H. Slappey, in the January issue of The Social Studies, says: “In preparation for a general school forum, all classes have forums on the subject chosen. From the class forums, pupils who show ability as forum leaders are selected. All likely leaders are heard by impartial judges. A panel with a moderator is selected from class repre- sentatives. Special care is taken to secure as moderator a student with a grasp of the whole subject. He must have a knowledge of parliamentary law and be possessed of poise and forcefulness.” An interesting side light, accord- ing to Mr. Slappey, is seen in the lay gallery comprised of parents, who, upon finding their children so deeply engrossed in present-day problems and atti- tudes, have often become as interested as the pupils. : EpUCATING FOR PEACE.—A unit on peace may be approached from two distinct points of view: (1) the negative or so-called practical approach taken by most persons, (2) the positive or idealistic approach. These two points of view were dwelt upon by the social studies class of McClatchy High School, of Sacramento, California, under the supervision of Carl G. Winter, who describes the plan and outgrowth of the unit in an article entitled “A Unit on Peace,” in the January number of Social Education. Mr. Winter re- lates the negative approach to the idea that peace is a period of quiet between wars in which the proper course of action for all is to create a defense so strong that any potential enemy will fear to attack and that peace will result; whereas, he pictures the positive approach as viewing peace as neces- sary for the advancement of civilization and war as an interruption to civili- zation; furthermore, he says that the positive approach views peace as being permanently obtainable only by friendliness and trust. Mr. Winter cites ma- terials which were useful to him and his class in developing the unit. Among these are: Syllabus on International Relations by Moon, Peaceful Change by Dunn, Plans and Protocols to End War by Shotwell and Peace or War by Curti. VITALIZING VOCATIONAL PROGRAMS.—The best possible sources of informa- tion about fields of vocational opportunity for young people are the success- ful men and women of affairs in each community, in the opinion of S. E. Baker, who writes on the subject “Pupil Adjustment in High Schools,” in the January Educational Press Bulletin. In reference to adjusting jobs to young people, Mr. Baker favors the organization in every community of a planned program for adjustment which will include “a comprehensive and carefully selected vocational council made up entirely of individuals who are interested in the welfare of the community and its children, individuals who are engaged either in a business or a profession.” Mr. Baker believes that it is entirely possible for such an organization to be closely identified with the adjustment program in the high school, and, in fact, that without such close relationship, very little, if anything, can be accomplished. Furthermore, in his opinion, “Once the idea is conveyed to the minds of these men and women of affairs that they have an obligation far beyond that of merely supporting our insti- tutions, an obligation that brings them in vital touch with youth and gives them an opportunity to go along with boys and girls in making their adjust- ments, they will have a very different feeling toward the whole educational program of the school.” 1939 | BooK-OF-THE-QUARTER CLUB “READING MAKETH A FULL MAN...” The Book-of-the-Quarter Club of the Department of Secondary- School Principals serves not only members of the Department but non- members. Each quarter, club members are provided with the best of cur- rently published professional books, selected by a reviewing board com- posed of leaders in the secondary-school sector of education. Thus, the Club not only saves time and money for the busy schoolman, but also helps to ensure his professional competence. Since the fall of 1936, the time of the Club’s inception, members have received the following books: Rugg, American Life and the School Curriculum. December 15, 1936. Beard, The Unique Function of Education in American Democracy. Mareh 15, 1937. Judd, Education as Cultivation of Higher Mental Processes. June 15, 1937. Brink, Directing Study Activities in Secondary Schools. September 15, 1937. McKown, Eagtra-Curricular Activities. December 15, 1937. Rainey, How Fare American Youth? March 15, 1938. Douglass, Modern Secondary Education. September 15, 1938. Dewey, Experience and Education. December 15, 1938. If you wish to be an up-to-date administrator of your school, join the Book-of-the-Quarter Club. Fill in the blank below, check beginning date, tear off at the dotted line, and mail to H. V. Church Executive Secretary Department of Secondary-School Principals 5835 Kimbark Avenue CHICAGO I agree to pay the Department, on receipt of each book, for four books a year, selected one book a quarter by the above Board, mailed to me postpaid: Address DEPARTMENT OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL Principats [February CALENDAR OF PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS National Vocational Guidance Association, Cleveland, Ohio, February 22-25. American Council of Guidance and Personnel Associations, Cleveland, Ohio, February 22-25. International Council for the Study of Exceptional Children, Detroit, Michigan, February 23-25. National Association of Principals of Schools for Girls, Cleveland, Ohio, February 23-25. National Association of School Secretaries, Cleveland, Ohio, February 25-26. Department of Secondary-School Principals, Cleveland, Ohio, February 25- March 1. Department of Rural Education, Cleveland, Ohio, February 25-March 2. American Association of School Administrators, Cleveland, Ohio, Febru- ary 26-March 2. American Association of Technical High Schools and Institutes, Cleveland, Ohio, February 27-March 1. National Association of State High School Supervisors and Directors N. E. A., Cleveland, Ohio, February 28. American Association of Junior Colleges, Grand Rapids, Michigan, March 3-5. Public School Business Officials, Oakland, California, March 15-18. Junior High-School Conference of New York University, New York City, March 17-18. The Harvard Teachers Association, Cambridge, Massachusetts, March 18. Convention of the Southern District, American Association of Health, Tulsa, Oklahoma, March 27-30. American Association for Health, N. E. A. Department, San Francisco, California, April 3-6. New York State Vocational Association, New York, New York, April 11-13. Conference of Principals of Junior and Senior High Schools, Bridgewater State Teachers College, Massachusetts, April 17-18. Manitoba Teachers Federation, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, April, 1939. District of Columbia Congress of Parents and Teachers, Washington, D. C., May, 1939. School Administrators, Peabody College, Nashville, Tennessee, June 15-17. American Library Association, San Francisco, California, June 18-24. National Conference of Visual Education and Film Exchange, Chicago, Illinois, June 19-22. National Association of Student Officers, San Francisco, California, June 28-30. National Association of State Libraries, San Francisco, California, June, 1939, National Education Association, San Francisco, California, July 2-6. World Federation of Education Associations, Rio de Janeiro, South America, August 6-11.