OFFICIAL REPORT The American Association of School Administrators A DEPARTMENT OF THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES 1944 This nnai througri EDUCATIONAL R :h Sireai THEME The Unfinished Task vou f REGIONAL CONFERENCES 'Kansas City • Atlanta • ¥lew York • Chicago UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA LIBRARIES EDUCATION LIBRARY J '^MaJ^S Cv^l ^ K ^y^ i:,^B!ii****« COURTESY PORTLAND, OREGON, PUBLIC SCHOOLS THEME OF THE CONFERENCES The Unfinished Task OFFICIAL REPORT Regional Conferences 1946 KANSAS CITY February 20-21, 1946 ATLANTA February 25-27, 1946 NEW YORK March 4-7, 1946 CHICAGO March 12-14, 1946 THE^MERICAN ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS A Department of the National Education Association of the United States 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, NORTHWEST, WASHINGTON 6, D. C. April 1946 PRICE, $1 PER COPY cDucmoB Otnult OFFICERS, 1945-46 American Association of School Administrators President Charles H. Lake, Superintendent of Schools, Cleveland, Ohio First Vice-President N. L. Engelhardt, Associate Superintendent of Schools, New York, N. Y. Second Vice-President W. Frank Warren, Superintendent of Schools, Durham, N. C. Executive Secretary Sherwood D. Shankland, 1201 Sixteenth Street, Northwest, Washington 6, D. C. Executive Committee W. Howard Pillsbury, Superintendent of Schools, Schenectady, N. Y. John L. Bracken, Superintendent of Schools, Clayton, Mo. Henry H. Hill, President, George Peabody College for Teachers, Nashville, Tenn. HoBART M. Corning, Superintendent of Schools, Washington, D. C. The President, First and Second Vice-Presidents, ex officio CONTENTS PART I Addresses at the Conferences tcr Page 7 llie Kespon^ihility of Professional Leadership — Lake Education of the Conqueror Russell Education for World Citizenship Carr The Next Decade in Education Pillsbury The American Education Award for 1945— Helen Adams Keller, Recipient Financing Education for a New World — Boushall The Modern Health Program Bracken Education for National Weil-Being Keller Toward Better Schools — Engelhard t Education and Business Johnston The Convention Exhibit Krill Personnel Problems in American Education — Doudna Britain's Greatest Asset — Her Children — Studcbak Leadership or Administration Hanley Developing Lay Leadership Mart The Responsibility of Professional Leadership —Sexson Presentation of Honorary Life Membership to Willis A. Sutton .... Personnel Problems in American Education Hill Support for Better Schools Norton Personnel Administration McFarland 137 Tribute to the Recipient of the American Education Award for 1946 _j^^ui . . Acceptance of the American Education Award for 1946 . . . — Shankland The American Education Award for 1946— S. D. Shankland, Recipient Some Questions about School Organization and the School Plant . — Foivlkes The Modern Health Program Roudebush What the Secondary Schools Shall Teach in Meeting Intercultural and Interracial Problems at Home Tonsor Secondary Schools— Developmental Tasks and the Curriculum .—Jacobson Work Experience —tVickham What the Elementary School Should Teach to Articulate with the High School Pullen What the Elementary Schools Should Teach— Knowledge and Interest in the Natural and Social World —English Self-expression and Appreciation of the Creative Arts in the Elementary Schools Moore What the Elementary School Should Teach — Democratic Group Living and Services Parrott The Proportion of Families with Children in Public Schools together with Educational Implications — Holy The Need for School-Building Studies — Aderhold How We Can Have Federal Support for Education and Avoid I'ndesirable Federal Controls — Johns . . 180 17 25 36 46 47 53 63 73 81 87 89 95 98 106 113 120 121 130 139 140 141 142 146 153 156 159 162 164 166 168 169 174 schools and colleges, and a more definite program of education for each student. 6. A higher quality of education at all levels, as determined by a rigid appraisal of all present materials and methods. 7. Much more attention to the problem of teacher selection and training. More of the selection will be done before the applicant trains for teaching instead of after- ward. 8. A vast extension of adult education opportunities including an extension educa- tion service which will make it unnecessary in the future to have such national youth service agencies as the NYA and CCC. 9. The reorganization of small district units of educational control to insure a sufficient number of children in each district to make it economically possible to pro- vide a suitable program for each child. 10. More attention to the provision of work opportunities for secondary-school youth in line with their vocational interests and abilities. Work, real work, always will be a part of a well-rounded educational program. 11. Much attention to the problem of developing facilities and educational pro- grams for the education of returning veterans and the retraining of civilians who are compelled to change their work after the war. 12. A program of financing education on a federal, state, and local basis which, while giving due attention to economy in operation and the maintenance of local interest and control, will not make it necessary for the education of the children of this country to be wholly subject to the varying financial abilities of local taxing subdivisions. 13. A program for the thorough rehabilitation of school buildings and a much wider use of them for education, recreation, and general community betterment. Educators never have quite agreed on the questions: Just what should be taught in American education? and To luhom should it be taught? They have agreed quite generally on the "objectives" of education. All right, w^e are a group of people engaged in the work of educating the youth of our respective communities. How^ may our time be used best to facilitate the program of education for these young people? What are the problems that should have our attention? How do we organize our time and ability to make our program of secondary education as adequate for the brilliant pupil as for the slow, as just for the economically rich as for the poor, as adequate for those who will work with their hands as for those who will work with their minds? What changes do we need in order to foster a satisfying and a profound sense of "belonging" — a sense of being a significant part of our country? Addresses at the Conferences 17 EDUCATION OF THE CONQUEROR WILLIAM F. RUSSELL, DEAN, TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK, N. Y. Address at Kansas City and Chicago Conferences A Missouri doughboy is our President; doughboys, veterans of the last war, run our country. But the G. I.'s are coming home. Soon they will replace the doughboys — on schoolboards, in legislatures, at posts of leader- ship in all walks of life. What kind of country will we turn over to them ? What kind of country will they in turn make? What sort of education will they want? What should they want? Is there anything in our experience, or in world experience, that will help them in making these choices? Are there good examples to imitate ? Are there bad examples to avoid ? These are the problems that I propose that we think about together today. Doughboy to G. I. — where did this word "doughboy" come from ? A soldier in Wellington's Rifle Brigade, on the retreat from Talaverra in the year 1809 during the Peninsular War, made the following note in his diary : For bread we took corn from the fields, and having no proper means of winnow- ing and grinding it, were obliged ... to rub out the ears between our hands and pound them between stones to make dough . . . from which wretched practice we christened the place Dough Boy Hill.^ An officer of the same outfit left the same record. "Here for three weeks we nearly starved, and our position received the name of Dough Boy Hill." This is straight from the horse's mouth. What does that expression mean? The control of the British Army in Wellington's day rested in a clique of old generals headed by the Duke of York. Their headquarters was in a building in Whitehall known as the Horse Guards — whence the expression that I have just used, for an authoritative, if trivial, statement. All during his younger days, in India, on the Peninsula, in Southern France, and even at Waterloo, Wellington had to battle a group of old generals. "Having been conspicuous failures on active service," says Aldington, "they exercised their old age in diligent and pedantic insistence on obsolete methods and traditions which ought to have been abolished." They turned victory into defeat, replaced ability by incompetence; fainthearted, they forced the courageous to turn back. Mostly it was too little and too late. But the Duke in his later years and old age in turn became the leader of the Horse Guards. Says Aldington : The whooping horse laugh of the brigadiers, the two-fingered salute of corps commanders, the religion of fox hunting, the tendency for officers to be gentlemen and to look on other ranks as His Majesty's lackeys in uniform, come from the Duke. So lasting was this influence that the British Expeditionary Force of 1914 was a slightly modernized version of the six divisions of the Peninsular Army, and relied for its fire-power largely on the musketry with which the Duke had accomplished such military miracles.^ * Quoted from Aldington, Richard. The Duke. New York, 1943, p. 151. • Aldington, Richard, op. cit., p. 354. s 18 American Association of School Administrators I do not need to labor this point. The records show that Marechal Bazaine, before Sedan in 1871, drilled the French madly along Napoleonic lines, with some slight modification based on desert warfare in North Africa, while the Germans, heeding the experience of Grant and Lee and particularly of Stonewall Jackson, were adapting their training and strategy to a new technological development — the railroad — and various devices for rapid-fire. A defeated nation turns its back on the past. Its leaders were wrong; its methods were wrong; something new must be tried. A victorious nation tries to return to normalcy. Its leaders were all right ; its tactics proved ; its plans successful. Don't take out a winning pitcher. Don't change horses in the middle of a stream. I remember once hearing of a new golf game called "Drink and Smell." The rules were to have two players, two caddies, two bags of clubs, and one large bottle of whiskey. After the first hole the winner got a drink and the loser just a smell. The same procedure on the second and thereafter. If the same lost three or four holes in succession, he would be bound to win the next. So in a sense has it been in the field of warfare. Success brings a trend toward tradition, failure a search for the new, with the certain result of ultimate alternation of victory and defeat. This principle applies also to education. The main reforms of education in Prussia — from which resulted the horrible history of this criminal nation — date from Fichte's Redeu, based upon the defeats inflicted by Napoleon. The main reforms of education in France up to the present date from 1871, the debacle at Sedan and the occupation of Paris by Bismarck. This principle in operation was plain to be seen after the last war. You could go to Aastria or Germany or Hungary or Bulgaria, and they would ply you with questions about education in the United States. How did you accomplish this? What would you advise about that? And in each country were instituted substantial educational reforms, new school organization, new curriculums, new plans for teacher preparation, new programs for public health and welfare. But if you went to Paris or London, or particu- larly Edinburgh, they would welcome you politely and ask you what was it that you wanted to see. They would start a conversation with, "The trouble with your education is . . .," and being from a conquering country, naturally, I wanted to tell the world how we had done it. The countries in the world today can be divided into five groups: the Defeated — Germany, Bulgaria, Italy, and Japan ; the Neutrals — such as Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland ; the Occupied — such as Belgium, Norway, and Greece; the Allied, who took a minor part in the fighting — such as Portugal, Brazil, Iran, and Mexico; and the Conquering — France, China, Great Britain, Soviet Russia, and the United States. The Defeated are not going to look back. What they did was wrong; their leaders were wrong. Bit by bit as we proceed from Neutral, to Occupied, to Allied, their eyes will shift progressively from the future to the past. Among the conquerors there will also likely be some divergence in the direction of their view. France, China, and Russia lost battle after battle, Addresses at the Conferences \9 had much of their mainland occupied, suffered tremendous personal losses. Britain, while not occupied, was suhjected to devastating air attack — once early in the war in the Battle of Britain, and once late in the Battle of the V-l's and V-2's. All four — China, France, Soviet Russia, and Britain — were severely frij^htened. For long periods only a flicker of hope remained. Read the secret speech of Winston Churchill recently published in Life magazine. Of all the conquerors the United States stands alone. "We were not invaded — except for the Philippines, a few Pacific Islands, and the tip of Alaska. We were not bombed. The immensity of the disaster of Pearl Harbor was kept from us; the early naval losses around Guadalcanal and the Coral Sea were shrouded in censorship; only the affairs around Kasserine Pass and the Bastogne Bulge gave us qualm, and they were soon forgotten. We are proud ; we are confident; we have not been scared. We don't want to fight; But, by Jingo, if we do. We've got the ships, we've got the men, .And we've got the money, too. Also, we have the atom bomb. Where in all the world is conservatism likely to take hold? Where will it be said that the leaders were OK? That tactics were sound? That policies were right? Where will they be least likely to change the pitcher? Where will be the smallest chance of effecting a business transaction in midstream? Right here in the good old USA! Where in all the world is conservatism in education likely to be popular? Where will it be said that old professors and superintendents are OK? That the course of study is sound? That curriculum revisions are unneces- sary? That Horace Mann and McGuffev were right? Right here in the good old USA! We talk a good deal about the reeducation of the Germans. A large commission has gone to Japan to reeducate the Japanese. I grant the impor- tance of the two problems. I appreciate from personal experience closer than most people the im'portance for future world peace of better educa- tion of the loco nations. But far more important, I am sure, is the reedu- cation of the Americans, particularly in the face of the conservative reaction that, unwatched and unnoticed, seems certain to set in. The trouble with the problem is that it is so close to us. We are living with it; we are living in it. Properly to assess our place is like taking one's own pulse. Somehow or other we have to get outside ourselves so as to look at ourselves. We must be able to assess trends: to have objective standards by which to measure where we go and what we do. Fortunately, I think that we can set up some objective standards by which we can measure our degeneracy or progress; and upon the basis of these standards determine whether we will go along or fight. By a careful study of the history of education and comparative education we can find certain societies of the past, and almost up to the present, whose education was geared either to looking forward or looking backward. We 20 American Association of School Administrators know, for instance, that the early Egyptians and Chinese set up societies that lasted for long periods of years. These societies were strong because they adopted the principle of having each successive generation exactly duplicate the preceding one, and the system of education fitted this program exactly. In more recent times we have seen other modern societies adopt similar programs. In Germany, for instance, the great mass of the people were taught to obey, to do as they were told. Certain world empires put this kind of education down upon their subject peoples, such as that of the Dutch in Java and the British in some of their colonial possessions. Similarly there have been some societies, particularly in times of fer- ment, that gained great success precisely because they adopted a policy of change, of looking forward, of adapting to the new; and here again the system of education meshed exactly with the program. The most striking examples were the Ottoman Empire and that phase of German social planning that kept the mass of the people controlled and at the same time produced leaders able to look forward and cut red tape. I do not need to spell out to this audience in detail the characteristics of these two types of society and education. It will be sufficient to list briefly the main elements in common. The characteristics of an educational plan to fit a backward-looking society are : 1. Special trust in the old, suspicion of the young, long and slow advance- ment—T\^t Senate, the Elders, the Medicine Men hold the power. Youth are kept apart. Young men must sit in the background and keep silent. Only when the fires of youth have been quenched and habit and custom have full sway can they be trusted to speak and share in decisions. 2. Emphasis on a ruling class — Power descends from father to son. Power and wealth have special privileges. In education there is usually one kind of education for the privileged and another for the masses. Wealth and political position determine educational opportunity. 3. Certain peoples, often in large numbers, outside the pale — Zulus or half castes — Ainus or Indians — Okies or Okinawans — untouchables, beyond the pale. They stand back ; they cast their eyes doWn ; but they work, work, work as slaves for the overlords. They receive little schooling ; short years, discipline, limited opportunity. 4. The main content of the curriculum is contained in a ritual or in a set of books — The lore of the Egyptian priests, the Analects of Confucius, the ritual of the Pueblo Indians, the Prussian course of study — whatever it is — must be mastered perfectly by those permitted to learn. 5. Closely related is the -method of teaching memoriter work — Pupil re- peats what he has learned. "His not to reason why, his not to make reply." The procedure is simple. The teacher knows exactly what he wants; the pupil knows exactly what he is supposed to do. No variation is permitted. These characteristics are very baldly stated. They will not appear so plainly in postwar America. They will be dressed up, ornamented, and dis- guised. We must learn to look squarely and deeply and rip off the tinsel. The characteristics of education to look forward — to adjust to new con- Addresses at the Conferences 21 ditions — to flexibility, adaptability, sensitiveness to change — are almost the exact antithesis of education for conformity. The goal is definitely not to bring up one generation exactly like the previous one, but one that is dif- ferent. Hence, 1. Education is based not on a ritual or the contents of a set of books but upon the demands of future society — The rules are not there to be followed ; they must be made up new to meet new conditions. They must be contrived in the heat of battle, making use of all the new knowledge and technics available. Hence, 2. Such a society cannot afford a ruling class, hereditary in nature, which holds the poiver — New ideas must boil up from underneath. Heredity may have great weight, but the biological sport must be treasured. Every oppor- tunity must be given to ability under whatever conditions it may appear. 3. People must have equal opportunity, regardless of race, creed, or eco- nomic ability — Since all ability must be developed, and decisions must be made by the people rather than according to a set of books or ritual, all the people must be educated to assume these responsibilities and the few excep- tionally able to go far beyond that. 4. Ability, not age or reputation, must be the consideration in choosing leaders — On the whole, younger rather than aged, flexible rather than blind respect for the past. 5. The method of teaching should be designed to stimulate flexibility, the questioning attitude, impatience with the past — The learner should be en- couraged to vary, to form opinions of his own, to mass knowledge upon problems of real life, real to him. Flexibility and adaptability should be his goal. These characteristics of forward-moving and backward-moving education have been stated in extreme form. What I am trying to do is to set up a series of measuring sticks whereby we can tell, while we are in the process, whether we are moving forward or backward. Undoubtedly we Americans will continue to pride ourselves on our progressive ways ; we shall talk a lot about invention and adaptability; but in view of our history and the history of our education, I think that almost every social pressure will drive us to the Horse Guards' attitude. Pupils and parents, teachers, professors, and schoolboard members will tend to work and think that way. In the main, I should say that our educational system has been very con- servative ; but we have been a progressive people, inventive, adaptable, sen- sitive to change. Why? We had a new country to settle. Every successive wave of immigration and settlement had new problems to meet. Our people were always up against something new. We had to make tools, to devise machines; we couldn't order what we wanted from Manchester or Rouen. As we settled one new territory after another, our boys and girls had to adjust, had to adapt, had to invent. But not in our education. The little grammar schools and district schools gave the Three R's and little else. The early colleges were set up to train young men for the ministry and the law. Each of these professions depends upon tradition and the adjustment of the individual to a body of tradition. 22 American Association of School Administrators Then the colleges expanded, took in students preparing for other walks of life ; the high schools were added, little images of the colleges. They were modeled on a European tradition, a settled society, one which looked back- ward. Americans kept the European form; but we learned to justify the system with a new pattern that sounded good to citizens of this new country. We were told that formal subjects and domination of pupil by teacher were justified because thereby the mind was trained or character formed. No matter how much the pupil learned to do just as he was told ; no matter how remote from life might be the subjectmatter ; nevertheless, the disci- plined mind that resulted therefrom was said to be suited to a pioneer society. Even if it were proved that a good knowledge of formal grammar did not help one to write or speak English better, it was still good because of its disciplinary values ; and if you want to train a leader, proper education first disciplines him to be a follower. Both these theories are preposterous. Neither finds much justification in educational research. They are the talk of the pedagog which finds willing ears among a population, down under- neath proud of its past, unworried about its future, like Wellington and Bazaine ready to face the world with the tactics of Waterloo. Most of my intelligent friends, good patriotic Americans, down underneath believe in a form of education much like that of ancient China or Egypt. Most of them are quite fearful of anything different. That is why some educators have gained great popularity by the advocacy of the one hundred best books; or the return to the standards of the McGuffey Readers as the cure of delin- quency. This address will go unnoticed in the newspapers — which is all right with me; but if I were to advocate the return to the McGuffey Readers, or to Plato and Aristotle, these remarks would likely make the wires of the Associated Press. Such is the educational attitude of the Ameri- cans. That is why America stands in such grave danger of falling behind the rest of the world. Here then are the danger signals: If you see old men, or groups of old men get the power, whether it be a legis- lature, or boards of regents, or trustees; if the rank and file are left out of policy making; if younger men and women fail to get on the Educational Policies Com- mission, or on curriculum committees — then luatch out! If you see rich people having exceptional opportunities for their children ; if money buys a better opportunity than ability; if poor children tend to drop out; if school customs and habits and honors go according to social standing; if there are poorer educational opportunities in the country than the city, in the poorer states than in the wealthier; if college enrolment is greater from the local area than from a distance — then ivatch out! If children are deprived of. a chance — an equal chance — on account of color and creed; if quotas are set up for Negroes and Jews; if Indians or Mexicans of good ability are treated differently from other people of similar ability; if the mountain people or the Dust Bowl inhabitants, or the cotton pickers, or field hands, or canal boat people, are treated differently — then ii;atcli out! If Washington, or a supreme council on education, or the state university set a fixed curriculum; if the CIO or the AFL, or the National Association of Manu- facturers tell us what to teach; if they set before us one hundred best books and say that is our educational task; if work in school is justified because it supposedly trains the mind in general; if obsolete subjectmatter is taught to train the character; Addresses at the Conferences 23 if newspaper columnists advocate hard education as a bar to delinquency; if they advocate compulsory military training on any ground other than military necessity for instance, as good discipline, democracy and the like — then ivatch nut! If parents or critics put on campaigns to bring order into the schools; demand that children be forced to do this or that; bring back the rod; urge memoriter recitations; require examinations on masses of facts, historical or scientific; state that things were not like this when I went to school — then ivatch out! All these are signs that America is about to rest on her oars. We are going into a "new world." No doubt about that. Hiroshima gave the coup lie grace to the idea that the old world lived on. We are entering just as new a world as did the Pilgrims when they landed on Plymouth Rock ; or as did the settlers who pushed up the river from New Orleans. JVhat are the new problems we must solve? We must find the answer to "one world." Otherwise, we all perish in the next war. We must find the answer to recurring depressions. Otherwise, we break to pieces inside our country. We must find the answer to how to regu- late our life well enough so that people will have food, clothing, shelter, a measure of security — and not lose the liberties our Fathers fought so hard to preserve. We know these things absolutely. If we go on as in the past, we will not have one world ; we shall have a world of desert waste with most humans dead and the rest in caves. If we go on as in the past, we shall have depres- sions every few }ears; and probably our democracy will fall under the weights. If we go on as in the past, politics and economics geared to an agrarian age will be quite inadequate for the age of technology. We cannot win by looking to the past. Therefore, education must not look to the past. But we want to look to the past; that is our trend — that is our desire — that's what we'll do if we follow the pattern of previous conquerors. When the danger signals that I have listed flash — zvatch out! They are red lights that say, "Stop !" Do not lie low when you see reactionary and dangerous practices taking root. Stand for the young getting their chance. Stimulate decisions with as wide popular participation as possible. Advocate in every way possible equal educational chance, regardless of birth, race, religion, or class. Let the curriculum look to the future, even if it is solidly based upon the past. Do not be fooled by the professors, college presidents, and scientists who justify what they do by the theory of formal discipline. Children are human beings, sacred personalities, and they deserve treatment as such. "i'ou and I are in a big battle, the battle of our lives. Somehow or other, the United States, triumphant, is doomed to failure, unless the trend that has gripped all triumphant nations before us is checked and reversed. "Pride gocth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." We do not want our country destroyed. We do not want America to fall. Therefore, all of us must give the rest of our lives, not only to prevent traditional conforming education, but to build schools, colleges, and other means of education to make America flexible, sensitive to change, and adaptive — truly a land of the free. f^m- "*«wa' ^S'^ jj-;j.-_,s4| ^> ■~ >. *■ • A * :;' jj^ .^ S S O >^ << ^- M^ 8 Addresses at the Conferences 25 EDUCATION FOR WORLD CITIZENSHIP WILLIAM G. CARR, SECRETARY, EDUCATIONAL POLICIES COMMISSION; ASSOCIATE SECRETARY, NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION,' WASHINGTON, D. C. Address at New York Conference About a month ago a great soldier, General Dwight Eisenhower, re- ceived an honorary degree. In the course of his formal remarks on that occasion, the General turned to President Marsh of Boston University and said, "Why doesn't the educational world put my profession out of a job?" I do not know what reply, if any, President Marsh made to this re- markable challenge — for General Eisenhower regarded it as a challenge, and said so. That direct question is, however, the nub of the problem of world peace or World War III. Can American education accept General Eisenhower's challenge? As compared with the military profession, our profession is feebly organized and sometimes fiercely disunited. No American educator — not the Com- missioner of Education nor the Secretary of the National Education Asso- ciation nor any other individual — can speak for all American education. The Chief of Staff can speak on behalf of the United States Army, but where is the Chief of Staff of American education who might reply on our behalf? There is no such individual. The rigid chain of command, characteristic of a great army or a great business organization, is not well adapted to the spirit and functions of American education. Furthermore, consider the stupendous dimensions of the General's chal- lenge. National school systems have often been skilfully used to promote war. The aggressive militarism of the late and unlamented Axis is only one of the more extreme illustrations of the general thesis. Our record in the schools of the United States, although far better in this respect than that of many other nations, has some episodes and instances that are not wholly to its credit. Take the world over and history through, and I think it would appear that our profession has done as much to make war as to make peace. If we are to accept the challenge, if the profession of education is to try to put the profession of arms out of business, we must reverse our record up to now. Fortunately, our profession does have some useful assets. We have numbers; there are more of us teachers than there are of any other pro- fession. We have, let us modestly and gratefully admit, a personnel that is somewhat better educated than the average run of humanity. We have a definite governmental structure; we have potent professional organizations in many countries. We touch more people, and at a more impressionable age, than any other public agency. We have as yet no effective worldwide organi- ' At the invitation of the Department of State and by appointment of the National Education Asso- ciation Dr. Carr served as a Consultant to the United States DeleRation at the San Francisco Confer- ence; he was Deputy-Director of the International Secretariat of the London Conference. 26 American Association of School Administrators zation of the teaching profession but definite steps to create such an organi- zation are underway. Finally, we have in the past few months achieved a substantial, new international recognition of education through the United Nations. I shall have more to say about this last asset in a few moments. So, although the task is not one to be accomplished by pretty platitudes and academic fancywork, we do have enough resources, and I trust enough courage and faith in our calling, to make it worthwhile to try. We can with some hope of success say collectively to General Eisenhower, "Sir, your challenge is an honor. Our profession proudly accepts it. We are going to try to put your profession out of business. We know we cannot do it overnight because our occupation deals largely in futures. We know it will not be easy but we specialize in the impossible." To make good on such a response, American educational leadership must work simultaneously at two aspects of the problem of education for peace — the domestic and the international. Both are important. Let us consider first some of the things we need to do here at home and then look at some of the international relations of American education. Here at home a successful program will need to exhibit several definite characteristics. It will need to be: forward-looking, realistic, comprehen- sive, and responsible. If our program is to be forward-looking it will have to concern itself with education for world citizenship. The term "world citizenship" is sometimes loosely used to describe an attitude of broad humanity, just as we refer to some people as "citizens of the world." I wish, for the moment, to use the term more precisely to indicate the relation of an individual to a world government. There is no world government at present but, in my opinion, we ought to create one just as soon as we can. If we are going to try to put the military profession out of business, we had better not be con- tent with halfway measures. Let us then deliberately educate our youth in those attitudes which will result in the creation of a world government. It is not my responsibility to suggest just what areas of life would be subject to the jurisdiction of a world government. That is a field for experts in international law and political science. I do believe, however, that world government, when and if we get it, will be the product of deliberately planned education. Please note that I am not talking about a campaign of schoolroom propaganda for some particular plan of world govern- ment. I am talking about the development of the attitudes, information, and ability which alone can make world citizenship possible. I am talking about a careful study of textbooks and curriculum to eliminate content which fosters intolerance and prejudice. I am talking about teaching the fact that all men in this modern world are literally dependent on each other and that survival for any may well depend upon the cooperation of all. I am talking about teaching the fact that all of the great religious faiths of the world rest on man's brotherhood and unity. I am talking about a wider use of newspapers, periodicals, maps, globes, radio, and the motion picture in deepening and sharpening our understanding of other parts of the world. I am talking about more effective methods of foreign Addresses at the Conferences 27 lanjruafic instruction. I am talkinj^ about a substantial increase in the e.\clian}:;e of students and teachers. When wc review, even thus hurriedly and incompletely, all of the vast possibilities that are open to us in laying the basis for world citizenship, is not our greatest danger that we shall make too timid and mean an estimate of our potential influence? Let us face frankly the fact that there will be some opposition to an educa- tional program of this kind. It will be opposed by those who sincerely be- lieve it to be in conflict with a program of national citizenship. We should attempt to persuade these people that their fears are groundless. We should enlist public opinion to cooperate in demonstrating the need of world organization and world citizenship. Every sincere and well-informed patriot should recognize that the security of his own nation, the very lives of his fellow citizens, can be realized only through a world organization with real power. World citizenship need not mean the sacrifice of national citi- zenship or the subordination of one national group to another. Good national citizenship and good world citizenship reenforce each other. The qualities of character most desirable for good relations in our homes, neighborhoods, communities, states, and nation are precisely the qualities of character which are most needed in world citizenship. Education for world citizen- ship, beginning with the adjustment of children to their immediate environ- ment, can extend their understanding to a broader horizon which compre- hends the people and the places of one interdependent world. So, while we say we would educate for world citizenship, we can not at present mean that we can directly teach loyalty to a society that does not yet exist. Rather, we should teach our children and ourselves those skills and attitudes which alone can create a society in which world citizenship may become real. "While we study and teach for this future ideal, we must also be realistic. We are concerned with the world as it is now and as it is likely to be in the years immediately ahead. There are some basic facts about inter- national relations which should be as thoroughly taught in our schools as the multiplication table. The subjectmatter involved often seems complex and remote from personal experience. But it is not any more complex or remote than high-school algebra or the plot of The Merchant of Venice. International relations can be taught if we take on the job as though our lives depended on it — as indeed they probably do. A general attitude of sweet goodwill, based on delightful stories of children in other lands or on travel folders or movie travelogues, will not do the job. We have to knoiv a few things thoroughly to be able to survive. Some tough ingredients of international understanding should be added to the sweetness and light which we have been endeavoring to create. Sentimental attachment to peace is not enough to prevent war. American >outh should understand the major sections of the world, their resources, the status of their people, their varying political systems, cultures, and eco- nomic arrangements. They should study the conditions which lead to war or peace. They should know about the organizations which are suitable for ilealing with t.hese conditions. A large proportino oi .tbf American people 28 American Association of School Administrators in a recent public opinion poll did not even know whether or not the United States had ever joined the League of Nations. The schools had developed a valuable and powerful love of peace and harmony but they failed to consider seriously enough how these attitudes might find practical expression. We assumed that attitudes and understandings are important, which is true, but we too frequently ignored the concrete problems of international organizations, which was fatal. Our eyes were fixed upon the stars and we did not see the stumbling blocks around our feet. You will not suppose that I am belittling the idealistic approach. I am only saying that idealism is not enough. To give a single illustration, I suggest that every American boy and girl should be taught a clear and rather complete factual knowledge of the United Nations Organization — how it works or fails to work. I saw the United Nations Organization being built in San Francisco and I realize, as we all must, that it is a structure of compromises. It is like a vessel which encounters rough seas immediately after launching, with its engines untested and its timbers groaning alarmingly indeed. But, by a vote of 89 to 2 in the United States Senate, we are aboard that vessel ; it is the only craft at the moment between us and shipwreck. We must do our part to help steer it safely to harbor. Our schools should, I believe, teach the basic facts about UNO as earnestly and thoroughly as they teach our young people about the elements of local, state, and national government. Will you not see to it that at some suitable point in your schools a good job of teaching about UNO is provided for every student? In addition to being forward-looking and realistic, our teaching of inter- national relations should become more comprehensive. We lack, it seems to me, a general plan of campaign. The curriculum has shifted in terms of temporary enthusiasms. You will all remember the sudden surge of interest about five j^ears ago in teaching about Latin America. Now the East-West Association wants you to teach more about China. The Committee on American-Soviet Friendship wants you to teach more about Russia. A com- mittee is now studying educational cooperation with Canada and it requires no skill as a prophet to predict that it will soon ask you to teach more about our good neighbor to the north. I have just asked you to teach about the United Nations. Others will urge you to teach about UNRRA, Bretton Woods, and a dozen other new international agencies. The list is continually growing. And every one of these pleas for more attention is, in itself, worthy of sympathetic consideration. But you cannot make a satisfactory curriculum in international relations, or in any other field, merely by unguided addition. What we lack desperately arid what we must find quickly is a few basic organizing principles around which all the vast body of new and important subjectmatter can be gathered. The Committee on International Relations of the National Education Association is now working on that problem. It needs the active help of curriculum-makers and school executives every- where. One final remark about the domestic aspect of our problem before I ask you to turn your attention outward. It is one of those things that everyone Addresses at the Conferences 29 knows and yet that everyone must be told. Our teaching of international relations must be responsible. We must not forget what it has cost to buy for us this new chance to educate for peace; we must not forget, to quote General Eisenhower again, "the regimented rows of white crosses." Only one year ago today newspapers carried these headlines: AMERICANS TWO MILES FROM COLOGNE RUSSIANS CUT OFF DANZIG; NEW NAZI PLANES STRIKE BRITAIN MARINES' ADVANCE ON IWO IS SLOWED; GAIN 50 YARDS IN FIERCE FIGHTING It is difficult to look steadily at those headlines. Difficult because they seem so far away and long ago. Difficult because it hurts to think about them. Difficult because we would like to forget and because we dare not. Difficult, above all, because we know that another war would be infinitely worse. Many years ago H. G. Wells wrote that civilization is a race between education and catastrophe. On July 16, 1945, there occurred on a desert plateau in New Mexico an explosive release of atomic energy which vapor- ized a two-hundred-foot steel tower and emblazoned the surrounding bleakness with a scorching light equal to that from two dozen suns. In Albuquerque, 220 miles away, a blind girl started and asked her mother what had happened. What, indeed, had happened? That explosion was the starting gun for the last lap of the race between education and catastrophe. The race itself is nothing new. The discovery of ways to control the release of the energy in the atom does not pose a new problem but it does put a time limit on the solution of a problem that is as old as human culture itself. To inculcate in the youth of this land and of all lands a strong sense of individual moral responsibility and to do it quickly and effectively is the answer to the terrible dangers and breath-taking opportunities which atomic power presents. There is no other answer. So much for the domestic side of the problem of education for peace. If I have been unable to do more than slide quickly over the surface of the issues in this field, I shall have to be even more hasty in the second part of my task. There are two particular aspects of the foreign policy of American education which I would like to mention. First, a brief word about our policy toward the educational systems of our defeated enemies ; second, the status of international cooperation in education within the new machinery of the United Nations. Educational policy has its part to play in trying to make sure that we shall not again suffer from the aggressions of our enemies. Our profession may be justly proud that General MacArthur has invited a commission of some of our most distinguished colleagues to visit Japan and there to work with him and with the Japanese government in the development of a wholesome program for Japanese education. Leaders of British education have recently examined the German schools in the British zone of Germany. It might be wise for the Military Government in the American zone to make similar arrangements. Certainly, as long as we would be interested in the war-making potential of either Germany or Japan, we must continue to SCr American Association of S'chool ADMiNTsTRAfoFfs" be interested in the kind of education that the youth of those countries receive. While we are considering what education might do in the future to pro- mote peace, we should never forget what education did in Germany and Japan. What shall we say of a teacher who feeds lies to the children in his care, who knows they are lies when he teaches them, and who admits later that he knew it at the time? What greater crime is there than to destroy the morals and defile the mind of one's own children? Perhaps the crime is one to which the ordinary systems of national and international justice and law cannot be applied. I would not know about that. But we do have it on very high authority that he who offends against childhood would be better off if a millstone were hanged about his neck and he were cast into the depths of the sea. We have learned by hard experience that we cannot put the military profession out of business merely by educating for peace within the United States. Educational isolation is not the answer. In the twenty years between the two wars, while we were teaching our children the ways of peace, other countries were doing just the opposite. Education for world citizenship cannot succeed if it is practiced only by one nation ; it must be a multi- lateral undertaking. We have two major new assets in our efforts to deal with this stubborn fact. One is the series of provisions for education in the United Nations Charter; the other is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cul- tural Organization. The United Nations Charter adopted at San Francisco refers to educa- tion in explicit terms, nine different times. It makes the promotion of educational cooperation a responsibility of the Social and Economic Council. It authorizes the General Assembly of the United Nations to make studies and recommendations affecting education. It lays down the principle that members of the United Nations will provide education in all their dependent areas. It provides that the Trusteeship Council shall require and receive reports on the education of the people in areas administered through that Council. I want you to realize that these provisions in the United Nations Charter represent historical development. The Covenant of the League of Nations had no provisions with reference to education. The very word "education" does not occur in that document. In 1919 a representative of the National Education Association pleaded with those who were drafting the League of Nations Covenant to include an article on education. The statesmen listened politely, as statesmen nearly always do, but no action was taken. Inter- national cooperation in education, they said in effect, was a minor detail that could be postponed until the ifnportant questions were settled. In 1922 the League of Nations again considered the possibility of machinery for educational cooperation and, with only one voice raised in opposition, the word "education" was stricken from a committee report which would have empowered the League to be active in this field. In 1944, in spite of repre- sentations made by the Chinese Government, the Dumbarton Oaks Pro- Addresses at the Conferences 31 posals were issued to the world without a word in them about education. Yet in 1945, on May 22 to be exact, the United Nations at San Francisco decided to promote educational cooperation — not merely to provide it but to promote it. For the first time in history, all the major powers of the world decided that education is a part of keeping the peace. It is an impressive fact that the government of the United States and the government of other members of the United Nations have, by adopting the United Nations Charter, agreed jointly and separately to promote educa- tional and cultural cooperation. The arguments in favor of this proposal as they were advanced at the Hotel Fairmont in San Francisco in 1945 were not any better or any more ably presented than the arguments set forth at the Hotel Crillon in Paris in 1919. But something had happened between 1919 and 1945. For one thing, the teachers of the United States and of the world had learned a good deal about the power of organization. For another thing, perhaps even more important, the statesmen of the world had learned, if only from observing the devastating results of Axis school systems, a decent respect for the power of education. The statesmen of the world have now come to realize, and to record in the most solemn and binding language, their con- viction that education is a weapon which can help them to keep the peace. The United Nations Conference in San Francisco did not determine the exact ways and means by which the educational functions of the United Nations would be conducted. That was postponed for a special conference held in London in November. The London Conference was called by the governments of the United Kingdom and France. It was attended by forty- four of the fifty-one United Nations. The London Conference succeeded in its purpose — the drafting of a constitution for a specialized international agency to deal with education and closely related fields. The new agency thus established is called the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. This is perhaps the second longest official name of any organization in the world. The only one that I can think of at the moment that is any longer is the American Association of School Admin- istrators, a Department of the National Education Association of the United States. In order that I may tell you something about the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and not use up all of my time merely pronouncing its title, I shall refer to it hereafter as UNESCO. It is too bad that UNESCO sounds something like a new kind of tea biscuit, about halfway between a soda cracker and a cookie, but anything is better than the repetition of that long name. The constitution of L^NESCO has been published in full in the Journal of the National Education Association and is available in many other places to all who want to examine it. I hope all American educators have done so or will do so. I shall not take time to report its provisions in detail. There are. however, one or two points which should be emphasized. The UNESCO preamble, quoting Prime Minister Attlee, declares that "since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed." 32 American Association of School Administrators One important issue relating to UNESCO was the question of its basic aim. Would UNESCO be just a clearinghouse where ideas, people, and materials would be exchanged among nations for the direct value of such exchange to those who take part in it, or would it be an agency dedicated to the promotion of peace, judging all its operations in terms of their contribution to that purpose? I am glad to say that, after some discussion, the second point of view was adopted unanimously. As a result, UNESCO is dedicated explicitly to just one purpose, the promotion of peace and security. In each of the countries which participate in the work of UNESCO there will be a national commission on education, science, and culture. This commission will link the educational institutions of its country with the program of the international body. It is of the highest importance that the national commission which will soon be set up in this country be genuinely representative of the educational forces of the United States. In my opinion the major responsibility in the operation of UNESCO, both in this country and internationally, must be placed upon the educational agencies. What the world needs now, in addition to the exchange of ideas among the intellec- tual, artistic, and literary leaders of the different nations, is close and co- operative relationship among those who are responsible for the education of the masses of the people. The United States is not yet a member of UNESCO. Resolutions have been introduced into both houses of Congress authorizing the United States to enter this international body. I hope that they may be acted upon promptly. Members of Congress should be helped to understand the views of their constituents in this respect. UNESCO, with its headquarters in Paris, will meet in a different city throughout the world each year. It is an intergovernmental organization; that is, delegates will be selected by the United States government and by the governments of the other nations that belong to it. UNESCO will be able under its charter to conduct almost any enterprise which in the opinion of the organization will promote peace and security by means of educa- tional, scientific, and cultural cooperation. The kinds of operation UNESCO may usefully undertake are now being outlined by a prepara- tory commission in London. UNESCO will be related to the United Nations Organization. Beyond the formalities, the true nature of this relationship was well expressed by the French delegate at London who told us in a remarkably brilliant address that the Conference at San Francisco gave the United Nations a body, while the Conference at London gave the United Nations a soul. One of the first tasks of this new organ of the international body politic should be the negotiation of an agreement among all the members of UNESCO that they will use their educational systems for the development of international goodwill and understanding, and that they will refrain from using their educational systems for the opposite ends. Only when such an agreement has been negotiated and adopted universally, and when there is adequate reporting at frequent intervals to make sure that such an agree- Addresses at the Conferences 33 ment is being lived up to, can education for peace proceed safely in any country. We must develop our own peace education, but we must also insist that it be accompanied by education for peace everywhere else in the world. If UNESCO can give us that assurance it will become the keystone in the structure of education for world citizenship. Unfortunately, even if all the nations represented at the London UNESCO meeting were to sign and live up to such an agreement, there would remain a critically weak spot in the program. I refer to the fact that the Soviet Union did not attend the conference which created UNESCO last November in London. Perhaps the Soviet Union will join UNESCO. Thus far it has not indicated its policy. Whether it joins or not, I think we should face very frankly the hard fact that, while educational relationships with the Soviet Union are more needed than anywhere else, they are going to be extremely difficult to secure and maintain. We have, of course, no means — or practically no means — of speaking efifectively to the Russian people. There are, of course, fundamental differences in the economic and political structure and ideals of the two countries. The Russian people and the Ameri- can people alike want to avoid conflict; their chances of doing so will be seriously impaired if either party is shut up in cultural isolation. This prob- lem is not made any easier for educators in the United States either by the Communists or by the Red-baiters who blame everything from the bad weather to the baby's measles on the evil machinations of the Russians. I think our government and our people should say very clearly to the Soviet Government, and as clearly as we are permitted to say to the Russian people, that we are eager to enter into educational and cultural relations with them ; that we are prepared to go the limit in exchange of educational materials and personnel ; that we are prepared to have what we teach about Russia in our schools checked for accuracy and fairness; and that we want the Soviet Union to permit a similar kind of exchange and checking to be done from our side of the picture. I think that we should make it clear that we want to lift the "iron curtain" now separating the intellectual and educational life of the Soviet Union from that of the rest of the world. We might offer to send a mission to Moscow as well as a mission to Tokyo — an educational mission made up of judicial and fair-minded leaders in American education, who will study the Russian schools and give us a report on what is going on in the educational system in that vast country; who will make available to the Russians any information that they may desire about our own educational system and arrange for a return visit of Russian educators. I should like to see us go even further. Why not give an opportunity to the Russians to present their point of view to the American people? I should like to see Soviet students and teachers in this country and American students and teachers in the Soviet Union. We should, however, insist that these arrangements be on a direct exchange basis. I would not be afraid that our students would become communistic through such associations. I think we ought to hold fast to Thomas Jefferson's dictum that "Error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it." 34 American Association of School Administrators Let us reduce this idea of interchange to its simplest possible terms. Why should not our government invite the government of the Soviet Union (since governments are the only important open channel of communication at present) to exchange with us even one educator during the next school year? In issuing such an invitation our government could point to the solemn agreement in the United Nations Charter regarding educational and cul- tural cooperation. It could propose that the Soviet Government choose one of its ablest educators to come to the United States for one year as the guest of our country and of the schools and colleges of our country. The function of such an individual while in the United States would be to discuss in a series of public lectures, to be delivered in many of our major cities under the auspices of universities or public adult education programs, the economic, political, social, educational, and home life of the people of the Soviet Union. It could be arranged that this individual speak to the youth of our country as well as to the adults. He should be asked to present his subject in the way that seems best to him, having in mind that as a rule he would be speaking not to assemblies of scholars but to ordinary American citizens. He should, of course, be free to make any statements that he wishes and he should be assured (and I am quite positive that he could be assured) that wherever he went in the United States he would receive a courteous and attentive hearing. It should not be our purpose to engage in public debate with this guest on the merits of the political and economic systems of the two countries or of the current issues of international relations. Our purpose would be to learn about life in the Soviet Union as a citizen of that country sees it. The second half of this agreement, without which it should not he valid, would be that the Soviet Government invite a good representative of Ameri- can life to visit the Soviet Union under conditions identical to those which cover the visit of the Russian educator to this country. In spite of their newly found appreciation for the power of education, some statesmen might think this modest proposal rather remote from the great affairs of state with which they now occupy most of their time ; but I suggest that every measure to promote mutual understanding will greatly lighten the diplomatic tasks. I do not know what the reply of the Soviet Government would be to such proposals. We have no right to assume that it would be unfavorable until we make the proposal. I will go even further and say that even if we were sure that the reply would be unfavorable, the invitation ought to be made anyway for the record. Clearly, the most difficult and even catastrophic developments are likely if the Western democracies and the Soviet Union go on screaming at each other across stormy seas of mounting misunderstanding. If someone will find, say, a dozen schools in the Soviet which are doing an intelligent and friendly job of interpreting the culture of the United States to Russian youth, and publish descriptions of these schools, such an example would do more to promote intelligent teaching about Russia in American schools and colleges than any other device. ADt>TifiSSfS AT Tft-E" CcSNP&itsrct's S^ I think we oup:ht to keep politely but audiiily knocking at the door of Soviet cultural isolation, because unless that door is opened the chances of- maintainin}2; friendly relations with Russia seem to me to be remote. Until the spirit of UNESCO, until a more free t^rart^mlssiion> of ideas,, information, and people from one country to another, can prevail everywhere in this little world, including the Soviet Union, one of the primary condi- tions of enduring peace is lacking. We cannot force any nation to cooperate with us in matters of education, but we can and should invite such coopera- tion on a completely reciprocal basis with all nations. One final word of restrained enthusiasm about UNESCO. Although international education enters this first year of peace with clear recognition and a potentially powerful organization, we should not consider our task done just because we have secured references to education in the United Nations Charter and a special United Nations Organization to serve our profession and its allied interests. That is only the beginning. If education is going to put the military profession out of business as General Eisen- hower wants it to do, we shall have to keep at our task with the same kind of unremitting energy, the same kind of intelligence, the same kind of financial support, the same kind of effective organization, that has brought us thus far along the road. We must find a way to bridge the gap between these great international organizations, functioning in Paris or New York or some other part of the world, and the teachers in classrooms thousands of miles away. It is the teacher in the classroom who will make or break UNO or UNESCO. I urge you, as leaders of the teaching profession, to see that the members of your staffs are acquainted with these new tools of interna- tional relations in education, that they understand what a heavy responsi- bility these new developments place upon all of us. I cannot imagine what other task confronting the public schools of ^this country is entitled to equal priority. We must never forget that the United Nations Organization and its specialized organizations such as UNESCO are simply instruments. When people ask me whether I think that the United Nations will work and whether I think that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization will work, I am tempted to ask them in reply whether they think that a spade will work. A spade is a tool ; it works only if somebody works it. We have all seen those spades that turned the first sod for the foundation of the new City Hall. There they are, shin\-, new, each in its handsome, tightl>' sealed, glass-and-chromium case in the lobby, suitably marked for the admiration of succeeding generations of sightseers. Thus walled in and ceremoniously displayed, they will never cultivate a garden or cut a straight ditch to drain a swamp. So it is with the United Nations Organizations — they are tools, they are instruments. They are not works of art or historical monuments. Perhaps I can make my point this wa\ . Suppose some friend in this audi- ence were to approach nie at this moment with a violin in his hand and were to say to me, "You have talked long enough. It is time for a little relaxa- 36 American Association of School Administrators tion. Won't you play us a tune on this violin?" I would have to say, after I had recovered from my surprise at such unorthodox procedure, "That is an excellent suggestion, but, you see, I never learned to play the violin. It looks like a rather complicated instrument w^ith all these keys and frets, strings and stops, and I cannot make any melody upon it because I have not studied it or practiced on it." And if my friend persisted, he might say, "Yes, but see w^hat a splendid violin this is. See how cunningly it is made, how cleverly the different parts are put together. The best violin-makers worked for months at San Francisco and London to make this instrument, using nothing but the finest quality of wood, glue, and other materials. Surely you can play such an excellent instru- ment as this." And again, I would have to reply, "I am sorry, it doesn't make any difference how good the instrument is. Since I have not learned how to use it, I can produce on it nothing but discords." But if you had in this auditorium, instead of me, a Fritz Kreisler, or any other skilled violinist and if you brought to him a battered two-dollar fiddle that you had picked up at the nearest pawnshop, he could t\ick that instru- ment under his chin and it would pour out most excellent sweet music to charm the heart out of you. He could make good music on a poor violin, because he has learned how to play it and practiced the playing of it, long and patiently from childhood. True, he could make even better music if he had a better instrument, and we ought to give him the very best instrument that we can, but the crucial fact is that he knows how; he has learned. I say to you that the great job of American education and of education all over the world is to teach these boys and girls how to play on these new instruments which we have fashioned as best we could for the great purpose of promoting peace among the nations. For unless these children learn well and practice persistently, the statesmen of all the world will labor in vain, and General Eisenhower's magnificent offhand challenge will go unanswered. THE NEXT DECADE IN EDUCATION W. HOWARD PILLSBURY, SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK Address at Atlanta Conference The shape of things to come is still not too clear. We know that the world is rapidly decreasing in size. By means of the radio we can hear in a few seconds the news around the world. By means of the airplane any point of the world surface can be reached in less than sixty hours. Within the next decade this time will probably be cut in half. Television is just around the corner — about where radio was fifteen years ago. Within the next decade all of our large cities will be connected by a chain of stations which will enable us to see as well as hear history in the making. The world is smaller at the present time than the thirteen colonies were when the Constitution was signed, and no place on earth is so far from Addresses at the Conferences 37 Atlanta today as Savannah was before the coming of railroads. The world is indeed shrinking before our eyes. At long last men everywhere are beginning to understand that they must learn to live in peace if they are to live at all. The use of nuclear fission as an instrument of destruction has definitely catapulted America from an isolated, self-centered, and self-sufficient nation sitting in com- placent security behind her ocean barriers into a front-line position of responsibility for determining whether our universe shall become one world or no world at all. The problems involved fairly stagger the imagination. They include such international problems as the establishment of conditions of peace, the determination of political boundaries, the prevention of future aggres- sion, the rehabilitation of devastated countries, the promotion of racial tolerance, the stability of international currencies, the freedom of sea and air, international government, international courts, and international edu- cation. On the national level they include such problems as reconversion, social security, full employment, the labor-management disagreements, controlled inflation, payment of our national debt, the treatment of minor- ity groups, and a host of others. Hitherto we have been concerned with the problems of a nation of 135 million people. Now we must raise our sights to include those of a world of two to three billion. All of these problems, whether national or international, political, social, or economic, depend for their solution on the development of sound under- standings and attitudes by the American people. And this in turn is a matter of education. Never before in the history of the world have the responsibilities of education been so great. The times demand that schools develop upward, downward, outward, and internally. ADULT EDUCATION The upward growth for which the need is greatest is that in the field of adult education. The schools can and should do their part in producing a generation educated for responsible citizenship, but the solution of many of our problems cannot be deferred. Decisions are already in the making which may determine our destiny for generations to come. There is a desperate and immediate need for expansion in adult education in every com- munity in this country. 1. Perhaps the most familiar type of adult education in our schools is citizenship education for the foreign-born, or Americanization. It received its great impetus from World War I when we were amazed to find that the vaunted melting pot was not functioning as effectively as we had expected. As a result, practically everywhere in the United States courses for the teaching of reading and writing English were provided for the foreign-born with the expectation that the job of assimilation would thus be accomplished. World War II has shown that this activity, valuable as it is, is not enough. Traditions and habits of a lifetime are not so easily broken. 38 American Association of School Administrators Divided loyalties are never strong loyalties. Mere literacy does not neces- sarily produce the desired emotional attitudes of responsible citizenship. It is not necessary that the foreign-born should discard all natural affection for their fatherland, but it is imperative that they should develop a deeper emotional love for and understanding of America. The situation is much like that of a young couple setting up a new home. They continue to love and respect their parents but their supreme loyalty is given to one another and to this new home. The situation of the enemy alien during the recent war has been exceed- ingly difficult and thoroughly bewildering. He felt that in giving his sons to fight for America, even against the land of his birth, he had con- clusively demonstrated his allegiance to this country. And yet he found himself peculiarly restricted in the use of the radio, in freedom of move- ment, and in many other ways. Frequently he observed an atmosphere of suspicion and surveillance, merely because of his foreign birth. In the case of the Japanese, entire communities were bodily transferred from their homes and businesses to relocation centers which, in effect, constituted a mild form of concentration camp. These restrictions in time of war were undoubtedly necessary but if strong loyalties to America are to be developed in spite of them, something more is needed than a mere knowledge of the English language. The educational process must extend into their homes, clubs, churches, and fraternal organizations. It must soften the difficulties involved in the shift of loyalties by emphasizing the cultural contributions which they make to the American way of life. And it certainly must dramatize the meaning and importance of democratic citizenship. A new need is being brought sharply into focus at the present time by the arrival in this country of an unprecedented number of war brides, many already mothers of children. The pattern of family life is mainly determined by the mother. Here is a situation in which adequate citizen- ship education for the foreign-born will insure rich returns in terms of the attitudes and loyalties of a new generation of children. 2. The second most common form of adult education is evening schools. Many of our cities are offering evening courses in any subject for which ten people express a desire. This is very helpful but it does not go far enough. As valuable as drawing, Spanish, and metalwork are, we can still lose the race between education and catastrophe if we produce too many drawing, Spanish, and metalwork students who have forgotten that they are also citizens in a self-governing democracy. Institutes, conferences, and community meetings on current public questions should [be added to evening school activities. Discussions, forums, panels, and symposiums should be added to the methods. Local experts, community leaders, and well-informed citizens should be added to the staffs. The controversial issues — local, state, national, and international — should be added to the curriculum. 3. The adjustment of the veteran to civil life is different but, in many pases, egual in difficulty to that of the ;foreign-bprn. T^ie vetpr.^n, p^r- Addresses at the Conferences 39 ticularly if he has had considerable battle experience, has been orientated to a world quite forei}2;n to that to which he returns. War teaches him to destroy property — civil life to preserve it. War teaches him to kill — with his bare hands, if necessary, and to do it gladly. Civil life teaches him that the individual is the heart of democracy and that human life must be preserved at all costs. War teaches him that unquestioned obedience is the hij2;hest quality of a soldier. He is told when to arise, what to wear, when and what to eat; practically all his acts throujrhout his waking time are prescribed. Civil life throws him on his own and compels him to make his own decisions at every turn. This transition varies in difficulty with the individual and the complete- ness of his orientation to war. Some make the adjustment quickly and fairly easy; others only with considerable difficulty. Some who have not been long out of this country slip back into the high school which they left before graduation and are scarcely recognizable from the regular students. Even these, however, need an understanding treatment which will permit them special privileges in the matter of class attendance whenever their nerves become jittery. Others need an adequate counseling service by a qualified counselor who understands their problems, preferably himself a veteran. And it is important that educational opportunities be provided for all who desire them. A surprising number, in view of the forecasts of veteran interest in further education, desire to avail themselves of the opportunity of going to college. Many, however, wish to w-ork in order to provide more adequate subsistence for their families. These should be provided with the courses, vocational or academic, which they need when they need them. Their work should be largely on an individual basis permitting them to enter at any time and proceed at their own rate. Administration should be the servant and not the master. Veterans are destined to be one of the most powerful groups in this country in the period ahead, and the kind of service which is provided for them at this time will, to a large degree, determine their attitude toward the future support of education. 4. Every year millions of young people terminate their connection with formal education either through graduation or because they see no further value to them in what the schools have to offer. Their primary concern is getting a job and establishing a family of their own. These are, of course, genuine contributions to responsible citizenship but meanwhile they are losing all connection with the civic life of their community, usually until about age thirty-five or until their first children enter school. The dictators have never made the mistake of ignoring this group; in fact both Hitler and Mussolini rode into power largely on the backs of youth. In America during the depression some four million of them wandered up and down the land with all the potentialities of dynamite. Certainly democracy cannot afford to allow their assets of vigor, en- thusiasm, loyalty, and the willingness to sacrifice for a cause bigger than thenxselves, to degenerate into a dangerous liability. 40 American Association of School Administrators This young adult group constitutes about 80 to 85 percent of our future adult population. They are a special type of adult and need special treat- ment. The traditional technics of the school are no longer feasible since in many cases they have left school as a protest against these very procedures. Adequate counseling service should be available to them. They should be followed up on the job until they become well adjusted. Their interests should be explored and capitalized on for continuing education. Those who can profit by it should be given leadership training and every effort should be made to bring them into active participation in community enter- prises. Education can no longer afford to ignore its extramural respon- sibilities. 5. Every community has a tremendous number of organized groups whose programs have educational possibilities. No community realizes how many there are until it has made an actual survey. In my own community of Schenectady, for example, we found over thirteen hundred such groups of which about half had potential educational values. They include individual study groups, churches, lodges, labor organizations, clubs, women's groups, farm organizations, parent-teacher associations, and the like. Their program makers in most cases recognize their need for help and welcome assistance. Schools should provide one or more people as a field service whose function it is to consult with them as to their needs and make available to them all the adult education resources of the com- munity. The principal fields in which local organizations need help are program content and technics, the provision of speakers and discussion groups, and program materials such as books, pamphlets, slides, films, and the like. Since they are already going concerns, these groups offer the richest opportunity in any community for a large return on a relatively small investment. Adult education can no longer be considered a luxury. It is a vital necessity today if education is to meet its responsibilities. The problems which confront us are too pressing and the time all too short for provid- ing the sound understanding and attitudes which the times require. If we are to wage peace in the same spirit in which we wage war, all our resources of public information, our schools and colleges, libraries and museums, radio and movies, newspapers and pamphlets, forums and discussion groups — in short, all the adult education resources of our com- munities— must be mobilized for world citizenship. THE NURSERY SCHOOL Just as the schools must grow upward, so also they must develop down- ward. Just as education does not cease when the child leaves school, so it does not begin when he enters the school door. The school is only one of a great number of educational institutions in the life of the individual. These include the home, church, stores, streets, playground, books, movies, and radio. All his experiences which change his ways of thinking and acting are part of his education, , Addresses at the Conferences 41 The process bej^ins with his first conscious reactions to his environment and has gone a long way before he enters the traditional school building. In fact, his health habits and attitudes as well as his pattern of social behavior and speech are largely determined by his preschool j'ears. One of our foremost authorities on the period of infancy tells us that a child who grows up under the most favorable conditions where he is allowed to investigate to his heart's content and whose questions are answered in terms which he can understand will have learned half the things he'll ever know before he reaches school age. And if, on the other hand, he grows up under the most unfavorable conditions where he is neglected and pushed aside, he will enter the school with the mark of the dullard already on his face. Only if he is unusually fortunate in coming under the influence of wise, understanding, and interested teachers will he achieve anything beyond mediocrity. "The waste from a machine can be salvaged and melted down into new metal. A wasted human life rarely gets a new start." The Iowa studies seem to confirm this point of view. They demonstrate that even the IQ which we have hitherto regarded as fixed tends to rise or fall in the early years as the environment is favorable or otherwise. Their study of the effect of the nursery school shows that an average increase of as much as eight points can be made in an entire class in a single year. The value of the nursery school in meeting the problems of the preschool child is, therefore, obvious. Not only is the nursery school important for its direct effect on the preschool child. It is also a most valuable laboratory for parent education. It is one of the paradoxes of American education that despite our recogni- tion of the home as, next to the school, the community's most important educational institution, we do very little to prepare our young people to become efficient parents. IVIany of our states today are requiring at least a four-year professional course for teaching in the schools, but for the teaching in the home no preparation is considered necessary. We proceed apparently on the assumption that by some strange alchemy the mere process of parenthood endows the individual with all the wisdom, patience, and understanding necessary for the most complex and difficult job we know — the guidance of the physical, mental, social, and spiritual develop- ment of a young child. Unfortunately there is no such sudden acquisition of wisdom. Educa- tion for parenthood is a pressing need. This should include courses in our high schools designed to prepare young people for marriage and parent- hood. It should also include courses and discussion groups for the training of mothers on the job. But valuable as these are, they are not enough. They need to be supplemented both for youth and for parents with the use of the nursery school as a laboratory. I would suggest that one of the prices of admission for children in nursery school should be an agree- ment by the mother to spend at least two days a month in the school as helper to the teacher in charge. 42 American Association of School Administrators Most of our cities have had some experience with the nursery school. During the depression funds were made available first by FERA and later by WPA primarily to provide jobs for unemployed teachers. During the war Lanham funds were provided to care for the children of work- ing mothers. Regardless of the purpose of the funds, our schools have had an opportunity to observe the beneficial effects of this work on the health, nutritional, and mental habits of children and on the homes from which they came. We ought not to need a depression or a war to make it possible to provide adequate facilities for the education of children in these all- important first years. The recent publication of the Educational Poli- cies Commission, Educational Services for Young Children, should give a strong impetus to this movement in the decade ahead. cooperative planning Education must grow outward into the community. The time is past when the school can safely regard itself as a closed corporation, neither welcoming nor tolerating interference from without. Public rela- tions has always been one of the greatest weaknesses of our public schools. Many a school has seen a fine, carefully-thought-out program, rich in prom- ise for the most effective education of youth, suddenly upset by the public demand for a return to the procedures of a former generation. No school system can safely progress more rapidly than it can carry public under- standing and support along with it. Furthermore, a considerable increase in the expenditures for edu- cation in the decade ahead is inevitable. We are facing a large expansion in vocational education to provide the skilled workers for our increasing production. Vocational education is not cheap. It is far more expensive to house, to equip, and to operate than an academic school. Yet the necessity for this development is obvious. The imperative need for a considerable expansion in adult education and for the provision of education for the preschool child, which has previously been discussed, involves another large increase in the school budget. There is evidence to show that the public will support these ex- penditures but only if they thoroughly understand the reasons for these new developments in the curriculum. In this connection I wish to call your^ attention to the most encouraging pronouncements which have recently come out of the United States Chamber of Commerce. The pamphlet. Education, An Investment in People, demonstrating the consistent rela- tion between business prosperity and educational expenditures should be in the hands of every businessman in your community. The time has come when educators should deliberately embark on the policy of making the public a partner in the educational enterprise. Lay- men should share with the professional staff in planning the program if public support is to be assured. There are, of course, many ways in which this can be done. As an example, I would like to present a method which we in Schenectady have found very effective for this purpose. In common with a number of Addresses at the Conferences 43 systems in New York State, we have embarked on a study of the prob- lems confronting schoolboards in the postwar period. The study has been divided into four steps. Step I tried to answer the question, "What Kind of a Community Shall We Have a Decade Hence?" It attempted to forecast the following five decisive factors: first, the probable population of the city and its environs, changes in age groups and minority groups, and other population trends which might afifect the education program ; second, economic conditions, including the number of employees, changes in vocational opportunity, the probable income of the average family; third, the preparations for those who are being demobilized both from the services and from industry, the educational provisions available and added facilities needed ; fourth, the adequacy of the home as an educational institution, the housing development needed, the probable number of employed mothers, and the quality of provisions for healthful living in the average home, the highest 10 percent, and the lowest 10 percent; and fifth, other community factors such as social and recreational facilities, libraries and museums, movies and radio, fine arts, health and social wel- fare, and opportunities to prepare for civic responsibilities. The data invohed in this step were largely factual. Some of the material was already available in one form or another. A committee of twenty-five composed almost entirely of laymen made this study and prepared an excellent fore- cast of our community a decade hence. Step n faced the question, "What Kind of Education Do We Need for Such a Community?" What information, attitudes, and appreciations should be developed? What vocational and guidance opportunities should be offered? What provision should be made for the nursery school, the lunch program, education for the handicapped and the gifted, for adult education, parent education, for recreation and cooperation with com- munity organizations? In other words, what should be the educa- tional objectives of Schenectady in the next decade? This committee needed a high degree of imagination and understand- ing of education. Nevertheless, of the committee of thirty, at least 80 percent were laymen. It included some of the best minds of the community — college professors, engineers and other professional men, representatives of business and labor, leaders of women's groups, and young adults. It was a most inspiring experience to watch this committee in action. They started by familiarizing themselves with some of the best modern educational literature, such as the Educational Policies Commission's Education for All American Youth. They put a tremendous amount of enthusiastic effort into the study and it was most interesting to watch deep-seated prejudices gradually melt under the impact of new ideas. It was a fine demonstration of intellectual integrity and one which even we in the profession might well emulate. Their report proposes a much bolder set of objectives than the members of our staff would have dared to present to the public, but it is offered by the leaders in the community who cannot be charged with a vested interest and will, therefore, carry more weight. Their interest once aroused is 44 American Association of School Administrators a continuing one and will probably result in a permanent advisory coun- cil to help in carrying out the objectives w^hich they have suggested. Step III, now in process, is facing the question: "How Do We Go from Where We Are to the Achievement of the Objectives Suggested by the Committee on Step II?" This committee will lay out a definite program by which the objectives formulated by the preceding committee may be implemented. This is, of course, a technical matter, and the central committee is com- posed largely of the professional staff with only about one-third lay repre- sentation. The committee is doing the best job of getting the entire teach- ing staff on its toes that I have ever seen. Through its various subcommittees it will bring into its operation nearly one thousand people, including staff, laymen, and students. It expects to make a preliminary report before the close of the school year but it is already evident to the various subcom- mittees that they are embarked on at least a five-year plan. Step IV is the function of the board of education. Having received the program laid out by the preceding committee, the board will decide how much of the program to accept, what priorities to give to the various phases, how they can be financed, and how public support can best be secured. Taken as a whole, the project has proved one of the best media for enlisting the deep and abiding interest of the leaders of public opinion in a community with which I have ever had the good fortune to come into contact. The program which is emerging will be sound not only from the professional standpoint but from the point of view of public support as well. Furthermore, it produced by-products of in-service training of no mean order. I can commend it to any system interested in professional growth in combination with effective public relations. guidance And not only must our schools grow upward, downward, and outward — they must also develop internally. The purpose of the school is twofold : first, to inculcate in the student those qualities which make for responsible citizenship ; and, second, to help him attain the optimum development of his capacities as an individual. As to the first, the record of the school, though far from adequate, has stood up fairly well under the acid test of war. Life in democratic American classrooms has fostered qualities of initiative, endurance, straight thinking, self-reliance, cooperation, and pride in a job well done which have paid rich dividends in foxholes, submarines, and Flying Fortresses all over the world. They have enabled a generation unconditioned to the ways of war, after relatively short preparation, to meet the best trained forces of Europe. Now they must be prepared to wage peace with equal effectiveness. They must build tolerance, understanding, and an outlook which reaches beyond state and national boundaries if we are to have an enduring peace. They must be taught the interdependence of nations; that there can be no long- range prosperity in the United States which is not based on a rising stand- ard of living all over the world ; that a desire for the universal welfare Addresses at the Conferences 45 is not merely a matter of altruism but the very essence of self-preservation. In this broadening of our vision, the schools face a very real job which will challenge the best thinking of our curriculum-makers. It is imperative that the coming generation should not only be responsible citizens of a democratic America but world citizens as well. As to the second purpose, schools have long given lip service to the importance of educating the individual. They have glibly accepted the philosophy of education as a process of continuing educational development from the kindergarten through the senior high school. In practice, how- ever, very little has been done about it. In most schools there is still a hierarchy of preparation from one level to another — elementary to junior high, junior high to senior high, and senior high to college. We are still far from fitting the curriculum to the child, as witness the fact that, for the United States as a whole, less than 50 percent of those going into seventh grade graduate from high school. In the decade ahead there must be less mass education and more attention to the individual. Just as in the army, the essential qualification for a leader was that he should know his men, so teachers must realize the crucial importance of knowing the individual as an indispensable foundation for sound teaching. Administrators, as well as teachers, must understand more clearly the implication of education as a process of continuous child develop- ment. Both in their preservice and in-service training, teachers must be put in possession of that great body of literature in this field which has so enriched our understanding of children. They must be given a better com- prehension of the social service point of view and become more conscious of the community resources and how they can best be used in cooperation with school needs. In other words, there must be a tremendous expansion in the field of guidance. This must become the core of the curriculum. Every teacher must be a guidance counselor. This includes guidance of all kinds — voca- tional, educational, social, health, recreational, and personal. In fact, it is almost impossible to formulate a definition of guidance which is not also a definition of good teaching. The specialist in guidance will find his particular function in helping the teachers to operate more effectively as guidance counselors in handling special problems which are beyond the time and capacity of the teacher, and in acting as a liaison between the school and the social service agencies of the community. It is the business of the school to help the student solve the problems which confront him. We are entering a new era in history with all the problems which this involves. All of these problems whether national or international, political, social, or economic, depend for their solution on the development of sound understandings and attitudes by the American people. And this in turn is a matter of education. Never before in the history of the world have responsibilities of education been so great. The times demand that schools develop upward, downward, outward, and internally. TO HELEN ADAMS KELLER Is Awarded This Testimonial The American Education Award for 1945 Great-souled in Ker outlook upon lire apparently darkened by many shadows, and invincible against forces wKicb would seem insurmountable to one less resolute, wKile on tbe one band sbe manifested in- genious personal bravery, on tbe otber sbe became to all of us tbe exemplar of faitb in one s self and in bis fellow man. Far from being stranger to tbose endeavors by wbicb men strive for excellence, sbe rose to pre- eminence in tbe very skills and arts wbicb demand tbe exercise of man's noblest faculties. Having won tbe degree of Bacbelor of Arts, sbe entered upon life's career in wbicb sbe became dis- tinguisbed as a lecturer, as autbor, as valued member of various national commissions and advisory boards, as writer for current magazines, and as most active participant in otber wortby enterprises for tbe in- spiration and advancement of tbose unendowed by Nature's gifts of sigbt and bearing. To tbese, no less tban to all bumankind. Helen Adams Keller is, and will ever remain, a ligbt in darkness and an inspiration to wortby acbievement. The above is the wording on the illuminated manuscript presented to Helen Adams Keller by the Associated Exhibitors of the National Education Association Addresses at the Conferences 47 FINANCING EDUCATION FOR A NEW WORLD THOMAS C. BOUSHALL, PRESIDENT, THE BANK OF VIRGINIA, RICHMOND, VA., CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES Address at New York Conference Discussion of the subject assigned me — "Financing Education in a New World" — is not one lightly entered upon. I do hope, however, that I can bring to _\our attention a new approach to the underwriting of the cost of education in this so-called New World. There are three points that I want to develop : First, the possibilities in- herent in the use of the instrument of education to bring rising social well- being to our people in our land, and in turn to other nations that compose this New World. Second, who is the greatest and most direct beneficiary of the current and the proposed educational process? Third, how can the deter- mined beneficiary most profitably and equitably meet the increased cost of education adapted to the New World ? First of all, you who are educators need no exposition from me to develop the idea that a better trained individual has greater potentials in technical skill and in the development of cultural wants than an untrained person out- side the influence of educational facilities. I bring up the point because I am a businessman talking to educators. I want you to know that we in the business world are rapidly coming to see the basic significance of the relation- ship between educational level and economic status. Business is abandoning its previous eftorts to get the educator to plump for the system of private enterprise. Rather, the alert and advanced business- man of today is discovering the educational process as his greatest hope of expansion, his greatest bulwark against any declining support of the Ameri- can way of life, his greatest weapon with which to defeat the march of social- ism or communism 'round the world. Business has taken off its colored glasses through which it saw education with a tint of red around the edges or in the middle. We are all seeing now that as the mass of our people throughout the land rise in their capacity to develop technical skills, we can introduce more machinery on the farm, in the forest, in the mine, at sea, in the factory, and on the road, where mobile equipment can be used. We see that this machinery can be more complex and automatic when operated by an intelligent, under- standing individual whose education has opened his mind to greater per- ception and abler execution. Again we see that such people, so educated, are making a greater contri- bution to the production of goods and services by using their better polished brains over their heretofore limited use of straining brawn. Finally, the businessman is seeing that the able technical capacity to con- tribute to production and to earn greater income does not matter unless the individual is likewise being taught cultural concepts that develop intense ap- petites for better clothes and homes, better food and recreation, better sur- 48 American Association of School Administrators roundings, and wider opportunity for travel ; then the technical skills will only be used to earn just enough to keep body and soul together. But given a parallel step-up in cultural wants, the trained technical operator will exert himself to earn the money with which to satisfy the cultural desires. It is not a long jump for the businessman's imagination to get out in front and himself plump for the proposition that better education of our whole people means an abler group of producers, earning more money with which to buy a greater variety and quantity of better goods and services. There you have an all but perfected formula for business development which holds not only in the United States of America but in every other land on the globe. It is just this concept that stimulated the Committee on Education of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States to make studies of its own that would bring these facts, these pertinent economic financial profit and loss figures, to the attention of the businessmen of America. There was little point in bringing coals to Newcastle in telling this story to educators; nor could educators themselves carry this story to business without being as suspect in turn as business has been when it sought to sell you educators on the private enterprise concept. I have found that you educators, members of the American Association of School Administrators, are as alert to the virtues of our private enterprise concept here in our democracy, operating as a representative republic, as are the businessmen of the nation. And now we are learning that the businessmen of the nation are beginning to discover that the educational processes of our country are as basic and integral in our successful economy and as necessary to its continuance, its maintenance, and its expansion, as are the very factories and their machinery, the railroads and the highways, the banks and the stores. This mutual discovery of the high regard that each holds for the other, and the recognition that only by joint effort and integrated functioning can we hope to meet our rising problems, has more significant promise for this country than perhaps any discovery in the twentieth century. Increased earning power and production, accompanied by increased appe- tites and consequent increased consumption, is the promise of our New World, based on education's realization that it must greatly augment its facilities, modernize its processes, streamline its methods. Education must realize that it must produce youth and adult graduates, tempered and con- ditioned to this modern world — this New World from which all of us so hopefully expect so much. Business views the situation with comfort and with hope. And now for the second point: If there be so much promise inherent in the use of the instrument of education to bring a rising social well-being to our total people and an expanding and profitable economy to our business world, who will be the greatest beneficiary? For that beneficiary must want to bear the cost incident to a stepped-up educational process. That benefi- ciary must be impatient to set the program in motion, that its benefits may all the sooner be realized. Addresses at the Conferences 49 Heretofore most of the income of the local governments with which to pay the cost of education has come from assessments on real estate. But is the real-estate owner the greatest beneficiary? Perhaps education, new dis- coveries, and new developments will carry the would-be home-owner deep into the country, outside the town, where real-estate values usually are high- est. There is more danger for the real-estate owner than there is promise of good in an expanding economy in the day of car and plane, television and radio, good roads, and decentralized marketing facilities. If education speeds these processes, it may lower current real-estate values in the cities and raise them in the countryside. And so the real-estate owner will not happily or voluntarily rush out to urge a greater assessment for educational expansion that may be detrimental to him and perhaps holds little if any hope of benefit. The general income tax payer will not want to see the fairly static bracket of income rates broken open in the several states for the purpose of increasing state income with which to pay for greater educational effort. Once the set brackets are opened for this purpose, there will appear a score of causes wanting to add 1, 2, 3, or more percent figures on to present rates with which to achieve their several purposes. We must come back then to the greatest beneficiary of the educational process — business itself. We can properly suggest that the increasing bene- ficiary pay the increased cost, just as the gasoline tax was put on to pay only for roads and for no other cause in most of the soundly financed states. The third point then is how to apply such a tax on an equitable basis. What considerations should govern in determining an equitable distribu- tion of this cost? How can we allocate to each business venture its proper pro rata part? We find the precedent already set in the gasoline tax. There the automo- bile operator pays a 6-cent tax on every gallon of gasoline he uses. If an employer has but one employee, he can only benefit to that degree. If an employer has 10 or 100 or 1000 employees, he presumably benefits 10 or 100 or 1000 times more. Iri my state of Virginia, as an example, I am advised that $18,000,000 is required for currently needed additional equipment and salaries to put education on a proper modern basis. We have 900,000 employed persons in Virginia. Thus 900.000 (the number of workers) divided into $18,000,000 (the number of dollars) comes out $20 per employee. Hence the employer of one person would pay $20 per annum educational use tax and the em- ployer of 100 people would pay $2000. No doubt the costs would vary in each state, and likewise the number of employed persons. The educational use tax on employers might then range from $5 to $10, $20, $30, or $40, as the case in each state might require. In such a method we find an equitable distribution of the cost to be borne by the greatest beneficiaries of the results obtained from the added educational expenditures. I have discussed this thought with a great many businessmen, large and small employers alike. None have refused to accept the following principles: 50 American Association of School Administrators (a) That business is the greatest beneficiary of education ; (b) that the sug- gested method of meeting the cost is equitable; (c) that business would do well itself to inaugurate the program in order to lead the way toward practical realism in governmental affairs. By that I mean that socially desir- able programs, leading to the rising well-being of the people, should have a sound economic base. Such a base should be one that can be supported year in and year out. It should be creative in concept and one that adds profit to the whole people — socializes the profit, if you please. The opposite concept of meeting a social need on a deficit basis presumes that we will forever socialize the loss. This deficit method is one that can only lead to the state's final insolvency and society's eventual bankruptcy. Surely the creative profit-developing program, to be shared by all, is preferable. The question then comes, will business and legislators, social planners and educators — in fact, the whole general public — accept the premise that would lead to its adoption? There are three premises that must be first presented and adopted : (a) That the potential development of the technical skill and cultural appe- tites of the total people will result in an expanding economy with a rising social well-being for all; (b) that business itself is and will continue to be the greatest beneficiary of a stepped-up educational program attuned to our current postwar world ; (c) that a per capita educational use tax, adjusted in amount to the needs of each state, paid by the employer for each employee, is the equitable way to meet that cost. Cities are the centers of industries where populations tend to concentrate. Rural youth migrates to the city to find work that brings in cash income for more congenial and less onerous duties. But this migrating youth has been educated in the local rural school at the expense of the locality. He migrates out. He does not stay to repay to his community the cost of his or her educa- tion. The locality constantly being deserted by its educated youth cannot afford but just so high a degree of education. Yet that education is the style to which the city industry must become accustomed if it draws away an appre- ciable number of men and women from surrounding rural areas — a process that has gone on for a thousand years the world over. The suggestion that the employer pay into the state treasury a per capita educational use tax for every employee means that the rural localities, which have heretofore at their own expense sent their educated youths to the cities and towns, would then be able to recapture as their part of the fund perhaps more from this fund than the current burden of educational cost. It further means that the locality will have a better brand of education for its youth remaining at home. This also means a better educated youth that comes on to the city centers looking for a job in town. This means in turn that the industrialist or banker, the storekeeper or public service com- pany, is getting far better trained people coming to them from the country than the country schools have heretofore been able to provide. Put briefly, the suggested program is designed to distribute and equalize educational opportunities far more evenly throughout each individual state than has heretofore been possible anywhere in our several states. Addresses at the Conferences 51 I was talkiiifr to a member of an outstandinj^ lefjislative body on this sub- ject recently. He remarked, smilinjr. "Well, you'll have no trouble with my state assembly. We have a majority of our members from the rural sections. When it becomes apparent that the city and town employers will be called upon to put up most of the money to educate our local rural youth and pro- vide each locality with more money for education than we have ever had before, we country folk will readily jjo along." The city people say that they see great benefit in having everybody throughout the state equally well educated. In these days of good roads and quick transportation between city and farm, there is every advantage in the equalization of educational opportunities. The bigger the employer, the greater his benefit despite his greater cost. The heavily taxed real-estate owner and those fearful of a heavier income tax will perhaps welcome a new device by which money is freshly supplied for the greatest single expendi- ture of local government — education. The day can come — it may indeed come fairly soon — if these principles are generally accepted as the best method by which to provide the necessary money to support a stronger, better adapted educational process geared to our current economy and society, when all levies on real estate or other forms of property can be abandoned. In fact, all levies on real property have been abandoned in the process of raising money to build and maintain state and local roads. Once we have set our foot in this path, the issue merely comes down to the rate of payment per employee based on the rising productive and con- sumptive power that this expenditure generates on the part of the total people. There are no known limits on the consumptive capacity of the people. We know now that the limit on the consumptive power of the people is tied into their earning ability and cultural appetites. If through the educational process the instrument of education can be the lever by which we can raise the consumptive poiver of the people, reaching out toward but never possibly attaining the limits of the total consumptive capacity of the people, we may have uncovered indeed a new use of an old but modernized instrument in a new and demanding world. I have one more point to present, and I am done. But before doing so let me make a pertinent fact crystal clear. The Committee on Education of the U. S. Chamber of Commerce is responsible only for the development of the program to show business that there is a positive parallel between educational level and economic status. The Committee has proved the premise so clearly that it warrants the keenest and closest study of every local Chamber of* Commerce and trade organization in the land. The idea that we should finance the stepped-up needs of modernized education to bring it into realistic touch with our current world, through the application of an educational use tax levied on the employer for each of his employees, is not a concept developed by the U. S. Chamber's committee. I assume full responsibility for this suggestion. It is my purpose to present the idea to the Committee on Education, and 52 American Association of School Administrators I hope in turn to the board of directors and the general membership of the Chamber of Commerce in the United States. I am making this statement merely to keep the record clear and thus in no way to commit the U. S. Chamber or its Committee on Education. The final point is this : Businessmen are waking up to the fact that they cannot operate their businesses with illiterate or quasi illiterate people. They are realizing rapidly that the deficiency in the educational preparation of their employees is the degree by which their respective business ventures are handicapped. Too, businessmen are waking up to the fact that a people technically trained but not culturally developed will work only so hard for only so many days and then lay off. Business is beginning to realize that if the zest of cultural appetites is developed wherein men want better things for them- selves and for their families, then not only will men and women work full time, with a will, in order to earn, to buy, to acquire, and enjoy these better things, but in so doing they widen the world's markets. Widened markets reduce prices. Reduced prices in turn again widen markets. Cultural appe- tites are prerequisite then to the full operation of these processes. Education is the sine qua non of rising cultural concepts among the people. Eric Johnston is now the ambassador of the moving-picture industry to present it to the world as a tremendously potent and significant agency of what? Of education, of the cultural development of the people both in the United States and abroad. One of Eric Johnston's first undertakings, as he gives up the direction of the policies of the U. S. Chaniber and takes over the policy responsibility for the moving-picture industry, is to put that industry fully behind the instrument of education. He has secured a large appropria- tion whereby, with the aid of distinguished professors from two great uni- versities, research will be carried on seeking to discover the best method for the motion-picture industry to prepare professional film for use in the schoolrooms of the nation. Here is business putting up $150,000 for research, seeking to discover how it may move into a contributing position to step up the educational process whereby the technical capacities and the cultural appetites of the people of the nation may be raised. Many businesses have for long years had their own educational trainmg schools maintained 100 percent at their own cost. Why? Because their respective businesses have been more profitably operated by a more tech- nically skilled staff of workers. Perhaps this program will carry on for many years in special cases. But general businesses must rely upon the public-school systems of our several states to give general technical training to the youth and to adults that come to the factory, the store, the office, the shop, the transport, and the communication and other public services. Generally too business must rely upon the public-school system to develop cultural concepts among the rising youth in day school and the adults of the night schools. There must be bred a yearning for better things that are today within the reach of all who will accept training and apply the consequent developed skill. Addresses at the Conferences 53 Business, seeing,' that education must pay better salaries and have more and better housing, greater and finer equipment, if the skills and culture essential to an expanding economy are to be developed, will readily pay that cost. It mainly needs to discover and implement an equitable method of meet- ing that cost related to the pro rata benefit that each employer will derive from such a total expenditure. The gasoline tax that supports our amazing network of roads, imposed upon the beneficiaries who most profitably use those good roads, has proved one of modern civilization's greatest boons. I commend to your study and to the study of your localities and your several states consideration of a sim- ilarly imposed tax for the building of good educational systems, to be paid for pro rata by the primary beneficiaries. I believe that such a program can likewise prove to be one of our modern civilization's most constructive movements. THE MODERN HEALTH PROGRAM JOHN L. BRACKEN, SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, CLAYTON, MISSOURI Address at New York Conference Health programs in America have reached many definite objectives. Some accomplishments are outstanding. The national death rate has been cut from 17.2 in 1900 to approximately 10.6 today. From 1900 to 1940 life expectancy at birth was increased from fifty to sixty-five years. Infant mortality was reduced from 85 in each 1000 live births in 1920 to 40 in 1944. We have made remarkable progress in combating specific diseases. The death rate from typhoid and paratyphoid fevers and infant deaths from enteritis and diarrhea have dropped 92 per- cent. In diphtheria the development of antitoxins and effective educational campaigns concerning their use have resulted in a 97 percent decrease in deaths. Smallpox is so completely under control that only those children whose parents and communities are willing for them to contract the disease are in danger of its ravages. Our programs for health improvements, often opportunistic and without eliFective coordination, have produced results which speak for themselves. Yet It is true that our record is not outstanding among nations. Oppor- tunities for health are not evenly distributed among the states or among localities within the states. Many enemies of health remain to be conquered. Before the war seven foreign nations had lower death rates than the United States. Eleven countries had lower death rates for children, and twenty had lower death rates for persons from thirty-five to sixty-four years of age. Infant mortality rates among the states range from 29 in each 1000 live births to 97. If our national death rate were reduced to the lowest state rate, three and one-half million lives could be saved in each decade. Death rates from cardio-vascular causes, from cancer, and from nervous disorders are increasing. Although the great White Plague has been checked, many 54 American Association of School Administrators communities showed alarming increases in tuberculosis during the war years, and tuberculosis still is the leading cause of death in the fifteen- to twenty-five-year age group. Poliomyelitis is a dread and increasing scourge on unsuspecting communities, and the common cold remains unconquered and unsung. It is estimated that seven million persons are on the sick list on an average day. The annual loss of production because of absence due to illness is in excess of $10,000,000,000, and the loss which is caused by per- sons who are not ill enough to stay at home but not well enough to do a full day's work can only be conjectured. Our advancement in health has come largely from improved medical technics and more efficient sanitary practices. In some areas health progress must await the extensions of knowledge which now are sought in countless clinics, hospitals, and laboratories. In many other areas wider application of known methods and technics would improve health and extend life. In the public schools the primary responsibility is to bring available means of pro- tecting and improving health to bear on the lives of children. This involves providing health services, developing health education, and promoting the integration of community resources. The attitude of individuals toward preservation and development of health definitely is improved. Self-medication still is practiced, however, and proprietary medicines still are profitable to their dispensers. The medicine men of the radio have an amazing following, and salespeople in drug stores and drug departments are relied upon by many persons to prescribe among the nostrums which they sell. Foot pads still flourish. Currently, spinach is in the dietary dog-house, but other spotlighted foods inevitably will assume its former position of primacy in nutritional regard. Vitamin bars profitably feature drug stores, and now hormones begin to attract attention and dollars from a credulous public. Hospital insurance fortunately has swept the country and has given a feeling of security to which additional health pro- tection might appropriately contribute. Popular thinking is evident in the term "health insurance," which does not insure health at all but merely re- places part of a worker's wages during illness. Ill health is dreaded more strongly than glowing, radiant health is desired. Communities represent the summation of individual ideas as to the value of health. Cities, counties, and states typically are more willing to spend money to help people regain health than to help them protect it. It is easier in most communities to secure the passage of bonds for the erection of a hos- pital than for building a health center. Laws providing for hospitals are older and more highly regarded than those enabling health-protective services to be established. A recently adopted state constitution provides for the following special levies in the largest city within its borders: hospitals, 10 cents; library, 4 cents; playgrounds, 2 cents; museum, 2 cents; zoo, 2 cents ; and public health, 2 cents. Appropriations for health often are first to be eliminated in the event of budget stringency. In 1941-42 the schools in 43 states reported an average expenditure for health services of 78 cents a year for each child from five to seventeen years of age. The range of expenditures was from 1.8 cents to $3.07. Nineteen Addresses at the Conferences 55 states reported expenditures less than 50 cents a child. These figures give an inadequate picture of school health expenditures, for five state health de- partments assume full responsibility for school health services. In 41 states, however, responsibility is shared by health and education departments, and appropriations obviously are inadequate. The most frequently quoted reasons for improving school and com- munity health services are drawn from statistics dealing with the draft. Approximately 40 percent of the men from eighteen to thirty-seven years of age were found to he physically unfit for military service. It may be noted that 40 percent of registrants 28 years of age were rejected. The percent is increased to 50 for the thirty-four-year group and to 60 for those thirty-eight years of age. It also is significant that rejections of regis- trants from rural areas were markedly higher than those of registrants from urban districts. It is estimated that about one million of the five million men who were rejected could have been made fit for service if proper medical procedures had been applied earlier. In many instances the defects which resulted in disqualifjcntion were noted and filed away in records of school health exami- nations which were not followed through. In others, the defects had not been observed professionally. In one large sampling 18 percent of the young men questioned said that in their memories they never had seen a physician for examination or treatment. At the same time, 25 percent stated that they never had received treatment by a dentist, and 75 percent of them at that time were in need of dental correction. An army physician inquired re- cently whether health instruction had been eliminated entirely from the schools. His observation of soldiers' ignorance of the human body, its organs and their functions, led him to the conclusion that they were innocent of such instruction. It may be remarked that in 1943-44 only 20 percent of the boys and girls in the last two years of American high schools were re- ceiving any kind of organized health instruction. In time of war health is recognized as a national asset; its preservation and development become a problem which commands universal attention. Fabulous sums are expended to improve health and promote physical fitness. After the first world war our resolution to improve peacetime health weakened. Our wartime fervor for making a better, healthier world de- generated into a desire to enjoy an easier, more comfortable world. In this postwar period we have a golden opportunity to capitalize the health lessons we have learned so recently and so expensively. Health is an intensely personal concern ; it also is a matter of prime community interest. Cities, coimties. and states inevitably prosper or suffer on accovmt of the health of individuals and groups. The desired end is effec- tive health on the part of each individual. To this end government and private agencies contribute. The modern health program is a straightforward attempt to provide appropriate health agencies at national, state, and local levels, and to integrate and coordinate the activities of these agencies. The efficiency of a single agency depends not only upon the value of its own 56 American Association of School Administrators contribution but also upon the support which this contribution offers to the entire health program. It is notable that, while many effective health agencies exist at all levels, national organizations enjoy the greatest measure of mutual understanding and cooperation. A case in point is the working understanding which has been developed between the National Education Association and the Ameri- can Medical Association. In 1911 these organizations formed the Joint Committee on Health Problems in Education. The Committee has dealt constructively with problems of policy and organization. Just now the Committee and the parent organizations are deluged by requests for infor- mation for local application. Details of clinic rooms to be included in new school buildings, efficient arrangement of phA'sical education facilities, and exact assignments for school physicians and nurses are among items of interest. The queries are practical and pointed. Helpful answers are forth- coming, for medical and educational forces are joined on the national level. Cooperation on this level is further exemplified by the commission which prepared Health in Schools, the twentieth yearbook of the American Asso- ciation of School Administrators. The commission was composed of eleven members, of whom four were doctors of medicine. Another member was a doctor of public health. A professor of psychology and a state director of health, physical education, and recreation, together with four school admin- istrators, completed the membership of the commission. Such representation made it possible to produce a balanced volume which is referred to by health personnel and school people alike for basic policies and specific suggestions for technics, organization, and relationships in school health procedures. An important current publication, Health Needs of School-Age Children and Recommendations for Implementation, resulted from a joint conference of national government agencies whose programs affect the health of the school-age child. The subcommittee which prepared the statement included representatives of voluntary agencies as well as government officials. This compact, 8-page statement has been published in School Life and reprints are available. It merits thoughtful attention from all who are interested in the health of school children. An outstanding example of integrated thinking and planning on the national level is provided by the National Conference for Cooperation in Health Education. The Conference is composed of representatives of some forty of the national organizations which are concerned with the protection and development of health. The organization serves as a reconciling agency as well as a means of refining and stimulating health practices. Representa- tives confer in general meetings with respect to common problems. Influential reports, which are cleared by the constituent organizations, are developed by special committees set up under the sponsorship of the Conference. Notable among these reports is the pamphlet entitled Suggested School Health Policies. This charter for school health is available from the Health Education Council. Representatives from more than fifteen national agencies in health and education cooperated in the preparation of this 46-page booklet. The publication, produced in 1945, already has Addresses at the Conferences 57 achieved a wide distribution, and its effect upon school health practices is destined to be far-reaching. Another important report soon will be issued by the Conference. This report will deal with the functions and the training of some of the important officers concerned with school health. In its present form the report deals with the school physician, the school nurse, and the school administrator. The teacher has not been forgotten, and other school health officials probably will be included in the final report. These reports have been developed through conferences which balanced types of health officers and gave effect to geographic areas. The report on the school physician, for example, came from a conference of perhaps sixteen persons, half of whom were practicing school physicians representing a variety of local situations. The remainder of the conference was composed of school nurses, administrators, and teachers. The report is significant, both in its content and in the method by which it was formulated. In fact, a conscious attempt to develop a technic which could be followed through effectively on state and local levels was made. Undoubtedly examples of cooperation on state and local levels which illustrate similar integrating principles can be presented, but these examples are not representative of the total situation. In states and counties depart- ments of health and of education often have not clearly defined and inte- grated their functions. In communities school health people have not always kept members of the medical profession and public health agents informed of school health objectives and the means employed in reaching them. Members of medical societies and health departments have not always taken the initiative in acquainting themselves with the health practices of the schools. The members of each group need to know more about what other groups are doing. If a conference between the state health department and the state high-school athletic association were held in January of each year, the state basketball tournament picture might be subject to change in some of its details or perhaps appear in a new frame ! In speaking of health procedures across the country, generalizations are easy and misleading. Organizations differ and practices vary. In some instances the health department provides all school medical services. In these cases understanding of school health workers can be integrated effectively; the difficulty, if one arises, lies in integrating the health services with the educational activities of the school. The source of the health services is relatively unimportant; it is all-important that competent services be provided and that they be integrated eft'ectively. The modern health program requires that public departments of health and education agree to the principle of coordination of health programs for school children, including the health program of the community and the health aspects of school programs. This agreement is nullified if each agency and profession does not respect the contribution of the others. There should be further agreement with respect to detailed administrative plans for efficient, cooperative direction of the various phases of the program and supervision of the various types of professional workers so that they might 58 American Association of School Administrators be permitted to perform the services in their respective fields for the best interest of all the children. Such cooperation is based upon the supposition that health agencies, both government and private, are available and that communities are pro- vided with adequate medical service. Unfortunately this condition is not universal. Evidence presented to a Senate subcommittee in 1944 indicated that 40 percent of the counties of the United States lack full-time public health services. More than 500 counties had more than 3000 people for each active physician in private practice, and 81 counties v^^ere without practicing physicians. Only 100 of the 2600 pediatricians in the country were available to serve the needs of the twenty million children who lived in small communities, while 1000 pediatricians were ready to meet the needs of the four and one-half million children who lived in the largest cities. More than 40 percent of the counties of the United States are with- out a registered hospital. Under these conditions the problem of providing adequate health services for school children becomes acute. The Educational Policies Commission gives a terse description of adequate health services for school children in Health and Physical Fitness for All American Children and Youth, a brief booklet published in December 1945 in cooperation with the American Association for Health, Physical Educa- tion, and Recreation. In the minimal health program advocated by the Commission for every child in our country, whether in a large city, a srnall town, or on the farm, featured provisions are a complete physical examma- tion at least once in two years, with prompt and persistent follow-up to provide all needed corrective and protective measures. These procedures are the keystone in the arch of health protection and guidance. The health examination, ideally performed in the elementary school in the presence of the parents, should be thorough and unhurried. The "line them up and march them past" type of "medical inspection" has brought the school health examination into deserved disrepute. Eyes, ears, and teeth should receive detailed attention. In the secondary school, testing for tuber- culosis should be included. The examining physician needs a thorough health history of the child, and a full record of the examination is essential. The school nurse should assist in the examination which allows time for discussion of examination findings and for establishing common under- standings which will promote necessary follow-up. If the physician's time is limited sharply, routine examinations may be spaced at greater intervals so that attention may be given to children whose health needs cause them to be referred by the teacher or nurse. Fortunately insistence on annual health examinations is decreasing. Winning the race to complete a physical examination of each child each year simply did not pay off. More time now is given to cases which actually require attention, and follow-up is coming to be considered imperative. The health examination fails of its purpose if it does not result in diagnosis and in the corrective procedures which are indicated. It generally is agreed that protective, examinational, and educational procedures are within the province of the school and that corrective measures are to be Addresses at the Conferences 59 applied by private physicians or by specialized public agencies. The responsi- bility for corrective treatment belongs to the family. The school's responsi- bility is to lead the family to secure diagnosis and treatment of the conditions revealed by the health examination. When family means do not permit this course, the responsibility devolves upon community agencies, both public and private. Often the school must taive the initiative in securing needed action by these agencies and cooperation among them. If appro- priate agencies do not exist, the school must take the initiative in their development. With physicians in short supply, with nurses in overdemand, and with community health and welfare agencies understaffed and fre- quently lacking in funds, adequate health services may not be provided for children in schools unless administrators make their case for them. The health examination and its follow-up are highly effective instru- ments of health education, but they require the supplementation of care- fully planned courses in health education and in safety. Health belongs in each year of the elementary school, and health courses should be re- quired on the junior and senior high-school levels. Practical aspects of both personal and community health should be stressed. Because health is an essential common learning, it should be dignified in its own right; health is debased when it becomes a casual elective or a rainy-day substitute for outdoor physical education. At the same time, related subjects offer many opportunities for health instruction. Teachers with specific training for teaching health are needed. If a health coordinator is not available, the organization of a school health council helps to correlate instruction and to make use of school situations and practices as educational materials. It is obvious that a poorly nourished child is likely to be a poorlv edu- cated child who may develop into a handicapped adult. The need for sound nutrition is so great that the Educational Policies Commission recommends that special instruction in diet be accompanied by at least one appetizing, wholesome meal each day, even if it is necessary for this meal to be pro- vided by the school. The special dietary instruction should reach beyond the walls of the schools; parents well may be included in this field as well as in first aid, home nursing, and the health guidance of school and pre- school children. Physical education and recreation are closely akin to health education and provide strong support for the modern health program. In physical education the comprehensive school program balances each child's activity- budget as it promotes skill, vigor, and endurance. The school physician works closely with physical education teachers so that activities may be suited to children's individual requirements. Children are classified for competitive activities. Adequate play fields and gymnasiums are needed, daily schedules in physical education are advisable, and groups should be small enough to permit individual attention. Often physical education finds its most compelling motivation in competi- tive athletics. Situations are common in which the physically favored few receive expert training and coaching at the expense of the majority of the student body. A helpful corrective is the development of inclusive intra- 60 American Association of School Administrators mural programs, but in all candor it must be admitted that such programs do not always provide stimulus equal to that which comes from varsity competition. Just now the backwash of war has spotlighted interschool athletics. The drum majorette has come into her own. Schedules are ex- tended, long trips are made by teams which sometimes are accompanied by practically the entire student body, and championship teams are over- publicized. In some instances the public assumes considerable control over schoolboy sports. S^ong administrative leadership is essential in order that varsity athletics mav add to physical education programs instead of becom- ing disruptive of their results. It should be borne in mind that the educa- tional objectives of interschool competition are largely identical with those of general physical education activities. These objectives are consistent with the objectives of the health program. Physical education develops recreational interests, but many school sports cannot be continued in adult life. Modern emphasis is on recreational activities which can be carried on at home, in the backyard, in the basement shop or playroom, and in the field. The out-of-doors is receiving more attention. Camping, fishing, gardening, and work experience provide valu- able activities for children, particularly for those in the cities. Along with back-to-nature adventures, the recreational aspects of school subjects and extracurriculum activities are cultivated to promote interests which will continue in adult life. Saturdays and vacation months are filled with diversified recreational programs. Schools are designed to serve as recrea- tion centers, and flexible schedules, both as to hours in the day and in months of the year, make trained recreational and physical education directors available when they are needed. The modern health program rates recrea- tional activities higher than spectator sports and observer types of recreation. The health examination and its follow-up, health education and nutrition, physical education and recreation are specialized procedures of the modern health program. The program requires adequate finances, trained personnel competent supervision, and coordination of all agencies which deal with personal and communitv health. The program presupposes adequate housing, health protection, and the development of school activities which promote both the physical and the mental health of children. Today hundreds of school districts possess funds derived from the sale of bonds issued to finance the construction of new buildings. Superintendents scan rising building prices and keep a weather f^/"^ Washington lest the first signs of an impending school-building subsidy be missed. The new buildings which will result from this nationwide program require careful planning from the health- viewpoint. Facilities which add to the effective- ness of all health services should be refined in ^his new construction and the new buildings should contribute substantially to healthful school living The location, design, construction, appearance, cleanliness^^ and upkeep ot school buildings inevitably are influential health factors. Despite extensive building programs, most American children do not attend school in new buildings. In some instances a building's antiquity becomes a virtue and dLmfort long endured no longer is noticed. Many of our older buildings Addresses at the Conferences 61 require extensive improvement and modernization to brin^ them up to modern standards. Regularly scheduled surveys of school buildings and determined programs of replacement and improvement are necessary if all our school children are to be housed healthfully. Community and school health authorities are chajged with the responsi- bility of protecting children against safety hazards and the dangers of in- fectious and contagious disease. Close cooperation in notification of disease, in exclusion, and in quarantine is demanded. Protection of the children and effective administration require that health examinations and health guid- ance be provided for all school employees. All of the health measures which have been suggested here are somewhat beside the point unless the school recognizes and discharges its responsibility for the mental health and the personality development of its children. More than half the hospital beds of America are occupied by persons who are unable to face the realities of life. It is reported that 200,000 of the first million men rejected for military service were disqualified because of mental and nervous conditions. Lack of adjustment to requirements of normal living are evident on every hand. The modern health program insists that all school conditions and activities be evaluated with respect to their effects on the mental as well as the physical health of children. The atmosphere of the school, methods of con- trol, daily programs, assignments, and relationships with the home have a profound effect on mental health and personality development. The modern school health program assumes that children will be treated as individuals, that their personalities will be respected, and that they will be given every possible opportunity and assistance in developing into competent, successful individuals who will contribute to the further development of their com- munities. American children have a right to look forward to such successful living; that is the promise of America. Their chance to achieve this objective, which is a broad statement of the aims of all our educational processes, will be greatly enhanced if all school conditions are attuned to the development of healthy bodies and minds and if essential health services are provided. The schools deal continuously and intimately with children from early childhood to the very threshold of adulthood. They occupy a key position with respect to the development of health for children and for their com- munities. The modern health program is a ringing challenge to every school ad- ministrator. I 1^ 1^ ■^ s; -^ ij ~ *= R 5 -^ ^ c R O -t "-i R ^ >3 .*- « K ^3 -^ ^ Co »- & 'Si ■>-. Addresses at the Conferences 63 EDUCATION FOR NATIONAL WELL-BEING OLIVER J. KELLER, EDITOR, PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA Address at Atlanta Conference . A short time aj^o when GI's were staging mass demonstrations in all parts of the world and the wave of strikes had already started at home, a religious publication commented that both were manifestations of Amer- ica's insolent complacency. No other nation would have accepted visible evidence of the deterioration of army morale and production paralysis without the gravest concern. In a world struggling back toward peace, and power politics still very much to be reckoned with, every effort would have been made to conceal or sup- press what other powers might well interpret as signs of weakness. We were not greatly disturbed because we did not interpret them as real weakness. We were so sure of our strength that we paid little attention to the warnings of admirals and generals, of economists or stabilizers. Hadn't we just proved that we had "done it before and could do it again"? We felt we could afford a let-down and still play a dominant role in world affairs. Perhaps we could. But we were complacent about it — and complacency is a dangerous state of mind. We were so complacent about it that the editors of the Commoniveal termed it "insolent." It must have seemed almost that to some of the nations that barely survived this holocaust and were struggling with stout hearts but little else to feed their people, re- establish their economies, and cling to their independence. I have been asked to speak today on education for national well-being, I am glad that it is a broad enough subject to let me wander almost where I please. I would not presume to come down here and talk to an eminent group of educators on the specialized problems of their field — or how to obtain the end results that national well-being entails. But I am so convinced that complacency is a threat to national well-being that I am delighted to have this chance to discuss it with you. Complacency is an intangible — a state of mind — and therefore not easy to combat or remedy. It is a state of mind that we are slow to recognize in ourselves. It isn't to be confused with pride or self-assurance, or innate con- fidence— though they may contribute to it. It involves vanity rather than pride, a depreciation of others, based on prejudices or ignorance, and sloppy mental processes that jump to quick conclusions rather than think things through. There are various ways to combat complacency. One is through fear. One might imagine that that would work in connection with the atomic bomb at least. But it doesn't work well. We may frighten people tempo- rarily but if truly complacent they won't let their minds rest on it very long. It isn't pleasant or comfortable to think about, so they think about some- thing else. 64 American Association of School Administrators There is only one real answer to it and that lies in education. And when I say education I use the word in its broadest sense. I am not speaking only of schooling, although that is the foundation and cornerstone, I would in- clude all forms of adult education as well and recognize that newspaper editors and radio commentators and authors and public men have a share of the responsibility too. We must train our people for citizenship, not merely for American citizenship but for world citizenship. We have played around with the first objective a good many years but we haven't done half as good a job as we have in teaching technical skills. And we haven't even made a start in teaching world citizenship — in many sections we have been afraid, because of political and other pressures, even to try. When I say world citizenship I do not wish to imply any superstate in- ternationalism. I want no apologies for America nor any deprecatory atti- tude toward a loj'al devotion to country. But we must learn to lift our horizons. I think that if we are better world citizens we will be better American citizens too. We should have American history in our schools — plenty of it and well taught. But let it be honest history, with our mistakes as well as our victories and accomplishments. We have so much to be proud of that it is silly and stupid to assume that we must conceal some of the less pleasing chapters of history. If we build up a youngster's faith on a fairy story we invite a reaction when he learns that there is no Santa Claus. We didn't treat the Indians well; we broke treaties every time we wanted more of their land. Why not admit it? We waged a war of aggression against Mexico. Perhaps we won't judge other nations as harshly if we have taken a straight look in the mirror. If you read the average American history textbook about the War of 1812 and then go up to Canada and read their account of the same events, you may find it difficult to persuade yourself that it was the same war. We concentrate on our little navy's achievements at sea — the "Constitu- tion's" victory over the "Guerriere." If we find a reference to the Battle of Bladensburg, it is just a footnote in small type. Several years ago I spent an evening with Dr. Hambro, Norwegian statesman who at one time headed the League of Nations Assembly. He recalled that after World War I there was an effort to rewrite school his- tories in Europe on a more objective basis. It was proposed that the scholars of France and Germany get together and agree on basic presenta- tions of the wars between their countries so that the Germans might know that Bismarck framed the Ems telegram to force the Franco-Prussian War, for example, and that the French might have a truer picture of Napoleon. But they couldn't agree. Finally the suggestion was made that histories in both countries have two pages facing each other — one giving the French version and the other the German. Dr. Hambro suggested that there should really be three pages on that basis — one for the French, one for the German, and one for the truth. But in Scandinavia, where national jealousies were no longer so keen. Addresses at the Conferences 65 a successful effort was made in this direction. Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish books all glorified their own national heroes and blamed the others for all aggression. The historians of the three nations got together and agreed on basic presentations so that the Swedish version differed little if at all from that of the Norwegian or Danish. And as Dr. Hambro said, this did not make poorer Swedes of the Swedes or poorer Norwegians of the Norwegians. It made them better Swedes and better Norwegians and at the same time gave them a better perspective on world events. Teach American history by all means and teach it better than ever be- fore. But don't stop there. If we do, it may tend to shrink rather than lift horizons. Too long have we been taught that this country is aloof from the rest of the world, that its oceans are impassible barriers, that Europe and Asia can go on their mad and merry ways without much concern to us. We have studied French or Spanish as mental exercise, with perhaps the suggestion that we may be tourists some day or that a handful of students may engage in foreign trade. But it has been superficial study and we are a little condescending toward "foreigners" who are so backward or be- nighted that they don't speak English. Some schools have long given capsule doses of European history with emphasis on Charlemagne, IMartin Luther at the Diet of Worms, and England's defeat of the Armada. I am not quarrelling with that. But let's give some attention to English history, particularly so far as its develop- ment of self-government charted the course for us. And let us bring it down to the present so that the school graduate knows the difference be- tween a colony and a self-governing dominion. I don't care whether they know the date of the Battle of Hastings or Magna Charta or the year of King Charles' execution. But they ought to know what was at stake in the battle between King Charles and the Parliament, and it might remind them that among other things the principle of retaining the purse strings in the hands of the people's elected representatives is important. Let's take a look at Russian history too. I realize there are difficulties. Even an objective review of the Bolshevik revolution of 1917-18 may bring queries from parents as to whether their children are being taught communism. We must keep it objective, but we can't dodge it just because there are difficulties. I am not concerned whether they are taught the date of the Battle of Poltava. But they should know that serfs in Russia were only freed when we were fighting our War between the States. And when Americans read in their newspapers that the southern half of Sakhalin Island was given to Russia as a condition of entering the war against Japan, they would not be so harsh in their judgments if they were aware that this territory had been Russian until lost in Japan's war of aggres- sion in 1905. If we had lost territory to an Axis power within our own life- times and had an opportunity to reclaim it, do you think we would refrain from doing so? I don't. I wish there could be a study of previous efforts to control aggressor states and outlaw war. It should include some of the major peace conferences such as the Congress of Vienna and an analysis of the mistakes and pitfalls 66 American Association of School Administrators that marked them. It should give a lot of attention to the League of Na- tions— its strength and its weaknesses. It has not been a record of achieve- ment but it would focus thought upon the desirability of the objective and the difficulties which must be surmounted. A better understanding of that history would make us more tolerant of the hesitant and halting start of the UNO, and also make us more alert to spot fatal compromises or weak- nesses as they arise. We must strive to awaken a keener interest in international affairs and we can best do that by making sure that our students are better informed about them. The boys who are most interested in baseball are those who play it ; they may think golf is a silly game until they have tried it a few times. Those who know a game are more interested spectators because they know that picking up a hot grounder at third base isn't as easy as it looks. How often have we encountered a boy who read a historical novel — possibly about the War between the States — and liked it so much that it aroused his curiosity to know more about a certain campaign or some outstanding personality such as General Lee or President Lincoln? He doesn't have to be ordered to do so many pages of reading. And the more he reads about it, the more interested he is in new books that come out on the subject. As his knowledge increases, his interest mounts too. I am not suggesting elementary training for youthful diplomats or states- men. But I would draw a parallel with music appreciation courses that are offered in many schools. The purpose is not to train musicians but to give just enough training to awaken an interest in and appreciation of good music. We do not develop violinists or pianists by such courses but we do develop discriminating listeners. We need discriminating observers of the national and international scene. Our recent war experience gave us some startling statistics on the physical condition of young America — the number of men rejected for military service. But just as startling was the universal conclusion that of all major armies ours had the least comprehension and was least interested in the causes of the war, the ideologies in conflict, and the objectives for which we fought. Our GI's had been exposed to a lot more education than the British Tommy. But the latter was much more likely to read and discuss what went on at Casablanca or Yalta than the American soldier. The American was too ready to let some one else back home bother about that while he checked on the standing of the big league teams in his copy of Stars and Stripes. And when he got back home, he was equally indifferent. I happened to make a trip, to England in 1943, just as large American forces were beginning to assemble for the invasion. We had a few edu- cators over there studying the British orientation classes to make recom- mendations to our army as to methods and scope of the program. They were agreed that we were far behind and in greater need of such work than the British. Among the English there was frank surprise that our men, so well prepared and equipped in every other way, were so uninformed and unin- terested in the causes of the war and our objectives. Addresses at the Conferences 67 Recently a group of educators participated in a roundtable discussion on the war and education and a summary of their conclusions was published by the Public Affairs Committee under the title, JVe Can Have Better Schools. On the first page you will find the following: "The Army found it necessary to set up orientation courses to help the soldiers understand why they were fighting. Millions of our finest men, >oung and old, were at a loss when asked to explain the meaning of fascism or the underlying causes of the war. Worst of all, many seemed to be little interested even though they were risking their lives to eliminate these evils." Not interested — complacent — insolently complacent ! This same report added : "On the other hand, the speed with which the graduates of America's schools were able to learn technical skills was at- tributed to the underlying principles of American education." I would like to question the use of the word "principles." There is no question of our leadership in technical education but isn't there something wrong with the principles of American education in the light of the first quotation ; namely, our lack of understanding and often lack of interest in the underlying causes of the war? Nor did the army succeed in filling this gap which our schools had left. The army did a magnificent job training men to be soldiers, taking ad- vantage of the sound technical training so many inductees had already received. But its orientation courses were woefully inadequate. In a recent article in the Atlantic Monthly a GI wrote as follows: "Directives out of Washington urged the army and navy to inculcate democratic ideas in our troops but the orders were either disregarded by regular officers who con- sidered one hour a week orientation courses to be pure fiddle-faddle or were turned over to inept officers whose sterile lectures were guaranteed not to make a GI reason why." When we talk about inculcating democratic ideas, we can't do it with a quick once-a-week polishing, even if the polishing were in good hands. How many of us have a reasonably good definition of democracy? Ernest Bevin, British Foreign Secretary, recently said that the world was in need of a new definition of the word. It certainly is, as it means entirely dif- ferent things to different nations and to the people within those nations. A good many Americans would probably conclude from a headline on Russia's recent election in which 99,000,000 took part that the demo- cratic processes were taking hold there. They must be more discriminating. They must be enough interested to read beyond the headline and note that there was only one candidate for each office, that the bulk of the people had no voice in choosing the candidates, that the ballot was handed to them, and unless they wanted to vote against the lone candidate whose name ap- peared they didn't mark it at all. And if they wanted to vote against the candidate, there was no provision even for a write-in ballot ; they could cross ofif the name but had to make themselves conspicuous by retiring to a booth to do so, whereas most of the people just walked in, were handed their ballots, and meekly dropped them in the box as they had been handed to them. 68 American Association of School Administrators I have been emphasizing largely the challenge to lift our horizons to be- come better world citizens. Let us return briefly to the education that we need to become better American citizens. It is shocking that cheap demagogs can get away with the clap-trap they serve up in many campaigns. We go to a meeting or listen to a speaker on the radio who promises to spend more for everything we might want and promises to cut our taxes at the same time. We are to have much higher social security, more generous unemployment compensation, great public- works programs to provide employment, subsidies to raise producers' profits and reduce consumers' costs — and it won't cost us a dime. On the con- trary, this magic man will do all this with less tax revenue. He will cut income taxes ; remove the levies on furs, cigarettes, and liquor ; and reduce the load on business. And nobody heckles him ; only a few classify him for what he is in their own minds ; his opponent isn't likely to challenge him because he probably follows the same line. Some of the candidates are pretty shrewd people themselves; they have a contempt for the public's stupidity but follow the formula that has put others in office. Some years ago we had the spectacle of a man running for the office of mayor of Chicago on a platform of twisting the British lion's tail. What had King George III or the present King to do with the affairs of Chicago? But great crowds came to listen and to cheer. He was elected. "Every man a king" was the slogan that made Huey Long dictator of Louisiana. I contend that it is a damaging reflection upon our educational processes, in school and in adult life, when great masses are swayed by that type of individual and program. It is a challenge to all of us to do a better job if our heritage is to be preserved. You will probably say that I am asking too much of education — in school or out of it. But what other answer can there be to the problem? Democracy can function only with an informed people ; otherwise we place an intricate and skilfully fashioned weapon in the hands of a person who hasn't been trained to use it and may kill his best friend or himself with it. Labor unions are part of America's economic democracy today and they are here to stay. I believe in them. I think it is impossible to deny that they have improved the wages and working conditions of millions of work- ers. They have tended to level off the economic peaks and valleys in the country and that is a good thing. But many of them are run by a few men on ruthless, undemocratic lines. The rank and file must be taught the essentials of democracy before they join them so that they can battle for the right to elect their own officers, to have an accounting of their union finances, to make leadership more responsive to the members and more re- sponsible in their dealings with employers. The lower the skill of a group of workers, the more likely are we to find highhanded and autocratic methods at the top. The common laborers' union had not held a national convention until recently for a period of thirty years; the governing board perpetuated itself in power. And if an individual here or there challenged the system, he was likely to find himself expelled, without a card and unable to work. Addresses at the Conferences 69 It seemed to me an abject surrender of principle when during the war this government, fighting to preserve and promote democracy, not only condoned hut encouraged union practices, in the building trades espe- cially, whereby in order to work on government projects men had to pay a high initial fee and continuing monthly payments for a working permit. They were not admitted to the union; they had no voice in its affairs; when one job was finished and they moved to another, they had to pay these fees all over again. It was essentially a matter of tribute to those who had the power to give or deny employment. It enriched the unions who gave nothing in return save temporary toleration of their presence on the job because the unions lacked enough members themselves to meet the govern- ment's wartime requirements. Even in so well-organized and tested a union as the United Mine Work- ers, there is but limited democracy. In order to assure a majority on the international executive board friendly to the leadership, more than half of the miners' districts have been classified as immature and therefore not capable of choosing their own officers. In such districts the officers are appointed by the international board, meaning the international president, and when an Illinois local leader attempted to challenge the practice at a national convention, he was expelled from the convention. If the rank and file had a little better understanding of what democratic principles are or should be, they would not tolerate this sort of thing. And since the government has enacted so much legislation favoring unions and securing their positions and influence, there is no reason why it should not amend this legislation to deny these statutory rights and safeguards to unions that do not extend self-government to their members. We should teach more and better economics. I realize that in suggesting so many fields for greater emphasis in our school program someone may say that there would be little time left for reading, writing, and arithmetic. Some of these subjects should be stressed in college or university years rather than in secondary schools. But only after we have diagnosed some outstand- ing omissions or failures can we consider how or where to apply remedies. Millions of our citizens have become stockholders of corporations. In a bull-market such as has been in progress the past year, the little investor is told by somebody who heard from somebody else that a successful speculator was buying Atomic Chemicals. So he buys a few shares of Atomic Chemicals too with about as much discrimination as the fellow who goes to the races once a year and blindly puts his finger on the race chart and comes up with a two-dollar bet on Stormy Weather. Under SEC and other regulations, corporations furnish a great deal of information to each and every stockholder. How many can make head or tail out of a financial statement, or are enough interested to try? How can we stir that interest, fight that complacency? A few years ago a retired woman school teacher caused quite a flurry in our town when she went to the annual meeting of the stockholders of a large corporation. The meetings were customarily perfunctory; nobody dreamed that when the chairman invited remarks from stockholders any- 70 American Association of School Administrators body would take advantage of the invitation. But this teacher got up and said that she noticed the president of the company received a quarter of a million dollars as a bonus each year in addition to his regular and not trifling salary. She said she had no objection to bonus payments when out- standing management had achieved important results for the stockholders but she was disturbed by the fact that the company has lost money for three or four years past and was omitting all dividends. Why the big bonus under those circumstances? Her question struck home. Within a few months the corporation had bought out its contract with the president and fired him. The directors were reminded unpleasantly that some stockholders at least were not overlooking the incongruous situation into which they had gotten themselves and they had to do something about it. We need more stockholders like that. We would have better operated companies if we had them. And we need a better understanding of basic economics on the part of employees too so that union members will question alertly a leader who tried to convince them that wages have little relation to prices. It is so easy to stir up hate by talking of the big, rich corporation, which may not be rich at all. And when a leader tries to peg wages at the peak the most successful unit in an industry can pay, would it not be well if someone within labor's own ranks asked what that policy might mean eventually in closing companies not quite so successful and thereby reducing employment ? As America's affairs, both political and economic, have become more and more complex, the individual citizen has shown less and less interest in them. In the smaller, simpler communities, everyone but the village idiot took some part in town meetings and had some notion of what was going on in the community and knew personally or knew much about those elected to office. Circuit-riding lawyers seventy-five years ago went from community to community and in the evenings, with local audiences added, discussed politics and national issues. The crossroads store was a forum of sorts. Men whose fathers had fought for self-government prized it and took an active part in it. There is something quite challenging in the picture of the tremendous interest that attended the Lincoln-Douglas debates ; that was democracy in action. As things have become more complex and more remote, we have come too much to accept the easy theory, "Let George do it." A job on an assembly line doesn't afford opportunity or inclination for much reflection and when it is over, there are so many diverting ways to spend a pleasant hour without exercising the mind. We have the movies and the radio, and if an^'body starts a serious discussion of atomic power at an evening's party, he is quickly put down as a very heavy person to be invited infrequently. We still take a keen interest, of course, in the most glamorous expression of self-government — the choice of a President. But we can't be bothered to find out much about candidates for Congress or the bench or the state legislature. We have the haziest notions of the issues that are involved and are inclined to vote a ticket even though some men on that ticket have little or nothing in common with the head of it. Addresses at the Conferences 71 We just don't care enough. We are insolently complacent — confident that our resources are so great, our power such that we can muddle through anything, and tell the rest of the world where to head in whenever it suits us. How can we get people to care more — to take more interest? I know of no way except a better informed public. It does no good to scold people or try to frighten them. We must restore the sense of participation and rid ourselves of the notion that we are mere onlookers. We have the universal franchise. We are not going to change that. But I am enough of a conservative to say that I wish it could be qualified with at least the barest of literacy tests. With the opportunities for education that exist in this country today, it is the least obligation of citizenship to learn to read and write — to equip oneself to learn a little of what is going on in our own country and the world. But one can be literate without being intelligent or in the least discrimi- nating. As civilization has become more complex, instead of abandoning our interest to entrust it to elected representatives whom we hardly know, we should attempt to prepare ourselves to play our part in democratic decisions. We are approaching too closely to the totalitarian psychology. When our troops first entered Germany they found that the standard excuse of the population was, "We are only the little people. The Fuehrer decides every- thing." We may be the little people too, but we have always prided our- selves on that fact that ultimately we decide everything. What specifically can the schools do about it? I do not pretend to be in a position to give much advice on that score; I have merely tried to sketch the need and urge that it be studied and measures taken to meet it. But there is one comparison in the field of education that I believe is worth making. We are proud in Pittsburgh of the Carnegie Institute of Technology. We think it ranks as one of the best technical schools in the country. It turns out first-class engineers. But recently the president and trustees have come to the conclusion that the engineering courses are too specialized ; they develop competent engineers but untrained citizens — technicians but not educated men. So they have brought to Carnegie as provost Dr. Elliott Smith, former master of Saybrook College at Yale University, whose task it will be to add to the curriculum minimum requirements in the liberal arts to broaden the engineer to a richer understanding of life and a better appreciation of a citizen's responsibilities. An engineering degree from Car- negie a few years hence will mean the successful completion of such studies as well as the higher mathematics, mechanical drawing, and other courses that are prerequisite to his professional career. I hope that our schools will similarly broaden their curriculums. Along with the credits required to gain admittance to college or to complete the home economics course or commercial or vocational training, it seems to me that public education is failing in its duty to the public if it does not attempt to do a more adequate job of training for citizenship. "What does this mean to the schools? It means a reorientation of emphasis 72 American Association of School Administrators on the whole curriculum. It means that history should be taught not for dates but for its significance ; and that comparative histories must be studied too. It means some attempt to appraise and appreciate other cultures. It means more realistic economics and far better curent events. The latter should not be a chore attempted once a week by a teacher whose main interest is in some other subject. And may I say — aloud — that I think teachers' tenure has been carried to such extremes that it militates against the most efficient teaching. That does not mean that I do not favor tenure as a protection against political manipulation. But tenure should not mean that because a teacher at twenty-two or twenty-three has passed ex- aminations for a certificate he or she is thereby forever after a qualified or competent teacher. Many may be content to let dry rot get the better of them ; they are products of the horse and buggy era trying to teach boys and girls of the atomic age. Give them an examination every three years in current problems. Make available refresher courses. Bring leaders in science, politics, information services to them in lecture and discussion groups. Keep teaching the teachers as well as the children. Assure the contacts that anyone needs — ^whether educator, businessman, journalist, or what not — to keep pace with what is going on around us in other fields. If a teacher has enough initiative to get a summer vacation job in a radio station, or the personnel department of an industry, or in a labor union headquarters, or as a mail opener in a legislator's office, give him or her some credit, some compensation, for it. The Ph.D. degree is the union card for higher teaching today. I have respect for Ph.D.'s but I do not stand in awe of them. And I think there is a tendency to promote aloofness — the ivory tower attitude — when our school people need more rather than less contact with the world of business and public affairs. I realize that some of these things will sound visionary or impractical. What does a newspaperman know about the problems created by school- boards, the inertia and resistance to change, the danger of sticking one's neck out? Well, I am not unaware of those factors and they are a drag on the school system and its service to the nation. There are newspapers that have been reluctant to adjust themselves to new demands, and a lot of them are out of business and wondering why a competitor or a radio station has won from them the public support and favor they once enjoyed. Let me repeat, I do not mean to infer that this is solely a school problem. It should be of concern to all individuals or agencies that have anything whatever to do with adult education as well. But since my audience is made up of school people, I have tried to sketch some of the challenges which I believe confront them. In conclusion, I was struck and touched by a news story a few days ago regarding a young Marine oflficer. He was killed at Iwo Jma and just before his death attempted to put into his will his thoughts — far from home — of what this country lacked and needed. He had had the benefit of an education in a fine preparatory school and Yale University. He had been left $3000 and in his will he divided it as follows: Addresses at the Conferences 73 To the cause of labor-management peace 40 percent — 10 percent each to the CIO and A. F. of L. ; 20 percent to the National Association of Manu- facturers; to the Congress for research toward a far-sighted foreign policy and better government for all the people in the country instead of government by organized pressure groups, 20 percent; to his school, 20 percent; to his university, 10 percent; to a favorite charity and his church 5 percent each. These are the needs I have been trying to talk about: labor-management relations based on better understanding and genuine economic democracy ; a far-sighted foreign policy and a broader perspective on government at home in the interest of the nation, not sections or groups or pressure blocs. And as the agencies which can contribute most to these objectives through preparation — 20 percent to his school, 10 percent to his college. I think even these ratios were well selected. Much of what I plead for falls properly within the scope of college or university rather than secondary school. But the role of the secondary school is given twice the importance of the college and I would agree with Lt. Ben Toland, USMC. TOWARD BETTER SCHOOLS N. L. ENGELHARDT, ASSOCIATE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, NEW YORK, N. Y. Address at Kansas City and New Yo?-k Conferences Somewhere in the northeastern section of the United States an area of approximately twenty square miles will soon be dedicated to mankind's noblest and most exalted plan. In a beautiful countryside of hill and dale, woodland and meadow, an international reservation is being established. It bids fair to become the most influential and powerful spot in the world. It will belong to the peoples of the world. Its buildings, now about to be designed, will house the parliaments of man. Its ample airport will provide direct connection with those of all nations. Its radio and communication lines will make constant contact with all sections of the world. Here many hundreds of men and women representative of all creeds, races, and ideol- ogies will study, confer, and pass judgments on momentous world problems. Never before in history has a task of this character and importance been undertaken on such a scale and with such a large proportion of all nations cooperating. In the early days of our nation's history a reservation dedicated to the administration of our country was set apart and the District of Columbia resulted. Today the United Nations Organization has chosen the zone in which a world district of Columbia will be built. The center is to be housed temporarily in Hunter College. The UNO has made rapid strides since the days of its formation in San Francisco. The eyes of the world will be constantly focused on this new international center. Here the problems of mankind will be discussed ; here world libraries will be built; and from here messages of guidance, hope, and mercy will traverse the air lanes. It would appear that here 74 American Association of School Administrators educational principles will be elucidated and educational policies will emerge. Over the centuries the spearhead of educational progress has been moving constantly westward and now it points directly to this limited American acreage out of which the peoples of the world expect so much good to come. This UNO plan marks the beginning of a new educational era. In New York City recently Dr. Stoyan Gavrilovic, chairman of the UNO site committee, rnet with a group of administrators and children of the public schools. He has commented as follows: One of the finest experiences I have had during my stay in this country as chairman of the United Nations committee on the site was my reception by the Board of Education of the City of New York on Friday, January 25. At that meeting I was presented with a scroll on behalf of nearly one million children in the school system of the City of New York containing a pledge that these children will use their efforts to the fulfilment of the purposes of the United Nations Organization. The presentation was made beautifully by a young schoolgirl. I was deeply impressed, particularly as we are building the United Nations Organization not for one, but for many generations. The authors of the Charter of the United Nations did not only think of our generation, which has suifered so much from the ravages of war, but of the future generations which we should save from new recurrences of such human tragedy. The cooperation of the coming generations is, therefore, vital in this task, and I was so happy to see that all these numerous children in the New York area are fully alive to the possibilities which youth has to build friendship and unity throughout the world. I feel sure that the same feeling exists in the hearts of children everywhere. There is no doubt in my mind that millions of children living in areas which have been devastated by war will gladly pledge themselves to world friendship and work for the same ideals. In the era now beginning, the first and constant emphasis of education should be upon the success of this unified world peace program. As H. G. Wells has indicated, civilization is a race between education and catas- trophe. During the dark months of World War II, it appeared frequently that the race was being lost. In the hopeful days that lie ahead, education in the fundamentals of human relationships and behavior must be so advanced and so supported that never again will peoples shiver and wither under the hideous fears that come out of war's holocaust. Let's bear in mind that in the newly conceived world framework, educa- tion will be represented in its own rights by the United Nations Educa- tional, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or, alphabetically, UNESCO. Thus is assured a world educational mecca toward which all eyes must be turned and to which all of us must make frequent pilgrimage to become steeped in true world understandings and to learn to teach with apprecia- tion of world problems. That UNO's center is to be located in our country is no matter of chance. It is a tribute to our sense of fairness, freedom, and justice. Assur- ance of success and support determined location, as well as the assumption of willingness to accept the attendant responsibilities. Only through better schools can America meet this obligation. The impressions we have made on the mind of the world must become realities. The hopes we have be- Addresses at the Conferences 75 stirred the world over must bear better fruit in our own land. Every Amer- ican must be given his right to learn under well-trained teachers, with modern media of learning and in school buildings equipped to render the most complete service. UNO's success in America is closely associated with the educational power created in our people to support the peace programs with understanding, good judgment, and the faculty of making fair decisions. The frightful plight of children the world over cannot be exaggerated. In country after country, allied as well as enemy, every shred of hope has vanished for millions. They have no homes. Many have no parents. Food, clothing, and medicine are lacking. Schoolhouses are in ruins. Many have not even a pencil or a sheet of paper. Teachers, like the children, are physi- cally and emotionally undermined. As a result, all commonly accepted codes of human conduct are supplanted by the hard, cold code of the struggle for mere existence. American schools, untouched by bombs and shells, cannot ignore such world conditions. Better schools in America alone will give no promise of world peace. The children of other nations must be assured the opportunities for decent living and learning, so that hope may be restored and normal human activities may be assured under governments that respect the sanctity of the individual. Better schools in America can build a stronger, a more resourceful nation but to what end if hordes of children and youth in war-torn countries are again misdirected in ideologies and purposes. Many years will pass before every child in Poland and Greece, France and Yugoslavia, in Italy and Germany will have a teacher, emotionally free and equipped to teach, wn'thout fear and restrictions, on the basis of a curriculum in the formation of which, truth, fairness, freedom, and individual needs have played important roles. Cer- tainly the handicaps toward achieving that end in American schools are trivial compared to those in many other countries. Our schools will be improved to the extent that such handicaps are removed in our own land, but we as a teaching profession must aid constructively the teachers of other lands. Perhaps it is not beyond the realm of possibility for each community in America to select a similar community of like size and nature, in the Philippines, in China, in Greece or Poland, even in Japan or else- where, with the purpose of exchanging ideas, giving assistance, and creating understanding. The mutual gains would result in better schools, here as well as there. The task is colossal. But it appears absolutely necessary for world rehabilitation. America is no longer a smug provincial nation but a world power with all its attendant responsibilities. It is a striking phenomenon of our civilization that even as war is de- stroying the priceless legacies of centuries of scholarly and artistic en- deavors, man rises to new heights of achievement. This axiom needs no further proof as far as World War II is concerned. The impact upon education of startling achievements is always diflficult to predict. Analysis of our own living bv each one of us would result in acknowledgment that somehow or other the bases for our thinking, our planning, our teaching are changing rapidly. Changes in communication, in transportation, in so- 76 American Association of School Administrators cial values, in personal and civic responsibility, and in professional obliga- tions are closely interlocked. A jet-propelled plane, traveling in 4 hours, 13 minutes, from coast to coast raises havoc with our sense of time. A radar impulse, moving the 235,000 miles to the moon and back in 2.4 seconds, stimulates new thinking about the universe. In this new era human progress seems unlimited. Atomic energy is promised for innumerable ap- plications to the peaceful pursuits of man. Research in medical science has uncovered cures and corrections where none existed before. Electric current has become more than human in its applications. New materials are being made out of the production discards of yesterday and man moves feverishly ahead in other areas to improve on the food, housing, and clothing of the world. International trade will take on new dimensions and the luxuries of one nation will become the everyday necessities of others. Out of the Nurem- berg and similar war trials, a new international justice is being molded and a nation's obligations to fellow nations are being given definition as never before in history. Out of labor-management conflicts of today, new industrial forces are emerging in our own land. Advanced codes of social welfare are being accepted and the intangible concepts under which man- kind lives are being clarified to the end that the masses may profit from their intelligent interpretation. In all aspects of living the impact is felt of the more widespread application of scientific research, the extension of the fields of communication, and the explorations into the confusing areas of human relations. The years directly ahead of us hold great promise of finer living for oncoming generations. The amount of such growth and desirable change depends, in a large measure, upon the opportunities pro- vided in education, the modification of education in meeting new needs, and the knowledge, skill, and application of the teaching profession in promoting a program equal to the demands of the new era. Our great reservoirs of unselfishness, professional devotion, and consecration to freedom must be fully drawn upon to this end. Never before has this country witnessed a great popular upsurge in edu- cational demands like that sweeping this country. The universities and col- leges are turning away thousands. Adult education programs are coming into their own. Nursery schools are in many places acknowledged as essen- tial parts of our school systems. Grange and labor unions, industrial plants, and commercial centers are multiplying their educational offerings. Junior colleges and technical institutes are increasing in numbers. Education is moving ahead on all fronts. In this forward movement success is assured to the extent that the needs and capacities of the individual are intelligently and constructively met. Better schools will result as the teacher molds and modifies self to serve the individual whether in kindergarten, high school, or university. Current criticisms of education stress the failure to build strong char- acter into our young, the lack of world understanding, the proclivity toward juvenile delinquency, the general education and broad cultural needs of a large proportion of our students, essential preparedness for a livelihood. the continuity that education must have for successful living, and the re- Addresses at the Conferences 77 quirement that a society select its highly intelligent and provide assurance for their education in the areas of their special abilities. These and many other criticisms the educator does not desire to turn aside lightly. He is fully aware that education must be a dynamic force ever-changing to meet new conditions and to adjust to new problems as they rise. The task immediately confronting every American community is the analysis of its present educational offerings in the light of the stirring challenges now being made to American leadership in this world. Educators in their re- spective communities must assume active responsibility for making their communities — large and small — intellectual strongholds in which the poten- tiality of every individual is encouraged to ripen into constructive accom- plishment. The strength of American education is the sum total of the values to be found in the many communities. A nation grows as its individuals and its communities grow. Isolation of school from community has no place in modern education. The community's advancement is related directly to the worthwhileness of the school's program. To get the greatest return from the local education program, a number of questions should be raised. Is the program a traditionally standardized one or has it actually been adapted to the needs of the community served ? Does the program offer wide oppor- tunity for all, adults and children alike? Do the offerings result in every individual's reaching his highest potential in all areas of citizenship? Does entrenched privilege, in any form, control curriculum, teachers, teaching method, or the financing program? Let educators and other community leaders gather about a roundtable and democratically answer these ques- tions. Out of such discussion will come better schools, for such are the devotion and ambition of the American people. Such community leaders might find it advantageous to prepare the out- line of what the new community educational program should be like. No doubt they would include many of the following objectives: the develop- ment of superior intercultural understanding; opportunity for learning about the music, art, and literature of all peoples ; creating understanding about the foods, the clothing, and the houses of the world ; giving ready and constant information on the advancements in science and medicine; giving access to books and motion pictures on sociological, economic, and political world developments; instruction and display in the field of geo- politics; the development of new vocations and guidance therein; a pro- gram of consumer education ; the problems of labor and management ; in- formative conferences on the current local community problems. Another group of topics that would meet local needs would include: parent educa- tion, home planning and building, vocational rehabilitation, the cooking and sewing arts, training in making household repairs, opportunites for partici- pation in the musical and dramatic arts, and other particularized courses to meet common everyday needs of citizens. Discussion groups for keeping informed on the national government, the United Nations Organization, current literature and music and recreational offerings of many kinds would also be listed. A community school providing extensive opportunities like 78 American Association of School Administrators these for adults and corresponding offerings for neglected out-of-school youth as well as regular school attendants would be making citizens skilled to carry on the problems of citizenship and the family and also competent to render service and to voice opinions in the larger realm of world rela- tions. Building facilities planned to meet these needs would represent con- siderable variations from traditional conventionalities with their auditoriums, gymnasiums, and library stereotypes. The school building should permit and encourage the accomplishment of what society needs today for the prepara- tion of thinking, alert, adjusted, skilled, well-rounded, and emotionally stable citizens. The desirable redefinition of our traditional concepts of what constitutes a school is taking form. Extracurriculum successes are being merged with the curriculum; health and nutrition programs are moving toward their desired goals; guidance, based on adequate psychological, soci- ological, and psychiatric knowledge has had wide recognition as one of the most significant of school functions; and work-experience is being integrated with the classroom studies. Better schools are in the making due to the pioneering, exploratory attitudes of teachers and administrators in all levels and facets of the educational service. In the struggle against American provincialism, much remains to be done. The pronouncements of our leaders on freedom, justice, and economic op- portunity for others have not been accepted as idle words the world over. A maximum share in world leadership has become our responsibility. To make that leadership real, our nation must make possible a more extensive and intensive educational program for all, the most competent as well as the less privileged. Public opinion and public decision in our country must rest upon sound, well-diversified, and thoroughly substantiated educational backgrounds. This applies equally well to every geographic section, to every race, and to all economic levels. The wide variations in educational opportunity in this country constitute a national disgrace. The world obli- gations which our nation has assumed certainly require the educational strengthening of the long neglected, low economic areas of our own country. This can only be brought about through federal aid to public education. The need has long existed and further postponement of such provisions will not be for the best interests of our nation. Better schools in America will only result as more adequate salaries are paid to educational workers. Teaching positions paying less than a living wage, as happens altogether too often in our nation, will not entice those who can carry the responsibility for tomorrow's program. Teachers are not missionaries nor should they be treated as such. They are entitled to family life, to a good home, to opportunity for further professional training, and to freedom from unnecessary economic strain. The teaching profession should attract the best of our young men and women on the basis of offer- ing them adequate rewards for high professional service. The leading nation In the world must provide every means for improving the status of Its teaching profession. Exploitation of the partially trained, niggardly programs of pay deductions for absence when ill, attempted dictation of the teacher's social life constitute not only a disservice to the teachers but Addresses at the Conferences 79 to the cause of education as a whole. In this winter of labor's discontent, let communities give new and constructive consideration to the problems of teacher status. As is the teacher, so will be the school. A discontented teacher will find it difficult to provide the leadership America's better schools require. America has many excellent school prof^rams, fine, well-equipped teachers, splendid buildings, and stimulating ambitious student bodies. That Amer- ican education has served our nation well is proved conclusively from the glorious record of our youth moving directly from school into war ranks. No one doubts, however, that American schools can do a better job than ever before. They must provide safe and sanitary housing for all. They inust encourage curriculum expansion. They must extend the school pro- gram to meet the needs of all youth. They must provide as satisfactory equipment to the schools as was provided to meet the educational needs of the armed services. They must encourage the most capable of their sons and daughters to enter this national service. They must provide the funds so teachers may live comfortably and advance reasonably. Better schools in America will mean that no area and no youth are neglected. Such schools will help tremendously to assure continuity of world leadership for our nation. They will aid materially in making the better world which man- kind seeks. This desired achievement requires courage, taxes and skill, and must draw upon the inventiveness and imagination of us administrators. Each of us should take from these meetings a disturbing discontent with our past accomplishments. For better schools we are required to raise our sights, to draw upon our latent powers, to remold our professional thinking, and to instil a new force into our educational programs. The school system that stands still during the next twelve months will have failed the nation. The administrator, unable to conceive and redefine his new responsibilities, can count himself a straggler in the forward march. America needs today valiant souls and intelligent minds, unafraid and undaunted. You, members of the American Association of School Administrators, constitute the lead- ership upon which the destinies of many peoples rest. What will you do with your new stewardship? Medals and ribbons will not be yours but may you enjoy the satisfactions that come from a service which you know is well done. >*-:<>iS«,i«i!?-^ Grand Stairway of the Stevens Hotel leading to the meeting hall of the Chicago conference Addresses at the Conferences 81 EDUCATION AND BUSINESS eric a. JOHNSTON, PRESIDENT, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, D. C. Address at Chicago Conference This is a moment I thought I had been waiting for ever since I was nine years old. Finally, I thought, I'm going to get a chance to tell a lot of teachers what I think of them. At about the age of nine that was my life's ambition. There was a slight difference of opinion between me and one of my teachers. We compromised, of course. That is to say, she had her way. She had her way, but I said to myself: "Just wait. Someday when I'm grown up, I'm going to tell teachers what I think of them." I would have added "and but good," except that the phrase had not then been invented. So now I'm grown up, and now I'm here, and for the life of me I can't remember what it was I was going to scold about. All I can remember are the nice things teachers did for me. I'm willing to bet it's that way with most of us. A very wise man once said that because God couldn't be everywhere, he created mothers, and I'd like to tack an amendment to that thought. I'd like to say that because mothers and fathers can't do everything that's why we have teachers. There are thousands of us who can honestly pro- claim that what we are or what we hope to be we owe to our teachers as well as our parents. Owe our teachers? The debt of America to the profession of education is astronomical. But for a number of years, it seems to me, we didn't even acknowledge that debt, much less make any effort to pay it. I think times have changed. I truly believe that there is more interest being shown in education by laymen today than ever before. We in busi- ness sense that. Business is learning and learning fast that education is good investment. We're learning that good education is good business. Ideally, I suppose, we should be interested in good education without regard to its value as an investment and without regard to the returns we get from it. But that isn't the American way. We Americans play everything to win. The secret of our success is our innate urge to approach everything from the practical standpoint. It's a good way, because it seems to create an ideology of idealism as it goes along. As a matter of fact, there's no truth in the old story that the best poetry is written by starving men in chilly garrets. On the contrary, the best poetry seems to have been produced by men in reasonably comfortable circumstances who had a strong streak of practicality in them to match their flights of fancy. Our Committee on Education in the Chamber of Commerce of the United States is composed of practical businessmen, you may be sure. The chairman is Mr. Thomas C. Boushall, a hanker from Richmond, Virginia. I think I am thoroughly justified in saying that Mr. Boushall and his col- 82 American Association of School Administrators leagues on his committee have made a tremendous contribution to educa- tion in the last few years. In 1944 the Committee began to feel that business and education had grown too far apart. It felt that this was a bad state of affairs because both are integral parts of our economic structure. They need each other. Business needs trained workers which only education can supply, and edu- cation must have operating funds which business can provide. It seemed imperative to the committee that a better understanding was definitely demanded. The Committee launched a study to see if there was any positive rela- tionship between the economic status of people and the educational level. What it found out was highly interesting, highly informative, and highly useful. It compared a number of countries throughout the world and it found that high income and high standards of living inevitably accom- panied high levels of education and technical skill. It discovered that even in countries which are short on natural resources but abundant with good education that the living standards were high. And the same pattern held true in a comparative study among states and cities in the United States. Wherever higher incomes prevailed, they were inevitably hand in hand with high levels of education. People in areas which are strong educationally paid higher rents ; they made more per capita retail purchases ; they sub- scribed to more magazines ; they had more telephones. And fewer men were rejected by the Selective Service. They were healthier. The net result of all that is this : Education can contribute hugely to our expanding economy by increasing the productive capacities of people so they can earn higher wages. An ever-expanding economy is what we've got to have if we expect high levels of employment, reasonable prices, and general prosperity. This means more consumers, and more consumers consuming more things. The only way to get more consumers and to have more con- sumers consuming more things is to train them into those wants and to educate them to earn enough money to fulfil those wants. We have only to look at our own figures to see that our economy can be greatly expanded. If we lift incomes and increase wants, the economy is bound to expand, and education is the answer to the question of how to lift incomes and increase wants. The greatest natural resource of any nation is the capacity of its people to be educated. In our study of educational levels in foreign countries we found some amazing contrasts. Denmark, for instance, is practically devoid of natural resources. But Denmark, from a per capita standpoint, is actually better off than the United States, rich as we are in natural resources. Switzerland has no oil, no coal, no minerals, no productive forests, and little tillable land. What land it has is mostly up and down. But the Swiss have an economic status which matches our own. Both Denmark and Switzerland have high levels of education. Then we turned to some countries overflowing with natural resources. Colombia in South America, for example, teems with rich forests, rich Addresses at the Conferences 83 mines, rich soil. It has nature's own power lines in the form of waterfalls. But rich Colombia is poor — -pathetically poor in per capita wealth and individual income — and Colombia's education level is very, very low. Wherever the Committee cast its lines for facts, it found the same story, the story of hij2;h living standards hand in hand with high education levels. And, always the reverse of it too — low standards of living, low education level. Naturally, the Committee did not make its comparisons between nations with any thought of pointing scornfully to those with low standards. It merely wanted facts and it got them. It wanted the facts to check its find- ings in this country. Its essential interest was this: What can we do here in our country to lift the standard of living in those sections where it is now much lower than it ought to be? What would it mean to us to have a fully developed economy at home? That is our fundamental economic interest. We want and expect to seek foreign trade, of course. I think we will have a greatly expanded foreign trade in the next few years. It will be profitable to us and profitable to those with whom w^e trade. But expand foreign trade as we will, it is still the frosting on the cake. The solid slices with the real nourishment for the ever-hungry economic machine are found right here at home. We talk a lot about the things we have. We like to recite the fascinating figures of how many telephones we have, how many cars we have, how many iceboxes, and how many bathtubs. And that's Avell and good. But we don't always talk so gayly about the thousands of Americans who don't have telephones or refrigerators or radios or even enough to wear and an adequate diet. I am inclined to think that most Americans who don't have those things really want them. They know about them. That would not be true in some countries with low incomes per capita. There are hundreds of thousands of people in this world who never heard of a refrigerator, much less have ever seen one. We here, on the other hand, can be pretty sure we can look toward expanding our economy in a setting of people who want advantages and conveniences and know what they want. Mass advertising on the radio reaches even those who don't own radios but who hear them in corner stores and at neighbors' homes. Mass radio advertising and mass billboard advertising, plus mass magazine advertising abundant with pictures, reaches those who can't even read, telling its story in word and sketch and photograph. We will anticipate little trouble drum- ming up wants. One want leads naturally to another. Look at the icebox. It was mother's pride and joy for many years. The idea of having somebody deliver ice every day looked like a small piece of heaven to her. She practically purred because the butter didn't melt and leftovers didn't spoil. Then came the mechanical refrigerator. Refrigerators didn't need a ration of ice. There was no messy pan of water to empty and no iceman to clean up after. But behold the refrigerator. It is almost incomplete these days without a deep freeze unit so we can keep frozen foods. What's the next step in 84 American Association of School Administrators the refrigeration line? Whole meals conveniently frozen solid, ready to be thawed out and served at once. Now that we're in an ice mood we might touch on air cooling and air conditioning, too. True enough, it is probably odd to think in terms of air cooling when there are too many homes without adequate heating facilities, but more and more people are wanting air conditioning units. The time will come when a home without air conditioning facilities will be regarded as quaint as one where the only heat comes from a fireplace. All of which means what? Only this: The capacity of our own people to consume hasn't even been halfway fathomed. The power of the people to consume, however, is limited, and we can check its limitations from year to year. The power of consumption is limited to the current income from personal effort or from invested funds. If we want to increase the power of the people to consume, we must increase the income. The question is how? How in the world can we in- crease incomes when every now and then somebody invents a machine which does the work of a hundred men ? How can we have a constantly expand- ing economy if we have recurring sieges of unemployment? Haven't we become slaves to the machine and made the machines our masters? Look at the American farmer. He's a case in point, some people will say. During the war our farmers greatly increased their production and did it with far less help than they had before the war. That is all very true, and farming isn't going back to methods outmoded by a more extensive use of machinery. That means farming can't absorb more and more workers. Is this something to be frightened about? It is not. It just sounds that way. It sounds a little frightening to recall that a man with a bulldozer can move more earth in one hour than twenty men can move by hand in one day. What becomes of those other nineteen men ? Industry — our economy — absorbs them, and the strange law of economy finds more men working at vastly increased rates of pay and for shorter hours where there are more bulldozers than there are picks and shovels. The housemaid in a well-equipped home, the farm laborer on a mechanized farm, the very street sweeper, indeed, earn more today than their harder working predecessors of yesterday. But to get along in this age of ever-increasing complex machinery, our workers must be trained to handle it, educated to handle the machines and themselves. We are by no means up to where we ought to be, but the edu- cational level of our people has risen tremendously since 1900, and so has our income. In 1900 our total earnings were sixteen billion dollars. In 1930 it was eighty billion — five times as much, but our population had in- creased only 30 percent. And in 1945 the national income was one hundred and eighty billion — twice that of 1930. All along we have been developing new machinery, but as we developed new machinery, we have developed new skills, a better trained population — a better educated one. The two factors go together like an ax head and an ax handle. Neither one is much good without the other. Addresses at the Conferences 85 I have talked a lot about technical skills — so much, perhaps that you may suspect I want a nation of mechanics with no other interest except running some noisy machine. But that isn't so. Businessmen though we may be, we are not overlooking the cultural side of education. Again, it's be- cause the cultural side is good business too. Suppose we could teach a given number of workers how to earn more money than they ever earned before, but in the process we failed to teach them the desire to want anything but the creature comforts? It's cultural education which fosters the desire for more travel, for more books, for more theater-going, for more music, for better churches, for more artistic homes. And the production of all these things is highly important in our economy — just as much so as the produc- tion of gadgets in some factory. It seems important to me that the process of raising technical skills and cultural appetites must be brought to the whole people and not reserved for a chosen few. Even among our so-called liberal thinkers of a few generations back, there was a concept that only the prospective leaders of the people should he educated. The broad mass was to remain ignorant and expected to be bliss- fully happy in their ignorance. This was supposed to be a good economic argument too. Out of the broad and unenlightened mass, the leaders found cheap labor. But how thin that argument looks today. Today's businessman knows that the worker — the producer — is also a customer. The shoe factory owner in this day and age who doesn't reflect on the fact that his own work- ers buy the very product they make and are his customers as well as his em- ployees ought to go back to making moccasins. If all labor were cheap, who would do the buying? But you can throw all of this right back at me, I know. You can point to a long and dreary list of places right here in America where the amount spent on education is absolutely pathetic. You can point to imderpaid teachers, to schools which are nothing but shacks. You can point to communities which seem absolutely satisfied to keep their educa- tional levels down to a standard appropriate perhaps to two hundred years ago. How are we going to arouse the whole people of today that education is the best investment for a prosperous tomorrow? We aren't going to do it by passing a string of laws. Laws never ac- complish that which the will of many people is against. We can't choke education down craws which have no appetite for it. Compulsion never ac- complished anything in this country or anywhere else — particularly here. The way to improve the educational level in this country is by educa- tion. That's your job and it's my job. It's a job of salesmanship. Over and over and over, we have got to tell the story that a high level of education means a high standard of living. Over and over and over, we must teach that prosperity and an informed, intelligent citizenry go hand in hand. Seven times seven times we must teach that education is good investment. Does this sound like an impossibly idealistic program? I don't think so. 86 American Association of School Administrators We start with this fact : Everyone — even if the interest is casual — has an interest in schools. The man without children remembers his own school days. The man with children lives them over again — frequently twice if he lives to have grandchildren. If he takes no other interest in education except to compare the modern trend unfavorably against the way it was in his child- hood, at least he has an interest. He's ripe for a good argument and he'd probably enjoy one. Make a convert out of any critic and you have created the strongest colleague you could have. But let's be specific. Let's approach this process of educating the country on the value of education with all the scientific viewpoint of the public relations man. That's what it is — a job of public relations which in its turn is salesmanship. We need to put a little more "oomph" in education. It is a field packed with the dramatic and glamour too, if j'ou like the word. I hope, for one thing, that you and all other educational groups will invite more and more businessmen, professional men, farmers, labor leaders, and housewives to attend your gatherings. Let them criticize if they want to. They'll like you if you do that. It's the first step toward understanding. Let's see if we can get some fiction writers interested in wrapping some words about plots laid in schools with the characters teachers and school administrators. Let's play along with the men and women who write maga- zine articles, remembering always that these people, like the novelists, have got to have a story. That means meeting their prying questions with honest answers, refusing to take offense at their occasional jabs and jibes. That means laying the facts right out on the table and holding back nothing. And let's keep our story simple. Let's tell it in language people under- stand. I don't know that there is, but if there is any gobble-de-gook in the trade of education, get rid of it. Let's take a little lesson from the comic strips. They count their readers in the umpty millions. A catch phrase created today by Milton Caniff in "Terry and the Pirates" or another by Fred Lasswell in "Snuffy Smith" and "Barney Google" is tomorrow's pet expression. Meanwhile, the allegedly erudite journals count their readers in small numbers. Let's not kid ourselves that we can sell the value of a high level of educa- tion without getting down to the level of the man in the street. This takes level thinking. Look at the Community Chest movement. For its charitable and social welfare purposes, it takes in many times over what individual agencies used to get by individual solicitation. Somebody with a good sense of human nature sold the idea that people would be more apt to contribute if they were bothered only once by a solicitor who represented all agencies instead of by fifteen. And it worked. And I think you can count on the motion-picture industry to do its part. I am rather new in that business but I have been impressed at the tremendous strides in the field of the so-called "educational film." Naturally one thinks first of all about motion pictures in terms of entertainment. But the motion picture is also a vehicle of communication through which education is inevitably imparted, I think there wjll be more and more of Addresses at the Conferences 87 this as we go alonp. The value of the motion picture to education ought to be magnificent. Alone among all the mediums, it has the power to reenact and recreate events which otherwise cannot be recaptured. Here, for ex- ample, is the story of the French Revolution. In film, you hear it; you see it. There is the story of the Custer Massacre. You see the Sioux as clearly as the ill-fated Mark Kellogg saw them ; you hear the rattle of musketry, the triumphant shouts of the attacking Indians; and at last you see Comanche, the surviving horse, plunging riderless across the prairies, carry- ing with him only a story he couldn't tell. I am not here to sell you the motion-picture industry. I mention it only as an example of the dramatic appeal which must be combined with a practical approach in the solution of this riddle of how to sell education. To my mind, there is a great story in education — a succession of stories. 1 think education is dramatic. It has everything in it to make it so: struggle, pathos, triumph, competition, good humor, and interesting people. Just as business needs more customers, education needs more enthusiasts. For my part, I'll buy it, and what's more I'll bet we can sell the story. THE CONVENTION EXHIBIT JOHN J. KRILL, PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATED EXHIBITORS OF THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION Address at New York and Chicago Conferences In this momentous period of reconversion, the attention of the entire nation is focused on the school. For America now recognizes, more than ever before, the vital role of education in the social, economic, and indus- trial life of our nation. The Associated Exhibitors with you and all of America are profoundly grateful for the blessings of peace. We are grateful that we can again meet and work with you according to our God-given American way of life. We appreciate your great responsibility in the educational program, the enormity of your task, and the many difficult situations now involved in the peacetime program of school operations. We welcome the privilege and the opportunity of collaborating with you in your great work of directing the country's most important business by way of providing the material, equipment, and supply requirements of education. During the war school administrators and the instructional forces met every wartime demand placed upon the schools and school facilities. In this the educators have the gratitude of the nation for the magnificent contribu- tion made to a common cause. The war-training program involving the preparation of twelve million adults and youth for new war jobs established a close working relationship between schools and industry. The contribution of our schools to the armed services, in trained personnel and through facilities for specialized training and service, is the world's most noteworthy educational achievement. Recog- 88 American Association of School Administrators nized early as an indispensable war instrument, our schools provided a greater variety of services than in any previous period in American history. And now as the peacetime program is getting under way, as a result of the services and accomplishments of our schools, the whole country is turning with favor to education as the most certain means of establishing and main- taining a sound national economy and a permanent peace. Just recently the Chamber of Commerce of the United States and the National Association of Manufacturers expressed the dependence of business and industry on education in resolutions calling for the betterment of our school systems and for adequate support so that this could be accomplished. This dependence and responsibility of education establishes our schools as vast public service centers integrated with our social, economic, and business life, and operated to develop the full utilization of this nation's vital, factual, and material wealth. The impact of World War II on our country clearly outlines the essential educational services the postwar school will be called upon to provide in order to meet the country's needs and demands. Your professional efforts as school administrators are dedicated to the suc- cessful accomplishment of this vitally important service to America. You are here in convention assembled to formulate a workable plan of action for the peacetime program of school operations. You will not miss the respon- sibility and the great opportunity all of this imposes upon your professional leadership. You are invited to visit the exhibits. Spend as much time as you can with the exhibitors. 7^here are over 150 exhibits staffed by people experienced in servicing the interests of the schools. Secure the benefit of the facilities and experience so conveniently available to assist you in solving your product and service problems. Many new and improved products are on display. You should see without fail all that is now available and inform yourselves of what is in the making in schoolhousing facilities, educational equipment and supplies, textbooks and related text material ; in fact, in all the essential tools of education required in this new era of school operations. Again, may I express the greetings and good wishes of the Associated Exhibitors and our sincere appreciation for the opportunity of serving the educational interests of our country under your professional leadership. Addresses at the Conferences 89 PERSONNEL PROBLEMS IN AMERICAN EDUCATION EDGAR G. DOUDNA, SECRETARY, STATE BOARD OF REGENTS OF NORMAL SCHOOLS, MADISON, WISCONSIN Address at Kansas City Conference This topic is inclusive enough for a book, or perhaps a library. For the record I want to say that it was not my choice of subjects, but one that I accepted as an assignment which might be limited to thirty minutes. We have many precedents for a sweeping and comprehensive treatment of edu- cation. The title of one of the first books on pedagogy to be published in America got us off to a good start. In 1808 Joseph Neff, an immigrant disciple of Pestalozzi, published in Philadelphia the theories of that reformer in a book with the uninhibited title, Sketch of a Plan and Method of Educa- tion Founded on an Analysis of the Human Faculties and Natural Reason, Suited for the Offspring of a Free People and for All Rational Human Beings. Setting up a problem or problems is the usual method of attacking an educational subject, but problems frighten me. I have an impulse to run away from them, rather than rush in to conquer while spouting, "I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul." I compensate in other ways. This feeling of inadequacy is probably a Freudian complex derived from my youthful struggles with the problems of Robinson's Progressive Practical Arithmetic. I can still get a nightmare from the problem of measur- ing a post which stood 4^ feet in the mud, 3% feet in the water, and 6^^ feet in the air. Why anyone but an idiot wouldn't have measured the post before setting it, or why he needed to know about its length, was my real problem. I perspired over the poor fish that couldn't tell how much of himself was head, body, and tail and which the inquiring Mr. Robinson requested us to allocate, divide, measure, and total. Rooms had to be plastered, papered, painted, and carpeted — the author must have foreseen the housing shortage. There were fearful and wonderful problems involving complicated fractions, decimals, percents, ratios, and proportions, to say nothing of the horrors of square and cube root. No wonder spiritless and uninterested children con- sidered themselves mathematical morons. Those problems were juvenile tragedies, inventions of the devil for the torture of the arithmetically blind. Another reason for my aversion to problems is the problem method, one of those educational patent medicines promoted at conventions, institutes, and summer schools, and guaranteed to correct all of the failures resulting from outmoded and traditional procedures. Teachers took this one to school, re- organized their lesson plans, and gave the kids the works. When the craze was at its height I saw an attractive little travel book on a teacher's desk. Picking it up to see what the children were reading about Europe I found it had been adapted to the problem method. The first sentence was a question. "How would you like to go to Paris with Miss Agnes?" How could I tell ; I'd never seen Agnes, and anyway I was married. Now there was a problem ! 90 American Association of School Administrators Children accept this sort of thing as adult hypocrisy and slide over the peda- gogical jargon to read about Paris. The method has its points, but it's not the answer to a teacher's prayer. At this point I had better state my problem more explicitly. It is really this: What educational problem isn't in the final analysis a personnel prob- lem? Education deals with persons, those individuals who collectively are the people. Their likes and dislikes, their repulsions and attractions, their abilities and their deficiencies so often lead to envy, jealousy, animosity, and conflict. People are not abstractions derived from carefully planned and statistically verifiable data. They are more alike than different, that's true, but even so they are always blowing bubbles and forever making troubles. One of the uncounted personnel problems is enough so I shall discuss only teaching and teachers — the basis which determines the success or failure of the educational process. Almost everything that can be said on this subject has of course been set down endlessly. Perhaps that's why Emerson a century ago lamented that, "It's ominous that the word education has so cold, so helpless a sound. A treatise on education, a convention on education, affects us with a slight paralysis and a certain yawning of the jaws." All that I can do is to rearrange and shift the emphasis. When a half century ago educators discarded philosophy and took science as their guide they started an educational revolution. Objectivity and statis- tical measurements shifted attention from the personal and subjective and everything that did not yield to such study was unorthodox or merely on the borderline of respectability. The extremists, called "measuring-worms," by the unrighteous, asserted with unscientific dogmatism that "Whatever exists, exists in some amount, and whatever exists in some amount can be measured." Ergo! Much of the research which followed was significant and added greatly to the efficiency of the schools. A great deal was glorified busy work and in some areas failed completely. This movement led to absorption with the quantitative side, of school administration which concerned itself with problems of finance, building, administrative organization, and the like. Consideration of fundamental values, of the human side of education, and of the imponderables of personnel adjustment were passed over or treated casually and cavalierly. Such studies were two-dimensional only. Almost never was the quality of teaching recog- nized in educational books and on convention platforms. Teaching compe- tence was assumed to be directly proportional to work done in achieving or acquiring credits and degrees. Those who held that teaching was an art could not make reports with the kind of impersonal and objective evidence which had become almost sacrosanct; they did not get a hearing. To get on, to be a real educator, one must do research, no matter how shoddy ; write, no matter how obscurely ; i.e., produce something physically tangible that could be measured, counted, and charted even to the neglect of "the weightier matters of the law." Now happily a counterrevolution seems in the making. Values are again being considered, persons are again central, and the statistical man, the eco- nomic man, even the mysterious comrnon man, and other generalized abstrag- Addresses at the Conferences 91 tions are less talked about. Teachinji; may possibly become almost as respect- able as research, publication, and administration. A^ain Emerson — "Happy is the natural collc{j;e built around every natural teacher." There is an implication here that great teachers are born, not made; and of course to a degree it is true. But with a proper recognition given to teaching as an art, a fine art, many potentially great teachers could be drawn to the schools instead of taking their talents into other fields or using teaching as a steppingstone to something lower. Schools and colleges will never do what they should until teaching draws into its ranks more men and women who can light the lamps of learning and kindle in young people a zeal to live, at least part time, in the kingdom of the mind. Teaching is at its best a fine art, but like acting, dancing, and singing, it is an impermanent art. Great teaching makes impressions that are vivid, deep, lasting. The activity is transient, the effects permanent. In great teaching there is activity on the part of both teacher and learner, and the result is more than entertainment. The actor, dancer, and singer perform for an audience, the teacher works with a class and with individuals in a class. This difiference emphasizes the difficulty and the challenge of teach- ing as an art which incites members of a class to individual activity directed toward achievable and rewarding goals. There are thousands of individual goals as well as the collective objectives variously called general education, citizenship, and the like. These may be fused, organized, and integrated into an infinity of combinations transforming the learned from what he is to what he becomes. The process and results are generalized as "education" ; the activity which produces it is "teaching," the least publicized but most richly rewarding of the arts. The personnel problems arising from the desire to raise teaching to the level which we would all like to see are not to be solved overnight by aca- demic appeals or by success formulas. First, and most difficult, is how to at- tract and hold the kind of teachers necessary to make effective the educational ideals to which we subscribe. In fact, if we could surmount this hurdle it would be relatively easy to educate and train teachers and much easier to administer a school system and supervise a teaching staff. No matter how platitudinous it may sound the school is what the teacher makes it, or in the older formula, "As is the teacher, so is the school." In his annual report on enrolment at colleges, as reported in School and Society for December 29, 1945, President Walters of the University of Cincinnati shows a loss in public universities of 22.5 percent, in colleges of liberal arts 14 percent, but in teachers colleges 40.8 percent. For all higher institutions the decrease was 21.7 percent. Young people are not turning to teaching. In both number and quality the teacher shortage will become greater. This is an educational tragedy about which the public is not greatly concerned and the profession most apathetic, complacent, and in- different. The recruiting of the profession is Personnel Problem Number One. Unless we can change the public attitude, teaching will be what it has too often been, a depression job, a marginal occupation, a confession of 92 American Association of School Administrators inability to do something to which society awards its honors and emolu- ments. Teachers will be recruited as Ben Franklin advised, from "the lesser sort.">What then is to be done? You may accept as dogmatic, emotional, rational, or wishful these self- evident propositions. Teachers will have to be paid at least double what we have considered to be adequate salaries. Americans believe that they get what they pay for. The number of pupils per teacher will have to be reduced to a point where a high level of teaching is humanly possible for the ma- jority; a small minority will do, have done, and are doing the impossible. Ways will have to be found to free teacher and pupil alike from the bondage of credits, grades, and a barrage of organizational directives. This demands of teachers an increased personal responsibility, which accepted and carried out is the highest reward of every self-respecting person. Above all there needs to be an understanding of the hard reality that America will survive only if its basic ideals are understood, taught, and practiced. No need to repeat the Wellsian conflict between education and catastrophe. We all feel that and have faith in our ability to interpret the American ideals. This day, the birthday of George Washington, is an appropriate time to recall that the men of his era formulated our basic law. Of him we can say, "Verily let it be remembered too that had he not been, the law would have been forgotten in Israel." These fundamental laws the people will learn only through incessant, persistent, and unflagging teaching. "Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children and shalt talk of them when thou liest down and when thou risest up." While Washington was not a college man, he was highly intelligent, well-informed, and a synonym for integrity. He presided over the men who in convention formulated our constitution. Of these men, De Tocqueville wrote in 1835, "This convention contained the choicest talents and noblest hearts that ever assembled in America." They were educated men, for twenty-nine were graduates of colleges and universities— Princeton, Har- vard, Yale, Columbia, Pennsylvania, Oxford, Glasgow, and London. The "father of the Constitution," little Jimmie Madison, had studied the classics, history, politics, and theology at Princeton under President John Witherspoon, a great teacher, preacher, and statesman. He was at home in the literature of the world, his knowledge of all experience in demo- cratic government was encyclopedic, and he had "a very handsome wit." Presiding over this group through the long, hot summer, George Wash- ington, without making a single speech, brought the convention through to a triumphant conclusion. Out of the best knowledge, wisdom, and ex- perience of the past, the Constitution had been distilled by this group of educated men. I emphasize educated because it is often forgotten that the foundations of our political structure were made by educated men adapting their learning to a new situation. This was true of all our early history. Scholarship was effective every- where; scholars were respected, they accepted leadership without academic smugness or scholastic isolationism. The explorers, leaders in settlement, Addresses at the Conferences 93 and ministers were all educated. Education is woven into the economic, political, cultural, and religious pattern of the American Dream. "The Americans," said St. John Crevecoeur, "are the western pilgrims who are carrying along with them that great mass of arts, sciences, vigour, and industry which began long since in the East." Who then is to be the carrier of this educational heritage? Who but the teacher? A story in the Hebrew tradition says, "Several learned men were once sent from Jerusalem to establish schools and promote instruction wherever needed. They came to a town where they found no traces of tuition whatever. Indignantly they summoned the citizens and asked them to bring before them the guardians of the town. But only magistrates and politicians made their appearance. 'These are not the protectors of the town, they are the destroyers,' they exclaimed. 'Who then?' inquired the citizens with astonishment. 'The teachers,' was the laconic reply." The story does not tell us whether they found the teachers or whether the people accepted their verdict, but it illustrates the belief of Ancient Jewry that the teacher had the greatest responsibility, the highest social standing, and that he was looked up to, almost with awe. The highest name that the greatest of them took was "The Great Teacher." With a mission like this ahead shouldn't we too believe that with the possible exception of the ministry, teaching is the highest of callings? If Americans really understood and consciously accepted that they will be just as good as their schools, we should have an upsurge of faith which would make the nation and the world safer than all of the armies that could be recruited. That's the social goal of education and the inspiration of great teaching. There is another and more obvious reason for affirming our faith in great teachers — the personal influence for good which a teacher exerts through her personality. Here is a homely illustration. When Big Tom Sullivan was leader of Tammany and a member of the New York State Senate he cast the only democratic vote for giving women the ballot. His reason was his affection for a teacher who believed in women's suffrage. This is his story: "It was way back in 1873 and a boy named Sullivan was going to the Elm Street School, and there was a Miss Murphy who was a teacher. This boy had an old pair of shoes, and one day she asked the boy to stay after school. He thought some other boy had done something and put it up to him and he was goin' to stand for it. So he said, 'Miss Murphy, if I've done anything let me know because I want to get away and sell papers,' and she told the boy he hadn't done nothing, and gave him an order. That order was to Timothy Brennamen, brother of a big Tammany leader, and he gave me an order for a pair of shoes. I needed them shoes and I thought if I ever got any money I would give shoes to them that needed 'em and I'm goin' to buy shoes for people just as long as I live." As an illustration from a totally different man, we find this in Thomas Jefferson's autobiography. "It was my good fortune, and that probably fixed the destinies of my life, that Dr. William Small of Scotland was 94 American Association of School Administrators then professor of mathematics, a man proficient in most of the useful branches of science, with a happy talent of communication, correct and gentlemanly manners, and an enlarged and liberal mind." But I think the finest tribute ever paid to a teacher was that of Stephen Vincent Benet to William Lyon Phelps. Benet wrote a review of the autobiography of Phelps for the "Books" supplement of the New York Herald Tribune. In it he says: "In my mind, teaching is not merely a life-work, a profession, an occupa- tion, a struggle : it is a passion. I love to teach. I love to teach as a painter loves to paint, as a musician loves to play, as a singer loves to sing, as a strong man rejoices to run a race." Well, there is the recipe, young candi- dates for Ph.D.'s. That is what you have to have first — and the most scholarly thesis on the minor works of Hannah More or the rhyme-endings in Wordsworth's Ecclesiastical Sonnets won't do it for j^ou. The art of the great teacher is, in one sense, as impermanent as that of the actor — it cannot be reduced to print, not even by Billy Phelps. But it leaves an impress on the minds of those who have known it. The popular Phelps course, in my day, was "Tennyson and Browning." But it might have been "Meredith and Hardy" or "Beowulf and Galsworthy" — the classrooms would have been just as crowded. For, behind any method of teaching is the personality of the teacher himself. And I think we knew what we were getting. The alert enthusiasm, the informal manner, the handsome, unmistakable presence, the open and generous mind, the pas- sionate interest in both subject and class as living organisms — these were some of the things. But there was something else, and I fear the only word for it is character — a character of singular sweetness, not without salt. It has made him beloved by the generations he has taught. Problems of teacher personnel will always be with us as we try to make better schools. As one is solved complexities increase and more difficulties arise. There can be no ease in Zion. With adequate salaries, reasonable enrolments, responsible freedom, and social recognition of teaching as a profession, we may expect better schools, better teaching, and a better world. But the divine spark can be kindled only by a great purpose, which dreams of a great future for all of the people, and for the humblest of them a share in achievement and in service. Teaching, which can do this, is the highest of the arts. Without high purpose it can degenerate into the sorriest of trades. Whatever else we do to, promote education through adequate schools, great teaching, artistic teaching, must always be the goal. And great teachers are great persons teaching. Addresses at the CoNFERENctii 95 BRITAIN'S GREATEST ASSET— HER CHILDREN MABEL STUDEBAKER, SCIENCE TEACHER, GRIDLEY JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL, ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA Address at Atlanta Conference This past year a member of the British Embassy and Dr. E. W. Jacobsen, president of the University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, were dis- cussing ways and means of promoting better understanding between the peoples of the United States and the United Kingdom. This conversation occurred at a social function and was something like this. "Don't you believe that we must have more exchange teachers in our universities?" Dr. Jacobsen agreed that was one way, but continued the thought by saying, "If we are truly interested in promoting understanding, an effort must be made in the elementary school with boys and girls many of whom never attend universities. At present the impressions that the majority of our children receive are from a few pages in a geography text. This usually is a factual presentation concerning climate, products, and industries, none of which seem very vital to young people. Also their history books empha- size the story of the American Revolution and the War of 1812 after telling why the colonists came to this country." A few weeks later an invitation was extended to Dr. Jacobsen by the British Minister of Information to visit the schools of the United Kingdom and to bring with him three American teachers who were teaching boys and girls. Plans were made by the Ministry of Information and the Minis- try of Education that schools of all types be visited. This included all ages from the nursery school to the university. The objective was not to see how schools were operated but rather to understand children. During a month's time each of us had the opportunity to talk with administrators, teachers, parents, and hundreds of children. Teachers and headmasters often said, "Our children are shy and reserved; they probably won't talk with you." In every instance a group was soon eager to tell of games, books, collections, and to ask many questions about America. We found that most of their impressions of us had come from our films. Eighty-five percent of the films shown are American so they expected us to live in skyscrapers and to know many gangsters and cowboys. We all chew gum and live a life of speed and violence. One girl in Newcastle on Tyne asked where a family would sit if you have central heating and no fireplace, as a fireplace is so much the center of the home. It has been a fine thing that so many of our soldiers have been stationed in Britain because they have been so friendly in their relations with children. They have visited with them and shared the PX supplies, espe- cially gum and candy bars. "Have you any gum, chum?" has become a national question with children to the embarrassment of their elders. Also the people time and again have told us stories of the ingenuity of the soldiers. In one place we were told of the incident of two GI's and a truck 96 American Association of School Administrators which was loaded to a height two inches more than would pass under a bridge. Looking over the situation one of them walked around the truck and proceeded to deflate all four tires. He cheerfully called to the other to drive ahead. Then they pumped air into the tires once again and were on their way in a few minutes' time. In another town where the water supply was destroyed an engineering unit drilled deeper than had ever been drilled before and in four days' time had water available to the com- munity. One expects to see noticeable physical differences in children whose lives have been under war restrictions for six years. There was little to indicate this. Older people say they do not have high resistance to colds and flu but they appear well fed and healthy. The government is to be credited for the fact that early in the war they planned for a cooked meal at school each day. In some schools this was prepared at school ; in other places it was prepared in community kitchens and delivered to the schools. Many of the schools did not have dining halls so each day students and teachers arranged tables and chairs in a gymnasium or assembly room shortly before the noon hour. However, this extra work did assure one cooked meal a day to each child at a very low cost to supplement the scanty home rations. Also during the school day each child had one-third pint of milk. Thus they tried to give as complete menus to children as were available. Since Britain depends upon imports for much of the food, it seemed monotonous to us to be without fruits and varieties of vegetables. I saw one orange in six weeks and it was dry and shriveled. It was in a nursery school on display so that they might recognize that fruit. They use the term "sweet" for dessert, as dessert is uncooked fruit which has seldom been available during the past six years. The sweet served in the school meal was usually a steamed pudding or a tart with custard. Another reason we believe that Britain realizes the importance* of the next generation is the fact that in 1944 during the war a new education act was passed in Parliament, improving the support of the school services to include another year to the age of fifteen by 1947 and eventually, as teachers and equipment are available, to the age of sixteen. It is diflScult to compare their schools with ours at the present time. In the first place, we have forty-eight state systems so what may be true in one state is not in another. Since their tax-supported schools are under the direction of the Ministry of Education they differ less from one com- munity to another. There is a group of His Majesty's Inspectors, HMI's, to supervise the programs and curriculum. These are appointed for life by the King. They have been former headmasters or headmistresses of schools. The majority are Oxford or Cambridge graduates who try to bring standards of all schools to a high level. The greatest difference we noted is the separation of students as they enter the Secondary Schools after six years in the Primary Schools from age five through eleven. At that time they take qualifying examinations which determine the type of education they will have from age twelve through fourteen. The upper 25 percent enter the Secondary Grammar Addresses at the Conferences 97 Schools while the vast majority attend the Secondary Modern Schools and a few go to Technical Schools. Those who enter the Grammar School take an academic course and may prepare for the High Schools and Uni- versities. About 10 percent of the Grammar School students continue their education beyond age fourteen. None of those attending the Modern Schools and only a few from the Technical Schools continue beyond that age. A few in the Technical Schools are now continuing one day a week after being employed. The term "Multilateral School" was applied to our schools which accept all students from the elementary grades and offer them a diversified curriculum within the same social situation. One teacher asked the top class of the primary school how many wished to enter the Grammar School the following term. Almost every hand was raised but only the upper 25 percent of that class would have the opportunity. The Modern School emphasizes handicraft and homemaking for the girls and shop and woodwork for the boys. In Modern Schools, where space is available, gardening is part of the science work. School gardens are de- veloped and cared for by the boys. Transplanting and grafting of trees, as well as growing vegetables and flowers, are done by students under the supervision of the teachers. Care of bees, poultry, and rabbits is also a part of their class work. The produce is frequently used in the cooking classes and, in some cases, for the school meals. Also some of the newer schools, built shortly before the war, have large grounds and buildings which are becoming community centers for night classes and youth clubs. Classes are ofi'ered in sewing, art, music, dancing, shop ; and young people are returning in the evenings to use the school as a center of their social activities. Cooking classes have learned to use wartime substitutes. "Reconstitute an egg" is a frequent direction in recipes. The courtesy and restraint of the boys and girls were noticeable. The relationship between faculty and students is more formal than in most schools in this country. The patience with which all people wait in queues for buses, trains, food amazed us. Voices are usually lower. Differences in accent vary as much from one section of the country to another as they do in this country. Less slang is used by young people when talking with older persons than by our young boys and girls. Perhaps it is due to war shortages, but I felt it characteristic, the absence of fads and bangles so characteristic of our teen age. The schoolrooms are kept at lower temperatures than usual here, partly due to fuel shortages and partly custom. Fifty-five degrees was the goal, not seventy. Students do not wear uniforms as they do in many of the fee schools but some follow the custom of jumpers for girls and blazers for boys. Few of the children have out-of-school employment but they do help with home tasks and stand in queues to do the family shopping. We noticed that they played fewer war games and seemed to care less for war toys. War was too real to be duplicated as play or art. Many of them belong to Scout and Girl Guide Troops. Hiking is a favorite Saturday pastime — likewise games. Emotionally they seem little disturbed by the trjing experiences of war. Even those who had been transferred from one ^B American AssociATidN of SchoDl Administrators community to another seemed to accept it as a normal procedure. Com- pulsory billeting was the order of the Authority in some safer communities. If you had extra room in your home you took others in. Most of the children have now returned to their own homes. In Doncaster two hundred Dutch children are at present receiving better food and care than they could receive in Holland. They have come with teachers and a chaplain. Many of these have been separated from their families by war and have survived by their wits the past years. They show malnutrition and need guiding in ethical living after lives where scrounging was the order of life. When a nation does its best to give children good food, homes, and schools, and even shares with its less fortunate neighbors at a time when normal living is most difficult, that nation has a true sense of values and realizes that the greatest asset is the children. LEADERSHIP OR ADMINISTRATION? JAMES L. HANLEY, SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND^ Address at New York Conference The absence of Commissioner George D. Stoddard, the speaker originally scheduled for this meeting, is striking testimony of its fateful character. At this moment, he and twentj^-nine others of our number are in Tokyo, guiding the beginnings of an educational system designed to produce a race of free men. If they are successful, what a magnificent contribution they will have made to the peace and happiness of mankind ! And we in New York, and in other regional meetings, are meeting to discuss "The Unfinished Task." Both groups, in Tokyo and New York, are discussing the same task. And it is unfinished if the task be to secure a peaceful world. This morning's program brought out very forcibly the kind of world in which we are living. Mrs. Dean called it "A World in Chaos," and Dr. Carr described "Educa- tion for World Citizenship." The two topics, with no comment or amplifi- cation, describe the problem and suggest the answer. Truly a world in chaos, with education the only permanent solution. There has been presented a vision that fills us with a sense of duty and a desire to devote ourselves wholeheartedly to its performance. We admin- istrators realize the urgency of the crisis. We have heard the speeches and will read the reports. We can do our share, however, only through the teachers in the classrooms. We can serve only by leading our teachers to their highest effectiveness. We must build a morale in our teachers, and through them, in our young people. It is hard to define morale. It is the state of mind that makes a teacher of a class of slow-learning boys refuse a promotion because she does not know 1 At the last moment Superintendent Hanley took over the assignment on this program of New York State Commissioner of Education George D. Stoddard. Shortly before the New York conference Dr. Stoddard departed for Japan with a group of American educators appointed to consult with General MacArthur on the future of Japanese education. Addresses at the Conferences ^^ what will become of the boys in her class if she leaves them. Morale exists in individuals and in groups and is in most cases the determining factor in the success of both. Napoleon has said that in war the morale is to the physical as 3 is to 1 . Professor Hocking in his book, Morale and its Enemies, says, "Morale is to the mind what condition is to the body. Good morale is good condition of the inner man. It is the state of will in which you can get most from the machinerv." Munson in his book, The Manaffenient of Men, defines it as follows: Morale is a term which shouhl he used to express the measure of determination to succeed in tin- purpose for \vhi(li tlie individual is trained, or for which the group exists. It describes the nature and degree of cooperation, confidence, and unity of understanding, sympatliy, and purjiose existing between the individuals composing the group. It is a sense of solidarity of strength and purpose, and ability to undergo in the accomplishment of a common cause. A rather academic definition, but we can recognize good morale in a football team. It means everyone unselfishly working together, mightily, wholeheartedly, as a team for victory. In any task in which people unite, morale is a vital factor. If it is im- portant in war, industry, and athletics, it is not only important but is absolutely essential in effective education. A worker with poor morale can operate a machine or perform a mechanical operation with some degree of success ; a frightened, discouraged soldier can continue to march ; but a pupil without the desire to learn, or who learns half-heartedly, and a teacher who is a bored time-server not only fail in their main jobs, but also produce negative or harmful byproducts. Purpose, interest, confidence, pride, loyalty, and cooperation are the components of good morale. A school system with good morale then is an organization in which everyone is conscious of its purpose, believes in the importance of that pur- pose, and is working with pride, satisfaction, and determination towards its accomplishment. In so far as morale means human cooperation, it is one of the most im- portant things in the world. The world needs most of all a spirit of respect and cooperation among men. America's great industrial power lies paralyzed because man with all his research and technological advances has not mas- tered the science and art of cooperation, of working together happily. In the world, in industry, and in school because it is basic to both, the development of morale — the spirit of cooperation to attain a common purpose — is at the heart of the problem. How can we then improve morale in our school systems? How can we counteract the effect of the factors that destroy morale among all people, including teachers, and then inspire them to devoted service? The increased cost of living; the decreased opportunities for promotion ; the vague, general uncertainty about the future ; the contagious example of other employed groups are distracting, demoralizing influences at a time that calls for the very best of our teachers in effort, in devotion, in skill, in intelligence. 100 American Association of School Administrators It is a responsibility that may be slighted as administrators are bogged down with such pressing problems as the budget, the teacher shortage, build- ing programs, veterans education, adequate finances, and the other pressing obligations that face us. But it is only by increasing morale that we can meet the challenge of this meeting. There are three areas from which I believe we can derive some help in our attempt to unite and inspire our teachers. They are the field of industry in which several studies in management-worker relations have been made, the science of mental hygiene in which useful hypotheses have been ex- pressed, and the study of the functions of leadership in which some brilliant analyses have been made. In the light of the present industrial crisis, American industry is not exactly the place one would look for guidance in improving the morale of employees, and yet through cooperation between universities and large organizations, studies have been made with interesting and helpful results. The most important of these studies, in which Harvard University par- ticipated, took place at the Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company. Here several interesting researches were made into the subject of industrial morale. There is, I know, a difference between workers in a manu- facturing plant and teachers, and yet the results are so interesting that there may be an application to the morale of teachers. The researches started out to determine and to plot the relationship be- tween physical conditions such as illumination, rest periods, and other ob- jective data and the output per worker. It looked simple. Measure the foot- candles of illumination, check the output per worker, and figure the corre- lation. But they soon found out that workers were not simple objects but human beings, that changing the number of foot-candles or varying physical condi- tions did not make very much diliference. They began to realize that they were dealing with people who had hopes and disappointments, fears and ambitions, who reacted to and were influenced by people in their own group, and in the groups above and below them in the ladder of prestige that exists in every human organization. When they varied the illumination in the shop they were not getting close to the springs of human behavior. When they selected five girls from the group assembling electrical relays and explained to them what they were doing in the experiment, took an unusual interest in them, called them to meetings in the superintendent's office and asked their advice, relieved their fears about pay and unemployment, let them talk at work — in other words, treated them as human beings — it made very little difference whether they had a rest period or a shorter day or brighter lights or a lunch at intermission. The output increased substan- tially. The human factor was infinitely more important. Industry rediscovered that workers were more than machines, that they were complex beings, and that emotions were much more important than any logical thinking in determining their attitudes. It found that workers were conscious of other people around them and that their relation to these people was very important. Strangely enough, they discovered that money was not Addresses at the Conferences 101 the most important incentive, that workers were often more upset about the unfairness of a wage differential of some other group than about the actual amount of money received. In the words of Dr. Roethlisberger of Harvard who helped to direct the research: "Whether or not a person is going to give his services whole- heartedly to a group depends in good part on the way he feels about his job, his fellow workers, and his supervisors — the meaning for him of what is happening to him." - Before pointing out the application to the school staff, let us follow the experiment a little further. The next step led them into a study of workers' attitudes by means of interviews. Skilled interviewers not directly connected with the shop arranged to talk with hundreds of workers on a confidential basis. Here again the problem was not as simple as it seemed. First, their technic of the interview was faulty. The interviewers found it difficult not to give advice, to argue, or to dominate the conversation. Later they devised rules and technics for understanding the employee's sentiments. Dr. Roethlis- berger in his book. Management and Morale,'^ describes the rules for the interview. They are, I think, worth quoting: "The first rule is that the supervisor should listen patiently to what his subordinate has to say before making any comment himself. Probably the quickest way to stop a person from sufficiently expressing himself is to interrupt. ''The second rule is that the supervisor should refrain from hasty disappro- bation of his subordinate's conduct. It is not his business, in the first instance at least, to give advice or moral admonition. If the employee says, 'This is a hell of a company to work for,' the attitude of the supervisor should not be, 'Tut, tut, my good man, you are not displaying the proper spirit.' In- stead, he should try to get the employee to express himself more fully by asking why he feels as he does. "The third rule is that the supervisor should not argue with his subordi- nate. It is futile to try to change sentiments by logic. The best way for the supervisor to avoid arguments is to see that the employee's sentiments do not act on his own. "The fourth rule is that the supervisor should not pay exclusive attention to the manifest content of the conversation. The interviewers had discovered that there is a tendency to rationalize sentiments and that in ordinary social mtercourse the participants are likely to become more interested in the truth of the rationalizations than in the sentiments that are being expressed. "The fifth rule is that the supervisor should listen not only to what a person wants to say, but also to what he does not want to say or cannot say without assistance." I have quoted the rules because they are of practical value and because they illustrate that what came from the interviews was a mixture of fact = Rpprinted by permission of the publishers from F. J. Roethlisberger, Management and Morale. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. 1941. 102 American Association of School Administrators and feeling, with emotions or sentiments prevailing over and coloring the entire product. They found that the behavior of workers could not be understood apart from their feelings and sentiments, that the sentiments were easy to disguise and difficult to recognize and study, and that the sentiments could be under- stood only in terms of the total situation of the worker. This does not mean that the results of the interviews were not valuable. They demonstrated the important place of emotions in the behavior of the worker and indicated the nature of the social structure that is industry. Properly interpreted, what they found was a gold mine of useful informa- tion. As a result of it the company established the policy of interviewing all employees by skilled interviewers on a confidential, anonymous basis. Out of their interviews it is possible without violating the premises to keep manage- ment informed of the general state of morale within the plant and as to the major factors which are affecting the attitudes of employees. Its main purpose is to help the individual employee adjust himself to the social structure of the plant, to evaluate himself and his situation, and to help him secure changes if they are justified. It is a recognition of the human character of workers. The Hawthorne studies demonstrated scientifically in terms of objective standards the importance of meaning, of status, of recognition in the atti- tudes of workers. It pointed out that acceptance in the informal groups that formed in the plant was essential to the workers' happiness. Recognition, being asked his opinion, being asked to help a newcomer, or to do a special job — these were the important things. The application to teacher morale is, I think, obvious. The same desire for status, for consideration, for recognition exists in all of us, as in the em- ployees at Hawthorne. We can do better work when we are somebody, when we count, when we have had a share in the plans, and have an interest in the outcome. To extend our personnel services to provide counselors for teachers would undoubtedly reveal tensions, disappointments, and emotional distress. Buried within a teacher, these demoralize. A discussion with a friendly, skilled counselor may be the first step in relieving them. It should help the teacher and at the same time inform the counselor of dangers to morale. It will also give information regarding the talents, experience, and skills of teachers that may otherwise go unrecognized and unused. Education knew, long before industry, the influence of the emotions on the behavior and attitudes of people. Human beings, mental hygiene has told us, have four basic emotional needs if they are to be properly adjusted. They are security, recognition, new experiences, and self-expression. All of us need them — workers, administrators, teachers, children. Human beings need security, a feeling that regardless of changes and outside forces they will not only have the necessities of life, but that they can of their own efforts cope with and prevail over their changing circumstances. Teachers have more job security than any occupational group I know. It will; 1 thinkj be even niQr? ^efure in the next few years, Th^re is a real Addresses at the Conferences 103 shortage of teachers throughout America. Superintendents are looking for good teachers cverj- where. It must he good for morale to know that. But teachers need more than job security. They need the consciousness that they have a place in the respect and afifection of some other person or per- sons. They need to have a sure confidence in us as their leaders. No feeling can destroy morale as effectively as a lack of confidence in the fairness of their leader, or the fear of losing their job. The figures in the Research Bulletin of the National Education Association last December disclose an alarming state of insecurity : Nearly five thousand teachers replied to a questionnaire on personnel ad- ministration. To one question asked, "If you had some cause for dissatisfac- tion in your present teaching position, what would be your chances of getting a hearing and a square deal?" less than half the teachers answered, "Good," 22 percent answered, "Fair," 17 percent answ^ered, "Chances about even," 6 percent of urban teachers and 5 percent of rural teachers said, "Poor," and 9 percent of urban and 10 percent of rural teachers said, "Very little chance." More than half the teachers, and the distribution of questionnaires fol- lowed fairly well the population distribution of the country, have some misgiving, at least are not absolutely sure of a square deal from their employers. I reread the table after my first impression, but my first reading was accurate. Regardless of the objective truth in the matter, a majority of teachers replying say they are not absolutely sure they would get a square deal if they had a cause for dissatisfaction. In our supervision, in our assignments, we can build security or we can demoralize by adding to fears already present, with teachers reading into actions and words meanings, threats, and causes for fear frequently ground- less but none the less real. Security is essential to morale. All of us too need recognition. Need is a mild Avord for it. IMost of us are starved for it, crave it. And most superintendents and principals fail miser- ably in our use of it. I know hundreds of teachers in Providence who work intelligently and brilliantly, and yet I do not tell them so as often as I should. We need to remind teachers that they inherit a prestige; that children and parents look up to them ; that, more than we realize, people respect them and are grateful to them. I was astonished but pleased to hear a young naval officer recall a story I had told a junior high-school assembly ten years ago. Every teacher needs a specialty which, however humble, is her own. It need not be a school specialty, but she needs to be able to say when clouds are gray and the winds cold and unfriendly, "Wait till they come to dahlias, or needlepoint," or whatever she does well. My small son caught the idea when he said to his mother, "Mother, let's play darts. I'll throw the darts, and you say, 'Wonderful'." No consideration of recognition can fail to consider the matter of teacher salaries. Salary is an indication of prestige. It is concrete recognition by the community of the status of the teacher. Unless salaries are improved it will be impossible to attract promising young teachers to the profession or 104 American Association of School Administrators to retain the services of the more able on our present staffs. We must lead in the campaign for salaries for teachers, not only as a matter of justice but because it contributes to morale. It is a tangible and genuine form of recog- nition by the community. Again, all of us need a chance to express ourselves. Teachers must be al- lowed initiative in planning their work, freedom in selecting the material to be emphasized, and opportunity to develop their own methods. For self- expression we need a chance to do what we can and want to do. For many of us music or art or a garden or a charity or sports or dramatics gives us this opportunity. Until the war we had a dramatics club called "The Faculty Players" which gave opportunities to many and entertainment to all the teaching staff. We have learned that the most effective curriculum develop- ment occurs when teachers cooperate in its making, when the thinking and experience of teachers find expression in the course of study. Every teacher has a unique personality. No two are exactly alike. All deserve to be treated with respect. All have a natural hunger for self-expression. This self-expression is provided by supervision that presents the challenge of teaching as an art, the careful planning of one's work to build background, to arouse interest, to set the stage, and guide the responses and activities of youngsters so that permanent changes in reactions and attitudes occur. This can be real activity — the work of a master craftsman. Whatever the means of expression, we should provide opportunities and encouragement for teachers to use the particular aptitudes with which they came into the world. Teachers like other folk need new experiences. These may take many forms. In Providence we arrange several exchanges with other systems each year. We permit teachers' leaves of absence for study and travel, paying them their salaries minus the pay of a substitute. Visiting days, conferences with consultants with a new approach to a subject, occasional lectures are illustrations of acceptance of the idea that new experiences are essential. Teachers need to realize the need for new experiences, not as luxuries but as necessities — the theater, the world of books, the shore and the mountain, and the vacation trip. Any break in routine is good, any new experience, any interruption of the flow of habit. But adventures are neither so far off nor so expensive. The challenge of the classroom, what William Lyon Phelps called "the excitement of teach- ing," can provide them ; for instance, how to learn with children the new and one world that the war and modern science have opened. I met one of our first-grade teachers the other day — sixty-seven years old, I found out later — but young, happy, cheerful, enthusiastic. She was coming from at- tending the "Lone Ranger Circus." "Had to go," she explained, "really to know what the children were thinking and talking about." A leave of absence even for different work frequently refreshes and brightens a teacher. These principles of mental hygiene — ways of respecting human values and recognizing the dignity of human nature — are new only in their form of expression. Religious leaders have used them through the ages. Addresses at the Conferences 105 If it is true that leaders are a product of their times and circumstances, then 1946 should develop great leaders. The times demand leadership and in no field as in education. The crises of the past ten years have produced educators who saw the threat to democracy and enlisted the schools to defend it. The work of the Educational Policies Commission and of the National Education Association was the answer to the needs of the times. Their in- fluence has not yet been fully appraised. Leadership requires these things: an understanding of the conditions under which people do their best work together, a means of communica- tion, and a purpose. Most of all, it means a determination on our part to refuse to be deterred from dynamic leadership by the routine of admin- istration. The machinery that makes an organization united in purpose is a means of communication. The lines of communication from the teacher to the leader and the board of education must be clear, and the lines down from the board of education and superintendent to the classroom must also be open. Each will draw inspiration from the other. This does not mean, of course, the transmission of minute details from one to the other. Gradually these are generalized as they reach the top and conversely they assume de- tailed form as they come to the teacher. It does not mean a complication of bulletins and reports. It does mean, however, a sharing of vision and purpose and faith. The vision is of a better world, better because men and women have developed integrity of mind and soul and respect for one another. The purpose is to bring fulfilment and growth and significance to the lives of American youth, and through them to the world. The faith is in education, in the work of the teacher, in our fellowman ever)where, in the doctrine of understanding and brotherhood, in the good- ness of a God whose children we are. Teachers can unite in this faith and serve humanity as few generations have done. It is our blessing to have the chance to lead them. 106 American Association of School Administrators DEVELOPING LAY LEADERSHIP PAUL R. MORT, PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION, TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK, N. Y. Address at New York Conference The development of la}^ leadership has taken on new meanings as a result of the studies of adaptability carried on during the last decade. It seems to be the most readily available means by which the schools can take full ad- vantage of the strong influences which the community has on education. I shall review briefly the background of this statement, outline some of the facets of the problem, and treat two of these facets in some detail. TIME FOR REORIENTATION In the early decades of this century the responsibility of the state for edu- cation, as opposed to the community, was greatly emphasized. This probably had something to do with the rather general overlooking of a very vital fact : that virtual home rule over the educational program places the school in strong crosscurrents of local public opinion. The wide range of discretion actually provided local administration not only frees it from a slavish min- isterial relationship with state officers but makes it subject to a vast range of community influences which it would otherwise be empowered to ignore, or at least to resist. Because of the strong emphasis on state control, the findings in the early studies of adaptability of the tremendous strength of the community in set- ting the educational pattern were therefore something of a shock. These studies sought to find out why some communities were pioneers, some fol- lowers, and some laggards. They plumbed into the characteristics of the teaching staff as usually dealt with — amount, place of training, age, sex, turnover — and into various social and economic characteristics of the com- munity— size, education of the population, occupations, tax rates, wealth, etc. They showed the surprising fact that it is possible to predict pioneering- ness, followership, or laggardness far more readily from the characteristics of the community than from the characteristics of the staff. Whatever this might mean as to the staff, it certainly brought the com- munity into new light. It became clear, among other things, that it is not enough to consider the community as fully represented by the board of education. Attention must be given to the population characteristics that condition community faith in education, to what can be achieved through in- fluencing the understanding of education existent in the public mind, and to the whole series of social and economic conditioners that tend to spur on or slow down community action on educational matter. NEW TASKS FOR ADMINISTRATORS The tasks of administration thus became more complex. The administra- tion could not be satisfied solely in inducting schoolboard members into the philosophy of the school system and in performing those public relations Addresses at the Conferences 107 tasks which tend to jzive a coinniuiiity a sense of well-heinj^. With no less work to do with the board of education, as outlined in the early chapters of the AASA 1946 Yearbook, school administration must see to it that groups interested in the evolution of the community' as a community understand how various acts of planning, zoning, or population stimulation would affect the schools and, h\ implications, the other social institutions of the com- munity. School administration must be concerned also with the picture held in the public mind of what constitutes a good school, for it is increasingly clear that through the questions asked of teachers, administrative ofHcers, and board members, questions flowing from the public conception of what a good school looks like, there is a continuous shaping of educational policy as de- termined not only through influence on the boards of education and admin- istration but also through influence on school principals and teachers. The result desired is two-fold: (a) the building in the public mind of a picture of the most powerful school for the transformation of human per- sonality, for realizing social and economic well-being that can be built out of the know-how now available; (b) the opening of channels from the public that will make it easier for creative ideas, as well as urge for action, to flow from this improved setting into the schools: influence on board of educa- tion, the administration, and both directly and indirectly on the teachers in the classroom. HOW the public mind works First a word about how the public mind influences the school other than by electing schoolboard members, voting on the budget, and exercising in- fluence through pressure groups. The problem is to get into the public mind w'hat a school looks like that is utilizing effective methods in teaching the skills and the basic knowledge necessary for an intelligent population, in discovering and developing talents, and in cultivating civilized patterns of behavior. The difficulty is that the public by and large, looking at a school which utilizes the know-how, having no understanding of what is going on, tends to class much of the work of the school as play — just a small boy not understanding the operation of the steamshovel may think of the job of operating it as the most delightful game in the world. The public, conditioned to judge educational practices in terms of the inefficient methods with w^hich it was familiar, and having no basis for judging efficient methods, is a public that will ask all the wrong questions, will, in fact, ask questions that cannot be answered, such as, "If Johnny didn't play so much, wouldn't he be better with his spelling?" These ques- tions are like the old poser, "Have you stopped beating your wife?" They draw teachers back, they make them cagey, causing them to carry on their better practices in a surreptitious manner. As a matter of fact, hundreds of the questions asked by parents and other laymen cannot be answered because they cannot see the answer from where they stand. By the same token, the transformation of the picture in the public mind of what a good school looks like may be expected to change the ciiaracter of these questions in such a 108 American Association of School Administrators way that they will encourage the good practices, make the work of the good teacher easier, and let good education come out into the light of day. what schools can do Clearly before we can undertake to develop in the public mind a picture of a powerful school, someone must have that picture in his own mind. He must translate it through words, pictures, and discussions into the public mind. This demands that whatever is done through current methods of public relations to build up the conception that the present schools are the best possible schools in the best of all possible communities, that seemingly contrary objective must be achieved of building up a background of under- standing in the public mind that will reveal how the present educational program lags behind the best-known ways of providing education. Let us first examine this picture of what schools can do that should be- come the possession of the public mind. Struck by the above line of thinking, a group of some sixty superintendents of schools in the metropolitan area of New York City undertook to construct a picture of a powerful school. Realizing that in this group were more than half of the really well-supported public schools in America, and realizing also that no challenging formulation of a powerful education had been forthcoming for more than a decade, these men promoted a study of what was going on in the classrooms of their schools. The theory back of their approach was that they must have, by sheer accident if not otherwise, employed a goodly number of superior human beings to teach in these schools. If this is so, these superior human beings, working under favorable conditions, must certainly have introduced practices that outran the theory of the Twenties of which they were by and large the masters. Utilizing the most extensive portrayal of schools then avail- able— the document, JVhat Education Our Money Buys, developed by the New York Educational Conference Board — the staff of each of the sixty school systems was asked to report areas in which in their judgment prac- tices in their schools were superior to anything reported. This was done by the thousands of classroom teachers, principals, and supervisors in these schools. Two hundred and fifty selected staliF members then went to work on following up these practices with the result that some six thousand de- scriptions became available. The group then classified these practices into 101 patterns of practice and the results were published in a document. What Schools Can Do. This of course is only a beginning. Studies are now going forward seeking not only to portray the more powerful patterns of practice with moving pictures, but seeking also to discover additional prac- tices challenged by the publication of this document. From the work to date, some conception can be achieved of how present know-how in education adds up. It is clear that what was long considered a matter of philosophy as to whether we taught from textbooks or from life- like situations is not and never should have been a matter of argument. What is a matter of argument is whether or not there is enough know-how by means of which the more powerful job of teaching can be done. It can be reported that sufficient know-how has developed in the work of master Addresses at the Conferences 109 teachers over the past quarter of a century definitely to change the pattern of the school from a rather ineffective instrument for instilling of skills and knowledge into an effective one. The ultimate development of know-how is not yet, but there is enough to make a difference. First it is clear that schools can do much more than is usually expected of them in developing the skills and knowledge basic to intelligent behavior. With respect to the skills, this is manifested in three ways: 1. More attention can be productively spent on oral communication so useful not only to the individual person but also to group work in our economic life and in the operation of our democratic institutions. 2. Time can be profitably spent on a continued teaching of the basic skills on through the high school. This is particularly true of types of reading skills. 3. And, finally, a sufficient supply of know-how has accumulated to make it pos- sible to do a great deal of the teaching of skills in life and lifelike situations which are so much more effective than older methods. This is particularly true when staffing provision is more ample than in the average school. With respect to the accumulation of useful knowledge, this is manifested in two ways: (a) Here too the invention of know-how has made it possible to use life and lifelike situations for instilling knowledge in a way that promises to be useful in life situations, (b) In addition, teachers have dis- covered that children grow even when the teacher is not talking, thus freeing much formerly wasted time for exploration. The result is much more reading by children as well as learning by the manipulation of scientific instruments and the interesting array of available art from this technological world. The second point that seems clear from these studies is that schools have made great strides in the development of the know-how by which, through an enriched educational setting, the talents that lie within the individual chrysalis of each particular boy and girl and young person can be discovered, and in finding the teachers who can not only discover the persons of talent but also perform that miracle of drawing it out and developing it. When we think of talents we usually think of art, music, or writing. Important as these are, they do not begin to exhaust the list of the arts we live by, and in all of these arts some persons in every group are better than others. Whatever it may have to do with the promotion of individual happiness, a worthwhile end in itself, it is essential for economic reasons to discover those who are better at the typewriter, at the comptometer, at the drill press, at handling live stock, at developing plants, at developing applications of chemistry and physics, at flying aeroplanes, at providing personal service, and developing those talents so that the oncoming generation will be a more economically productive people. Note how vulnerable such a school is to the darts of a public mind burdened with a picture of the older, simpler school. Observing youngsters working with paintbrushes or musical instruments, or developing skills and communication in clubs, on the playground, or in the auditoriums, the public is puzzled. This is not school as they knew it. The youngsters are having too much fun. So they tend to classify these activities as play in their ignorance of the significance of what is happening. Finally, it is clear that somehow or other a greater proportion of what we honor as master teachers may be observed in schools such as those of 110 American Association of School Administrators which I am speaking. When we speak of our own great teacher, we tend to think of the person who had an influence on us in some crisis of personal development, who pointed out paths that our own ej'es would not have seen, who gave us patterns of human behavior by which we could meet situations in the realm of citizenship, home life, personality, or character that we might never have hit upon otherwise. Philosophers have long talked about con- comitant learning but the school was organized for the direct learnings. It left the concomitant learnings greatly to chance. We now see an increasing number of teachers who have the faculty of standing on the outside of a group and of observing individuals and groups on the playground, in the clubs, in the auditorium as well as in the classroom in a vast series of human relationships and occasionally dropping the hint or suggestion, or raising the question which leads to the blossoming of a more abundant life pattern in individual boys and girls. We see this essential life guidance not made a matter of a few specialists each with five hundred youngsters to guide. In the best schools these special crutches that make up for the deficiencies in the classroom teachers themselves seem to be less necessary, for the classroom teachers are less often deficient as observers and guides of personality, char- acter, and citizenship patterns essential to the intelligent human being and fruitful in establishing the character of a people. It seems to me that it is important that the public understand what the pos- sibilities are in this area. Certainly when speeches are made about retiring teachers they make a great deal about their being builders of men as well as scholars of mathematics, history, or English. If, as it seems, we have some- thing tangible in this area, the potentialities should be shared with the public. Probably nothing could be more influential in developing a public attitude looking towards the employment of first-grade persons as teachers and giving those persons the right facilities to work with and money enough that they could continue to grow by travel, by books, and by human asso- ciations. LIFTING LAY UNDERSTANDING Typical public relations programs clearly are not designed to carry over a picture of the full potential of public schools ; although to the extent that the schools have achieved the best, such programs tend to do it. But clearly the best of schools fall far short of what they could be if they were to use available know-how. Universally, therefore, it would appear that we are faced with the task of painting the picture of what schools could really do as demonstrated by piecemeal practice here and there. To the degree we suc- ceed in doing this, there is reason to believe that the public mind will give the schools a psychological lift, and, it is not too much to expect, will find ways and means in organization and financial support to implement more powerful education. For out of the process will arise lay leadership, not by selection but by acceptance. As Chester I. Barnard has stated: Leaders as functioning elements of organizations are not formally nominated, selected, elected, or appointed, nor are they born to leadership; they are accepted and followed; and are sometimes pressed or (rarely) coerced into leading. Indeed, I Addresses at the Conferences 111 have never observed any leader who was able to state adequately or intelligibly why he was able to be a leader, nor any statement of followers that acceptably expressed why they followed.' It seems to me that Barnard's position on this matter is well supported by Alinsky's chapter on "Native Leadership." " A number of school systems are working on ways and means of develop- ing public understanding. They are humanizing the thinking of laymen. Typical of a sizeable group of communities, a school system of 100,000 has groups of teachers and laymen working together on unmet needs. A whole school day was recently used for this purpose and engaged some eight hun- dred people — teachers, parents, nonparents, board members — in the process of getting down on paper the lacks which individual teachers and laymen felt. This same community already had eleven groups of teachers and laymen working on unmet needs identified earlier. Another community is following the policy of inviting groups of citizens to visit the schools. They are accom- panied by the superintendent and one or more members of the board of edu- cation. Following their day of visitation, there is a discussion period held in a comfortable place. A third community, a part of the city of New York, has the principals of the individual schools working with small groups of lay- men drawn from various community organizations in an attempt to develop leadership for the study of education in such groups. A fourth school system makes large utilization of bodies originally created by real-estate develop- ments within the community; these organizations having lost to a large extent their original functions have had their efforts sublimated to a consid- eration of educational policy for the larger community. They carry much weight in the formulation of the budget, in the nomination of schoolboard members, and in current educational policy. A word ought to be said about what we do for the budding laymen. Few schools do anything of consequence in the study of education as a powerful instrument of society except as it appears in the senior high-school course — "Problems of Democracy." These treatments, so far as I at least have been able to judge them, are not only inadequate in scope but in content. It is a rare thing to find educational books available in high-school student libraries for students. It might be added that it is a rare thing to find an educational book that would be useful. I suggest the new AASA 1946 Yearbook, School Boards in Action, as such a useful book to be called to the attention of students. Perhaps there could be an education club not for budding teachers but for young citizens in general to study such books as School Boards in Action, What Education Our Money Buys, If hat Schools Can Do, JVhat Makes Good Schools?, as well as some of those produced by the Educational Policies Commission. It is clear that this is too much of a task for the administrator or for some special person in the administrator's office, such as the publicity director. 1 Barnard, Chester I., Dilemmas of Leadership in the Democratic Process (Stafford Little Lectures.) Princeton, N. J.: University Extension Fund, Herbert L. Baker Foundation, Princeton University, April 25, 1939. p. 17. *Alinsky, Saul D., Reveille for Radicals. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1946. 228 p. 112 American Association of School Administrators Schools experimenting in ways and means of building up public understand- ing and the promoting of creative thinking about education are finding it necessary to utilize large numbers of teachers as well as principals, super- visors, and other administrators. One community in this vicinity has 125 teachers (one-fourth of its staff) working in small groups with an equal number of chosen laymen. channels of public influence It is not enough to build up understanding. Channels of influence have clogged up in most communities, or have entirely disappeared, as school districts grew in population and size and as school administration grew in dependence on an overemphasized state authority. Perhaps with a public mind carrying about a picture of a 1910 model school, or a notion that education is improved only by increasing its scope, it would be just as well not to open the channels for the inward flow of influence. But with a public mind lifted upward, the opening of channels of influence can but improve the educational program. The need is particularly insistent when, as Professor Hallenbeck has pointed out, many persons who have high regard for the values represented by the schools do not have a strong voice in the power groups of the community. A highly important process now in operation in the schools lends itself to this purpose. I refer to the budget. The budget, born out of prudential con- siderations and extended in recent years out of the hands solely of the board of education and superintendent of schools through democratic considera- tions, suddenly looms as a powerful agency for the inward flow of influence from the community. Clearly, a community which has many of its normal groups studying next steps for bridging the gap between the schools as they are and the schools as they could be has in the budget-making process an op- portunity for taking stock as to a great variety of group interests and ambi- tions. The budget-making time should be an annual rounding up of com- munity thinking for school development. Into the formulation of the budget should flow the considerations of groups of pupils, teachers, janitors, and the public. The board and the administration have the opportunity and responsi- bility for making a trial balance of these demands. Once this trial balance is made, budget hearings cease to become a time to defend the budget and, instead, become conferences for checking the board's trial balance of the aspects of improvement urged from various quarters. If all things were taken into account, a budget as usually evolved might well prove to be far below what an enlightened public would demand. A budget so used is not only a prudential device ; it is an instrument of community thinking going infinitely farther in obtaining participation than suggestions simply those from the urge to make administration democratic. In summary, I have reviewed the eye-opening findings of the studies seeking to find why some communities are pioneers, some followers, and some laggards. I have indicated what I think they mean in bringing a new em- phasis to home rule in educational control. I have pointed out that they make Addresses at the Conferences 113 demands upon the shaping of the community population and the economy. I have indicated the need they show for the study of the potential transform- ing power of education. I have pointed out that they demand a tremendous effort in dealing with the public involving board members, teachers, other employees, and pupils. In short, they demand a public relations program that far outruns public relations programs we talked of during the past twenty years and a program of planning drawn on far more inclusive lines than those that are commonly proposed. I have given some indications of first yields of attempts to discover what a powerful school would look like in terms of the know-how actually observed in schools, of efforts to share it with the public mind, and of possible modifications of budgetary practices to open up channels of inward flow into the schools. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP JOHN A. SEXSON, SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA Address at Kansas City Conference Professional leadership must chart its course — The thoughtful profes- sional leadership of America and of the entire world is now fully conscious that all educational institutions are face to face with new problems — that as we go forward into this new and changing world of tomorrow our schools must be adjusted to changing needs and to changing demands. Whenever the orderly affairs of mankind are dislocated by the course of events, educational leadership is challenged to chart a new course. To every generation come circumstances wherein the gravity of the disturbances call for the plotting of new courses for most of man's institutions. In the words of Havelock Ellis: The present is in every age merely the shifting point at which past and future meet, and we can have no quarrel with either. There can be no old without tradi- tions, neither can there be any life without movement. There is never a moment when the new dawn is not breaking over the earth, and never a moment when the sunset ceases to die. In the moral world we are ourselves the light-bearers. . . . For a brief space it is granted us, if we will, to enlighten the darkness that sur- rounds our path. As in the ancient torch race, we press forward, torch in hand, along the course. Down from behind comes the runner who will outpace us. All our skill lies in giving into his hand the living torch, bright and unflickering, as we ourselves disappear in the darkness. JVe are in the midst of great events — This audience is made up in large part of those who hold positions of responsible leadership in education. We are the torchbearers for the moment in a world that has experienced dis- turbances of unprecedented proportions. The gravity of the problems con- fronting us and all the peoples of the world cannot be questioned or min- imized. Society has experienced a series of shocks that threatens its political, economic, social, and moral structure. Mankind stands paralyzed with a fear of the forces he has released in his frenzied effort to win a war — to 114 American Association of School Administrators defend himself and his institutions against the threat of totalitarian domi- nation, to protect and save the values he has struggled for centuries to create. Cha?ige is impending — The effect of atomic fission has been to leave men aghast at the tragic catastrophe that impends if men fail to find in universal peace the one desperate defense that must save all humanity from destruc- tion. Whether wt like it or not, we are at last driven by fear to achieve that cooperation we have failed to reach by agreement. However much we may deplore the fact that we have been impelled to better behavior by fear, rather than by conscience, we cannot be less concerned about the character of the impending changes or the processes by which they are to be effected. Education must assume heavy burdens — For more than half a century, society has made increasing use of education in coping with its problems. Whether these problems have had to do with youth, with crime, disease, war, peace, foreign relations, or domestic tranquility, men have turned to education for aid and to learning as the best foundation for progress. At no previous time has this been more evident than during the course and at the termination of this war. Immediately upon the entrance of our country into this war, our nation turned at once to the schools asking their aid to train men and women to produce the materials of war, to demand that organized institutions of education spearhead the activities essential to gird the nation's services in a desperate battle for the protection of human rights and for the survival of humane institutions of government, industry, and interaction. Now that the shooting has stopped, the United Nations have taken action designating education as one of the major instrumentalities for establishing and maintaining peace among the peoples of the earth. Armed forces and treaties are not now accepted as safe guarantors of peace — For the first time political and military leaders are admitting, with the utmost frankness, that the time-honored instruments and agencies of human accord, such as treaties and agreements, are obviously ineffective and untrustworthy and that the hope of the future world lies in a new direction — in the direction of educational, cultural, and scientific collaboration be- tween all the peoples of all the nations to the end that the attitudes and be- havior of nations and their government will reflect better attitudes and bet- ter behavior on the part of the individual citizens thereof. This is a direct reliance upon educational and cultural forces rather than upon might or force. The idea has been succinctly phrased in the preamble of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization which says: . . . since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the de- fenses of peace must be constructed ; That ignorance of each other's ways and lives has been a common cause, through- out the history of mankind, of that suspicion and mistrust between the peoples of the world through which their differences have all too often broken into war; That the great and terrible war which has now ended was a war made possible by the denial of democratic principles of dignity, equality and mutual respect of men, and by the propagation, in their place, through ignorance and prejudice, of the doc- trine of the inequality of men and races; That the wide diffusion of culture, and the education of humanity for justice and liberty and peace are indispensable to the dignity of man and constitute a sacred duty which all the nations must fulfill in a spirit of mutual assistance and concern. Addresses at the Conferences 115 This is professional leadership's first responsibility — This pronouncement challenges the educational leadership of this and every nation to devise and to implement an educational profjram that shall in fact and in time produce those chanf::es in the minds and hearts of men that are essential to interna- tional unity and {goodwill, as well as to domestic peace and tranquility. Here at lonjj last is the opportunity education has soujjht. Here is a chal- lenge thrown round the world, to make operative in the minds and hearts of men those attitudes, hehaviors, and tolerances that underlie amicable human relationships — whether between individuals, groups, races, or nations. Here is a directive that in every schoolroom in every part of the world children, >outh, and adults shall be taught new ideas and made to behave in new ways. It would be most unrealistic to assume that education as it has been going on in the past may be extended into the future with assurance that it will accomplish such results. Education in the prewar world served indifferently, and with equal ef- fectiveness, the dictator and the democrat, the warmonger and the peace advocate. The world has gone along under the assumption that man may control his destiny through political and economic organizations buttressed by armed forces. He has allowed children, j'outh, and adults to be steeped in ideologies that were obviously subversive to the purposes he has sought to further. He has overlooked or ignored the cumulative impact of ideals and the influences of ideas upon men's attitudes, responses, and behaviors. The war has taught mankind, at tragic cost, that the forces essential to his wel- fare and happiness must be spiritual forces, that there must be engendered in the hearts and minds of millions of men the will to make the sacrifices, to per- form the labors, to promote the causes that underlie security, respect for human life, and a common concern for the welfare of every individual. Education serves good masters and bad — Before this war education was effectively used by the dictators to nurture a generation devoid of every vestige of human tolerance — a ruthless, barbaric, bigoted, and selfish mob responsive to maniacal leadership. Education was used to bolster political and economic philosophies of every kind and to cement whole nations to their support. Education was used to stifle religion and to offset religious impulses in an entire nation. Education was used to promulgate falsehood, false doctrines, and false ideologies. It has taken a war of gigantic propor- tions to stem the forces set in motion by the school teacher. Education in the postiuar world — This brief survey of the present scene is not presented under any assumption that the facts are not well-known to you. They are presented rather as a summation of the arguments that should impel every responsible educational leader to take immediate steps to project plans that will make education an effective instrument of progress toward new goals — goals we have heretofore given enthusiastic lip service but only lackadaisical implementation. The Atlantic Charter and the worthy ideals embodied therein have thus far been used for little more than a slogan by which to recruit armies and to rally the allied peoples to win the war. It still remains to be seen whether these and other nations shall make these same principles effective as a basis 116 American Association of School Administrators for lasting peace. It is one thing to use an ideal as a war slogan but quite another thing to make this same ideal a basis for long-time peaceful associa- tion. This is the unique and peculiar function of education. Education only can translate ideas and ideals into action, attitude, and behavior. But before we complacently assume that education will accomplish this much desired end, remember that there is as yet no institution or agency of international education. True a start has been made. But the goal is far in the future. Even after the organization has been perfected the program and processes will necessarily be slowly initiated. What can be taught and how it can be taught in our own and in other countries must be determined by the slow processes of experimentation, dem- onstration, and evaluation. Under the most favorable circumstances and with the full and enthusiastic cooperation of educators, we shall barely be able by the means of the best attainable education to learn enough to save our- selves from destruction. Professional organization must move quickly — Thus, the responsibility for what happens to our world is our responsibility. Without implying that this great task is the sole responsibility of those who teach in our educational in- stitutions, we must face the fact that the initiative for educational and cul- tural plans must originate in the existing professional organizations. Organizations such as our own must do their share in underwriting, wherever needed, the expert services necessary to devise and administer edu- cational systems and educational programs adequate to meet the needs, what- ever they are. In some parts of the world this involves tasks and expenditures of such tremendous proportions that an effort comparable to that required to win the war seems to be demanded. The genius of our people in the production of the materials of war and in recruiting the armed forces to wage war must be matched by an equal genius in devising new and effective ways of living together and in recruiting the forces necessary to make them effective in the lives of millions of persons. Echoes of the call for such professional leadership have been heard at this conference. More than twenty of our best professional leaders — many of them members of this association — have been drafted for such service by General MacArthur and are tonight en route to the Orient. Others once familiar in our meetings are tonight employed in professional services in the European and other theaters. No person with the health and strength and the necessary professional competency can be unmindful tonight of his personal obligation to render high professional service in this hour of crisis, to enlist militantly in the effort to build impregnable defenses against intolerance, greed, and aggression. While we are stressing these new global problems of community living, we must not forget that the theme of this conference is "The Unfinished Task" — a solemn reminder that here in America we still have much to do. Should education go back? — -Good as American schools and American education has been, it has not been good enough. Every generation has found fault with its schools and the results produced in them. Each generation has sought to improve and extend them — ours is no exception. For nearly two Addresses at the Conferences 117 decades the barrap;e of criticism, the pressure of organized groups, and the undercurrent of dissatisfaction among our patrons have been convincing evidence that we have not reached educational goals satisfactory to our people or adequate to the needs of our society. Lately there has been a popular clamor for what has been sloganed "a re- turn to fundamentals." The inference is that at some past time our schools taught the tool subjects satisfactorily, and to all, and that the mastery of these tool subjects was a guarantee of effective citizenship. The inference is that education today is less efficient than formerly. No one — not even the slogan shouters — has ever believed such nonsense. The schools have never taught an\ thing as well or to as many as the needs demand. Up to fifty years ago only a relatively small percent of our children and youth were in school at all. Of those in attendance many were present but a few weeks per year and for but four or five years of total schooling. Thousands were in poor schools with little or no equipment and with poorly or totally un- trained teachers. To urge a return to these primitive conditions and methods is stupid. One is amazed that otherwise rational people would make themselves ridiculous by the advocacy of such a policy. We have improved our schools, increased the attendance, supplied more and better trained teachers, enriched and improved the curriculum, but de- spite all that we have accomplished, much remains to be done. Education still academic — It is a trite commonplace to observe that our present educational practice is conditioned almost entirely by the learner's reading ability. We seem to have forgotten that prior to the Protestant Reformation all learning was oral or by imitation ; reading was incidental and nonessential. The learner literally sat at the feet of the teacher and heard his lesson. Today our classrooms are planned to accommodate the number of children whose reading a teacher can supervise and can hear recite what they have read. This procedure has bottlenecked our educational processes. It has throttled our program of vocational education and stood as a barrier before educational services suitable for the nonverbal students who comprise some 30 percent of our student body. It has isolated the school and our cultural institutions from contact with the masses of our population. Neiv technics for universal services are at hand — We are still using the technics of mass education to produce leaders in a society that must make progress on the basis of individual diiiPerences and on a capitalization of individual aptitudes, abilities, and interests. We are not teaching the fundamentals well enough; we are not teaching anything well enough nor to enough people. We are not pointing our educational effort at the points of our most critical needs. The release of atomic energy was due primarily to refined technics of directing the tremendous forces necessary to break the atom toward the center or core. We must accept responsibility for directing the mighty force of education at the critical areas of educational need. So far we are ignoring the fact 118 American Association of School Administrators that the radio, the cinema, the audio reproducer, and soon television are the immediately available instruments for universalizing education. Through these media, millions may be provided with educational services who could not otherwise be served if we are to continue to rely upon ability to read and the utilization of the present machinery of education as the only usable tools of learning. Clearly, under present conditions, the responsibility for the use of these most potent media of education does not rest upon the shoulders of the professional educators. Their use is directed by those seldom identified with our educational and cultural institutions. Their educational and cultural influence is tremendous at home and of even greater import internationally. Unfortunately, despite the fact that the materials presented through these channels are taken from the same fields that furnish the major content of the curriculums of our formal education — music, art, economics, sociology, social science, national and international relations — the voices heard are not those of our recognized scholars, scientists, teachers, and accepted authorities. When the programs presented parallel the offerings of formal education as they do in health, we do not hear on the radio from our licensed physicians and health authorities. We hear instead the propaganda of the nostrum advertisers, the quack, the fakir. Health education on the radio is back in the era of the medicine man and the Kick-a-Poo Indian spieler. All of this is presented as a preface to an inquiry as to the educator's responsibility in the matter of freedom of speech, one of the most vital international issues and one of the most pressing of our community prob- lems. Does the educator believe, along with his commitments to a policy of academic freedom, that there can be no enforced regard for truth, for fact, for accuracy, for tolerance, or for fairness except on the part of those in formal teaching? We have already faced across the international council table those who are critical of manj^ of our practices. They question our plan for the administration of justice, our treatment of minorities, and the propriety of our interpreting freedom of speech as freedom from accounta- bility or responsibility for what one teaches through the media of the radio, the cinema, and the press. We must make adjustments too — It is plain already that if we are to belong to an organization of fifty or more nations united to bring peaceful cooperation to this earth, we must make our share of the adjustments necessary to reconcile international differences. Men who have spent these last years in other countries are fearful that we shall find it difficult to appraise our own institutions, to recognize our own weaknesses, and to accept in good spirit better adjustments of human affairs irrespective of where they may originate. Social research Jieeded — These matters prompt the suggestion that we must quicken our researches in the social sciences. Our physical, chemical, and industrial laboratories have been developed to an amazing degree. The physical scientist stands in a position of respect and influence all over the world. The social scientist is still on trial. Addresses at the Conferences 119 For a generation we teachers have been screening the high school and college student bodies, turning the most apt, the most ambitious, the most talented toward engineering and technical schools. Men of equal competency have not been equally trained in the social use of the billion-dollar gadgets our scientists have produced. "Without adequate understanding," says Mark Starr, "we are children playing with matches in a powder cache — social illiterates who are simultaneously scientific supermen." In our new world physical continents are spanned in a few hours, ideas spread at the speed of light, but the cultural lag of centuries divides the peoples of this same world. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is an effort to set in operation the educational, cultural, and scientific ma- chinery necessary to attack these educational problems on a global basis. It is our responsibility to support this effort, beginning in our local com- munities and pushing forward in every direction and at every opportunity. There must be an exchange of pupils, of teachers ; the revision of text- books, of lesson materials; the matching of men's minds on all these issues of vital concern to human welfare and security. It is a missionary service. It calls for high purpose, for deep sacrifice, for the spirit of the crusader. It means a genuine concern for the welfare of starving, freezing, suffering millions whose physical as well as spiritual needs must be serviced if they are to survive ; or, if they survive, if they are to be receptive to ideas that will cement the world together. When this nation was founded, our people committed themselves to the democratic way of life — to government by popular verdict, to government with high social responsibility. They turned to their schools to prepare their children and youth for the duties, responsibilities, and obligations of such a society. This marked a turning point in the affairs of mankind. Out of these resolutions emerged a nation that has twice saved the world from a hideous fate. With the close of this war men again commit themselves to new ways, to new purposes, to new forms of human associations, and to a new world dedicated to the proposition that the peace and security of the world must be built on goodwill and understanding, that liberty and justice depend primarily upon freedom from ignorance, and that freedom from want and fear wait upon an opportunity for all men to share with all other men their ideas and their ideals as well as their goods if all are to enjoy the pursuits of happiness. We must learn or perish. We must make professional leadership the most potent and most respected of all leadership. Our opportunity lies in our schools — the schools that we administer, and in our communities — the communities that our schools serve. We must see that education becomes a mighty force that will change the behaviors of all men toward that common ideal that underlies all religions and supports every humane impulse — "All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ve even so to them." 120 American Association of School Administrators fVillis A. Sutton, Super- intendent Emeritus, At- lanta Public Schools PRESENTATION OF HONORARY LIFE MEMBERSHIP TO WILLIS A. SUTTON presentation tribute by s. d. shankland At Atlanta Conference Willis A. Sutton — eloquent champion of education, skilled administra- tor, loyal friend of little children — you have served your profession with competence, your city with distinction, and your country with fidelity. You have inspired youth with ambition. You have impressed your col- leagues with the dignity of their calling. Your vigorous messages have made business men and women conscious of the fact that the basis of business is education. Your leadership has had nationwide significance. As president of the National Education Association you strove to secure integration of educa- tional forces at all levels, to encourage social vision among teachers, to stimulate health programs in the schools, and to emphasize the sacredness of home ties. As spokesman for thousands of your colleagues and friends, I have the privilege and honor to tender you this certificate of honorary life member- ship in the American Association of School Administrators, the oldest department of the National Education Association of the United States. It is a small but sincere token of our professional esteem and deep personal regard for a great educational leader. Addresses at the Conferences 121 PERSONNEL PROBLEMS IN AMERICAN EDUCATION HENRY H. HILL, PRESIDENT, GEORGE PEABODY COLLEGE FOR TEACHERS, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE Address at Atlanta Conference For a cood many years I have been a student teacher, and practitioner of school administration. I was about to reveal how many years, but since this is a characteristic of age I checked myself. I have learned some things about the science and art of school administration, perhaps too many things, for we may learn too many methods that will not work. These years have left me with due modesty and some dubiety about solutions that seemed good during my sophomore years of school administration. It is, nonetheless, a pleasure to talk with you about our common tasks during these after-the-war years ahead. The close of World War II has eliminated our possibly too- ready alibi that "of course nothing can be done about this until after the war. A school system must have both materiel and personnel to function but personnel is the more important. I have spent many extra hours trying to obtain good personnel. Our schools are a personal service corporation, and the personnel employed will determine their success and prestige. It has been observed that enough money will secure a better quality of both materiel and personnel. Within limits this is true, but it doesn't answer the problem for a great many of us who must all our lives deal with rather sharp limitations in the amount of money to be obtained. Doubling the money for our schools overnight would not solve all our problems of personnel, although it would be a great and noble experiment. In school systems where money is relatively abundant the problems of personnel remain difficult. Everything should be focused about the children, but if children are to be dealt with fairly and the curriculum is to become functional and growing, the right kind of personnel must be obtained. A glance at our present situation may be of some value as a background for this discussion. Statistical data, not available for the nation as a whole just now, are perhaps not necessary. The Office of Education thinks that the number of emergency certificates in use in 1945-46 may reach as high as 100,000. This is an estimate and not a final figure. A report made in Indiana in January 1946, that is, last month, estimated that at the close of the present school year there would be 3556 vacancies and that there were available only 1158 qualified persons, thus leaving 2398 positions in that state to be filled by persons with substandard qualifications. In larger cities there is still a considerable shortage, especially in certain fields. I think no one will seriously question the fact that in February 1946 most school systems are still carrying on temporary arrangements made during the war, that they have not comfortably staffed their schools as yet, and that instead of finding it easier to get teachers they are in many instances finding it more difficult to get the kind of teachers they want and need. This 122 American Association of School Administrators immediate difficulty may become somewhat less severe during the next three years, but I do not anticipate much improvement until some of the condi- tions which have created this situation are changed. There is an accumulated deficit in teachers. Over the past several years very few persons have been getting ready to teach. More about this later. I want to discuss this afternoon the immediate problems of staffing the schools, recruitment, administrator-teacher relationships, democratic admin- istration, and creation of prestige in the teaching profession. As far as the immediate problem goes, I think we need not be entirely defeatist in our attitude. We can still select the best possible person available instead of the first person available. Even in the least favorably situated school systems, those which have less money than the average, it is possible to capitalize on certain assets or actually to create out of a liability an asset which may be of some help in the future. For example, I know a small school system which capitalizes on the fact that teachers leave every two or three years. Actually the superintendent of schools secures a much finer kind of beginning teacher for his school system, because he points to his record as a training ground for better positions in other systems. There are those who bemoan the fact that some of the schools serve only as temporary stops for teachers. Some would set up artificial barriers to stop the normal flow of talent toward the more popular teaching centers. I have only partial sym- pathy with this idea. To condemn a teacher to stay all her life in any village or city, or to sentence the school district to a permanent staff does seem to rob teaching and community life of all semblance of change and adventure. A poll some years ago taken among a group of farmers indicated that they and their wives actually enjoyed having a new teacher in the community. She was an object of interest and took their minds off their troubles for a while. There are other liabilities which may be converted into assets. On occa- sion I have sharply etched the difficulty of a particular job. Instead of trying to paint it in Pollyanna hue, I have rather challenged an individual with the fact that it would take all of her skill and ingenuity to master the situation. This will work occasionally, depending of course on the hardihood and desire for adventure of the person to whom you are talking. Another asset which can be capitalized is that of climate, but it takes some money to get along even in the most beneficent climate. Nevertheless, I have seen persons stay on for less salary in a community they liked rather than take a much higher salary in a community which did not appeal to them. We should take the necessary time and all the skill we have in selecting the teachers we have to take immediately. There is a tendency in some of us who do not write too well anyway not to write as well as we know how. As between two rather poor risks in the teaching profession, I think it is worth- while to take time to determine the lesser of the two risks. It is sometimes possible to lure back into our teaching profession a very fine teacher who has left it and who at first refuses to return. I can hear some of you saying that you have exhausted all of these possibilities long since. Keep the poor teacher, that you necessarily have to employ, for as short a Addresses at the Conferences 123 period as possible. Write this individvial and everybody else concerned a letter with carbon copies in every direction, stating the duration of the tem- porary appointment and beinjj careful not to use an unwary sentence or paragraph which will jiive her squatters' rij^hts some months or years hence. Nearly all the problems which exist where there is tenure exist to only a little less degree where there is no legal tenure. In other words, we do not like to put persons out, and we tend to put that job off if we can possibly do so. This being true, avoid the mediocre teacher as a permanent liability if it is humanly possible. To retain teachers and add to the attractiveness of teaching we should make more effort to solve their complaints, those of long standing and those created by recent emergencies. This attitude of patience and kindliness toward teachers' complaints, even listening intelligently to complaints, goes a long way toward making a poor teacher a little better and a good teacher far superior to what she might be normally. The personnel director of a big department store in Pittsburgh deals with twenty-eight different unions. I pass along to you his analysis of how employees in his store wanted to be treated. I do so, because most superintendents of schools are personnel directors. They deal with human beings, and may well take seriously the conclusion of this department store personnel director who said that human beings could never be made happy solely by increases in salary ; that funda- mentally this was not the matter which made them most unhappy; nor would the gains in salary result in fine relationships if salary alone were all they obtained. Here are his suggestions : 1. Treat with fair and equal consideration all employees. 2. Give credit where credit is due. 3. (jive employees a share in plans and results. 4. Employees want and should have the opportunity for advice and counsel from their superiors. 5. Employees want and should have a chance to learn more about the job and an opportunity for advancement. Perhaps these suggestions do not fit entirely in the case of a school system, hut they have merit. I am not denying that a substantial salary increase is a boost to the morale in any teaching group. And yet I have seen good morale lost in an astonishingly short period where salary was the only gain. It is usually possible to bring about a better allocation of duties. I have been a bit discouraged at times with the unwillingness of some principals and heads of departments to give proper consideration to the ordinary per- sonal and professional desires of teachers. Certainly every teacher can't have the assignment she wants immediately, but more efifort could be made by administrators, if they will, to see that she gets the assignment she wants within two or three years if she is suited for it. A better curriculum is itself a morale builder if we don't "wear our teachers out" with its production, leaving little interest and energy for its application. Another help in the immediate problem, one that will alwaj^s be good, is simple recognition of the good qualities of our teachers as individuals and 124 American Association of School Administrators as a group. The irritating faults of some teachers make it a little difficult to recognize their good qualities. I am not advocating an insincere acclamation of virtues which are nonexistent. I am saying that teachers are, first of all, human beings. They like to feel that they are important to some one. We in administration would, I fear, be more nearly victims of neurasthenia than we are now if we never had an opportunity to appear in the limelight or to have that feeling that we were consulted and needed in the life of the community. This is a more difficult problem in large school systems than in smaller ones. I sometimes think that teachers starve as much from a feeling of lack of appreciation and recognition on the part of administrators and the public as from want of a proper salary. For human beings starve not only from lack of food or even vitamins but also from a lack of recognition and appreciation. So much for our immediate problem of securing personnel for our schools. The long-term problem is the more difficult and of more consequence to the next generation. During the war the teaching profession has suffered a deterioration in the quality of the personnel coming into it. This is true, of course, of some other professions. The competitive standing of teaching has gone down rather than up. Wages in industry have increased 40 or 50 percent com- pared to 15 or 20 percent in our teaching profession. Again, the opportunities and attractions of industry and business have been increased tremendously for young women going out of high school and college. Even civil service which used to pay only slightly better than teaching is about to become a formidable rival. Since a profession is dependent for its attractiveness not only on conditions existing within its ranks but also on the conditions of other professions and businesses, we must improve our competitive position by paying better salaries, offering greater security or greater challenge, and whatever it is that attracts better individuals into a business or profession. Perhaps the greatest problem, the one on which we should start right here and now, is that of recruitment. I must admit quite frankly that I have not done much recruiting in my life. I would say with equal frankness that my change of attitude on this matter has not come about as a result of becoming a teachers-college president last September. It has grown during the war years as I have watched what has been happening to the teaching profession, as I have become better acquainted with the situation in our high schools where hardly a corporal's guard is thinking of entering teaching. In a southern state a few weeks ago I heard the story of a high school with 132 graduates. The superintendent called them all together to find out how many were going to teach. Only one girl in the entire group expressed any desire to enter the teaching profession. Was she weak and unhealthy, do you suppose? Perhaps some of you don't realize how serious this matter is. It takes at least four years to produce acceptable teachers; and now for five years the supply of those beginning the four-year teacher-training period has been constantly diminishing. It is no mere accident that most teachers colleges are lagging behind the general trend in mounting enrolments. What shall we do? Well, I think as superintendents of schools we can Addresses at the Conferences 125 endeavor to picture the assets of the teaching profession to our high-school students and their parents. Other professions are able to secure competent persons because of the challenge of the ideals within the profession or because of the possibilities of doing good. Surely these time-honored virtues are not entirely unappealing to our youth of today, if only we will point them out. During the fall I happened to have dinner with a banker and his wife and some fellow school administrators. The banker's wife expressed regret that her daughter, then a freshman at a state university, had about decided not to enter teaching. She had some natural aptitude for teaching, her mother and father thought, and they were quite willing and anxious for her to enter the profession. Why was she not entering? Now this is perhaps the most discouraging of all. Her high-school teachers had advised her not to enter the teaching profession. Later, the college teachers with whom she had talked at the university level had repeated this advice. They had pointed out the attractiveness of other avocations open to girls in 1946. Maybe we should first point out the advantages of teaching to our teachers! Well, I am not denying the attractiveness of other occupations; but I be- lieve so completely in the importance of the task of the schools and the utter impossibility of solving the problems of the future without better edu- cation than that which we have had in the past, that I think we must enlist in the teaching profession some of the best high-school graduates. Teaching does have its compensations, aside from salary. It is still a profession which has a long vacation, even when due allowance is made for summer-school attendance. After all we do not go to summer school every summer. I shall not endeavor here to list all the attractive features, but I do think that we should enter wholeheartedly into a program of recruitment using the legiti- mate devices which have been called to our attention by other organizations recently. Even in the better-paying cities recruitment is going to be necessary if incoming teachers are to be anything but mediocre and below average. Pittsburgh, for example, where salaries are reasonably high as such things go, has a very great shortage of competent elementary teachers, one that has been existing for some years and still exists. As salaries are raised elsewhere in Pennsylvania, the advantages of teaching in Pittsburgh are less clear-cut, and many teachers who formerly were attracted there no longer want to go because of better conditions in their local environment. The problem of re- cruitment is important also for those school systems which do have good salary schedules. One of the most promising ways to solye this long-term problem of at- tracting better personnel into our school systems is to enlist the support of business and community leaders in securing recognition of teachers. This has never come to them economically or socially to the degree that it has existed in Europe for many generations. The average citizen or businessman tends to look on teachers without much enthusiasm or too much respect. He recognizes exceptions, just as we recognize good persons among groups against whom we have prejudices. This problem, of course, is difficult, for we need attractive and abler persons in our profession in order to get this 126 American Association of School Administrators recognition which would in itself make it possible to attract better persons. Nevertheless, we have to start somewhere. I think I would start by becoming acutely aware of the simple, broad outlines of our educational problems over the next generation, and then I would endeavor to enlist the intelligent and sympathetic understanding of one or more of the most influential community leaders. Fortunately the influence of a single top person is very great. The influence of two or three individuals who partake of some of the high ideals of Horace Mann of a hundred years ago would do much to solve this prob- lem. We ourselves can become more enthusiastic about our teachers and our profession. For good or ill during the past generation there has come into existence more of a cleavage between the interests of teachers and those of adminis- trators. In part this has been the natural outgrowth of an attempt by teach- ers to share in efforts to benefit the profession. In part, however, it has been egged on, in some instances at least, by teachers who have the natural itch to stir up doubts and diflficulties and rather fancy themselves in the midst of a storm center. I don't know whether this is a kind of inferiority complex or delayed maturity or just how it is accounted for psychologically. At any rate, I know there are certain individuals who do our profession more harm than good by their determination to keep problems unsettled rather than to settle them. Whatever may be wrong with this movement, we have to take it as it is and work with it intelligently. There is no denying that administrators of another generation were generally quite autocratic. They might have been benevolent also, but there was never any doubt in their minds or in the minds of anybody who knew them that they were autocrats. That this was good for the teaching profession may be debatable, but the verdict of the people is that it is bad. Especially in cities but also in smaller areas there have grown up teacher unions — the long-established American Federation of Teachers, and some of the newer CIO groups, including a few rather small but some- what radical groups in two or three of our larger cities. There was a time when I thought these groups came into existence because of long-standing wrongs which needed redress. I still think bad conditions in many cases started them ; but I have also observed their growth where no long-standing abuses existed. Perhaps it is a part of the trend of the times or part of the growing pains of a democracy meeting in full the consequences of an age of mass production. We must remove so far as possible the just grounds for complaint which teachers have and deal with theqn as fairly and frankly as they will permit. There will always be honest differences of opinion between teacher groups and the administration which has to take the responsibility of decision. There will be selfishness and misunderstanding on both sides. In some instances, however, these newly organized groups are an absolute necessity if teachers are to get the advantages which they deserve. While administrators must seize every opportunity to know and under- stand the legitimate objectives of this new kind of teachers' organization, yet, in my judgment, they should never exhibit weakness either in catering to Addresses at the Conferences 127 unworthy selfish aims or in avoiding leadership of the profession. It is an easy matter for a superintendent to abdicate his responsibilities as a leader. If there is to be any real leadership, some must come from the teachers themselves but much should lefi;itimately come from the administrator if he is competent and has the requisite qualities of tact and courage. Certainly I hope that the professional organizations of teachers remain just that. I am not entirely convinced that they can. In the midst of a world which seems bent upon group and bloc pressures and programs, that organi- zation which completely neglects the protection of its selfish interests will be ground between the upper and nether millstones as has happened through the ages. During recent j-ears much has been said about democratic administration. As an administrator, I have thought much of its advantages and disadvan- tages, of the many claims made for it, and oftentimes of the serious misun- derstanding of what it means. It comes so readily to the lips of anj^one who is being opposed in something which he wants for his own advantage. What then is democratic school administration? Time will permit me to say only that, as far as I am concerned, it means the kind of administration which is possible and desirable in a representative democracy such as we have in the United States. Our democracy is governed through majority opinion expressed through ballots in the choice of certain key positions of leadership. We do not, as a rule, ballot to determine the selection of those persons who are to be experts in the fields of science, education, and certain similar fields. We achieve a kind of compromise with pure democracy by 'which we select legislators who in turn delegate the actual selection of most experts to boards, usually composed of laymen. In this representative democracy, the chief executive still has the veto power. Note also that democratic administration does not mean weak administration or administration without definite allocation of responsibilities and duties. It seems wise to have a lay board of education elected by the people, at least in communities where it is possible to know well those persons who are to be elected, and to entrust to them the selection of a superintendent of schools, perhaps by law setting up certain reasonable qualifications of preparation and experience. It is logical to expect the super- intendent of schools to recommend persons for appointment and to exercise leadership in his school sj'stem. In some quarters it is argued that the superintendent might well be chosen by the teachers or that the principal might be recommended by the teachers in her building. I am reminded that quite recently a committee ap- pointed by Robert Hutchins of Chicago worked out a plan by which the chancellor of the University of Chicago could recommend to a particular department an individual for appointment whom that department did not want. He explains this by saying that "those departments which do not want to be improved may under this method be improved anyway." Please do not misunderstand me. 1 have gone to a great deal of trouble and used up hours and hours of allegedly valuable time in trying to admin- ister democratically. It requires endless time and patience; but, on the 128 American Association of School Administrators whole, I think it pays dividends in better support of the administration and in building an honest desire to have better schools. We are interested chiefly in those things in which we have a share. In my experience, however, the average teacher does not really want to select the individuals who are to lead her so much as to be consulted about policies having to do with in- struction, curriculum, textbooks, and her welfare — fields in which she does have a professional and personal interest and competency that ought to be utilized. We should distinguish, in our use of democratic administration, between those expert tasks which ought to be primarily the work of special- ists in school administration and those general policies which ought to be shared in generously by the teachers in their fields of professional compe- tency. I have referred to the idea that teachers need to be recognized as indi- viduals of some consequence, at least in the area in which they serve. If we are not going to pay teachers salaries which will give them prestige — I am not for one minute denying that we should — then we can, in part at least, make up for this lack of salary by making conditions of working and living pleasant. The continual loyalty of those of us who are superintendents to our teachers as a group and the effort to explain some of their mistakes and errors would help here. I do not have to justify every single thing my friend does in order to be loyal to him. If he is attacked unjustly, then certainly I should defend him against the unjustness of the charge. On the other hand, he may be attacked justly. What am I to do in that case? Well, I think we cannot stultify our own consciences by justifying something which cannot be justi- fied ; but I do think that we can explain some of the ameliorating circum- stances under which such action takes place, some of the reasons, if we may change back to the teacher, why it is better for the parents to put up with some minor injustices on the part of the teacher toward their children than try to get the teacher discharged. Our school systems have not failed during the past generation. The best evidence of this is the success of the young men and women who served in the armed forces recently, 90 percent of whom come from our public schools. But you and I readily admit that the war revealed weak spots in our educational system and in our American way of life in general. If we are to survive in a world of mass production and speed, we must be able to solve some of the problems of human relations. To do this we must have a far abler group of citizens in the next two generations. The problems are difficult and unique. Unless a larger proportion of the best young men and young women are attracted to our teaching profession and unless the public pays better salaries and gives greater recognition to the teaching profession, our enterprise of democracy is certain to fall far short of those goals which it might reasonably be expected to attain. We and we alone here in the United States are the ones who can cause the downfall of democracy as it has been known these 169 years since the Declaration of Independence. We can do it, not so much by overt acts, by Addresses at the Conferences 129 strikes, or by sporadic hysterias of one kind and another which afflict small groups of human beings from time to time, but by the negative stand of re- fusing to face the tough problems having to do with labor, agriculture, education, and government. Better education is not an option ; it is a compulsion. Only education in better human relations within these United States and throughout the world can possibly save our children — perchance even us — from the atomic bomb. Only education which costs more and attracts finer men and women can be powerful enough to make us understand the absolute, stark necessity of dealing justly with all mankind. In summation, reconversion of the teaching profession to a peacetime basis is progressing despite serious difficulties and bottlenecks. There are no strikes for higher salaries. Teachers are sticking to their crowded classrooms. There is a bountiful crop of students and greater numbers are in store, for the birth rate for the past five years exceeds by nearly 20 percent that of the preceding five years. But there is a serious shortage of good teachers. Many who enlisted in the armed forces or left the classroom for industry are not coming back to teaching, for the competitive position of teaching has slipped seriously. Where industrial workers get 40 to 50 percent more money today, teachers get 15 to 20 percent more. Just as durable goods cannot be produced satisfactorily without a good supply of machine tools so there will be an insufficient supply of good teachers until more students become prepared to teach. Both our profession and the public must recruit better persons for the teaching profession or the nation will start the first generation of atomic age citizens with a great handicap. Education cannot by itself save our world from disintegration but, on the other hand, only educated men and women can be free to work out the problems facing us, difficulties different from those encountered during previous centuries. The teaching profession offers opportunities for service and real satisfac- tion to those who like people and can see the real contribution to civilization which a good teacher makes. But there is no reason save lethargy and misunderstanding of the serious situation America faces, why the wealthiest country in the world should not be willing to pay as much to the teacher who works with children as to the laborer who works with automobiles, unless we do really consider cars more important than children. This I refuse to believe. 130 American Association of School Administrators SUPPORT FOR BETTER SCHOOLS JOHN K. NORTON, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF THE ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF EDUCATION, TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK, N. Y. Address at Atlanta and Chicago Conferences It has become a truism that we live in an age of rapid and profound change. The growth of freedom of thought, the use of the scientific method, the advance of the industrial revolution, the rise of political and economic democracy, and the ever-widening applications of technology — culminating in the atomic age — are recasting the thoughts and actions of men in strange new patterns. Communism and Fascism challenge democracy for world leadership. Isola- tionism and nationalism retreat before the conception of "one world." Opposing racial theories struggle for supremacy in both domestic and inter- national afifairs. Total and global warfare give way to atomic warfare. Mankind confronts a choice between the abolition of war or annihilation. Modern man, indeed, is obsolete! In such periods social institutions either wax or wane. Like civilizations they do not stand still — least of all in an atomic age. They either adapt to new demands or go out of existence. In looking forward in American education, we may well take inspiration from our forebears in this field. Their creation of the free, common, nonsec- tarian public school was a social achievement which future historians will rank high in the accomplishments of the past century. We who work in education today may well ask ourselves : Are there vic- tories for democratic education to be won between 1946 and 2046 which are comparable in importance to those achieved in the preceding century? Undoubtedly the answer to this question is "Yes." Let us identify some of them. First, we must extend the scope of our educational system to make it adequate to the needs of this century. — ^We have not yet provided a range of educational facilities appropriate to the needs of Americans of all ages. The facilities available at the kindergarten and prekindergarten level are quite inadequate in the typical American school system today. Less than one in four of our five-year-olds now attends kindergarten. Only one child in sixty, aged three or four, is in a nursery school. The great importance of the early years of childhood as revealed by psy- chological research and the significant educational results which good schools can achieve at this level urge the necessity of providing adequate nursery-kindergarten education. One of the first goals of leadership in the decades just ahead should be the provision of adequate school services for young children. The growth of junior colleges and technical institutes at the thirteenth- and fourteenth-grade level is the result of insistent needs in our society. These institutions, in conjunction with the upper years of high school, should Addresses at the Conferences 131 provide for effective vocational and semiprofessional education and for the extension of general education. They should primarily be terminal institu- tions rather than mere preparatory schools. Education at this level should be made available to the rank and file of American youth. Here is another major goal for educational leadership in the decades just ahead. One of the notable shortcomings of American school systems today is the meager provision of adult educational facilities. The need for action in this field is great. The accelerated tempo of change which makes childhood schooling obsolete far faster than in previous times, the enormous increase in governmental activity calling for more and better action by the rank and hie of citizens, the catapulting of the United States into the forefront of world leadership in an atomic age, the difficulty of individual and family adjustment in an age in which crises are the rule rather than the exception, the greatly increased and increasing amount of leisure time, all call insist- ently for a program of adult education keyed to the needs of the day. We should develop an adult education program involving everything from literacy and vocational training and retraining to general education con- cerned with leisure-time activities, the needs of individual and family life, and the difficult problems of national and world affairs. This would involve employment of the kinds of teachers and methods which are not dependent upon compulsory education laws for a clientele, and could reclaim a por- tion of the American mind from the thralldom of commercial amusement. A second major goal for educational leadership in the years ahead should be the removal of the obstacles which prevent millions of Americans from taking advantage of educational facilities now in existence. — Complete edu- cational coverage of the whole population should be the objective. The 1940 Federal Census listed nearly three million adults who had never attended any school. An additional seven million reported so little schooling that we know they are virtually illiterates. Nearly two million children aged six to fifteen were reported not in school — ages during which, by common agreement, all should be in school. Of the seventeen million young men examined under the draft, some five million were rejected — nearly one in three. In several states — those which make least adequate provision for education — more than half of the men ex- amined were rejected. The high rate of rejections was pronounced a matter of national concern by Selective Service. It is a national disgrace that Gen- eral Hershey should have had to say in one of his reports, at a critical time in the recent war, " it is regrettable that we lose so many physically qualified who must be rejected because of illiteracy." At the top of the educational ladder we find another example of denial of educational opportunity. The most regrettable educational casualties in the United States are among our talented youth. Numerous careful studies made in all sections of the country reveal that approximately half of our most ca- pable youth, according to intelligence tests, school marks, and other measures of capacity and diligence, either find it impossible to finish high school or to go on to college. Our educational system is about 50 percent efficient in devel- oping our most valuable resource — .\outh of superior ability. 132 American Association of School Administrators In the years ahead, education should be made effectively free at all age levels. Every American youth, with ability and willingness to study should be guaranteed a chance to realize the best that is in him. This would involve free tuition or scholarships at all levels, and provision of living costs of stu- dents in the upper years of high school and in college, so far as may be neces- sary to keep every youth in school or college as long as he should be there. Such a program need not weaken individual initiative ; in fact, all youths who enjoy such privileges should, in addition to their school tasks, do some work which is clearly of social or economic value as part payment for their education. This is essentially what we did during the recent war period when we were really serious about using all our resources. All youths came under Selective Service. All those accepted were given basic training for warfare. Those of superior ability and industry were given advanced training and education. All living costs during the training period were met from public funds. In addition, each youth received a small wage which began on the day of induction. Extra compensation was available to help in meeting family responsibilities. It would have been utterly stupid to let family economic status determine how well a youth should be trained for warfare. We have not yet recognized that it is equally stupid to let economic barriers determine how well a youth will be prepared for peacetime service. Equal opportunity, including free access to education for all, has been one of the guiding tenets of American life. The facts reveal, however, that the principle of equal opportunity is violated at every level of our educational system. One of the priorities for educational leadership in the years ahead is the correction of this indefensible situation. A third major goal for educational leadership in the decades just ahead is the substantial improvement of the facilities of A merican public education. — By facilities, I mean teachers, school plant, instructional aids, that is, all the provisions for personnel and materiel essential for the conduct of first-rate schools. This presupposes an acceptable minimum of financial support for every classroom unit in the United States. We have no such minimum today. In 1939-40 some five million children, nearly one in four of those in at- tendance, were in school systems spending less than $1000 a year per class- room unit.^ More than one million children were in $500 classrooms or worse. Children in such poverty-stricken school systems seldom get a decent educational opportunity. It is about time that somebody sticks a pin into the colossal myth that edu- cation is generously supported in this country. The fact is that the United States is one of the few important nations of the world that still supports education at the level of semiskilled labor, rather than as a calling requiring professional preparation. We spend many billions more for nonessentials than we do for the schooling of our children and youth. We allow millions of 1 Norton, John K. and Lawler, Eugene S., An Inventory of Public School Expendititres in the United States, Two Volumes (Mimeo.) Washington D. C: American Council on Education, 1944. 409 p. Addresses at the Conferences 133 talented youth to leave school too early, because they cannot afford to go on. We tolerate vast educational slums in which school facilities are so miser- able that they would be a disgrace to a third-rate nation. Twenty percent of the teachers in the United States now hold an emer- gency certificate which is the euphonious name of a certificate to teach granted an unqualified teacher. The present alarming shortage of teachers at all levels is due to several factors. One important reason is that teachers' salaries have greatly lagged behind other incomes during the war period. They have far less power to command and hold good teachers than in 1940. Accordingly, a first priority in the years ahead is to restore the absolute and relative purchasing power of salaries to the place where teachers as good as those of 1940 can be obtained. We should then resolutely push ahead toward a professional wage for every one of our million teachers. The pittances traditionally doled out to American schools for instructional materials such as textbooks, libraries, and auditory and visual aids stand in sharp contrast to the generous provision wisely made in connection with the recent training program in the military services. It is uneconomic, if not stupid, in an age when technology has made remarkable teaching devices available, to give a teacher only the instructional materials used in the nine- teenth century. If we operated on such a policy in other fields — warfare, business, agriculture, or medicine — we would soon become a second-rate nation. School buildings represent another shortage. There has been little school- house construction for fifteen years, except hasty construction in war-indus- try communities. As we enter into a new period of school building, we should take advantage of the remarkable recent advances in lighting, heating, venti- lating, and in the development of new construction materials. Flexibility of plant should be achieved along with a sufficient degree of permanence to keep down costs of operation and maintenance. Each school site, and the buildings placed upon it, should be planned as a community center, ministering to the educational, cultural, and recreational needs of contemporary life at all ages. A fourth area which educational leadership should vigorously deal with in the decades just ahead concerns the character and quality of our educational program. — ^A first-rate education for those who attend our institutions of public education, after all, is the great objective. All else is merely a means to this end. What are some of the major changes in emphasis and direction which should characterize the educational program of coming decades? To begin with, we should complete the liberation of education from the discredited doctrine of faculty psychology. Forty years of research have dis- proved the myth that the mind learns like a muscle. Under this conception, various sections of the brain allegedly were strengthened by mental calis- thenics, much as a gymnast strengthens the various muscles of his body. Therefore, any content was good for the mind so long as it was hard and heavy. Thus a defense was established for the retention of obsolete subject- matter in the school program. Teachers were also mercifully spared the pain of changing their ways. 134 American Association of School Administrators The trained mind is not one which has been forced through a series of distasteful mental gymnastics. This medieval doctrine has already driven tens of millions of children and youth prematurely from our public schools. It is responsible for the fact that many adults today look back upon the schoolhouse as a place of boredom, if not of failure. Today's curriculum should find its content primarily in current needs. The educated mind today is one which has some preparation for dealing with the changing problems of individual and family life, some conception of the contemporary forces which are shaping the thoughts and action of men, some understanding of the alternatives from which we must choose in meeting strange new problems of politics and economics, much faith in the unfettered human mind as a guide to healthy social evolution, and above all else ethical standards which reflect themselves in terms of ethical action. This does not mean that modern education should not take account of the lessons which may be drawn from the social heritage. To recognize that one hundred so-called great books have something to contribute to modern educa- tion is easy. To say that their mastery is modern education is quite another matter. Such a policy would put public education into the museums alongside the mammoth and the dodo. The modern curriculum should be founded in the needs of and problems of modern life. It should draw upon the heritage of the past, just so far, and only so far, as this material clearly contributes to the good life of today. Another clearly needed change in modern education involves the replace- ment of a false and undemocratic idea of what discipline is by one which is consistent with the American way of life. Discipline in nondemocratic socie- ties means habitual and uncritical obedience to one's masters, conformity to official wa3's of thinking and acting, and heel-clicking obeisance to a fuehrer and his henchmen. It should be crystal clear today where this type of disci- pline leads. It made Italy, Germany, and Japan menaces to world safety. It will do the same to any nation which succumbs to its evil influence. All democracies, and ours especially, need discipline. Discipline must exist in every school if it is to be an instrument of democracy. What is democratic discipline? It is the habit of judging people by what they are rather than according to prejudices associated with the group they belong to. It is an attitude which makes citizens the masters rather than the victims of govern- ment and social institutions. It involves a very large element of self-control, and a feeling of responsibility which operates when the policeman, the teacher, or other outer controls are absent. It is the kind of education which makes an honest "Why" rather than a servile "Heil" the mark of good citizenship. Such discipline is more difficult to achieve than that of the totalitarian state, but it is discipline none the less, and the kind of discipline which a democracy, and a school for democracy, should be principally concerned with. There are, to be sure, automatic elements of discipline even in a democ- racy. One should not have to think through whether he is to respond to each red light encountered in traffic. But these are the superficialities rather than the fundamentals of life in a democracy. Addresses at the Conferences 135 Again, the school of the future should fully reject the cruel and unsound doctrine that chronic failure hy children and youth is desirable education. Ps\ choloj^ical research has taught us that few things add more to the growth of healthy personality than justly earned success and achievement. In too many schoolrooms, even today, opportunity for accomplishment is largely confined to the area of abstract thinking. Those who are good at verbalization achieve success, and sometimes with too little efifort. Others gain such recognition as they get from outside the classroom, or through misbehavior in the classroom, or after they lenve school. (One-half of the seventh graders go through.) A primary purpose of school organization should be to offer a range of educational opportunities which will permit every child and youth to achieve enough success to permit him to respect himself and to gain some respect from others. Thus far in this address we have considered the school system of the future from the viewpoints of needed extensions in scope, better diffusion of educational opportunity, improvement of personnel and materiel, and modernization of program or curriculum. i\Iany of you have doubtless been asking: Can we afiFord such a program? Where are we going to get the money? Several estimates have recently been made as to what it would cost the nation to provide genuine access for all to the kind of educational oppor- tunities which have been described. Both the National Resources Planning Board and the National Education Association have estimated that it would cost approximately six billion dollars annually. This is approximately twice the prewar cost of public elementary, secondary, and higher education. Assuming that the national income should stabilize at about one hundred and thirty billion dollars a year after reconversion, which is a reasonable expectation, six billion dollars for education would be 4.6 percent of the national income, as compared with 3.5 percent expended in 1940. Is an increase in the ratio of educational expenditures to national income feasible in an economy such as ours? Such an increase may not only be possible, but also desirable. It appears likely that the maintenance of a high level of employment and national income will require substantial increases in the proportion of workers and capital employed in service occu- pations and social welfare services, as opposed to those concerned with the production and distribution of tangible goods. Harold D. Smith, Director of the Budget, in a recent book dealing with the problem of maintaining a high level of income and employment after the war, makes the following statement: . . Complementary to a greater production of things must be an expansion in services to the people. Our medical centers and hospitals, our schools, our churches, our youth organizations, our social centers, and our recreation programs illustrate some areas where expansion of services can better our standard of living and pro- mote full employment.* ^Smith, Harold D., The Management oj Your Government, Whittlesey House, New York: McGraw- Hill Book Co. 1945. p. 1SS-1S6. 136 American Association of School Administrators There are of course a number of powerful and unpredictable factors in this whole situation. If the economy should slip back into the stagnation of the 1930's our whole standard of living including our standard of edu- cating would not improve, but retrogress. Also, if we let inflation get away from us it would set back both private and public enterprise for an indefinite period. But is it too much to expect that the American people will be able to work out of the morass of reconversion onto the high land where we will make reasonable use of our unequaled resources? There is also the question of whether the federal government will adopt the fiscal policies which are requisite to the adequate financing of education. During the period since the "New Deal" came into existence, education has been the poor relation of the federal government. The national government has preempted much of the fiscal capacity of the states and localities. It has aided many other areas of public enterprise. Public education has not been aided except in dire necessity, and then on an emergency, piecemeal basis. There are growing indications that the federal government wnll even- tually take its proper place beside the states and localities in making its indispensable contribution to the financing of education in the United States. The current battle for federal aid for education is in many ways a repetition of those won earlier in our educational history — first at the local and next at the state level of government. The final decision, however, as to whether a first-rate educational program will be financed in the decades ahead will depend primarily upon whether our people gain new conceptions as to the social value of this great public enterprise — whether they look upon it merely as a custodial function which keeps children and youth off the streets while they are taught a few skills and facts more or less pertinent to the real business of life — or whether they recognize education as an opportunity for a great social investment which like all good investments enhances rather than depletes the resources of the investor. At this point lies the greatest challenge to education of today. Although the payments of the American people for education in the past have been an excellent investment, our great industrial democracy has far from exploited the full possibilities of education as an instrument of national progress. The provision of education right in amount and kind to every American would be an investment which would pay wonderful dividends in individual and general well-being, both tangible and intangible. We still permit millions of American children to go virtually unschooled. Other millions of youths of proved talent and diligence are denied oppor- tunities to prepare for leadership because economic barriers stand between them and the advanced education which they should have. American civili- zation, therefore, operates at a lower level of skill and competence than it might achieve. We soon discovered this fact when we were forced into the war and had to use our full resources, both material and human, in order to survive. We did not haggle as to where we were going to get the money to train Addresses at the Conferences 137 men for both war and civilian work. We got the money. We trained the men, even in wartime, literally by the millions. We lifted our productivity to a level above our most fabulous estimates. A century ago Horace Mann and other far-visioned leaders challenged the imagination of a young nation with the possibilities of a free public school system for all. This was something new under the sun. The American people accepted the challenge. Their wisdom in establishing a system of pubhc education, after all debits and credits are balanced, has been abun- dantly justified. Education is undoubtedly one of the important reasons why that particular part of the New World known as the United States has become the most powerful nation in the world. During the past generation the world has offered demonstrations of the enormous power of education. Too often, however, these demonstrations have been given by the modern despotisms which prostituted this great social instrument to evil ends. It remains for the United States to demonstrate the unparalleled potentialities of education when it is rightly and fully used in a free industrial democrac}'. PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION KENNETH MC FARLAND, SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, TOPEKA, KANSAS Abstract of Address at Chicago Conference During the course of a year it is my privilege to speak before a rather wide variety of business, industrial, and professional groups. Since I have a job of my own to do and cannot accept more than one invitation out of each dozen or so, I might as well have some policy about my speaking. The policy is to address about ten noneducational groups to each school gathering. I follow this policy because I became convinced quite some time ago that we school people do a terrific job of selling education to one another, but we could well spend more time selling it to the people who pay for it. Then, too, I find some of the best educational meetings I ever attend are held under other names. If one can visit a wide variety of groups, talking to them, but more important having them talk to him, he soon finds himself much better prepared to go back to his school with a little more of an idea what young people should know who wish to enter these various groups he has contacted. I have never quite understood how some educators I have known thought they could prepare boys and girls to live in a world concerning which they themselves were almost totally unin- formed. My plea to educators is to take ofif the cellophane wrappers and come out where the people live. If education is life, let us indulge in some of it ourselves and we shall do our professional jobs better as a result. I find one speaker can make a small contribution to most any kind of business, vocational, or professional group for several reasons. In the first place the principles of organization are essentially the same no matter what 138 American Association of School Administrators the business is. Given good personnel and good organization you can always answer the rest of the questions. Secondly, people are not failing in the vocations, professions, industry, and business because they lack the skill technics involved. Approximately nine-tenths of the failures are due to the inability to master the human elements involved. Important studies show people fail or are fired most often because they are lazy, irresponsible, dishonest, immoral, intemperate, disloyal, ill-mannered, ill-tempered, have poor health, possess poor person- alities, or "talk too much." All this leads us to the homely but profound conclusion that before a man can be a good businessman, professional man, or tradesman, he must first be just a good man. A man cannot divorce himself from the institution he is running or the job he is doing. He cannot be one kind of a man and run another kind of a place. The personality that will succeed in the years ahead must be gracious, not defeated by the yappings of little people, and will take time to be human. These qualities cannot be substituted for skill, but skill cannot be substituted for them either. We must have both. This thing we call education is culture, and culture is polish. It is like any other polish in one respect at least — it must be "rubbed on." Children cannot acquire it by reading about it or hearing about it ; they must rub shoulders daily with people who have it. It is very difficult for a child to learn good manners without ever seeing any. That is why no canned or accelerated educational process can ever take the place of high-grade ladies and gentlemen in the classroom ; and there is no use talking about buying that kind of quality at bargain prices. The ideal learning situation exists when a child so admires his teacher that he wants more than anything else just to be like his teacher. There is perfect motivation. I have not tried to discuss the whole field of personnel administration — just a few special aspects of it. The secret of personnel administration will be found in the fact that the word "personnel" begins with the word "person," and that means someone in particular. We must somehow realize that every person we ever contact is really and truly somebody, and some- body very special. Then it would never occur to us to be unfair, incon- siderate, or crude in dealing with children, teachers, patrons, or the public. The encouraging message I bring you is that the old Golden Rule is scientifically sound. If you will follow it you do not need to know the answers to all the problems ahead, because out of that policy will come answers that are good enough, and they will come when you need them. Addresses at the Conferences 139 President Krill of the Associated Exhibitors present- ing the American Education Award to S. D. Shankland TRIBUTE TO THE RECIPIENT OF THE AMERICAN EDUCATION AWARD FOR 1946 JOHN J. KRILL, PRESIDENT, ASS0CL4TED EXHIBITORS OF THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION Address at Chicago Dinner Meeting It is indeed a great privilege and a very real pleasure to extend the most cordial greetings and good wishes of the Associated Exhibitors of the National Education Association in welcoming you to this, our first peace- time program. You are all familiar, I am sure, with the annual presentation of the American Education Award by the Associated Exhibitors to a person who has made an outstanding contribution in the broad field of education. During the past two decades, the recipients have been chosen from various areas of outstanding educational service, including school administration, music, art, athletics, authorship, science, social and civic work. 140 American Association of School Administrators As you now know, the recipient of the 1946 American Education Award is your own executive secretary, and friend and counselor to us all — Sher- wood D. Shankland. To tell you of S. D.'s outstanding contributions in the field of school administration alone would take more time than is now at my disposal. All of his twenty-five years as your executive secretary are characterized by outstanding administrative accomplishment and service. Education during this past quarter of a century has been involved with stupendous problems, difficulties, and opportunities for service. The guid- ing influence and effective directives of your executive secretary are evident in all the deliberations and administrative actions of your Association during this, the most difficult period in the history of our country. No better expression of his great service and the esteem and love of his imme- diate associates and of all school administrators and friends could be made than is expressed in the illuminated manuscript drafted by Milton C. Potter, past president of the American Association of School Administrators. Sherwood D. Shankland's work has been well done and his deeds acclaim him as a most worthy recipient of the American Education Award. The honor that now comes to him is wholly deserved, and his name adds luster to that distinguished list of educators which appears on the bronze plaque in the lobby of the National Education Association building in Washing- ton, D. C. It is now my great privilege, in the name of the Associated Exhibitors of the National Education Association, to present to you, Sherwood D. Shankland, the American Education Award for 1946. ACCEPTANCE OF THE AMERICAN EDUCATION AWARD FOR 1946 SHERWOOD D. SHANKLAND, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, AMERICAN ASSOCIA- TION OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS^ NEA At Chicago Dinner Meeting To receive the American Education Award is an honor which I appre- ciate more than the words which I may utter can tell. Administration is not a matter of a single individual. It functions only through competent staff work. At Washington headquarters, across the long years of my service, an unusually able group of people has worked with me — some on the staff of the American Association of School Admin- istrators and some in other divisions and departments of the National Education Association. Not only for myself, personally, but also as the symbol of my many devoted associates, I accept the American Education Award for 1946. About three years ago the army asked thousands of enlisted men to state the three items which they, as soldiers, considered most important. They listed, in order — equipment, leadership, and a cause. In this room tonight, all of these essential requirements are represented. TO SHERWOOD D. SHANKLAND Jti Afjeclioiiate I^ecognition of a Half Century as Counselor ana Friend of School Administrators is presented The American Education Award For years a tribune of tlie cnilaren as a merriDer oi tKe Ohio Legislature, Kead of a city school system and a woman's college, Ke was first and foremost a teacher. Line tne gentleman scholar of the Tabard Inn "gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche. For a quarter century he has been the executive secretary of their organization for all American School Administrators. An ensampler amongst them he has been the main- spring of their plans and policies. This master secretary has excelled as program ar- ranger and peacemaker. He has manifested a true passion for anonymity and has channeled all credit to the presidents and committees and commissions. He has never been elated when any man was hurt and never dejected when anyone was blest. Secretary Shankland s life has been so gentle and so quietly effective, loyal, far-sighted, wise, astute, always holding high the ideals of home and country, that his friends and associates now proudly proclaim: "This is a noble gentleman." The above is the ivording on the illuminated manuscript presented to Sherwood D. Shankland by the Associated Exhibitors of the National Education Association 142 American Association of School Administrators First, in the great exhibits at our winter meetings the finest school equipment, supplies, and instructional materials in the world have been displayed. Second, in the membership of the American Association of School Administrators are hundreds of those whose foresight and understanding have provided educational leadership in nation, state, citj', and small community. Third, we have a cause which merits the best endeavors of the ablest people. In brief, it is to preserve the heritage of the past and to build a new generation of citizens worthy of America's best traditions. Had normal conditions prevailed, we had planned to hold this year a great diamond jubilee of the Department of Superintendence. Organized seventy-five years ago, the Department has witnessed three distinct periods of educational progress : During the first quarter century opinions interchanged at the annual meetings among the keenest minds in the profession were the guideposts of progress. In the next quarter century everyone knew exactly what to do. With meticulous care we observed the college-entrance requirements. It was a time when we followed the established patterns. The quarter century just closed has marked the development of leader- ship through two important channels — namely, professional organization and research. In the quarter century just head, new names and new faces, new ideas but old ideals, will chart the course of education. In this association of school administrators the opportunities for leadership were never greater. Some time ago a group of archeologists dug far into the ground on the site of an ancient city. There they found the remains of what had once been a beautiful temple. Carved across the entrance were the words, "After me cometh a builder; tell him I too have known." Like that ancient builder, we may say, "After us cometh other builders; tell them we too have known." SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT SCHOOL ORGANIZATION AND THE SCHOOL PLANT JOHN GUY FOWLKES, PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION AND DEAN OF THE SUMMER SESSION, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN, MADISON, WISCONSIN Address at Chicago Conference A school plant is merely the biggest single piece of learning equipment essential for a good school system. To be sure, a school building, like all other working quarters, has a primary function of housing, but most especially the facilities of size and arrangement of the component units of a school building must reflect the educational needs which are to be met by a given school system. Addresses at the Conferences 143 t Too often school buildings are planned without due regard to the ages of people that are to be served, the various kinds of educational offerings that are to be made available, and the particular pattern of school organiza- tion that is to prevail. Just as the variety of ages and the particular edu- tional program have marked relationship to a school building, similarly these factors also affect greatly the pattern of organization in a local school system. In effect, therefore, the influence of the organization of a school sys- tem on the school plant cannot be considered validly until who is to be served and what is to be offered are also given due attention. WHO IS TO be served? The early concept of the population that needed to be served by the schools of a local community was a decidedly limited one in contrast with contemporary practice. Even our compulsory attendance laws throughout the country, which on the whole provide for eight years of schooling, reflect a much lower level of education than is recognized as essential by a sharp majority of our local communities. High-school opportunity for all at public expense is now accepted throughout our nation. There is growing evidence that local schools must also take care of three-, four-, and five-year-olds and adults if basic educational needs are to be served. Conse- quently, in establishing a pattern of over-all organization for a local school system, it is clear that cognizance must be taken of the age levels for which school opportunity is to be offered. It is highly essential that school buildings reflect specific planning for the particular age groups of people that are to be served. Very few school build- ings at present have any appropriate facilities for programs of adult educa- tion. Practically none of our elementary-school buildings are designed or equipped to take care of children under five years of age. As a matter of fact, even in many communities that have kindergartens, the quarters for such kindergartens as well as the rooms for the Grades I and II are ill-suited, indeed, for the type of educational opportunity that should be offered for these early age groups. WHAT is to be offered? Just as the philosophy of what age groups need local school opportunity has changed, so also the philosophy of what kind of schooling that should be available has changed. No longer are the Three R's alone acceptable as an adequate educational program. Particularly for those people over fifteen years of age is this true. Although general education still is, and must be, one of the major functions of any school unit, it must be recognized that general education must include development of the hand and development of social ability, as well as development of the mind. Furthermore, the necessity for prevocational and vocational training must be met by local school systems for relatively large numbers of people for whom the high school or junior college is still the last formal educational experience. Laboratory facilities — especially with respect to household arts, com- mercial arts, industrial arts, and agriculture — demand very careful planning 144 American Association of School Administrators at all levels. The school building handicap under which an attempt is made to offer educational opportunity in these fields is the most forceful argument that could be advanced for the need of careful plant planning in connection with these fields. THE over-all organization As has previously been implied, the over-all organization of a local school system should be determined on the basis of who is to be served and what is to be offered. Similarly, the number of people to be served should some- times play a major part in the establishment of an over-all local school organization. Some of the specific questions that should be carefully con- sidered in the development of a pattern of over-all organization are : Shall there be nursery schools? Shall there be junior high schools? Shall there be senior high schools? Shall there be a junior college? After these questions have been seriously pondered over, the question then arises as to whether these units shall be housed separately or together and the extent to which it is desirable and practical to keep these various units housed separately or collectively. Up to approximately 1920, the 8-4 plan of organization was found most frequently in this country, as is still the case. Such an organization obvi- ously did not recognize the need for kindergartens or the need for a junior college. Between approximately 1920 and 1930 the junior high school as a separately housed unit made its appearance throughout the country. Roughly, during the decade 1930-40 the trend towards the separately housed junior high school eased and school buildings housing the last six grades, namely, Grades VII through XII, made their appearance in many sections of the country. In the relatively few communities that have established junior colleges in connection with the local high schools, practice of sepa- rate or collective housing of the high school and junior college is varied. Too few communities have attempted to establish nursery schools as integral parts of the public-school system to make any generalized statement concerning this latest development in our system of public education. Some communities as, for example, Dearborn, Michigan, are experimenting with the construction of small school buildings which will take care of children in the three- to seven- or eight-year group. The belief is held in some quar- ters that relatively small outlying schools for these younger age groups can be built and operated at considerable saving without any serious effect on the educational experience enjoyed by the children. Whether the school plant organization of a local school system should be the 7-6, 7-3-3, 4-4-4-4, or one of the other possible, commonly found arrangements must be decided in terms of who is to be served and the kind of educational opportunity that is to be offered. By and large, it seems sound to say that, if a community is not to have a junior college, all things con- sidered, the six-year secondary-school building is more efficient both edu- Addresses at the Conferences 145 cationallj^ and iinancially than separate buildings for Grades VII, VIII, and IX and X, XI, and XII. This is especially true in communities having populations under 100,000. It should be remembered that a school building which provides for six years of secondary-school opportunity does not necessitate the organization of a single six-year school unit. Many communities have found it very satisfactory to organize and operate a junior high school composed of Grades VII, VIII, and IX and a senior high school of Grades X, XI, and XII, both of which are housed in a single school building, but which operate on separate and different daily schedules. ORGANIZATION OF INDIVIDUAL SMALL BUILDINGS Even after the over-all pattern of school plant organization has been established, certain problems of the individual school building will inevitably arise. Some of the more important of these problems are as follows: Shall there be a separate technical high school? Shall the school which houses children from three to six years of age be housed separately ? In the school building which houses six years of secondary school, shall two sets of administrative offices be provided? In the school building which provides for the last two years of high school and two years of junior college work, shall two sets of administra- tive quarters be provided ? To what extent does collective housing of junior and senior high-school pupils or high-school and junior-college students necessitate increasing phy- sical education facilities? The general thesis for dealing with these questions is that the richest pos- sible educational opportunity should be offered at the least necessary expense. If there is an educational or social reason for separating various groups of students which are housed in a single building, full provision should be made for separate administrative offices of the various groups. Also, collective housing of students in a single building should in no way limit necessary facilities for all essential educational experience. Particular care should be exerted in arrangement of rooms for all build- ings that are to house relatively wide spans of age groups. Similarly, in establishing daily schedules, great care should be taken in allocating and assigning rooms. In many communities where a single building houses Grades VII through XII, practically all of the classroom work for Grades VII, VIII, and IX is done on one floor and practically all of the work for Grades X, XI, and XII is done on another floor, with alternate use being made of shops, laboratories, cafeteria, and gymnasium. Such seem to be some of the major problems that arise in connection with school organization and the school plant. The particular answers to these problems in relation to a given community must be worked out by all con- cerned in terms of what best meets local school needs. The writer knows no magic formula which will fit any and all situations. 146 American Association of School Administrators THE MODERN HEALTH PROGRAM GEORGE E. ROUDEBUSH, SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, COLUMBUS, OHIO Address at Chicago Conference For more than twenty-five years the health of school children has been a major concern of this Association. The subject has been discussed at nearly every meeting. It has been the topic for study by many committees and commissions. Sections of reports, chapters of yearbooks, and even one entire yearbook have been devoted to this subject. Many of these discussions have been conducted by leaders, and many of the reports have been written by competent authorities in the specialized field of health, both within and without our own profession. I am assuming, therefore, that the purpose of this discussion is not so much to bring something new or authoritative on the subject, but rather to renew our interest in and to reemphasize the importance of children's health. Like democracy, because of its importance, and because there is always a new generation, health must forever be defended and promoted. The general topic for this session of the conference is "Conserving Human Resources." What subject could be more appropriate, now that we live in the wake and not in the midst of a great world war. Then life was cheap, life was to be destroyed. It was expendable. But no nation can long endure on such a program. A wise use of resources, both natural and human, is imperative if a nation is to be prosperous and is to enjoy national happiness. A recent booklet prepared for the Committee on Education of the United States Chamber of Commerce compares several nations as to natural resources, level of education, and income or prosperity. In each case, the result shows that it is not the natural resources that determine the pros- perity of the nation, but the level of education. This report establishes the fact that the most important factor in the prosperity of a nation is a program that improves the individual and promotes his general welfare. It is people that make a nation great. We cannot long afford the extravagance of unnecessary human waste. We can have a greater and nobler America only to the extent that we are willing to conserve and develop human resources. My specific assignment is "The Modern Health Program." The de- velopment of health work in connection with education must be regarded as a phase of this important conservation movement. Conservation of the child is not only humanitarian, but is good business. Questions of health relate directly to the elimination of waste. As a nation we have directed attention to the stoppage of waste, both in our natural and in our human resources, yet the great problem of national conservation is not so much soils or forests or water power, important as these may be, but the con- servation of our national vitality. War has taught us much about physical fitness and the value of human life, yet among the people generally there is still much ignorance as to Addresses at the Conferences 147 disease, health, and safety. The annual loss to our people through pre- ventable diseases and accidents is appallingly large. To increase the knowl- edge of hygienic laws and to reduce such ignorance and waste is a national duty. No agency of our society has such opportunities for usefulness in this direction as has the school. In fact, education is the one general means for improving the health of succeeding generations and for reducing the present enormous waste due to physical defects and disease. We now know that health was vitally important for war. It is no less so for peace. It is a human need that is necessary for the more abundant living. History shows us that from primitive times peoples have been afflicted with the inroads of disease, pestilence, and plague, and that through various practices attempts have been made to control health conditions. Progress has been slow. Only in modern times has scientific knowledge and legislation been brought to bear effectively on these problems. At the outset let us observe that probably more progress has been made than most of us realize. One of the greatest accomplishments of civilization has been the remarkable progress made in increasing the average life expectancy. In the Middle Ages the average life span was twenty years. In the seventeenth century it advanced to twenty-five years. Through the years there has been a steady increase until, today, the life expectancy is sixty-three years for men and sixty-six for women. Is it not remarkable also that twelve million men and women of the armed services have gone to all corners of the world and additional millions have been displaced here ar home for war work, and yet no serious pestilence or plague has attacked our people? These are evidences that we do have a knowledge of the controls of health conditions and that they have been applied effectively in some areas. We have the "know-how" in this country, if we only set ourselves to the task with determination. Yet the fact remains, in spite of the increase in life expectancy and in spite of control of disease, we are not the healthy nation of people we should or could be. The rejection of draftees called up for military service in World War I and World War II because of physical unfitness should be a matter of national concern. I personally believe that a careful, unprejudiced analysis of these rejections will show that much improvement was made between World War I and World War II. In fact there is evidence to show that young Americans of draft age in this war were better nourished than their fathers, better protected during childhood against disease, and are the healthiest generation America has ever produced. So high was the average condition of these men that the government had no major problem in selecting twelve million indi- viduals to meet the new and more exacting standards of fitness. However high the standards, and however successful we were in meeting quotas, yet the truth is that approximately one out of e\ery four called up for military service was rejected. In the light of the evidence on increase in life expectancy, progress in control of spread of disease, and probable improvement between the two wars, may the whole thing not resolve itself into the question of whether we are willing to do better and more 148 American Association of School Administrators aggressively those things that there is evidence that we as a nation know how to do? Is this not an opportunity for education to give added impetus once more to its favored and "high priority" objective — health? If these obligations are to be met, the first step is to fix responsibility for the development and control of health programs. Originally these con- trols were largely with boards of health. Medical inspections in schools began as an extension of the work of these boards. This was because the police power of the board of health was needed for the control of con- tagious diseases. Beyond this phase of the work, school health has other functions. Its work is educational and preventive; its program is to build up health. Since the whole correction program depends very largely upon parental cooperation, the administrative control in this respect is unusually important. Better cooperation can be secured from parents because they are accustomed to dealing with school officials. The first line of defense against communicable disease is formed by classroom teachers who may be trained to recognize the early signs of disease. As health work has gone from medical inspection for detection of contagious diseases to the more fundamental purposes of prevention and upbuilding, activities emphasized in schools become more significant. Habit-formation, exercise, cleanliness, healthful surroundings, ventilation, rest, growth, safety are everyday educational activities. These are the reasons that many cities have placed the control of health work for children in the school under the board of education. This should be one of the principal departments of a city school system, responsible to the superintendent of schools as the coordinating head of the whole school organization. In this department will be physicians, dentists, nurses, and specialists. Coordinated with it will be classes for the handicapped, recreation and health teaching, child study clinics, and asso- ciated services. All these must be responsible to the educational department in order that the work may be effectively carried on in cooperation with other members of the educational staff. If in the last analysis health is largely an educational matter, then the teacher holds an important place in the program. The modern health pro- gram must increasingly recognize this fact and utilize the teacher as a key person in the program. Any health service in the schools will have to depend upon the intelligent cooperation of the teacher. By her example and her instruction she exercises a strong influence over the attitudes and practices of pupils. She more than any one else has opportunities for observing the effects of instruction, nervousness, eyestrain, defective hearing, and first symptoms of contagious diseases. This means an awareness on the part of teachers. It means that teachers must be trained to observe defects, detect diseases, and know something of the hygiene of growth. Such work is elementary but will enable teachers to observe their children and be in- creasingly alert to the need of educating the whole child. But many health problems of the child arise before the child comes to school. Upon the home rests the responsibility for assuring the mental and physical health of every child before he enters school. No child should be forced to enter school with any remediable physical defect. Parents have Addresses at the Conferences 149 done the best they could, with limited knowledge. Today parent education and preschool examinations appear as means of improving this important period of health service. Schools can and must provide the leadership through parent education and through enlistment of cooperation of family physicians, clinics, and all available services. A modern health program must be comprehensive. In an educational program it is more than the immunization against disease or proper care of teeth. A health program must provide for the protection of children, encourage the correction of defects, and create the right attitude towards health. As one of the first objectives of education health must necessarily permeate all phases of the educational program from physical plant to details of instruction. This is the main reason that it is a school respon- sibility. Schools can work in areas of child development where the work of health boards and private agencies would be limited. These areas of responsibility have been well described in the professional literature and conference reports of recent years. They will be briefly discussed here partially for emphasis and more particularly to establish the fact that the school health program for today must be comprehensive and all-inclusive. School health responsibilities may be grouped under many headings. For the convenience of this discussion let us look at three main areas. They are: (a) the school environment of buildings, grounds, equipment, and program ; (b) the health supervision of children; and (c) the health guidance and instruction program. It seems axiomatic to state that the school's physical plant should provide a healthful surrounding and atmosphere for the child while at school. Yet most of America's children are housed in school buildings that are not new and do not meet modern standards of health, safety, and sanitation. All communities cannot have new buildings. But all communities can be kept constantly alert to the needs for rehabilitating and replacing old and obsolete school buildings. Services for safety and sanitation must be adequate to meet health needs of children. Up-to-date standards should be maintained in construction of new buildings. In modernization of older buildings special attention must be given to improvement in cleaning, heating, ven- tilating, lighting equipment, and to the adequacy of drinking fountains, lavatories, and toilets. In buildings, old or new, there are daily health problems involving cleaning, seating, lighting, heating and ventilating. These require supervision and training for custodians and housekeeping employees. There should be a planned routine of inspection to maintain a healthful environment. In most cities additional health and safety protection can be secured through the cooperation of city health and city fire dep,Trt- ments. The city health department will make inspections of the sanitary conditions of school buildings. The fire prevention bureaus will make thorough and rigid inspections that arc a distinct contribution to the protection of health and safety of the children. In addition to the school plant environment the social and emotional 150 American Association of School Administrators environment of the pupil requires earnest consideration. The intimate contact of teacher and pupil has a profound influence on the health of pupils. Informality, freedom, and cooperation should characterize classroom procedures. The total program of the school should be so organized that it serves the needs of each individual child. Marks, tests, promotions should be evaluated in the light of the effect on health. All assignments, including homework, should be adapted to individual children and should be of such nature that they do not cause undue worry, fatigue, or interfere with normal play or sleep. In short, school officials are responsible for the provision of surroundings that are conducive to safety and health of pupils. No health and safety program can, therefore, be called modern until buildings, equipment, and programs meet recognized standards. The second general area of the health program is the health services which include medical examinations, care of emergencies, prevention and control of communicable diseases. The effectiveness of the health services depends almost wholly on the quality of the personnel. Physicians, nurses, and other specialists should be a part of the educational staff, should be chosen on the basis of desirable personal and professional qualifications, and should have training in public health work. But the full value of health protection and improvement services is never realized unless the services are m.ade a part of the pupil's learning experiences and made to contribute to his understanding and growth. All pupils should be examined periodically. But the frequency should be regulated so as to place more emphasis on children having the greatest need for the service. The purpose of the examination is to determine the child's health status, leaving details and diagnosis to the family physician. Parents should be encouraged to have the examination by the private physician most familiar with the child's health status. If the child has a family physician or attends a clinic regularly, this resource should be used for periodic health examination and reports sent to the school. Emphasis must be given to the fundamental role of the teacher in every school health service program. The day-by-day observation of pupils by teachers and the referral of those needing specialized attention of nurse or physician may be as valuable as the periodic health examinations. The follow-up campaign to secure correction of remediable defects is the important phase of this area of the health program. Treatment is not a function of the schools, but is the responsibility of practicing physicians and dentists. Sound school health education teaches children and parents where and how to get treatment so that when they leave school they will have learned how health needs may be met. On the basis of the health examination results, the school program should be adjusted where necessary to individual cases. These adjustments may include rest periods, modified activities, proper feeding, modification of class work, seating to compensate for eye and ear defects, and modified programs of study, Addresses at the Conferences 151 Immunization programs for communicable diseases should be sponsored b}' the school authorities and when necessary provided by state or local boards of health. In addition, the school should apply measures aimed at control of communicable diseases — daily observation and inspection of pupils and isolation of those exhibiting signs of illness. The third general area is the health instruction program. Everyone in the school system shares in this part of the work. All experiences in the classroom, school, home, and community go to make uj) health instruction, since they all contribute to the child's understanding and growth. As a means to healthy living, health instruction must be based on best scientific authority, must be practical, related to the situation, and truly functional. The educational implications of nurse-pupil relationships and the educa- tional outcomes of examinations by physicians and dentists are recognized by many. These experiences should be developed so that the educational values are realized. In addition to these experiences a definitely planned health instruction program is necessary. This is the real challenge to schools because in these areas the greatest contribution to health can be made. Schools should clearly and definitely instruct pupils concerning the functioning of the human body, procedures for maintaining health, something of hygienic laws governing the causes and prevention of diseases, and the work and place of community health programs. The child needs to know a great deal about health. He needs to know how to develop good health for himself, how to avoid illness and accidents, and how to protect the health of others. He must understand the difference between adequate and inadequate diet, the effect of drugs and stimulants, and the value of vaccination and immunization. All possible opportunities to influence health behavior should be utilized. Direct health instruction should be emphasized in regular courses in hygiene, health, physical education, science. Advantage should be taken of all oppor- tunities for supplementary and incidental instruction in all other subject fields and activities, both curriculum and extracurriculum. The real purpose of this whole effort should be to arouse interest in healthy living and to develop good habits and attitudes. Like all other educational programs the school health instruction will be effective to the extent to which these habits and attitudes are carried over into daily life. One phase of health instruction is urgent and presents itself today as a real challenge and opportunity for education. This is training in safety and accident prevention. Man is so beset with hazards today in a world of mechanization and complexity of living, that one can truly ask what is the chance of living in safety and security, Avithout accident or injury? Home, alone, cannot deal with this complicated problem and school must assume increasing responsibility. The schools have for a long time taken a very active part in providing for the protection of lives and property. It seems to be a natural tendency for youth to seek adventures and to take risks. Learners need to be made conscious of their personal responsibility for safety, not onlv for themselves but also for others. Thev should learn 152 American Association of School Administrators to sense dangers, to avoid them, and to help others forestall waste and suffering. It is probably not too much to hope that the safety education taught in the schools will also reach a large number of adults both directly and indirectly. Instruction in safety can be developed in connection with the regular school program, without adding another separate subject. Considerable material regarding safety education is included in regular school subjects. The formation of school safety councils should be encouraged. Real life experiences are profitable for study. Ideals can be practiced in and related to school situations in which pupils live. This is a "must" in any health program, for health and happiness cannot be enjoyed by the suffering. No school health program is complete that does not provide for the identification of handicapped pupils and the adaptation of programs to meet their needs. The regular program must be varied for pupils whose physical disabilities require special attention beyond that given to normal pupils. All are familiar with special classes for children where the physical handicap is so evident that special care is required. These are classes for the blind, those with defective vision, those with defective hearing, the crippled, and the mentally retarded. But a thorough examination program will identify many other pupils with minor physical defects that handicap school progress. Modern procedures require that the handicapped be treated as far as possible as a normal child. The child should be helped to live successfully within his limitations. To help this group of children adjust socially is the important contribution to their education. I have tried to emphasize that a modern health program is the respon- sibility of the schools, and particularly of the educational department of the schools; that in this department there must be competent, well-trained, specialized personnel with an understanding of children and school health programs. These steps are important and fundamental. Yet, because health is increasingly an educational matter, the teacher becomes increasingly the key person in the whole program. This position of the teacher has important implications. It is a phase of the program that has not yet received the serious consideration it deserves. I refer to the training of teachers, not as technicians in the field of health, but as workers with a better knowledge of the importance of health and its place in the school program. The prospective teacher herself must be a healthy individual. In her preparation for teaching she should acquire information about health and principles of healthful living. Teacher-education courses should prepare teachers to recognize physical handicaps and symptoms of irregular health conditions among children, to have a working knowledge of growth and development of children, and to be familiar with procedures for develop- ment of health habits and attitudes on the part of pupils. For teachers now in service provisions should be made for refresher courses and in- service training programs. In the last analysis it is an awareness, an alertness on the part of teachers that must be encouraged and promoted. Addresses at the Conferences 153 And finally, there must be some plan of appraisal of the effectiveness of this work. Undoubtedly the weakest spot in the school health program is the follow-up, both of the individual child and the effectiveness of the program as a whole. For the latter it means a continuous and long-term appraisal. This consists of observing resultant individual and group health behavior. This type of appraisal is in addition to and different from statistical data giving number of examinations and number of corrections. Some common elements can be readily observed: Are children happy? Are they making desirable growth? Are they alert? Are they strong, active, graceful? Appraisal can also be made in terms of the awareness of health needs of the school, the extent of use of health resources in school and community, and the extent of participation by children and personnel in use and promotion of health programs. And now, regardless of how thorough the program or how satisfactory the immediate results, we must not expect success too rapidly. It has been said that it takes two generations to change the habits of a people. Every- one knows that false beliefs, misconceptions, superstitions, folklore, and other popular beliefs pass for truth. We must allow not only for imme- diate results but for the establishment of permanent habits in a community. Health, vitality, stamina — personal or national — like democracy will never be automatic, but must be eternally defended and promoted. We as school people cannot, therefore, become discouraged. Health must eventually become a point of view, a state of mind, a will to do, as well as a condition of body. Then, and then only will health as a first objective be realized. WHAT THE SECONDARY SCHOOLS SHALL TEACH IN MEETING INTERCULTURAL AND INTERRACIAL PROBLEMS AT HOME CHARLES A. TONSOR, PRINCIPAL, GROVER CLEVELAND HIGH SCHOOL, NEW YORK, N. Y. Address at New York Conference I have been asked to open up the problem and attempt to define the issue. Aristotle said, "The world revolves on the axis of definition." If we can clear and define the issue we may be able to make considerable progress toward its solution. In discussing this question we must bear two facts in mind: (a) The question is as old as history; (b) it will not be settled in our generation or in several generations except as we build an appreciation of differences, and remove the fear of submergence of a group-desired culture into a group- undesired culture. A good example of this latter fear is found in the taboo against intermarriage with any other tribe which is enforced by the Sun Bias Indians in Panama — they do not want their culture to be weakened thereby. 154 American Association of School Administrators The question is an old one, older than the dawn of history. In the Homeric Age, non-Greeks were barbarians; in the Bible, non-Hebrews are Gentiles. This tendency to view the unity of one's own culture was so strong that nonconformists were exiled or exiled themselves via migration. Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees; Aeneas and the Trojans migrated to Italy after their defeat ; the Pilgrims and Puritans migrated to the New World ; Roger Williams migrated to Rhode Island ; William Penn to Penn- sylvania ; and Smith and his Mormons to Utah. The problem is more acute today because there is no longer a place to which to migrate, and because the agencies for propaganda such as radio, movies, the press, even education, when authoritatively controlled, can be used to concentrate upon a given culture to the detriment of others. Hitler showed us that. The substitute for migration is in the understanding of dif- ferences. As Charles Evans Hughes has expressed it, "When we lose the right to be different, we lose the right to be free." To recognize differences is not easy especially when the question of superimposed cultures is involved as it has been from the very discovery of America. The white man imposed his culture on the Indian in all the Americas. Wasn't the ruling idea as late as the Sixties and Seventies that "the only good Indian is a dead Indian"? Very early the black man was imported to till the soil and labor, and the white man imposed his culture upon him. Around the time of the Gold Rush the yellow man came and resisted the white man's culture. He threatened the standard of living and the workingman's job and therefore was excluded both from citizenship and our shores. About the same time with the conquest of Mexican terri- tories, the Anglo-Saxon culture was imposed on people of Spanish heritage. Such imposition does not make it easy for the one who imposes to regard the one imposed upon as his equal ; and when, as in the South, the imposer is numerically in the minority the conservative force which holds groups to conformity operates at great strength. Yet, in spite of this, we were making pretty good progress until the Nazi propaganda machine appeared on the scene. The Irishman who had been the digger of ditches, whose St. Patrick's Day parade found the Orangemen on the rooftops, became part of the American scene ; the Italian who took his place became the contractor ; the Greek, the merchant ; and so on. Israel Zangwill's enthusiastic acceptance of the "Melting Pot" showed what had been done. This was why Theodore Roosevelt blasted with such vigor hyphenated Americanism. Not only foreign loyalties in World War I impinged on our attitudes, but a new force infiltrated American life — com- munism, an attacking force. Whenever a dominant culture is under attack the conservative force becomes more binding and its ranks are consolidated. There is the fear that any loosening of the bonds will bring dissolution. The idea that race relations are a part of the party line produces a resistance to needed actions on the theory that the real profit accrues to the communists. Lastly, we must bear in mind that knowledge alone is not here of much avail. We are dealing with the field of the emotions in which often the heart overrules the dictates of the intellect. As Pascal phrased it, "Le Addresses at the Conferences 155 coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connait pas." Emotions and attitudes are the result of deep-rooted conditioning. Under these circumstances, appeal to the intellect is insufficient — "A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still." The education of the emotions is a prime requisite and this is more difficult than the education of the mind ; as Shelley phrased it, "IVIy head is with Spinoza, my heart with John and Paul." The greatest block to race relations is the emotion of fear. In the case of the Negroes, Mexicans, Orientals, the fear of the workingman has been that they would cut his standard of living. Employers would have cheap labor and plenty of it. The history of the American labor movement will show that its leaders worked diligently for exclusion acts; the fear of losing their hard-earned gains was the motivating force. Something of the same fear was to be found during the depression and this operated to the disad- vantage of the Negroes. In the South, there is the definite fear of a white minority being swallowed by a black majority. And that fear is all-powerful. What can be done when fear is removed is shown by the Springfield plan. In this city a heterogeneous mixture of children lived in perfect accord because they were not subject to the indoctrination of adults dominated by, to them, real fears. In Grover Cleveland High School the problem was tackled years ago through the adoption by the student organization of Grover Cleveland Code. This sets character, scholarship, and service as goals of human conduct and has brought general acceptance and amity in a school with a widely diverse population which has numbered Negroes, Chinese, American Indians, and European refugees of all stripes among its population. The uninformed visitor would gain no inkling of the diverse elements that make up the population but would judge it a school of typical American children. Knowing what the problem is, we must ask ourselves, "What to do?" The answer is not simple but the following seem to offer promise: 1. Stick to fundamentals. Don't worry too much about cliches, names, and movie characters. They are but symptoms and individual symptoms. \'ou may abolish the symptoms without abolishing the disease. Fundamental is the fact that Negroes, Indians, Mexicans. Japanese, Chinese are people; that they love their children and their parents just as we do; that they love their adopted home just as we do. We need, therefore, as part of our American history, to take note of all the people who have come to our shores, when they came, why they came, what they brought, what they have done — just as we have studied the Dutch, Swedes, French. English, without any idea of who contributed most. 2. We must provide opportunities for working together in community activities, especially in helping the sick and unfortunate. Nothing breaks through an emotional barrier so swiftly as the need for human sympathy. The need is not for sporadic activity but for organized cooperative activities in which school children can set an example to their ciders. 3. "We must make haste slowly. The law cannot make a man love his wife; how can it make him love his neighbor? And. in making haste slowly, we must work on individuals. That i? no easy task. A Jewish youth who 156 American Association of School Administrators has heard a speaker criticize some Jews will have to learn that the speaker is not therefore an anti-Semite; and a Negro will have to learn that the emploj^er who has turned down his application is not necessarily discriminat- ing against Negroes. We shall have to warn against hasty generalization because, at the last analysis, prejudice often is rooted in a single concrete case taken as indicative of the whole field. This analysis and these suggestions should place the issue before us with a fair degree of clarity, with room for agreement or disagreement, and with opportunity for amplification and supplement of the suggestions. SECONDARY SCHOOLS— DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS AND THE CURRICULUM PAUL B. JACOBSON, SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, DAVENPORT, IOWA Address at Chicago Conference During the past five years three important pronouncements about the high-school curriculum have been made. The first, entitled What the High Schools Ought To Teach, was issued by the American Youth Commission in 1940. The second document, issued by the Educational Policies Com- mission, appeared in 1944 and was entitled Education for All American Youth. This, together with its companion document. Planning for Amer- ican Youth, sponsored by the National Association of Secondary-School Principals, presents basic material which is to be discussed at this meeting. The third important pronouncement on the curriculum Is the Harvard report. The Objectives of a General Education in a Free Society. We do not mean to imply that this document is not important to secondary-school educators, but it does not deal in the same fundamental way with the problem of curriculum in the secondary schools as do the first two reports. Before entering into a discussion of the specific matters which should be included in the secondary curriculum, we wish to give in brief outline the developmental tasks which adolescents face and which are to them most important. The period from birth to adulthood can be divided roughly into four stages, the first extending to the age of six years, during which the individual learns to walk, to talk, to feed himself, to boast a bit, to tell a lie when it seems necessarj'- to appease his parents or his peers, to re- member back a year, to understand 2500 words, to quarrel with his con- temporaries, and to know whether he is a boy or a girl. The age from six to twelve, which includes the elementary-school period, is one of great intellectual learning. Here a child learns in six years what the race has learned in six thousand. He learns to read, to write, to tell time, to multiply and divide, and to deal with fractions and decimals. He adopts simple eating habits; he knows right from wrong; he learns to get along reasonably with his age mates ; and he learns to lead or to follow. From twelve to eighteen is the period of great physical and social growth. The principal lessons are emotional and social, although the in- Addresses at the Conferences 157 tellectual learnings are also important. The period from eighteen to twenty- four is one of apprenticeship, of becoming a man or a woman, of courtship and marriage, and establishing a new family. There are a number of ways in which developmental tasks may be enumerated. At three of these the adolescents in high school work without rest. This discussion will deal largely with these three. 1. Accepting one's physique; accepting the fact that one is to be a man or a woman 2. Achieving new relationships with age mates of both sexes 3. Achieving emotional independence of parents and other adults During adolescence the hands and feet grow very fast ; the shoulders and the head lag in growth. Everyone compares himself with his age mates. Am I short? Am I tall? Am I too fat? Am I good-looking? Parents and peers compliment them on good looks. Often they try to make them- selves look like adults by padding shoulders or in other ways as they see their elders do. Every man in this room has pads in the shoulders of his coat, presumably to make him more handsome, and it is generally known that adult women have not been satisfied with the shapes of their bodies and have tried to change the contours to please themselves or others. Since we know that one-half or more of the girls, and one-third or more of the boys are disturbed by the shape of their bodies, we must take cognizance of it in the curriculum. In Biology it would be well to devote a good deal of time, perhaps half, to study the development of bodies, with emphasis on the limit within which normality can be found. For example, we can show through pictures that some fat little boys of fourteen became beauti- fully proportioned adults at eighteen or nineteen. We can also show that scars and freckles are not insurmountable hurdles to reasonably good looks, and that acne is a skin condition which normally disappears when adult- hood is reached. Certainly counselors must make it easy for students to get information about normality and human development and help them accept the proper sex role without being disturbed about the change in body shape, or without undue concern because one is slow in developing. It means too that accurate information about the functioning of the human body must be furnished, for the amount of misinformation which young people, particularly girls, possess is appalling. The second task, at which adolescents work harder than anything else, is achieving new relations with age mates of both sexes. They learn to talk with persons of the opposite sex, by sitting in the corner drug store in- terminably, drinking "cokes." They use the family phone for hours on end so that parents become annoyed feeling that important calls for the adults may have been prevented or at least delayed. They play games, espe- cially those which allow the boys to show their proficiency, and are slaves to convention in hair styles, shoes, and slang. It is more important to wear "sloppy joes" and saddle shoes than to know the facts about the binomial theorem. Conversation between a group of girls in the family car on the way to school, as the speaker knows from daily experience, is of the sort, 158 American Association of School Administrators "Oh, Helen, what 'spiffy' new shoes," or, "What a cute way to do your hair," and, "Has Bobby asked you to the dance?" H a group of boys ride with one girl, the conversation is confined strictly to sports, the speculators discussing and disagreeing which home room is most likely to win the home room championship in intramural basketball. H the load to school is made up equally of boys and girls, the conversation is almost certain to center on the next sunlight mixer and the relative merits of a Black Cow vs. a Chocolate Sundae. Thus there are variants in conversation as adolescents work out relationships with age mates of both sexes. But never lose sight of the fact that they are working like mad at the task of Getting on with Their Age Mates of Both Sexes. Thus the Pythagorean Theorem and Caesar's Gallic Wars, like Mortimer Snerd on Charlie McCarthy's pro- gram, are necessary secondary characters, but not the "main show" in the life of high-school age adolescents. Achieving satisfactory relations with one's age mates means a reasonably good social adjustment throughout life. If you achieve this task you will probably be a success in the others. The "better students" are more likely not to make this adjustment. That is one reason why they are "better stu- dents." They frequently do not get on with their peers and so become "bookworms." The school is a social laboratory; let us make it a good one so that everyone has a chance to make adjustments with his age mates of both sexes. This implies that socially backward boys and girls, some of them good students, must be brought forward by sympathetic counselors. It means that teachers must be sensitized to understand that many of the facts of medieval history, botany, and trigonometry are less important to these adolescents than "how to get on with the gang." Athletics has a large part in this picture because one of the ways for a boy to demonstrate his normality is to demonstrate his athletic prowess. He can also demonstrate it by standing on the third floor window sill, by throwing rocks at a cop, by sassing the teacher, or by stealing watermelons and chickens in certain rural areas where that is the accepted practice. He may also demonstrate his bravery by driving the family car around the corner on two wheels. The needs of the developmental tasks imply a very wide social program so that young persons can have success without resort- ing to antisocial or outrageously dangerous practices. This means a much greater use of the school plant both by students and by community groups. And it implies that the schools must furnish a greater variety of activities, both competitive sports and quiet activities, that all hoys and girls may make proper adjustments with their peers. The third developmental task is achieving emotional independence of parents and other adults — "cutting the apron strings." This sometimes leads to impudence because young people can think of no way to assert their independence but by being impudent; it also gains status with one's peers whether heard or merely told. Again schools can help young people achieve this development by using literature which shows how young persons have grown into normal adults and by enabling youngsters to understand what is happening to them. Teachers can play a role by serving as an intermediate Addresses at the Cont£rences 159 step in the transition from "dependence on the home" to "complete inde- pendence." Sometimes a sympathetic woman teacher can serve as an ideal or a helper as a boy "cuts the apron strings" from his mother. This con- dition quickly changes when the boy chooses a girl companion of his own age. Those who do not achieve this development and are still "mamma's boy" at twenty-five or thirty are pitiful objects. Everyday we read stories of such persons who cannot adjust in the world. Parenthetically it may be said that far too many of our women teachers are still under the domina- tion of an elderly tyrannical woman who would "never let Rose mix with those awful children on our street." These three tasks are the ones at which adolescents work unceasingly. They cannot be neglected in JVhat the Secondary Schools Ought To Teach. WORK EXPERIENCE TERRY WICKHAM, SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, HAMILTON, OHIO Address at Chicago Conference The American people believe that work has a definite place in the proper development of our youth, but they usually think of it as something the young people will experience after they get out of school. This concept of a sharp cleavage between school and book learning, on the one hand, and out- of-school life and work, on the other, stems from the failure of the public to grasp the significance of two great social and economic changes in our American way of life which have occurred in the last seventy-five years. These changes are: (a) the enrolment in our high schools of an over- whelming majority, instead of a small minority, of our "teen-age" youth; and (b) the shift of a major part of our people from simple rural to highly complicated urban living. When most Americans lived on farms the elemental considerations of family economic survival required school-age children to accept responsibility for performing a share of necessary work and this share of work grew progressively larger as they grew older. In those days it was easy to make a practical division between home and school activities because the formal tools for promoting intellectual growth were scarce and these tools, as well as the persons qualified to instruct in their use, were found only in the schools. On the other hand, the tools for manual work were a part of the regular operating equipment in every farm home establishment and the parents took pride in helping their sons and daughters to achieve a high standard of work performance. Today the situation is nearly reversed. Books and other reading materials, the radio and the cinema — instruments for intellectual growth — are as freely available outside the school as in, while the need for children to do real work in urban homes is practically nonexistent. It is only by having our high schools accept responsibility for planning and operating a carefully designed program for providing work experience 160 American Assoc'iation of School Administrators that the great body of American youth can be given Its benefits. It is also becoming clear that as the high schools take full advantage of the develop- mental possibilities that vrork experience offers they will find it increasingly easier to meet the growth needs of the masses of students of every con- ceivable shade of intelligence, background, interest, and ambition with which their enrolments are now filled. I have chosen two tasks in which work experience can be a highly influential factor, namely: (a) selecting and preparing for an occupation, (b) achieving assurance of economic independence. 1. Selecting and preparing for an occupation — Our industrial arts, home- making, commercial, and vocational departments offer to pupils who have not yet selected an occupation the opportunity to work at several types of occupations as a technic of their exploratory function. This opportunity is usually extended initially in the junior high school and then continued through the senior high school. To the extent that these work experiences possess elements which are found in the different occupations, and in the degree that they are made meaningful to the students, they contribute materially to occupational guidance. It has been for many years a common practice to have pupils who have made a tentative choice of an occupation begin work at the chosen vocation while they are still in school. Vocational education, with trades training courses in which students do real work at a trade, has used the work experience as a focus for the organization of instruction in a series of related areas in which the work itself has helped the pupil to recognize his short- comings and to solve the problems of preparing himself for competency. There are thousands of well-established Smith-Hughes and George-Deen departments in schools throughout the country where students are working outside the school in trade, industrial, homemaking, agricultural, and dis- tributive occupations because our vocational experts have long since con- vinced us that such work experience offers a sound and economical approach to preparation for an occupation. The federal government has placed its stamp of approval upon this type of work-experience project through its program of subventions, maintained over a long period of years. 2. Achieving assurance of economic independence — Work experience offers an opportunity for close contact with the economic problems of real living. When especially arranged and controlled for educational purposes, it can be an effective means of developing the understandings and the perspectives upon which an individual must build his own economic independence. In this developmental task the element of control for educational pur- poses is of paramount importance. The work situations must be real and not make-believe ; they may or may not lie in the field which will ultimately be the vocational choice of the pupil, but they must not be haphazard. It is in this area that the school's guidance service has its greatest opportunity and meets its most severe challenge. The Philadelphia school -work program, reported in the November 1944 Bulletin of the National Association of Secondary-School Principals, is an Addresses at the Conferences 161 illustration of a large city attempt to adjust the secondary-school program so as to afford every high-school youth the opportunity to participate in useful work under school guidance. From this program Philadelphia believes its pupils achieve: (a) a more vivid sense of the necessity for self-support; (b) a greater awareness of the importance of diligence and cooperation; (c) greater interest in accuracy when the pupil finds that business demands it; (d) an added sense of security, of "belonging" to what is going on in the world. A more specific benefit of an organized school-work program stems from the fact, which we learned the hard way during the late depression, that it is often almost impossible to place an unemployed young person in any posi- tion unless he has had previous experience on another job. The pupil who has held a real job in an organized school-work program has thereby cleared a hurdle which may otherwise be insurmountable. An especially interesting type of work-experience project is that in which goods are produced for the market. For a single illustration of this type let us refer to a project being carried on at Cuyahoga Heights High School, located in an industrial suburb of Cleveland. The Cuyahoga Heights work project is based upon the production of machine tool products for the Cleveland industrial market. The work is done on a subcontract basis, with students and teachers working together in the school machine shop to produce many thousands of dollars worth of small parts. The school's effort won approval of the WPB as a valuable contribution to the war effort. The Cuyahoga Heights project has grown to a point where it gives pupils and teachers experience in working with all the major problems encountered in conducting an industry. They have had to seek customers, to draw up contracts, to keep books, to prepare bills, to deal with organized labor and management, to work out pay rates, and to do many other things besides the actual machine shop work. One of the unusual features of this project is that it has included women teachers as well as men — girl students as well as boys — and that each person has been encouraged to participate at the point where his skill, training, and experience made him most valuable. In this project the high school has assumed full responsibility for plan- ning and organization ; the work carried on has been genuinely useful ; the unique relationship between pupils and teachers who worked shoulder to shoulder in production has made it possible to work out unusually effective controls. The principal of Cuyahoga Heights High School assures me that all those who have participated, both pupils and teachers, have showed marked development in the direction of achieving assurance of economic independence. In this paper we have supported the thesis that the young people of America should have the experience of working at a real job during the years that they are in high school ; we have contended that the high schools should themselves assume responsibility for planning and controlling the work-experience program. We have reminded you that there are many high 162 American Association of School ADMiNisTRAToTis _ _ a^ schools in which work-experience projects have been carried on successfully. Finally we have suggested that work experience can be a highly influential factor in: (a) selecting and preparing for an occupation, (b) achieving assurance of economic independence. The high school which develops a vigorous program for making work experience available to its students will be transforming a traditionally dis- integrating influence into a constructive asset. Traditionally our pupils have quit school to go to work ; under the proposed program they will stay in school to get work experience. The jobs at which they work may be inside the school or outside; school credit may or may not be given; wages may or may not be received ; these matters are merely details of administration. The significant elements are but three: (a) that the school plan the pro- gram, (b) that the work be genuinely useful, and (c) that the school main- tain effective control of the operation of the project. WHAT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOULD TEACH TO ARTICULATE WITH THE HIGH SCHOOL THOMAS G. PULLEN, JR.^ STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, BALTIMORE, MARYLAND Address at New York Conference The educational program should be continuous from the primary grades, and possibly lower, through the high school and beyond. The high school is not the destination but merely a part of this educational journey. The pur- pose of the elementary school is not to prepare for high school, but to pro- vide those desirable and attainable "learning situations" which allow maxi- mum development of pupils at these particular stages in their growth. "Education" must be of value at the time it is received. The "learning situations" referred to, however, must be controlled by the philosophy of the whole educational program, so that what is begun in the elementary school is developed further in the high school. Elementary and high school, then, constitute a continuous program of education, providing conditions for continuous growth and development in the individual child. If we accept the philosophy of the importance of the individual and his growth and development as basic in selecting the elements of the curriculum, we must first recognize that he must develop certain values and ways of liv- ing. To live successfully and happily in a democratic industrial civilization such as ours, we must develop sound habits of thinking; we must acquire competence in the tools of learning; we must develop democratic beliefs, values, and practices; we must acquire ethical, moral, and spiritual values; we must learn to adjust to life situations as they arise; we must utilize wisely human, natural, and material resources ; and we must appreciate and respond to the beautiful. Verily these attainments and acquisitions can- not be set forth as the sine qua non of the completion of any arbitrary and Addresses at the Conferences 163 formal division of education, certainly not so long as variation in the mental, physical, and emotional growth of the species persists! In determining the ends for which we educate in both the elementary and the high school, we must give studious attention to the concepts, the skills, the information, and the interests of youth. Consideration is given to these in the elementary school ; they are enlarged, developed, and refined in the high school. The individual is constantly and continually changed and modified by all education and experience throughout life; when he stops changing, education is no longer effective. The areas of the curriculum from which the elementary and high school selects experiences should be : 1. Personal growth and development. The individual grows up as a per- son. In this area, the elementary school should develop basic skills in physical education and health, and recreational interests and skills, and should provide the personal guidance so essential. 2. The individual lives in a world of things. The elementary school should introduce him to his natural environment. It should develop on the part of its pupils an understanding of physical environment; it should develop an appreciation of the need of conserving natural resources and materials ; it should attempt to develop the scientific way of learning by observation and experimentation, as well as to provide ways in which scientific information may be practically applied. 3. The individual lives in a world of ideas and people. Education must therefore give consideration to the social environment. Examples of the treatment of this phase of the curriculum in the elementary school are: practicing the skills and attitudes of good citizenship in the classroom, school, and community; participating in the social activities of the school and community in a manner conducive to the common good ; developing an elementary concept of the interdependence of individuals, communities, and nations; and acquiring both an intellectual and an emotionalized con- cept of the heritage that is the right and privilege of every American. 4. The individual expresses himself and enjoys the creative activities of others. In the elementary school this factor finds expression in participation in artistic, musical, and dramatic activities; in the development of skills in creative expression — in art, crafts, writing, dramatics, and the like. All these properly presented and intelligently participated in tend to bring about an appreciation of the beautiful in everything and to release the innate yearning of the indi\idual to express himself in any medium for which he has talent. 5. The indi\ idual lives in a world of work. It is not impossible to develop in the mind of the elementary-school child the idea that education — largely skills in his case — is the tool of work. Not work as defined by some future vocation, but work that is at hand. Here should begin the mastery of skills known as "tool subjects," not as an end in itself, but as a necessity for etifective living — for the living he must experience as one of a group. These skills are: 164 American Association of School Administrators a. Communication: reading, writing, spelling, mathematics b. Skills associated with the life of the group: planning, assuming responsibility, finishing the job, evaluating results, considering others, shar- ing, and the like c. Skills of observation : using resources, investigating, and the like d. Habits of orderliness and accuracy e. Skill in performing useful tasks. If we recognize the fact that the individual is a living, growing, and developing human being, and if we provide for him in the elementary school suitable educational experiences appropriate to his maturity level, effective articulation with the high school will take place. "Effective articulation" thus becomes a natural consequence and not an end that has been achieved through a process of specific preparation. WHAT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS SHOULD TEACH— KNOWLEDGE AND INTEREST IN THE NATURAL AND SOCIAL WORLD MILDRED ENGLISH, SUPERINTENDENT, PEABODY LABORATORY SCHOOL, GEORGIA STATE COLLEGE FOR WOMEN, MILLEDGEVILLE, GEORGIA Address at Atlanta Conference Far-reaching changes in our social world and new challenges confronting our democracy have given us some comprehensive social goals which should underlie all of our school activities. International education is one of those goals. The war has sent men and women — the fathers, brothers, and sisters of the elementary-school chil- dren— to distant places, places the names of which we had never heard before; air travel has reduced distances; plans for extending American trade are discussed over radio and through the press; the UNO and the problems before it we follow with interest — all have made urgent acquaint- ance with other nations. The radio and the press bring us ideas, attitudes, medical and scientific discoveries, music, art, inventions of foreign nations. All these things are helping boys and girls in the elementary schools to have clearer understand- ing that this is "one world." It is not enough to teach the use of maps, to explain differences in climate in various parts of the world. We need to build international-mindedness. In the past we have given attention largely to the culture of the countries of western Europe. Children have known something of London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, but it took war headlines to make real for us such places as Chungking, Sydney, Burma, New Guinea. Today we are beginning to learn about the countries of Latin America, about China, and the Soviet Union — not merely the geography and history of these countries, but we are trying to bring about appreciation of the distinctive contribu- Addresses at the Conferences 165 tions of other peoples — an understanding of the way human beings struggle for security and for freedom. As world problems multiply, we need to work definitely to create inter- national understanding — to see problems as the Russians and the Chinese see them as they work to develop their resources. We want our elementary children to understand other peoples enough to have respect for them as individuals and for their contributions to the world. Just as in international education an understanding of people is of first importance, so in the study of our own nation it is important to know and to appreciate our people and their problems. During the war years children have been brought face to face with many economic problems through rationing, salvage campaigns, bond and stamp campaigns. There is critical need for conservation of our natural resources, and children need to know this and to understand how they can help. Just now we are being called upon for food to share with the hungry peoples of Europe. Children are asked to share books and toys and clothes with those children in countries where there is great need. So an increased and better understanding of our social policy and the willingness to cooperate in matters for the common good will remain a major objective in the economic education of our youth. In the elementary school we need to learn how to read newspapers and magazines — to ask questions as we read, to have a growing and intelligent interest in issues that confront us in our own communities as well as on state and national fronts. Attention to current happenings — maps, charts, newspapers, radio, speakers, documentary films, recordings, and books — all contribute to the spirit of international unity and understanding and should be used as instructional aids in the work of the elementary school. The children of the early grades are interested in everything that comes within their range of experience — concerned with homes and schools, toys and pets, trips to places in the community. And the war years have affected all of these areas and widened the horizon of even the youngest of our ele- mentary-school group as well as adding to their fund of information. As the scope of their interests broadens, children grow in the ability to ask thoughtful questions and in the means they use to find answers — from books, from people, from listening, and from observing — as father or friend returns from overseas, as a new classmate from a distant state becomes one of the group. Science interests include seasonal change, adaptations of plant and animal life, stars, rocks, magnets, compasses, and simple machinery. Even the eight-year-olds are interested in a study of the heavens, what stars and planets are and something of the order and rhythm of their motion. They may learn to identify some of the constellations. Awed and impressed by the immensity of the universe even though they do not understand it, they are interested in such questions as, "When you go up in a plane, where do you go? Out of this world? Do we live on this world or in it?" asked by a fourth-grade child. Just now the atom bomb and the contact with the moon offer much cause for speculation and discussion. 166 American Association of School Administrators All elementary children are interested in aviation which offers many opportunities for science facts and understandings. A study of weather, simple experiments with electrical equipment and magnets will deepen the understandings of boys and girls in our elementary schools. The horizons of time and space are being pushed out rapidly and the elementary-school child revels in new knowledge and new experiences as we open new areas for him. After all, knowledge and interest in the natural and social world is a matter of relationships — relationships of man and his physical environ- ment, man and his social environment, and countless interrelationships among all. It would be a grave error to minimize with children the prob- lems in today's world which have to do with people — how they solve their problems in satisfying their physical needs for food, clothing, and shelter; how, too, they solve problems of getting along together in little and big groups ; what happens when, in solving their problems, interests clash. SELF-EXPRESSION AND APPRECIATION OF THE CRE- ATIVE ARTS IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS LENA MOORE, DIRECTOR OF PRIMARY INSTRUCTION, STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA Address at Atlanta Conference Ideas are born and come to fruition in an atmosphere of happiness, freedom, and understanding. In a classroom where these abound, a primary child looked out with wonder and delight upon a world new to her. The small world within the range of her vision was now blanketed with snow, the first snowfall of the season ; in fact, the first that this child and most of her little friends had ever seen, for it was in a southern town where even a light snowfall was a rare and beautiful experience. "May I draw what I see and how I feel?" she asked enthusiastically of her teacher who seemed awed, too, by the new beauty that lay all around. The teacher and children made the most of the experience, and an appreciation was developed that was akin to reverence. A creative urge took possession of the entire group. The children found materials that were kept ready for such occasions, and they were soon giving expression in one way or another to what they saw and how they felt. The teacher moved quietly among the little artists, for such small chil- dren are until adults begin to dominate their thinking and repress the spontaneity and freedom that is characteristic of early childhood. She was alert to the opportunities to encourage, suggest, and stimulate. The freedom and encouragement seemed to "loosen up their feelings and their thinking" and the results were pleasing. Children are by nature sensitive to their surroundings, and the environ- ment should continually feed the natural creative spirit with ideas, A basic Addresses at the Conferences 167 principle of the school then should be to increase every child's sensitivity to the world about him and let his everyday experiences furnish the chief source for creative activities. Since the desire to create is fostered by a rich and varied environment, a flexible program, which provides for abundant opportunities for self- expression through a variety of mediums, becomes imperative. As Hughes Mearns expresses it, "The child needs little instruction but he must have materials, and his environment must be such as to call his efforts worthy." A worthwhile program which takes into account the latent creative abili- ties of children should provide for many forms of expression, utilizing speech, acting, rhythmic movements, sound, color. One group of children will turn a story into a play and make the characters come alive; another will give meaningful interpretations to appropriate poems; they will come to appre- ciate beauty and rhythm in the choice of words used to convey ideas ; they will learn spacing, form, and proportion in letter writing or in making a class magazine or a school newspaper; they will show vigorous creative thinking in expressing the idea of a story in pictures, or the sequence of e\ents in a mural ; they will interpret the feelings and customs of children of other lands through games, plays, and songs. The creative arts will be uti- lized in beautifying the classroom, bringing into play such basic principles as cleanliness, arrangement, orderliness, and coloring. It must be remem- bered that art is not necessaril}'^ something that is made with brush and paint, nor with rhythm and sound. It is a way of living that is expressed in various ways. Creative expression should contribute to the growth and happiness of every child. Regardless of what form the expression may take, it should help him to recognize, enjoy, and make use of the beautiful that lies about him. It should lead him toward self-discovery and help him to experience the priceless joy that comes with recognized achievement. It should help to establish habits of persistence, self-reliance, and evaluation. The responsibility of the teacher in fostering creative expression and developing sincere appreciation is great. As Laura W. White has said, "We need to become increasingly sensitive to the concerns of children, more aware of the factors conducive to creative expressions, better skilled in the art of human relationships — so shall we discover that art is not limited to the talents of the privileged few, but is found as well in the familiar and unspectacular events of everyday living." ^ It is only when we accept and meet this responsibility that we can have the joy of seeing children draw- ing, dancing, singing, acting, and giving sincere expression to what they see and feel. 1 White, Laura W. "Art Is Personal" The Arts and Children'i Living. Bulletin q£ the Associatiou for Childhoocl Education^ 168 American Association of School Administrators WHAT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOULD TEACH— DEMOCRATIC GROUP LIVING AND SERVICES HATTIE PARROTT, DIVISION OF INSTRUCTIONAL SERVICE, STATE DEPART- MENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA Address at Atlanta Conference Perhaps we all agree that first consideration should be given to the teach- ing of democracy — to inculcating democratic principles in everyday living, to making known the facts of democratic living, and to fostering in all school life democratic group activities. No better way has been found to learn than by doing. Learning the ways of democracy involves both the teaching of democratic principles and the doing of democratic activities. One does not learn to live effectively in a democracy simply by reading history. Democratic living must be practiced in the classroom, in the home, in the community. Democracy must not be taken for granted. To teach democratic ideals, these ideals must form the basis of classroom procedure. If children participate in choosing what shall be done, how it shall be done, and in deciding what value is to be given an activity, then democracy is functioning in the classroom. We have a great opportunity through the schools to put into the life of our nation those things most desired. Life in the classroom must reflect the principles of democratic living so that the child may through experience be prepared for constructive partici- pation in a democratic world. A child cannot be given a pattern cut to fit every situation ; but by helping him learn the technic of living intelligently and peaceably with others, we can teach him to make fair and wise decisions, and as he grows, to steer his course as wisely as possible through life. Provision must be made for situations that involve group discussion, group planning, committee work, cooperative activities, and evaluations in terms of criteria which have been cooperatively determined. The act of cooperation recognizes that we live and work as groups as well as indi- viduals. In such, there is democratic sharing of ideas, much opportunity for conversation and for discussion of topics of mutual interest in order that the group may gain ends that serve all members. Also, we may add situations which provide ways of living and learning together, looking towards habits of good citizenship and neighborliness. Furthermore, the approach of the elementary school to all worthwhile and essential services of an educational nature, as included in the school program, should be from the point of view of not only meeting the needs of the individual but also the groups he contacts in the social realm in which he lives. There should be many opportunities to practice group cooperation rather than individual competition. Democratic group living and its successful fruition in educational services which adequately take care of the physical, social, and mental needs of the growing, developing citizen is an essential Addresses at the Conferences 169 in American life — the good life most desired for all citizens of a democracy like ours. As we know, the good life involves wholesome normal growth of the individual. It means vision, faith, ideals. It means hard work and an enthusiasm and a will to do. It means temporary discouragements met with courage and hope. It means love for humanity and an ever-growing under- standing of and respect for all people. It means growing intellectually, socially, and spiritually. It means keeping young in mind and spirit. It means companionship with friends — with good books and good music. It means having fun. It means serving and being served. Granted that these are some of the basic considerations when planning what the elementary school should teach, what then is the supporting evi- dence that this is the American way of education? For the answer, we have only to go to the 1945-46 editions of all types and kinds of professional publications and note the illustrations as well as the records of real learning situations where children are provided many and challenging opportunities to participate in group experiences designed to benefit both the individual and the group. Almost every day we observe that the traditional is more and more fad- ing out of the picture and new patterns of group living are emerging to suit the demands of the times. Evaluated in terms of new patterns of democratic group living in the classroom, personality and character traits may be observed as outcomes of experiences and growth in whatever problem confronts them. Emphasis must, therefore, be placed upon that type of school where democratic ideals are promoted ; where the program as such is based on the growing interests, needs, and capacities of the children it serves; where there are guided experiences in accordance with the child's maturity; where within the child there takes place integration of school, community, and home living; and, above all, where there is ample provision for group plan- ning, thinking, and acting — essentials in American life. THE PROPORTION OF FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS TOGETHER WITH EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS T. C. HOLY, DIRECTOR, BUREAU OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH, OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY, COLUMBUS, OHIO Address at Chicago Conference One of the original concepts of free public education in this country was that by virtue of its being free it would reach directly the total population. Later it was made compulsory to give added assurance to that end. Now, however, with a sharply declining birth rate, which has been generally downward since ISOO, when it was about three and one-half times as high as in 1930, that probably is no longer true. The question, therefore, at the 170 American Association of School Administrators moment is: To what degree do the public schools reach directly the total population and what, if any, are the educational implications? As noted above, population trends, at least up to 1940, have been charac- terized by a declining birth rate. Moreover, this declining birth rate has been accompanied by an appreciable shift in the distribution of population according to age groups. Significant in those changes has been a sharp decline in the proportion of the population in the lower age groups, and a considerable increase in the proportion of the total population in the age group of sixty-five or over. In 1937-38 the National Resources Committee carried on what was undoubtedly the most extensive study of population trends that has been done in this country. The results of that study are incorporated in a publication entitled The Problems of a Changing Popu- lation. In that study there are included population estimates by five-year periods from 1935 through 1980, together with a distribution of those esti- mates according to age groups. According to these estimates the total popu- lation of the country will reach a peak of approximately 154,000,000 in 1980. However, during the period covered by the estimates it is expected that the proportion of the total population in the school-age group, that is, five to nineteen, will decline from 28.4 percent in 1935 to 19.6 percent in 1980. Of this decline of nearly 9 percent in this age group, 6 percent of it is expected to occur by 1960. In the case of the sixty-five-and-over age group the percent is expected to increase from 5.8 in 1935 to 14.4 in 1980. The sharp increase in birth rates since 1940 is, of course, well known. Whether it is the beginning of a trend toward higher birth rates or whether it actually represents an acceleration of the normal birth rate and will, therefore, be accompanied by a later decline remains to be seen. Quoted from the study of the National Resources Committee mentioned above is the following: Furthermore, there will be a peak in the number of young persons of marriageable age about 1945 (about twenty years after the peak in the number of births already mentioned). Therefore, after the middle of the century further decrease must be expected in the number of births each year unless present trends in fertility are reversed or unless the population is augmented by heavy immigration. The foregoing information on population trends and birth rates is included because it has an important bearing on the proportion of families having children in the public schools at a given time. In order to find out what that proportion actually is Dr. Roy Wenger, now at Indiana Uni- versity, and I undertook a study in Ohio in 1942 to get figures in different types of school districts. Although it seems to us a very important problem, we were greatly surprised when our librarian reported only one such study in the literature. That, incidentally, is one I had done myself in Iowa in 1921-22. That study included sixteen consolidated school districts, all with schools offering instruction in grades one through twelve. It was found that in that group of districts 58.4 percent of the families were represented by children in the public schools. Further indication of the importance of this problem is found in the November 1941 Research Bulletin of the National Education Association, which lists as one of three questions of Addresses at the Conferences 171 immediate sifjnificance to educators the f ollowinfj; : "With fewer adults interested in schools through their own children, what new public-relations questions must be faced?" Ihidoubtedly one of the reasons why similar studies have not been made is the difficulty of making them. We recognized at once that it would be impossible to cover completely large city school districts. We, therefore, took samplings in those. In some of the smaller school districts our figures included the entire district. By means of the sampling process we had information on 135,161 families from 93 school districts located in 62 of the 88 counties in the state. Incidentally that represented more than 7 percent of the total families in the state. The districts from which usable materials were obtained included cities, that is, those having a population of 5000 or more; exempted-village districts, which included those having a population of 3000 to 5000; and rural districts. In order to get the proportion of families with children in the public schools two sets of data were necessary: the first, the total number of families in the district ; and the second, the number of those which had children in the public schools at the time the study was made. In the case of those districts which included both a village and rural territory we kept separate the figures within and without the village corporation. The data were gathered by a variety of methods. In three of the cities the files of the attendance departments contained the necessary information, although tabulating from this source was a large task. The Federal Census gives the number of families by wards in cities with populations of 100,000 and over. School-district boundaries, however, do not coincide with wards, so we had the problem of adjusting for this difference. In two of the cities the enumerators who take the annual school census made special tabulations for a representative portion of the city. Four cities used the collection of data as a project for social science classes, and organized the pupils to make a house-to-house canvass. Others made use of sugar rationing to check on the number of families. All were asked to use the Bureau of Census definition of a family which is as follows: "A group of persons related by blood or marriage or adoption, who live together as a household, usually sharing the same table." As already noted, the study included city, exempted-village, and rural school districts. In the city group complete coverage or a sampling was obtained from the following eighteen cities: Akron, Bellefontaine, Canton, Chillicothe, Cincinnati, Circleville, Columbus, Dayton, Dover, Gallipolis, Jackson, Logan, Salem, Shelby, Toledo, Wilmington, Wooster, and Youngstown. In the case of the exempted villages usable information was obtained from the following thirteen such districts: Bay Village, Bluffton, Elmwood Place, Gibsonburg, Greenfield, Lisbon, Malta-McConnelsville, New Lex- ington, Orrville, Sylvania, West Carrolltown, Westerville, and Wyoming. Sixty-two rural districts widely distributed throughout the state were included in the study. In the case of all of these, the figures were kept separate for the corporation and the rural territory outside the corporation. 172 American Association of School Administrators In the case of the 18 city districts the sampling included a total of 86,442 families, of which 33 percent had children in the public schools at the time of the study; in other words one family out of three was thus represented. The range among this group of cities was from 14 percent in one ward of a large city to 52 percent in a city of about 20,000 population. In the case of the exempted-village districts 16,602 families were included. Of these 38 percent had children in the public schools at the time of the study. The range in this group of districts was from 26 percent in a suburb of Cleveland to 49 percent in a district in the vicinity of Toledo. In the case of the rural districts there were 12,985 families within the corporation limits, of which 36 percent had children in the schools. Outside the corporation in these rural districts there were 12,231 families, 44 percent of whom had children in the schools. When these two were combined it was found that 40 percent of the families in these rural districts were represented by children in the public schools. In the cities of Columbus and Toledo two wards were included in the study. In both cities these wards differed in many characteristics. For example, Ward 9 in the Columbus study is a downtown section just next to the main business district. It includes many poor homes and a smaller proportion of lower middle-class homes, and is populated largely by labor- ing groups. On the other hand. Ward 19, used in the study, is located approximately three miles north from the center of the city, and comprises a neighborhood business district, populated for the most part by upper mid- dle-class homes of business and professional persons. We thought there would be a considerable difference in the proportion of families in these two wards having children in the schools. Contrary to our expectations, how- ever, the percent was 36 in Ward 9 and 35 in Ward 19. Likewise in Toledo the study included two contrasting wards. Ward 12 is located on the west side of the Maumee River and comprises a factory district, a business district, and some of the better residential sections, includ- ing Indian Hills, Old Orchard, and the University of Toledo. Ward 19, the other one used in this study, is in the east side of the city, and is popu- lated in the main by unskilled and semiskilled workers, particularly railroad workers. While most of the population in this ward are American-born, a number of southern European immigrants are also included. We here expected a considerable difference, but found that in both wards the per- cent was 31. One measure of the direct services which the schools give to a community is found in the percent of fannilies that at any given time have children in the schools. The parent whose child is in school wants the school building to be safe, adequate in size, and modern in equipment, and the teachers to be capable, well-trained, and efficient. Families that have no children in school may or may not have this same interest. If the proportion of persons hav- ing children in schools decreases markedly, the schools may find it increas- ingly difficult to obtain the necessary support. In the light of our very heavy national debt and its consequent effect on taxation, the problem of school support will undoubtedly become acute should we enter another Addresses at the Conferences 173 period of depression. What, then, are the major educational implications of these data? Undoubtedly, one important implication is that of school support. In Ohio, for example, we have a ten-mill constitutional limitation. Since that limitation does not provide sufficient money for the local taxing subdivisions, the schools in particular have voted levies outside limitations. In fact, at the present every one of the 113 Ohio cities has such an outside levy for school operation. These range from tvi^o to six mills, with a median of about three mills. Since these cannot be voted for more than five years, then at periodic intervals the schools must ask for a renewal of these levies. These require a 50-percent-majority vote; so if only about 35 percent of the families have children in the public schools a considerable number of the votes necessary to pass the levy must be cast by persons who have no children in school. Since bond issues require a 65-percent-majority vote, then an even greater number of voters must represent families that have no children in the public schools. A second implication of these data, it seems to us, is that the school must find ways of extending its services, thus developing and maintaining inter- est among the large majority of citizens through services directed to them or to members of their families. A number of activities to extend interest among the citizens can be and are being engaged in by many schools. In the first place, the school program must be made so useful to those whom it serves that it will intrinsically justify itself in the community. In the second place, the school must give conscious attention to the place of education in our democratic social order so that all the pupils, as they go through our schools, will be made aware of the privileges and benefits they are receiving. At the present time the chief attention given to the contributions of education is found in courses on social problems where an occasional chapter in the textbook is devoted to education as one problem of democracy. The organization and influence of education in the particular community should be given at least as much attention as are the water-works or fire- department services, which are studied repeatedly in the public-school program. The suggestions thus far are part of a long-time program which will help to build up support for the public school. But a number of more immediate and direct activities can make the schools the real servants of the public, and services can be extended to more people through improved programs of adult education, which should become integral parts of the school's program in every community. The industrial boom and the war have high-lighted the need for educational activities in such areas as nutri- tion, health, first aid, and industrial training. Thus, even though only slightly more than one-third of our families are represented directly in the public schools through their children, with a good program of adult edu- cation organized in a community a much greater proportion of the families could be directly afifected by the school program. Another implication is to enlist the participation of competent laymen in the formation of the school's policies. In a few places community coun- cils representing the various organizations within the community are help- 174 American Association of School Administrators ing the school consider and plan its general policies. As a specific example of bringing the community into the planning I cite the recent action of the Cincinnati Board of Education in connection with their school-building program. At the time the survey report came to the board of education there was sent to every civic organization in the city (some 600) a sum- mary of the program, as recommended in the survey report. Also there went a letter from the superintendent indicating how community groups who wished to have more information on how the survey report was developed, or who were not satisfied with the recommendations, could, if they desired, have a hearing before the board. Five months elapsed between the time the survey report was submitted until the board of education took final action. In the meantime, every group that so desired was given an opportunity to be heard. As a result of these hearings certain modifications were made in the building program as finally approved by the board of education. Although this relates only to one phase of public education — namely, the school plant — it seems to us that similar opportunities might be offered in other areas. The final suggestion is that the citizens of the community should be kept informed concerning the aims, purposes, and accomplishments of the schools. Too often publicity about the program of the schools is presented in concentrated form just before an important school levy or bond issue is to go before the public. This often takes the form of high-pressure sales- manship. To be most effective, however, information about the schools should be regularly provided. When the public is thus taken into the confi- dence of school officials, we believe it will more readily support the requests which the schools make. THE NEED FOR SCHOOL-BUILDING STUDIES o. c. aderhold, director, education panel^ state department of EDUCATION ; professor OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, ATHENS, GEORGIA Address at Jtlafita Conference Educational leaders have given much time, thought, and effort to the problems of school finance, curriculum, teachers, and transportation. They have given relatively little attention to one of the most important aspects of education — the school plant. Too long have we depended upon architects with little understanding of the educative process and still less interest in it to plan the physical plant layout, and we have allowed prejudice and selfish- ness to become the major guides in the location of school plants. During the past five years school-building construction has been dras- tically curtailed. At the same time deterioration and obsolescence continue, and school-plant needs are accumulating. Now is the opportune time to take stock of what we have, to evaluate the results of past practices and policies, and, in the light of these appraisals, to determine our future course Addresses at the Conferences 175 in the school-plant field. Evidences of the need for better planning of school buildings are numerous. In contemplating studies of school-plant needs the planners should keep in mind the fact that the school building is a means to an end. The plant is efficiently planned to the extent that it contributes to the desirable physical, Intellectual, and emotional development of the population which it serves or should serve. Adequate planning will contribute to the development of safe, comfortable, and satisfactory plants for the school population. RESPONSIBILITY FOR SCHOOL PLANT SURVEYS Comprehensive and scientific studies of school-building needs should be a function of the state. To plan and to conduct such studies require trained personnel. In Georgia we have recently completed a rather comprehensive study of the school-building situation and have concluded that such an investigation can be carried on effectively on the state level. Data about every school building in the state were secured with the assistance of state, county, and local school officials. In addition, a statistically sound 10 percent sampling was made of the school buildings in 'the state, and trained staff personnel made minute studies of this sample, including the checking of more than six hundred items on each school plant. The data from these two sources were then processed and the findings and recommendations were made available to the legislature and to the public. KINDS OF DATA NEEDED IN A SCHOOL-BUILDING STUDY A careful examination of the characteristics of school plants is necessary as a part of a statewide survey. Data should be gathered on the number of white and Negro school plants, the value of plants, the enrolment of stu- dents housed in the buildings, the per pupil investment in plants, and the general description in terms of construction, number of stories, site, number of classrooms, age of buildings, ownership of buildings, water supply and drinking facilities, types of toilets, electric current, types of heating equip- ment, special rooms, and the like. The survey should provide the basis for answering such questions as : 1. Are the plants and school personnel reasonably safe from fire and other hazards? 2. Are physical conditions such as to promote desirable physical, intellectual, and emotional development of the individuals to be served? 3. What is the financial responsibility of the local community and what are the needs for state and federal participation in providing adequate school plants? 4. What is needed for projecting remedies for the undesirable situations dis- covered ? PROCEDURES FOR MAKING SCHOOL-BUILDING STUDIES In making studies of school buildings, the active participation of as many school administrators and teachers as possible should be sought. A large statewide advisory committee will be helpful in the formulation of a study and will be able to contribute to the implementation of the findings. On the local and county levels committees of principals and teachers should be 176 American Association of School Administrators formed to assist in gathering the data and in studying the implications of the data for the improvement of the school plant. In 1945 the Education Panel of the Agricultural and Industrial De- velopment Board of Georgia made a statew^ide study of school-building needs. Mr. Sam P. demons served as director of the study. He has recently been added to the staff of the state department of education to carry out the recommendations of the investigation. A large number of professional school and lay persons participated in outlining the study, gathering and analyzing data, interpreting the information, and proposing programs of action. The study was organized to gather two kinds of information: 1. General data on all of the buildings in the state — Dr. Ray Hamon of the United States Office of Education and others helped to develop a sheet of desirable and obtainable data regarding each building in the state. A general description of each building was secured, with such specific information as age, ownership, water supply, toilets, electricity, heating, specialized rooms, types of construction, number of classrooms per building, and the like. 2. Detailed data on a sampling of school plants — These data were gathered on a statistically sound sampling of the buildings and were procured by persons who had special training in evaluating school plants. The Strayer-Engelhardt score card, revised to fit southern conditions, and containing more than six hundred items, was used in checking the sample. THE GEORGIA STUDY OF SCHOOL-BUILDING NEEDS I believe I can best give you a picture of the needs for school-building studies by indicating some of the specific findings regarding certain aspects of school plants as revealed in the Georgia Study. These major findings are presented to indicate the specific kinds of data needed and to show the situation as it exists in one state in the Southern Region. Major findings from statewide study of school buildings — There are 2403 white school buildings in the state, housing a total enrolment of 500,547 school children and 15,073 teachers. The average size of the white school building has 6.2 classrooms, and a total enrolment per building of 208, or 33 pupils per classroom. The total value of these buildings is $64,292,304. The mean value of white school property per building is $26,755, or $4315 per classroom, or $128 per pupil enrolled. The mean age of these buildings is 17 years. There are 3075 Negro school buildings in the state, housing a total en- rolment of 269,289 school children and 6839 teachers. The average size is 2.2 classrooms per building; and the mean total enrolment is 87 per building, or 40 per classroom. The total value of these buildings is $7,992,576. The mean value of Negro school property per building is $2599, or $1181 per classroom, or $29 per pupil enrolled. The mean age of these buildings is 16 years. Fifty-five percent of the white school buildings are of frame construction ; 18 percent are of brick veneer on frame; 13 percent are of masonry walls with the rest of the construction of frame; and 14 percent have floors, ex- terior and interior walls and partitions, stairwaj^s, and roofs wholly or partially of fire resistive materials. Eighty-three percent of the white school Addresses at the Conferences 177 buildings are one story in height, 12 percent are two stories high, and the remaining five percent are more than two stories in height. Ninety-one percent of the Negro school buildings are of frame construc- tion; 2 percent are of brick-veneer on frame; 1 percent are of masonry construction, with the rest of frame; and the remaining 6 percent have floors, exterior and interior walls and partitions, stairways, and roofs wholly or partially of fire resistive materials. Ninety-three percent of these build- ings are one story in height. Practically all of the remaining 7 percent are two stories in height. Sixty-two percent of the white schools have water under pressure on the school grounds, and 38 percent do not have water under pressure. Fifty- six percent have had the purity of the water tested within the past year, and 44 percent have not done so. Forty-seven percent use flush-type toilets, 46 percent use pit toilets, and the remaining 7 percent use either chemical or surface types or have no toilets at all. Seventy-three percent have elec- tricity connected, 12 percent have electricity available but not connected, and 15 percent do not have electricity available. Eighteen percent of the white schools have a central heating plant of steam, hot water, or warm air; 28 percent use the jacketed heater; 50 percent use the unjacketed heater; the remaining 4 percent use warm air or other types of heating equipment. Twelve percent of the Negro schools have water under pressure on the school grounds, and 88 percent do not have water under pressure. Eighteen percent have had the purity of the water supply tested, and 82 percent have not done so. Seven percent use flush-type toilets, 48 percent use pit type toilets, 35 percent use surface-type toilets, and most of the remaining 10 percent have no toilets. Fifteen percent have electricity connected, 18 per- cent have electricity available but not connected, and 67 percent have no electricity. Two percent have a central heating plant of steam, hot water, or warm air; 9 percent have jacketed heaters; 84 percent have unjacketed heaters ; and 5 percent use some other type of heating or have no means of heating classrooms. Libraries are found in 30 percent of the white schools; lunchrooms in 32 percent; auditoriums in 28 percent; auditorium-gymnasiums or gym- nasiums in 6 percent; and health clinics are found in 6 percent. Libraries are found in 4 percent of the Negro schools; lunchrooms in 12 percent; auditoriums in 5 percent; auditorium-gymnasiums or gym- nasiums in .3 percent; and health clinics in .8 percent. The detailed study of more than 500 buildings, or 10 percent of the plants in the state, when compared to desirable standards of school plants reveals some interesting information. 1. Out of a possible 1000 points, the mean white school building of the state scored 443 points; and the mean Negro school building, 158 points. 2. Authorities agree that a school building scoring less than 300 points out of the possible 1000 is unfit for school use. According to this standard 40 percent of the white and 95 percent of the Negro buildings of Georgia are at present unfit for school use, * 178 American Association of School Administrators 3. More than one-half of all the school buildings need repairs on each of the following: foundations, steps, walls, roofs, windows, blackboards, and furniture. 4. ]\Iore than 50 percent of all the school buildings of the state fail to provide appropriate rooms and other building facilities to carry on a good school program. 5. Of the 22 conditions of school buildings considered by competent authorities as the greatest cause for accidents and as capable of endangering the lives of pupils in case of fire or panic, the mean white school in Georgia was found to have 12; and the mean Negro school, 17 of the 22. Some of these conditions are: a. Entrance doors not opening outward b. More than three minutes required to empty buildings c. Corridors not fireproof in buildings of two or more stories d. Corridors not provided with adequate natural light e. At least two stairways not provided in buildings of two or more stories f. Stairways not fireproof g. Storage closets under stairways h. Stair treads not of nonslip materials. i. Basements not fireproof. For example, one building was found which contains on the second floor an auditorium with a seating capacity of approximately 500, and with only one stairway four feet wide. A fire occurring with this auditorium filled might easily cause the death of 300 to 400 persons. 6. Of the 14 conditions considered by competent authorities as the most common causes of school fires, the mean white school was found to have 10; and the mean Negro school, 11. Some of these conditions are: a. Stove pipes not adequately supported and bradded b. No metal floor mat under stove c. Storage rooms containing waste paper or other combustible rubbish d. Electric wiring not inspected and approved by licensed electrician e. Fire extinguishers not provided. 7. Present heating equipment is incapable of heating the building ade- quately in 43 percent of the white schools and in 60 percent of the Negro schools. Repairs are needed on 65 percent of the heating plants, inclusive of stoves, in the white schools and on 85 percent in the Negro schools. 8. Forty-four percent of the white schools and 82 percent of the Negro schools are using drinking water that has not been tested for purity. A dipper or cup for the common use of pupils was found in 32 percent of the white schools and in 74 percent of the Negro schools. 9. Five percent of the white schools and 8 percent of the Negro schools have no toilet facilities. Thirty-five percent of the Negro schools still use surface toilets. 10. Sixty-six percent of the outside toilets of white schools are in bad Addresses at the Conferences . 179 state of repair. Fifty-five percent of the Nejjro toilets are so reported. Sixty- two percent of the white schools and 84 percent of the Negro schools provide no means for washing hands. 11. More than 2500 white classrooms and more than 3000 Negro class- rooms are overcrowded. 12. Sixty percent of the white classrooms and 87 percent of the Negro classrooms receive less than the re(]uired amount of natural light. Even when supplemented hy artificial light, less than the minimum light require- ment is provided for 50 percent of the white children and 85 percent of the Negro children. 13. To meet the present requirements, the state needs more than 1000 lunchrooms, 1200 libraries, and more than 6000 classrooms. 14. Although the study reveals a need for additional instructional space, it w%'is discovered paradoxically that many buildings contained more space than was being used. One school was found containing four classrooms with only one in use. One school costing $30,000 was abandoned after being used five years. 15. The schools showed their greatest deficiency in lack of special space providing for agriculture, home economics, science, art, manual arts, and music. It is expected that the expansion of curriculums during the postwar period will greatly increase the need for special classrooms. To meet this need alone will require the construction equivalent in space to a minimum of 4000 classrooms. 16. One-third of the schools are not centrally located with reference to the population and thus cause unnecessary transportation costs. For example, the noncentral location of one school causes a community to spend $1900 more annually than would be required if the school were located in the center of the population. 17. The value of the school plant was found to be ten times as great per pupil enrolled in one district as the value of the school plant per pupil en- rolled in a neighboring district. 18. Ability to finance the construction of school buildings varies greatly among the districts. For example, one school district with taxable property assessed at $128 per pupil enrolled is in the same county with another dis- trict that has an assessed valuation of $3930 per pupil enrolled. Under present constitutional limitations the first school district could issue a maxi- mum of $9 per pupil in bonds for constructing school buildings, whereas the second district, with the same tax levy, could pro\ide $275 in bonds per pupil enrolled. 19. The mean value of school property in the state is $101 per pupil enrolled. The mean in the nation is $371 per pupil enrolled. The afore- mentioned types of survey findings indicate that many children are attending school in public-school buildings in Georgia which are dangerous, inade- (juate, and unhygienic. Those conditions have come about because of poor planning, unsound financing, and lack of funds. Although the education of its people is one of the important functions of the state, most state edu- 180 American Association of School Administrators cational authorities have not been granted sufficient legal authority to remedy the situation regarding school plants. Statewide studies of school plants as described here will tend to make the public conscious of the need for more attention to the school plant. One of the major outcomes of the statewide study in Georgia is legislation giving the state board of education authority to deal with many of the prob- lems of school buildings. The state board of education has adopted a school code and is employing personnel to carry out the provisions of the law and of the code. Another important outcome of the statewide school study is that of stimulating boards of education to initiate studies of school-building needs in the county or system and of making long-range plans for improving the school plants. On the local and county level, data regarding population trends, spot maps showing locations of the people, financial" resources, kinds of occupations in the community, kinds of curriculum in the schools, roads, and the like are gathered and utilized in projecting building programs to meet the needs of the specific county or school system. Too much money has been wasted in school buildings because of the lack of planning. Too many buildings are unsafe and unhealthful and provide inadequate curriculum opportunities. Remedying these situations will re- quire careful study of the present situation and the projection of long-range plans to insure that new plants meet the educational and health needs of our people. HOW WE CAN HAVE FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR EDUCATION AND AVOID UNDESIRABLE FEDERAL CONTROLS R. L. JOHNS, director OF ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE, STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA Address at Atlanta Conference The many problems of federal, state, and local governmental relation- ships have received much attention in recent years. What governmental responsibilities should be exercised by each level of government — federal, state, local — is perhaps the most important political science problem before us today. The problem which I am discussing, namely, the provision of federal support for public education and the avoidance of undesirable federal controls, is but one phase of this larger problem. Happily, there is practically unanimous agreement upon which particular level of government should be assigned the responsibility for enacting the laws governing and controlling public education in the United States. Each of the forty-eight states has provided in its organic law or its statutes for the establishment and supervision of a system of public education. No group of any consequence, lay or professional, desires that this fundamental pattern be changed. Emphatically, we do not desire federal control of public edu- cation. Addresses at the Conferences 181 Why is it that we are so unanimously opposed to federal control of public education ? Perhaps the most important reason is that federal control of public education is contrary to the democratic philosophy and that national or federal control of public education is invariably associated with totali- tarian forms of government. No other instrument is as powerful as a na- tionally controlled system of public education in perpetuating the political philosophy of the ruling class. We instinctively shrink from any policy which would make it possible for any political party or fuehrer to impose upon the people a system of learning which first enslaves the minds and later the bodies of its youth. We have fresh in our minds the terrible ex- ample of what has recently happened to a once great nation for having permitted this. I have but recently returned from Germany, or rather what is left of Germany, where I observed firsthand the fate of a nation which so enslaved the minds of its people that they are incapable of operating a democratic form of government. The decentralization of educational control is a part of the democratic philosophy of government. The unique function of education in a democracy has been Avell described by the Educational Policies Commission and many other educational organizations and leaders. Nevertheless, the wide dissemination of learning is perhaps more essential in a democracy than in any other form of government. Thomas Jefferson, probably more than any other of the early leaders of our government, clearly recognized the importance of education in a democracy. The fact that the national government is deeply concerned in the education of the people cannot be denied because the success of the democratic form of government is largely dependent upon the educational status of its citizens. We have seen the democratic form of government fail in countries where the educational status of the citizens was too low to make that form of government possible. In America we believe in government by a vote of the people, but if the people of a country are not given the opportunity for an education, a vote of the people merely becomes a consensus of ignorance. Numerous studies have been made by both lay and professional organiza- tions which clearly demonstrate that wealth is not evenly distributed throughout these United States. One of the latest and most significant of these studies is An Inventory of Public School Expenditures in the United States — A Report on the Cooperative Study of Public School Expenditures — by John K. Norton and Eugene S. Lawler assisted by Cecil L. Rice and Cecil E. Spearman. Our children are all citizens of the United States but the income per child of school age of our richest state is five times the per capita income of our poorest state. Some of the states of the nation, especially the southern states, are too poor' to provide from their own resources the financial support necessary to provide an adequate system of education for the children residing in those states. This is a matter of national concern. Full acceptance of the democratic philosophy of government implies that the wealth of the entire United States should be available for the education of the children wherever they may live. This can be accomplished only through the use of the federal taxing power. Equality of opportunity can 182 American Association of School Administrators become a reality throughout the United States by means of liberal federal support for public education. How can we reconcile the necessity for federal support for public educa- tion and our belief that the federal government should not control public education? It is not impossible, nor is it even difficult, to attain these two objectives because the principle of federal support for public education and the principle of local control of public education are not in conflict with each other. An excellent analysis of this whole problem is given in Chap- ter V of the Forty-fourth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education. The federal government is already participating in the support of public education in the United States. However, federal participation in the support of public education for the most part has been on a piecemeal basis and the planning has been chaotic. We have only to recall some of the activities of the WPA, the PWA, the NYA, the FWA, the FDA, and other alphabetical agencies in order to shudder. The educational objectives which these agencies sought to attain were for the most part desirable ; but these agencies, in so far as their relationships to education were concerned, were not organized and administered in accordance with sound principles of educational administration. As long as political expediency and bureau- cratic self-interest are the dominating factors in influencing the formulation of legislation providing for the financial support of public education, we will not have an effective system of federal support for public education. Legislation providing for the financial support of public education should be formulated in accordance with sound principles. Such principles are not a secret. They are already generally recognized by the educational leader- ship of this nation. I shall now enumerate some of the principles which should govern the formulation of legislation for federal support of educa- tion without undesirable federal control of public education. They are as follows : 1. All federal funds provided for public education should be appropriated to the U. S. Office of Education for allotment to the states through the central educational authorities of the states. 2. Federal legislation providing for the distribution of appropriations for public education should either incorporate equitable, objective technics for determining allocations to the states or should require the U. S. Office of Education to formulate equitable, objective allocation technics based upon a statement of principles and purposes incorporated in enabling acts. 3. Federal grants-in-aid for public education should be made for the support of the general educational program as contrasted with special grants earmarked for particular phases of the educational program. 4. All federal grants-in-aid for education should be restricted to support of tax-supported public educational agencies. 5. All federal auditing of federal grants-in-aid to public education should be restricted to the auditing of respective state central educational authori- ties and the states should be responsible for the auditing of federal funds received by local school administrative units. Addresses at the Conferences 183 The acceptance of these principles in the formulation of federal legisla- tion for the financial support of public education will avoid undesirable federal controls of public education. However, we cannot stop at that point. It will be noted that the plan that I am proposing does not give the federal g(nernment, or any agency of the federal government including the U. S. Office of Education, any direct control over the educational programs of the several states. The activities of the federal government would be re- stricted to an audit at the state level, primarily for the purpose of seeing that the federal funds so appropriated are actually expended upon public education. This plan leaves to the state and local-school units the responsi- bility for actually administering and controlling their systems of public education. That is a tremendous responsibility and it cannot be taken lightly. It implies that each state must develop an effective and competent state de- partment of education. It implies that each state must develop strong and effective school administration at the local-school level. Public-school sys- tems cannot be most effectively administered by remote control, either at the state or the national level. The nature of public education is such that it can best be administered through properly organized and administered local-school units. The state can best discharge its responsibility by estab- lishing minimum standards and stimulating the improvement in the effec- tiveness of local-school administration by furnishing the necessary leadership and consultative services through its state department of education. While I do not believe that the federal government should be given the power to control public education, nevertheless I believe that the U. S. Office of Education should be given the important responsibility of pro- viding research facilities and consultative services to the several states, I believe that the U. S. Ofllice of Education should be greatly strengthened as a service agency but not as a control agency. A properly organized and administered educational agency at the national level would be of great assistance to the states in formulating their educational programs. In conclusion, I have pointed out (a) that federal control of public education is undesirable; (b) that federal financial support of public edu- cation is necessary; (c) that it is possible to have federal support of educa- tion without federal control; (d) that federal legislation provided for the financial support of public education should be in accordance with sound principles which are already widely recognized; and (e) that federal sup- port for public education without federal control demands that the educa- tional leadership of this nation should be strengthened at all levels — federal, state, and local. 184 American Association of School Administrators DESIRABLE FEDERAL-STATE RELATIONS INVOLVING HIGHER EDUCATION WILLIAM S. TAYLOR, DEAN, COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY, LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY Address at Atlanta Conference May I say at the outset that the question is not whether the federal gov- ernment should enter the field of higher education ; it is already there and has been for a long time. The question we are most concerned about now is the extent of the federal government's future participation in higher education and the bases upon which that participation should be projected. To refresh your memories on the federal government's interest in higher education, may I review briefly federal-state relations in this field. In any discussion of this subject we must not forget that the founders of our republic carefully omitted mention of any form of education in the Con- stitution. A search of the debates of the Constitutional Convention reveals that only once was a question relating to education raised by that body, and that question concerned the power of the new government to establish a national university at the seat of government. The chairman ruled that the new government would have such power. The first grants of the federal government for higher education were land grants made by Congress to the Ohio Company in 1787, when two townships were given "for the purposes of a university." A third township for the same purpose was granted with the Symmes Purchase in 1788. When Ohio was admitted to statehood in 1802, the previous grants of three town- ships for seminaries of learning were confirmed. The first grant became the basis of the endowment of Ohio University at Athens, and the second the endowment of Miami University at Oxford. The granting of two or more sections of land' for "a seminary of learn- ing" or for "a state university" was continued with the admission of each new state. These grants formed the beginnings of the state universities which were created in all the new western and southern states. All grants by Congress for college purposes were placed from the first definitely under the control of the legislature of the future state. From this position Congress has never departed. The Morrill Act was passed in 1862, appropriating to each state thirty thousand acres of land for each senator and representative for the founding of what are now known as land-grant colleges; Congress designated the legislature of the state as the responsible body to carry out the intent and purposes of the Act. The Act specified the purposes for which the appropriation could be used — the teaching of agri- culture, mechanical arts, and military science and tactics. Once the appro- priation was accepted by the state, no further Congressional controls were exercised. All details of expenditure wete left to the states as long as the general purposes of the grant were carried out. In 1887, just one hundred years after the first land grant had been made for higher education. Congress passed what came to be known as the Addresses at the Conferences 185 Hatch Act, appropriating $15,000 to each state for the purpose of main- taining an agricultural experiment station in connection with the land- grant college. This was a new departure in that the grant was in money rather than in land. Since that date Congress has become increasingly generous in its aid to the land-grant colleges and to the experiment stations. Today these institutions are generously endowed by the federal government in the fields of teaching, research, and extension. Each of these fields has been subjected to a degree of federal supervision which has tended to in- crease through the years, although the authority imposed has not yet limited local initiative immoderately. The Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 appropriates money to the states for vocational education below college level. A portion of the fund, however, may be used for teacher education and all states now use some part of this money for that purpose. That the federal government has been exerting more than a nominal in- fluence on education in recent years must be clear to all of us. There has been federal aid since 1921 for rehabilitation of students on the college level. The National Youth Administration aided large numbers of college students in the Thirties. There are few state-supported institutions of higher education that did not use WPA and PWA funds to construct buildings, to build walks, and to make other campus improvements. Federal aid was given on a contractual basis to great numbers of privately controlled and state-supported colleges and universities during the war years. Many of these institutions would have found it difficult to survive without army and navy contracts. Practically every college and university in the land is re- ceiving federal money today in the form of tuition under the G. I. Bill of Rights. Undoubtedly the privately controlled institutions would favor continu- ance of a policy permitting them to deal directly with the federal govern- ment, because this seems to be the only way in which they could receive federal funds. Such a procedure seems to me, however, to contravene the development of education upon the basis of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, a basis that most states have accepted as desirable. It must be clear to all who have studied carefully the educational in- equalities in the nation that unless federal aid for education at all levels is provided, many states must continue to give a substandard quality of edu- cation or to neglect large numbers of their young people. Before the war there were more than one million students in the institutions of higher education in America. It is predicted that by 1950, or soon thereafter, the number will be doubled. Such an increase will place a financial burden on the institutions that many states cannot possibly meet. Federal aid in the future, in my opinion, should not be confined to the limited areas which are subsidized today. The national government should be as much concerned about education for health and for citizenship as about education in agriculture and engineering. All of the federal grants to the states for educational purposes prior to 186 American Association of School Administrators the Smith-Lever Act were outright gifts to the states. Matching of federal moneys with state moneys was required for the first time under this Act. In the administration of the more recent acts of Congress there is a tendency to be more vigilant in the supervision of expenditures in the states. It is natural for the states to want a maximum of freedom in the administra- tion of any program. Even within the states we prefer to use state funds for universities and colleges with as few restrictions as possible. When be- quests are made to our institutions of higher education, we are better pleased if they have no conditions attached. Some people continue to insist that, when federal aid to higher education is provided, freedom of thought and freedom to teach what is considered best in a democracy will be endangered — that subvention could easily lead to conditioning or even to dictation of what is thought. None of our experiences with federal aid thus far indicates that this would be true. Many people feel that the federal government has been encroaching in recent years on the educational rights of the states. Some even fear that an- other system of education may be set up under the guise of the education of veterans, just as a separate sj'stem of education was set up during the depres- sion years under the guise of meeting new needs for the education of the young people of America. On the other hand, there are people who would like to see the federal government take over a considerable part of education in the United States, if not all of it. They feel that our schools are too tradi- tional to serve an ever-changing world, and they would build another system of education to meet the needs of youth and adults as they see those needs. Most of us are agreed that public schools and colleges in many states have been unable to build the kinds of educational programs necessary to the effective education of the citizens, young and old. The solution is federal aid at all levels of education from the nursery school through the university based upon the needs of the states. The opponents of federal aid for higher education, and there are many of them, contend that since most high-school graduates have to leave home to attend an institution of higher education, they can select a good one if they desire. Actually, the cost of travel, out-of- state tuition charges, and the higher cost of living in larger centers make it impossible for many high-school graduates to attend the better institutions in America. Moreover, a situation has arisen that did not exist a few years ago. Because of the tremendous enrolment of veterans, many institutions are being compelled to limit the number of their out-of-state students. This will un- doubtedly become more common in the months immediately ahead. The problem of higher education for those who want it and need it is critical. The economic and social problems facing the world today are ex- ceedingly difficult and need the best thinking that can be brought to bear on them. It should be evident to all who have watched the progress of science that unless we are willing to see the world of modern civilization blown to bits, education must multiply its speed and effectiveness in helping the peo- ples of the world understand each other and in developing cooperative habits on a worldwide basis. Education in the ideals and attitudes of tolerance, co- operation, and mutual helpfulness must become the fundamental objective Addresses at the Conferences 187 throufihout the world. Intellij2;ent, unselfish leadership is essential to the world today. The federal government has a responsibility here. What then would we consider to be desirable federal-state relations in higher education? First, the federal government should insure to all of the states adequate funds for a minimum program of education through the university level. We in the South would welcome a relationship that would give us sufficient funds to build institutions of higher education comparable to those in states more favored economically. Second, the federal government should establish broad, general policies upon which federal aid will be granted to the states. The government should require of each state a plan for the expenditure of all federal funds allocated to the state and should exercise enough supervision to make sure that the money is spent in accordance with the plan. iVIany will strenuously object to any federal supervision of moneys allocated to the states but this seems to me to be a short-sighted policy. The federal government has a respon- sibility to see that its funds are wisely spent. It should not attempt to control or administer these funds directly, but it must insure their expenditure in accordance with the purposes of the acts appropriating them. Third, the federal funds should be allocated to the state — not to insti- tutions in the state. I am convinced that no direct grants should be sought by colleges and universities. Grants for education at all levels should be made to the state and, when accepted by the state subject to the purposes for which they were appropriated, should be administered by the state. This will compel state planning from nursery school through the university and will result in a better integrated and more carefully articulated program within the state. This kind of planning will enable the states to get a maxi- mum return on the federal funds used. Fourth, the United States Office of Education should be the agency through which federal moneys for higher education are made available to the states. The majority of such appropriations are now made through govern- mental departments and divisions. These funds will undoubtedly continue to be appropriated through the same channels, but I would hope that all new appropriations could be made through the Office of Education. It seems unfortunate that federal appropriations for education to be allocated to the states should come through competing agencies. Unification in one federal agency would result in more effective programs. Fifth, when federal money for higher education is appropriated to a state, it should be sent to a central board of control for higher education in the state, to be administered by that board. This might be a state board of education, a state board of higher education, a council on public higher edu- cation, a commission on higher education, or any other body designated by the state to receive and administer the fund. Some agency within the state must be responsible for the formulation of the state plan and for safeguarding to all publicly supported institutions of higher education the opportunity to share equitably in the moneys appropriated. It must also assume responsibility for seeing that federal funds expended purchase a maximum of education for each dollar spent. 188 American Association of School Administrators One excellent result of the stimulation that federal aid always gives to education would be the planning that would have to be done by the in- stitutions within a state. All institutions participating in federal funds would be compelled to plan together for the wisest use of the funds. Too frequently state-supported institutions work on a competitive rather than a cooperative basis. In all too many instances there is unnecessary duplica- tion of educational programs and activities. If each state had to submit a plan for the proposed use of federal funds, the institutions would have to work together in formulating the plan and would undoubtedly profit from thinking, planning, and working together. Federal aid to higher education should also stimulate regional programs in the South in many fields where services are seriously lacking. For many years we have been discussing regional services in areas where the demand is so small or the cost is so great that the states do not feel justified in developing a program. There is a strong possibility that federal funds appropriated to the states for higher-education purposes would encourage cooperative planning among the states in such fields as medicine, public health, dental education, veterinary science, forestry, and architecture. One additional advantage that I am sure would come to the South as a result of federal aid for higher education would be an improved program of education on the college level for Negroes. This is an improvement greatly needed and greatly to be desired. While privately supported colleges do not generally participate in federal funds, they may profit indirectly from the expenditure of such funds in a state. If state-supported institutions would take privately supported col- leges and universities into their counsel when planning for the spending of federal money, certain types of programs might well be allocated to non- state-supported institutions. This would make possible a more economical and a more adequate offering on a statewide basis- May I summarize my thinking briefly? 1. The fundamentally correct way for the federal government to partici- pate in education in the states is to make funds available to supplement the tax resources of the states. 2. All moneys allocated to the states should be on the basis of need and no state should be required to match any appropriation for education on any level. This will leave to the states the development of a suitable compre- hensive plan of education, including higher education. 3. If the federal government should insist on earmarking appropriations to the states for certain kinds of education, the guiding principle must be to assist the states with the branches of education which will help most in establishing a body of competent citizens, capable of developing the nation's economic and social resources. 4. All federal aid for education should be administered by a central office in Washington. There is definite need for the coordination of agencies con- cerned with educational programs. Too many agencies of the federal govern- ment are involved in the promotion and direction of programs of education. It would be more economical and more satisfactory if all moneys appro- Addresses at the Conferences 189 priated for education could be administered through a central agency. The agency that should administer these programs is, in my opinion, the Office of Education ; but this office needs to be greatly strengthened if it is to serve the states effectively and well. It should have a large staff of America's foremost men and women in education. 5. All money allocated by the federal government for educational pur- poses to a state should be administered by one legally constituted board or commission. This could be the state board of education or any other agency or body designated by the legislature to administer such funds. It seems useless and stupid to organize a new agency either in the federal govern- ment or at the state level every time we have a new idea or a new appropria- tion of funds. 6. There may be some who would postpone federal aid to higher educa- tion until a minimum common-school education is available to all people, irrespective of race, wealth, or place of residence. To me this is not sound thinking. To postpone federal aid for higher education for any reason would be to postpone the research and learning essential to our industrial, economic, and social development, MAINTAINING THE TEACHING STAFF— CURES AND CONTENTMENT W. M. OSTENBERG, superintendent of schools, COFFEYVILLE, KANSAS Address at Kansas City Conference If I possessed the wisdom of Solomon, which I definitely do not, I should still not be qualified to answer with any degree of authority the questions that suggest themselves by the subject "Cures and Contentment." Our only hope in this brief discussion is to suggest some possibilities that may contribute to better and more friendly relations between the school and the community and between those who administer the school and those who teach classes. School administrators must have a genuine and keen appreciation of the importance of personnel policies. One outstanding superintendent of schools once said that one of his major tasks was to make the school system of his community "a safe and pleasant place for good people to work." The policy of the school administration in that community was "personnel first" and it was not merely a lip-service policy. Over and over again it must be emphasized that the most important fac- tor in any good school is the teaching personnel. There should never be a board of education policy that suggests expanding the school plant and then lowers teachers salaries to pay for the plant expansion. The public must never be permitted to make the tragic mistake of considering schools in terms of buildings, grounds, and equipment. Good teachers in a poor build- ing that lacks good equipment will still make a good school but the rule cannot be reversed — poor teachers in a beautiful, perfectly equipped school 1— ' 1^ 5! ^ >5 ^ ^ N POSSIBLE SOURCES OF STATE REVENUE FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS M.ARK SMITH, SUPERIXTEN'DENT OF BIBB COUNTY SCHOOLS, MACON, GEORGIA Address at Atlanta Conference I begin this discussion by quoting from Mr. J. C. Moffitt in The Ameri- can School Board Journal, February 1946, from an article entitled "Edu- cation— Legally a State Function." "L^niversally the several state constitutions contain the mandate to the legislative body to provide for a system of public schools. For example, the Illinois Constitution states, 'The General Assembly shall provide a thor- ough and efficient system of free schools.' That of Kentucky likewise asserts, 'The General Assembly shall, by appropriate legislation, provide for an efficient system of common schools throughout the state.' In the case of Alabama, this decree is given : 'The Legislature shall establish, organize, and maintain a liberal system of public schools throughout the state.' The Arkansas lawmaking body is required to 'ever maintain a general, suitable, and efficient system of free schools.' Similarly Delaware's basic legal code is couched in identical words. A number of the state constitutions pro- vide for a 'uniform system' of schools, giving emphasis to the democratic ideal that all children in the state, regardless of local residence, shall as nearly as possible be provided with equal educational opportunities. Thus, the Wisconsin Constitution states, 'The Legislature shall provide by law for the establishment of district schools, which shall be as nearly uniform as practicable.' In Montana, a 'uniform and thorough system of public free common schools' is the order to the legislature. Likewise from state to state, the mandative commission exists and extensively the identical words have been borrowed from among the older state constitutions, thereby pro- viding much duplication in content. In some of the states, the requirements of the legislature are couched with other edicts, thereby adding to the obligation of the lawmaking body. Thus, in California the legislature is required to 'provide a state high-school fund from the revenues of the 216 American Association of School Administrators * state,' and to arrange 'for distribution in such manner as the Legislature shall provide.' " With control such as that, why should the state fail to finance its schools? Almost all states have laws setting forth the plan of election of board members, they have textbook committees, school building committees, and I believe every state department of education has supervisors for almost every subject taught. Then it is my contention and honest belief that the states should assume the financial responsibility for the operation of the schools. In presenting the subject, I thought it best to get information from several states and look at the number of sources from which the different states derive their revenue. What I will say is a compilation of information gathered from eleven states. In the eleven states, I find there are 90 main sources of revenue, not counting the miscellaneous items carried in every state. So we can easily estimate that there are hundreds of different kinds of taxes being used at the present time in these eleven states for school purposes. Eight of these states receive their school funds from the general funds of the state. Only three now have the allocation plan. My experience teaches me that the appropriation from the general fund is the best plan, and I be- lieve the general trend in all states now is to get away from the allocation of state funds. The leading sources of income are from income tax, sales tax, franchise tax, beverage tax, consumer sales tax, producer sales tax, motor fuel tax, cigarette and tobacco tax, and ad valorem tax. It is easy to see that prac- tically all these taxes are in a sense a sales tax. In every state that has a sales tax from which I had a reply, the sales tax and income tax were pro- ducing the majority of the revenue to operate the state. This, of course, is a very dry subject when we begin to talk about finances, but I also find that in each state where liquor and wines are sold a large percent of the state's revenue is derived from taxes on liquor and wines and beer; so, after all, maybe it is not such a dry subject as you might think at first glance. In our own state, we have just recently received an extra month's pay for teachers, and the revenue was produced by increas- ing the tax on whiskey. There are some very interesting facts revealed in studying the different state tax sources. In one state you have to pay a tax to die; in the same state you pay an unemployment tax ; so I am wondering whether it is better to be unemployed or to die in that state. In another state, teachers and fortune tellers are charged a fee to operate their business. I am just wondering if we, as teachers, have been promoted into the same class as the high business of fortune tellers. I grant you that many times we tell fortunes, and ofttimes miss the goal. At least three of the eleven states pay more than 50 percent of their reve- nue for education. One pays as high as 58.8 percent; this is Louisiana. The other two states I mention are North Carolina and Georgia. Addresses at the Conferences 217 The state official in Louisiana replying to my inquiry had this to say: "We are satisfied and are not seeking additional sources of revenue for the schools." This must be a wonderful haven in which to teach. Ad valorem tax has ceased to be a satisfactory tax, because of the varia- tion from state to state and county to county of valuations. In some states valuations vary from 20 percent to 100 percent. Some states have already discarded ad valorem tax entirely and are depending in a large measure on sales tax and income tax for their revenue, as I have already stated. I believe, without exception, every reply I had from the states where they do not have a sales tax, the person replying added that they hoped to have a general sales tax to replace ad valorem tax and also to give them sufficient revenue to run their schools properly. In the two states making allocations to the counties, cities, and school districts on a per capita basis, one state allocates $27 and the other $30 per child. Anyone who is familiar with the operation of a school system can easily see that this is inadequate, yet that is much more than we get in Georgia in many counties. We have a variation in our state tax systems and a difference in the various states which causes a great injustice to the children in some states. I have a friend who was superintendent of schools in one of the mid- western states in a small city with an enrolment of 3500 children, and a budget of one million dollars, which gave him $350 per pupil. He had 200 teachers, or an average of 17^/2 children per teacher, and a janitorial and maid force of 100. In other words, he had more money than he knew how to spend ; yet in my own county with 20,000 children, I have a budget of $1,100,000. There is simply no fairness in a differentiation of this type. I mention this because we are all interested in bringing about the thing which will some day equalize educational opportunities in these United States. Practically every state I heard from has a state equalization fund, dis- tributed on the basis of needs to different counties, school districts, and school systems. This is a familiar statement in the letters from states where money is appropriated from the general fund, the funds provided from the state budget: "In this state our funds are appropriated from the general funds of the state. No tax is levied for schools as such." I am heartily in favor of this plan, as I have already stated. I am going to make a statement which will probably irritate some politi- cians, but with the variations of valuations of property set by different county boards of assessors, I believe that every state should have a state equalization board to pass on the valuation of property and make it all on the same basis in every county in the state. 218 American Association of School Administrators THE TEACHERS OF EUROPE ARE STILL AT WAR MRS. BETKA PAPANEK, WIFE OF MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY' OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA Address at Nezv York Conference The chaos and demoralization brought on by almost six years of war in the economic, social, political, and cultural life of Europe did not suddenly overnight dissolve into nothingness. While the armies and air forces are being demobilized, the ranks of architects and builders are forming to clear away the ruins and destruction of the war ; to lay the foundations for a better peaceful world, both material and spiritual ; to build a new family, community, national, and international life — not for the kind of peace which a period between wars is sometimes considered but for a peace that will be lasting, because it is carefully planned and cultivated. I wish to speak to you of the teachers in this postwar Europe. Theirs was a difficult role during the war, one which brought indignities, degradation, and execution to many ; prison, concentration and labor camps to others ; exhaustion to most. Yet, those who survived, looking forward to release and relaxation in peace, are still at war — at war with war and all its hor- rible results on the minds, the bodies, the morals, and the spirit of their pupils, the future citizens of the world. It is said that wars are made in the minds of men. Certainly the Axis powers used their educational program to breed prejudice, intolerance, hatred, and war; and their most violent attacks were concentrated on the perversion and destruction of the educational programs of all the countries in Europe that they occupied and overran in the course of their military campaigns. During the war there was little difference, perhaps it would be better to say just a degree of difference, in the methods that the Nazis and Fascists used in their efforts to pervert and destroy school systems. The problems to cope with since the war is over are much the same ever]iavhere. For six years the teachers of Europe knew only regimentation, insecurity, and fear. They taught not as free people, but as the Nazis dictated. They taught history, not true history but history falsified to meet Nazi views, omitting their own country's most glorious chapters, of course. Thousands of teachers were arrested, put into concentration camps, driven to forced labor; hundreds were executed. For six years they suffered physically and mentally. As a result, the losses in their ranks by death and mental break- downs are great. IVIany who returned after two and one-half to five years in concentration or labor camps were so weakened physically that it took months and will still take many more of hospitalization and care to bring them back to good health. In Czechoslovakia and other European countries there is no new flow of teachers, for the universities and teachers colleges were closed for almost six years. In Czechoslovakia they were reopened within a month after the liberation, in spite of all obstacles, and the enrolment of students is more than twice the normal number before the war. At Charles University in Addresses at the Conferences 219 Prague last summer there were 20,178 students and there are more this winter. Of these 4000 have received state scholarships. Housing and feeding them is difficult. Other university cities have the same problems. No new homes were built in six years, no old ones repaired. Many were destroyed by bombings, others in actual battle. Movie theaters are used for lecture halls. Professors and lecturers are carrying more than twice the normal number of classes and bearing up under the load with enthusiasm, because the students, eager to make up for lost time — six years of it — arc more eager and diligent than ever. In the secondary schools, many women teachers who had given up teach- ing when they married have returned to their classes to fill the thinned ranks of teachers. But there are other factors that make resumption of teaching difficult. Many school buildings were destroyed ; many were taken over and used by the German army for barracks, hospitals, and warehouses. They were emptied of equipment and supplies and were generally unht for use as schools without great changes. The general shortage of all sup- plies and tools ; the manpower shortage ; and the lack of even the simplest of cleaning aids such as brooms, mops, soap, disinfectant, and so on make for complications too. Yet the schools have been cleaned and repaired. The teachers, parents, and pupils scrubbed and repaired them. A return to prewar text and reference books is impossible for the Nazis burned them. Textbooks used during the war that taught the Nazi ideology in every history, reading, or writing lesson are unusable now. Of course, textbooks were prepared by educators abroad but the scarcity of paper and of printing presses to print new textbooks has resulted in a great shortage. All the countries occupied by Germany were hermetically sealed to real science, scientific and literary works of all the world for six years. It will take years to fill in the void. Pencils and chalk too are scant, to say nothing of aids for auditory and visual education and laboratory and research equipment for high schools and universities. . The educational program, the curriculum itself, has had to be recon- structed altogether. The Nazis knew the effectiveness of psychological war- fare and used the schools, as well as the radio, films, books and newspapers, to perpetuate the myth of their racial superiority and the others' inferiority, to glorify war and subordinate by force the interests of the individual to the interests of the state and party. Now the plan is to restore compulsory edu- cation for all and through it to build democracy, equality, freedom, and peace and to reawaken the moral and spiritual consciousness that recognizes the rights of others. Education must now be adjusted to new social condi- tions. It must now wipe out the aim of spurring successful underground activity against the usurpers' laws and replace it with desires for coopera- tion and responsibility to law. In other words illegality, which was the rule of every patriotic Frenchman, Netherlander, Yugoslav, or Czechoslovak, of every nation united against the Nazi oppressors, must now give way to order and lawfulness, to thoughtfulness, service and sacrifice for others — from children to adults. It is not an easy task to make children understand that stealing and destroying the property formerly in the hands of Germans that 220 American Association of School Administrators used to be praiseworthy is now evil. But this is only one small part of the picture. The destruction of the home, the separation of families, the send- ing of the father to a concentration camp, the mother to forced labor and sometimes the children to the so-called "reeducation" centers in Germany resulted in almost insurmountable problems. Imagine, if you can, children who returned from children's camps, denying their people and their nation, like the twelve of Lidice, who had been forbidden to pray in Czech to God our Father, speaking German and knowing only a German prayer for Hitler. The fears, anxieties, and shock that resulted from the separation of children from their parents; the neuroses that develop in children who experienced bombings ; the emotional instabilities that result when children see their mothers and fathers shot before their very eyes ; and the diffi- culties of readjusting to their old or strange new homes, to being reunited with the remaining member or members of the family must all be combated. The general weakened condition of both children and grownups because of the years of insufficient food will mean that all this will be a very slow and difficult process. First of all, they must be built up physically in order to be able to re- establish successfully their faith in people and in themselves. The most recent survey showed that there are well over seven hundred thousand children in Czechoslovakia alone who are in danger of starving to death or suffering from deficiency diseases and malnutrition this winter. This means that almost three-quarters of a million boys and girls in Czechoslovakia alone, a number that is greater than all the children who were fed in the Hoover Food Administration in Europe after the first world war, are threatened with death or disease from lack of proper food over a long period. Some schools are now distribution centers for one hot substantial meal a day for fifty-five thousand children. Twenty-five percent of all primary-school children have tuberculosis. These are some of the conditions that the teachers of Europe must face. Theirs is a heavy load to carry for while they are readjusting their teaching programs to the development of democracy, tolerance, and peace, they are also carrying on in the role of social workers who anticipate the needs of their pupils and seek ways of meeting them. They must care not only for the cultural development of their wards, but they must be quick to detect any signs of defective eyes, teeth, gums, or skin diseases that spread so readily where inadequate diet has been the rule for so many years, if these are not detected in the homes. They must be wary too of any sign of epi- demic or contagious diseases to guard against the spread of the flu, of diph- theria, scarlet fever, typhus, dysentery, and even tuberculosis. Deaths from scarlet fever increased 25 percent this last year and there are higher mor- tality rates for the other children's diseases. However, this does not mean that provisions have not been made for special care for children. All who have come from concentration camps are given special food rations. They could not survive otherwise, but the in- sufficiency of food in Europe makes the regular rations extremely inade- quate, especially in fats, milk, eggs, meat, in proteins generally. Each child Addresses at the Conferences 221 receives a half liter of milk a day while an adult receives one liter in six- teen days, but butter and fats seem infinitesimal to anyone who has lived in America even during the strictest rationing. The only foods of which there is a sufficiency are potatoes and bread and they, too, are rationed. I can still see in my mind's eye the children in street cars, on the streets, munching a piece of dry bread or a roll, always hungry. I remember the shock that I had when I gave a child of four a five-cent bar of chocolate and the child with real curiosity unwrapped it and looked at me question- ingly and said, "It's black. I don't want it." It took urging to make him taste it and his surprise equaled my shock when he found it sweet-tasting. I remember, too, my giving an orange to a little girl of five who threw it on the ground and thought it was a ball. She had never seen an orange before. In the cities fruits and vegetables, except for carrots, onions, and the root vegetables, are very scarce even at the height of the seasons for lack of communications and the ration of meat allows for only one very small serving of meat a week per person. I cannot forget the gray pallid faces of my friends and their very quiet children in Europe. I cannot but take this opportunity of expressing the gratitude of the people of Czechoslovakia for every one of the rich gifts of food, clothing, and medicine that the people of the United States have sent so generously, and I ask that you convey these thanks to the communities from which you come, for some of these gifts have been made possible by contributions of people in each of your communities through the National War Fund. There are many other projects for which Czechoslovaks are truly grate- ful, among them the collecting of textbooks for schools and other books and publications for public libraries in Czechoslovakia being made by various schools, the Masaryk Institute, and the American friends of Czecho- slovakia to make up partially the loss of those that were burnt in such quantities and with such heedlessness in the first weeks of German occupa- tion. I think it very significant that in spite of the general hunger for food, not one person asked me to send parcels of food — but many begged me to send books and magazines — even news magazines of the years from 1939-45. The American Information Service opened up a small reading room and picture service in Prague in October. In this reading room about the size of a small store there were between eight hundred and a thousand people daily waiting patiently in queues to get in to see American magazines, such as Life, Time, the Saturday Evening Post; and there were requests from all over the country for the loan of pictures on life in America for exhibits in schools, in community centers, and so on. In November the store next door was added to the reading room space and in addition to this, the Am- bassador of the United States to Czechoslovakia, Mr. Steinhardt, went to Pardubice to open formally a branch of the American Information Service in that city. At any meeting — large or small — of teachers or scout leaders, in the course of questions after a talk on America or America's war effort, the question was always put to me, "Does America care at all about us?" "Are 222 American Association of School Administrators they interested in how we come out after this war?" "We want so much to have them care." I always answered in the affirmative. I believe this war's developments definitely proved it and plans for the United Nations Organization provide for the future cooperation between all the nations. Certainly, during the twenty years of the Republic of Czechoslovakia, from 1918 to 1938, Czechoslovakia and all her people generally felt that they were not only democratic Czechoslovaks but that they were part of the larger body that were called Europeans and they were proud to be con- sidered citizens of the world. They have not changed. There will doubtless be many differences of opinion as to which of the various projects of reconstruction are most urgent and which should take priority over others, but there can be no disagreement about the primary importance of training future world citizens. Without this there can be no bright future for any nation. It is the concern and obligation of indi- viduals in all walks of life, but the greatest share must be borne by those whose influence is greatest. Next to his immediate family, it is the "teacher who does most to mold not only the mind but the character and personality of a child. If this is so great a responsibility in normal times, think of the magnitude of this task under conditions I have described to you. In thou- sands of instances the teacher will not have the parent's help, because so many children have been orphaned — 143,000 in Czechoslovakia alone. Traditionally, we have thought of the teacher as a person whose main concern was to transmit the knowledge that society has inherited and while he will continue this important function he will have to add many others, functions which require special training, great patience, and perseverance. The teacher will be called upon to learn a great deal about the physical and emotional needs of children, the needs of a democratic country, of the world united for the preservation of peace and the betterment of mankind. If the teacher can succeed in instilling in these youthful minds devotion to the ideals of democracy and peace, it will be a truly great contribution to a better world. We cannot, however, expect teachers who have been forced into a ter- rible isolation by the dark forces of evil and thereby shut off from the in- spiration and progress that come from a free interchange of ideas, to achieve this alone. They have survived torture, humiliation, and even degradation. They have been forced to renounce their profession in order to live ; and while they have courageously resumed their work, they need encouragement in the tremendous task they have undertaken. We all have a share in this responsibility. The teachers of Czechoslovakia and of every other small or medium-sized country in the world must feel that their col- leagues in more powerful and more fortunate lands are working with them and aiming at a common goal. In this a real beginning was made at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization set up in London in November and at the International Students Conference held in Prague on November 17 when students of fifty-seven nations met to discuss plans for the part students can have in keeping world peace. The UNESCO Conference decided on the establishment of the organiza- Addresses at the Conferences 223 tion headquarters in Paris defining its aims to remove illiteracy and misun- derstanding among nations, defining the duty of each nation to spread culture and to educate girls and boys for justice and peace in a spirit of mutual assistance and concern, and to arrange for fuller exchange of ideas through the mediums of books, scholars, and teachers. The organization is to promote collaboration among nations, the spreading of new develop- ments in the educational field, scientific research, and the study of problems relating to peace and the ideal of equality in opportunities for education. It is a program all the details of which are yet to be worked out, but it is one which deserves the fullest cooperation of the educators of every democratic nation and educational association such as yours to find the common denominators for preserving peace with justice by establishing common standards for education, adopting textbooks that teach truth in history and science, that build trust through knowledge, and provide com- plete freedom and access to all knowledge to all people. It is a difficult undertaking — how difficult I do not have to tell you. Ideas spread without regard for boundaries. Raising the cultural standard and building knowledge, faith, and trust among nations weary with war will take more patience, hard work, devotion, and sacrifice than we all thought we would need when the war was over. Our war is not over. Our war is against war, lies, prejudice, and hate. Our weapons are schools and knowledge, books, films, the radio, the press, exchange students and professors and, through all of them, understanding among all nations of the world for peace that alone holds the bright promise for the future. Let's use them well, truly conquer war, and build a lasting peace. THIS SHRINKING WORLD JOHN H. FURBAV, DIRECTOR OF AIR WORLD EDUCATION, TWA Address at Kansas City Conference The arrival of the air age is likely to change social patterns as radically as did the advent of the industrial revolution. The age-old barriers of land, mountains, and oceans have been removed and whole areas of the earth which were once isolated are now on the main highways of aerial transportation. Air extends everywhere. There are no boundaries, shores, or bottlenecks that can be controlled by the nations which happen to be in possession of them. Air is the one medium providing possible communica- tion and transportation between every nation. At the same time the air age has brought a speed of transportation which has so reduced distances that it is no longer meaningful to speak in terms of geographical distances, but rather in terms of time required to go from one place to another. The distance between New York and Boston was much greater in terms of travel time in the days of George Washington than the distance is today from New York to Bombay. All the nations of the world are 224 American Association of School Administrators closer than were the thirteen colonies in 1776. This means that peoples who once lived their lives in comparative isolation from other peoples must now learn to get along with other groups who are now only a few hours distant. There are other factors which will contribute to bringing the peoples of the world together. Time has been mentioned. Another is the reduced costs. Since the airline fares have dropped below first-class rail and steam- ship tickets, whole masses of our population who once could not afford to travel in planes will now be able to do so. The remarkable safety records of the airlines have practically removed all fear of air travel from the minds of most people. In addition, several millions of our youth have had actual air experience during the recent war. The net result is that we are an air-minded people, and that we possess the physical equipment to carry us almost overnight to any desired point of the earth — the farthest point away from any of us being only sixty hours, with a likely reduction to forty in the near future. World tours are now being organized which will make it possible for a person with a two-weeks' vacation to go around the world and spend eleven of his fourteen days on the ground. All this brings us to the point : Are we ready to face the social obligations of this mass travel ? Has technology advanced too far ahead of our social consciousness for safety to civilization ? Can the races, religions, and varied cultures of the world be thrown into intimate contact without creatine frictions and antagonisms out of which may grow hatreds and wars of the future? This question can be answered only by the educators who mold the minds of our children. We must prepare them for participation in this world community. It is said that Americans are among the most provincial people, that we regard ourselves as superior to other nationalities, that we look down upon races with shades of skin color darker than our own, that we have a particular phobia regarding "foreigners." If this is true, we might examine the causes of these things. Provincialism naturally grows in a country which is so large that there is little con- tact with other countries, and it has little opportunity to exist in a small nation which must depend upon contacts with other nations for survival. The average American of past generations has not been outside the United States, has never found it necessary to speak or understand any foreign language, and has not had an opportunity to meet foreigners other than laborers brought here to do tasks Americans themselves did not care to do. All this adds up to the provincialism of which we are accused. Mass travel on the part of Americans is certain for the future. The problem which faces every student of social science is "How can we neu- tralize the attitudes of intolerance and prejudice, and create travelers who will not offend these neighbors who have now been brought so close to us by the air age?" One of the first steps is to rid ourselves of the notion that Americans are superior in all respects, and to take stock of the aspects in which other peoples may be superior to us. Another is to recognize that the standards by which we judge progress and superiority are not the Addresses at the Conferences 225 standards used by others. To boast of our advancement in terms of the number of bathtubs per thousand population, or the number of automobiles or radios or telephones, would leave most other countries cold. They do not jud{2;e a nation by these mechanical achievements in which we have excelled. Many prefer to judp;e on spiritual planes, askin<2: what music, poetry, and art a nation has given that has been adopted by the world. Another problem facing educators in this matter is the idea that we should "teach tolerance." This is probably the worst thing we could set out to do. "Tolerance" implies putting up with something that is inferior but not labeled as such. We "tolerate" things which are below us. What we need to replace tolerance is something positive, such as a genuine appre- ciation of other peoples, their history, contributions to world culture, and their philosophies of life. It is only when we come to appreciate others that we automatically lose our prejudices regarding them; and, in turn, we are likely to erase from their minds prejudices they hold regarding us. The time has ended when assembly speakers and commencement orators can honestly tell boys and girls that we are the "chosen people." We can instil a healthy Americanism and a pride in our nation and its achieve- ments without trying to rate all others as inferior. It would be much better to teach our children that we have excelled in scientific fields, and that the world looks to us for technological leadership ; but that we have much to learn in the realms of the fine arts, social integration, and everyday li\ing. Many nations whose scientific developments have not ascended to the heights of our own can teach us many valuable things about "living." While we regard some parts of the world as unsanitary, they may be regarding us as without souls. If the air age is to bring to mankind a better understanding and appre- ciation of one another, we must begin now to develop those attitudes of mind that will make informed, appreciative travelers of our citizens. We will have opportunities to visit our world neighbors and to live among them. Let's learn from them and let them learn from us. Let's teach appreciation rather than tolerance, and let's not forget that we are the foreigners while we are abroad. PROBLEMS OF THE PROFESSIONAL PERSONNEL ERNEST O. MELBY, DEAN, SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK, N. Y Address at Neiv York Conference Education is facing the supreme test of its history. Even the very survival of civilization itself may be dependent upon the success of our educa- tional efforts. Scientists and social leaders seem agreed that unless we can through education build a genuine human brotherhood, civilization is doomed. Such an educational task calls for the ultimate in effective, con- secrated personnel. Yet the very disturbing fact is that the problems of 226 American Association of School Administrators the professional personnel have never been greater, at least in recent decades. There is a marked shortage of competent teachers and admin- istrators. Facilities for the preparation of such personnel are inadequate. Salaries and conditions of employment are such that fewer and fewer of the ablest students in our colleges and universities are entering the teaching profession. In fact, in some areas young people have all but stopped entering the profession of education, while those who do enter are of poorer and poorer ability. In brief, at a time when we need more teachers we have fewer, we lack facilities to prepare them, and the status of the profession is such that young people do not wish to enter it. For years levels of the teacher preparation in the United States have been disgracefully low. This means that a large number of teachers ac- tually at work in schools are inadequately prepared. If, for example, all the teachers who lack bachelor's degrees were to be dropped, a large proportion of our schoolrooms would be left without teachers. Here we are taking no account of all those with degrees who for one reason or another are incompetent teachers. But perhaps our greatest shortage of teachers arises from the fact that we have never had enough teachers to give each American school pupil the help he needs to make the greatest educational progress. Were we to staff educational institutions adequately in terms of the educational needs of children, we would need twice as many teachers as we have today. There are, in addition, acute needs for nursery schools and kindergartens. Were such services to become standard throughout the country, thousands of additional teachers would be required. The present influx of veterans in our colleges is but a vanguard to permanently rising numbers of students on the college level. Here the shortage of competent personnel is so critical as to reach crisis proportions. Our graduate schools have been virtually inactive for five years. In the meantime we have lost staff members by death, retirement, and transfer to other lines of work. There is, moreover, an increasing number of quasi- educational agencies which absorb many of our most able college teachers and administrators. These agencies can pay better salaries than educational institutions and are siphoning a considerable part of our best leadership in higher education. As matters now stand, it is absolutely impossible to secure the staff needed for our colleges and universities in the next five years. It is easy to blame the war for the plight of the teaching profession. To do so, however, is to oversimplify a very complex problem. The fact is, the teaching profession has been losing its appeal to youth ever since the first world war. In 1928 and 1929 there was a shortage of teachers. The com- ing of the depression forced considerable numbers into educational work. The state of Montana, in which I spent the last four years, supplies an example. In 1928 teachers colleges in that state enrolled 700 students; the depression had increased this figure to 950 by 1936 from which point it fell to 67 students in 1944-45. Half of the drop had occurred before the war began. Generally speaking, the ablest students in our universities do not want to enter teaching. It would appear there are only two ways Addresses at the Conferences 227 to tret an adequate supply of teachers. One is to raise salaries and the other Is to have a depression. In effect, both remedies are the same, for a depression raises salaries for teachers relatively. In the salary area, educational administration has much to answer for. Too often administrators have rested on their oars, fearful of taking a definite stand for better salaries. In some cases administrators have been a drag on salary increases — if only because they have failed to be vigorous in presenting the need for salary adjustments. Generally speaking, how- ever, I believe that salary conditions in elementary and secondary schools arc relatively better than in universities and teachers colleges. One reason is that local boards of education are more responsive and intelligent than state legislatures. Another is that city school administration is more highly developed and efficient than college and university administration. This lag in universities and colleges is very deadly, since it is these institu- tions that must furnish much of our leadership. Beyond the factor of low salaries, however, we must find a more dynamic cause for the low estate of the teaching profession. I believe it is to be found in the absence of a real dynamic in our enterprise. We have not yet made education a vital force in the lives of children and youth. Our leadership lacks inspiration and our personnel practices do not commend themselves to the more enterprising and dynamic members of American youth. I therefore believe a four-point program must be carried out if the teaching profession is to be in condition to meet its responsibilities. First of all, salaries must be substantially raised. Rising costs of living ind higher incomes in other professions are placing education at a greater and greater disadvantage In competition for talent. As matters now stand no profession which does not hold out earnings of at least $5000 per year in full professional maturity for the average practitioner can expect to attract anything but mediocre talent. We need a new concept of what constitutes an adequate salary. In universities, for example, we should start Instructors at $4000 and make $10,000 the normal expectancy for competent leaders in their professional fields. Equally high expectancies should be open to teachers in elementary and high schools for comparable professional excellence. Teachers-college staff members should be of the very highest personal and professional caliber. As such, their salaries should compare favorably with those In our best universities. In the aggregate, we can safely say that no minor adjustment in salary will serve our purpose of making the profes- sion attractive to our ablest young people. On an average, the salaries should be double their present levels, assuming highest level of preparation. In the second place, we must rethink our programs of teacher education. Present practices with regard to so-called practice teaching and interne- ship are woefully inadequate in teachers colleges and universities. We need programs in this area that are comparable in quality and intensive char- acter to those prevailing in medical education. Teaching is at least as complex a profession as medicine. In fact, it is more dependent on many subtle psychological and personal qualities and capacities. These can be 228 American Association of School Administrators developed only through actual practice. No teacher-education institution should certify that a prospective teacher is qualified until it has satisfied itself that the individual functions effectively in an actual learning situa- tion. Certainly teacher-education institutions cannot so certify their grad- uates unless they have ample opportunities for practice and for its observa- tion. If you tell me that such a program is beyond the financial resources of our present teacher-education institutions, I must merely reply that the resources must be found for such a program. I see no reason why teacher education should not cost just as much as medical education if it is done on an acceptable basis. We need to meet these problems head-on — develop the programs and make determined efforts to secure the necessary resources and facilities. Whenever teachers are required to have five, six, or seven years of intensive preparation, we shall have gone a long way toward establish- ing the profession on a sound basis and commending it to the brightest and richest personalities among our young people. As to my third point, years of experience in various types of teaching and administrative work lead me to the conclusion that one of the basic weaknesses of the educational profession is the outmoded administrative machinery under which it is now attempting to function. Most of our administrative patterns were borrowed from industry in a period when both our educational philosophy and our knowledge of human relation- ships were far below what they now are. If you take the trouble to interview a considerable number of teachers with regard to their attitudes toward the administrative situations in which they are working, you will discover that in a large proportion of the cases they feel disillusioned, frustrated, and hampered by the existing machinery. In our large cities, particularly, the situation has become well-nigh unworkable. In medicine and in hospital management the aim has been to give the individual medical practitioner the greatest possible freedom and in addi- tion to multiply his various faculties by providing him with specialized services available at his beck and call. In education we seem to have moved in opposite directions. As time goes on we seem to move more and more of the important decisions further and further away from the place where the child is living and learning. In medical practice the important decisions are made by the practicing physician in closest relationship to the individual patient. In education we tend to make them in offices of boards of educa- tion, miles away from the individual children. Such administrative prac- tices are making a trade of teaching when it ought to be a profession. They are mechanizing the educational process and robbing teachers of the oppor- tunity of utilizing their professional knowledge and skill. I am convinced that we shall never make the teaching profession appeal to young people until we give a greater creative power to educational leadership in admin- istration than is the case at the present time. Too often in our administra- tive work we have emphasized the managerial and controlling aspects without stressing the creative potentialities which this field of work should develop. Too often administrators are chosen because of their managerial abilities and their inspirational qualities are overlooked. Today we have Addresses at the Conferences 229 preat need of school administrators and leaders in every educational field who have the vision and personal magnetism to inspire their co-workers with the potentiality of our work in the present world situation. But the fourth and perhaps the most important need of all in establish- ing the educational profession on a more attractive basis is that of giving education a real mission in the lives of our people and in the preservation of our democratic values. Generally speaking, I do not believe that the average American youth feels that education has a very vital relationship to the things in which he is really interested. He sees it as a mechanical process of inculcating certain stereotypes and certain more or less mechanical skills. He does not see the teaching process as an inspirational dynamic in the lives of our people, and I think that until our young people see education in this light, we shall have difficulty securing the ablest leaders among them, even though we increase the salaries, modify our teacher- education facilities, and give our schools a more inspirational administra- tion. All over the world, people are seeking some kind of spiritual dynamic to which they can give their lives. Actually there is a spiritual hunger that is very widespread today. Oftentimes the materialism and selfishness that is evident is but a defense mechanism in a situation where talent and hopes and aspirations go begging for opportunity for expression. Today we think of education as meeting the needs of all of our people from nursery school throughout the entire span of life. This means providing educational opportunities literally for 140,000,000 people in our country. When you bear in mind the fact these 140,000,000 people are all different, that each has creative powers and potentialities, it is diflficult to see how any enter- prise could be more thrilling and dynamic than that of education. The difficulty of it is that we have rarely seen the task in these terms. Once we interpret our tradition of human brotherhood and democracy in vital terms, and translate this conception into the realities of a creative educa- tion and a creative community life, we shall have a program for the educa- tional profession and the profession so vitalized that it will commend itself to the best creative spirits in our society. All the work that we do in establishing the educational profession on a sounder basis must be done in the perspective of the educational goals and purposes that we seek. A mere manipulation of such factors as salaries, tenure, and other aspects of teacher welfare will in and of itself have little meaning. Only when these administrative and personnel practices are developed in terms of creative philosophies of education and human rela- tionships will they be effective. We need bold and creative thinking in these areas and only through such bold and creative thinking can we save the educational profession for the magnificent opportunities that lie ahead for it in the atomic age. Part II Official Records Official Records 233 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY To the President, Executive Committee, and Members: In accordance with the provisions of the constitution adopted at the New Orleans convention in 1937, the annual report of the activities of the American Association of School Administrators is presented herewith. It covers the period from January 1, 1945, to Decemher 31, 1945. SOMETHING ABOUT THE CANCELED CONFERENCES Late in November 1944 the Executive Committee met in Washington and made plans for a series of regional conferences to be held during February and March 1945. Programs were prepared for meetings at Birmingham, Chicago, Denver, and New York. The general theme selected for all the conferences was Education for an Expanding Environment. All the programs were developed in accordance with one general pattern which was adapted in each case to the needs and interests of the area concerned. Exhibits were planned in Chicago at the Stevens Hotel and in New York at Hotel Pennsylvania. The Business Division of the National Education Association, which is in charge of the exhibits, later reported that applica- tions for space exceeded the number of booths available. On Friday, January 5, we received an official release from the Office of War Information announcing that Director of War Mobilization and Reconversion James F. Byrnes, with the approval of the President, had appointed a committee to pass upon applications for the holding of group meetings to be attended by more than fifty persons and to determine if these meetings were in the war interest. The committee was given power to act not only on requests from the public, but also on requests from the civilian government agencies. The order stated that all conventions to be attended by more than fifty persons and scheduled to be held after February 1, 1945, were to be canceled unless approved by this committee. The officers of the American Association of School Administrators imme- diately began to canvass the situation. Many members were consulted by telephone and telegraph and in person. Contact was made with the conven- tion boards at Birmingham, Chicago, Denver, and New York where our conferences were to be held. Shortly thereafter, Secretary Perkins J. Prewitt of the Convention Division of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce wired as follows: Southern hospitality is proverbial but we believe the time has come for such civic agencies as ours to take a stand and uphold Government in every way possible without waiting for positive directive. For months our hotels have been curtailing guest room reservations in favor of service and war personnel and the voluntary compliance with this additional request will be of further benefit along this line and at same time help to lighten transportation load which we understand is the chief objective. 234 American Association of School Administrators Similar word was received from Superintendent Charles E. Greene of Denver. President Engelhardt personally canvassed the situation with the hotels and convention board in New York City. On Thursday, January 11, we were advised that all organizations plan- nmg to hold conventions or conferences after February 1 were to fill out an application form prepared by the War Committee on Conventions. Accordmgly, forms were filled out for each of the four AASA conferences. In order more clearly to indicate the policy to be pursued, Secretary Richard H. Clare of the War Committee on Conventions stated that he would be glad to meet with representatives of our Association. At five o'clock on Saturday afternoon, January 13, a delegation of four had a conference with Mr. Clare at the Office of Defense Transportation Those who called on Mr. Clare were Executive Secretarv S. D. Shankland of the AASA; Executive Secretary Willard E. Givens and Business Man- ager H. A. Allan of the NEA; and Superintendent E. L. Ackley, Secretary of the New York Council of School Superintendents. Mr. Clare stated that adverse action on most applications was probable. Following this conference the gist of the discussion was communicated to the members of the Executive Committee. Each one made a hasty survey of the sentiment in his own locality and the consensus of opinion was in favor of cancellation. This decision was strengthened by the fact that our pro- grams had gradually disintegrated as one speaker after another requested to be excused. A form letter written by President Engelhardt, announcing the cancellation, was mimeographed and mailed to all members as soon there- after as possible. A copy was sent to the War Committee on Conventions ^ In a letter dated January 20, 1945, Mr. Clare wrote to Mr. Shankland' I was pleased to have your letter advising that the regional conferences of the American Association of School Administrators have been canceled. Your patriotic and cooperative action is greatly appreciated by this Com- mittee." THE executive COMMITTEE Article IV of the constitution provides that the Executive Committee shall consist of seven members. The president and the first and second vicepresidents are members ex officio and are elected annually. Four mem- bers chosen by election hold office for terms of four years. A special meeting of the Executive Committee was held at the William Penn Hotel, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Saturdav, February 24, 1945 Members and officers present were: N. L. Engelhardt, New York N Y * president; Worth McClure, University City, Missouri, first vicepresident'' W. Frank Warren, Durham, North Carolina, second vicepresident; Charles H. Lake, Cleveland, Ohio; W. Howard Pillsbury, Schenectadv, New York; Henry H. Hill, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ; and Secretary S. D. Shankland.' The minutes of the meeting held at Washington, D. C, November 25, 1944, together with the minutes of the joint meeting of the executive com- mittees of the American Association of School Administrators and of the National Education Association held at the same time and place, were read and approved. Official Records 235 Methods of providing substitute activities in place of the canceled regional conferences were discussed at length. It was reported that about twenty of the speakers listed to address the regional conferences had agreed to furnish manuscript copies of their speeches for printing in the Official Report. In addition, it was proposed to include in the Official Report a sum- mary of the proceedings of the conference on veterans' education held at Washington, February 26, 27, and 28. It was voted to encourage numerous local discussion groups. Under the directive of War Mobilization Director James F. Byrnes, local groups were not limited in size, provided the attendance of persons beyond commuting distance was less than fifty. About twenty discussion topics, based on recent publications of this Association and closely related educational organizations, were selected and ordered printed in the next issue of The School Administrator. The Executive Secretary recommended that Miss Virginia H. Stephen- son be appointed chief of the Educational Research Service with classifica- tion II-B effective February 1, 1945, vice Mrs. Maxine Lindemood resigned. On motion of Mr. McClure, seconded by Mr. Lake, the recommendation was adopted. The Executive Secretary reported that the annual election had been held according to the constitution and bylaws and that the tellers had certified to the election of Charles H. Lake, Superintendent of Schools, Cleveland, Ohio, to the office of president for the year beginning March 15, 1945. Attention was called to the fact that the terms of office of the second vicepresident and one member of the Executive Committee will expire on March 15, 1945. On motion of Mr. McClure, seconded by ^Ir. Lake, it was voted to elect Superintendent W. Frank Warren of Durham, North Carolina, as second vicepresident for the term expiring March 15, 1946. On motion of Mr. Hill, seconded by Mr. McClure, it was voted to elect Superintendent Hobart M. Corning of Omaha, Nebraska, as a member of the Executive Committee for a four-year term expiring March 15, 1949. The annual meeting of the Executive Committee was held at the Wil- liam Penn Hotel, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Saturday and Sunday, May 5 and 6, 1945. Members and officers present were: Charles H. Lake, Cleve- land, Ohio, president; N. L. Engelhardt, New York, N. Y., first vice- president; W. Frank Warren, Durham, North Carolina, second vicepresi- dent; W. Howard Pillsbury, Schenectady, New York; John L. Bracken, Clayton, Missouri; Henry H. Hill, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Hobart M. Corning, Omaha, Nebraska; and Secretary S. D. Shankland. The minutes of the meeting held at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, February 24, 1945, were read and approved. President Lake summarized activities by various groups seeking to pro- mote interracial goodwill and better human relationships. He suggested that the time might come when this Association should call a conference of those actively pioneering in this field. Possibly a study of basic human relationships should be chosen as the subject of a yearbook. 236 American Association of School Administrators The annual report of the Executive Secretary was presented in writing. It included the budget for the calendar year 1945. On motion of Mr. Pillsburj', seconded by Mr. Hill, the report was received and the budget, as proposed, was adopted. The budget was summarized as follows: Balance January 1, 1945 $13,280.20 Estimated receipts for 1945 42,430.00 Total to account for, 1945 $55,710.20 Less estimated expenditures for 1945 51,575.00 Probable balance December 31, 1945 $ 4,135.20 On motion of Mr. Engelhardt, seconded by Mr. Pillsburv, it was voted to continue affiliation with the Council on Cooperation in Teacher Educa- tion of the American Council on Education. President Lake nominated Superintendent Willard E. Goslin of Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the three-year term as delegate to the representative body and Superintendent Henry H. Hill of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for the one-j^ear term as ex officio representative. These nominations were approved. The Committee recessed during a Blue Network broadcast on veterans' education sponsored by the American Association of School Administra- tors. It consisted of a series of interviews with convalescent veterans at St. Alban's Naval Hospital, Long Island, followed by a five-minute address by President Charles H. Lake. It was voted to send letters to the broadcasting companies expressing appreciation for the excellent series of programs which were broadcast at the time of the death of President Roosevelt. Mr. Shankland was authorized to draft and send appropriate letters. Attention was called to the significant contributions made by the com- mittees who prepared special reports on various topics of concern to school administrators. Mr. Engelhardt was asked to draft appropriate letters of thanks to the chairmen of such special committees as have completed their reports. A survey made by this Association in the fall of 1944 indicated that mini- mum building requirements in the immediate future will cost approximately two billion dollars. Several bills have been introduced in Congress authoriz- ing appropriations for such construction. Since this is a matter of immediate concern to superintendents of schools. President Lake appointed a com- mittee consisting of N. L. Engelhardt, Chairman ; Emerson H. Landis; and James L. Hanley to keep in touch with the progress of this legislation in Washington. The Committee on Education of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States recently engaged in research to ascertain whether there is direct relationship between economic status and the educational level of the people of our country. A presentation of the results of the study was recently published in a booklet profusely illustrated with charts and a brief Official Records 237 text emphasizing salient points. On motion of Mr. Pillsbury, seconded by Mr. I3raci2%, due 1 950 . . 1 1 , 000 . 00 1 1 , 285 . 00 Portsmouth, Virginia, Waterworks Bonds, 5%, due 1948 3.000.00 3,160.51 PortofNewYork Authority, 3% Bonds due 1976.. 2,000.00 2,017.50 City of New York Corporate Stock, 3% due 1980. . 500.00 498.75 Cash on hand 438 . 23 Total $32,443.55 TABLE 1.— MEMBERSHIP BY STATES FOR THE YEARS 1940-1945 AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS Formerly the Department of Superintendence state 1940 St. Louis 1941 Atlantic City 1942 San Francisco 1943 No con- vention 1944 Regional meetings 1945 No con- vention 66 24 45 150 59 71 19 71 17 63 8 352 114 107 lis 56 47 22 69 161 223 110 44 184 13 57 3 30 234 29 379 60 15 261 60 25 334 38 36 24 43 244 25 26 61 27 47 131 14 3 61 23 36 153 60 92 25 66 21 63 10 331 101 82 95 49 43 23 76 174 231 99 40 140 15 48 4 37 287 18 417 63 16 251 55 29 401 42 37 15 44 227 24 24 75 28 46 129 13 1 50 28 29 1,214 62 67 18 67 20 49 12 273 96 86 82 39 37 20 60 138 175 93 37 128 20 45 4 25 212 23 319 55 18 187 45 38 279 32 30 18 28 229 31 22 56 35 40 106 13 48 34 27 254 57 57 17 65 24 45 13 270 95 79 76 35 36 17 55 150 175 88 34 119 22 41 4 25 206 19 319 50 15 175 41 27 274 29 29 14 30 191 23 21 51 34 36 102 11 1 1 85 38 37 244 73 94 26 73 30 150 27 483 140 128 180 52 38 28 77 202 334 120 43 223 22 52 4 39 276 21 414 89 20 253 72 53 301 40 71 22 55 275 30 28 76 141 53 184 14 3 80 33 47 246 65 75 21 63 26 78 20 321 115 90 113 44 39 26 61 180 249 104 37 169 19 50 4 30 237 18 365 72 15 226 53 40 319 37 51 21 48 230 25 51 72 84 50 139 15 2 1 Arizona Arkansas Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida . Georgia Idaho . Illinois Indiana Iowa . . Kansas Kentucky Louisiana . , Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Alaska 1 11 1 1 11 2 1 11 Canada 11 14 11 1 3 Hawaii 2 . 1 1 3 3 3 1 1 2 4 1 2 5 1 1 1 6 8 Puerto Rico 4 3 2 Total 4,439 4.470 4,814 3,680 5,644 4,593 Note: Thr count includes members, 171 life or twenty-f 1,408 members who paid dues for the year ive-year members, and 2 six-year members 1945, 12 honorary [242] Official Records 243 THE AUDIT COMMITTEE The books and accounts of the American Association of School Adminis- trators are audited twice each year. In June, certified public accountants make a complete examination of the finances of the National Education Association, including all its departments. The constitution of the Ameri- can Association of School Administrators also requires that a committee of three members of the Department shall audit the accounts at the close of each fiscal year. The constitution further provides that its fiscal year shall correspond with the calendar year. The report of the Audit Committee for the year ended December 31, 1945, appears elsewhere in this volume. The members of the Committee are Superintendent Evan E. Jones, Port Chester, New York, chairman; Superintendent C. Herman Grose, Erie, Pennsylvania; and Superintendent John J. Young, Rocky River, Ohio. PUBLICATIONS The cancellation of the 1945 regional conferences deprived our members of the usual personal contacts with their associates but it gave added signifi- cance to the publications which members receive. The 1945 Official Report, a volume of 286 pages, was published and delivered to members in April. It was entitled Something About the Canceled Conferences. Its dismal title reflected something of world conditions in the spring of 1945. In Part I were printed eighteen addresses prepared in advance for the can- celed conferences. Part II included committee reports on surplus war mate- rials, educational needs of youth, radio education, resource education, and training of teachers and supervisors in service. A comprehensive report of a working conference on educational programs for veterans followed in Part III. This section of the report was reprinted in pamphlet form and widely distributed. Finally came the official records of the American Asso- ciation of School Administrators for the year 1944. Paths to Better Schools, the 1945 Yearbook, was distributed to members in February. It reviewed the lessons of the war period, and pointed out a number of ways in which the defects and failures of the past may be remedied. Its approach was realistic and it abounded with practical and helpful ideas. The keynote emphasized throughout the volume was the need for cooperative planning by educators and laymen to make the schools as effective as the American people want them to be. The 1946 Yearbook was prepared in response to a long-standing and insistent demand for a comprehensive study of the status, activities, and relationships of boards of education. The commission to which the task was assigned included four outstanding schoolboard members, four superintend- ents of schools, one assistant superintendent of schools, and one director of a school of education. This volume, entitled School Boards in Action, outlined many of the functions of schoolboards and suggested procedures based upon long years of experience. The volume of orders indicates some- thing of its practical value to schoolboard members and superintendents of schools. 244 American Association of School Administrators TABLE 2.— YEARBOOKS OF THE DEPARTMENT Year Title Number copies printed Cash sales of all yearbooks for the year 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1944 1945 1946 The Status of the Superintendent 3,200 4,500 11,000 16,000 11,000 10,000 1 1 , 000 11,348 11,572 12,000 8,000 7,000 9,000 14,000 9,000 11,000 9,000 11,000 9,000 12,000 9,500 2,000 8,000 9,000 12,000 $ 142.45 1,364.13 4,707.65 8,467.94 8,844.57 9,830.58 7,842.51 10,603.43 8,375.87 10,053.94 4,922.85 5,021.13 7,844.99 9,128.17 6,965.99 6,789.56 5,483.96 8,894.92 7,411.29 9,563.43 5,816.95 The Elementary School Curriculum Research in Constructing the Elementary School Curriculum. . . The Nation at Work on the Public School Curriculum The Junior High School Curriculum The Development of the High School Curriculum The Articulation of the Units of American Education The Superintendent Surveys Supervision Five Unifying Factors in American Education Character Education Educational Leadership Critical Problems in School Administration Social Change and Education The Social Studies Curriculum Improvement of Education: Its Interpretation for Democracy. . Youth Education Today Schools in Small Communities Safety Education Education for Family Life Health in Schools Schools and Manpower — Today and Tomorrow Reprint of 1942 Yearbook Morale for a Free World 5,359.19 5,554.53 Paths to Better Schools School Boards in Action The members of the Association's Advisory Council were asked to name the topic which they considered of greatest interest and value for the 1947 Yearbook. The majority voted for The Postwar Curriculum. This choice was approved by the Executive Committee. The members of the Commission appointed by President N. L. Engelhardt to prepare this Yearbook are: Claude V. Courter, superintendent of schools, Cincinnati, Ohio, chair- man ; Herbert B. Bruner, superintendent of schools, Oklahoma City, Okla- homa ; Harold F. Clark, professor of education. Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, N. Y. ; Stephen M. Corey, professor of educational psychology. University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; C. Leslie Cushman, associate superintendent of schools, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; Clyde A. Erwin, state superintendent of public instruction, Raleigh, North Carolina ; Robert J. Havighurst, professor of education. University of Chicago, Chi- cago, Illinois; C. Frederick Pertsch, assistant superintendent of schools, New York, New York; Grant Rahn, principal, Shorewood High School, Shore- wood, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Benjamin C. Willis, superintendent of schools, Hagerstown, Maryland. Work is already under way on the 1948 Yearbook, which will deal with the Expanding Scope of American Education. The core committee recently appointed by President Charles H. Lake consists of Superintendent Herold C. Hunt, Kansas City, Missouri, chairman ; Superintendent B. M. Grier, Athens, Georgia ; President George A. Bowman, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio ; Superintendent L. G. Derthick, Chattanooga, Tenn. ; and Superintendent C. Herman Grose, Erie, Pa. A completed yearbook represents more than two years' work on the part of commission members, who serve without pay. Their only reward is in Official Records 245 the satisfaction of work well done. The preparation of a yearbook is an exacting task, involving much research, collecting of facts, and editing of manuscripts. Ordinarily four commission meetings, each covering a period of three or four days, are held. After an outline has been worked out and chapter headings selected, each member assumes responsibility for preparing the first draft of a chapter in an area which he is especially qualified to dis- cuss. Naturally, there is much overlapping and lack of unity. Discussion at succeeding meetings usually brings adjustment and agreement. We are especially indebted to Frank W. Hubbard, director of the Research Divi- sion of the National Education Association, for his able assistance. ]\Iuch that is worthwhile in the yearbooks is due to his efforts. The School Administrator, a concise news bulletin issued at frequent intervals, keeps members informed about Association activities. From time to time other mailings are made to members. In 1945 such items included American Education Week materials, and booklets entitled: Civic Education for the Foreign-Born in the United States; The Elementary School Prin- cipalship — Planning the Future; How Superintendents Work Together; Plastics; and Now in Our Town — A Study in Adult Education. Four issues of the Research Bulletin of the National Education Associa- tion were mailed to members during the year. The titles of these bulletins were : 1. Salaries of City-School Employees, 1944-45 2. Statistics of State and Local Teacher Retirement Systems, 1943-45 3. School Expenditures of War and Peace 4. The Teacher Looks at Personnel Administration. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE Twenty-two years ago the Department of Superintendence and the Re- search Division of the National Education Association began a cooperative project which was called the Educational Research Service. The success of their joint efforts is reflected in the growth of the number of subscribers. Forty subscriptions were entered during the first year. After five years, there were 245 subscribers. The number grew to 319, 445, and 558 in ten, fifteen, and twenty years, respectively. Six hundred fifty-six subscribers were en- rolled at the end of 1945, including 58 names which had been added during the year. Until recently the Service has attracted large city school systems, colleges and universities, state departments of education, and other state and na- tional agencies — while only a few of the smaller school systems have taken advantage of it. Of the newer subscribers many are smaller school systems. The Educational Research Service was originally established to meet their needs. The annual subscription fee is $25 — an amount which does not make possible any profit and in a few cases does not cover the actual cost of the service rendered. This clearinghouse of facts on school administration issues circulars presenting up-to-date information on topics of current importance. It pro- 246 American Association of School Administrators vides for subscribers many educational publications as soon as they are off the press. Requests for assistance are given prompt attention. If necessary, memorandums and bibliographies are prepared to meet the needs of an in- dividual subscriber. Published and unpublished reports are sent on loan. A file of questionnaire studies made by agencies and individuals through- out the country is kept for use in answering the various inquiries. Thus, through the Educational Research Service a subscriber draws upon nation- wide experience in the solution of local problems. Educational Research Service Circulars issued during 1945 were as fol- lows : 1. Local School Services for Veterans 2. 5, 8, and 10. Education in Lay Magazines 3. Teachers' Salary Schedules in 79 School Systems in Cities over 100,000 in Population, 1944-45 4. Staffs and Salaries of State Departments of Education, 1943-44 6. Teachers' Salary Schedules in 171 School Systems in Cities 30,000 to 100,000 in Population, 1944-45 7. Certain Estimates of Quality and Accomplishment of State School Systems 9. Questionnaire Studies Completed — Bibliography No. 16, 1944-45. Hundreds of letters from subscribers, requesting information on current administrative problems, were answered during the year. Some of the topics on which information was most frequently sought were : salaries of school employees; school costs and educational financing; construction, equipment, use, and maintenance of school buildings; boards of education; teacher sup- ply and demand ; teaching load ; veterans education ; curriculum ; retirement and tenure ; and record and report card forms. TABLE 3.— EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE SUB- SCRIBERS AND INCOME FROM SUBSCRIPTIONS Year Number of subscribers Cash receipts from subscribers 1 2 3 1924 40 131 177 213 245 271 323 338 324 319 $ 525.00 2,555.00 3,325.00 5,790.00 6,225.00 6,362. 00 8.112.50 8,100.00 7,443.75 7,514.58 8,496.75 8,714.56 9,254.17 9,887.82 10,800.44 10,460.42 11,662.50 11,888.75 11,968.75 13,145.93 13,973.75 14,710.00 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 ■ 1934 346 359 369 408 445 445 468 483 489 558 598 656 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939. 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 Official Records 247 THE EDUCATIONAL POLICIES COMMISSION The Educational Policies Commission was organized in the fall of 1935 by joint action of the National Education Association and the Department of Superintendence. It was composed of twenty members selected by the Executive Committees solely on the basis of ability to contribute significantly to the solution of the problems confronting education in America. Appoint- ments were for a five-year period ending December 31, 1940. Financing was possible by aid of a grant of $250,000 from the General Education Board, payable in five annual instalments of $50,000 each. In December 1940 action was taken reorganizing the Educational Policies Commission for a four-year period beginning January 1, 1941. For the year 1941 a budget of $35,000 was provided, apportioned as follows: $13,000 from the National Education Association ; $2000 from the American Asso- ciation of School Administrators; and $20,000 from the General Education Board. The grants from the General Education Board have now bten dis- continued and at present the Commission is financed in large part by the National Education Association. The budget for the current year is $50,000. At a joint meeting of the Executive Committees of the National Educa- tion Association and the American Association of School Administrators in November 1944 it was voted that the Educational Policies Commission should be considered a continuing commission. Provision was made for the election of approximately one-fourth of the members of the Commission each year and the term of service was fixed at four years. During the past year the Educational Policies Commission has devoted its major attention to international afiFairs. At the invitation of the Depart- ment of State and by appointment of the National Education Association, Secretary William G. Carr served as a consultant to the United States dele- gation at the San Francisco conference. He was Deputy Director of the London conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cul- tural Organization. As the year drew to a close it was announced that f')ur members of the Educational Policies Commission had accepted membership on the group appointed bv the United States Government to go to Japan to prepare a report for General IVIacArthur on educational conditions in Japan. On December 31 Superintendent A. J. Stoddard, President Edmund E. Day, and President James B. Conant completed their terms of service as members of the Commission. Superintendent Stoddard had served as chair- man of the Commission from the beginning. The profession of education has profited profoundlv by the contributions of these men to the work of the Educational Policies Commission. Publications issued by the Educational Policies Commission during the year 1945 were as follows: Source Book on Federal-State Relations in Education Educational Services for Young Children Health and Physical Fitness for All American Children and Youth Policies for Education in American Democracy. 248 American Association of School Administrators LOOKING AHEAD There is reason to believe that the framework of American education will be altered materially within the next few years. It has been so after every great war. Some of the patterns of postwar education are beginning to emerge. Others can be seen only as through a glass darkly. It is the responsibility of those in places of leadership to make every effort to foresee the trend of future events. The programs of the 1946 regional conferences were prepared with a view to stimulating such thinking. The addresses printed in this volume represent the considered judgment of many competent Americans, including leading educators, business and professional men, editors, and schoolboard members. It has occurred to me to select striking passages from these addresses and present them without any documentation or quotation marks as a summary for this report. The suc- ceeding paragraphs are taken word for word from conference addresses. Anyone interested in knowing the names of the authors quoted can satisfy his curiosity by perusing again the preceding pages. Thoughts on education today pretty much revolve around the problems: how to make better men, how to produce better understanding among men, and how to develop better living conditions for men. We are entering a new era in history with all the problems which this involves. All of these problems whether national or international, political, social, or economic, depend for their solution on the development of sound understandings and attitudes by the American people. And this in turn is a matter of education. Never before in the history of the world have respon- sibilities of education been so great. The times demand that schools develop upward, downward, outward, and internally. The thoughtful professional leadership of America and of the entire world is now fully conscious that all educational institutions are face to face with new problems — that as we go forward into this new and changing world of tomorrow our schools must be adjusted to changing needs and to changing demands. At long last men everywhere are beginning to understand that they must learn to live in peace if they are to live at all. The use of nuclear fission as an instrument of destruction has definitely catapulted America from an isolated, self-centered, and self-sufficient nation sitting in complacent security behind her ocean barriers into a front-line position of responsibility for determining whether our universe shall become one world or no world at all. If we go on as in the past, we will not have one world ; we shall have a world of desert waste with most humans dead and the rest in caves. If we go on as in the past, we shall have depressions every few years; and probably our democracy will fall under the weights. If we go on as in the past, politics and economics geared to an agrarian age will be quite inade- (luate for the age of technology. We cannot win by looking to the past. Therefore, education must not look to the past. You and I are in a big battle, the battle of our lives. Somehow or other, the United States, triumphant, is doomed to failure, unless the trend that Official Records 249 has gripped all triumphant nations before us is checked and reversed. "Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." We do not want our country destroyed. We do not want America to fall. There- fore, all of us must give the rest of our lives, not only to prevent traditional conforming education, but to build schools, colleges, and other means of education to make America flexible, sensitive to change, and adaptive — truly a land of the free. About a month ago a great soldier, General Dwight Eisenhower, re- ceived an honorary degree. In the course of his formal remarks on that occasion, the General turned to President Marsh of Boston University and said, "Why doesn't the educational world put my profession out of a job?" I do not know what reply, if any. President Marsh made to this remarkable challenge— for General Eisenhower regarded it as a challenge, and said so. That direct question is, however, the nub of the problem of world peace or World War III. We must never forget that the United Nations Organization and its specialized organizations such as UNESCO are simply instruments. When people ask me whether I think that the United Nations will work and whether I think that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cul- tural Organization will work, I am tempted to ask them in reply whether they think that a spade will work. A spade is a tool ; it works only if some- body works it. During the past generation the world has offered demonstrations of the enormous power of education. Too often, however, these demonstrations have been given by the modern despotisms which prostituted this great social instrument to evil ends. It remains for the United States to demonstrate the unparalleled potentialities of education when it is rightly and fully used in a free industrial democracy. Teachers must understand the world in which we live and try in every possible way to get this understanding across to children. Unless they them- selves are aware of the changes that have taken place and realize the inter- dependence of the world technically and commercially, it is obvious that they will have little effect in creating this kind of climate. The school must adopt a philosophy of recognizing its function in edu- cating people to understand the problems of the society in which they live and to have some basis of preparation for the solution of these problems. Every age brings its own peculiar problems and responsibilities. Unless the school is to retire into a monastic kind of setting, it must concern itself with these problems and try to prepare pupils to meet the realities of the world in which they live. During the war years children have been brought face to face with many economic problems through rationing, salvage campaigns, bond and stamp campaigns. There is critical need for conservation of our natural resources, and children need to know this and to understand how they can help. Just now we are being called upon for food to share with the' hungry peoples of Europe. Children are asked to share books and tovs and clothes with those children in countries where there is great need. So an increased and better 250 American Association of School Administrators understanding of our social policy and the willingness to cooperate in mat- ters for the common good will remain a major objective in the economic education of our youth. When a nation does its best to give children good food, homes, and schools, and even shares with its less fortunate neighbors at a time when normal living is most difficult, that nation has a true sense of values and realizes that the greatest asset is the children. We should have American history in our schools— plenty of it and well taught. But let it be honest history, with our mistakes as well as our vic- tories and accomplishments. We have so much to be proud of that it is silly and stupid to assume that we must conceal some of the less pleasmg chapters of history. If we build up a voungster's faith on a fairy story we invite a reaction when he learns that there is no Santa Claus. We didn't treat the Indians well ; we broke treaties every time we wanted more of their land. Why not admit it? We waged a war of aggression against Mexico. Per- haps we won't judge other nations as harshly if we have taken a straight look in the mirror. ,1x7 rioio If you read the average American history textbook about the War ot 1»1Z and then go up to Canada and read their account of the same events, you may find it difficult to persuade yourself that it was the same war. We con- centrate on our little navy's achievements at sea— the "Constitution s vic- tory over the "Guerriere." If we find a reference to the Battle of Bladens- burg, it is just a footnote in small type. To recognize differences is not easy especially when the question of super- imposed cultures is involved as it has been from the very discovery of America. The white man imposed his culture on the Indian in all the Amer- icas Wasn't the ruling idea as late as the Sixties and Seventies that "The only good Indian is a dead Indian"? Very early the black man was imported to till the soil and labor, and the white man imposed his culture upon him. Around the time of the Gold Rush the yellow man came and resisted the white man's culture. He threatened the standard of living and the working- man's job and therefore was excluded both from citizenship and our shores. About the same time, with the conquest of Mexican territories, the Anglo- Saxon culture was imposed on people of Spanish heritage. Such imposition does not make it easy for the one who imposes to regard the one imposed upon as his equal; and when, as in the South, the imposer is numerically in the minority the conservative force which holds groups to conformity operates at great strength. There will doubtless be many differences of opinion as to which of the various projects of reconstruction are most urgent and which should take priority over others, but there can be no disagreement about the primary importance of training future world citizens. Without this there can be no bright future for any nation. It is the concern and obligation of individuals in all walks of life, but the greatest share must be borne by those whose influence is greatest. Next to his immediate family, it is the teacher who does most to mold not only the mind but the character and personality of a child. Official Records 25 i Better schools in America will only result as more adequate salaries are paid to educational workers. Teaching positions paying less than a living wage, as happens altogether too often in our nation, will not entice those who can carry the responsibility for tomorrow's program. Teachers are not missionaries nor should they be treated as such. They are entitled to family life, to a good home, to opportunity for further professional training, and to freedom from unnecessary economic strain. Unless a larger proportion of the best young men and young women are attracted to our teaching profession and unless the public pays better salaries and gives greater recognition to the teaching profession, our enterprise of democracy is certain to fall far short of those goals which it might reason- ably be expected to attain. The teaching profession offers opportunities for service and real satis- faction to those who like people and can see the real contribution to civiliza- tion which a good teacher makes. But there is no reason save lethargy and misunderstanding of the serious situation America faces, why the wealthiest country in the world should not be willing to pay as much to the teacher who works with children as to the laborer who works with automobiles, unless we do really consider cars more important than children. During the war the teaching profession has suffered a deterioration in the quality of the personnel coming into it. This is true, of course, of some other professions. The competitive standing of teaching has gone down rather than up. Wages in industry have increased 40 or 50 percent com- pared to 15 or 20 percent in our teaching profession. Again, the opportunities and attractions of industry and business nave been increased tremendously for young women going out of high school and college. Even civil service which used to pay only slightly better than teaching is about to become a formidable rival. Since a profession is dependent for its attractiveness not only on conditions existing within its ranks but also on the conditions of other professions and businesses, we must improve our competitive position by paying better salaries, offering greater security or greater challenge, and whatever it is that attracts better individuals into a business or profession. Prospective teachers need experiences in the managerial side of their craft in actual classroom situations. Attendance registers, records, reports, inter- views with parents, technics of home-room control can be made less formid- able for new teachers if such experiences are provided in the training period. Every superintendent has seen new teachers stalled by inability to cope with the pure mechanics of the job. The public must never be permitted to make the tragic mistake of con- sidering schools in terms of buildings, grounds, and equipment. Good teach- ers in a poor building that lacks good equipment will still make a good school but the rule cannot be reversed— poor teachers in a beautiful, per- fectly equipped school plant will avail nothing. Problems of teacher personnel will always be with us as we try to make better schools. As one is solved complexities increase and more difficulties arise. There can be no ease in Zion. With adequate salaries, reasonable enrolments, responsible freedom, and social recognition of teaching as a 252 American Association of School Administrators profession, we may expect better schools, better teaching, and a better world. But the divine spark can be kindled onl}' by a great purpose, which dreams of a great future for all of the people, and for the humblest of them a share in achievement and in service. Teaching which can do this is the highest of the arts. Without high purpose it can degenerate into the sorriest of trades. Whatever else we do to promote education through adequate schools, great teaching, artistic teaching, must always be the goal. And great teachers are great persons teaching. The ideal learning situation exists when a child so admires his teacher that he wants more than anj'thing else just to be like his teacher. There is perfect motivation. School administration must be concerned also with the picture held in the public mind of what constitutes a good school, for it is increasingly clear that through the questions asked of teachers, administrative officers, and board members, questions flowing from the public conception of what a good school looks like, there is a continuous shaping of educational policy as determined not only through influence on the boards of education and ad- ministration but also through influence on school principals and teachers The machinery that makes an organization united in purpose is a means of communication. The lines of communication from the teacher to the leader and the board of education must be clear, and the lines down from the board of education and superintendent to the classroom must also be open. Each will draw inspiration from the other. This does not mean, of course, the transmission of minute details from one to the other. Gradually these are generalized as they reach the top and conversely they assume de- tailed form as they come to the teacher. It does not mean a complication of bulletins and reports. It does mean, however, a sharing of vision and purpose and faith. The vision is of a better world, better because men and women have developed integrity of mind and soul and respect for one another. The purpose is to bring fulfilment and growth and significance to the lives of American youth, and through them to the world. The justification of a democracy does not lie in achieved perfection of social conditions but in the fact that it offers its people an opportunity to work toward conditions which they think are better than those in which they find themselves. Each state should define an adequate program of education which should be provided for all children and youth regardless of residence or place of birth. Very few states thus far have attempted to define such a program. They may have defined some aspects of the program but usually what is defined is what leaders think the next step can be rather than what they consider an adequate program. Every local school unit should be required annually to prepare a budget which meets certain standards prescribed by law and which is checked carefully by the state to assure that those standards are met. There is also the question of whether the federal government will adopt the fiscal policies which are requisite to the adequate financing of educa- tion. During the period since the "New Deal" came into existence, education Official Records 253 has been the poor relation of the federal government. The national govern- ment has preempted much of the fiscal capacity of the states and localities. It has aided many other areas of public enterprise. Public education has not been aided except in dire necessity, and then on an emergency, piecemeal basis. Full acceptance of the democratic philosophy of government implies that the wealth of the entire United States should be available for the education of the children wherever they may live. This can be accomplished only through the use of the federal taxing power. Equality of opportunity can become a reality throughout the United States by means of liberal federal support for public education. The gasoline tax that supports our amazing network of roads, imposed upon the beneficiaries who most profitably use those good roads, has proved one of modern civilization's greatest boons. I commend to your study and to the study of your localities and your several states consideration of a similarly imposed tax for the building of good educational systems, to be paid for pro rata by the primary beneficiaries. I believe that such a program can likewise prove to be one of our modern civilization's most constructive movements. Too much money has been wasted in school buildings because of the lack of planning. Too many buildings are unsafe and unhealthful and provide inadequate curriculum opportunities. Remedying these situations will re- quire careful study of the present situation and the projection of long-range plans to insure that new plants meet the educational and health needs of our people. Too often school buildings are planned without due regard to the ages of people that are to be served, the various kinds of educational ofiFerings that are to be made available, and the particular pattern of school organiza- tion that is to prevail. Just as the variety of ages and the particular educa- tional program have marked relationship to a school building, similarly these factors also affect greatly the pattern of organization in a local school system. In effect, therefore, the influence of the organization of a school system on the school plant cannot be considered validly until who is to be served and what is to be ofifered are also given due attention. We must accept responsibility for directing the mighty force of education at the critical areas of educational need. So far we are ignoring the fact that the radio, the cinema, the audio reproducer, and soon television are the immediately available instruments for universalizing education. Through these media, millions may be provided with educational services who could not otherwise be served if we are to continue to rely upon ability to read and the utilization of the present machinery of education as the only usable tools of learning. The pittances traditionally doled out to American schools for instruc- tional materials such as textbooks, libraries, and auditory and visual aids stand in sharp contrast to the generous provision wisely made in connection with the recent training program in the military services. It is uneconomic, if not stupid, in an age when technology has made remarkable teaching 254 American Association of School Administrators devices available, to give a teacher only the instructional materials used in the nineteenth century. If we operated on such a policy in other fields — warfare, business, agriculture, or medicine — we would soon become a second-rate nation. In the salary area, educational administration has much to answer for. Too often administrators have rested on their oars, fearful of taking a definite stand for better salaries. In some cases administrators have been a drag on salary increases — if only because they have failed to be vigorous in presenting the need for salary adjustments. Generally speaking, how- ever, I believe that salary conditions in elementary and secondary schools are relatively better than in universities and teachers colleges. One reason is that local boards of education are more responsive and intelligent than state legislatures. Another is that city school administration is more highly developed and efficient than college and university administration. This lag in universities and colleges is very deadly, since it is these institutions that must furnish much of our leadership. In 1937-38 the National Resources Committee carried on what was undoubtedly the most extensive study of population trends that has been done in this country. The results of that study are incorporated in a publication entitled The Problems of a Chayif/ing Population. In that study there are included population estimates by five-year periods from 1935 through 1980, together with a distribution of those estimates accord- ing to age groups. According to these estimates the total population of the country will reach a peak of approximately 154,000,000 in 1980. However, during the period covered by the estimates it is expected that the proportion of the total population in the school-age group, that is five to nineteen, will decline from 28.4 percent in 1935 to 19.6 percent in 1980. Of this decline of nearly 9 percent in this age group, 6 percent of it is expected to occur by 1960. In the case of the sixtv-five-and-over age group the percent is expected to increase from 5.8 in 1935 to 14.4 in 1980. The national death rate has been cut from 17.2 in 1900 to approximately 10.6 today. From 1900 to 1940 life expectancy at birth was increased from fifty to sixtv-five vears. Infant mortality was reduced from 85 in each 1000 live births in 1920 to 40 in 1944. We have made remarkable progress in combating specific diseases. The death rate from typhoid and paratyphoid fevers and infant deaths from enteritis and diarrhea have dropped 92 percent. In diphtheria the development of antitoxins and effective educa- tional campaigns concerning their use have resulted in a 97 percent decrease in deaths. Smallpox is so completely under control that only those children whose parents and communities are willing for them to contract the dis- ease are in danger of its ravages. The child needs to know a great deal about health. He needs to know how to develop good health for himself, how to avoid illness and accidents, and how to protect the health of others. He must understand the difference between adequate and inadequate diet, the effect of drugs and stimulants, and the value of vaccination and immunization. Official Records 255 A modern health program must be comprehensive. In an educational program it is more than the immunization against disease or proper care of teeth. A health program must provide for the protection of children, encourage the correction of defects, and create the right attitude towards health. As one of the first objectives of education health must necessarily permeate all phases of the educational program from physical plant to details of instruction. This is the main reason that it is a school responsibility. Schools can work in areas of child development where the work of health boards and private agencies would be limited. The way to improve the educational level in this country is by education. That's your job and it's my job. It's a job of salesmanship. Over and over and over, we have got to tell the story that a high level of education means a high standard of living. Over and over and over, we must teach that prosperity and an informed, intelligent citizenry go hand in hand. Seven times seven times we must teach that education is good investment. I think times have changed. I truly believe that there is more interest being shown in education by laymen today than ever before. We in busi- ness sense that. Business is learning and learning fast that education is good investment. Businessmen are waking up to the fact that they cannot operate their businesses with illiterate or quasi illiterate people. They are realizing rapidly that the deficiency in the educational preparation of their employees is the degree by which their respective business ventures are handicapped. We're learning that good education is good business. Ideally, I suppose, we should be interested in good education without regard to its value as an investment and without regard to the returns we get from it. But that isn't the American way. We Americans play everything to win. The secret of our success is our innate urge to approach everything from the practical standpoint. It's a good way, because it seems to create an ideology of idealism as it goes along. Education knew, long before industry, the influence of the emotions on the behavior and attitudes of people. Human beings, mental hygiene has told us, have four basic emotional needs if they are to be properly adjusted. They are security, recognition, new experiences, and self-expression. All of us need them — workers, administrators, teachers, children. To my mind, there is a great story in education — a succession of stories. I think education is dramatic. It has everything in it to make it so: struggle, pathos, triumph, competition, good humor, and interesting people. Just as business needs more customers, education needs more enthusiasts. In the quarter century just ahead, new names and new faces, new ideas but old ideals, will chart the course of education. In this association of school administrators the opportunities for leadership were never greater. Respectfully submitted, Sherwood D. Shankland, Executive Secretary. 256 American Association of School Administrators REPORT OF THE BOARD OF TELLERS Washington, D. C, January 12, 1946 Results of the Final Preferential Ballot for the Office of President of the American Association of School Administrators a Department of the National Education Association of the United States We hereby certify that the results of the final preferential ballot for the office of president of the American Association of School Administrators for the year beginning March 15, 1946, as provided in Article V, Section 1, of the Constitution, are as follows: First choice Second choice Third choice Nominee votes votes votes received received received 1. John L. Bracken 324 423 439 2. HoBART M. Corning 186 365 564 3. WiLLARD E. GoSLiN 423 620 552 4. Henry H. Hill 1114 411 309 5. Herold C. Hunt 422 650 605 The total number of ballots cast in this final election was 2501, of which 32 ballots were invalid. By applying the formula for counting the ballots in accordance with the instructions of the Atlantic City convention in 1938, as recorded on page 189 of the Official Report of that convention, the totals are as follows: HENRY H. HILL 1114 first choice votes x 3 3342 411 second choice votes x 2 822 309 third choice votes x 1 309 Total 4473 JOHN L. BRACKEN HOBART M. CORNING 324 first choice votes x 3 972 186 first choice votes x 3 558 423 second choice votes x 2 846 365 second choice votes x 2 730 439 third choice votes x 1 439 564 third choice votes x 1 564 Total 2257 Total 1852 WILLARD E. GOSLIN HEROLD C. HUNT 423 first choice votes x 3 1269 422 first choice votes x 3 1266 620 second choice votes x 2 1240 650 second choice votes x 2 1300 552 third choice votes x 1 552 605 third choice votes x 1 605 Total 3061 Total 3171 In accordance with the above results, we hereby officially certify and announce the election of Henry H. Hill as president of the American Asso- ciation of School Administrators for the year beginning March 15, 1946. Respectfully submitted, E. L. AcKLEY, Chairman Paul M. Munro J. Chester Swanson Official Records 257 REPORT OF THE AUDITING COMMITTEE Washington, D. C, January 29, 1946 Dr. Charles H. Lake, President American Association of School Administrators Cleveland, Ohio ') Dear Dr. Lake: The Auditing: Committee of the American Association of School Ad- ministrators, a Department of the National Education Association of the L^nited States, submits to you the followinp; report. The Committee has