HE PORTLAND SURVEY ELLWOOD P. CUBBRRLEY EFFICIENCY SfiRit PAUL H.HANL6 THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES 'TpHE School Efficiency Series comprises about A twelve volumes by as many educational experts on Elementary School and Kindergarten, High School, and Vocational Instruction, Courses of Study, Organization, Management and Supervision. The series consists of monographs based on the report of Professor Hanus and his associates on the schools of New York City, but the controlling ideas are applicable as well in one public school system \ as in another. Among the authors contributing to these volumes I are included Professor Paul H. Hanus, Professor of Education, Harvard University, who is also general editor of the whole series; Dr. Frank P. Bachman, General Education Board; Dr. Edward C. Elliott, Director of the School of Education, University of Wisconsin; Dr. Herman Schneider, Dean of the Col- ! lege of Engineering, University of Cincinnati; Dr. Frank W. Ballou, Director of Promotion and Educa- I tional Measurement, Boston Public Schools; Dr. Calvin O. Davis, Assistant Professor of Education, University of Michigan; Dr. Frank V. Thompson, | Assistant Superintendent of Schools, Boston; Dr. Henry H. Goddard, Director Department of Psycho- logical Research, New Jersey Training School for Feeble-Minded Boys and Girls; Mr. Stuart A. Cour- tis, Supervisor of Educational Research in the Public Schools, Detroit; Dr. Frank M. McMurry, Professor of Elementary Education, Teachers College, Colum- bia University; Dr. Ernest C. Moore, Professor of Education, Harvard University; Dr. Ellwood P. Cubberley, Professor of Education, Leland Stanford Junior University. 5 iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiirMniniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii lit! SCHOOL EFFICIENCY SERIES The Portland Survey SCHOOL EFFICIENCY SERIES Edited by PAUL H. HANUS The Portland Survey A textbook on city school admin- istration based on a concrete study By ELLWOOD P. CUBBERLEY PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION, LELANU STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY Assisted by FLETCHER B. DRESSLAR, EDWARD C. ELLIOTT, J. H. FRANCIS, FRANK E. SPAULDJNG LEWIS M. TERMAN, and WILLIAM R. TANNER YONKERS-ON-HUDSON, NEW YORK. WORLD BOOK COMPANY 1916 Copyright, 1915, by World Book Company All rights reserved SES: CPS 2 Ed. /Psych. Library LA, 354 EDITOR'S PREFACE 1 report of Professor Cubberley and his associates A on their survey of the Portland (Oregon) school sys- tem is a document that will be useful for a long time to lay and professional students of school administration. The report is noteworthy both for its comprehensive scope and its illuminating discussions. The fundamental problems which not only the Portland school system but every school system must endeavor to solve in seeking to adapt itself pro- gressively to the educational needs of the community which it serves are treated in this report with the insight and out- look of professional men who observe carefully and state facts and conclusions with directness and force. The Portland report, as a report prepared for the people of Portland and published by them, it seemed to me, could be accessible to relatively few persons among those who might wish to study it. Accordingly, I suggested to Pro- fessor Cubberley that it be published in book form. At the same time, I was authorized by the World Book Company to say that it would be happy to publish the report as a vol- ume of the School Efficiency Series. Professor Cubberley accepted my suggestion, and I now take pleasure in present- ing this volume, which consists of the Portland report un- changed in substance save in a few unimportant particulars, as a permanent contribution to the important literature of school administration in this country. Naturally I cannot assume any responsibility for the views expressed in the book, since I had no share in making 1 Professor Hanus has been kind enough to submit his Editor's Preface to me, and I think the objection which he makes in the last paragraph is well taken. Were I writing Chapter II now, my recommendations would be in accord with Professor Hanus' point of view. E. P. C. viii Editor's Preface the report of which it consists. Nevertheless, I am glad to say that I heartily agree with most of those views. On one point, however, my disagreement is so complete that I take the liberty of referring to it. I cannot agree that the proper organization and administration of a school system requires any standing committees of the Board of Educa- tion. There is abundant evidence that such committees tend to obstruct and often do obstruct the performance of the duties entrusted to the Board and also of the duties that are or should be entrusted to its officers particularly the latter. PAUL H. HANUS. HARVARD UNIVERSITY. CONTENTS PAGE EDITOR'S PREFACE vii I. ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION CHAPTER I. THE LEGAL ORGANIZATION OF THE PORTLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT 3 State origin of schools The school district and the municipality Portland a first-class district Advantages and disadvantages of state control Need of a new city school law II. THE ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION OF THE PORTLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT 10 Coordination of authorities The board organization Business de- partment organization Educational department organization Board meetings The board does too much Types of business This condition an inheritance Bad effects of the sysjtem The way out The supervision of instruction Business department Build- ing department The proper functions of the board Good corpo- rate management III. THE SYSTEM OF SUPERVISION 34 Sources and methods of work Weakness of the system found Such conditions not inherent Full efficiency not realized Ultimate reasons for the condition Characteristics of a good supervisory or- ganization Rules and regulations and the system Concrete illus- trations: board control Concrete illustrations: supervisory control Responsibility for the condition Needed changes; recommenda- tions IV. THE SELECTION AND TENURE OF TEACHERS .... 53 1. The selection of teachers: Recruitment and training Education of teachers employed The training courses for teachers Common defects of such courses Training vs. attracting teachers The super- intendent and the employment of teachers The effect of board con- trol Good rules of action; recommendations relating to employment 2. The tenure of teachers: The new permanent-tenure law A middle- ground position Right principles of action relating to tenure V. THE SALARIES OF TEACHERS 75 Comparative salary schedules The Portland salaries A uniform salary schedule Types of teachers found The Portland teaching force Payments based on merit and efficiency; principles of action Contents n. INSTRUCTIONAL NEEDS CHAPTER PAGE VI. THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC POSITION OF PORTLAND . 91 Sources of information Cities selected for comparison Size and rate of growth Character of the population Preponderance of males Peculiar age distribution Percentage of children Busi- ness interests of the city Wealth of the city Cost for city main- tenance Rank of Portland in city expenditures VTI. THE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF SUCH A CITY AS PORTLAND 112 General character of the city Changes in our conception of education Significance of the change These new conceptions applied: 1. The elementary school subjects: Tool subjects Content subjects Science Individual differences Other features 2. Secondary education: College-preparatory subjects Technical courses Commercial and agricultural high schools 3. Public-school extension: Portland's special educational opportunity Its educational offering VHL THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF ELEMENTARY AND SECOND- ARY INSTRUCTION 124 1. Principle on which present practice is based: A system for which no one is responsible Purpose of the study constructive What is a living curriculum? What is a dead curriculum? The system in operation The school for the deaf Mechanical uniformity every- where Prescriptions of the course of study illustrated Some char- acteristics of the course 2. The Portland elementary curriculum 3. The subject-matter further analyzed: No adequate provision for the effective education of a large portion of the children Grammar Composition Abstract arithmetic Technical United States history Nature study 4. The system of promotional examinations: Nature of examinations Distorted efforts Time spent unprofitably What examinations do 5. The classroom instruction: Work both good and poor Grammar- grade work inferior to primary Reading and composition poor Penmanship poor and careless Geography abstract and bookish History dry and dull Arithmetic and grammar the best taught 6. Deadening effect of the system: On teachers On pupils On the principals Why primary work is better 7. Other elementary school needs: Dearth of teaching material Books should be furnished Classes of commendable size Disci- pline 8. The curricula of the secondary school: Extent and character of provisions made Increase in enrollment Character of instruction The high school courses of study Teaching rather than educat- ing youth Uniformity throughout This a barrier to progress Cost of the examination system 9. Summary of the chief characteristics of the present system of ele- mentary and secondary education Contents xi CHAPTER PAGE IX. OUTLINE OF AN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM ADAPTED TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS 176 1. Point of view and purpose in this study: Facing the future Three fundamental working principles What is Portland's educational problem? Character of the program projected The first step 2. Seven factors determining the grouping of children 3. The significance of age and over age: Children under six educable How wide an age-range advantageous Eleven per cent of pupils need reclassification Some causes of over age Over age in the Portland schools Necessary treatment and study 4. The other factors, determining grouping: Length of instruction To fit for usefulness Capacity and interests The non-English- speaking child Abnormal and subnormal children Sex as an influ- ence 5. Four main groups or types of schools: (1) The kindergarten Cost Should be provided in time (2) Elementary schools Subjects to be included Desirable and essential distinguished (3) Intermediate schools This stage calls for differentiations Literary and pre- vocational courses Work adapted to individual needs, capacities, and interests (4) The secondary school Preparatory and vocational courses of wide range Courses must be flexible Tests for promotions Demands of such a flexible plan 6. Summary of recommendations X. THE PRESENT OFFERING OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IN VOCATIONAL STUDIES, WITH SUGGESTIONS FOR IM- PROVEMENTS 224 1. Prominent shortcomings in the elementary school work 2. The vocational studies in the elementary school course (1) Primary manual arts Nature of the work (2) Manual training Commendable features of the work Defects observed Improvements suggested (3) Sewing Commendable features Defects Suggestions (4) Cookery Its absence a mistake Suggestions (5) Drawing The present course Changes suggested (6) Music Defects of the work Suggestions (7) School gardening Why the schools should assume this work Need for a supervisor Importance for Portland 3. The vocational studies in the secondary schools: Characteristics of the work in the high schools (1) The commercial course Traditional nature Criticisms of the work done Suggestions for a reconstruction of the work in the schools (2) The work in drawing Defects Lack of proper provision for Suggestions for the improvement and expansion of the work (3) Shop equipment and its distribution The special vs. the cosmopolitan high school (4) Domestic art Good work done (5) Domestic science Good work in cooking Additions xii Contents CHAPTEK PAGE 4. The School of Trades: Strength and defects of the work done Recommendations for its improvement 5. An agricultural high school recommended 6. Summary and recommendations XI. NEEDED REORGANIZATIONS AND EXPANSIONS OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM 250 1. A fundamental reorganization needed (1) Kindergartens Relation to first-grade work (2) Elementary schools The prime purpose during the first six years (3) Intermediate schools Character Location Buildings Cost Purposes Advantages Teachers Opposition to Courses of study (4) High schools Enlarged scope 2. Types of additional schools needed (i) The ungraded room Purposes Value (a) Truant schools Classes intended for Advantages of Graduation to a central vocational school 8) Vacation schools Types of Purposes ) Night schools; school entertainments The school a center Recommendations The night high schools (5) Extension of the school time Longer days Saturday mornings for vocational work (6) Special art schools (7) Neighborhood or district schools Scope of such schools Work and purposes (8) A school for janitors 3. Summary of recommendations III. BUILDINGS AND HEALTH XH. THE BUILDING AND SITES PROBLEM 283 Portland's building problem Rapid increase in school population Recent increase in building outlays Shifting of population Prob- able future needs Size of school lots Larger playgrounds needed The high schools The best buildings The safest buildings The most economical buildings Paying for buildings by tax or by bonding XIII. THE SCHOOL PLANT 304 Construction units The schoolhouse site Noisy streets Orien- tation of buildings East and west lighting Unilateral lighting Windows Ribbed and frosted glass Transoms Size of class- rooms Height of classrooms Floors Desks Blackboards Stair banisters Assembly rooms Floating ceilings Open-air schools Temperature of rooms Hot-air furnaces Ventilation of rooms and of toilets Fresh-air intakes Registers Toilets and urinals Baths Vacuum cleaners Dust cloths Drinking foun- tains Slates Janitor service Miscellaneous recommendations Advisory educational committee on buildings Contents xiii CHAPTER PACK XIV. THE SYSTEM OF HEALTH SUPERVISION 339 1. The system of medical inspection: Two types of school health serv- ice Main features of the Portland system Nature of the exami- nations given 2. Defects of the system: Results secured Records and reports Limited scope of the work 3. Essential features of a department of health supervision for a'city the size of Portland: Control The force needed Expense Chief health director Offices and equipment Dental clinic Medical clinic School nurses The teachers' part in health supervision 4. Open-air schools 5. School feeding 6. The health of the teaching corps 7. Hygiene teaching 8. Physical training and playground instruction 9. The hygiene of instruction: Daily school programs 10. Special schools and classes needed: Deaf Blind or crippled Stammerers Backward children Border-line cases Feeble- minded Truants and incorrigibles Misfits n. Summary of recommendations IV. ATTENDANCE, RECORDS, AND COSTS XV. SCHOOL CENSUS AND ATTENDANCE 375 1. Census: General Legal provisions concerning Plan of taking Instructions to enumerators Method of enumeration Cost and report Census data Critical statement Need of a permanent and continuous census Enumerators Cost Report of census returns 2. Compulsory education: Legal provisions concerning Enforce- ment of school attendance Records and reports Truant officer's records Critical comment Recommendations XVI. RECORDS AND REPORTS 392 Record of board proceedings The annual report Contents of an- nual report Functions of annual report Record forms and blanks Fundamental educational records needed Financial records Rec- ommendation Report and record forms in use XVII. COST OF THE SYSTEM OF EDUCATION 404 A fundamental assumption as to Portland's attitude toward the cost of the school system: 1 . Relative rank of the school district in school expenditures Com- parative per capita costs Children in the population Cost per adult male Cost per pupil educated Comparisons for elementary schools For secondary schools The bearing of small classes Reasonable per capita costs 2. Real wealth behind each dollar spent for schools Comparative rates of tax required for school maintenance Portland's educational opportunity Present condition of Portland's school system, and its needs xiv Contents APPENDICES PAGE A. A SUGGESTED LAW FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF THE PORT- LAND SCHOOL DISTRICT 421 B. i. REPORT OF SURVEY COMMITTEE 426 2. DIRECTOR'S LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 428 INDEX 431 PART I Organization and Administration THE PORTLAND SURVEY CHAPTER I 1 THE LEGAL ORGANIZATION OF THE PORTLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT STATE ORIGIN OF SCHOOLS SCHOOL District No. i, of Multnomah County, Oregon, commonly known as the Portland School District, is a state, and not a city, creation and organization. Unlike the street and fire departments, or the park board, which are provided for in the city charter and are distinctively city in- stitutions, the school department owes its origin to the state constitutional mandate and to the state's laws relating to education. The first provisional government for the Ore- gon country (1845) declared that "schools and means of education should be encouraged," and the constitution on which the territory entered the Union, framed in 1857, directed that " the Legislative Assembly shall provide by law for the establishment of a uniform and general system of common schools" for the state. To assist in the maintenance of such a state school system a state school fund was created, and its use and method of distribution were provided for in the new constitution. Under this authority the legislature has since created a state school system. A State Superintendent of Public In- struction and a State Board of Education have been pro- vided for, to look after the interests of the state in the 1 Chapters I to VII inclusive were written by Professor Ellwood P. Cub- berley, Director of the Survey. EDITOR. 3 4 The Portland Survey matter of education; a body of School Law, controlling the school system in detail, has since been gradually evolved, and county school superintendents and district school directors have been created, to see that the state pur- pose is carried out locally. THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND THE MUNICIPALITY The school district has been made the unit of educational organization by the state, and the districts have been declared by law to be " bodies corporate, competent to transact all business coming under their jurisdiction." The boundaries of the school districts are controlled by a county board, known as the district boundary board, and the distinct or- ganization of a school district is shown by the provision that its boundaries may be different from those of a municipal- ity of which it forms a part, and that it may even lie in two counties. This difference for Portland is well shown by Figure i, which gives the city and school-district boundary lines as they were early in 1913. Even when the boundaries of a school district are one and the same as those of a muni- cipal corporation, the intent of the law, and the decisions of the courts in a number of states, are that the school district is a separate and distinct corporation from the municipality, created for a different purpose. The municipality exists largely for local ends: the school district exists largely for the carrying out of a state purpose. PORTLAND A FIRST-CLASS DISTRICT In carrying out this state purpose the state of Oregon, for convenience in granting powers, has classified the dif- ferent school districts of the state into three classes. The first class, to which Portland belongs, comprises all school districts in the state having 1000 or more children of school- census age (4 to 20 years). Such districts, largely because of their size and the larger volume of their business, are Organization of School District allowed to elect five school directors, instead of the three provided for other districts; may appoint a clerk, outside of their own membership; may employ a superintendent of schools ; may prescribe their own courses of study ; may ex- MAPOF PORTLAND SHOWING BOUNDARIES CITY .SCHOOL DISTRICT- SCHOOLS FIG. i. CITY AND SCHOOL-DISTRICT BOUNDARIES COMPARED amine their own teachers; may provide evening schools; and may create an indebtedness. In 1911 all school districts having 10,000 or more school children were permitted to create a teachers' retirement fund, and in 1913 all school districts having 20,000 or more school children were per- mitted to establish and maintain many types of special schools, and to adopt their own textbooks. 6 The Portland Survey All these powers come from the state and not from the city, and all of them apply to any school district in the state of the same class or size. The district is numbered and takes its legal name from the county and state organiza- tion ; its powers all come from the state ; it could be changed in form or purpose at any time by the state, and it exists primarily for the carrying out of a purpose which our American states long ago decided to be in the interests of the state. Whatever the state decides to be wise, in the mat- ter of public education, it can thus order the Portland school district to do or to provide. The provision of education for its children is thus not left to local desire or local initiative, as is the case with street lights or sidewalks, but is required by the state in the exercise of its inherent right of preserva- tion and improvement. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF STATE CONTROL This control has its disadvantages as well as its advantages. It is much more likely that Portland will desire to advance more rapidly than the state, in extending its educational system, than that the state will outstrip Portland. This means that, from time to time, Portland must secure the per- mission of the legislature of the state before it can make much-needed educational advancement. For example, until the present time the Portland school district has been com- pelled to use the uniform state series of textbooks in its ele- mentary schools, though these were adopted with the needs of the rural schools in view and were, in the judgment of the members of the Survey staff, in a number of cases wholly unsuited to the needs of any modern educational system. It would be hard to conceive of any city with a modern edu- cational organization using such books as were forced on the city by the state. Another illustration is the retention, in a city of 250,000 inhabitants, of the old, outgrown sys- tem, in many states entirely abandoned, of holding an annual meeting of taxpayers of the school district to levy the an- Organization of School District 7 nual school tax and to make needed appropriations for the schools. The only thing the meeting could do with any safety would be to follow the judgment of the directors, and if this is to be done there is no wisdom in holding the meet- ing. We were told that the tax is frequently voted by a mere handful of citizens. Such a situation is fraught with con- stant danger. If, for any cause, antagonisms should arise, it would be easily possible for a very few people to appear quietly and defeat the tax, and thus imperil the work of the schools for a year to come. A city the size of Portland should be given legislative permission to abandon this out- grown country-school provision, and to substitute instead a modern method for levying the school taxes. The state oversight and control has its advantages and disadvantages, also, in that it permits interested parties to appeal from the decision of the elected representatives of the school district and secure legislation of a kind which suits them. An illustration on the good side would be laws compelling the board of school directors of the district to establish vacation schools, to introduce instruction in do- mestic science, to provide proper playground facilities, or to establish proper sanitary conditions and health supervi- sion. A good illustration on the other side is the 1913 Hfe- tenure-of-teachers bill, which is considered more in detail in Chapter IV, and which was secured from an unthink- ing legislature by representatives of the elementary teachers of the city. Probably no legislation has ever been enacted in the history of the Portland school district which is more calculated ultimately to destroy the efficiency of the school system. NEED OF A NEW CITY SCHOOL LAW The legal organization surrounding the Portland school district is in part a village organization, and the district needs a new educational charter. This could be secured in the form of a general law, applicable to any city in the state having 20,000 or more school children. The method of 8 The Portland Survey election, the size, and the organization of the Board of School Directors are good so far as they provide for a continuing body and permit a continuing educational policy, and had best remain as they are. The law should in addition provide for a good modern educational organization for such a city, and should specify the main powers of the board, the Super- intendent of Schools, the Superintendent of Properties, and the Clerk or Secretary. Certain powers and duties should be guaranteed to each, and each should be safeguarded in the exercise of them by law. The right of the district to make its own courses of study, to adopt its own textbooks, to set its own requirements for entering the teaching serv- ice, to contract with its own teachers, and to establish such schools and such types of educational activity as seem needed, should be included in the law as a matter of course. The right to determine the rate or the amount of school taxes to be levied up to certain maxima for buildings, equip- ment, and annual maintenance, ought to be given to the Board of School Directors alone, with the further right to submit the question to a vote of the people if, in their judg- ment, still larger sums are needed to meet emergencies or special educational needs. In the Appendix to this Report 1 a suggested state law for the reorganization of the Portland school district is given. This proposed law is based in part on the present laws now in force, and in part on the best experience of those American cities which have recently secured a good adminis- trative law for the management of their schools. While the Portland school district thus has a distinct legal organization, separate from the municipality of which it forms a part, and derives its powers from the state rather than from the city, the schools are nevertheless city schools, and should answer primarily the city's needs. That educa- tion which is best suited to the needs of such a city will best answer the state purpose in requiring the maintenance of schools. The character of the population of Portland, the 1 See page 419. Organization of School District 9 social and educational demands of its people, its actual and per capita wealth, and the industrial and commercial needs of the present and future city, all serve to modify the char- acter of the school system which should be maintained and the type or types of education which should be provided. As the city grows in size and its social and educational prob- lems increase in complexity, the state should grant increas- ing liberty to the city to enable it to meet its peculiar educa- tional needs. What the state should be primarily interested in is seeing that certain minimum standards are met, not in limiting new efforts of communities. A too rigid interpretation of the old constitutional clause providing for " a uniform and general system of schools " for the state, or a too great interference by the legislature in matters largely local by nature, can in part defeat the very object for which the educational system was established. In the case of Portland, the legislature should provide the city with a legal organization suited to modern needs, after some such a plan as is suggested in Appendix A, and should then refuse to interfere except in matters of fundamental importance. CHAPTER II THE ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION OF THE PORTLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT COORDINATION OF AUTHORITIES THE Portland school district thus exists in obedience to state law, and its form and its powers are alike de- rived from the state. To carry out this state purpose of education for such children as live within the boundaries of the Portland school district, the state has provided for the election, by the property holders of the school district, of a board of five school directors. One new member is elected each year, for a five-year term, and on a day set by law for the annual school meeting of the district. The main powers of the board so elected come from the legislature, and have been formulated in the school law of the state. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction and the County Super- intendent of Schools interpret this law, and apportion to the district its proportionate share of the income from the state permanent school fund and from the county school tax. The County Boundary Board regulates the boundaries of the school district, as for all other districts within the county. The County Superintendent of Schools sits as a member of the district (city) Board of Examiners, for the examination and certification of all teachers for the school district. THE BOARD ORGANIZATION The Board of School Directors so elected is charged with the maintenance of the schools required by law within the district. In carrying out this purpose they not only meet as The Administrative Organization n a body, but have also subdivided themselves into eight com- mittees for further work. The work of maintaining the schools is also further organized under two main depart- ments, practically independent of one another one for the business work, under the School Clerk, and one for the edu- cational work, under the Superintendent of Schools. These relationships are well shown in Figure i. An examination of this diagram, and a comparison of it with Figure 3, on page 28, showing a desirable reor- ganization, will prove both interesting and instructive. In Figure 2 the independence of the two main administrative departments, as well as the lack of coordination of the dif- ferent city departments working at the educational prob- lem, is seen; in Figure 3 the unified educational organiza- tion is the prominent feature. Business Department Organization The business department, as organized under the School Clerk, is further subdivided as follows: SCHOOL CLERK 1. Secretary 2. Truant officer 3. Cashier a. Bookkeeper b. Assistant bookkeeper c. Checking clerk d. Head stenographer e. Assistant stenographer f. Filing clerk g. Telephone operator 4. Purchasing agent a. Storekeeper b. Delivery man 12 The Portland Survey 1 AC 9. Memphis, Tenn. . . 17 CO ce 911 10. Seattle, Wash 22 11 AC ii. Washington, D. C 12. Richmond, Va 15.00 14 OO 70 7C 10.28 13. St. Paul, Minn 2I.OQ CO 10 68 14. Nashville, Tenn 14.74. 7C ii 06 15. Kansas City, Mo 22.6o CO IT TO 16. Grand Rapids, Mich. . . . 17. Paterson, N. J 14.14 II 11 80 11.31 1 8. Scran ton, Pa 14 18 go 19. Minneapolis, Minn 20. Jersey City, N. J 25-95 12 60 45 IOO 11.50 21. Louisville, Ky 18 50 7O 12 nc 22. Worcester, Mass 14 OI IOO 14 01 23. Dayton, Ohio 23.8? 00 IA 12 24. Providence, R. I 14. 70 IOO IA 7O 25. Columbus, Ohio 2C,.IC 60 1C OO 26. Albany, N. Y 1C IO IOO 27. Bridgeport, Conn ic. 71 IOO 1C 71 28. Fall River, Mass 1C 84 IOO 1C 84 29. New Haven, Conn 30. Rochester, N. Y 16.00 20.07 IOO 80 16.00 16 06 31. Denver, Colo 11 26 CO 16 61 32. Toledo, Ohio 27 8* 60 16 7o 33. Newark, N. J 34. Lowell, Mass 16.72 17 O2 IOO IOO 16.72 17 02 35. New Orleans, La 21.OO 7C. 17 2C 36. Syracuse, N. Y 10.87 80 17 C8 37. Cambridge, Mass 18.61 IOO 1861 38. Average of all cities .... 18.89 Social and Economic Position TABLE XII PER CAPITA COST FOR CITY MAINTENANCE Cost Per City Year Per Capita I. Birmingham, Ala $7.10 2. Nashville, Tenn 9-i4 3- Scranton, Pa 9-34 4- Richmond, Va 9-99 5- Paterson, N. J 10.52 6. Columbus, Ohio 10.78 7- Atlanta, Ga 10-93 8. PORTLAND, ORE 11.11 9- Grand Rapids, Mich "-3S 10. Toledo, Ohio 11.66 ii. Jersey City, N. J n-77 12. Bridgeport, Conn "-79 13- Dayton, Ohio "-99 14. Oakland, Cal 12.22 15- Memphis, Tenn 12.24 16. New Orleans, La 12.42 17. Indianapolis, Ind 12.48 18. Fall River, Mass 12.78 19. Lowell, Mass 12.81 20. Louisville, Ky 13.00 21. St. Paul, Minn I3-03 22. Albany, N. Y 13.38 23- Spokane, Wash 14.21 24- New Haven, Conn 14-35 25- Omaha, Neb I4-36 26. Kansas City, Mo 14-40 27. Providence, R. I. . I4.8I 28. Syracuse, N. Y 15.03 2Q. Los Angeles, Cal I5.I3 30. Seattle, Wash 15-35 31- Cambridge, Mass 1541 32. Minneapolis, Minn 15-68 33- Worcester, Mass B6.00 34- Rochester, N. Y 16.38 35- Newark, N. J I9.03 36. Denver, Colo IQ.2I 37- Washington, D. C 24.70 no The Portland Survey TABLE xin RANK OF PORTLAND IN ITEMS OF CITY EXPENDITURE Items Per Capita Cost for Rank of Portland in Amount Spent Portland Average of 37 Cities i. General expenses of the city govern- ment $0.84 1.25 1.69 13 .10 .86 i-2S .02 4.29 IS 37 .16 $11.11 2.89 $14.00 $1.30 i-S4 1.64 .19 .29 1. 10 1.70 74 4-23 .22 44 .14 $13-39 2.54 $15-93 30th 26th 20th 22d 35th 25th 27th 36th igth 27th igth 9th 30th i2th 25th 2. Police department 3. Fire department 4. Inspection service 5. Health conservation 6. Street cleaning and sanitation . . . 7. Care and lighting of streets and bridges 8. Charities, hospitals, and corrections . 9. Education 10. Libraries, art galleries, and museums . ii. Parks, playgrounds 12. Damage settlements and miscellane- ous expenses Total per capita cost 13. Interest paid on debt Total per capita rate had been considered. Portland's low cost for police (2) is an indication of the orderliness of the city, and this, to- gether with the high per capita wealth (Table X, page 107) and the very low cost for health service (5) and for chari- ties (8), gives further indication of the good character of the city's population. The amount spent for education (9), while slightly above the average for the thirty-seven cities, must not be taken too favorably, as the list contains a number of Eastern and Southern cities where the costs for maintenance and the wages paid teachers are both very low. As it is, the city stands nineteenth from the top. If only the nine cities west of the Mississippi River were considered, cities where ex- Social and Economic Position in INTEREST 20.7* U, o 00 -LNSPECTION-09^ iiTH-p.yi EDUCATION 30.7* FIG. 7. How PORTLAND SPENDS ITS DOLLAR penses for maintenance and for salaries are more nearly comparable, the average per capita cost of schools would become $4.71 instead of $4.23, or 43 cents greater than Portland's. CHAPTER VII THE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF SUCH A CITY AS PORTLAND GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE CITY WE find, then, as a result of the comparisons made in the preceding chapter, that we have to consider the needs of a rapidly growing Western city of the best class. It is also one destined to grow rapidly in the future in both area and population, and to occupy an important place in the social, political, commercial, and agricultural life of the northwestern part of the United States. In the state of Oregon it will, in all probability, continue for all time to be not only the metropolis, but the commanding influence as well. In population the city is, as yet, essentially an American city, with but a small foreign-born population, and this drawn largely from nations of Teutonic stcck. The num- ber of Orientals of school age is small, and the number of negroes is almost negligible. The city has a large surplus of men, particularly of those in the productive and creative years of early manhood ; a small number of married couples, and a very small percentage of children of school age. These facts, as was pointed out in the preceding chapter, give the city many educational advantages. The city itself is essentially a residential and commercial one. While there is some manufacturing, the large city in- terests are home and business interests retailing, whole- saling, the transshipment of freight, and supplying both the needs of and the outlet for the rich agricultural and timber region surrounding the city for some distance in all direc- 112 Educational Needs 113 tions. It is these elements which should color its educational system. The city, too, is one of the wealthiest large cities in the United States, and it is conducted on a very low rate of taxation and a very low per capita expenditure. In almost every item of city expenditure the rank of Portland is low. While this is commendable, there is no reason why Portland should hesitate to increase materially its expenditures for its educational system or for other branches of helpful munici- pal service. In such a city, composed of an excellent class of people, growing rapidly, rich, and with a great future before it, the school system provided should be one of the best in the United States. It should also be one which, in addition to providing the general fundamentals of knowl- edge and the ordinary types of instruction, provides also in a broad and generous way for its citizens, public life, and commercial needs of tomorrow. This involves the pro- vision of elementary and secondary educational opportuni- ties, of course, and something more. CHANGES IN OUR CONCEPTION OF EDUCATION Schools arose, with us, as democratic institutions and to serve democratic ends, and quite early in our educational history education came to be conceived of as a right on the part of the citizen and as a political necessity on the part of the state. The early conception of the school was that of a place where the fundamentals of knowledge could be im- parted, and the pupil trained for participation in our politi- cal life. Reading, writing, arithmetic, language, geography, and the history of our country constituted the substance of the course of instruction, and to convey the accumulated knowledge of the past to the next generation was almost the only function of the school. This conception, once estab- lished, has persisted in many places up to very recently. Within recent years, and particularly since about 1900, entirely new conceptions of the place and province of public ii4 The Portland Survey education in a democratic society have come to the front, and are rapidly being accepted by our American people. The idea that the school exists to transmit to the next generation the accumulated knowledge of the past has given way to the newer conception that the school exists to prepare the child of today for intelligent participation in that society social, political, and economic of which he or she will form a part. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CHANGE This change in conception is of far-reaching significance, and involves radical reconstructions in the work of public education. What is desired today is not so much accumu- lated knowledge for such is not power, as we used to think, unless it is capable of application to the work of life but knowledge which fits the child for his place in that so- ciety of which he will probably form a part. This has in- volved not only the addition of entirely new subjects of study, but also of entirely new classes of schools. It has also shifted the point of emphasis from subject-matter to the child himself. A rich, fruitful child life is seen to be more important than information. With the increased participation of our people in the functions of government, as shown by the adoption of the initiative, the referendum, the recall, and the extension of the suffrage to women, the need of better education for all our citizens has been seen to be necessary. With the great increase in scientific knowledge and the application of the discoveries of science to all phases of human life, the need of instruction in science for the masses of our people has been seen. With the growing importance of commerce and industry, careful training for the larger com- mercial activities of a community has become important. With the recent great increase in complexity of our indus- trial and social life, the need of education that will better fit the worker for his or her vocation and for proper living has rapidly become apparent. The home, too, has been seen Educational Needs to need direction and guidance, and the home-keeping arts have been introduced. In proportion, too, as our political, industrial, commer- cial, and social life has become broader and more complex, a longer period of educational guidance, and intelligent choice instead of haphazard drifting, have alike become necessary to prepare the individual for intelligent and suc- cessful participation therein. Our schools, slowly at first, now more rapidly, are grasping the vast significance of their social, political, and commercial connections, relations, and obligations, and are coming to realize that their worth as in- stitutions of democracy depends not so much on the impart- ing of mere information as upon their efficiency as institu- tions for the improvement of society. THESE NEW CONCEPTIONS APPLIED Applying these principles to the local situation, we should expect to find, in a city of the size and importance of the city of Portland, a school system thoroughly conscious of these modern ends and aims, and consciously working to improve not only the educational, but also the social, political, com- mercial, and physical welfare of the community. The elementary school system by which we mean now all instruction below the high school where the great masses of the people are trained, should be especially rich in its offering, providing not only instruction and personal guidance, but instruction and personal guidance for many different classes of children, and meeting the social, physi- cal, and educational needs of many different types of youth. A system of kindergartens, for the instruction of children under six, might well precede the elementary school course, particularly in the poorer and more foreign quarters of the city. The elementary school training, in its earlier years, should have the kindergarten spirit carried over into it, and be rich in activity and happy expression. In its later years it should differentiate somewhat to meet different needs, n6 The Portland Survey and certain divisions of it should be given a strong voca- tional turn. The secondary instruction should involve the best quality of purely cultural, domestic, scientific, techni- cal, commercial, physical, and vocational education, and should be carefully adjusted to individual and community needs. A city of the size and importance of Portland should also provide good extension education for adults and for those beyond the compulsory school age. In 1910, there were in the city 1,187 illiterate males of voting age and 2,145 ten years of age and over who could not read and write. For these some instruction should be provided, suitable to their needs. Far more important than these, though, are the thousands of men and women who are not illiterate, but who still have a need and a thirst for information and in- struction. Summer schools of different types should also be maintained, and good and readily accessible facilities provided for organized and directed play. To be still more specific, let us examine each of these divisions more in detail. I. THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SYSTEM The elementary school system of such a city should of course give instruction in the old fundamental subjects of the elementary school curriculum, viz., reading, writing, language, arithmetic, geography, and history. The first four of these are tools, pure and simple, and should be taught well, but as economically of time and energy as is possible, and should lead as soon as possible to applied work. Perhaps few tests serve so well to distinguish a school sys- tem possessed of a modern spirit and a proper conception of its functions from a school system of the old tradi- tional type, as does the way in which these tool subjects are taught in the schools. In the former these subjects are frankly regarded as tools, to be taught of course, but always with a view to their use in learning or doing something else ; Educational Needs 117 in the latter they are taught as ends in themselves, and with a minuteness and an attempted thoroughness which is painful to behold. Years of a child's life are often spent in learning certain supposed uses of a tool for which there is no demand outside the schoolroom itself. This is particularly true of arithmetic and grammar. Pupils are often drilled for years on problems of a type no man in practical life ever solves, and grammatical drill is given, often for years, which can be of no use to anyone except a school teacher. Tool Subjects We should expect, then, in a city of the size and type of Portland, to find a school system in which the fundamental elementary school tools reading, writing, spelling, Eng- lish usage, and the fundamentals of arithmetic were taught well, but taught always with a view to their use as tools. We should also expect to find a corps of supervisors of instruction superintendents and principals carefully protecting the children and guiding the teachers away from perhaps the most common mistake of school teachers that of regarding these subjects as ends in themselves. Content Subjects The reading should be especially rich in material read and large in quantity, with a view to giving the child ideas and enthusiasms as well as the ability to pronounce. In a city so wonderfully located as Portland, a city where almost every geographical feature and type is before the eyes of teacher and children, and in a wonderfully fine form, we should also expect to find the instruction in geography rich in its con- tent, closely correlated with the nature study work, and among the best taught of all the elementary school subjects. The instruction in history we should expect to find closely correlated with reading and literature in the early grades, and rich in story and biography, but gradually separating it- n8 The Portland Survey self as a study, so that by the fifth or sixth grade an ele- mentary history text might be in the hands of the pupils. Good instruction in drawing and music should also be pro- vided. Science In a Western city such as Portland, one whose whole fu- ture promises to be colored by the inventions and discoveries of science and by agriculture, we should also expect to find a course of study rich in instruction in the elements of many sciences. Such work should be found in every grade of the elementary school, from the first to the last, and in the upper grades it ought to culminate in rather specific instruction in agriculture and in general science. School gardening should be very prominent in the instruction of a school system lo- cated, as in Portland, in the very heart of one of the richest agricultural regions of the United States. Good instruction in domestic science and homework for girls, and in manual training for boys, should also be prominent features in the work of the upper grades of a course of study for such a city. Individual Differences The school system of such a city, too, should recognize the great differences which exist among children, and par- ticularly the great differentiations in aptitudes which begin to be marked after about twelve or thirteen years of age. To meet such needs best, a series of intermediate schools might be provided with advantage. For a city such as Port- land, with its large residential class of means, its large busi- ness and working middle class, its home-building foreign population of good stock, and its poor and poorly-housed element, small now but certain to increase rapidly, differ- entiations in instruction for the upper years of the elemen- tary school ought to be provided. For some the opportunity to take up a foreign language and other mathematics than arithmetic ought to be provided. For others what is known Educational Needs 119 as pre-vocational training, the nature of which is further ex- plained in Chapters IX and X, should be given. Manual training and the home-keeping arts should be emphasized for others. Music, drawing, constructive art work, and dra- matic expression should also be included. In such a city, too, one ought to expect to find smaller classes to the teacher than in eastern cities of larger school population and much smaller per capita wealth. This, in turn, should enable the schools to provide differentiations based on capacity and needs, and an excellent quality of in- struction. In such a city, too, one should find ungraded rooms and special classes for those needing such attention. In addition, in a city of a quarter of a million inhabitants, one would expect to find special classes provided for the seri- ously anaemic, the tubercular, those of defective speech, the overaged and backward, the defective, the deaf, and per- haps the blind. It is a waste of money and energy to try to teach such children in classes with normal children, and it also is not fair to them or to normal children. Play activi- ties should also be emphasized, good health supervision should be provided, and good instruction in hygienic living should be given in the schools. An educational system which is conscious of its social mission is engaged in far more than mere instruction; its purpose is so to use in- struction as to do the most possible for every boy and girl under its care. Finally, we should expect such a school system to cover this rich course of instruction in eight years of time, save as large a percentage as possible from dropping out before the completion of the course, and get its pupils into high school work by the age of fourteen to fifteen. 120 The Portland Survey 2. SECONDARY EDUCATION Vocational education of a number of types should be available for those completing the elementary course and not desiring to enter the regulation high school course. Such in- struction should involve the home-keeping arts for girls, some of the trades for boys, and certain lines of specialized work in drawing and of business work for both. In addi- tion, a wide range of high school education should be avail- able for all, and this should be made so varied and so thor- ough that a large percentage of those finishing the elemen- tary school course would feel the necessity of going on and graduating from some one of the high school courses before beginning their life work. To make this the case the high school instruction should relate itself closely to the needs of the city itself. College Preparatory Subjects In such a business and residential city as Portland, with many beautiful homes and many attractive cottages, a people of good native stock, and a people of much means and means well distributed, there will naturally be a large and a constant demand for instruction in the older types of col- lege preparatory subjects the languages, history, English, mathematics, and the older sciences. These we should ex- pect to find offered in a number of the high schools and taught in the best manner and by the best teachers obtain- able. To meet growing civic needs, good instruction in economics and American history should be provided as well. Technical Courses For those desiring a general education, but of a more technical type, good instruction in courses of a polytechnic nature mathematics, the physical sciences, drawing, and shop work for the boys, and drawing, art work, the sciences, Educational Needs 121 and the home-keeping arts for the girls should also be provided. A good manual arts course, including instruction in electricity, machine-shop work, plumbing and sanitary engineering, the printing and bookbinding trades, millinery, dressmaking, and designing of many kinds, might also be provided with advantage. Whether taught in special high schools, or offered in each of the general or so-called cos- mopolitan high schools, we might reasonably expect to find such instruction provided, in one form or the other, in a city of such a character as Portland. Commercial and Agricultural High Schools Two other prominent needs of such a city as Portland, located as it is and with its large future just ahead of it, are the best quality of instruction in commerce and in agri- culture. The commercial business of Portland, and not manufacturing, will probably ever be its prime interest, and agriculture will be its second largest interest and source of income. Properly to meet such present and future needs, we might reasonably expect such a city to maintain, in ad- dition to the more general commercial courses, a commer- cial high school of the first rank, where careful preparation could be made to meet the large and increasing commercial needs of the city. Besides offering an excellent form of education, such a school would give large financial returns to the business interests of the community. The trade of Portland is certain to expand rapidly as population in- creases, and the merchants of Portland should have at hand the best training available for their business work. The same is equally true of agricultural instruction. An agricultural high school of the best class, in which all the in- struction was developed from an agricultural standpoint, would offer instruction to young people of high educational value, would direct many of them into useful and profitable life careers, and would be a paying investment for the business interests of the city as well. 122 The Portland Survey 3. PUBLIC SCHOOL EXTENSION We have only recently begun to extend the school to meet the various needs of our people, and, except for providing night schools, which have been maintained generally for many years, most cities have as yet done little to meet the needs of their people. On the other hand, many of our wealthier cities have made very commendable beginnings, and it is only a question of time until all will be forced to do so. A generation hence public education will be a much more important undertaking than it is today. Such work ought to include evening high schools, especially of the vo- cational type; evening elementary schools, of a type differ- ent from the day schools, for the instruction of foreigners in our language and form of political life and for instruction in applied science and art; evening lectures and scientific demonstrations, covering a wide range of subjects, for adults ; summer schools for the more energetic and summer vocational schools of various types ; and well-directed play- grounds, open all summer, after school hours, and on Sun- days and holidays, with attendants in charge not only to direct the play, but also to give particular attention to in- dividual needs in the line of health and physical develop- ment. Portland's Special Educational Opportunity The laws of the state of Oregon require that all children in the state, unless excused for certain specified reasons, " between and including the ages of nine and fifteen years of age," shall attend a public school for the full time such public school is held in the district. This is interpreted to mean that all children must enter school by the time they are nine, at latest, and must remain in school until they reach their sixteenth birthday. The schools of Portland are in session ten months in the year, and children usually enter at six or seven years of age. This gives Portland an unusual Educational Needs 123 opportunity to ensure the proper education of all her future citizens. In a community such as Portland, composed of excellent stock, largely American, and with but few foreign-born children in the schools, a city of intelligence, and with wealth sufficient to provide for any educational needs, a quiet, law- abiding community, and a city offering few opportunities for children to work in mills or manufacturing establish- ments, it ought to be possible to put practically every child in the community through a six-years' elementary and a three-years' intermediate school course, and not only to offer to such children good instruction in the fundamentals of learning, but to offer some pre-vocational opportunities and instruction for all as well. Nothing less than this ought to be the aim and the ambition of the school authorities of the district, and the instruction and the promotional rate ought to be shaped to this end. We should expect to find, then, every reasonable provision to facilitate the progress of the children through the grades ; no large number of repeaters or over-age children in the grades, and no marked falling off of children after the sixth grade, as is common in many other cities. Such is an outline of what a city of the size, wealth, social composition, political importance, and commercial future of Portland might reasonably be expected to provide for its children and for its citizens. In the next chapter the educational offering of the city, elementary and secondary, is stated, from which one who reads can see to what extent the city school system measures up to what might reasonably be expected of "ft. Following this, in Chapters IX, X, and XI, the needed changes and additions are outlined and a constructive pro- gram for the city is set forth. While there are slight dupli- cations in Chapters IX and XI as to recommended improve- ments, it has seemed best to retain such, as the recommenda- tions come from two city superintendents of schools whose school systems are noted for their efficient work. CHAPTER VIII 1 THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY INSTRUCTION PREFATORY NOTE: The part of 'this report contained in this and the follow- ing chapter is based on annual reports, courses of study, rules and regulations of the Portland schools, together with a personal study of the schools in opera- tion, from April 7 to April 24, including many conferences with principals, teachers, Superintendent, assistant superintendents, and members of the Board of School Directors. In the personal study of the schools it was thought prefer- able to devote all of the limited time to a few schools, that might be considered typical, rather than to divide the time among all the schools. Carrying out this pkn, the following schools were studied: the three high schools, one day being devoted to each; the School of Trades, one forenoon; the School for the Deaf, one short afternoon; the School for Defectives, a part of one morning; the Brooklyn School, one forenoon; the Highland School, one full day; the Arleta School, one full day; the Glencoe School, one morning; the Holladay School, one full day; the Couch School, one forenoon; the Failing School, one fore- noon; and the Shattuck School, one afternoon. The inspection of the work of the elementary schools was so planned that some exercises were seen in all subjects; in the principal subjects reading, language, arithmetic, geog- raphy, and history exercises were seen in every grade of each subject, and usually in more than one class, sometimes in several classes of a grade. Conferences of one to three hours were held with the principal of each one of the schools studied. At these conferences searching inquiry was made into the purpose, work, difficulties, and shortcomings of the school, from the stand- point of the principal. Such is approximately the scope of the studies on which this section of this critical report is based. This is made known at the outset, so that one reading this section of the report may judge for himself of the reliability and justifica- tion of generalizations that are obviously based largely or wholly on personal investigation of the schools at work. The facts that the studies of all the ele- mentary schools, after the first one visited, revealed nothing of fundamental importance that was not evident in the first school, but served to confirm the chief characteristics of that first school; that several principals volunteered the assurance that to know one Portland grammar school was to know them 1 Chapters VIII and DC were written by Superintendent F. E. Spaulding. EDITOR. 124 Elementary and Secondary Instruction 125 all; and that the study of the Portland school system from every standpoint warrants the expectation of uniformity, seem to me to justify the belief that further studies would show that all generalizations made in this section may safely be accepted as reliable. Nevertheless, should anyone, particularly any- one conversant with all the Portland schools, contend that any generalization here made, which is chiefly based on conditions found in the schools studied, is not true of the schools as a whole, I should not argue the point, for I have had no opportunity to know anything through personal investigation of the work of three fourths of the Portland schools. F. E. SPAULDING. RIGIDITY OF THE SYSTEM r THE most fundamental principle observed in the present conduct of the Portland school system is the main- tenance unchanged of a rigidly prescribed, mechanical sys- tem, poorly adapted to the needs either of the children or of the community. The universal practice whether ap- proved or disapproved by those participating in it is en- listed in the maintenance of a rigid, minutely and mechani- cally prescribed system of instruction, organization, admin- istration, supervision, examination, and inspection. Any change in this elaborate mechanism meets with resistance, positive as well as negative. So far as this system is adapted at any point to the actual needs of the individual children and youth that come under it, so far as it is adapted to the needs of the community for adequately trained recruits to serve the community, the adaptation is accidental not the result of intelligence now operative at that point. School board and superintendent, as well as principals, teachers, and pupils, are victims of the system for which no one is primarily responsible. So far as we have been able to learn, the spirit and fundamental outlines of this rigid, mechanical system antedate the beginnings of the services of those now longest connected with the schools. No single individual, no single group or class of individuals, at present within or without the school system, can fairly be held re- sponsible, either primarily or chiefly, for the system as it today exists. Of course, the seat of the authority that 126 The Portland Survey maintains and that has long maintained this system, is to be found somewhere in the school board, in the superin- tendent and his assistants; but the school board, the super- intendent and his assistants, are today manifestly the vic- tims, whether willing or unwilling, of the system that they help to maintain, just as truly, if not as fully, as is every principal, teacher, and pupil in the schools. And these offi- cials will continue to be the voluntary or involuntary serv- ants of a system for which it ought to be possible to hold someone primarily and chiefly responsible, so long as au- thority is merely " seated somewhere " among them ; au- thority and corresponding responsibility must be definitely centered, as has been pointed out in Chapter III, as a pri- mary condition of the escape of any or all from the uni- versally oppressive incubus of the present system. Did the solution of the local educational problem lie in the maintenance of a rigidly uniform, mechanical system of instruction, we should have only commendation for the system that prevails here. We have never known another mechanical school system that was worked out and carried out so logically, so consistently, and so completely. Per- sonally, those who are earnestly maintaining this system are deserving of much credit for hard, painstaking work, and for loyalty to the system. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WHOLLY CONSTRUCTIVE In attempting to evaluate Portland's present educational activities, it is apparent that we shall have to deal primarily with this long-established, mechanical system, which is the one universally and overwhelmingly dominant factor, and to study the effects of this system in the principal phases of local educational effort. We shall have to do only inci- dentally with the personalities of those who now chance to be engaged in maintaining this system. Whenever refer- ence is made to individuals, such reference must be under- stood to be purely impersonal. Elementary and Secondary Instruction 127 Let it also be understood that our sole purposes in setting forth the inadequacies and the positive defects of the present system are, first, to make apparent to everyone, especially to those now directly involved in the maintenance of that system, the necessity of breaking the system's benumbing power ; and, second, to prepare the way for an appreciative understanding of those principles and ideals of intelligent procedure that will be advocated in place of the present mechanism. The purpose of our critical study is wholly constructive ; it is destructive only incidentally and unavoid- ably. The Nature of Portland's Mechanical and Uniform Sys- tem its Effects and its Defects The system, so far as it is revealed within the schools, centers in the course of study, and consists largely of the course of study and of the means and methods employed in carrying out that course of study. Table XIV shows the scope and arrangement of the present elementary curricu- lum ; more than that, it appropriately suggests, but scarcely exaggerates, the mechanism that attends the adminis- tration of this curriculum, almost from the beginning to the end. For the sake of clearness, the elementary and the high school work will be studied separately. The Elementary Curriculum Vivisected into Fifty-four Dead Pieces As indicated by the Roman numerals in Table XIV, the elementary curriculum is first divided into nine parts, or grades ; then each of these grades is halved, as shown by the letters A and B ; finally, each half grade is divided into three parts, numbered in order. Thus at the outset is the ele- mentary curriculum, that should be instinct with life in the 128 The Portland Survey minds of principals, teachers, and pupils, vivisected with mechanical accuracy into fifty-four dead pieces. This is no mere figure of speech ; nor does the mechanical dismember- ment of the curriculum exist merely in the diagram which the author of this study has drawn. The city's published course of study, the system of examinations, the scheme of advancing pupils, the method and spirit of the supervision or inspection, and finally the actual work in the school- rooms, all, in perfect mechanical harmony, reveal a dead, fifty-four times disjointed curriculum. What is a Living Curriculum ? We shall examine critically, in some detail, the contents of this dead curriculum, and the chief means of administer- ing it ; but first, let us consider for a moment this one char- acteristic of death, as contrasted with that of life, in a cur- riculum. A living curriculum, while it may be, for the most part should be, broadly outlined on paper, has its real ex- istence in the minds of teachers, principals, and supervisors ; it is plastic and adaptable, constantly undergoing changes in emphasis of its various parts, even to the elimination of some entirely and the substitution of others, as the sym- pathetically studied needs of the particular children to be taught seem to require; the living curriculum ministers practically to the ever and almost infinitely varying needs of boys and girls, no two of whom were made alike or des- tined to be made alike; the living curriculum serves as readily and as well the child whose mental processes depend on concrete things, as that one who readily grasps abstract ideas; the living curriculum serves the present needs of every pupil, whether those needs be the preparation for the next steps that will lead in due time through a college pre- paratory course to college, university, and a professional career, or whether those needs are for skill of hand that will enable a youth to support himself honorably, within a year, by rendering some worthy service to the community. Elementary and Secondary Instruction 129 PQ PQ. f fl PQ PQ --* N -^ "^ -8 261 2CC I O4. 778 18 to 19 C7 116 1 7O 2OO fAI 19 to 20 2O as 62 I2.O 24 C 20 to 21 M 6 10 7" II 7 . 21 tO 22 2 I 6 21 71 22 tO 23 i 4 c 23 to 24 o 24 to 25 I I 2 Totals 1,141 890 668 een 3,2";8 Average Age of Class . Number over 19 Years (College Age) . . . Per Cent, of Whole No. 1 15 years, 1 8 months 36 3-2 16 years, 1 1 months 40 4-5 17 years, 10 months 88 13.2 20 years, 8 months 231 41-3 395 12. 1 Necessary Treatment and Study of Over-age Pupils All these children should be carefully studied to deter- mine the cause, or causes, of their condition ; then, as far as necessary, they should be organized into separate classes, into separate types of classes, so that they may receive the treatment that their condition requires. Such separate clas- sification for the very large majority of these over-age chil- dren, for practically all of those who are two or more years over age will undoubtedly be found necessary, not only in Outline of Educational Program 191 i O O OO O to M H IO COO IO t- O to 3\ M f l>- O O O O HI O W CN t>-O OO CO N O ff 10 co co co M O 00 N H (N a a o S s 73 > ttj ^. pfl ^ 3 O O . > o to O O t"~ OO ^ bO M H VO M M H CS H en j3 o la n 2 3 feb-o M g >; a S =3 . co O O H 10 ^~ ooo 't ^ rl-00 t>. O co to *i- O O 10 co ^ 5 -3, 2 CO H H 'T H H I MO IO IN MO HI H HI 3-H? co c* co 10 O O H H H H H H IO t>- H O CO N 00 10 HI H 01 W | " a v 3 fc u 81 . 2 o a 3 u O CO HI IO H O O t^ H O M O H l" O v> M CO M CO M * * <* " B 3 >> w a w H HI O O &.S V ** II fl a HO O OO t-*> H H JOU, O O H co to co H H M H M N \o ^* 000 rJ-00 N * CO H VO O 2% S S 6 HI .-3 . ft ^ o a & .3 ^ "H 8 3 M * a ttf JS V pq R H ^ .. S & Q O 5 "^ H M 10 O 00 O TfOO * M C4 H H H M O w Q\ CO O VOOO co to CO CO M O N JS o S ill 5 2. ft ^ri f 1 _a 8 3 5 a o o -S "8 1 O 4J H ** S S 9 . rt ^ 6-3 gO H -^ *a 0? S JS (j) "Q *j *o o o O ^2 rf *O !H ^ H Q ID M D ^ & ^2 ~ O 13 13 e - "" G M* "oU 'oCJ oO H |5 , i 41 4> t- ^5^ oT-*-" (3 BJi =3 81 c S'*3 -. 202 The Portland Survey priate to each of these four stages of progress will be outlined and its adaptation to different types of pupils indicated. 1 I. THE KINDERGARTEN For children at the kindergarten stage, that is, from four up to, but not including, six years of age, no form of in- struction has yet been worked out that has proved so suit- able as that which goes under the name of kindergarten. While a considerable variety of procedure is now found bearing this general label, the same purpose, fundamental characteristics, and general methods are found in all kin- dergartens, and are too well known to need any detailed de- scription here. The provision of kindergarten instruction as a part of the public school system is chiefly confined to cities and the larger centers of population ; it is almost unknown in rural districts. In the cities and larger centers, it is much more common in the East than in any other part of the country, though perhaps no city in the United States has made a more conspicuous success in providing kindergarten in- struction than has the city of Los Angeles. There can be no longer any question of the value of kindergarten instruction as the first stage in city public school systems ; its value has been demonstrated abundantly during a period of more than twenty-five years. ^ Five Thousand Children of Kindergarten Age According to the latest census figures, there are in the Portland school district somewhat over 5,000 children of kindergarten age. Were kindergartens opened all over the city, so as to be accessible to all these children, it is scarcely probable that more than 60 per cent, of them would be enrolled at any time, and the maximum enrollment might not exceed 50 or even 40 per cent. Although 1 See also Chapter XI. Outline of Educational Program 203 eligible for admission at four, many would not enter until five or even older, in time to get a year or half-year of kin- dergarten instruction before entering the grades, while others would pass by the kindergarten entirely. The con- tinuance in membership of those enrolled would also prove much less permanent than that in the grades. Hence, tak- ing these things into consideration, and comparing the ex- perience of places in which the kindergarten is a part of the school system, the above outside estimate of a membership of 60 per cent, of the possible maximum that is, a mem- bership of 3,000 seems to be liberal, with 50 per cent., or 2,500, probably nearer what experience would demonstrate. This membership might be considerably, though not pro- portionately, reduced by requiring an age of four and one half, or even of five years, as a condition of admission. Cost of Kindergarten Instruction Assuming that the salaries paid kindergarten teachers, specially trained, such as it would be necessary to employ, were approximately on the same basis as the salaries now paid primary grade teachers, the annual cost per kinder- garten pupil might be somewhat more or considerably less than the cost per grade pupil, depending upon the plans on which the kindergartens were conducted. Two teachers, a head kindergartner and an assistant, can instruct a class of forty to fifty kindergarten children as efficiently as can a single grade teacher a class of thirty-five or forty pupils. A single session of two and one half hours is sufficient for kindergarten children. Teachers may be required to teach only a single session and a single group of children in a day, devoting the free half-day to the prepa- ration of work and to making acquaintance with the mothers and the home life of their pupils, or they may be required to teach two sessions, with a different set of children at each session. Both plans are in use, but the former is far preferable. 2O4 The Portland Survey With the assistant receiving a salary one half to two thirds that of the head kindergartner, as would be appro- priate, and with kindergartners teaching only one group of children each day, the cost of instruction per kindergarten pupil would be more probably about 30 per cent, more, on the average than the cost of instruction per grade pupil. With kindergartners teaching two groups of pupils per day, other conditions remaining the same, the cost per kindergarten pupil would be probably 35 per cent, less, on the average, than the cost per grade pupil. The task of the kindergartner teaching a single session is unquestionably somewhat lighter than that of the grade teacher who teaches two sessions, each as long as the kin- dergartner's single session; while the task of the kinder- gartner teaching two full sessions is probably somewhat more trying than is that of the grade teacher. Were this plan of having kindergartners teach two sessions adopted, it might be well to reduce to two hours the length of the afternoon session, which should then be devoted to the younger children. Whether kindergarten teachers conduct two sessions or one, the same rooms, as far as practicable, should be used for two sessions daily ; this is in the interest of the econom- ical use of the school plant. Kindergartens to be Provided Eventually, after Making Other Provisions Now More Important and Pressing To make kindergarten instruction available for all chil- dren of the district of kindergarten age is a practical ideal which the public should approve, and toward which the school authorities may well work as rapidly as provision for other and more pressing interests will permit. Kindergar- tens are not of equal importance in all parts of the city. Where home conditions are unfavorable, in the more con- gested districts, where the opportunities for outdoor play under wholesome conditions are restricted, there the kin- Outline of Educational Program 205 dergarten will render its largest service; and in such sec- tions it should be established first. 'But the establishment of kindergartens, even in such sections as these, should wait on the provision of extensive, varied, and relatively expen- sive opportunities for the more efficient education of at least 4,000 youth now in the schools, and of an equally large number who have left the schools because of the lack of instruction suited to their needs. 2. ELEMENTARY INSTRUCTION The subjects of instruction appropriate to the elementary stage of education, covering normally six grades and six years, and to be pursued, for the most part, by children from six to twelve years of age, are the following: 1. The language arts (a) Reading (b) Writing (c) Spelling and composition, oral and written 2. Arithmetic 3. Geography 4. History of the United States 5. Hygiene, physical training, and physiology 6. Drawing, and elementary manual training 7. Nature study 8. Vocal music In the above list, there can be little question that the first two subjects, the language arts and arithmetic, are placed in the order of their relative importance for practically all chil- dren. With some little hesitancy, geography and history are given third and fourth places respectively ; regarding the relative importance of the four remaining subjects there may well be differences of opinion, and even of fact, de- pending upon circumstances. With the exception of his- tory, all the subjects here scheduled are included in the 206 The Portland Survey present course of study for the first six grades. Sufficient time for this subject might well be taken from the present allotment to physiology, two hours and five minutes per week, which is excessive. The desirability of important variations from present practices, respecting both the content and methods of treat- ment of principal subjects, have already been implied in the criticisms of the present course of study and methods of instruction given in the preceding chapter. Only a brief positive outline of the principal contents and methods of treatment of these subjects need be given here. The Language Arts The several language arts should be closely correlated with each other, much more closely than seems to be the present prevailing practice. The learning of these arts should also be much more closely correlated with other sub- jects, especially with geography, history, nature study, and drawing. Reading should involve not merely the learning to read fluently and intelligently, which is now admirably achieved in the first two or three grades, but the reading of a large amount of good literature, the formation of taste for good reading, and the habit of reading with discrimi- nation. From three to four times as many books as are now prescribed for the nine grades can well be read and studied thoroughly in six grades. The use of language in written composition involves pen- manship, spelling, and a practical knowledge of correct lan- guage forms, chiefly punctuation and capitalization. But all these forms are merely means to an end the effective and accurate expression of ideas and feelings and should be so taught and so learned. This means that content should always be dominant, form subordinate, in all in- struction in composition. Only in subordination to content does form possess any real value. This is as true in oral as in written composition. Outline of Educational Program 207 The Essentials of Arithmetic The essentials of arithmetic involve merely the mastery of the four fundamental operations in the use of whole numbers and fractions, common and decimal. The process of acquiring this mastery should be made as concrete as possible, through the use of suitable objects and graphic illustrations. Constant and abundant applications of num- ber and arithmetical processes should be made in the solu- tion of problems whose facts and conditions come within the familiar experience of pupils ; this work should involve practical knowledge of the standard tables of measurement in general use. Beyond the foregoing, the only work in arithmetic that is desirable in this elementary stage of edu- cation and this by no means essential at this time is a practical understanding of that form of decimals known as percentage, and some practice in the applications of per- centage to simple problems in interest, taxes, and discounts. Practical Geography The geography of this elementary period should have to do primarily with the United States, particularly with the great Northwest and the Pacific Coast ; secondarily with the world, with most attention to those countries and peoples with whom we have, or are soon to have, the closest com- mercial relations Canada, the countries of Europe, South and Central America, Japan, and China. This subject should develop naturally, out of much first-hand study of the wealth of geographic phenomena of Portland and vicinity beginning in the third, even to some extent, in connection with nature study, in the second grade, and continuing throughout every grade. This study should be made prac- tical, concrete, and comprehensible to the children through the use of abundant illustrative material, pictures, and speci- mens, and also through the reading of geographical read- ers, as well as through the study of regular texts. No other subject possesses greater possibilities of interest. 208 The Portland Survey Historical Biography During this elementary period, every child should become familiar with the names and learn something of the lives and achievements of the great characters, men and women, who have played the leading parts in the history of our country. Through the study of these characters, much will be learned of the significant events and movements in our country's development. This study should begin, even in the lowest grades, with stories of the great historic char- acters Columbus, Boone, Washington, Lincoln, and a score of others. Easy historical readers, of which there are a few good ones, may be used in the third and fourth grades, but should not entirely supersede oral stories. Suitable for fifth and sixth grades, there are several good books that combine successfully biography and a systematic presenta- tion of the most important features of our country's history. Nature Study, Hygiene, and Other Subjects Nature study, based entirely upon the direct observation of natural phenomena, and closely correlated with school gardening, geography, drawing, literature, and composi- tion, should receive some attention in every grade. As was pointed out in Chapter VII, a course rich in the ele- ments of the different sciences, and culminating in specific instruction in agriculture and general science in the upper grades, should be marked features of the elementary school work in Portland. The importance and character of instruction to be given in hygiene and physical training is discussed in Chapter XIV, pages 361 to 363, and will not be taken up here. The remaining elementary subjects drawing, sewing, cooking, school gardening, manual work, and vocal music are treated separately in Chapter X, and for the same reason will not be considered here. Outline of Educational Program 209 The Desirable and the Essential Distinguished The subjects of study briefly outlined above are those best suited to occupy the attention of the large majority of children from six to twelve years of age ; some will be ready to pass on to the next, the intermediate stage of education, a little earlier; others will need to continue a little longer in this elementary stage. The subjects here outlined form the best, and, to a certain extent, the essential basis for the work of the intermediate stage. But only to a certain ex- tent are these subjects essential; indeed, only a knowledge of the language arts and of arithmetic, and that not as thorough or as extensive as was outlined above, is essential in preparation for successful work of the intermediate stage. Provided these barest essentials have been acquired, even quite imperfectly, a child should not be kept on this ele- mentary work long after the normal age for taking up in- termediate work has been reached that is, not beyond thirteen, or, in extreme cases of immaturity, fourteen years of age. 3. THE INTERMEDIATE STAGE With the intermediate stage of education, to be entered upon normally by the majority of children at twelve, by some a year earlier, by others a year later, come the obvious beginnings of differentiation. The children have been dif- ferentiating themselves throughout the elementary stage; they have been manifesting and developing their individual capacities and interests; the term of compulsory schooling will soon be completed ; the question of the probable future arises, and should be raised seriously, concerning each child. While no attempt should be made at this stage to predict definitely, much less to determine, the future of any child, it requires but the exercise of common sense to see at least the general direction in which the future of many children must lie. Such indications of differentiating needs as now begin to 2io The Portland Survey manifest themselves demand corresponding beginnings of differentiation in the subject-matter and method of instruc- tion. Instead of a single course, which all pupils must pur- sue entire, there should be now offered several courses, iden- tical or similar in respect to at least one half their content, but distinctly differentiated in respect to a single subject, or a small group of allied subjects. Each of these courses should consist of three grades, and should involve normally three years' work. While they should all be planned to lead into the still further differentiated courses of the secondary period, certain of them should be so immediately practical that pupils terminating their schooling with the completion of the compulsory attendance period, which corresponds with the normal completion of this intermediate stage, would be equipped with a considerable degree of specific preparation for definite service. The intermediate courses, leading directly into secondary courses similar to the present high school courses, would cover work equivalent to that of the first high school year, as at present arranged. This arrangement reduces by one grade the length of the present grade and high school courses, and shortens the school work from thirteen to twelve years. The equivalent of a grade can be readily and most advantageously saved by eliminating a considerable portion of the abstract arithmetic, and nearly all of the tech- nical grammar, subjects which now consume one third of the time, and much more than one third of the energy, of both pupils and teachers in the three higher grammar grades. Literary and P re-vocational Courses Courses appropriate to this intermediate period are of two general types, which may be designated as literary and pre-vocational. As these names suggest, those of the former type are more abstract, bookish, and theoretical, while those of the latter are more concrete and immediately practical. The literary courses are more closely allied, in Outline of Educational Program 211 content and method, to the present grammar and the first year of the literary high school courses. The subjects composing the literary courses should be as follows : * 1. English: Literature, written and oral composi- tion, and the elements of grammar 2. Mathematics: Arithmetic, algebra, geometry 3. History: A more thorough study of United States history than that provided for the elementary period; also a study of European history, especially English, in its closer relations to the history of the United States; two years 4. Civics: Government of city, state, and nation; one year 5. Geography: Continued one year from the ele- mentary period 6. Elementary science: A continuation and system- atization of the nature study of the elementary period 7. Current events 8. Hygiene : Personal and community hygiene ; also physical training 9. Languages: A modern language; two or three years 10. Drawing: Free-hand and mechanical n. Manual training 12. Household arts : Sewing and cooking 13. Vocal music Work Adapted to Individual Needs Of this rather formidable array of subjects, it should be noted that civics and geography are scheduled for one year 1 See also the outlines for general, commercial, and vocational courses, printed in Chapter XI. 212 The Portland Survey only, with history, and possibly the modern language, for two years only; while to each of several other subjects, as elementary science, current events, hygiene, drawing, man- ual training, household arts, and vocal music, not more than two exercises per week should be given. Moreover, no in- dividual pupil should be held, contrary to his best interests, to the study of all these subjects ; on the other hand, some specialization in accordance with a pupil's talents, interests, or probable future, should be permitted and encouraged. For example, not all pupils pursuing a literary course should take up a modern language ; not everyone should necessarily take either manual training or household arts; even the whole course in mathematics might well be omitted by some ; while still others might devote more than the average time to any one of these or of the other subjects. The subjects here indicated should be used to serve the individual inter- ests of pupils. The prime object of this stage of education is that every pupil in it be taught most effectively ; not that this, or any other array of subjects, be mastered by every pupil. It is entirely feasible to conduct a school in this way. To be sure, it cannot be done by routine; the exact work of every pupil cannot be predetermined years in advance. To educate pupils intelligently, not merely to see that the pre- determined school mechanism runs smoothly, requires the constant study, thought, and wise judgment of both teach- ers and principals. But study, thought, judgment, and the assumption of educational responsibility ought to be funda- mental in the demands made upon everyone immediately concerned in the education of children and youth. Purpose of the P re-vocational Courses The pre-vocational courses appropriate to this interme- diate period should serve two ends, not dissimilar in their demands: (i) they should prepare for the vocational courses of the secondary period those pupils who continue Outline of Educational Program 213 in school beyond the intermediate period; and (2) they should give those pupils who conclude their schooling 1 with this period some practical and definite preparation for en- trance into some particular field of usefulness. These pre- vocational courses should be distinguished from each other, as well as from the literary courses, by the immediate prac- tical study which should be prominent in each one of them. These practical studies, to meet Portland's needs, should look toward at least five radically different types of service, as follows : 1. Commercial (a) Clerical service, involving bookkeeping and typewriting (b) Selling 2. Manufacturing and mechanical (a) Woodworking trades particularly gen- eral carpentry and cabinet-making (b) Metal-working trades (c) Electrical trades . (d) Sewing trades 3. Agricultural 4. Home-making 5. Printing and bookbinding Preparation looking toward the above five general types of service will give rise to at least five pre-vocational courses, and may give rise to several more. Each one of these pre-vocational courses will involve the study of the following subjects, made concrete and practical and corre- lated with the practical subject that distinguishes the course : 1. English: Composition and literature 2. Mathematics: Chiefly arithmetic, applied 3. Geography and history : With particular reference to commerce and industry 214 The Portland Survey 4. Civics: Government of city, state, and nation 5. Drawing: Mechanical, free-hand, design 6. Hygiene and physical training 7. Elementary science 8. Current events Pupils' Capacities and Interests Tested in the Intermediate Stage In addition to serving definitely the varied needs of indi- vidual boys and girls, as these have become evident previous to entrance upon this intermediate period, the variety and range of instruction offered in the literary and pre-voca- tional courses of this period should serve to test the interests and to bring out the special capacities of most of those pu- pils whose educational needs have not previously declared themselves, so that when the work of the secondary period is reached, it will be possible to determine intelligently, in the case of most pupils, what their secondary course of study should be. While considerable beginnings in differ- entiation have been made in this intermediate period, so much of the instruction has been essentially common to all the courses the English, arithmetic, history, and geog- raphy that any pupil whose capacity and interest make it advisable can change his course at any time during this intermediate period, or even at the beginning of the second- ary period, and adjust himself without great difficulty to any other course that promises greater benefit to him. 4. THE SECONDARY SCHOOL Secondary Instruction Determined by Length of Time Pupil Will Continue in School The instruction of the secondary period must carry much further the differentiation begun in the intermediate period, in order to meet the further differentiated needs of the Outline of Educational Program 215 youth of this secondary period. The length of time that a pupil will probably continue in school now becomes one of the most important considerations in determining what that pupil's instruction should be. Indeed, because the probable length of a pupil's schooling is usually, to a large extent, the resultant of that pupil's capacity and interests, as well as of his economic circumstances, this factor of time may safely be given first consideration in determining, in a gen- eral way, the character of the course of instruction that will prove most beneficial. Preparatory and Vocational Courses of Wide Range Hence it is that the wide range of secondary courses of instruction, adequate to the diverse needs of thousands of youth in this secondary period, naturally fall into two groups, which may be designated respectively as preparatory and vocational. The former group of courses, as their sug- gested designation implies, should prepare for admission to the work of higher institutions colleges, universities, nor- mal schools, and other schools for advanced special train- ing those students who are to continue their education be- yond this secondary period. The latter group of courses, the vocational, should prepare for immediate, definite serv- ice through a wide range of specifically practical in- struction, adapted on the one hand to the wide range of individual capacity and interest, and on the other to the di- versified needs of the community those whose schooling is to terminate with this secondary period. All complete courses of this period should be so planned as to call normally for three years of work. Yet they should be flexible enough in arrangement and administra- tion to meet individual capacity and conditions, especially permitting and encouraging part-time work, where circum- stances make this necessary, and in such cases extending over a longer period than three years. The vocational courses should be so arranged that pupils who leave them at 216 Tlie Portland Survey any point, of necessity or othenvise, will find themselves prepared, in proportion to the time and effort that they have so far devoted to their training, to render service in their chosen field. Content and Purpose of Preparatory Courses The content of the preparatory courses will be determined by the admission requirements imposed by the higher insti- tutions for whose work these courses are to prepare. Such institutions generally are now tending, much more than a few years ago, to make their requirements quite general, leaving to secondary schools, and to candidates seeking ad- mission, much discretion regarding the combination of sub- jects to be studied. However, to meet general requirements of admission to these higher institutions and to afford a range of subjects suited to the varying capacities and inter- ests of pupils, it will be necessary that the following five distinct fields of study be provided in the preparatory courses and that the preparation of any individual pupil consist chiefly of work within these fields : 1. English: Literature and composition 2. Mathematics: Algebra, geometry, and trigonom- etry 3. Science: Physics, chemistry, and the biological sciences 4. History: Ancient, medieval, modern, American 5. Languages : Modern languages and Latin Instruction in mechanical and free-hand drawing and de- sign, manual training, and household arts should also be provided. All the above fields and subjects of study are now in- cluded in the high school curriculum. By selecting and combining in varying proportions from these subjects, an indefinite number of " courses " may be made, as the present Outline of Educational Program 217 so-called English, Latin, German, scientific, and college preparatory courses have been made. The making of such courses should be largely individual, and determined merely by convenience ; they should aid and not hinder the adapta- tion of work to the individual needs of every pupil. In practice there must be as many " courses " as there are pu- pils. True, many of these " courses " will be identical ; but identity of courses should always arise as a resultant of adapting work to individual needs; it should never be a primary fact to which pupils must adjust themselves. 1 Courses of Study Must Change Constantly The range of instruction that has been outlined to meet the educational needs of the children and youth in the dif- ferent stages of their growth must be taken as only roughly, approximately, and temporarily adequate. Indeed, these outlines may well be considered as merely tentative and suggestive. It is not for anyone, either without or within a school system, to determine in detail the subjects of in- struction and the combination of such subjects; this must be the inalienable and unceasing function of teachers, prin- cipals, supervisors, and superintendent, working together to understand and to meet the ever-varying needs of their pupils, to fit them for the ever-varying demands of society for worthy service. Courses of study must be constantly changing. A fixed course of study is indisputable evidence of the neglect or surrender of the primary function of a true teacher the discriminating education of individuality. Promotion Must be Determined Not by What a Pupil Has Learned, but by What He Needs to Learn Just as the present scheme of promotion in the elementary schools, in complete harmony with the rigidly mechanical, all-dominating system, grows naturally, almost inevitably, 1 For a further discussion of the vocational courses, see Chapters X and XI. 218 The Portland Survey out of that system, so the advancement of pupils from grade to grade and from stage to stage in the educational program that has been here outlined must be in harmony with the principles underlying this program. The most fundamental principle of all, in this connection, is that instruction, both in content and in method, must be adapted to pupils' needs, to individual needs ; not the instruction that a pupil has had, but the instruction that he needs; not what a pupil has learned, but what he most needs to learn, must determine the placing of that pupil. Carried into practice, this means that when a pupil has reached in maturity and need the intermediate period, he is to be advanced to instruction appropriate to that period, whether he has completed the normal work of the elemen- tary period or not ; it means that when a pupil has reached in maturity and need the secondary period, he is to be ad- vanced to instruction appropriate to that period, whether he has completed the normal work of the intermediate period or not. If such pupils are incapable of taking up work usually given in the intermediate or in the secondary pe- riods, then work adapted to their needs must be provided. This is the simple principle that must prevail, that a child in the intermediate, or a youth in the secondary stage of development, belongs with other children in the inter- mediate or with other youth in the secondary stage of development. Instruction must always fit the stage of devel- opment, even to the individual needs in that stage of de- velopment; elementary instruction is not suitable for children of the intermediate stage, nor is intermediate instruction suitable for youth of the secondary stage. The converse of the above proposition is almost equally true ; intermediate instruction is not suitable for children of the elementary, nor is secondary instruction suitable for children of the intermediate stage. In practice, the number of pupils in danger of being advanced too rapidly is small compared with the number in danger of being kept back in stages of instruction below their needs. When courses Outline oj Educational Program 219 of study are given breadth and depth, as well as length, there will be found few children whose education cannot most profitably be given in that stage of development to which they belong. Within the different stages, pupils must be grouped into classes for instruction in accordance with their needs, those whose needs of instruction are similar being grouped to- gether. Those whose needs differ materially, whether in respect to content of subject-matter, method, or rate of progress, should not be grouped together. Regrouping should take place whenever pupils' changing needs require it. The Execution of the Plans Outlined Worthy of Real Teachers and Principals It must be obvious that the execution of plans such as these plans of advancing pupils and of fitting work to their individual needs, can be reduced to no mechanism; hence they cannot be depended upon to execute themselves, with a modicum of attention and inspection from time to time. The success of such plans will depend upon the constant and appreciative study of pupils, keen insight into their indi- vidual characters, the exercise of sound judgment, and the willingness to assume large educational responsibilities, on the part both of teachers and principals, under the wise guidance of supervisors and superintendents. Such de- mands are, indeed, difficult to meet, but they are worthy of real teachers and principals. No really competent and worthy teacher or principal will shirk such service as this or declare such plans as these impossible. Indeed, there could be devised no surer way of distinguishing the compe- tent and worthy from the incompetent and unworthy than this setting before teachers and principals a real problem of education, and giving them freedom and responsibility, under general leadership, to solve it. Principals should be charged primarily with the responsi- bility of seeing not only that all pupils who ought to be en- 22O The Portland Survey rolled with them are enrolled, and that the pupils actually enrolled in their schools are getting individually the kind of treatment they need, but they should also be charged with responsibility, to the extent of their control and influence, for the educational welfare of the children and youth of their respective districts who do not belong in their schools. When a pupil's educational need demands that he pass on from the elementary to the intermediate stage of instruc- tion, or from the intermediate to the secondary, it is the principal's function to see that the passage is made success- fully, even when this carries the pupil beyond the princi- pal's official jurisdiction. No arbitrary limits should bound the service of principals or teachers. Cooperation should prevail in every direction throughout the system. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR AN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM ADAPTED TO LOCAL NEEDS 1. In simplest terms, Portland's educational problem is this: What shall be done for the forty-three thousand children and youth of the city that their value to themselves and to the community may be increased to the largest pos- sible extent? 2. Always the first and most important step in the solu- tion of this problem is an appreciative understanding of the capacities, interests, possibilities, of each one of these forty- three thousand individuals. 3. Such an understanding can be gained by no one, by no small number of persons ; this is the great responsibility of the nine hundred teachers, principals, supervisors, and superintendents. 4. An adequate educational program for the community must be based on the individual needs of the boys and girls to be educated and on the community needs for service. 5. Such a program does not call for individual instruc- tion, to any considerable extent ; it does call for the grouping Outline of Educational Program 221 of pupils into schools and classes in accordance with simi- larity of needs. 6. Seven factors must be considered in determining ade- quate grouping of pupils for instruction : (a) Maturity, most readily but only roughly indi- cated by age (b) Knowledge, and ability to learn and to do (c) Probable time to be devoted to schooling (d) Natural capacity and interest (e) Command of the English language (f) Marked defects, abnormalities and subnormali- ties, physical and mental (g) Sex 7. The significance of age : (a) Children under six are educable, and suitable provision should be made for them (b) Children of a greater age range than three or four years cannot be advantageously instructed in classes together; 10 per cent, of the pupils in the ele- mentary grades in Portland need reclassification on account of age alone (c) Over age is the resultant of one or more of a large number of diverse causes. All over-age pupils should be studied, and suitable treatment applied. It is still more important to anticipate and prevent the development of over-age pupils 8. Knowledge and ability respecting conventional school subjects is a most useful criterion for determining appro- priate classification and instruction, but it is not the only one. 9. As all public instruction should be designed to fit the recipient of it for largest usefulness, the time available for such instruction must be an important factor in determining what that instruction shall be. 222 The Portland Survey 10. Instruction is effective only as it is adapted to the capacity and interest of the recipient. 1 1. Ignorance of the English language is a handicap that calls for separate classification and special instruction. 12. Markedly abnormal and subnormal children should be segregated, both in their own interest and in the interest of normal children. 13. Separate classification according to sex is involved indirectly in carrying on instruction in preparation for fields of service peculiarly appropriate to the one sex or the other. 14. The school population falls into four large, fairly distinct groups, best represented under the names of the types of education best suited to the respective group needs : (a) The kindergarten group (b) The elementary group (c) The intermediate group (d) The secondary group 15. Instruction for each group must be adapted to the needs of the children or youth of that group: (a) The kindergarten group requires the best form of kindergarten instruction (b) The elementary group needs instruction in : (1) The language arts: Reading, writing spelling, and composition (2) Arithmetic (3) Geography (4) History of the United States (5) Hygiene, physical training, and physi- ology (6) Drawing, and elementary manual training. (7) Nature study (8) Vocal music Outline of Educational Program 223 (c) The intermediate group requires differentiated courses of instruction : 1 i ) Literary (2) Pre-vocationaL (d) The secondary group requires still further dif- ferentiated courses: 1 i ) Preparatory. (2) Vocational 1 6. Courses of study must change constantly to meet the ever-changing needs of pupils and to fit for the ever-varying service that society demands. 17. Promotion must be based not on what a pupil has learned, but on what he needs to learn. 1 8. The successful execution of this program demands the assumption of large educational responsibility by teach- ers and principals ; it calls for appreciative study, the exer- cise of keen insight and sound judgment, and the unfailing cooperation, under wise leadership, of all. CHAPTER X 1 THE PRESENT OFFERING OF THE SCHOOL DIS- TRICT IN VOCATIONAL STUDIES, WITH SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENTS PROMINENT SHORTCOMINGS IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WORK PORTLAND'S comprehension of the problem of ele- mentary education, as shown in printed courses of study and the presentation of subject-matter in the classrooms, seems to me to be much too limited. Portland seems to be failing especially in the following particulars: 1. In not taking advantage of the life experience of the child. The school takes the child from a very wonderful set of experiences, which have so far been the determining factors in his life, and forces him into an environment that has little or nothing in common with these or any other im- portant life experiences. The principal business of the child in the first few grades is to play and to grow not to read, write, spell, and cipher. These are incidental in importance. If they can be made a part of the play, it is well to use them ; if not, they should be handled sparingly. Portland's schools are making life too formal, too serious, too uninteresting, and too unnatural for her children. 2. In not properly establishing and maintaining kinder- gartens. There probably is force in the contention that children enter school too young; but there are no physio- logical, psychological, or sociological reasons why a child 1 Chapters X and XI were written by Superintendent J. H. Francis. EDITOR. 224 Vocational Studies 225 should go to school when he is six years old that would not equally apply to his entering city schools at five or four years of age, if the instruction offered were suited to his needs. The six-year age for attending schools is traditional, and was probably originally fixed at the time when the child could overcome the physical difficulties of reaching the school. These have been removed in our modern cities. Mr. Leon- ard P. Ay res, of the Russell Sage Foundation, has proved by an exhaustive test that there is no difference in the mental attainment and strength of twelfth-grade pupils between those who have and those who have not gone through the kindergarten. Had the data been available and the test been made, doubtless the same conclusions would have been reached concerning those who have and those who have not gone through the first grade. Given home conditions that approach the ideal for child growth and training, most stu- dents would agree that the age of entering school should be postponed, unless, of course, school conditions might be materially modified and made more clearly to approach ideal conditions for the developing and training of children. Cer- tain it is that under present conditions in our large cities, complicated by social and economic forces, our cities must become partially responsible for children earlier than six years of age, and the kindergarten, with its ideals and prac- tices, is a much more normal place for children than the grade schools. 3. In not properly recognizing the motor instincts of children. In the earlier grades the work is largely bookish, formal, mechanical, and unapplied. Children love to do things and to make things. Most of their work should con- sist of these activities. The relative time and importance given to abstract, academic work and to applied work, in the Portland schools, should be reversed. 4. In lack of understanding of the value of play in the development of the child. " Play is the business of child- hood." The supervision in Portland, while excellent, is 226 The Portland Survey inadequate; many of the schools are without playgrounds worthy of the name. I saw none equipped with suffi- cient play apparatus. I saw no play in the schoolrooms, with windows raised and children engaged in physical games, with intensity to the point of self-abandonment and mental relaxation, breathing good air, stirring the blood, and building bone and muscle. There were no be fore- school, afternoon, and Saturday playgrounds, in charge of competent teachers. It will not suffice to have play- grounds established and conducted by the municipality, in- dependent of the schools. They are too expensive, they reach too few children, and they cannot be properly corre- lated with the other phases of school work. Play as an element in education must become an integral and an im- portant part of the problem of child development. THE VOCATIONAL STUDIES IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COURSE OF STUDY Superintendent Spaulding, in Chapters VIII and IX, has dealt with the school instruction as a whole; it is my work to deal with that part of it which relates to the so-called vocational studies. These I shall accordingly consider, under the headings of primary manual arts, manual train- ing, sewing, cookery, drawing, music, and school gardening. I. PRIMARY MANUAL ARTS This should cover the manual work in the first four grades. Portland has as yet done nothing in this work. This I deem one of her most striking educational failures. It is difficult to think of a large city system in which the little folks are deprived of the privilege and advantage of working out, with their hands, simple concrete constructive problems. They should not be required to " study," but rather allowed to do things. I understand that it is planned to introduce this work during the coming school year, and Vocational Studies 227 that there is an inclination to place it under the supervision of the drawing department. While the two fields touch at many points, and should be correlated, I doubt the wisdom of combining them under one supervision at this time, un- less an assistant could be secured for the drawing depart- ment who has special qualifications and preparation for the work and who would be allowed to develop the work with- out hindrance. This I think would be difficult to accom- plish. It would be much simpler and safer to appoint a su- pervisor of the work, who would be responsible for its success to the Superintendent only. The outline and execution of a course in primary manual work should be guided by the following principles: 1. The interest of the child must be aroused and sus- tained. 2. It must be sufficiently versatile to appeal to the differ- ent personalities in the classroom. Not all children will be interested in doing the same thing at the same time. 3. It must avoid all " problems " conceived or invented to fit into a scheme of child development that happens at the time to find lodgment in the brain of the one making the course. Unsuspecting and unprotected children should not be imposed on by educational theorizers who either have forgotten their childhood or never had one. 4. It must connect closely with the life and experience of the child outside the classroom. 5. It must correlate closely with his life and experience in school. This last principle is something difficult to ob- serve, as the child is so poor in both life and experiences in the classroom that nothing much of reality will correlate with them. This preparation should give the teacher a clear compre- hension of the problem, and a correct attitude toward it, with suggestions only of how best to work it out. Too many explicit directions are bad alike for both teacher and pupils. 228 The Portland Survey 6. Teachers must be prepared to present the work. For this preparation the supervisor should be responsible. In fact, the supervisor's greatest, if not her only responsibil- ity, lies in the selection and preparation of her teachers. The practice of going from building to building to see that teachers are following courses of study and properly pre- senting the work outlined, which is a very common type of supervision in cities, is a waste of time, energy, and salary. Teachers who are qualified will do the work best when super- vised least ; supervisors who cannot prove helpful should be displaced by those who can. This work has been well outlined and carried out in the Los Angeles schools, where its large educational value has been fully demonstrated. The outline of work used there may prove of value in outlining such work for Portland. 2. MANUAL TRAINING The Portland elementary schools offer manual training from the fifth through the eighth or ninth grades. Commendable Features The work is to be commended for: 1. The character of buildings and equipment. I Have seen none better in this country. The plan of providing separate buildings, especially designed for the work, has merit. Its only limitation lies in the expensive use of grounds already too small, with probably some inconven- ience and additional expense in heating. These sloyd build- ings are well planned to meet the needs and conveniences of the work, sufficiently removed from the main building to eliminate disturbance from noise, and give an air of com- pleteness and business that is very desirable. 2. The liberal provisions in sloyd centers, furnishing each grammar school with one. This is a distinct economy Vocational Studies 229 of the child's time, saved from traveling back and forth across the city. It also prevents certain undesirable prac- tices and dissipations that are very apt to occur with a class of. younger boys, unaccompanied on these trips. One of its greatest advantages, however, lies in the fact that it allows the individual school the full use of its manual training plant. A live, resourceful principal, working under a broad and elastic system, of school administration, should save practically all his boys to school and to themselves by assign- ing the " motor-sensed " to additional time in the shops. A very large percentage of the boys of upper grammar school age should spend at least one half of their school day in manual work. The time of the school day should be ex- tended, however. A shop that is at the exclusive command of the school can also be made to serve the needs of the school in repair work, school furniture, etc. This has an economic value of but minor importance, but a social and educational value of great significance. The boy who is doing something for society in return for the advantages society is offering him, is the only type of boy who can be safely depended upon to play the game in a big, square way as a man. 3. The liberal allotment of time given the manual work. 4. The character of the work done in some centers. In either quality or kind I have not seen the work done in some of these centers surpassed. I have never seen poorer work done, however, than that done in some of the other centers. The unevenness in the teachers was surprising. Defects Observed The work has some defects, which are characteristic of the Portland schools: i. In grades preceding the eighth the work is formal, inelastic, uniform, and prescriptive. It takes little or no 230 The Portland Survey account of the individuality of either the pupil or the teacher. It does not allow freedom in purpose, variation from type in color, decoration, or finish of objects. It re- moves from both teachers and pupils the opportunity and responsibility for devising, originating, and illustrating. It is limited in the variety of materials used. 2. It does not connect closely with life outside the school- room. Opportunity is not given for the construction of large pieces of work, useful in the home or in the boy's home activities and interests. 3. It gives no recognition to work done independently by the boy away from school. 4. It fails to correlate closely with other school work. These defects should be remedied by a revision of the work in the fifth, sixth, and seventh years. The work in the Los Angeles schools, in these grades, embodies the suggestions for improvement made above, and the outline of work followed there may prove helpful in strengthening the Portland work. 3. SEWING Portland makes liberal time allowance for sewing, which is under the supervision of one person, in both grades and high schools. The city is to be commended for the liberal equipment of sewing machines provided for the grade schools. The results attained in the high schools are ex- cellent, but not commensurate with the time expended upon the work. By reorganizing the work, equally good results should be attained at a saving of one third in time. The elementary school child is required to give too much time and effort to exercise work perfecting the different stitches. This is following the older theory and practice of teaching the child the stitches and leaving it to her to make the application, as against the more modern one that the girl can best acquire the practice and art of proper stitching Vocational Studies 231 through application to some useful article in which her in- terests are at the time centered. Portland is following the extreme of the older theory. Doubtless some others are extreme in their advocacy of the more recent theory, but this is less destructive of the interest and joy the child finds in her work, without which two qualities school work lacks the essentials of education. It should be remembered that the purpose of sewing is the making of beautiful and useful things, and not the making of stitches, which should be taught only as a means to a larger end. Most girls like to sew if allowed to make things, but this joy and liking may be killed if too much time is expended upon processes too remotely connected with the thing to be made. The making of simple garments should begin in the fifth grade, where sewing is introduced. In the Portland schools girls are not allowed to begin any real constructive work below the eighth grade. This delay is destructive of the girl's interest and in particular wasteful of her time. Some suggestions for a revision of the sewing course might be given. The work for the elementary schools should include: 1. Handiwork, stitches, seams, hems, gathering, bands, darning and patching, plackets, button- holes and sewing on of buttons, and ornamental stitches, all applied to articles suitable to the lower grades 2. The study of textiles 3. Textile designs 4. History of articles used, such as needles, thimbles, scissors, etc. 5. Laundering (in industrial centers) A sewing bag made will illustrate hemming, as will nap- kins. A pinball will illustrate gathering and top sewing. A laundry bag will illustrate cross-stitch designing. A two- breadth gingham apron, French seams ; a duster bag, felled 232 The Portland Survey seams. Things from home should be brought for darning and patching. Articles for home should be made, such as sofa pillow, table runner, table cover, or towels. Aprons, corset covers, and nightgowns may be made. Textiles should be studied, also trimmings. Proper laundering of different kinds of goods should be taught. The efficiency of the work in the Portland schools could be greatly increased by a re- vision of the work along some such lines. The present model work is uneconomical of time and effort. 4. COOKERY The Portland schools do not introduce cookery into the course of study below the high schools. This defect is so serious that it is difficult to excuse it upon any grounds. Cookery should begin in the latter half of the sixth grade, certainly not later than the beginning of the seventh. Possi- bly no other subject in the course quite equals cookery in importance for the average American girl, whether viewed from the developmental or utilitarian standpoints. In view of the fact that a large number of girls never reach the high school, added to the fact that educationally cookery belongs early in the course of study, its immediate introduction into the Portland grade schools is urged. It is highly desirable, for the reasons suggested in refer- ence to sloyd work, that each grade school should have a cookery room. For the installation of suitable equipment, including plumbing, the cost would range between $800 and $1,000 per room. The work in the seventh grade should include lessons on measurements, dishes and utensils, combustion, water, food elements and principles, cereals, vegetables, milk, eggs, soups, meats, meat substitutes, and general cookery. In the eighth grade the work should include a study of leavening agents, sources of carbon dioxid, fermentation, bread, ex- ercises in practical cookery, hygiene and sanitation, and first aid to the injured. Vocational Studies 233 5. DRAWING The course in drawing prescribed for the elementary grades in the Portland schools closely resembles that of the average school system of the United States. It would be classified as a rational course, designed to interest the pupil and stimulate his activities along art lines. The same quali- ties that would rank it as rational and standard constitute its defects. Explicit directions are given in detail for each week's work, making no allowance for the exercise of initia- tive upon the part of the teacher, or for contingencies that may arise in the school or home life of the child. These constitute two most important factors in all school work, and especially in drawing. The system that fails to take them into serious account is not truly educational. Only that course capable of broadest interpretation, and suffi- ciently flexible to allow of constant changes, is worthy. Portland's printed course in elementary drawing lays emphasis on illustration, and this is commendable, but my observation of the work leads me to suspect that in practice this part of the course is neglected. I saw no strong indi- cations that children were encouraged to illustrate their con- ception of a story read from books of literature or told by teachers ; of their impressions of mother preparing a meal, of brother playing ball, of teacher calling school, or of the circus parade. Nor, in the upper grades, of boys designing or sketching kites, motor boats, automobiles, or of girls working on color, line, and proportion found in a dress, or hat, or furnished room. The course fails to connect with life and correlate with school work. In the first year formal instruction in color and landscape composition is given. This is an educational error. Such work should come later. Color work in the primary grades should be informal. Attempts at accuracy should be avoided, standards abandoned, and space relations ignored. The large amount of time devoted to color, figure, and land- 234 The Portland Survey scape work should permit of more picture study than seems to be done. Conventionalizing of nature forms is overemphasized. The development of design exclusively from nature motifs is questionable, from the standpoint of either artistic or educational principles. Too many subjects are undertaken in the upper grades, and too little time is given to object drawing and perspective. In the seventh grade differentiation of courses should be- gin, and limited optional work, to meet the needs and de- sires of individuals, should be allowed. Mechanical draw- ing for boys should be developed and made optional with the free-hand. In properly organized work, adequately taught, boys should be able to do first-year high school drawing in the seventh and eighth grades, and, as in the case in Port- land, where so many boys remain in the grades through the ninth year, one and one half years of strong mechanical drawing could be completed before reaching the tenth year of school life. Boys and girls, however, should not remain in the grade schools through the ninth year ; this year should be placed elsewhere. The course for girls in the seventh and eighth grades should lead into costume designing and home decorating. A very large proportion of our girls in the upper grammar grades and in the high schools should be using a major part of their drawing time in this phase of the work. So-called fine art is relatively of minor importance, compared with home and civic art everyday art that enters into the lives of all. 6. MUSIC I was not able, on account of limited time, to see enough of the work of music in the Portland schools to form accu- rate judgment upon it. By inquiry, however, I learned that it is not sufficiently provided for in music rooms, musical instruments, or teachers and supervisors. Every elementary school should have a room especially fitted for the teaching Vocational Studies 235 of music. It should be supplied with a piano and some other musical instruments, and should be decorated with proper pictures to give it a musical atmosphere. In the larger schools there should be a teacher who is specially prepared for the work and who gives all her time to it. The smaller schools can sometimes be grouped, and one teacher assigned to two or more schools. Each school should have its choruses, glee clubs, and orchestras. Among the music su- pervisors of a city there should be one or more devoting their entire time to the development of school orchestras. A city becomes musical, not by the number of musical stars who delight high-priced audiences, but by the number of her children who have opportunities to develop the native love of music and acquire some skill in its art. The expense item is used as an argument against the fuller expansion of the study of music in our schools, but the present method of teaching it, with limited facilities and poorly prepared teach- ers, is incomparably more wasteful and expensive than the plan proposed. Portland, in common with most other cities in the United States, is making the fundamental pedagogic mistake in music teaching of expending all her time and effort in repeating, copying, and reproducing the music composed by others, and wholly neglecting music composition. This failure is due to custom and a preconceived belief that the child cannot express its musical self. But it can, and as well as it can express any other emotion, or intellectual qualities. 7. SCHOOL GARDENING Some excellent work is being done by the children of Portland in school and home gardens. It is being done, however, under the inspiration and supervision of outside civic organizations, and at their expense. Their only con- nection with the schools is that they are doing for the school children the work that should be done by the schools. This 236 The Portland Survey arrangement can never be wholly satisfactory, and for the following reasons : 1. It is expensive. To be sure, the money to conduct it does not come from school funds, but any work accom- plished at an excessive cost must entail a loss to the com- munity and to society. 2. It cannot be as effectively done, due to the fact that civic organizations cannot or will not select people as well qualified to present it. 3. It reaches a limited number of pupils, as must all activities conducted outside the school organization. 4. School gardening is a legitimate and necessary part of every city course of study and should have a definite place and time given to it. The study should begin with the kindergarten, and extend through the high school. No place is quite so much in need of school and home gardening as a modern city. Work in home gardening should receive as much attention as work in school gardens and should be given equal credit. Supervisor of School Gardens Needed Portland should employ a supervisor of school gardens, with not fewer than three assistants. Their duties should include : i. The securing of privileges to use vacant lots adjoin- ing school grounds. This can usually be done without cost, as it enhances the value of the ground to have it cultivated and kept clean. The practice of paying rent for these lots for school purposes is an unnecessary expense. If the policy of not paying rent is uniform, vacant lots in sufficient num- ber will be given by property owners. The Board of Edu- cation should pipe for irrigation, if necessary, and should fence property offered for a reasonable time, if fencing be- comes a necessity. Usually, however, children can be taught Vocational Studies 237 to respect even the unprotected property of others; this of itself is a most valuable lesson for the average American child. 2. The responsibility for a general suggestive outline of work. 3. The issuing of frequent bulletins on the work, that will furnish information on the time and method of planting and cultivating vegetables, shrubbery, and flowers, for home and school gardens. 4. The supervision and inspection of home gardens, and the recommending of the credits due those cultivating them. 5. The holding of regular meetings for the discussion, with teachers, of the educational and agricultural problems involved. These meetings should be attended by at least one teacher from each building, who is assigned the respon- sibility for the work of her school. Such a teacher should be given either free time, or financial consideration, or both, for this work. Most important of all, the supervisor should be the in- spiration of the work and should be able to educate the de- partment and the public upon its scope, purposes, and im- portance. Such a person will probably command a good sal- ary, but he will always be worth more to a city than he will receive from it. A number of American cities are employ- ing, through their " Ad Clubs " or Chambers of Commerce, trained agricultural advisers for the farming community surrounding them. This may be good and profitable, but even better and more profitable would be agricultural ad- visers and teachers for the children in the schools. Portland is most favorably situated for this line of school activity. I doubt if there is any other one subject of equal importance to the city. A great city, located in the center of one of the greatest agricultural districts of the country, it becomes her imperative duty to turn the attention of her children to the soil. Thousands of them are fitted by tem- perament and inclination to become successful farmers. 238 The Portland Survey This applies to girls and to boys alike. Probably no other vocation holds out so many chances of success to both men and women, within the next half century, as does the culti- vation of the soil. More significant than this is the fact that no nation can hope for permanent success, security, and prosperity if the educational, social, and economic forces within her are drawing her boys and girls in excessive num- bers away from the land. " Back to the soil " is a cry that has not come too early in this country, and to be effective it must center in our public schools. This is the practical phase of the question. The aesthetic, ethical, and educa- tional phases are equally potent for the development of school and home gardens in American cities. THE VOCATIONAL STUDIES IN THE SECONDARY SCHOOLS The Portland high schools offer the work of the regula- tion type of American academic high schools, plus a limited amount of modern applied work. The nearest approach to vocational work is to be found in the commercial course, and second to this is the sewing for girls. The other man- ual work is more scholastic in its nature than practical. The indications of real life elements are scant. THE PRINCIPAL AND THE SCHOOL Conversation with the principal of one of the high schools gave the impression that he is beginning to see his problem and will, if given opportunity by the administrative authori- ties, begin the development of some progressive, worth- while work. Uniformity in the high schools is carried to extremes. The first and greatest need in the system is the placing of more responsibility upon the principals, who should be supported in rational changes they may under- take and held for results. This plan would challenge their best powers. A failure to respond to the new opportuni- ties and responsibilities would justify a change of principals. Vocational Studies 239 Great care should be exercised, however, in giving these men a fair trial. .Not only should they be allowed latitude in inaugurating new courses and radically modifying old ones, but their recommendations on teachers should be practically decisive for selection or rejection. It must also be re- membered that these high schools cannot be brought to a reasonable degree of efficiency in a limited time. The prob- lem has so many important factors that it becomes large and complex. The principal of a large high school who succeeds in reorganizing his school and heading it in the right direction, without too much friction, is a big man and has made a great contribution to the permanent welfare of his city and to the cause of education at large. SPECIAL LINES OF WORK OFFERED The Portland high schools, in addition to the general in- struction, outlined at length in Chapter VIII, offer voca- tional work of four kinds, namely, the commercial course, drawing, shop work, domestic art, and domestic science. I. THE COMMERCIAL COURSE The work offered follows the traditional lines of book- keeping, penmanship, commercial arithmetic, stenography and typewriting, and commercial law, with somewhat more liberal emphasis placed upon commercial geography, history and principles of commerce, and economics than is to be found in the average commercial course. Only two of the high schools, the Lincoln and the Jefferson, offer the commercial work. As Portland's interests are largely commercial, the com- mercial work of her schools should be of the very best. It does not, however, excel in any particular. In comprehen- sion of the problem, it is very mediocre. The presentation of the work, in places, is excellent; in spots it is inexcus- ably poor, and on an average it is only fair. The textbooks 240 The Portland Survey used are standard, but they are followed entirely too reli- giously. The time allotment for the different subjects is reasonable; that given to stenography and typewriting is generous. The results, while fairly satisfactory, are not commensurate with the time given to the work. The work done should be done equally well at a saving of one third in time, and time is an important element in business. Com- mercial students should not be so crowded in the earlier part of the work as to encourage superficiality or inaccuracy, and should be put under exacting tests for accuracy and speed before finishing the course. Profligacy of time is a common weakness in school work; commercial work offers an excellent opportunity to minimize the evil. The principal criticism to be passed upon the commercial work in the Portland high schools is its failure in points of contact with real things. Little or no effort is made to take advantage of the excellent opportunities offered to vitalize the work, by putting it in touch with the business phases of the school and the commercial life of the city. No op- portunity is offered young people employed in business to supplement their experience by commercial work in the high schools. Classes should be organized for these people, and provision made for those who can attend school only part of the time. .No pre-academic requirements should be made of them. If necessary, classes at irregular hours should be or- ganized for them. Pupils of the commercial department seemed to be as little familiar with and concerned about the city commercially as those of other departments. There was a general lack of intelligence concerning the commercial enterprises in which Portland men are engaged and the opportunities offered future business men in these fields. No special instruction was given on the qualities and qualifications necessary to meet the demands in business in general or in special lines of business. The course of instruction, as presented, seemed to limit its purpose to producing young men and women who could take positions as subordinate accountants, clerks, Vocational Studies 241 or stenographers. No large conceptions seemed to domi- nate the work. No attempt, either, seemed to be made to follow these young people after leaving school, to discover what posi- tions they secured and what success they had in filling them. The commercial department also assumed no responsibility for the business of the school in handling, accounting for, and auditing the business transactions necessary in paid en- tertainments, athletics, class dues, society funds, lunch-room moneys, etc. The departments were not even equipped with the regulation office furniture and fixtures for so-called busi- ness practice, much less for large business preparation. Portland seems to need more commercial teachers who are alive and in intelligent and sympathetic touch with the great commercial movements of their own city; teachers who have energy, courage, comprehension, and vision, and whose suggestions and recommendations will be heeded. In addition to the regular work offered in bookkeeping and stenography and typewriting, advanced classes should be organized, covering a year's additional work. These should be optional with other subjects, and be given full credit. Such advanced classes in stenography and typewrit- ing could do all the clerical work of the school and much for the different departments of the city schools. In bookkeep- ing they could handle all the school business. Pupils from these classes should be sent out into the city, when possible, to do part-day work for business and professional men. This would give the school an opportunity to discover the defects of the individual pupil and of the work he did in school, and to help in remedying both. This outside work should receive full recognition in school credits. 2. THE WORK IN DRAWING Drawing in the Portland high schools is a continuation and development of that work in the grades, with but slight modifications. It possesses the same merits and in general 242 The Portland Survey has the characteristic limitations. The work in the high schools lacks support, both in equipment and teachers. Upon the basis of what high schools of Portland's enrollment should have, they are supplied with about one half of what is required to meet the needs of good work in drawing. If the present facilities meet the full demand for the work upon the part of pupils, it is probably due to failure in offering courses that appeal to them. Work in materials should be liberally enlarged. Most de- signs made by pupils should be worked out in the materials for which they are designed. To dream dreams is an ex- cellent thing, provided they may be brought to pass. The habit of working on problems, in our public schools, that are never solved in the terms of human experiences and hu- man life, constitutes the greatest weakness and danger to future generations. The work in clay overemphasizes modeling, to the neglect of pottery. Modeling has a life significance for a very lim- ited number of people, while pottery enters into the lives of all. Pottery has been a major factor in the art standards of the race, while modeling has been a very minor one. Fabric designing should be increased, and weaving and metal work should be introduced. Drawing offers one of the finest of opportunities for tak- ing the school into the home, and one of the school's great- est functions is to go into the home. Portland high schools should have a distinctive, well-organized, and broad four- years' course for girls in home planning, decorating and furnishing, costume designing, and study of fabrics. Sug- gestions of these studies are found scattered throughout the regular course in drawing, but they are too widely dis- tributed, too lacking in coherence, and too little related to be of value to the girl in the problems she will have to meet in her life work. The Portland schools also offer opportunity for serious, coherent, and worthy courses in cartooning, and designing and illustrating for advertising. It is argued that this work Vocational Studies 243 is technical and belongs to a technical high school, but every technical high school should have in its courses enough of the liberal to put its pupils in sympathetic touch with the universal principles and problems, and every cultural high school must teach enough of the applied work to give its students a grip on the mighty forces at play in modern civ- ilization. The high school, after all, can reduce its prob- lems to two : ( I ) to help its pupils to find a worthy center of interests, and (2) to enable them to work these interests out into deeds. The mechanical drawing offered in the Portland schools is quite elementary and should be done in the grammar grades, allowing the pupils who continue the work in high schools to go into the mathematical or technical phases of the subject. There is hardly any limit to what high school boys can do in either, if given time for it and if the work is properly developed and presented. On the technical side, boys can attain an earning skill in architectural, civil, and mechanical drafting and tracing. Unless taught by those qualified to present the subject, however, the work had best not be undertaken. 3. SHOP EQUIPMENT AND ITS DISTRIBUTION The extent to which industrial work shall be carried in the individual high schools of a city system is both an economic and an educational problem. The cost of shop equipment, supplies used, and teachers' salaries is heavy, where the work is fully organized. Whether it is best to equip fully one school in the system and allow all pupils desiring the work to attend this school, or to equip partially each of the schools and offer the advantages of shop work to pupils of all schools, is a question of some importance. If the only factors to be considered were economy and the efficiency of those taking the work in one fully equipped school, the former plan would be adopted. This would be done, how- ever, at the sacrifice of certain important educational fea- 244 The Portland Survey tures. The selection of a high school, when left to the option of parents and pupils, is influenced fully as much by geographical and social reasons as by educational advan- tages. Where educational reasons determine the choice of a school, there is always the probability of mistakes in the choice. Insufficient opportunity has been afforded the boy to determine his aptitudes and powers. Many good mechan- ics, engineers, and farmers are being spoiled through lack of opportunity in school to discover their ability in these lines. The cosmopolitan high school has a marked advan- tage in American education. A third and a more nearly ideal plan is to establish one fully equipped technical high school in the system, and organize the others into cosmopolitan high schools, with simpler shop equipment assigned to meet the requirements of treating manual training as a developmental subject. In a school of this kind the resourceful practical teacher will find it possible to do much constructive practical work. This plan is recommended for the Portland high schools. If adopted, the equipment in the two schools now offering shop work should be strengthened to meet the needs of a regular cosmopolitan high school. Under the plan now followed, the facilities and courses are markedly inadequate. Basement rooms are used, and in one of the buildings these are poorly lighted and ventilated. The wood-shop equipment is incomplete and in one building is antiquated. There is a lack of any dignified and effective attempt at forge and machine-shop equipment. The small percentage of boys electing the work is noticeable, and a general unbusinesslike air pervades the manual-training rooms. One gets the impression that manual training is looked upon as an addendum to the school, rather than an integral and vital part of it. It is failing to make itself felt as one of the virile, active factors in high school work and life this, too, despite the fact that Portland has some efficient men handling the work. Vocational Studies 245 4. DOMESTIC ART Sewing is on an excellent footing in the Portland high schools, and the kind and quality of the work produced would be creditable to any city. To attain these results very liberal time allowance has been given and excellent equip- ment furnished. Someone in the schools has been influen- tial in caring for the interests of domestic art. The charac- ter of the work has had a marked effect upon the large number of girls choosing it as one of their optional subjects. 5. DOMESTIC SCIENCE Domestic science is also well provided for and very credit- ably done in the Portland high schools. A year of domestic chemistry, and a year of household mathematics, should be added to the course. THE SCHOOL OF TRADES The Portland School of Trades is one of the best of its kind and is doing excellent work. Work in the machine shop and in pattern-making, electrical construction, mechani- cal drawing, and sewing deserves especial commendation. Considering the fact that Portland is largely a commercial city and that its School of Trades is so poorly adapted either in location or building to the work undertaken, the enroll- ment is much above the average in schools of this type throughout the country. Despite the high quality of work done, however, the Portland School of Trades is not effec- tively meeting the problem presented to it. This failure is due to : i. The location and character of the building in which the school is conducted. These are such as to discourage from attending the very students in need of the work of- fered. 246 The Portland Survey 2. The reluctance of parents in sending their children to any school which has preparation for manual work as its aim. The old pernicious fallacy of attaining an education to escape work is yet strong and widely distributed. 3. The fact that Portland is not, and does not promise soon to become, an industrial city. 4. The lack in the school itself of imagination, breadth of vision, and spiritual life. The cultural phase of educa- tion receives entirely too little attention in it. There is lack of music, dramatics, and public speaking. No other type of school is so greatly benefited by these subjects as a voca- tional school, or responds so readily to them. Such work should be made not only a serious part of trade school work, but a very effective and interesting part of it. For these and other reasons, I do not believe Portland can develop a great trade school, or one that can do the work that should be accomplished. Other larger cities and greater in industrialism have failed to establish effective trade schools. I recommend, therefore, the disposal of the present trade school plant and the establishment of a first-class technical or polytechnic high school, with the present trade courses offered as a part of it. This would result in greatly en- larging the field of work. If another block of land ad- joining the Lincoln High School were secured for this, it would have many advantages. It would bring the technical and literary students in touch with the trade pupils and would give the trade pupils the literary and social advan- tages of the technical school. There is the great and con- stant danger of the trade courses being neglected and lost if operated in a technical school. This can be avoided only by the choice of a principal who sees the whole field and who will select skilled tradesmen to develop the trade work. I should not make this recommendation for a city (if as large as Portland) with highly developed industries, or for one Vocational Studies 247 that promised to become an industrial city within a reason- able time. AN AGRICULTURAL HIGH SCHOOL An agricultural high school should be organized, with ample grounds and equipment. This is one of the most im- portant suggestions made for vocational work in the Port- land schools. The school should be distinctly an agricul- tural school. Its science, art, shop work, home economics, economic and social problems, and mathematics should be developed from an agricultural standpoint. The danger to be avoided in organizing such schools lies in the selection of a principal and corps of teachers who, because of previous training, will make the school cultural and academic at heart and will only tolerate agriculture as a side issue. The cost of the school will depend largely on the location and size of the site and the character of buildings provided. The site should include not less than fifty acres, preferably more. The buildings, except the central administration building, should be characteristic of the farm, and hence need not be expensive. The courses offered should include truck farming, grain and hay raising, stock raising, dairy- ing, farm implements, farm accounting, orcharding, soil analysis, distribution of farm products, household eco- nomics, farm architecture, and forestry. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS Portland makes the following provisions for vocational education in her school system : 1. School gardening, conducted under a civic organiza- tion, independent of the system. 2. Drawing, commencing with the fourth grade, and ex- tending through the high school. 3. Manual work for boys, beginning in the fifth grade as sloyd and continuing in the high school as general wood- shop and machine-shop work. 248 The Portland Survey 4. Academic mechanical drawing, in the high school. 5. Sewing, beginning with the fifth grade, and carried into the high school. 6. Cooking, taught only in the high school. 7. Commercial work, offered only in the high school. 8. Trade work in carpentry, cabinet making, pattern making, machine-shop work, electrical construction, archi- tectural drawing, mechanical drawing, printing, cooking, sewing, and millinery, offered in the Portland School of Trades. With the exception of commercial work and cooking and sewing in the high schools, and work in the School of Trades, the applied work mentioned is more cultural and academic than vocational in character and purpose. The following changes are necessary to put vocational work in Portland on the most efficient basis : 1. Primary manual arts should be introduced into the first, second, and third grades, and the work in manual train- ing in the upper grades made much less formal. 2. Cooking should be introduced in the sixth grade, cer- tainly not later than the seventh grade. 3. The elementary course in sewing should be modified to give more garment making and less exercise work. 4. The work in music and the training of the powers of expression need much amplification. 5. The Board of School Directors should assume full financial and educational responsibility for school garden- ing and should place the work under an efficient supervisor, with sufficient help to carry it out. 6. Five or more intermediate schools should be organ- ized, to cover the seventh, eighth, and ninth grade work. These should offer distinct courses in commercial and indus- trial work, and act as pre-vocational schools. Some of them should specialize in vocational branches, as indicated earlier. Vocational Studies 249 One, at least, should offer half-day courses from 9 to 12 A. M., or from I to 4.30 p. M., for pupils who must earn something while attending school. Courses of this kind might well be extended through the tenth year. 7. If the intermediate school plan is not adopted, free- hand drawing in the seventh and eighth grades should specialize, to meet the needs of girls, in costume designing, home decorating and furnishing, pottery, and leather and metal work; and mechanical drawing should be offered to boys. The drawing in the high schools needs redirection and additional facilities for work. 8. Vocational work for girls should receive a much greater expenditure of time, thought, and money than it now does. 9. A vocational-guidance director should be appointed for the Portland schools, whose duties should be: (a) to study the industrial and commercial conditions of Portland and its environment, to discover the trend of commercial and industrial development; (b) through communication with business men, to determine what the schools could do better to fit young people to become efficient in different lines of work; (c) to advise boys and girls in requirements, necessary preparation, and prospects in different vocations ; (d) to supervise the organization of vocational courses, and (e) to help in the selection of vocational teachers. 10. The commercial courses in the high schools need re- organizing, and in particular need to be much more closely connected with the business life of the city. In a city such as Portland, where the business life is of such fundamental importance, the commercial work ought distinctly to excel. n. In a city with such important agricultural sur- roundings and interests, there should be a first-class agri- cultural high school, well provided for practical instruction. 12. The Portland School of Trades should be merged into a technical high school, which should retain the trade courses. CHAPTER XI NEEDED REORGANIZATIONS AND EXPAN- SIONS OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM A FUNDAMENTAL REORGANIZATION TO enable the city to do the best and the most for its chil- dren, the school system should be reorganized and grouped into the following units : kindergartens, elementary schools, intermediate schools, high schools. I . KI NDERG ARTENS The kindergarten should give instruction to those below the age of six, and this work should merge naturally and gradually into that of the first grade. This can best be brought to pass through a supervisor in charge of both kin- dergarten and first-grade work. The kindergarten work should be made to approach that of the first grade, but more especially should the first-grade work be modified to meet more nearly that of the kindergarten. 2. ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS The elementary school grades should cover six years of school work, and set for themselves the accomplishment of two purposes : i. To furnish a rational, normal environment, in which the pre-adolescent child may live and grow without fear, oppression, or repression, for six years of his life. Beauty, 250 Needed Reorganizations and Expansions 251 faith, joy, interest, and play should characterize it all. He should imagine, sing, dance, laugh, play, act, draw, con- struct with his hands, sow, cultivate and reap, imitate, love, breathe, and eat. 2. Incidentally he should attain efficiency in reading the printed page, mastering the fundamentals addition, sub- traction, multiplication, and division in number combina- tions, learn to write a legible free hand and to spell with a reasonable degree of accuracy. In acquiring these attain- ments, however, his little mind must not be befogged by dead academic stuff, nor his buoyant spirits depressed by fear, envy, hate, duty, or responsibility. " Ought " may be the greatest word in the English vocabulary, but it does not belong to childhood. 3. THE INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL This should be composed of seventh, eighth, and ninth- grade pupils, and should set for itself the solution of the problems of early adolescence. There probably is no more important time in a child's life than this, and the elements at play require especial study by sincere, earnest, liberal, and humanistic persons. The only rational time for a radi- cal break in the school life of an individual is when he is leaving childhood and entering into manhood. The present radical changes between grammar school and high school, and between high school and college, are artificial, hence wasteful and destructive. Character of the Intermediate School In courses of study offered, the intermediate school should closely resemble the high school. In the manner of present- ing the work in the seventh and the low eighth grades, the best grammar school methods should be closely followed. 252 The Portland Survey The transition from the elementary school into the inter- mediate school should be made gradual and natural. Location The intermediate schools should be in different sections of the city, and in the center of a group of elementary schools, to accommodate the children finishing the sixth grade in these schools. To meet the needs in Portland, seven inter- mediate schools would be necessary. Possibly the geog- raphy of the school district is such as to require eight. In a district so extensive as Portland, presenting some prob- lems that are rural, it will be necessary, for a while at least, to carry the seventh and eighth grades in a few of the out- lying schools. It would not be practicable, therefore, to un- dertake wholly to eliminate the ninth year from the high schools. In a city growing as rapidly as Portland, the ninth- year pupils new to the city will always be sufficient in num- ber to justify continuing ninth-year work in one or two of the city high schools. From the nature of the work in the intermediate schools such pupils would sustain a loss in con- venience and time if compelled to adjust themselves to the work. Buildings Ideally these should be constructed as intermediate schools. In such case they should be built according to high school plans, and practically as high schools. Provisions for science work would be limited to rooms and equipment for general elementary science or physiography, and shop work would not extend beyond the woodshops. In one or two of these schools, however, provisions should be made for elementary trade courses, and rooms provided and equipped for printing, plumbing, electrical wiring, automo- bile repairing, bookbinding, and other trades in which there is good local demand for men and women. A cookery room in some one of these schools, depending upon the type of Needed Reorganizations and Expansions 253 children attending 1 , should be specially fitted for teaching the trade of chef. History, languages, English, mathematics, commercial work, drawing, music, public speaking and entertainments, playgrounds and gymnasiums, libraries, lunchrooms, etc., in intermediate schools will require the same kind of facilities as are given to high schools, although in some cases not so extensive facilities. When funds are not available for the erection of new in- termediate buildings, it is often practicable to convert a grammar school into an intermediate school. Of the eight intermediate schools in Los Angeles, seven were established in what were formerly grammar school buildings. Certain changes and additions will be necessary, such as enlarging and more fully equipping sloyd rooms for shops (Portland's grammar school manual training buildings could easily be modified to meet such requirements) ; plumbing, wiring, and equipping a room for general science; providing an audi- torium, when not already provided in the building. It cost Los Angeles, on an average, approximately $20,000 a build- ing to convert her grammar schools into intermediate schools. The most expensive of the changes, however, would have been equally necessary to make these buildings ideal grammar school plants. Cost The cost per pupil in the intermediate school should reach a figure approximately halfway between that of the gram- mar school and the high school. If grammar school edu- cation costs $40 per pupil and high school $80, the inter- mediate school cost should be about $60. Intermediate School Purposes In addition to the general educational purpose, the inter- mediate schools should set for themselves the following problems : 254 The Portland Survey 1. To enable boys and girls to discover their powers, aptitudes, and likes; or at least to discover some of them. Through the development of these, they may be led to dis- cover other and better ones. The first and most important thing for a child, in early adolescence, is to become inter- ested in something that will call out his best qualities and powers and will develop his staying habits. Whether or not he follows these interests permanently is of minor impor- tance. His own reaction toward them at the time is of most concern. The nonchalant indifference of the average seventh and eighth-grade child toward his work is a menace to his own success and to the stability of the society of which he is to become a part. 2. To prepare the pupil for high school work. It is a fact patent to every practical student of our educational systems that this is not being done successfully in the aver- age grade school. In their attitude toward school prob- lems; in their lack of sustained studious habits; in their practice of moving rapidly and impatiently from one study to another; in their superficial way of handling all sub- jects; in their inability to think consecutively or independ- ently on any subject our grammar school boys and girls are laying foundations that must either be repaired or de- stroyed and rebuilt before they can hope to become worthy students. 3. To bridge the unnecessary gap between the grammar and the high schools. The marked school death rate in seventh and eighth grades throughout the country, in which respect Portland forms no exception, can be accounted for by subject-matter in the course of study, methods of pres- entation, and general school conditions not congenial to early adolescence. In the first year of the high school, where it is serious, it must be accounted for by the wholly new and foreign conditions which the child meets on en- tering and for which he has had no adequate preparation. The intermediate school, through the adoption of modified Needed Reorganizations and Expansions 255 high school methods, prepares him to meet high school con- ditions. 4. To economize the child's time. This can be done only through elimination by substitution of both subjects and subject-matter, and by the greater interest upon the part of pupils that will stimulate greater activity. Under a wise organization of the system and proper organization and presentation of courses of study, boys and girls should reach the tenth year of schooling with at least a year saved in time. The practice, so common, of dawdling away the time and interests of children is little short of criminal. 5. To organize, guide, and wisely develop the social in- stincts of the child. There is no other time in his life when his social instincts are so important and in such great need of care and training. The grade school of mixed child- hood and adolescence offers limited opportunity for this work, and the home either does not know enough to do it or refuses to assume responsibility for it. It is safe to esti- mate that 75 per cent, of the social difficulties met with in the high school originated when the pupil was in the grade schools. Our public schools can no longer refuse to recog- nize the power of social instinct in the education and devel- opment of the child. 6. To conserve the interests of the child not going to high school. This is probably the most important problem the intermediate school has for solution. It is the most dif- ficult and affects a large number of boys and girls. If properly worked out, it will result in a large percentage of these boys and girls entering high school at the close of their intermediate course. Lack of interest in work offered is more responsible for pupils leaving school than are eco- nomic conditions. What are our boys and girls prepared to do upon leaving the eighth grade? This is a common query, although the answer is well known to the questioner and to all others. The intermediate schools must prepare 2 56 The Portland Survey such young people to catch hold somewhere in the great complex social, industrial, and commercial world into which they pass upon leaving school. No other plan than the es- tablishment of the intermediate school seems feasible for the accomplishment of this result. Advantages of the Intermediate School Among the advantages not evident in the purposes of the intermediate school the following might be stated : I. It equalizes opportunities between the grammar and high schools. Present discriminations are strikingly il- lustrated by the difference in cost per pupil. That there will be some increase in cost as the pupil advances in his course is to be understood, but that it should cost two to two and one half times as much to educate a high school pupil as it does to educate a grammar grade pupil is absurd, and should not be endorsed by educators nor tolerated by the public. Development of the American high school in the Middle West and the Far West within recent years has been remark- able, and the enrollment has grown proportionately with the expenditure upon buildings, equipment, enlargement of courses, and salaries of teachers. The development of the elementary schools, while important, has not kept pace with that of high schools. In the upper grades, the progress has been less than anywhere else. We have reached a period in our educational history when greater attention is de- manded for these upper years. 2. It permits the logical development of vocational work. The intermediate school is the most effective means yet pro- posed for working out the vocational problem in this country. Distinctly pre-vocational schools, established in limited num- bers by some American cities, are scarcely touching the great pre-vocational problem, nor can they. Practically every American child must be exposed to both manual and mental activities and must experiment with both, before anyone, Needed Reorganizations and, Expansions 257 including himself, can determine his natural aptitude. Vo- cational guidance that does not offer opportunities in courses of study, found in the school system and available to all, is at least a partial failure. " Partial " might be omitted from the description of most of this work. Nor will it do to postpone this experimenting with a child, or have him experiment with himself to find his bent, until he reaches high school. The work should begin with adolescence and be continued into the high school. The wise and natural distribution of population into vocations for which they are suited and prepared is one of the greatest problems of the schools and of the age. 3. It offers to pupils the advantages of departmental work, which cannot be given with the same degree of efficiency in a regular grammar school. 4. It gives pupils some option as to subjects studied. 5. It simplifies the problem with repeaters, since the child is required to go over, the second time, only that work in which he has made a failure. 6. It results in keeping a large number of pupils in school for an additional year. Desire to remain and graduate with their class, or to carry a study to the point where it may be used in an earning capacity, will keep in school a majority of those who would otherwise drop out at completion of the eighth grade. In Portland, with the compulsory period ex- tending up to the sixteenth birthday, such schools would offer splendid opportunities for usefulness. 7. It postpones for one year the time when the child will be required to cross the city to reach high school. This saves carfare, time, and sometimes character. For the sake of increasing the efficiency of its schools, it is strongly hoped that Portland will early establish the inter- mediate school as a part of its educational organization. 258 The Portland Survey Teachers for the Intermediate Schools As the work in intermediate schools is departmental, es- pecially trained teachers should be employed. Their educa- tion should be as thorough and comprehensive as that of high school teachers, and their salaries should be the same as paid to high school teachers. The strongest teachers in the department should be assigned to intermediate work. It requires a better teacher to teach seventh-grade pupils suc- cessfully than to teach twelfth-grade. Only the big teacher is simple enough in her presentation to be understood by younger children. The teacher of intermediate grades will be better fitted for her work if she has had experience in grade schools. So would high school teachers. Teachers must be brought to see the importance of intermediate work and be put in sympathy with it. This is not always easy to accomplish, despite the fact that the truth of the need must be self-evident. Teachers who would have their importance measured by the grade in which they work should begin with the first grade if they would be greatest. The best principals of the city should be placed over the intermediate schools, and their salaries should approximate those of high school principals. The initial difficulties of reorganization are greatest, and call for the strongest men and women. No system should undertake to establish a system of intermediate schools with mediocre teachers. It is better to establish the schools one at a time, or to wait. Opposition to Intermediate Schools If the plan of organizing intermediate schools is adopted, both the Superintendent and the Board of School Directors must be prepared to meet certain opposition, to which they must turn a deaf ear. Every new movement for the im- provement of our educational system, as in other affairs of human life, must be prepared to meet with opposition from Needed Reorganizations and Expansions 259 those who do not understand the nature of the proposal, or whose personal and selfish interests are touched. Opposi- tion to the intermediate schools will come chiefly from three sources : 1. From principals of elementary schools who are not chosen for the new positions and who object to losing " the pride of their schools." One would sometimes be led to think that schools exist to glorify principals, instead of to do the best possible for the children in them. Owing to the Portland salary schedule, there would probably be some op- position from principals who would object to having classes taken from their schools. This matter would soon settle itself in such a growing city, as other classes would soon take the places of those removed. 2. Opposition from teachers in upper grades, who are not qualified to remain in intermediate schools and who would regard the dignity of their position as lowered if put into lower grades. The Portland salary schedule, with its greatest pay for upper grade work, would cause such teach- ers to suffer a decrease in salary, unless adjustments were made, and this would naturally cause further objection. 3. Opposition from parents who have children below the seventh grade in a school which is to be rebuilt for in- termediate school purposes. In such cases it is sometimes wise to organize a primary school with the first, second, and possibly the third grades, either in the same build- ing or in temporary buildings located on the school grounds, or in the immediate neighborhood. In most cases these can gradually be abandoned, unless distances are such as to work a hardship on the little folks compelled to attend another school. Opposition will disappear soon after the interme- diate school is in operation. The enthusiasm of children at- tending the school and the pride of the neighborhood in it will be strong enough to overcome the first dissatisfaction of those who opposed it. 260 The Portland Survey Courses of Study Courses offered should, in the main, meet the require- ments for carrying out the purposes stated. They should be wide enough in range to grip somewhere the interests of every child. They should offer high school work in lan- guages, commercial subjects, drawing, music, mathematics, science, home economics, history, literature, and shop work. Broadly speaking, the intermediate school is a high school moved to the seventh grade, with due regard for the limited experiences and training of the child of twelve or thirteen years of age. To give a clearer idea as to the nature of the intermediate school, and to show better its advantages over the grade school as an educational institution, the following outlines for a general commercial and a vocational course are pre- sented : 1 COURSES OF STUDY FOR INTERMEDIATE SCHOOLS I. GENERAL COURSE Seventh Year Required Subjects English Arithmetic Geography, B 7 History, A 7 Physical Training Music Drawing Penmanship Manual Training: Girls Cooking Sewing Boys Woodwork Elective Subjects Select one of the following: French German Spanish Latin Bookkeeping Stenography (Note : Two languages to be selected only by permission.) 1 Reference should also be made to the outlines for literary and pre- voca- tional intermediate school courses, submitted by Superintendent Spaulding, and reproduced in Chapter IX, pages 211, 213 to 214. Needed Reorganizations and Expansions 261 Eighth Year Required Subjects English History and Civics Physical Training Oral English, B 8 Music, A 8 Physiology and Hygiene Manual Training: Girls Cooking Sewing Boys Woodwork Required Subjects English Physical Training Music or Oral English Elective Subjects 5 Select two of the following: 5 French 5 2 German 5 2 Spanish 5 2 Latin 5 2 Bookkeeping 5 Stenography 5 2 Mathematics: 2 Arithmetic, B 8 5 4 Algebra, A 8 5 Drawing: Free-hand or Mechanical 5 Ninth Year Elective Subjects 5 Select three of the following: 2 French, German, Spanish, or Lathi 5 2 Bookkeeping 5 Stenography 5 Algebra 5 Commercial Arithmetic 5 Ancient History 5 General Science 5 Manual Training: Girls Cooking or Sewing 5 Boys Woodwork 5 Drawing: Free-hand or Mechanical 5 II. COMMERCIAL COURSE Seventh Year Required Subjects English 5 Arithmetic 5 Bookkeeping 5 Stenography S Penmanship 2 Geography, 67 S History, A 7 5 Physical Training i Elective Subjects . Select one of the following: French S German 5 Spanish S Music and Manual Training 6 262 The Portland Survey Eighth Year Required Subjects English History and Civics Bookkeeping Stenography Penmanship Physiology and Hygiene Physical Training Elective Subjects Select one of the following: French German Spanish Oral English, B 8; Music, A 8; and Manual Training Ninth Year Required Subjects English Commercial Arithmetic Bookkeeping Stenography Physical Training Elective Subjects Select two of the following: French 5 German 5 Spanish 5 Music or Oral English and Man- ual Training 6 General Science 5 Algebra 5 Penmanship 5 . VOCATIONAL COURSE Seventh Year Required Subjects Same as General Course Elective Subjects Same as General Course Required Subjects English Manual Training: Girls Cooking Sewing Boys Woodwork Drawing: Girls Free-hand Boys Mechanical General Science (includes Hygiene) Physical Training Eighth Year Elective Subjects 5 Select one of the following U. S. History 5 French 5 German 10 Spanish Bookkeeping 5 Algebra 5 5 2 Needed Reorganizations and Expansions 263 Ninth Year Required Subjects English 5 Manual Training: Girls Cooking or Sewing 10 Boys Woodwork 10 Drawing: Girls Free-hand 5 Boys Mechanical 5 General Science (including Hy- giene) : Boys Elem. Physics 5 Girls Elem. Chemistry 5 Physical Training 2 Elective subjects Select one of the following: Ancient History French German Spanish Bookkeeping Algebra 4. HIGH SCHOOLS In addition to reorganizing the high school work and the School of Trades as suggested in Chapters IX and X, the school authorities should keep in mind plans for ultimately extending the high school to include a thirteenth and four- teenth year. The thirteenth is already provided, in name. For this work good courses, covering a wide range, and comparable to the first two years of college work, should be provided to meet the needs : i. Of those who are intending to go to college. These students may complete at home their junior college work, which is more nearly high school than college work, do it under better conditions of instruction, and save expense to parents and the public. This would result in a greatly in- creased college attendance, since two years away from home and home influences, at heavy expense, is not nearly half so long or so expensive as four years. It would also result in many remaining two years longer in the schools. The high schools, with their wide range of subjects, could hold out strong inducements to graduates who would not attend school longer under less favorable circumstances. 264 The Portland Survey 2. Of those who do not intend to go to college. With the introduction of the intermediate and the extension of the high school, practically eight years of high school work is offered at home. This makes it possible to establish courses of study, complete within themselves, and of such a character that their completion will fit young people to give a good account of themselves in the industrial and technical vocations. TYPES OF ADDITIONAL SCHOOLS NEEDED In addition to a fundamental reorganization of the school system, along the lines just outlined, to enable the schools better to meet the educational needs of the children of the city, the Board of School Directors should also add to the present school system a number of special-type schools, for the purpose of better meeting the needs of classes of chil- dren for whom the present grade schools are at best poorly adapted. In Chapter XIV (pages 364 to 368), Dr. Terman has treated, in some detail, the need of special classes for deaf, blind, crippled, stammering, backward, and feeble- minded children, so that these will not be considered here. The remaining special-type schools which I would recom- mend are : the ungraded room, truant schools, vacation schools, night schools and other means of extending the school time, art schools, neighborhood schools, and a school for janitors. I. THE UNGRADED ROOM Portland's scheme of grading, classifying, and promoting pupils, if effectively worked out, should minimize the need of ungraded rooms. I was not so favorably impressed with the results of the scheme, however, as with the scheme it- self. Even though it could be effectually worked out, there would still remain an important percentage of boys and girls sufficiently irregular to require a teacher especially qualified to discover and develop them. Experience is an important Needed Reorganizations and Expansions 265 requisite for such a teacher, but a keen perception of human nature and broad sympathy with human qualities are much more important. Each large school should have a primary and a grammar grade ungraded room. Smaller schools could be managed with one ungraded room. The enrollment should not ex- ceed eighteen. These rooms should not be used as a depositary for troublesome pupils or considered as a means of handling backward or defective children. While these types will nat- urally be well represented in the ungraded rooms, the child who is irregular because further advanced in some of his work should also find these rooms profitable places in which to work. Unless care is exercised, teachers will unload their difficult problems on the ungraded room, but will keep the promising pupil, although irregular in his classification. One of the neglected phases of our educational work is proper provision for the exceptionally bright child. Ungraded rooms will appear to be expensive because of the limited number of pupils per teacher and the extra sal- ary the teacher should receive. The practice of measuring the expense of a school system by the annual cost per pupil is palpably fallacious. Two most important items are omit- ted : ( i ) the percentage of pupils who are regularly passed through the school without loss of time in repeating grades or subjects, and (2) what they are getting in return for the years spent in school. The system that carries its elementary pupils at an annual cost of $30, but with a large percentage repeating one, two, or three years of work, is expensive from a financial point of view, to say nothing of the loss of self-confidence, hope, ambition, time, and life of the pupils failing. The cost might be reduced to $15 or $20, and still be appallingly expensive because it wasted the time of chil- dren and the public's money, and gave little or nothing in return. Some systems are using the Batavia plan, instead of the ungraded room. A special teacher is employed and assigned to a room to which the irregular pupils are sent. 266 The Portland Survey It is her duty to balance them and put them in line with regular grade work. This plan has some merits, especially in high school work, where it should be freely used. It lacks, however, the personal-influence quality so important in work of this kind with elementary school children. 2. TRUANT SCHOOLS Portland should organize four or more truant schools, distributed throughout the city, and a central school to which the boys from these schools may be sent when prepared to leave the district truant school. These schools must act as the eddies to catch the driftwood of the educational stream, where it may be treated long enough to risk it again in the main current. Parenthetically, it might be observed that human driftwood is worth saving, and much of it is the best afloat, depending somewhat, of course, upon the character of the main current. To the truant schools are sent those so out of harmony with the conditions that prevail in the regu- lar schools, that they cannot be handled with economy by regular teachers and in regular classrooms. Those who are chronically disobedient and disorderly present special prob- lems, requiring special study and treatment. There are two ways of attacking the problems. One is to subject the boy, in the truant school, to such unpleasant treatment that he will gladly return to the regular school and submit to conditions imposed upon him. The other way is to recognize him as a highly specialized, poorly organized individual, whose powers of correlation are weakened; to impose upon him conditions so few in number and loose in character that he will find more difficulty in violating than in observing them ; to treat him with such genuine and tol- erant kindness and consideration that he must recognize a friend interested in his welfare, and to discover the things in which he is already interested, upon which the building of his character may be started. I advocate the latter plan. This initial treatment must be Needed Reorganizations and Expansions 267 largely humanistic, but sympathy, kindness, and interest must lead the boy toward legitimate and profitable work in which he takes an interest and which he can do with credit. The transition from the undesirable and unprofitable must be gradual, in some cases slow, but it must be constant and sure. For this reason boys should not be kept too long in the local truant school, in which organization, equipment, and teaching must necessarily be simple and limited. As soon as they have discovered that the world is not their enemy, but is friendly, that right behavior pays, and that there is something worthy which they can do when prepared, these boys should be sent to a central special school. This school should differ from the local school in closer organization and enlarged opportunities for the boy to de- velop his interests and efficiency. It should have music, art, and manual work as its chief characteristic phases. Its mu- sic should consist largely of chorus, glee club, mandolin, band, and orchestral work. A large percentage of boys who find their way into schools of this type are musical by nature, and music offers the best means of softening and refining their natures. The right kind of music teacher could lead these boys to sing or play themselves into heaven, which, I take it, is a state of being rather than a geograph- ical location. Art work should consist largely of illustrat- ing, cartooning, work in metal, leather, and clay. Manual work should include cabinet work, forging, waiting, hotel cooking, printing, elementary electricity, cobbling, pipe-fit- ting, automobile repairing, chauffering, and gardening. What English work is done should be largely public reading, orating, debating, and dramatics, with a wide range of suitable books for home and leisure reading. The school should be liberally provided with playground, gymnasium, and swimming-pool facilities. From this central special school, boys should be grad- uated, when prepared, into trade schools, high schools, and technical high schools, according to the interests and pow- ers they have developed. Such a scheme of handling irregu- 268 The Portland Survey lar boys should result in saving practically all, and its re- turns to Portland would make it one of the most attractive investments the city could undertake. To secure qualified teachers for these schools is a difficult thing. Unless those with comprehension and a vision can be secured, however, the schools will fail. How to deal with girls of this type is a much more diffi- cult problem. The same general principles are involved, however, and the problem should be worked out along the same lines. Fortunately there are not so many bad (?) girls as boys, or, if there are, society has a more effective, al- though a more unnatural, way of compelling them to con- ceal their badness. 3. VACATION SCHOOLS What to do with the leisure time of the city-bred Ameri- can boy and girl is one of the serious modern questions. The average city parent cannot or does not find profitable employment for his children during school vacations. As a consequence they choose their own, which is usually un- profitable, and often harmful. The solution of the diffi- culty probably lies in city schools operating throughout the year. For a while, at least, attendance at summer school will remain optional. Portland has already recognized the im- portance of summer schools, and the experiment with them, I understand, has been successful. Portland shares, with all other cities, the need of developing and enlarging these schools. There are two distinct types of vacation schools develop- ing in this country. The first undertakes to offer oppor- tunity to those who wish to make credits in one or more sub- jects, either that they may enter school in the fall, regularly, with their class, or may forge ahead in one or more sub- jects, and finish their school work in advance of their class. Either motive is stimulating, and the results highly gratify- ing. The second type of vacation school concerns itself more Needed Reorganizations and Expansions 269 with occupying the time of the child in some useful con- structive work, and gives but scant attention to regular school work and methods. Portland has not yet organized this second type of school. I believe the city should do so. The second type of school is more educational than the first, and acts as a most effective means of educating teach- ers and principals. If the vacation schools follow regular school work and methods exclusively, they can but partially succeed in meeting the problem, which is largely one of keeping children interested and occupied in some activities that will contribute toward their development and add to their efficiency as citizens. The negative side is that the vacation school prevents their engaging in activities that will neutralize their qualities and powers of good citizen- ship. How to keep pupils in school, attendance upon which is voluntary, can be successfully answered only by those who are thinking more deeply than is required merely to help in carrying out a prescribed course of study or to work in a system already established. The question concerning a school of this type will nat- urally be, " How does it profit a child educationally, and aid him in his progress through school, to spend his time in a summer school, singing, dancing, playing, swimming, drawing, cooking, sewing, gardening, and working in wood, metal, or clay? " Those who measure the educational prog- ress of a child by the rapidity with which he passes through the grades, would find little to commend in this kind of school. Those who look upon education as a developmental process will welcome the opportunity offered to diversify the system of education by a more liberal introduction of life elements. 4. NIGHT SCHOOLS Nowhere in this country has sufficient thought been given to night school work or adequate provision made for it. Portland should enlarge this phase of its educational work 2 ;o The Portland Survey by opening more centers throughout the city, and changing and diversifying the work given. The class of pupils that will take advantage of night school work is strongly influenced by the geographical ele- ment. Foreigners are reluctant to leave the neighborhood in which they live and are acquainted, and laboring people seek either rest or recreation, unless the school is near and it requires little effort to reach it. The neighborhood mov- ing-picture show and mission church illustrate this. The courses offered should be diversified more, and some- what of a change made in the presentation of the work. Portland is attempting to provide only for those who wish to finish the work offered in the regular grades of the day schools or who must complete this work. This is covering but a fractional part of the work that should be done. Classes for foreigners in English, elementary mathematics, spelling, American history and civics, elementary law, etc., should be added to the subjects offered. Special classes for foreigners preparing for the examination to become American citizens should be provided. Arrangements can sometimes be made with officers and courts to accept this work in lieu of an examination. The elementary night schools should offer commercial work in bookkeeping, ste- nography and typewriting, penmanship, arithmetic, and business correspondence. Where possible, the city library should be asked to establish at the evening school a branch library, which should be kept open on certain nights of the week and be furnished with books that will be read by people of the neighborhood. To be reasonably efficient, libraries, like schools, must study the neighborhood they serve. This we understand the Port- land library has done in a remarkably efficient manner. Entertainments The entertainment feature should be developed in the Portland night schools. Some cities are making this a Needed Reorganizations and Expansions 271 separate feature of school work, ofttimes holding enter- tainments in buildings in which there is no night school work offered. This plan I believe to be illogical and waste- ful, since entertainments should be diverting, restful, and relaxing, but first of all educational. The social feature, that of bringing people of the neighborhood together, is probably the most important part of neighborhood enter- tainments given in the schools. All these features can be best understood and provided for by a principal and corps of night school teachers who have made a study of the neighborhood and understand the elements that compose it. In addition to these, one of the strongest reasons for combining the entertainment feature with the other night school activities is that people who come to be entertained will become interested in some subject or subjects offered and will join classes for regular night school work. A live principal, who is allowed to choose his teachers and use the entertainment feature in building his night school, is in position to make a lasting contribution to the cause of edu- cation and to wield a powerful influence on the neighborhood in which he is permitted to work. These entertainments should include: moving-picture shows, stereopticon travel talks, lectures on live topics, for- mation of choral clubs, glee clubs, mandolin clubs, orches- tras, boys' and girls' literary and debating clubs, neighbor- hood improvement societies, reading clubs, games, boxing, folk-dancing, and social dancing. It should be fully recog- nized that the introduction of social dancing in the school building will meet with vigorous, sometimes influential, op- position from those who are more concerned with maintain- ing a creed or a sentiment than they are with working out a neighborhood and social problem. This opposition can often be neutralized by the appointment of a civic com- mittee to cooperate in the work of the school, the members of which shall effectively represent the opposing elements. The leaders of such opposition mean well, and the impor- tant thing is to get them to study and understand the problem. 272 The Portland Survey Night High School Extension The night high school of Portland should enlarge and modify its courses to offer material and substantial help to those engaged in : 1. Electrical work, such as wiring, telephony, and even electrical engineering. 2. Mechanical work, such as drafting, machine-shop work, designing, installing, engineering. 3. Architecture, such as drafting, tracing, designing, stress, strength of materials, writing specifica- tions, etc. 4. Business practice, such as clerking, accounting, salesmanship, advertising, clerical work, etc. 5. Home-keeping, such as cooking, dressmaking, dry-cleaning, laundering, tailoring, millinery, home accounting, food chemistry, etc. 6. The trades carpentry, bricklaying, plumbing, dealing with materials, cost, source of supply, principles involved, qualities necessary to suc- ceed, field of promotion, wages, etc. 7. Contracting, involving accounting, labor, source and cost of supplies, transportation, margins, etc. The work offered should, in nature, be more theoretical and scientific than practical, and should supplement the work of the student who is engaged during the day in the practi- cal phase of the work. To develop the work fully will re- quire an expenditure of time and money, but it will pay great dividends to the city, if properly worked out. All of these suggested lines of work are legitimate parts of a sys- tem of public education. 5. EXTENSION OF THE SCHOOL TIME The school day is too short, the number of school days per year too few. School plants cost money; economy in Needed Reorganizations and Expansions 273 their use requires longer days and more of them. Custom is the only reason for opening school at 9 A. M., closing at 3 P. M., and shutting the schoolhouse Friday afternoon to open again Monday morning. On the basis of an eight- hour day, five and a half days in the week, almost 50 per cent, of loss in time is sustained in our school system, not taking into account vacations and holidays. If these should become a part of the problem, the loss would approximate 65 per cent. Most grammar school buildings, and practically all high school buildings, should keep their doors and some of their departments open from 8 until 5 every week day, and should close only on Sundays and legal holidays. Attendance should, for a while at least, be optional and work offered to upper-grade pupils only. This work should consist largely of manual training, music, art, local excursions, physical exercises, and play. Recent development of the school playground is most gratifying, but it should be accompanied with an equal development of manual work for adolescent boys and girls, giving them an option between work and play. This extended day should be introduced gradually. At first the sloyd rooms, shops, and cooking and sewing rooms should be opened in a few of the buildings, and the teachers given extra pay for doing the work. To be sure, many of the teachers are remaining overtime without pay, with the pupils who care to stay for extra work ; but to put it on a substantial and regular footing, the work should have finan- cial consideration. This need not be burdensome, as a suffi- cient number of teachers who would not otherwise remain regularly will do so for a small additional sum, and those who would remain without it deserve it most. 6. SPECIAL ART SCHOOLS It would prove a profitable educational investment if Portland were to establish two special art centers, one for 274 The Portland Survey elementary and the other for intermediate and high school pupils who show especial aptitude for drawing. Such pupils should be given one or two full half-days per week for this work, which should be recognized in lieu of other work in promoting them. The most capable and inspirational teach- ers available should be in charge of this work. 7. NEIGHBORHOOD OR DISTRICT SCHOOLS The neighborhood school is practically a new thing in edu- cation, although the principles underlying it have been rec- ognized in many school systems. The term is here em- ployed to designate a school organized especially to study and meet the needs of its pupils and their parents, taking into account their heredity, experiences, and environment. Portland could use at least two such schools with advantage one to the north and one to the south of the present busi- ness center, on the West Side. A brief description of one such school, which has been in operation for five years, will serve to illustrate what is meant. The pupils attending this school are practically all foreigners, or of foreign parentage. Italians predominate, although there are many Mexicans, and some persons of almost every nationality. The distinguishing features of the school are as follows : i. There is a day nursery, built, equipped, and conducted by the Board of Education. The building has five small rest or sleeping rooms, furnished with little beds, where the babies are put away when they grow tired and sleepy ; toilets for little folks ; a bathroom in which each child is given a bath at least once a week the only one some of them ever get ; a small dining room, with little tables and chairs, and a small kitchen, where warm lunches are prepared for them two or three times each day. The food for these lunches is contributed by merchants, through the solicitation of a woman's club; all other expenses, including the hiring of a nurse, are met by the Board of Education. In the main Needed Reorganizations and Expansions 275 room of the nursery children play with tops, blocks, etc., and a small yard outside is fenced off from the main school grounds. This is partly covered with a roof to protect the children from the sun, and is supplied with abundant sand in which the little people play. The demand for day nurseries arose from economic con- ditions at home, which compelled mothers to be away part or all of the day, helping to earn a living for the family. The older girls, coming under the compulsory-attendance school law, were also compelled to remain at home to care for the small children. Now they bring them to the day nursery in the morning, and take them away in the after- noon. Although it was this practical problem, arising from economic conditions, that led to the establishment of day nurseries, the social and educational results of the work have become far more significant. The force of this can be appreciated only after visiting the places where these children live or stay when not in school. Even the kinder- garten age is too late to save many of them from the condi- tions under which they must exist as babies and little children. 2. A penny lunch has been established by the same or- ganization that is instrumental in supplying food for the day nursery. The Board of Education furnishes the build- ing and equipment and pays the cook ; the woman's organi- zation supplies the food. A penny secures for the child a large bowl of good rich soup, with a half-loaf of French bread. A second serving is allowed, and usually requested. The penny charge is made to avoid the charity feature. Children paying the penny feel that they are not paupers. When they do not have the penny, however, they are served at the request of the principal. The average number taking advantage of the penny lunch will approximate 350. The school enrolls about 600. For many of the children this is the most, if not the only, substantial meal they will get dur- ing the day. The experiment, which has been in operation 276 The Portland Survey for five years, proves the economy of feeding, at public ex- pense, school children who are underfed at home. The school efficiency of such children is sufficiently increased to save the cost of the whole experiment in the decreased number of years it requires to get them through the school, disregarding wholly the benefits to be derived from their school work and the effects upon their future lives. 1 3. There is a home-economics building, designed to meet the needs of the community, with a large sewing room, well supplied with machines, which are used by the pupils of the school and the women of the neighborhood. Girls who have left school and mothers and wives of the community may be seen any day in the school year making garments for themselves and the home and receiving what help the teacher can give them. The articles made by the school girls, in cost of materials and kind of garment, are adapted to the home from which the girl comes. Three teachers of the school make yearly visits to all the homes, and learn the needs of the people. Work in cooking follows the same plan. Preparation of Italian and Spanish dishes is taught, food is studied, and economy in materials practiced. In both cooking and sewing, girls are allowed to begin the work earlier and give more time to it than in regular schools. The first consideration in the work is to make it serve the neighborhood. 4. A room has been equipped with different kinds and sizes of looms, and rugs in abundance are made and taken into the homes. Sometimes these rugs constitute the only respectable bit of home furnishing, and their effect upon present and future citizenship cannot be measured. Mothers are allowed the use of the looms freely, and many take ad- vantage of the opportunity. 5. A laundry room is equipped for effective work, and is used by schoolgirls and neighborhood women to do home laundering. 1 See also Chapter XTV, pages 359 to 360. Needed Reorganizations and Expansions 277 6. Two sloyd or woodshop rooms are in use continu- ously. The making of home furniture constitutes most of the work. In connection with these there is a shoe-mending equipment by which hundreds of pairs of shoes are repaired during the year. 7. The older girls are taught how to care for children, and use the day nursery as a laboratory. 8. Home work begins with the primary grades, and in primary manual arts the idea of home is developed through the use of store boxes and cardboard made into houses, with windows for light, curtains for ornament, tables, chairs, beds, and tubs for use. In this school the little folks know more about right sanitation and proper living, although they experience less of either, than do those of wealthy com- munities. If the large cities of this country are ever to rid themselves permanently of slums and slum districts, it must be done through proper teaching in the public schools. 9. School and home garden work is highly developed. 10. A considerable percentage of Mexican people are careless of their time. The older boys of the neighborhood, who have left school, are encouraged to spend their leisure time on the school grounds, where they may play at any time during the day. Some of these become interested in manual work, art, or music, and are led back into school work. Two questions naturally arise concerning a school of this kind : ( i ) What becomes of the regular school work the " Three R's "? (2) How is the cost affected? The answer to the first is that a marked improvement is noticeable in the academic work of this school since its reorganization. The second point, which unfortunately is ofttimes the determin- ing one, will for the present discourage this departure in school organization. The cost per pupil will increase from 20 to 33^ per cent. This can be more than justified, though, by the increased efficiency, which should easily 278 The Portland Survey reach 50 per cent. In the school described it has been 100 per cent. 8. A SCHOOL FOR JANITORS There is one other type of special school which I should like to recommend to the consideration of the Board of School Directors, and that is a school for janitors. From appearances, the janitor service in Portland is excellent, the buildings being scrupulously clean. Since janitors, how- ever, so nearly approach teachers in importance in school work, every large city-school system should provide a school for janitors. Term of service, attendance at the schools for janitors, and personal efficiency in the work should be recognized in a graded scale of wages paid. To pay all the same rate, regardless of intelligence displayed or service rendered, is a mistake. 1 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS To summarize this discussion of the types of additional schools needed, the following recommendations are made : 1. The school system should be reorganized, to secure greater educational efficiency, into the following units : (a) Kindergarten, one year (b) Elementary schools, six years (c) Intermediate schools, three years (d) High schools, five years (three or four years now ; five ultimately) This can be made a truly American system, fitted to meet the social, professional, industrial, and commercial needs of American boys and girls. 2. Ungraded rooms should be established in connec- tion with each elementary school of any size, to afford the necessary provision for the exceptional children in the school. 1 See also Chapter XIII, pages 335, 336, where a similar recommendation is made. Needed Reorganizations and Expansions 279 3. Four or five special or truant schools for boys irregular in their studies, habits, and deportment should be estab- lished, graduating their boys into a central special manual school, from which they should be admitted to one of the high schools. 4. The vacation school system should be gradually en- larged and extended, and changed somewhat in type. The playgrounds should be closely connected with such school work. 5. The night school work should be enlarged, enriched, and materially extended in scope, and its purpose in part changed. 6. The school day should be extended, and Saturday forenoon included for vocational work in grammar schools that have the seventh and eighth grades, and in the inter- mediate schools and the high schools. 7. Two special art schools, one for intermediate and one for high school pupils, should be established. 8. There should be established at least two neighborhood schools, and gradually a number more, to meet the peculiar needs of certain centers within the city. 9. A school for the instruction of janitors should be added, standards for the work established, and a wage scale based on efficiency instituted. PART III Buildings and Health CHAPTER XII 1 THE BUILDING AND SITES PROBLEM PORTLAND'S BUILDING PROBLEM TWO main problems confront the Board of School Di- rectors of the Portland school district in the matter of school buildings, viz. : ( i ) How can they secure the con- struction of the best, safest, and most economical school building? (2) How can they make the buildings already constructed meet most helpfully the educational and hy- gienic demands of school life ? In this chapter the first of these questions is considered, and in the following chapter Dr. Dresslar has answered the second. The Portland school district is today feeling the effects of a period of very rapid expansion. Such a period is always a trying one for a school district or for a municipality. New needs appear and provision is made to meet them ; but, be- fore the necessary buildings can be erected, still greater in- creases in the population have made still more classrooms necessary. Each new school building seems only to create a demand for more. RAPID INCREASE IN SCHOOL POPULATION The rate at which the school population of Portland has increased is well shown in the diagram given in Figure 8, in which the increases in school population (census, four to twenty years of age) and in the enrollment in the schools for the past twenty-three years are compared. 1 Chapter XII was written by the Director of the Survey. EDITOR. 283 284 The Portland Survey It will be noted that the increase in school population was slow and gradual until 1891. Then there comes suddenly a rapid increase, for a few years only, after which the curve drops back to its former slower rate of increase. In 1901 a new increase in school census began, and this has con- tinued. Since 1905 the increase has been rapid for both the school census and the school enrollment. This is shown by the rapid mounting upward of the curve. So great has been the recent increase in population that, in the seven years from 1905 to 1912, both the school census and the school enrollment have increased about 15,000 children, and, from 1905 to 1913, the schools increased more in enrollment than they had in all the years from the time the first school was opened in 1847 U P to I 95- The present rate of increase in the enrollment of children in the schools, based on the recent figures, is six children a day for every day in the year; a new classroom every six and two thirds days, and a new school building, as large as the new Josiah Failing School, every four months. At least three such buildings, or their equivalent in scattered units, ought to be constructed each year, to meet merely the present needs. These needs will naturally increase with the growth of the city, and soon four and five such new build- ings will be required each year. Such a rapid growth as this means a great strain upon the school department finances, and the Board of School Directors has shown much foresight and has served the city well in keeping the school facilities abreast with this remarkable increase in the school population. So well has the board done this work that there are today no half-time classes in Portland, all children who need school accommo- dations are provided for, and the private and parochial school enrollment of the city is relatively small. This is, in- deed, a commendable record of accomplishment. The Board of School Directors is also to be commended for the foresight shown in purchasing sites; in planning buildings large enough for future needs; in erecting them in units, The Building and Sites Problem 285 161 0881 286 The Portland Survey as needed, and in evolving recently a building department and a standard type of building construction. The costs for school buildings vary so much from city to city, with varying labor conditions and material costs, that one not familiar with the city cannot say whether the build- ing costs are high or low, so the Survey did not consider this question. The architectural and supervision work, done under the recently created Superintendent of Properties, seemed, however, to be well and economically handled, and calculated to produce good buildings at low costs. RECENT INCREASE IN BUILDING OUTLAYS Such a rapid expansion of the school system has meant large outlays for sites and for new buildings, as is shown in Figure 9. From a somewhat normal expenditure of one fourth of the school money for sites and new buildings in 1901-02, the board has been compelled to increase such expenditures up to over one half of the yearly expenses. The annual costs for maintaining the school plant created (insurance, janitors, fuel, light and power, water, telephone, and re- pairs) have naturally also steadily increased, as is shown. The result has been that, by 1912, only 40 per cent, of the money expended for schools was spent for the real work of the schools instruction and the administration of in- struction. The year 1913 shows a decrease in expenditures for sites and buildings, but it is probable that this drop is temporary only and that following years will again witness large expenditures. There is no reason to think that the growth of Portland and the increase in school population will, in the next half- century at least, suffer anything more than temporary checks. On the contrary, with the opening of the Panama Canal, the coming of immigrant families with larger num- bers of children, the gradual decrease in the percentage of unmarried men in the city, and the general settlement of The Building and Sites Problem 287 21-1161 288 The Portland Survey the Northwest, there is every reason to expect that the pres- ent increase in both school population and school enroll- ment will not only continue, but will also increase in rate. There is also reason to believe that both the city and the school district will be materially increased in size by the annexation of outlying territory, which in turn will require additional expenditures for school facilities. If Portland were not a rapidly growing city, with a large future ahead of it, the school-building problem would be much easier than it now is. It is relatively easy to provide for the needs of a stationary community. The building problem is still further complicated by a re- cent city ordinance requiring fireproof construction for all school buildings. This has added 55 per cent, to the cost of construction. With the increased cost of labor and materials, it is probable that each classroom provided today costs 60 per cent, more to construct than it did six or seven years ago. An important problem facing the Board of School Directors today is how to continue to keep up with the increasing educational needs of the school district, and not make the taxes too high, or cut the percentage of money devoted to instruction and administration too low, or both. SHIFTING OF POPULATION Besides the rapid increase in school population, Portland is also confronted by a marked shifting of population. This adds somewhat to the difficulty of the problem. On the West Side, North Portland is rapidly changing, in its lower and level portions, from a residential to an industrial, com- mercial, and shipping center. It is probable that the center of the manufacturing district of the city will in time be located here, near the river, and below the bridges. One school (Atkinson) was abandoned in 1911, as a result of a change which had taken place within five or six years. The Chapman and the Couch schools also show the effect of these changes. That portion of North Portland now The Building and Sites Problem 289 consisting of good residences and apartment houses is likely to become, within a relatively short time, a dwelling place for laboring people of the poorer class, while the hills are likely to be settled by a residence class of means. Just what will be the future school needs here is somewhat uncertain. In the central portion of the West Side, the present com- mercial center, business will rapidly expand to the south and westward. Residences are now being crowded out by hotels, retail stores, office buildings, and large apartment houses. This will continue westward to the hills, and south- ward as needs increase. School needs here will materially decrease. The Lownsdale School is now practically unused ; the Ladd and Shattuck schools will decrease in size, and the Lincoln High School will probably be surrounded, before long, by business houses. South of this region is an area, lying between the low ground along the river and the hills behind and known as South Portland, which bids fair to remain, for a long time to come, the residing place of the recently arrived immi- grant. Here slums will develop, and here educational needs will be large. The hills behind, with their magnificent outlook, will in time be covered with residences of a good type and will be the residing place of professional and business men of means. Still further to the southward, out to the angle formed by the Clackamas and the Washington County lines, is an area which will probably be annexed before long, and which will probably develop into a middle-class suburban residence region. Educational needs here will rapidly in- crease after annexation. The East Side of the city is destined to be its great resi- dence district, and this will be expanded by further annexa- tions. To this side there is now a constant migration of people from the other side of the river. Many of these are people of small means, who are buying homes on the install- ment plan in this newer part of the city. There is also a marked movement of people away from the river districts 290 The Portland Survey of the central East Side, the people moving further to the north, east, or south. It seems probable now that a large section of the lower lands along the Willamette River, to the north of the bridges on the East Side, will develop into manufacturing and shipping areas, and that another large section along the central East Side will develop into a sec- ondary business district for warehouses, certain types of large business, and small stores. The Shaver, Eliot, Holli- day, Buckman, Hawthorne, and Stephens districts are al- most certain to decrease rapidly in school children, and some of these schools will probably have to be abandoned before they are worn out. As the people move from the old school districts, new classrooms must be provided elsewhere to receive the children. In time, also, and probably sooner than Portland people now expect, it will be found that the Washington High School is not at all well located. Still further to the eastward a large residence population will in time be found. Mount Tabor Park probably will be very near the center of the future residence district of the East Side. Another residence region on the East Side will be to the north, with the Ockley Green School probably not far from its center, and still others to the south and the south- east, with the Eastmoreland and the Lents schools not far from their centers. Into each of these districts there is today a constant migration of people from the West Side and from the central East Side, near the river. PROBABLE FUTURE NEEDS While this shifting of the population complicates the building problem somewhat, it also makes certain needs seem clear. The great residence region is almost certain to be on the East Side, and the great majority of employed persons will make their homes there. In the four East Side residence districts, just described, there will be the greatest need for schools. Another residence section, probably of large future needs, lies on the West Side, and to the south The Building and Sites Problem 291 and west. In each of these five districts large school sites should be secured, the best of school buildings erected, and good playgrounds, athletic fields, parks, and recreation centers provided. On the West Side, too, there will be an increasing need for schools on or near the hills, and a de- creasing need for them in the level portions from the Shat- tuck School north to the region of the Davis School. The Davis, Failing, and Holman schools seem well located for the apparent needs of the near future. The Davis and the Holman schools should be provided with much larger sites, as all three of these schools doubtless have an important future work to do. SIZE OF SCHOOL LOTS The school lots for nearly all the school buildings in the city are too small. This may be seen from the following table : TABLE XXI SIZE OF SCHOOL SITES IN PORTLAND School sites of less than i acre 18 School sites from i to ij^ acres 10 School sites from ij^ to 2 acres 15 School sites from 2 to 3 acres 13 School sites from 3 to 4 acres 3 School sites from 4 to 5 acres i School sites of over 5 acres 2 School sites of less than i acre 30 per cent. School sites of less than 2 acres 70 per cent. This deficiency is partly due to the fact that the regulation block of Portland is much smaller than that in most cities, and, instead of insisting on two or four blocks and con- demning the inclosed streets, the Board of School Directors has in the past been compelled, either from lack of money or lack of the support of public opinion, or both, to depend 292 The Portland Survey often on a single block, sometimes less, for school lots. There are some commendable variations from this, notably those of the Creston, the new Hoffman site, the Jefferson High School, the Hawthorne, and a few others. Recently the board has shown commendable wisdom in buying larger school sites. Forty thousand square feet of land (the typical 200 X 200 Portland block) is altogether too meager for any ordinary city school lot. Even if a lot of this size has the proper exposure and is safely situ- ated with reference to noisy and dusty car lines, or smoking and buzzing mills, very little available playground is left when even a moderate-sized building is properly placed on it. When a building of eighteen classrooms and an as- sembly room is placed on a lot of this size, it becomes neces- sary to set the building so close to the street that it will cover practically one half of the ground. What ground is left is usually so divided and cut up by the building that its usefulness for playground purposes is reduced to a minimum. According to the rules of the London School Board, one hundred feet of play space is required for each pupil. Many of the schools of Portland cannot approximate to this stand- ard. If we deduct one half for building, the number of square feet of free space left, per pupil, for certain build- ings, is approximately: Eliot School 27 square feet Shattuck School 28 Albina Homestead School 30 Couch School 30 Hawthorne School 36 Washington High School 36 Sunnyside School 40 Chapman School 40 Buckman School 41 Stephens School 41 Woodstock School 51 Even this space has, not infrequently, been further de- creased by " landscape gardening," so that the streets are about all that is left for playgrounds. All of the above The Building and Sites Problem 293 schools, if they are to be continued in use, are in need of larger playgrounds. THE NEED FOR LARGER PLAYGROUNDS One of the most serious menaces to the morals and gen- eral welfare of city boys is the lack of ample playgrounds. It has been shown again and again that lack of playgrounds and juvenile delinquency, in the great cities of the East, are closely related. Portland is now in a critical stage of its development. There are still large and well-situated tracts of unimproved land within the city limits, and, while in some instances exorbitant values are assigned, for the most part large school lots are available at fairly reasonable prices. The Board of School Directors should acquire larger school grounds, and should undertake to give to the children ample opportunity for satisfying one of their most fundamental instincts. No boy who is denied opportunity for vigorous play with his fellows can reach his highest possible development, either physically, morally, socially, or democratically. The large, new playground at the Cres- ton School will do more to keep the boys and girls in school, and inspirit them while there, than all the sermonizing the whole teaching force might employ to impress upon them the significance of a thorough education. More room for the children is one of the best possible investments which a city can make. Unless this land is acquired soon, increasing values and fewer opportunities will greatly reduce the prob- ability that this rapidly growing commercial city will ever take proper care of its children. The school buildings and playgrounds are the logical places for recreation centers, and the educational department of a city can administer and supervise this part of a city's duties better and to more purpose than any other department, for in its essence the work of a recreation center is primarily an educational undertaking. The importance of planning for the future at this stage 294 The Portland Survey can hardly be overestimated. If the Board of School Di- rectors had some comprehensive fixed plan furnished them, with reference to parks, boulevards, car lines, and other pub- lic necessities, it would help them greatly in the task of se- lecting suitable sites for school buildings, in preventing encroachments from disturbing noises and more serious dan- gers, and in preventing the wasting of funds on permanent buildings to supply what will prove to be only temporary needs. Portland needs rational and practical plans for im- mediate and future guidance. THE HIGH SCHOOLS The high schools of the district will in time be called upon to render a much larger service than they at present render, and this ought to be kept in view in securing land and in planning for the future. The Jefferson High School is probably well located, and is supplied with about the proper amount of land. The Washington High School will, before long, be found to be poorly located; the site is too small, and the building is also poorly adapted to modern high school needs. Eventually this can be sold, and a new site, out near Mt. Tabor, secured for a new high school. A third high school on the East Side will be needed before long, in the southern division of that part of the city. A site for an agricultural school, somewhere out on the East Side, should also be secured before land becomes too valuable. In providing for such schools for the future, plenty of land should be secured. A site of eight to ten acres is not too large for the needs of the ordinary cosmopolitan high school of the near future, while for an agricultural high school a site of at least fifty acres should be secured. On the West Side, the new Lincoln High School site is too small, and the one and a half blocks ought to be in- creased to four at once, before the land becomes too valu- able. The present building is none too large for present needs and will soon be much too small. Surrounded as this The Building and Sites Problem 295 school soon will be by business, care ought to be exercised now to secure sufficient land and to develop such an insti- tution as might be located best in the business part of a city. Here should be developed a group of high school build- ings ministering particularly to city needs. On one block should be erected a large building, somewhat similar to the present one, for a technical or polytechnic school, and the present trade school should be consolidated with it. On an- other block should be erected another similar building to house the present commercial work, in which a large and well-equipped commercial high school of the best type can be developed. On the fourth block could be erected excel- lent gymnasium facilities for the students of all these schools, or the block could be held in reserve for future high school needs. On the annexation of new territory, addi- tional high schools probably will need to be developed in the districts annexed. With these conditions before the Board of School Di- rectors, their problem is how to keep up with the increasing material needs of the school district and provide it with the best, safest, and most economical school plant, while avoid- ing the danger of cramping the development of the instruc- tion for which the buildings have been erected. THE BEST BUILDINGS The type of school building best suited to school work is still in process of constant change. The best buildings of a decade ago are being replaced by much better buildings today, and we have no assurance that the same will not be true of a decade to come. In fact, everything seems to in- dicate that we are now in a period of rapid change and development. The old Portland High School building (Lownsdale) was doubtless regarded as an excellent school building when constructed, in 1883, but thirty years later we regard it as practically unfit for school use. The Couch, the Shattuck, and the old Failing schools are other examples 296 The Portland Survey of buildings, good in their day, but now obsolete and scarcely fit for instruction. Some of the more recent build- ings, also, while still reasonably sound and secure, represent today a very poor type of schoolhouse construction. The new Failing School and the Lincoln High School represent the best buildings Portland has so far produced, and, after allowing for certain defects and omissions, these must be regarded as excellent buildings, which ought to prove useful for a half-century at least. There is no assurance, however, that ten years from now schoolhouse construction may not be so improved upon that these will then be regarded as of a somewhat inferior type. No one knows, for example, but that open-air schools may supplant all other types of elementary school build- ings. Unit buildings, all one story high, with connect- ing arcades and a detached heating plant, have also been introduced in some cities. In still other cities, one-story structures are now being built. Until very recently, too, intermediate schools (as described in Chapters IX and XI) were not thought of. Today the large educational value of such schools has been so clearly demonstrated that it is only a question of a few years until all progres- sive cities will include them as a part of their school sys- tems and will erect buildings specially designed for such instruction. Until very recently one large high school building, such as the Jefferson High School, was built to include in it all the instruction given. Today our best high schools are securing large acreage and building a series of unit buildings, each adapted to certain purposes, and all grouped according to some good architectural plan. The first cost for such buildings is not very much larger; the cost for upkeep is lower ; the fire risk is less ; and the edu- cational and administrative aspects are much improved. So far as our present knowledge goes, however, the new Failing School, with certain modifications along the lines suggested by Superintendent Francis (Chapters X and XI) and Dr. Dresslar (Chapter XIII), to adapt it better for The Building and Sites Problem 297 special instruction, is the best type of elementary school building for Portland's use which the city has so far evolved. The Lincoln High School is also the best high school build- ing so far constructed. Much credit is due the Board of School Directors for having evolved and erected such satis- factory and substantial types of buildings. Until some- thing better is evolved, it would be well to follow these types in future construction. OTHER TYPES OF ROOMS IN SCHOOL BUILDINGS In building new buildings after these types, though, care ought to be taken not to follow too closely the type of in- terior represented in the Failing School, good as it is. More rooms for special purposes, such as science room, music room, and domestic science room, ought to be provided. An assembly hall that is larger and better adapted to use for school assemblies and for neighborhood meetings ought to be built, and it would be well if this were on the ground floor and so arranged that it would be possible to use it in the evenings or at other times without entering other parts of the building. A room for a branch public library might also be included in such a school, with advantage. Baths, in the basement, ought also to be added. THE SAFEST BUILDINGS Such buildings are also somewhat safer than a wooden, or a wood and brick construction, though not enough so for this feature to be of any special importance. The fire drills in use in the Portland schools are the best I have ever seen. In less than one minute from the first signal, build- ings containing 600 to 700 children are completely empty, and the children are lined up in ranks with their teachers across the street. Monitors, too, have searched the building and reported to the principal that all rooms, cloakrooms, and halls are clear. The monitors and principals can then 298 The Portland Survey leave the building, within the minute. The concentration of the heating plant in one central location ; the concrete walls and floors in the basements; the watchfulness of janitors; fire plugs and hose within the buildings ; the large doors swinging outward and provided with safety openers; the excellent fire drills; the easy grades of stairs, and the limitation of buildings to two stories all these factors make the chance of a child being burned in a wooden build- ing in Portland about as small as in a fireproof building. Since the Collingwood, Ohio, disaster, in which a num- ber of children were burned to death in a poorly constructed wooden building, many ill-advised laws have been enacted in various states, relative to the construction of school- houses and other public buildings. While fireproof con- struction for all large and permanent school buildings is un- doubtedly most desirable, there is, nevertheless, such a thing as overdoing the matter. In a city such as Portland, where the centers of population are shifting so rapidly, there ought to be some opportunity, at this stage of the city's develop- ment, to build some small semi-fireproof buildings, espe- cially when these are well removed from danger from with- out. Otherwise, the Board of School Directors may be compelled to risk making wasteful expenditure of public funds. When a basement is carefully fireproofed; chim- neys are safely built; all electrical wiring is done under rigid inspection ; stairways are made of fireproof construc- tion and ample in number; and sufficient exits are planned, with safety locks on all doors, the danger from fire within the building is so very small that the city ordinance now in force seems too rigid. THE MOST ECONOMICAL TYPE OF BUILDING The first cost for wooden construction in Portland seems to be about one third less than for fireproof construction. The first cost, however, is not the whole cost. The cost for insurance, upkeep, and repairs is less for a fireproof build- The Building and Sites Problem 299 ing than for a wooden one. The useful life of a wooden building is from twenty-five to thirty years; a fireproof building ought to last a century, and ought not, with pres- ent types of construction, to become obsolete for school pur- poses for at least twice the length of life of the wooden buildings provided always that the school population does not move away and leave it. This is a constant danger which every growing city faces; if this happens, the one compensation lies in the increased value of the land. The new reinforced buildings of the Failing type are re- ported as having cost about $7,000 a classroom, and the wooden buildings recently erected as having cost about $4,500 a classroom. This is an increase of 55 per cent, in cost, for a building which ought to last at least twice as long, and costs less for insurance and repairs in the meantime. Figured only on twice the length of life, though, and also disregarding insurance and upkeep, the fireproof building is seen to cost, at most, but three fourths as much as a wooden building, and is thus a more economical type of building in the long run, if one is sure that the centers of school population will remain somewhat fixed for fifty years to come. This difference in costs may be illustrated from present Portland school buildings. For example, the cost of the Jefferson High School building was but 60 per cent, of that of the new Lincoln High School, a building of somewhat similar capacity; but the Lincoln High School will outwear the Jefferson High School two or three times, has practically no fire risk, and will cost but little for repairs, while repairs to the Jefferson High School will be both large and costly. Based on first costs, the Jefferson High School is a 40 per cent, cheaper building; based on repairs and maintenance costs and a life only twice as long, the Lincoln High School will probably prove to be a 50 per cent, cheaper building than the Jefferson. Similar differences might be shown as be- tween the new reinforced concrete Failing building and one of the more recent wooden-construction schools, such as 300 The Portland Survey the Lents, or the Glencoe. The only difficulty about fire- proof construction is that mentioned above, namely, of being certain where the school children will live fifty years hence. Even this is not so important as it at first seems, as there might be an actual gain in selling the site then. The difference in initial costs between wooden and fire- proof construction may be shown further by the following comparison of costs for sixty new classrooms, a year's needs at present, and built according to the new and the old plans : 1. Fireproof construction, 60 at $7,000 each .... $420,000 2. Wooden construction, 60 at $4,500 each .... 270,000 Increased initial cost for former $150,000 PAYING FOR BUILDINGS BY TAX OR BY BONDING The large initial cost for fireproof buildings, with the plan of paying for them all in one year by a tax, is what makes school building in Portland seem so costly. At the present time Portland needs about sixty new classrooms a year for its elementary schools alone. Soon the number may be seventy, eighty, and perhaps even more. On the basis of the present assessment of property in the school district, the increased initial cost for sixty classrooms in fireproof construction will raise the yearly tax rate for schools in the district only about */2 mill (5 cents on the $100 of assessed property); and a tax of i l / 2 mills (15 cents on the $100) will pay for the sixty fireproof class- rooms complete, with no bonds and no future interest charges. The rate will probably never exceed this, as in- creases in values will counterbalance the increased number of classrooms required. In other words, to build and pay for, at once, without bonds, a large, rein forced-concrete, twenty-two-classroom building, such as the new Failing School, would cost a citizen only about 55 cents for every $1,000 of property for which he was assessed a trifle more than the cost of four good cigars. The greatly increased costs for schools in Portland, The Building and Sites Problem 301 within recent years, have not come so much from increased costs for instruction or for fireproof school buildings as be- cause of (i) the necessity of buying so many new school sites and of enlarging old ones; (2) the need of erecting so many new classrooms to meet the needs of a rapidly grow- ing city ; and (3) the very wise policy of the people of Port- land in paying for most of the buildings at once, by a tax, instead of shouldering the debt on the future by the issu- ance of bonds. In the case of Portland, where from two thirds to three fourths of the present school buildings will need to be replaced by new structures within the next quar- ter of a century, the wise results of such a building policy, if it can be afforded by a city, will be evident. If we could see anything to indicate that the people of our American cities will in the near future reach the end of the development of their school systems, or that a city such as Portland would, in thirty years, be largely through with building schoolhouses, it might be wise to spread the pay- ments over a period of years. Those who have studied the problem most, however, can see no such end to the edu- cational process. As was pointed out in Chapter VII, the whole conception of modern education is changing very rapidly, and there is every indication that education, in the broadest sense of the term, will in time become the greatest business of a city or a state. In a quarter or half a century public education is almost certain to be extended into fields of constructive human welfare of which we do not now dream. Everything that tends to conserve child life and advance child welfare, and hence the welfare of the race, as well as most of that relating to the improvement of adults and home life, will in time be regarded as a legiti- mate function of public education. Those cities will be best able to meet the large educational needs of the future in a really large way which do not handicap themselves too heavily by bonded debt now. Of the 37 cities studied in Chapter VI, but 14, or 38 per cent., had any bonded debt for schools in 1910. 302 The Portland Survey The advantage of paying for school buildings as built, and escaping interest charges if this can be done, may be seen from Table XXII. This is calculated for the present TABLE xxn ADDITIONAL COSTS FOR BUILDINGS UNDER BONDING Cost When Paid Bonds Issued for Time Rate T3 '3 *J t! t/i o On Is *5 ^ 1 4-> o CJ C J 4> d 1 ! M 3 o u.a pi fl H CMO Albina District, No. 31 . 25 yrs. 6 % $10,000 $15,000 $25,000 250% Mt. Tabor District, No. 5 20 yrs. 4 % 7,000 5,600 12,600 180% Lents District, No. 12 . 10 yrs. 6 % 6,000 3,600 9,600 160% Refunding, District No. i 20 yrs. 1 5 % 90,000 00,000 180,000 200% Jefferson High School . . 10-20 yrs. 4 l /2% 250,000 174,375 424,375 170% Lincoln High School . . 10-20 yrs. 4^% 350,000 244,125 594,125 170% A twenty-room building, of fireproof construction 10-20 yrs. 5 % 140,000 108,500 248,500 178% Same I?-2'C VTS. 5 % 140,000 143,500 283,500 203% Same *J J J 20-30 yrs. 5 % ^ > 140,000 178,500 318,500 228% 1 Two ten-year periods. bonded debt of the school district, as stated in the Annual School Reports, and also for a twenty-classroom, fireproof - construction, Failing-School-type of new building, with bonds maturing at different periods. While such permanent-type buildings as the Failing School or the Lincoln High School, by reason of their longer usefulness and lower maintenance costs, might very properly be paid for by bonding, still, in view of the large per capita bonded debt of the city proper (see Chapter VI, Table XIII, page no), it is certainly wise for the school department to pay by annual tax for as much building as The Building and Sites Problem 303 can reasonably be done. This policy, as long 1 as it does not unduly cramp the proper development of the schools for which the buildings are constructed, is a wise one to follow. It perhaps would be wise to segregate the funds for building-and-site outlays from the funds for annual main- tenance, as suggested in Appendix A (page 421). This would give the Board of School Directors authority to levy certain definite and separate taxes each year, estimated as sufficient to meet the needs of ordinary growth, for the purchase of sites and for the erection of school buildings, and other separate rates for maintenance, instruction, and administration. Buildings and sites which could not be provided for under such a plan ought to be provided for by bonding, and at the same time the proper development of the educational work within the buildings would be guaranteed. CHAPTER XIII 1 THE SCHOOL PLANT CONSTRUCTION UNITS BEFORE one undertakes to measure anything 1 with any degree of accuracy, he must decide on some unit of measurement. Fortunately there are a number of rela- tively fixed standards which should be universally applied in the construction of what is known in our country as public schoolhouses. These standards have to do with the dimen- sions of classrooms, the lighting, ventilation, heating, black- boards, and color of the walls. They also include, though somewhat less exactly worked out, the construction of assembly rooms, stairways, floors, halls, cloak rooms, toilets, baths, and water supply, the cleaning of school buildings, and many other details. Local conditions, however, must always be considered in the application of general rules to any specific situation. These will be mentioned in the vari- ous parts of this section, and their bearing on the prob- lems in hand discussed in their proper connection. It will be impossible in this brief report to set forth in detail all the reasons for the recommendations made; but it is hoped that the general reasonableness of the demands will appeal to those who read for help, not merely for criticism. 2 1 Chapter XIII was written by Professor F. B. Dresslar. EDITOR. 1 The scientific reasons upon which many of the arguments of this chapter are based of necessity could not be set forth in full here. For these the reader is referred to a work by the author of this chapter, entitled School Hygiene. DIRECTOR. 304 The School Plant 305 THE SCHOOLHOUSE SITE The site selected for a school building should be at a safe distance from noisy factories, lumber mills, or any similar disturbances. For example, the Terwilliger School should never have been located where it is, or if the mills in the immediate neighborhood were located where they are after the school was built, the city authorities were at fault in allowing them to be so located. The usual excuse given for locating a building too near such noisy, dusty places is that the lot selected was the only available site. This is rarely a satisfactory excuse, for the state has devised means to get what is needed. Another more specific excuse often given is that the school building must be built in the neigh- borhood where the children live. This also is rarely a con- vincing reason. It would be far better for the majority of the children to walk a half-mile to a quiet place for a school, than to have a school building at their very doors where they will be compelled to work all day assailed by noise, dirt, and dust. A good walk to and from the school building is healthful and often more serviceable than the gymnastic exercises prescribed and carried out in the schoolrooms. The plain duty of every school board is to shun noisy, smoky mills of every sort when selecting a site for school buildings. Kinds of Streets to be "Avoided It is a serious mistake to build a schoolhouse on or near a car line, whether this be a -steam-car line or an electric- car line. ,We found in Portland many school buildings lo- cated on streets used for street-car lines. Some of the buildings are so near the car lines that not only is the noise greatly disturbing to quiet and effective work in the school, but in dry weather clouds of dust are swept up and some of it must necessarily be drawn into the classrooms. On ac- count of its humid climate, Portland is probably less troubled 306 The Portland Survey by dust than most of the great cities of the country; but even here, where the soil is light and silt-like, dust will in time be a very troublesome factor. Dr. Robert Hessler, who has spent many years investigating the relation of city dust to disease, has recently come to the conclusion that a large amount of ill health, which cannot be diagnosed as catarrh, tuberculosis, or influenza, is due to dust. He has dared to name it coniosis, that is, ill health resulting from being " full of dust." Aside from the distress of noise and the dust troubles, school children are uselessly endangered at inter- missions, and on coming to school and going home, when they are compelled to congregate near car lines. Children cannot be so careful as adults, and all adults who read these lines will easily remember their own narrow escapes. Everything is to gain and nothing to lose by separating school buildings and school grounds at least one block from street-car lines. I found by actual measurement that one large school building, the Peninsula School, was so close to a car line that several classrooms were not over 50 feet from the track. Naturally it is even more serious a mistake to build school buildings near steam-car tracks, both on account of noise and smoke and on account of danger. Care should be taken also to select streets upon which no heavy traffic is carried by wagons. At present this recom- mendation may not seem of much importance to the citizens of Portland, because of the tremendous use made of the river in transportation. But the time will come very soon when much heavy hauling will encumber the streets and accordingly will increase the noise and danger. Many large school buildings in eastern cities are situated where the traffic is so annoying that good school work is impossible. In some cases the schools have been so disturbed that it seemed necessary either to close the streets, or to abandon parts of their school buildings. The school authorities of Portland have the opportunity now to forestall most of such difficulties, and they will be derelict in their duty if The School Plant 307 they do not use every precaution to meet these future contingencies. THE LIGHTING PROBLEM Orientation of School Buildings School buildings in the latitude of Portland should be so planned and so placed on the lots that as many of the classrooms as possible may command the east or west light. Many of the old buildings and some of the newer ones have been constructed with apparently no conception of the significance of this requirement. In order that this recom- mendation may not appear to be the result of mere personal opinion, I wish to explain this very important demand some- what in detail. In the first place, every schoolroom should have the op- portunity of the purification afforded by direct sunshine, at least some part of each clear day. Warmth and moisture without sunshine furnish the best possible conditions for the growth of bacteria, pathogenic and non-pathogenic, and it is running in the very teeth of the laws of health to construct schoolrooms which will command only a northern light ex- posure. Furthermore, the north light, while it is generally well diffused and soft, is not so strong as either the east or west light. Especially is this true during the short, dark days of a Portland winter. It is better during the long and bright days of summer, but this is, in the main, the vacation season, and hence the possible gain thereby is minimized. During the week ending May 17, there were many cloudy, rainy days, and despite the fact that the sun rose early and set late, I did not see a classroom, depending solely on north light, which was properly lighted. This was especially true of those buildings in which the windows were improperly set. 1 Very often the rooms were so dark as to cause the children to strain their eyes in doing the ordinary work of the school. For the two reasons, therefore lack of sunshine, and the 1 See pages 310-312. 308 The Portland Survey dangers due to insufficient light classrooms with north light should be avoided. At this point the reader may have concluded that because of abundant sunshine and strong light, classrooms with win- dows opening toward the south would be the best. Were it not for other difficulties introduced, this conclusion would be justifiable. Let the reader place himself at a stationary desk, where he can have little opportunity to adjust him- self to the light, and where a stream of sunshine falls across the desk, or somewhere in the line of his vision. He will then understand one of the difficulties of a south exposure. But it may be argued that shades can be set to cut out the direct sunshine while school is in session. This is difficult to do, without so reducing the amount of light for so much of the day that those pupils who sit at the desks farther re- moved from the windows will be hindered in their work. I have yet to see, anywhere in this country, a classroom for the elementary grades satisfactorily lighted by depending on south light. Moreover, I took occasion to interview many teachers in the Portland schools, working in class- rooms with south windows, and found not only that they were often greatly disturbed by direct sunlight falling on the desks of the pupils near the windows, but also that they were not able to adjust the shades, and keep them adjusted, to keep out the direct sunshine and at the same time not darken the room too much for those seated farther from the windows. This was especially true in classrooms which had been built too wide for the height of the windows. East and West Lighting Gassrooms with east exposure are generally better for the upper grades, because such rooms get a sunning before school hours, and usually offer only an hour's difficulty with direct sunshine, between 9 and 10 o'clock in the morning. During the remainder of the day the shades can all be rolled up and the strong light from the eastern sky admitted with- out any hindrance. The School Plant 309 Those classrooms facing 1 the west are generally better adapted for the use of the primary grades, especially on the first floor, because these grades are dismissed before the afternoon sun would cause any serious disturbance. They can also be used for the upper grades with but little more trouble with direct sunshine than those opening toward the east. All classrooms facing east or west have another advan- tage. They permit the early and late sunshine to cover almost the whole floor by reason of the low-lying sun, and thus get a more general purification than even a south ex- posure could command in the latitude of any part of our country. To recapitulate briefly, I recommend that lots should be chosen, and buildings planned and located, in such a way as to get the greatest possible number of the classrooms with east or west light. This recommendation is of the utmost importance to the health and comfort and, therefore, to the educational progress of both teachers and pupils. A very large number of the best buildings in Portland are in- correctly lighted, simply because this fundamental require- ment was not followed. If it becomes necessary (it should not often become necessary) to open some rooms to the north or to the south, these should be assigned for art rooms, manual-training rooms, libraries, laboratories, and offices, but avoided for classrooms, especially for the elementary and primary grades. Unilateral Lighting Every classroom should get light from but one side, and this either the east or the west. It was a pleasure to find that most of the better buildings of Portland comply with this requirement in the lighting of their classrooms, but, as noted above, many of them depend on light from the wrong direction. The demand for unilateral lighting is simply a demand to prevent right-handed children and we are a 3io The Portland Survey right-handed race from being compelled to write in the shadows of their own hands. Left-handed children should be taught from the first to write with their right hands. This is not a difficult task if taken from the start, and it will save many annoyances all through life. Windows The glass surface for lighting a classroom should, in prop- erly constructed rooms, approximate one fifth of the floor surface. If any special local conditions are likely to render the problem of lighting difficult, this ratio should be in- creased to one fourth. That is to say, if the product of the length and breadth of a classroom be divided by 4 (or 5), the quotient will give the amount of glazing the room will demand for sufficient light. This will be true, however, only on condition that the windows are properly placed, and this is one of the most difficult problems school men have to contend with. Architects are inclined to insist on appear- ances, regardless of the rights of children. In order to make this point clear and forceful, Figure 10, showing the proper position of windows in a classroom, is introduced. The center of population of a classroom, if such a phrase may be used in 'this connection, is somewhat to the rear of the center of the room, because there must be an extended open space in front, near the teacher's desk, to give needed room. Hence, the center of the window area should also be to the rear of the center, for the sake of the proper dis- tribution of light over the desks. Furthermore, the main source of light should be to the rear, instead of to the front of the children. The only light that is useful to the children, while engaged with books or writing paper, is that reflected from the surface of the pages upon which they are at work. Hence, as much " dead wall " is needed in front as we can get, and at the same time set the requisite amount of glazing. The almost universal tendency of architects is to set the The School Plant windows in the middle of the wall space, leaving as much " dead wall " space in the rear of the room as in the front. The demand for symmetry and balance prevails with them against the demand for hygienic lighting. Most, if not all, of the newer and better school buildings of Portland were constructed to meet this aesthetic demand of balance in- stead of the rights and needs of the children. I have no hesi- CLASSROOM CLOAK ROOM FIG. 10. PROPER WINDOW PLACING IN A CLASSROOM tation in insisting that it is the duty of all architects who undertake the construction of our school buildings to find some way to meet this legitimate requirement, even if it must be done at the expense of balance. All the buildings of the type of the Lents School have wide windows set to occupy the central part of the wall. When all the shades are rolled up, the light from the front window shines, to some degree, directly in the eyes of many of the children, and therefore is likely to do more harm than good. If the front windows were moved to the rear, the change would 312 The Portland Survey be most agreeable to the children. Fortunately, in this type of building, which is the prevailing type in Portland, the windows are set four feet from the floor, and as a result the difficulty mentioned above is partly neutralized. I ex- perimented with the children in a large number of these rooms, and found an almost universal preference in favor of the lighting when the lower half of the front window was entirely shaded with an opaque shade. Ribbed and Frosted Glass I found a somewhat general tendency to use ribbed glass in the upper sash or to employ frosting to prevent the direct rays of the sun from disturbing the pupils while at work at their desks. This is, in my judgment, a serious mistake. Ribbed glass is useful in scattering the light in rooms or halls not supplied with sufficient window area ; but it always produces a rather harsh, glaring effect, and is very trouble- some to children whose eyes, for one reason or another, are weak and oversensitive. I do not hesitate to say that all the rooms facing east, west, and south, in which ribbed glass is used, would be more acceptable with clear glass. Some of the wide north rooms are probably better with it. The custom of " frosting " the windows is wholly unjustifiable, for it keeps out much of the best light all the time, whereas the purpose was merely to shut out the glare of the direct sunshine. Proper use of the right kind of window shades is always to be preferred to frosted glass, even where the windows are on the south side. Transoms It is worse than a waste of money to place transoms over the inside doors in school buildings. This custom is an architectural remnant, but it clings, very much as the ap- pendix in the human body. In the construction of nearly all the school buildings, both old and new, much money has been spent on transoms which are absolutely useless, from The School Plant 313 both the practical and the architectural point of view. After making careful inquiry as to their possible use, from teach- ers and janitors, and after rinding that most of them fastened so that they could not be opened if desired, my opinion was confirmed that it is always better to leave them out. They add to the expense of the building and serve only as places to catch dust and dirt. In no case did I find them clean, and in some cases they introduced trying reflections. I recommend, therefore, that in all school buildings to be constructed in the future, transoms be omitted. CLASSROOMS AND FURNISHINGS Size of Classrooms Many, Indeed most, of the classrooms of the Portland schools are unnecessarily large. In the first place, a very large number of them are too wide. I found by measure- ment that at least 26 feet is the prevailing width in the wooden buildings. These classrooms would accommodate the same number of pupils if they were reduced 3 feet in width, and the children would be better off. Some, also, are 38 to 40 feet long, when 30 feet would be much better. Besides the fact that this extra width has cost much money in the construction of large buildings, there are other rea- sons for recommending that in all future plans the class- rooms should be narrowed to 23 or 24 feet: 1. When classrooms are lighted from one side only, as they should be, the light will not carry well across a room more than twice the height of the windows. In fact, in the latitude of Portland, where there are many dark days in winter, it is more than probable that a width of 24 feet will mean the seating of some children too far from the light to do their work economically and safely. 2. The large classrooms, almost universal in the build- ings now in use, require more fuel to keep them warm, more 314 The Portland Survey power to ventilate them, more work to keep them clean, and in every way increase the daily running expenses. 3. It is more difficult for children to hear and for the teacher to be heard ; more difficult for the teacher to speak, to keep the children's undivided interest, and to manage the school; and especially more difficult to get the requisite illumination on the blackboard. 4. Finally, when the size of the room is approximately that recommended, there is less likelihood that the classes will be overcrowded, to the detriment of the work and the health of all concerned. No extended discussion need be introduced here with ref- erence to proper length of the room. It is enough to say that if it is longer than 30 feet, the children in the rear of the room will have difficulty in understanding the teacher and great difficulty in reading charts, maps, or what is written on the blackboard, in the front of the room. Height of Classrooms The height of the classroom deserves some special com- ment. A large number of the better buildings were planned with classrooms 14 feet high. Some of the older ones the Portsmouth will serve as an example have classrooms with ceilings more than 15 feet above the floors. The new and splendid Lincoln High School is still worse. The height of the classrooms on the first floor of this building is 16 feet 8 inches in the clear. That of the classrooms on the second floor 15 feet, while that on the third floor is 13 feet. Con- sider a moment what this means. All the walls, pipes, ducts, and chimneys of this building are 5 feet taller than any possible need, and this extra amount has cost many thou- sands of dollars, to no purpose whatever. Granted that the first or main floor of a great high school building should be dignified, a ceiling 14 feet high would have been ample. The second story could have been reduced to 13 feet to ad- The School Plant 315 vantage, while the third (there should never be a third story in high school buildings) could have been reduced 6 inches. But, while the expense of construction was thus uselessly increased, this is really the least serious part of the situation. Every time a girl climbs from the first floor to the third, she climbs at least 5 feet higher than she would have been com- pelled to climb if the building had been planned with the actual demands of school life in mind. This is a very seri- ous hardship to throw upon the thousands of girls who will attend this school during the hundreds of years it ought to stand. Furthermore, more time is wasted in passing, much more fuel is used daily in heating, there is more ex- pense in upkeep, and in many other ways difficulties and expenses have been introduced by making these classrooms too high. I wish to say, as emphatically as I can, that there is no need for making the height of any classroom in grammar schools more than 12^ feet, and if the Board of Education will follow this rule in all future buildings, they will get better buildings at greatly reduced expense. Floors of School Buildings The underwriters have induced the authorities to permit no oil to be used on the floors, and many of the buildings are showing the effects of this prohibition. It is my opin- ion that the janitors should be allowed to use a light oil, when properly directed in its application. The main oppo- sition to the various kinds of floor oils which have been used has arisen from the fact that too much oil was used, and also that the floors were not properly prepared to receive it. If floors are thoroughly cleaned of all dirt and dust, and the oil is spread on thinly and evenly so that it will all be equally absorbed into the boards, it will not soil the skirts of the women. It should be put on, however, when the school- rooms will not be in use for a few days, so as to give oppor- tunity to be taken up by the floor boards. When so handled, 316 The Portland Survey the dust accumulating on the floor draws just enough oil out of the floor to render the under particles heavier, but not enough to be saturated. Under these conditions, and with the additional use of a sweeping compound, the floors can be swept with a brush without stirring up clouds of dust. Besides, the oil preserves the floors, keeps them from splin- tering, prevents them from shrinking, and makes them more sanitary. Doubtless the sole reason for the objection urged by the underwriters is the probable added danger from fires when oil is used. Theoretically there may be some truth in the contention, but the increased danger due to proper oiling is so slight that it should not outweigh all other considerations. Besides, I know of no proof to the effect that losses by fire have been more common in school buildings so treated than in those where oil has not been used. I hope, therefore, some understanding may be reached between the Board of Edu- cation and the underwriters which will permit the careful and proper use of some good floor dressing. Otherwise, it is only a question of a short time when all the wooden floors of the school buildings of Portland will be in a bad condition. One thing is certain, the added danger to the children in the schools, with the excellent fire drills now so well organized in all buildings, would be infinitesimal. School Desks The children of Portland are generally large and well developed. This fact, coupled with the fact that great num- bers are over age for their grades, renders the problem of properly adjusting the seats to the children somewhat difficult. I found many large boys, and not a few girls, who were sitting at desks entirely too low for them. These children, some of them the most promising in school, are being compelled to sit day after day in cramped and fa- tiguing postures. Others were in seats entirely too large for them, and could not touch the floor with their feet. This The School Plant 317 ought to be remedied at once. Many other desks, while large enough, or even too large for the children who occupied them, were set in a faulty manner. The seat board should extend under the edge of the desk about two inches, in order that the child may have the support of the back rest and yet not be too far away from his work. Janitors and others who place desks should be taught exactly how to set them. I recommend that many more adjustable desks be sup- plied, and that all desks be set under the guidance of some- one who knows exactly where and how to place them. This is a proper place for an extension of the supervision and authority of the Superintendent of Properties. Blackboards The prevailing blackboards furnished the schools are ex- ceedingly unsatisfactory with reference to high light and the consequent difficulty the children have of easily seeing what is written on these boards. They reflect so much of the light that they are very troublesome and trying on the eyes of both teachers and pupils. In addition, most of the blackboards are too green and are not restful to the eye. The best blackboard material available in this country is a good quality of natural slate. Glass blackboards are used extensively in England, and when properly prepared and set are better than slate, but they are more expensive and not so easily available as slate. I recommend, therefore, that in all future buildings a good quality of natural slate be used and that it be set under careful supervision. The prepared blackboards now in use in the great majority of schools should be supplanted by slate and set as follows : In the classrooms designed for the first and second grades, the boards should be set not over 27 inches from the floor ; in those rooms used for third and fourth grades, 28 inches; for the fifth and sixth grades, 30 inches, and for seventh and eighth, 32 inches above the floor. In high schools, 36 inches above the floor is better. 318 The Portland Survey The blackboard on the wall at the end of the room near the teacher's desk is better set, for all rooms, 36 inches above the floor. The width of the board may vary from three to four feet, setting- the narrower slabs in the rooms for the lower grades, and the wider ones in the rooms for the upper grades and high schools. The boards for the teachers of all grades are better when four feet wide. Much relief from chalk dust may be secured by setting and hinging in the chalk trough narrow strips of one-eighth- inch wire mesh, so that the chalk dust may fall through, and the erasers and chalk thus be kept from coming- in contact with the dust. This will keep the erasers and chalk cleaner and will prevent the children from soiling their clothing and scattering this harsh, unwholesome dust throughout the schoolroom. STAIR BANISTERS A great majority of the buildings have open grill-work banisters, either of iron or wooden construction. There are two good reasons why it is much better to use the solid form of construction. In the first place, banisters of the open form are exceedingly difficult to keep free from dust. The janitors are compelled to use brushes or cloths to clean them thoroughly. This they have not time, or at least do not take time, to do. Hence the banisters are almost invariably dusty. In the second place, girls in passing up or down, especially in high schools and the upper grammar grades, are often needlessly exposed to the gaze of those on the floor below, and, hence, a moral situation is involved. A solid banister removes this difficulty. For these two rea- sons, I wish to recommend the use of solid banisters, simi- lar to those now being constructed in the Jonesmore School. ASSEMBLY ROOMS In most of the better buildings of the city there is an as- sembly room on the second floor, but it is apparently much The School Plant 319 more used as a gymnasium than as an assembly room. This is unfortunate. The assembly room ought to be used every day as a meeting place for all the grades above the third, if not for the whole school. Here is where school spirit is kindled, where principal and teachers may meet with all the children and foster that spirit of unity and helpfulness fun- damental in a democratic government. A few minutes de- voted to chorus work and some form of devotional or ethi- cal service, will set standards for the day and send the children to their respective rooms in a mood for more seri- ous and purposeful study. There is no fault to find with the gymnasium work I saw, for it was excellent in every way. But a special room should be built to be used for this work when the weather is too inclement to go on the playground, and the assembly room used for assembly purposes. I earnestly recommend that in all future buildings the as- sembly room be on the first floor, and that it be used daily for school exercises in singing, speaking, or illustrated lec- tures, and also be made available for general neighborhood gatherings of an educational or a social nature. An as- sembly room on the first floor is much safer, more usable, and more accessible than one on the second floor. Practi- cally all the newer and better school buildings of the country have this room on the first floor, furnished with fixed seats, large stage, good light, and ample ventilation. This change has come about as the result of the changing conception of the uses to which a school building may be put. 1 It stands for education in its broadest sense ; not merely for the edu- cation of the children, but of adults as well. It is the only building in which all the people, both children and adults, have a personal interest, and in which all may meet on a footing of equal freedom. An assembly room so situated and always ready can become the center of a tremendous influ- ence, both inside and outside the ordinary school work. The logical neighborhood center should be the school building. 1 See Chapter XI, page 273. 320 The Portland Survey FLOATING CEILINGS A difficulty which is found in the concrete fireproof build- ings ought to be corrected by the architects. I refer to the fact that the acoustic properties are very bad. So far as I could determine, this rather serious difficulty is largely due to " floating " ceilings of cement plaster on suspended steel lathing material. Troublesome echoes are especially notice- able in the rooms and halls of the Rose City Park School, and will be equally serious in the Jonesmore School now under construction. The ceilings of these buildings, unless deadened in some effective way, will always act as a sound- ing board. I took occasion while in Portland to recommend that precaution be taken immediately to deaden the ceilings in the Jonesmore School, before it was too late. I hope some economical way can be found to remove this difficulty in the Rose City Park School. Echoes were noticed in the Fernwood School also, though the trouble there seemed not to be so pronounced. In addition to the resonance of the ceilings, it is probable that the walls between the class- rooms add to the difficulty. OPEN-AIR SCHOOLS It was a disappointment not to find a single open-air room or school in the public schools of Portland. From what I saw of the children, I am sure there are many who would be greatly benefited if they were taught in open-air class- rooms. The climate of this city offers unusually good opportunities for the establishment and maintenance of open- air schools, with comparatively little expense and few pre- cautions. It is almost a crime to shut up puny, anaemic children in a hot schoolroom, where, even under the best con- ditions, the air cannot be kept as pure as it is out-of-doors. Open-air schools are no longer experiments. They have The School Plant 321 proved very beneficial under hard and trying conditions, as, for example, in the winter climate of Chicago and Boston. In the mild climate of Portland better results may be at- tained, with less trouble and fewer objections. The late Dr. Arthur Cabot predicted that " the time will soon come when all schools will be open-air schools." Whether this prophecy will prove to be true no one can say, but it is certain that great gain would accrue to our children if larger numbers were taught in the fresh air. There is a rapidly growing sentiment, based on sound doc- trine, that if open-air schools are good for sick children, they would be better for well children. Why wait until children become anaemic, scrofulous, tuberculous, or even sluggish before we give them freedom and fresh air? Open-air schools have not only proved beneficial for the great majority of children whose physical conditions are below standard, but they have likewise proved that the mental life is quickened and the work of the school is done with more zest and better results. I sincerely hope, therefore, that a sane and systematic attempt will be made to introduce at least one open-air classroom in all the larger elementary schools of the city. Little expense is needed to turn indoor classrooms into fairly good open-air rooms. The simplest, if not the best way, is to select an east or west room, replace the present sliding sashes with a one-piece sash, hinged to the top of the frame, and with pulleys and cords to open it inward, draw- ing it up to the ceiling. This, of course, will require that the frames be specially prepared and finished, so that when the sash is closed beating rains will not harm the building. Pivoted sashes are also used, but these are frequently in the way when opened, and they are likely to produce troublesome reflections. 1 1 See also Chapter XIV, pages 355 to 358. 322 The Portland Survey THE HEATING PROBLEM Temperature of the Schoolrooms The temperature of the classrooms was, during the two weeks of my examination, almost invariably too high. I found many rooms considerably above 70 F., some above 75, despite the fact that the outside air was always lower. It is my opinion that the maximum temperature of the schoolrooms of Portland should not exceed 67 F., when fires are used. In fact, I feel that this is a very conservative estimate, for in the humid climate of this city 67 F. is rel- atively warmer than 70 F. in the dry winter air of class- rooms in most of the Central and Eastern states. The cli- mate of Portland is similar to that of England in many respects, except that winter days are not quite so short and the summer days are neither quite so long nor so humid. The maximum temperature recommended for the school- rooms of England is 65 F. If this recommendation for the reduction of the temper- ature in the Portland schools is followed, the children will be able to do their work with less lassitude, with keener in- terest, and with much advantage to their health. Dr. Thomas Harrington, Director of the Department of School Hygiene of Boston Public Schools, has recently made an investigation as to the influence of heating and ventilation on anaemia, glandular enlargement, and sickness among teachers and pupils, and has found that among 3,009 cases of pronounced anaemia, 2,377 cases were in classrooms where the temperature was 69 and over; 321 cases were in class- rooms with a temperature of 68, while only 235 cases were in classrooms with a temperature between 64 and 67 F. inclusive. While this investigation proves noth- ing for Portland, it is in line with the recommendation made. Besides, Portland is far better conditioned as to climate for maintaining a low temperature than is Boston. It is a serious handicap to the physical and mental develop- The School Plant 323 ment of the children of Portland to permit the temperature to approximate 70 F. in the classrooms, as is now com- monly done. By investigation and inquiry I found that, in the main, where thermostats were installed they were set to keep the minimum at 68 and that they often permitted more than 70. Many of the thermostats were not sufficiently sensi- tive to regulate within the limits of two degrees. I recom- mend that instead of being set for a minimum temperature of 68, they be set for a minimum of 65 and kept sensitive enough so that they will never allow a higher temperature than 67. I wish to recommend further that those who have the care of the thermostats be strictly charged with the duty of keeping them in better condition and within these limits, and that all schools depending on a central heating system, not now supplied with thermostats, be so equipped at once. Hot-air Furnaces The prevailing method of heating the classrooms is that of the hot-air furnace. There can be no serious objection offered to this method in the climate of Portland, providing the furnaces are kept in good repair, and providing also that a plenum-fan system of ventilation is used in connection with them. Those furnaces out of repair may leak, when coal is used for supplementary fuel, and some of the gas may pass into the warm air about the heater and thence into the schoolroom, especially when the fan is not running. If a good pressure is maintained by the fan, there is little or no danger when the furnaces are in good repair, and espe- cially when wood alone is used for fuel. The hot-air furnace system is well adapted to the climate of Portland, where comparatively mild humid weather pre- vails the greater part of the school year, and if rationally used will prove effective and fairly economical of fuel. In this connection, I wish to recommend that the warm- air ducts leading from the plenum chambers to the class- 324 The Portland Survey rooms be covered with a good quality of asbestos paper, to prevent loss of heat in cold weather. I found that this precaution had been taken in only a few of the buildings. There would be a great saving in fuel, less work for the janitors, and more wholesome conditions furnished in the schoolrooms, if these ducts were covered in all the buildings. Despite all a janitor may do, basement doors are frequently open, and in cold weather there is opportunity for the loss of much heat through radiation from uncovered warm-air ducts. It is my opinion that high-pressure steam plants should not be installed in any buildings where steam power is not a prime desideratum. It is expensive to install and requires, or should require, a licensed engineer, in order to minimize the danger to the children and to secure the proper care of a high-pressure boiler. If a detached building is used for a high-pressure steam-heating plant, the danger will be much reduced. A high-pressure steam system is often thought necessary for manual-training buildings; but even in such buildings, electric power is to be preferred, and in Portland should add little or no extra expense to the total cost. One advantage of the hot-air system in a climate as gen- erally mild as that of Portland arises from the fact that when but a little artificial heat is needed to secure the tem- perature desired, such a system requires less fuel than a steam-heating system, which always requires sufficient fires to get up steam. However, a system of indirect steam heat- ing insures more regular heat in cold weather than can easily be maintained with the use of a hot-air furnace. My observation seemed to show that if ample fan power were installed; if thermostats were placed in all the build- ings; if the warm-air ducts were properly protected against rapid radiation, and if the thermostats were better ad- justed and persistently kept in repair, the heating systems in practically all of the better school buildings of Portland are ample. Owing to the fact that my examinations were made in mild weather, it is impossible for me to speak with The School Plant 325 absolute certainty on this point. Janitors, though, generally agreed that they were able to meet the demands in the coldest weather. In those buildings depending on gravity to introduce warmed air into the classrooms, even heating is not possible because of the fact that open windows will have to be depended on for ventilation. VENTILATION OF SCHOOLROOMS Contrary to the common belief, it is more difficult to ventilate in a satisfactory way a closed schoolroom in a mild climate than the same kind of room in a cold climate. In the former case more reliance must be placed on a fan, for the difference between the temperature of the outside air and that desirable in a classroom is so slight that compara- tively little aid is given through the force of gravity. In the latter case the pressure from without toward the warm schoolroom is great enough to aid materially in the intro- duction of fresh air. All schools of the type now in use in Portland must, therefore, be supplied with adequate fans to drive in the air and ample outlets from the schoolrooms to secure sufficiently rapid change of air. Some of the build- ings are not supplied with fans at all, and others are sup- plied with fans of insufficient capacity to meet the demands, without running them at too rapid a rate. The ventilation at the Chapman School was insufficient on the day of my visit, a defect which seemed to be due either to the lack of fan capacity, or to errors in the construction of ducts lead- ing to the classrooms, or to both factors combined. The same criticism might be applied with equal force to several other schools. I earnestly recommend that in all buildings erected in the future larger fans be installed and larger ducts, inlets, and exits be used, so that abundance of fresh air may be se- cured with the fans running at a moderate speed. More care should be taken in shaping the mouth of the inlet duct so that the air will be spread evenly and quickly over the 326 The Portland Survey rooms without creating drafts in particular parts of the rooms. One reason for complaint on account of drafts in cold weather is due to the thermostats chiefly used. They call for either warm air or cold air. When cold air is driven in, the difference in temperature is quickly noticed by those on the farther side of the room. This difficulty can be over- come either by regulation through tempering coils, if steam is used, or through a tempering furnace if the hot-air sys- tem is used. Various forms of mixing dampers are also in use to overcome this objection. If the air driven in is well tempered, there is little danger from such drafts as are felt at times from fans. The fact is the body is in constant need of a fresh-air bath to keep it in good condition and to prevent that heavy, stuffy feeling, partly due to the accumu- lation of heat in the tissues. In all buildings to be erected in the future I would urge that the wire shields on both the inlet ducts and the exit ducts be left off, for they offer far more friction to the in- coming and outgoing air than one would imagine. In- variably, when the entrance to the exit duct is covered with one of these wire screens, the lower part of the duct is the gathering place for all kinds of lint, dust, and dirt, the flotsam and jetsam of a busy schoolroom. The janitors cannot get it out without going to a great deal of trouble, and this they rarely have time to do. In every classroom in Portland where these screens are used there is an unsightly, dirty place. In all buildings constructed in the future it would be better to finish the opening of the exit ducts so that no screen is needed to make their appearance accept- able, and so that they may be kept clean and wholesome without difficulty. The inlet ducts should be finished with gratings so constructed as to cause the incoming air current to be deflected toward the ceiling and ends of the classroom, and thus to be well distributed over the room. Such grat- ings will suffice for all the protection these ducts will need. There has always been some objection on the part of teachers and patrons to the plenum system of ventilation, The School Plant 327 and these criticisms have often been justified. Unless the fans are large enough to deliver abundance of fresh air, to distribute it impartially, and to keep it moving in the schoolroom, good and satisfactory ventilation cannot be ac- complished. But there is a psychological effect that counts for much, in the judgment of teachers and pupils, with regard to the efficiency of this form of ventilation. They imagine the air is bad because the windows and doors are closed. This suggestion can only be overcome by good ventilation and experience. Whenever, however, there is persistent complaint, I have found that generally there is some real ground for it. If 2,000 cubic feet of pure air per pupil is supplied and well distributed each hour in the classrooms, complaints generally cease, and the children will be well cared for, providing the temperature maintained is not too high. The effect of overheating is often mistaken for lack of ventilation. Under the conditions I have suggested, with large fans and ample inlet and exit ducts, the plenum- fan system is the best method now available for schoolroom ventilation. Ventilation of Toilets The ventilation of the toilets and urinals of all the older buildings, and many of the newer ones, is very bad. In fact, most of them get no ventilation save through doors and windows. In many cases the attempts made to ventilate them through ducts leading to the chimneys are simply delusions. These means are not effective. In some cases this is serious, and will be spoken of more at length under the topic on toilets and urinals. Fresh-air Intakes Most of the better schools receive their fresh air from a point well above ground, and this is a wise precaution. But the fresh-air passages between the fans and the outer air in many of the buildings were used for storage of paint cans, oil cans, old benches, and various other kinds of debris. 328 The Portland Survey This ought not to be allowed at all, for this passage should be absolutely clean, and free from anything that would retard the flow of air toward the fans. Also, many of these passages or rooms for the fresh-air intake were not prop- erly inclosed, and as a result many classrooms are being partly supplied with air from the basements, instead of from the proper source. I found one building where the janitor had the door leading from the basement to this fresh-air chamber propped open, so he could hear the fan running, he said. Naturally, he was furnishing a large per cent, of basement air to the classrooms. Such lack of knowledge on the part of a janitor is a good illustration of the need of a course of training for janitors. I wish to recommend, therefore, that the fresh-air intake rooms be kept clean ; that they be made practically air-tight from the other parts of the basement; that as far as pos- sible the fresh air be taken from the level of the second floor, as it is in the main now taken, and that, other con- ditions being equal, it be taken from the south or east side of the building. If this last suggestion is followed in future buildings, a surprising amount of fuel will be saved, for the air on the south side of a building is generally several de- grees warmer in winter than that on the north side. 'Registers in the Floors It is helpful to have some form of register in halls, both for heating the halls and for warming the feet and drying the clothing of the children. But it is a mistake to make these in the floor, for mud and dirt will fall from the chil- dren's shoes, and, after drying, will be carried upward by the currents of warm air and scattered in the rooms. A better method of placing the registers is to open them along the front side of benches fastened to the walls. They can then be used for warming the feet and drying the clothes of the pupils, without introducing dust and dirt into them. The School Plant 329 TOILETS AND URINALS The form of toilets most in use is that with the automatic discharge of a common tank for a number of seats. Gen- erally these seats are placed back to back across the toilet room, and, as already stated (page 327), are very poorly ventilated. Without going into the details of describing these toilets, there are certain specific recommendations which I wish to make for future buildings, and for refitting some of the buildings now in use : 1. Those basement rooms selected for the toilets should command abundance of light, and, if possible, abundance of direct sunshine. The buildings should be planned with this requirement in mind. 2. The toilet stalls and urinals should be set in single rows around the walls and not in double rows across the room. This method will make the supervision a great deal easier, render the room much lighter, much easier to keep clean, and discourage a vast amount of carelessness. This method, however, under certain conditions, requires slightly larger rooms, and more appropriate glazing. 3. The height of the walls of the toilet stalls need not be over 5 feet. The height of most of those in use is 7 feet or more. This is not only a useless expense, but it is a harm- ful expense. Stalls of this height obstruct the light, render ventilation more difficult, and are very much harder for the janitor to keep clean. 4. All stalls should be provided with a short door, not over 3 feet high, set about 10 inches above the floor, and so hinged that it will swing in when the stall is not in use. This will afford privacy, without keeping the stalls closed when not in use, and will greatly facilitate inspection and sanitation. 5. Some of the flush tanks in use are too large and do not flush often enough to keep the receiving troughs clean. 330 The Portland Survey Only sufficient water to sweep them clean should be dis- charged at one time. Some of the largest tanks could be safely reduced, if at the same time they were set to discharge oftener. This change would require no more water and would keep the rooms more sanitary. In Germany, where this type of toilets is frequently used, the flushing is often regulated by clock-work, so that the flushings are more fre- quent during intermissions than at other times. 6. The urinal troughs in use are bad, and this system should not be installed in any future buildings. The best now on the market for schools are ventilated downward, and have the sides and backs made of hammered or " carrara " glass. Glass does not absorb the urine, is easily kept clean, and will wear indefinitely. The metal partitions now in use cannot be kept from corroding and accumulating solid material, which soon becomes offensively odorous. Much relief could be secured by cutting off the lower parts of these metal sides. 7. At least two sizes of seats should be set in each toilet room of future buildings, so that both the smaller and the larger children may be decently provided for. In most of the toilets in the present buildings the little people are com- pelled to use seats too high for them. The different sizes should be segregated, for reasons not necessary to state. 8. In the buildings now supplied with urinal troughs some benches should be supplied for the small boys to stand on, for in many of the buildings they are set too high for the smaller boys. 9. In future buildings adequate provisions should be made to ventilate all seats and urinals. In the older types of toilet fixtures, largely used in the Portland schools, direct and complete ventilation is impossible because the pipes are too small and often very long, and dependence is placed entirely on having the heat from the furnace chimney create a draft in the outlet adjoining. If these ventilation flues The School Plant 331 for the toilets could be heated directly, or if an exhaust fan were installed in them just above the intake of the ducts from the toilets, the sanitary condition of the toilets would be greatly improved. 10. Some schools are oversupplied with seats and uri- nals, while others have not enough. I found in the Hoi- man School that the number supplied was totally inadequate. This condition should be remedied immediately. It is im- possible to calculate with exactness just how many toilet fixtures are needed for a given number of pupils, because the age of the pupils is a large element in the demand. Besides, where many children go home for their luncheon, another variation in the demand is introduced. Likewise, fewer are needed when the programs are so arranged that the classes are not all dismissed for recess at the same time. But approximately one seat for 15 girls and one for 25 boys will not miss the requirement far. The number of urinals for the boys should be greater, say one for 20 boys. These figures, as indicated above, are not applicable in all cases, but will serve as a helpful rule for general guidance. 11. The ventilated and automatic washout seats (those in which the seat lid springs back and flushes the bowl as soon as the child rises) are the best. However, these need frequent adjustment to make sure of flushing. I found a number of this type out of adjustment, and unflushed after use. The principals should inspect all toilets frequently and report immediately any disarrangement. 12. In some of our schools trouble from the spread of venereal diseases has been met with, and for this reason the open-front type of toilet seat should be used in all future construction. It is but fair to report that while many of the toilet rooms are improperly lighted, supplied with the older types of fixtures, badly set, and improperly ventilated, the jani- 33 2 The Portland Survey tors for the most part are keeping them as clean and sani- tary as conditions will permit. BATHS Aside from the high school building, I found little or no attempt to supply baths in the school buildings of Portland. I wish to recommend that, especially in those schools util- ized by the children dwelling in the more congested districts of the city such, for example, as the Chapman, Couch, and Failing schools provision be made for shower baths, and that the children be offered the opportunity and the time to bathe at least once a week. This will do many of them more real good than the same amount of time spent in any other way, and it will be of great educational value to both pupils and parents. It would not be an expensive undertaking to install shower baths in many of the large basements already provided. School baths are no longer in the experimental stage. CLEANING DEVICES Vacuum Cleaners Schoolroom dust is not only disagreeable, but dangerous, and as rapidly as possible vacuum cleaners should be in- stalled in all buildings. Some tested form of central vacuum suction should be employed, so that the dust can either be discharged through water or carried off through a high chimney. Vacuum cleaners, however, will not prove ac- ceptable or satisfactory unless the pipes are properly placed and a strong, regular suction is produced. I wish to rec- ommend, in as forceful a manner as possible, that a suction pipe be installed near the floor line in the middle of one end of each classroom, preferably the end where the teacher's desk is located, so as to make it unnecessary to use a long, heavy hose, and also to make it easier for the The School Plant 333 janitor to move along the aisles between the desks. The cost of installation will be somewhat greater with this method, but by reason of reduction of friction in the short hose the effectiveness will be much increased and the labor of the janitor greatly reduced. The main expense of a vacuum cleaner is the running expense, and it is good econ- omy to spend more to save much. Besides, the work will be better done. The older method of locating the suction pipes in the halls has proved entirely unsatisfactory and measurably ineffective. In most of the Portland buildings having vacuum-cleaner appliances, there are entirely too few hose attachments. I noticed that in some of the buildings the janitors had fitted one or more of the suction pipes with devices to free the chalk erasers of dust. This is to be commended, and such janitors deserve recognition for this kind of service. Dust Cloths The use of feather dusters in school buildings should be prohibited. They serve only to stir up the dust, and thereby make the schoolrooms more unhealthful. Dust cloths should be used instead. The janitors should be fur- nished with an abundance of some form of " dustless dust cloths " and " dustless wall mops," and should be required to use them. DRINKING FOUNTAINS Practically all the buildings are supplied with drinking fountains, most of which are satisfactory. Some are in- sanitary by reason of the fact that the stream does not rise high enough above the cup to prevent the children's lips from touching the cup. Those being installed by the depart- ment mechanics are very good, but in some buildings need adjustment to insure an equally strong flow from all the cups. Some are too hard to press; others shoot a large stream on slight pressure. 334 The Portland Survey SLATES To find slates still in use in the schools of Portland was wholly unexpected. There was a time when slates were a necessity, but that time has long since passed. The cost of paper and lead pencils is now so small that most cities in- clude them in the regular list of supplies and furnish them to all the children of the elementary grades free. Slates are at best noisy, dirty, insanitary, and, at the present time, wholly unjustifiable. Besides, better teaching can be done with the use of paper and lead pencil or pen, for the use of paper for written work of all kinds puts a premium upon neatness and carefulness which slates cannot command. I have no hesitation, therefore, in the interest of cleanliness and sanitation, as well as in the interest of better teaching, in recommending that the use of slates in the schools be abandoned immediately. The Board of School Directors ought to furnish an ample supply of paper, lead pencils, pens, and ink, for all the elementary schools, without cost to the children. 1 JANITOR SERVICE The janitor of a modern school building is, next to the principal, perhaps the most important officer in the school. The time has passed when anyone who is sufficiently strong to sweep and build fires should be considered capable of being a good janitor. With the advent of modern systems of heating, ventilation, sweeping, humidification, disinfec- tion, and general oversight of buildings, an intelligent and trained man is needed. Unless a janitor understands thor- oughly the theory and construction of thermostats, the use of fans, the best method of sweeping and dusting, and gen- eral sanitation, he cannot render efficient service, however willing he may be. A modern janitor needs specific train- ing, not only in the tricks of his trade, but in the theoreti- cal and practical understanding of all these things. 1 See also Chapter VIII, pages 160 to 162. The School Plant 335 A Janitors' School I wish to recommend, therefore, that the Superintendent of Properties be given charge of the school janitors, and that he be instructed to take immediate steps to organize a sort of janitor school, where those who are already in the work, and those who are making applications for position for such service, may be carefully instructed in the duties of this very important work. The following brief sugges- tions regarding the establishment of such training courses may be of some help : 1. Regular meetings of janitors should be held at least once a month, at designated school buildings, and a regu- lar program for their instruction should be outlined. 2. This course of instruction should consist of: (a) Lec- tures by the Superintendent and Medical Inspector on such subjects as the following: the danger of dust; the selection and placing of school desks; the care of blackboards; the disinfection of toilets and schoolrooms; the general man- agement of basements ; the care of the health of a janitor ; the proper temperature of a classroom, (b) Technical instruction by the school engineer or department mechanic on the following subjects : how to build fires and stoke economically ; the theory and supervision of thermostats ; the theory and management of the various systems of ventila- tion ; plumbing fixtures ; sweeping compounds and how to make them ; oiling floors ; management of fans ; the dis- posal of ashes and cinders; the management of vacuum cleaners; sweeping and dusting; protection against fires, etc. (c) " Tricks of the trade," set forth and illustrated by the most efficient janitors in the service, (d) Lectures by selected principals on : fire drills ; the care of school prop- erty ; the general management of boys ; the moral influence of janitors; opportunities of a janitor; the care of play- grounds, etc. (e) Discussions of the latest and best infor- 336 The Portland Survey mation relating to the work of janitors, gathered from mag- azines and books. A good supply of books, articles, and other helps should be furnished by the Board of School Directors. The above suggestions embody only a few of the topics which might be outlined. But with some such plan as this put into operation, not only much expense could be saved, but a much higher degree of efficiency in the janitor force could be secured. Provision for such training would also give the Board of School Directors the opportunity to de- mand professional preparation for their work of all appli- cants for janitorial service. In a word, it would introduce a system of selecting the fittest and would take the office out of the field of politics and personal pull. 1 In addition I wish to say that an intelligent, well-trained janitor should get better pay than one who, other things being equal, has nothing to commend him but ordinary in- telligence and physical strength. One element entering into the selection of a janitor should always be that of moral character and ability to understand children and manage them acceptably. Those janitors who serve most helpfully should be remunerated accordingly. MISCELLANEOUS RECOMMENDATIONS I. The children of the Ladd School should be protected in the use of the park and the street next the building for playgrounds. The police should be asked to keep all auto- mobiles and wagons off this street while the children are at play during intermissions. This will hinder public rights very little, because the street on the opposite side of the park can be used at such times with little or no inconvenience, and the children will then be protected. During my visit to this school many children were endangered by rapidly moving automobiles. Children have rights, as well as adults. 1 See also Chapter XI, page 278. The School Plant 337 2. If a roller-skating track of 12 or 15 feet in width were constructed of concrete around the two parts of the playground at the new Failing School, and at least one part of the playground of the Irvington and the Clinton Kelly schools, it would bring a great joy and service to the children of these neighborhoods, not only during inter- missions, but after school hours and during vacations. The Failing School grounds in particular could then be used much more helpfully as a recreation center for all the young people of the neighborhood. The same suggestion could be profitably applied to the playgrounds of a number of other schools. 3. I should like to suggest that advantage be taken of the deep ravine between the Creston School building and the new playground to construct an open-air or Greek amphi- theater. Comparatively little expense would be incurred, and one of the most useful and beautiful structures in the whole city would result. It would serve for many school purposes and social-center activities, and would certainly be in demand by the city as a whole. 4. The Lownsdale and Couch schools are unfit for school use and should be abandoned as soon as possible. 5. I commend the form of coved baseboards used in the Fern wood School and recommend that this form of con- struction be introduced in all future buildings. 6. Something should be done to deaden the halls in the Jefferson High School building. They are very noisy. This building was badly constructed and will eventually require expensive repairs. 7. The Fulton Park site is so near to two car lines that the Board of School Directors should exchange it, if pos- sible, for a site farther removed from the growing disturb- ance and danger that will surely come with increasing traffic. 338 The Portland Survey ADVISORY EDUCATIONAL COMMITTEE ON BUILDINGS Finally, I should like to suggest that a small committee, say of five, composed of two principals, a teacher from the primary grades, one from the upper grades, and one from the high schools, be appointed to advise with the Superin- tendent and the architect when plans for new buildings are under consideration. If those especially qualified for the work of this committee are selected, and are given oppor- tunity to make some special study of school hygiene, they can render valuable service to the city. CHAPTER XIV 1 THE SYSTEM OF HEALTH SUPERVISION PREFATORY NOTE : This report is based on an investigation of one week's du- ration. All the information available was secured from the chief medical officer, three of the four school medical examiners, the school nurse, the director of physical training, and the Superintendent of Schools. This was supplemented by conversations with nine school principals and at least forty-four teachers, all of whom expressed themselves as frankly and fully as time would permit. The writer was present during the routine medical examination of about 400 children, in three different types of schools, and saw, altogether, about 2,400 children in classrooms, in physical training drills, and in exit or entrance marches. Seven recitations in hygiene were observed in whole or in part, besides four physical training exercises. The schools visited were selected as representative of various social and hygienic conditions. It is believed that no amount of further investigation would have altered materially the substance of the report which follows. LEWIS M. TERMAN. TWO TYPES OF SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICE IN the schools of the United States there are two main types of school medical service. In order to make clear the significance of certain criticisms and recommendations to be made in this report, it is necessary to describe these briefly and to set forth their respective aims and procedures. 2 i. The first is "medical inspection" carried on chiefly for the detection and control of transmissible diseases. This is the form in which school medical work everywhere had 1 Chapter XIV was written by Professor L. M. Tennan. EDITOR. 2 It is not possible to set forth in this report the facts and arguments of a general nature on which the criticisms and recommendations of this chapter are based. These can be obtained from the following three books by the writer: The Hygiene of the School Child, Health Work in the Schools (written with the assistance of Dr. E. B. Hoag), and The Teacher's Health. DIRECTOR. 339 340 The Portland Survey its beginning. In nearly all cases, it was merely an exten- sion of the functions of the local board of health. The cost is very small, averaging in the United States about 13 cents per year for each child. Medical inspection of this type has unquestionably proved its value. It is the primitive type of school medical service, however, and has been super- seded in most of the larger and many of the smaller cities of the country by the type of work about to be described. 2. The second kind of school medical service goes beyond mere " medical inspection " and has for its purpose the " health supervision " of schools in a broad sense. It aims not only to control contagious diseases, but also to discover every form of physical defectiveness which may exist among the pupils ; to bring about, by means of an efficient follow-up service, the correction of as many of these as possible ; and to supervise the activities of the school to the end of pre- venting conditions of ill health. Defects of teeth, throat, eyes, nose, cervical glands, ears, nutrition, heart, lungs, nervous system, and skeletal development are carefully sought out. This type of health supervision includes in its scope phys- ical training and playground activities, medical control of athletics, physical examinations of candidates for teaching positions, supervision of the school program from the point of view of hygiene, the segregation of defective children in special schools (open-air schools, schools for the deaf, blind, crippled, feeble-minded, etc.), home education in mat- ters of hygiene, expert advice in regard to schoolhouse con- struction and sanitation, besides many other lines of work more or less preventive in nature. Health supervision of the type just outlined is usually under the direction of a physician of special training and equipment, who gives his whole time to the work. The an- nual cost of such a system is, at least, 50 cents per pupil, but measured by results it is by far the cheapest form of school medical service. System of Health Supervision 341 MAIN FEATURES OF THE PORTLAND SYSTEM With minor exceptions, Portland's school medical service belongs distinctly to the first type. It is carried on by the board of health. Four half-time school medical examiners are employed (three hours daily for five days a week), a nurse for full time, and a dentist for one day each week (Saturdays). The total annual expense is about $3,250, or a little over 10 cents per child. The emphasis is obviously on the control of contagious diseases and the eradication of parasites, and upon securing treatment for the worst cases of adenoids, tonsils, and decayed teeth. Notwithstanding the restricted scope of the work, as or- ganized, it is performing a service which is worth many times its cost. At the same time, it should be regarded merely as a beginning, by no means as a final accomplish- ment. NATURE OF THE MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS GIVEN Under the present system these can be nothing more than superficial inspections. Each half-time medical examiner has from 5,000 to 7,000 children under his charge and is expected to make the entire rounds of his district in from one to two months. This demands the inspection of chil- dren at the rate of about 200 to 400 for each half -day. 1 A thorough examination once a year, or even once in two years, would result in more good than a large number of superficial inspections. The method employed in the examinations is to have the pupils of a room march in single file by the physician, who stops each child long enough to permit inspection of the hands, arms, and hair. Then the physician gives a hasty glance into the mouth and throat, and the pupil passes on. Cases of itch and pediculosis, also extreme cases of ob- 1 Adequate examinations cannot be made more rapidly than 20 to 40 per half -day. 342 The Portland Survey structed nasal breathing and dental decay, are listed by the teacher at the examiner's request and reported to the parent on a card provided for the purpose. No examination is made for defects of heart, lungs, nutri- tion, general development, hearing, vision, etc., or for spinal curvature, flat foot, or other orthopedic defects. 1 Teeth are not reported unless their condition is rather bad, and the milder cases of obstructed nasal breathing seem to escape attention sometimes. In one room where I was present during the inspection no child was reported (at least on this particular occasion) for defective teeth. After the departure of the medical examiner I looked into the mouth of each child in this room and did not find a reasonably clean set of teeth, or a single child free from dental decay. Most children had from three to six teeth badly decayed, one of them fourteen. Perhaps children in this room had been reported for defec- tive teeth at previous inspections, but if so, little or nothing had ever come of it. On this occasion, however, the in- spector reported several children for " nits," several for dirty neck or hands, and one for tonsils. The room in ques- tion was in one of the poorest sections of the city. The ex- aminer himself stated that not far from 75 per cent, of the children in this school have adenoids or diseased tonsils. Anaemia was evident on every hand. There is no intent to criticise the medical examiners. Par- asites naturally get first attention, for a school so afflicted is not a livable place. As regards neglect of the less obvious defects, nothing else could be expected. Where there is time neither in examinations nor in follow-up work for attention to more than a small proportion of the defects, ordinary human sympathy insures that the severe or advanced defects will be looked after first. This is only natural. It means, 1 It should be added, however, that sometimes children suspected by the teachers of having visual or auditory defect are given a special examination. Obviously, only a negligible proportion of the enrollment can receive such examinations. System of Health Supervision 343 however, that the efforts are largely misspent. Defects should be remedied at the earliest possible moment. It is unwise to neglect adenoids until the child's face has become deformed, his body stunted, and his mind dulled. Teeth that have been neglected until eight or ten are decayed pre- sent a hopeless problem. The same is largely true of other kinds of defectiveness. Failure to make annual hearing tests means that many curable cases of partial deafness will go untreated. If annual tests of vision are not made, the eyes and nervous system of many children will be wrecked. It is evident that routine inspection like that just de- scribed does not come under the head of " expert " work. It can be done just as efficiently by specially trained nurses as by the average physician, and is so done in several of the best school systems of the country. Much of it could be done by the teachers themselves after suitable instruction. DEFECTS OF THE SYSTEM Results Secured It is taken for granted that the management of contagious diseases is satisfactory. The methods employed do not differ materially from those in a majority of American cities. As regards common physical defects, the case is different. As already explained, this is in part due to the lack of op- portunity for a complete physical examination. Equally fatal is the fact that only one school nurse is employed for nearly 30,000 children. Ideally, there should be a nurse for every 2,000 children. Each of two principals stated that the entire time of one nurse should be available for her own school. Two other principals said that they could use half the time of one nurse. So slow is the average parent to act upon the examiner's recommendation that thousands of home visits need to be made each year in a city the size of Portland. Medical in- 344 The Portland Survey spection, without adequate follow-up service, amounts to little more than inspection. At present, the follow-up work devolves largely upon the teachers, who evidently have ac- complished considerable, though certainly only a fraction of what an adequate supply of nurses would accomplish. In a large proportion of cases the matter ends with the notification of parents. It is impossible to state the actual or even approximate percentage of children receiving the medical attention recommended, for the reason that no attempt is made to secure records. Urged to venture a guess on this point, one of the medical examiners estimated that probably one fourth to one half of the parents re- sponded; another medical examiner estimated one half to two thirds; while principals and teachers gave estimates varying from one tenth to three fourths. The proportion must vary greatly in the different schools according to the prevailing social and economic conditions of the parents, but in no case have we the facts necessary to enable us to measure the efficiency of the system in terms of results. One index of the efficiency of a system of health super- vision is the proportion of children wearing glasses. Sta- tistics of visual defects collected from many hundreds of thousands of school children in diverse parts of the world prove that the per cent, of school children with subnormal vision is much the same everywhere. This always falls between 15 and 30 per cent. The proportion who really need glasses, however, is less than this, ordinarily not far from 10 to 12 per cent. Of about 2,400 children whom I saw in the Portland schools, only a fraction over 2 per cent, wore glasses, most of these in the upper grades. On the most liberal estimate, not over one fourth of the Portland children who should be wearing glasses are doing so. In almost every class there are several cases of extreme dental neglect and from one to three or four cases of neg- lected nasal obstruction. Adenoids and enlarged tonsils seem unusually numerous in the Portland schools. One of the examiners estimated the incidence as high as 50 per System of Health Supervision 345 cent, for the entire city. Judging from 200 or more throats into which I looked, this estimate appears to me as none too high. Records and Reports Records and reports are altogether unsatisfactory. There are no records on what should be regarded as the main point, viz., the action taken by parents after notification of defects. The medical examiners report daily to the central office the number of pupils examined, numbers of defective pupils found, number of cases of pediculosis, measles, scarlet fever, chicken pox, etc., also number listed for adenoids, tonsils, etc. These reports are summarized monthly in the reports of the health officer. TABLE XXm' HEALTH OFFICERS' MONTHLY REPORTS Cases Sept., 1911 March, 1913 No. of pupils examined 16,882 19,729 No. of defective pupils found 225 i)396 No. of cases of pediculosis found 126 261 No. of cases of scarlet fever found o o No. of cases of diphtheria found o o No. of cases of chicken pox found 2 8 No. of cases of measles found o o No. of pupils vaccinated . o o Miscellaneous o 1,127 It will be noted that pediculosis, measles, chicken pox, etc., are reported specifically, while obstructed breathing, discharging ears, defective eyes, teeth, etc., are lumped to- gether in a group called " miscellaneous," as though they were minor matters. This illustrates a very common mis- placement of emphasis. Space does not permit us to point out all the defects of the record system in use. It is wholly bad. The value of a system of medical inspection depends in- timately upon its bookkeeping methods. The following are some of the important considerations : 346 The Portland Survey 1. There should be an individual health card for each pupil. This should go with the pupil from grade to grade. It should contain the complete data for each annual medi- cal examination, together with note of action taken upon recommendations. This card should be a complete health history of the child from the beginning to the end of his school life. It should be kept in the school building where the child attends, and a copy may be kept in the central office. In the registration of data explicitness should be the rule. For example, the record of a defective ear should show whether it is a case of ear discharge or something else. The eyes should be recorded separately. Squint should be des- ignated specifically, and so on with all other kinds of defects. 2. The general reports (monthly, annual, etc.) should also be explicit and should conform to ordinary statistical requirements. For example, they should avoid such pro- cedures as stating the number of defects found without in- dicating the number of children furnishing them, or giv- ing per cent, of defects without indicating what the per cent, is a per cent. of. To illustrate: the Portland exam- iners report under the heading, " number of defective pupils found," from 2 per cent, to 6 per cent, of those examined. But there is nothing to tell us whether these are new cases of defectiveness not found before, or whether they are largely made up of old cases, reported over again each month. The general report should avoid lumping together defects of different significance. The common and the rare, the primary and the secondary, curable and incurable, chronic and acute, the grave and the unimportant, should not be confused. The reports should be so planned that they will throw some light on the relation of the various kinds of defects to each other, their dependence upon age, their in- fluence upon school progress, etc. They should be compre- hensible to the public. They should show how many cases were cured, improved, by what agencies cared for, etc. The individual health card should combine the best fea- System of Health Supervision 347 tures of the Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Meriden (Con- necticut) cards. The nurse's report should be modeled after that used in Philadelphia. The Field for School Health Activities in Portland That the scope of the work is very restricted has already been emphasized. To give a better idea of the real field for the activities of a school health department, it may be well to estimate the probable amount of physical defective- ness among the 30,000 school children of Portland. The following- estimates are based on statistics from millions of school children in different parts of the United States, Can- ada, Europe, Australia, and other countries. The estimates given are minimum figures, and hold, we may be certain, everywhere. They are exceeded even in such good resi- dence cities as Los Angeles, Pasadena, Berkeley, and Oakland. Of Portland's 30,000 children not far from 10 per cent. (3,000) are poorly nourished or anaemic; 50 per cent. (15,000) have seriously defective teeth ; 15 per cent. (4,500) have or have had obstructed nasal breathing; 10 per cent. (3,000) have enlarged cervical glands, many of which are tuberculous ; 15 per cent. (15,000) have been infected at least once with tuberculosis, one fifth of whom (or one tenth of all) will probably die of the disease; 10 per cent. (3,000) have vision defective enough to require correction by glasses ; 5 per cent. (1,500) have seriously defective hearing, one fifth of whom (i per cent, of all) are at least nine tenths deaf; 5 per cent. (1,500) have spinal curvature or some other orthopedic defect likely to interfere with health; 2 per cent. (600) have organic heart disease; 348 The Portland Survey 5 per cent. (1,500) are " nervous " or predisposed to some form of nervous disorder; i per cent. (360) are so backward mentally that their intelligence will never go beyond that which is normal for the twelve-year-old child ; y 2 per cent, of the boys (150) and 2 per cent, of the girls (600) stutter or have some other speech defect; 50 per cent (15,000) do not use a toothbrush with needed regularity; 90 per cent. (27,000) do not know how to use a tooth- brush properly; 10 to 20 per cent. (3,000 to 6,000) have toothache frequently ; 10 to 15 per cent. (3,000 to 4,500) sleep in a bedroom with no window open; 20 per cent. (6,000) sleep from one to two hours less per day than children of their age should sleep; 60 per cent. (18,000) drink one or more cups of tea or coffee per day ; 50 to 75 per cent. (15,000 to 22,500) have no fruit for breakfast; 10 to 15 per cent. (3,000 to 4,500) are constipated to greater or less degree, etc. The above is by no means a complete list, but is sufficient to indicate the vast field of health conservation which a school medical service like that of Portland is hardly able to touch upon. To deal effectively with all this defective- ness and to supervise the activities of the school so that defects will less often develop are infinitely more important ends than the eradication of parasites and the control of contagious disease. As a rule not over 3 per cent, of the children will need attention in any one year for contagious disease, while from 50 to 65 per cent, have one or more forms of chronic physical defect. The two lines of work are important therefore in the ratio of about I to 20. A special line of work which ought to receive serious System of Health Supervision 349 attention in Portland is the prevalence of goiter among the school children, and especially among the girls. This con- dition calls for serious study and investigation. ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF A DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SUPERVISION FOR A CITY THE SIZE OF PORTLAND Control to be in the Hands of School Authorities Control should be vested in the school directors, not the board of health. The former method of control has super- seded the latter in more than three fourths of American cities and is rapidly coming to be a standard requirement. While it is possible for the work to be effectively carried on by a board of health, it is extremely unlikely that it will be. The board of health lacks the educational point of view, usually makes the work curative rather than preven- tive, neglects the so-called " minor " forms of defectiveness, makes the school service a side issue of the public-health work, and fails to secure the maximum cooperation from teachers and parents. In greater or less degree all the above-named faults are to be found in the Portland system. Change of control must be the first step in any real advance in the school medical service of Portland. 1 The Force Needed, and the Expense The following represents the minimum requirements for an efficient system of health supervision for 30,000 school children : One chief health director, full time, salary $3,500 One assistant physician, full time (or two for half time), salary . . . 2,200 One eye, ear, nose, and throat specialist, half time, salary i,5o One woman physician (chiefly for high school girls), full time, salary. 2,000 One dentist, full time, salary 2,000 Eight school nurses, full time, salary, each $800 6,400 Equipment 400 Total $18,000 1 For further arguments relating to control, see Gulick and Ayres: Medical Inspection of Schools, 1913 edition, Chapter X. 350 The Portland Survey As the city grows, the force would need to be increased in proportion. Two nurses and one half-time physician should be added for each 6,000 increase in the number of children. The expenditure recommended would not make an ideal system, but it would place Portland abreast of the better- class cities of its size. 1 The importance of adequate salaries deserves special emphasis. Unless they are placed on at least as good a basis as the schedule suggested above, it will be useless to expect the kind of service needed. Costs are large or small relative to other costs. The system recom- mended would add only about 60 cents per year to the $44.25 now expended per year for the child's education; or for eight years a total of $4.80 in addition to the $354 now spent for instruction. Compared to the health returns and enhanced efficiency of the instruction itself, this cost is very low. Portland is expending several times this sum every year in giving instruction a second or third time to " repeaters," whose number could no doubt be materially reduced by greater attention to health conditions. The Chief Health Director Whatever the system, its efficiency will depend more upon the equipment of the physician in charge than upon anything else. The usual medical training does not offer the slightest guarantee of fitness for this position, the requirements of which are absolutely different from those necessary for medical practice. Educational hygiene is a specialty which few physicians have cultivated. A physician should be se- lected who has had wide experience in work of this kind, and he should be given a free hand to organize the depart- ment, within the limit of the expenditures allowed. He should be a man of great tact, for it is necessary to win the confidence of children, teachers, parents, and local physi- 1 Such cities, for example, as Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and Milwaukee, all of which have health departments ranking with the best in the country. System of Health Supervision 351 cians. He should be a good speaker, so as to be able to put the department in the right light before the public. He must be able to manage the work in such a way as not to arouse unduly the opposition of religious sects or preju- diced physicians, and he must secure effective cooperation with local hospitals, dispensaries, board of health, philan- thropic agencies, mothers' clubs, etc. He must be able to train teachers in effective methods of observing children and to help them in the teaching of hygiene. Offices, Equipment, etc. There should be a central office of several rooms, viz., a general reception room, a private office for the director, one examining room, a small medical laboratory, a room for the psychologist, and a dental clinic. There should also be planned for each new school building a small room to be used by the school nurse, physician, or psychologist. These are especially necessary in the poorer parts of the city. The woman physician should have an office of two small rooms in each high school attended by girls. A similar office for the use of a male physician should be maintained in each high school attended by boys. Children who need a more thorough examination than would be possible in the routine examinations could be taken to the central office. One special nurse should be assigned to this office, whose duty it would be to keep the records and assist the physician in charge of office examinations. Dental Clinic The arrangement of the dental clinic is excellent as far as it goes. The school dentist, who is employed Saturdays only, treats from 40 to 70 children per month. Usually from one half to one third of the treatments are for extrac- tions. Emphasis, however, should be placed more on pre- ventive work. The effort to patch up the results of pro- 352 The Portland Survey longed neglect is more or less inconsequential. Portland should have at least one full-time dentist. This would not be enough, but it would make a good beginning. The ex- ample of Cambridge (England) and West Newton (Massa- chusetts) should be followed in the concentration of effort on the lower grades. This guarantees the largest amount of prevention for the expenditure of time and effort. To concentrate effort upon the bad conditions of upper grades is like locking the barn door after the horse has been stolen. Nowhere else are preventive measures so important. Dental caries is predominantly a disease of childhood and youth. When a tooth has ached, the best time for saving it has gone by. Statistics in hundreds of cities prove that always from 60 to 95 per cent, of the children have one or more decaying teeth, and that the average number per child is usually about three or four. From 10 to 30 per cent, of the children of almost any school suffer from frequent toothache, and more than I per cent, have chronic " gum boils." Impaction and other dental irregularities are com- mon. These conditions result in imperfect mastication, nervousness, general toxaemia from the absorption of pus, and lowered vitality generally. Diphtheria, tuberculosis, etc., are sometimes traceable to decayed teeth, and infection may spread from them to the throat and middle ear. Even moral delinquency sometimes yields to dental treatment. The objection sometimes made to the free dental clinic in the school is that it is an encroachment on the field of the private practitioner. This argument has no weight what- ever. A large proportion of parents simply cannot afford to employ dentists for their children. The real question is whether this work shall be done by a school dentist, or not at all. In all probability the income of private dentists would be affected favorably rather than unfavorably. The child who has throughout his school life experienced the comforts which result from school dentistry, will form the " dentist habit " and patronize the private dentist the rest of his life. Besides, disease should be conceived as an evil System of Health Supervision 353 to be eradicated and not as a resource to be conserved for the benefit of any profession. The argument that free dental treatment destroys paren- tal responsibility is not borne out by experience. Parental responsibility is increased, rather than diminished. Any- way, our duty is to the children rather than to the parents. It is a queer ethics which would demand that children's bodies be allowed to rot as a moral lesson to their parents ! Medical Clinic A great deal of medical treatment (just how much the writer was not able to learn) has been provided for the chil- dren of indigent parents in local hospitals and dispensaries. This is an excellent arrangement and should be continued and extended. One or two clinics should also be maintained by the school directors, in connection with the schools in the poorer sections of the city. These would prove a great help in the management of certain minor disorders, the treatment of which is tedious and not likely to be adequately carried out without some such arrangement. Discharging ears (which ordinarily are found in about i per cent, of the school enrollment) belong in this category. When not in use by a physician, the medical clinics would be at the serv- ice of the school nurse. The Work of School Nurses The necessity of a liberal supply of school nurses has al- ready been suggested. Without an adequate follow-up serv- ice only a small fraction of notifications sent to parents will be acted on, usually not more than 5 to 30 per cent. School nurses bring the proportion up to 85 or 90 per cent. The nurse goes into the home and by tactful presentation of the child's case effects what no other agency could accomplish. She not only secures action in the case at hand, but she also 354 The Portland Survey becomes a permanent advisory influence in the homes where she visits. It is just as effective to have the routine inspections for trachoma, pediculosis, skin diseases, etc., made by school nurses as by physicians. With proper assistance and direc- tion they make the examinations for many other kinds of defects just as efficiently as doctors. The experience of sev- eral cities demonstrates that it is far better to have a small number of exceptionally competent doctors, assisted by a good supply of nurses, than to have a large number of doc- tors and few nurses. It is also more economical. Another advantage of school nurses is that they arouse less pro- fessional jealousy than do physicians. School nurses eradicate parasites, do first-aid work, act in an advisory capacity to the older girls in intimate mat- ters of personal hygiene, and exert a most beneficent influ- ence in the Americanization of the poorer foreign popula- tion. It is a mistake, however, to suppose that nurses are only needed in schools attended by the poorer classes. Port- land could well afford to supply ten or twelve, and ought to have eight at least. The Teachers' Part in Health Supervision Any scheme of health supervision which does not suc- ceed in enlisting the interest and assistance of teachers is doomed to failure or indifferent success. The more promi- nent the preventive aspect of the work the greater is this necessity. This is an additional reason why the control should be vested in the board of education. The teacher is the only person constantly present with the pupils. She has more opportunity than anyone else to de- tect the first symptoms of contagious disease, signs of nerv- ousness, indications of eye-strain, ear discharge, deafness, etc. With the help of the medical director, teachers develop no mean degree of skill in detecting symptoms of common physical defects; without such assistance and instruction, System of Health Supervision 355 even good teachers are blind to all but the most striking dis- orders. It is the latter condition which seems to prevail in Portland. Many teachers were asked whether they had in their room any cases of partial deafness, defective eyes not fitted with glasses, spinal curvature, nervousness, malnutri- tion, badly neglected teeth, untreated adenoids, etc. Rarely was an affirmative answer received, although, without the slightest doubt, some of almost every one of the above- named defects were present in every room. I observed at a glance extreme cases of myopia, scoliosis, round shoulders, anaemia, dental caries, etc., in classes where the teacher said she knew of no such defects. The teacher had not been taught to observe, and was resting in false security on the assumption that the school doctors were looking after the child's body sufficiently. Teachers are the proper ones to make the vision and hear- ing tests. Some of the best-known oculists in the United States, including Dr. Frank Allport of Northwestern Uni- versity, Dr. Myles Standish of Harvard University, and many others, have taken this stand, after comparison of the tests made by teachers and ordinary physicians. The teacher can find the defective visual or auditory acuity not only as easily as can the physician who is not a specialist, but even better, for she has more opportunity to supplement her test with observation for symptoms. OPEN-AIR SCHOOLS Portland is one of the few cities of its size in the United States without an open-air school. The need for open-air schools, however, is much the same in this city as in any other, and the equable, temperate climate is especially suit- able to them. An examination of the health reports for the six months ending March, 1913, shows that approximately 9 per cent, of the deaths of Portland were caused by tuber- culosis. The real proportion is no doubt somewhat greater than this, as experts in vital statistics tell us that everywhere 356 The Portland Survey deaths are credited to other diseases which are indirectly due to tuberculosis. The point to emphasize is that approximately 3,000 chil- dren now attending school in Portland (10 per cent, of all) will die of this disease, unless something is done to save them. For the most part these are the children whom an examination would show to be somewhat below par in growth and nutrition. There is no way to reach such chil- dren and minister to their physical needs except through the school. At present, the schools of Portland are doing nothing for them. The medical examiners practically never report anaemia or poor development, their attention being chiefly occupied with parasites, infectious disease, etc. They are not blamed for this, for under the present system it would do no good to report ansemia and malnutrition. Nothing would come of it. The economic aspect of this problem is challenging. Portland is turning out annually at least 300 children from its schools who are doomed to die of tuberculosis, many of them in early life. Figuring on the basis of Irving Fisher's low estimate of the average economic value to society of a human life ($1,700), the total annual loss from these deaths will amount to more than a half-mil- lion dollars. As the city's population increases, the loss will be proportionately greater. The school instruction of these 300 children for nine years will have cost, at the pres- ent average cost, $119,475. In other words, Portland is spending about $119,475 annually in the education of chil- dren who will die of tuberculosis; and the total loss from these deaths will amount to more than one half million dollars per year. There can be no doubt that an adequate system of health supervision, including open-air schools, would prevent a part of this loss. 1 In this connection, certain other facts regarding tubercu- losis deserve emphasis: 1 See also Chapter XIII, pages 320 to 321. System of Health Supervision 357 1. Tuberculosis is at present as much an educational and social problem as a medical one. Relatively few cases come under the notice of a physician until the most favorable time for a cure has passed by. 2. Statistics prove that recent decreases in mortality from tuberculosis hold little or not at all for children. The disease kills about as many children of school age today as it did fifty years ago. From the ages 10 to 15, tubercu- losis is responsible for many more deaths than scarlet fever, diphtheria, measles, and whooping cough combined. 3. It is well established that a large majority of children contract tuberculosis before the end of the common-school period. Most of these, to be sure, recover promptly and without suspicious symptoms. A large minority, however, retain the infection in latent form and often, after the lapse of years, succumb to it. In dealing with them the school should do everything in its power to bulwark the body against the manifest form of the disease. It is foolish to begin expensive operations with the third and last act of the drama. 4. No system of ventilation has yet been devised which will take the place of open air for weakly, anaemic children. The lower temperature, normal humidity, and perceptible air currents of the open-air class cannot with safety be re- placed by Ihe hot, kiln-dried, and stagnant air of the aver- age schoolroom. The conditions present even under the so-called " ideal " system of mechanical ventilation too often tend to cause anaemia, headaches, nervousness, and un- healthy conditions of the nose and throat. Careful physical examinations of pupils attending open- air schools in New York, Chicago, Boston, Providence, Cleveland, Oakland, and many other cities prove that weakly, ill-nourished children in these schools invariably show remarkable gains in weight, strength, and quality of blood. Under the regimen of the open-air school, with its shorter study program, increased physical activity, and 358 The Portland Survey warm lunch, followed by one or two hours of quiet or sleep, the corpuscle-count quickly mounts from 3 or 31/2 million to 4 or 4^2 million per cubic millimeter, and the hemoglobin from 65 or 70 per cent, to 80 or 85 per cent, (not far below normal). Corresponding improvement occurs in weight, strength, appetite, mental alertness, and freedom from colds. The mental results of the open-air school are also note- worthy. Children who are listless, apathetic, and retarded often become interested and attentive. Incorrigible children develop self control and helpfulness. The spirit of the open- air school is different. Freedom, initiative, and cooperation take the place of routine and restraint. Sickly children in the open-air school make as satisfactory school progress on a study program of three hours per day as healthy children ordinarily make on a five-hour program. Grades, attend- ance, and percentage of promotions are usually better than in the ordinary class. Instruction given in the open air has marked advantages. The child is brought into closer con- tact with the world of animate and inanimate things and is more likely to relate the school instruction to his own experiences. There is no reason for limiting the advantages of open- air schools to children who are sickly. Schools which ac- complish so much for the latter could not fail to be of bene- fit to normal children. Portland could well afford to follow the example of Boston, which is placing about 5 per cent, of its school children in open-air schools, or certain cities in California, which are going even farther in this direction. At least one or two open-air classrooms should be included in each school building to be erected in the future. These should be planned and located with the assistance of an ex- pert. Meanwhile, inexpensive portable school buildings for open-air instruction can be utilized. 1 1 See Leonard P. Ayres: Open-Air Schools, 1910, Doubleday, Page and Co. System of Health Supervision 359 SCHOOL FEEDING While Portland is more fortunate than some cities as regards the average economic and educational status of her people, like all cities she has her exceptional districts. A few of the schools undoubtedly have many ill-nourished children. This does not mean that the children are starving. Malnutrition may result from many causes, including, be- sides insufficient food, injudicious selection of food, im- proper cooking, lack of supervision of the child's eating habits, etc. Defective teeth, obstructed nasal breathing, nervousness, low powers of digestion and assimilation, loss of sleep, lack of opportunity for play, overcrowding, bad air, and general parental neglect are perhaps even more common causes. Where sufficiently thorough examinations have been made, it has been found that even among the best social classes from 5 to 15 per cent, of the children are ill nourished. No other factor is as fundamental for health as nutrition. Its impairment is the first step toward tubercu- losis and many other diseases. To improve the nutrition of school children all the factors above named must receive attention. Besides furnishing the child a school environment as nearly ideal as possible, homes must be helped by visiting nurses, the use of health leaflets to parents, etc. Finally, meals ought to be served in the school of certain districts, and supplied gratis to children who cannot afford to pay. In such cases, meal tickets should always be dis- bursed in a way which will avoid bringing the indigency of a child to the knowledge of his fellows. School meals are one of the most successful and commendable of modern educational innovations. All the theoretical arguments against them have been demolished by the test of results. The school meal contributes not only to the child's health, but to his education as well. Cleanliness, order, politeness, habits of mastication, principles of dietetics, cooking, etc., 360 The Portland Survey can nowhere be so effectively taught as in connection with the school meal. 1 THE HEALTH OF THE TEACHING CORPS The health of school children is intimately bound up with that of teachers. Statistical investigations indicate that not infrequently teachers suffer from nervous disorders and from diseases of the throat, lungs, and digestive system. Some are handicapped by deafness or defective vision. Where statistics have been collected, from I to 3 per cent, have been found tuberculous. While facts on these points are not available for Portland, there is no reason to believe that the conditions here are different from those in other average cities. The prevalence of ill health among teachers is usually traced in part to the absence of any serious physical exami- nation of candidates for educational service, and in part to the teacher's strenuous work, indoor life, and neglect of per- sonal hygiene. Considerations of economy, as well as jus- tice to both children and teachers, demand that all these matters be given attention. Candidates for teaching positions should be required to pass a thorough medical examination, given by the school physicians. This should include examination for defects of lungs, heart, vision, hearing, nervous system, nutrition, etc. Such examinations are required in Los Angeles and many other cities. Experience shows the mere formal re- quirement of a certificate of good health, signed by " a reputable physician," is absolutely worthless. Anyone who has not already been turned over to the undertaker can secure such a statement. The health of the teacher in service should also receive systematic consideration. If teachers who show signs of incipient disease were required to take an examination, seri- 1 See Louise Bryant: School Feeding, 1913, J. B. Lippincott Company. System of Health Supervision 361 ous disorders could often be discovered and arrested. This would safeguard the health of teachers and pupils as well. The environment and conditions under which teachers work should be made as favorable as circumstances will per- mit. Teaching, at best, is not a particularly healthful occu- pation, or one free from severe demands upon physical and mental endurance. Investigations show that it is during the early years of service that the health is most likely to suffer impairment; hence sympathetic and helpful oversight of the young teacher is important. By all means, retiring al- lowances should be provided for teachers who have worn themselves out in the public service. HYGIENE TEACHING The amount of time devoted to the teaching of hygiene seems to be from 30 to 50 minutes per week, more often about 45. This allotment holds for all the school grades and, though not large, would appear to be sufficient if prop- erly utilized. Seven recitations in hygiene were observed. The teaching ranged from excellent to exceedingly poor, but on the whole was perhaps not below the average for most cities. The teaching of hygiene would no doubt be better if the texts were better. These belong to a type now being rapidly superseded. It should hardly be necessary to urge that the real purpose of hygiene teaching is not to store the child's mind with the dry facts of anatomy and physiology, but rather to instil habits of hygienic living. Not all the teach- ers with whom I talked seemed to appreciate fully this distinction. A better series of textbooks should be adopted, and what- ever selection is made, supplementary hygiene readers should be placed in every school. A few of the best of these make fascinating reading for both pupils and teacher. The teachers' need of a broadened horizon deserves em- phasis. Most teachers have themselves had but little instruc- 362 The Portland Survey tion in hygiene and need to have their own scope of knowl- edge enlarged. This can be brought about by well-selected supplementary books and by lectures and criticisms given from time to time by someone of wide knowledge on the subject. The right kind of school medical officer finds here one of his most important functions. It devolves upon the teacher to mold the health habits of her pupils ; to cultivate habits of posture which will prevent spinal curvature and myopia ; to encourage habits of activ- ity and love of play, which will help to counterbalance the effects of sedentary life and ward off disease; to impart the knowledge of hygiene and ideals of correct living which will act throughout life as the cheapest form of health insurance. PHYSICAL TRAINING AND PLAYGROUND INSTRUCTION The writer has never seen better physical training exer- cises than those in the Portland schools. They were lively, varied, and conducted with such a spirit of good humor and vim as to make them interesting and pleasing to the pupils as well as healthful. The play life of Portland's school children, however, as far as observations were possible, seemed by no means all it might be. Several of the schools have no playgrounds, and in several instances where the grounds were commodious the children did not play, but engaged in pulling, shoving, yelling, and other forms of boisterous rowdyism. Too often the older girls seemed to find nothing to do but sit around on the grass or parade with locked arms. It should not be necessary to argue for the educative or the moral and hygienic value of the right kind of play. No- where else will the child learn such wholesome lessons in fair play, social cooperation, and self-control. Correct judg- ment brings its quick reward ; error its certain penalty. Play life is real life for the child, as the school too often is not. It is the duty of the school to teach children to play and to System of Health Supervision 363 encourage them to play. Every teacher should be a play instructor. Certain ones who show special adaptability for this kind of work should be given special training for it. Organized courses of instruction are necessary for this purpose. It is recommended that the scope of the department of physical training be enlarged to include supervision of the playground work. The director of physical training has already accomplished a great deal in this line, but he should be given more assistants for the routine physical training exercises, so that he may be responsible for the organization and supervision of playground instruction on a broad scale. He should be given a free hand and held responsible merely for results. Teachers who have some special training should be employed to act as playground instructors for an hour or two after the dismissal of school and on Saturdays during the school year. Play is just as necessary during the school year as in vacation, for the sedentary life which the child leads from 9 A. M. to 3.30 p. M. needs to be counterbalanced. As already recommended, the services of two physicians should be available in the high schools, one for boys and one for girls. One of their important duties would be to give physical examinations to determine fitness for various kinds of physical training and athletic exercise. In the absence of such examinations the more strenuous forms of the exer- cises in current use are sure to cause physical injury in a certain proportion of cases, possibly 5 per cent. The physical training department would also do well to consider the advisability of establishing, as soon as possible, special orthopedic exercises for the treatment of scoliosis, round shoulders, flat foot, etc. For this purpose children will need to be classified according to type of defect. The exercises, which should be given for 40 to 50 minutes about three times a week, could take place after the close of the afternoon session. In the conduct of such work, the cooperation of an orthopedic surgeon is very desirable. 364 The Portland Survey THE HYGIENE OF INSTRUCTION I DAILY SCHOOL PROGRAMS The daily programs inspected were not always arranged to accord with the results of psychological and physiologi- cal studies of fatigue. No home study should be required below the sixth or seventh grade, and it should be strictly limited and carefully supervised whenever made use of. Textbooks should be chosen which do not violate the stand- ard requirements in the hygiene of reading. The motor aspects of the learning process should receive more atten- tion. The work of the school should be directed in the light of such studies as have been made relating to the hygiene of the learning process, the hygiene of discipline, the influ- ence of holidays and vacations on the child's ability to do mental work, the hygienic aspects of classification, promo- tion, etc. In various matters of this kind the advice of a psychologist should be available. SPECIAL SCHOOLS AND CLASSES NEEDED School for the Deaf The one class now conducted for the deaf is not sufficient for any school system of 30,000 children. Among this number there are sure to be from 100 to 150 children too deaf to profit greatly from the regular instruction. A very important desideratum in the education of deaf children is their proper classification. Three classes are to be carefully distinguished and separately taught by methods suitable to each. These are (i) the deaf; (2) the "semi- deaf " (those with a usable remnant of hearing) ; and (3) the dull or feeble-minded deaf. The rule should be to place the child in the highest type of school (that is, the type most nearly resembling the ordinary school) for which he is fitted. 1 1 See article by Dr. Love in Proceedings of the Second International Congress of School Hygiene, pages 828 to 839, and that by Dr. Yearsley in International Magazine of School Hygiene, Volume VII, pages 4 to 13. System of Health Supervision 365 In the education of deaf and semi-deaf children it is ex- tremely important to get them in the special class at an early age and to keep them to the age of 17 or 1 8, if possible. Special Schools for Blind or Crippled Children A special class for each of these groups is probably needed in Portland. While many otherwise progressive cities are slow to recognize the responsibility of society in the edu- cation of such unfortunates, the responsibility nevertheless is real. Every child has a right to the kind of education which will best fit it for the duties of citizenship. The more serious the child's handicap, the deeper is this obligation. Special Classes for Stammerers There are probably 200 school children in Portland who should attend classes of this sort. The one now conducted is only a beginning. Statistics show that not over half the children who stutter recover spontaneously, but that 80 per cent, can be cured or greatly improved in a few months by appropriate instruction in special classes. Complete segre- gation is not necessary. Experience elsewhere proves that a special class, meeting for about 40 minutes each day, will suffice in a large majority of cases. The stuttering child presents a tragedy to which many parents and teachers are strangely blind. Such a child is likely to become retarded. He is subjected to jest and ridi- cule and is likely to develop traits of abnormal timidity. The vocational outlook for stutterers is altogether unpromising. They are barred, practically, from law, medicine, the min- istry, teaching, and many lines of business. 1 1 For information on the treatment of stuttering in European schools, see articles by George Rouma in International Magazine of School Hygiene, III, 1907, pages 116 to 171. 366 The Portland Survey Schools for Backward Children Portland has more than its full quota of retarded chil- dren. The statistics given in Tables XVI and XVII, in Chapter IX (pages 186 and 189), show the large number of children in the schools who are too old for their grades. In discussing these tables Superintendent Spaulding pointed out the importance of careful attention to the needs of these children. This was again emphasized in Chapter XI by Superintendent Francis (page 264). To become retarded means, in many cases, to repeat work. Work that is repeated becomes stale. Repeaters lose not only interest, but self-confidence as well. The child who has failed of two or three promotions has usually formed the habit of failure. Portland is every year turning out many children who do not know what it means to succeed. To prevent this waste (Portland is spending now $44.25 a year giving instruction to repeaters), it will be necessary to undertake systematic study of the children who are re- tarded. Among the important factors are dullness, feeble- mindedness, physical defects, peculiar interests or abnormal moral traits, etc. Improved methods of promotion, instruc- tion, etc., can be looked to for the prevention of minor degrees of retardation, but not the extreme ones. For the right understanding and handling of the latter, the services of a psychologist will be necessary. 1 Assisting the psychologist, there should be one full-time field worker, whose function it would be to gather information regarding the home life, previous history, and heredity of backward or otherwise exceptional children. This measure, supple- mented by the work of the school health department, would be able to accomplish wonders in bringing up to standard a certain number who are retarded because misunderstood or because physically handicapped. The more extreme cases of backwardness cannot be 1 See Arthur Holmes: The Conservation of the Child, 1912, J. B. Lippincott Company. System of Health Supervision 367 brought up to grade, but they can be segregated, classified by psychological methods, and given a kind of instruction from which they can derive immensely more profit than they can from the regular class. About 2 per cent, of school children are so backward mentally that they can never mas- ter the abstractions of upper grammar grade studies. To keep them forever mumbling over subject-matter which they cannot master is both farcical and cruel. They clog the educational machinery. They consume a disproportionate amount of the teacher's energy. They pull down the stand- ard of achievement for other children. They become dis- heartened and dejected, or else case-hardened and apathetic. Most of this class would be capable of learning a trade if they had an opportunity, and in no other way can the school help them so much as by affording them the kind of educa- tion which will make them self-supporting. They must be saved from becoming industrial drags after they leave school, for vocational unfitness is the open door to vice, pauperism, and crime. 1 It is recommended that all children retarded two years or more be given a careful examination, both medical and psychological, with a view to the formation of special classes for those who are in need of such instruction. The special class should never enroll more than 15 pupils per teacher. The purpose should be to fit the instruction to the needs of the individual child, with little regard to the regular course of study for normal children. A shop is a necessary ad- junct. The special teachers should be paid the maximum salary, and should have had specific training for this kind of work. Personality is an important element in their equipment. 2 The children just described are mentally inferior, but not feeble-minded in the ordinary sense. They will be able to " float " in some sort of fashion in the social and indus- 1 See also Chapters IX and XI. 2 See book by Lightner Witmer and others: The Special Class, 1912, the Psychological Clinic Press. 368 The Portland Survey trial world. They are along the border line between mental deficiency and normality. Many of them will never develop intelligence or responsibility beyond that of an eleven or twelve-year-old child. Educationally neglected, as is too often the case, they drift easily into pauperism and crime. Psychologists are demonstrating that from 20 to 40 per cent, of our prison inmates, and from 30 to 50 per cent, of our white-slave victims, belong to this class of individuals whom we may designate as "border liners." The annual cost of vice and crime in Portland is greater than the city's total annual expenditure for education. The criminals of tomorrow are school children today. To stop the stream of criminality and inefficiency we must study its genesis in childhood. Classes for the Feeble-minded Another group of children, perhaps one half of one per cent, of all, come under the designation " feeble-minded." The proportion is much larger than it is usually given, for the reason that physicians (who are seldom acquainted with the psychological methods used in such cases) usually over- look the higher grades of defect. These should be rigidly confined in state institutions or colonies throughout the reproductive period. If allowed to produce offspring, the result is almost certain to be a spawn of degeneracy and feeble-mindedness. They will improve under training, but it is a positive danger to society to make them self- supporting. With two or three exceptions, the children now enrolled in Portland's special class belong to this group. Most of them certainly are strictly institution cases. Instead of expending inconsequential effort on these cases, it is wiser to concentrate effort upon those who are merely backward, dull, " queer," incorrigible, etc. It is wisest to devote time and money where we may hope for greatest return. System of Health Supervision 369 Special Classes for Truants, Incorrigibles, and Other Misfits To be convinced of the fruitfulness of this field, the reader will need only to examine the latest report of Mr. E. J. Lickley, Supervisor of Compulsory Education in Los Angeles. 1 No mistake would be made if the Los Angeles method of dealing with this problem were copied in detail by Portland. The teachers are all men. Manual and trade work, play and athletics are emphasized. Truancy is no longer dealt with by the Juvenile Court. The percentage of daily attendance is every month higher in the truant schools than in any regular school in the city. No pupil in these schools is expelled or suspended, and punishment of any kind is rare. Almost every boy makes good, and hundreds are saved from careers of criminality and started on the road to upright living and good citizenship. 2 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 1. That medical supervision be taken over by the Board of Education. 2. That its scope be enlarged to include inspection for many kinds of defects which are now seldom reported. 3. That the work be placed under the supervision of a well-paid, full-time physician who has had wide experience in this line of health service and who appreciates the edu- cational aspects of the problem. 4. That besides the chief director, two full-time and two half-time physicians be employed (one of the full-time physi- cians to be a woman and one of the half-time physicians to be an .eye, ear, nose, and throat specialist), and one full- time dentist. 1 See Psychological Clinic, May, 1913. 8 See also Chapter XI, page 266. 37Q The Portland Survey 5. That at least seven additional full-time nurses be em- ployed, so that adequate follow-up service may be organized and vigorously prosecuted. 6. That an efficient system of records and reports be instituted. 7. That annual vision and hearing tests be made by the teachers, under the direction of the chief medical director. 8. That greater emphasis be placed upon preventive work and upon the treatment of so-called " minor " defects which are likely to lead to ill health. 9. That candidates for teaching positions be required to pass a physical examination, conducted by the school medi- cal department, and that attention be given to the health of teachers in service. 10. That the teaching of hygiene be made less academic, and that ittbe directed especially toward the cultivation of hygienic habits of living. 11. That playgrounds be increased in number and size as rapidly as finances will permit, and that the playground instruction be organized and combined with the department of physical training. 12. That a few open-air schools be established at once, and that their number be increased rapidly until they can accommodate all the anaemic, debilitated children in the schools (or at least 5 per cent, of the enrollment). 13. That plans be made for the organization, in the near future, of a more adequate system of special classes for the deaf (to include a number of children whose hearing is not quite destroyed but who cannot profit from ordinary in- struction), the blind, the crippled (certain classes of cripples only), stutterers, etc. 14. That warm lunches be served in several schools, where a fairly large proportion of the children are under- nourished. System of Health Supervision 371 15. That a psychologist be employed to assist in the study of mentally peculiar and defective children, with a view to the segregation of certain types of cases in special schools. The chief problem here is the " border line " child. 1 6. That attention be given to the more important as- pects of the hygiene of instruction, including the choice of hygienic textbooks, the regulation of home study, the ar- rangement of the daily program, the number of recesses, and kindred matters. PART IV Attendance, Records, and Costs CHAPTER XV 1 SCHOOL CENSUS AND ATTENDANCE PREFATORY NOTE: The principal sources for the preparation of this portion of the report have been (a) the special oral and written information furnished by the School Clerk and the Truant Officer; (b) the description of the method followed in taking the census, as given by two principals; and (c) the official blanks and reports to which reference is made. E. C. ELLIOTT. THE SCHOOL CENSUS A COMPLETE, accurate, and continuous census of the school population of the city is an indispensable fac- tor for the best and most effective administration of a pub- lic school system organized to provide an education for all the children in the community. Such a census affords an index to the changing educational needs of the city, arising from the growth, movement, and character of the popula- tion. The extent to which the enforcement of the Compul- sory Education and Child Labor Laws is possible depends very largely upon the completeness and reliability of the school census. Furthermore, the state, for its own pur- poses, requires an annual counting of children of legal school age. Legal Provisions concerning School Census The annual school census now taken in Portland is regu- lated directly by the statutes of the state. "Every district clerk shall enroll annually during the last week in November for school purposes the names and ages of all persons in his district over four 1 Chapters XV and XVI were written by Professor E. C. Elliott. EDITOR. 375 376 The Portland Survey and under twenty years of age and also the names and post-office addresses of all parents and guardians of such persons resident in the district. This annual school census shall include all youths between the ages of four and twenty years who, on the twenty-fifth day of November, actually resided in the dis- trict." (Lord's Oregon Laws, Section 4069.) The enumeration made under the above provision is used by the state as the basis for the classification of school dis- tricts (L. O. L., Sec. 4020), for the distribution of the com- mon or irreducible school fund (L. O. L., Sec. 3973, 3974), and for the per capita county school tax of eight dollars (Laws, 1911, Chap. 84). Also, the county school fund is partially apportioned according to the number of census children. A special enumeration of the name, age, and residence of blind or deaf children is provided for (L. O. L., Sec. 4072). The blanks for the census are provided by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The individual enumeration blank contains the following items : 1. .Name of parent or guardian 2. Address 3. Names of children classified as to sex and according to three age groups : (a) 4 and 5 (b) 6, 7, and over 15 and under 20 (c) Over 8 and under 15 Blind and deaf children are enumerated separately and classified as above. The blank containing the summary provides for the totals for each sex of each of the three specified age groups, and also such totals for blind and deaf children. This blank also calls for the number of legal voters for school purposes, and for information concerning private schools number of teachers employed, number of pupils enrolled, number of private schools, and number of months private schools are in session. School Census and Attendance 377 Certified copies of the school-census returns must be for- warded by the district clerk within ten days after taking to the county school superintendent (L. O. L., Sec. 4071) ; also a special segregated report in the case of districts of the first class (Sec. 4114). The Compulsory Education Law provides that the clerk of the first-class district school boards shall, at the com- mencement of school, furnish a copy of the school census to the city superintendent or the principal of the schools in such district, together with the names and addresses of the truant officers whose jurisdiction is in the district. It is made the legal duty of the city superintendent or prin- cipal at the opening of school and every four weeks there- after, to compare the census list with the enrollment of the school, or schools, and to report to the proper truant officer the name and address of any parent or person in parental relation to a child not in regular attendance at the public schools, and also the name of such child. Plan of Taking Census in Portland The actual census practice in Portland is as follows : The enumerators, mostly principals of schools, are selected by the school clerk. The census area, therefore, is usually the district supplied by the school of such principal-enumerator. The expressed motives for selecting principals for this serv- ice, aside from that of convenience, are that they have a chief interest in seeing that all the children in their districts are included in the census, and that the house-to-house can- vass gives a good opportunity for them to become familiar with the school patrons and with the home conditions of pupils. The individual enumeration blanks furnished by the State Superintendent are made out in carbon triplicate, arranged alphabetically for each enumeration district, and substan- tially bound. One of the three copies is deposited with the county superintendent of schools, one with the principal of 378 The Portland Survey the school of the enumeration district, and one is retained by the school clerk. The apparent presumption is that the census list given to the principal is to be used as a check list upon the school enrollment. However, it does not ap- pear that these lists are systematically used for this or any other purpose ; they therefore are " dead " after the sum- mary of the enumeration has been prepared. Instructions to Enumerators The instructions given to the enumerators are of the most general sort: 1. Make three copies of each sheet. 2. Enroll the names and ages of all persons (including young married people) over four and under twenty years of age who resided in this district November 25. Also enroll the names and post-office addresses of parents or guardians of all persons over four and under twenty. 3. Enroll separately the name, residence, post-office address and age of every blind and every deaf person over four and under twenty years of age who resided in this district November 25. Blind, or deaf, applies to each person blind, or deaf, to such an extent as to prevent him or her from acquiring an education in the common schools. 4. Legal voters for school purposes comprise any citizen, male or female, who is twenty-one years of age and has resided in the district thirty days im- mediately preceding date of inquiry, and who has property in the district in his, or her, name, as shown by the last county assessment, and not assessed by the sheriff, on which he, or she, is liable to pay a tax; provided, that any man who has declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States, and has resided in the state for six months immediately preceding the date of inquiry, shall be considered a citizen of the state; provided, further, that any person shall be deemed to have complied with the property qualifications mentioned above who has stock, shares or ownership in any corporation, firm, or co- partnership which has property in the district, as shown by the last county assessment, and not assessed by the sheriff, on which said corporation, firm, or co-partnership pays a tax, even though his, or her, individual name does not appear upon the tax roll. Method of Enumeration It does not appear that any specific directions are given to the enumerators for the purpose of simplifying the pro- School Census and Attendance 379 cedure for obtaining 1 the required information, or of secur- ing uniformity in the age data. Each enumerator is left to his own devices as to the most economical and productive working plan. He is expected to find all the census children in his district and to classify them into the indicated age groups. In consequence of this absence of a defined method, some considerable variation in the completeness and the accuracy of the enumerations in the several sub-districts might be expected. Cost and Report The enumerators are paid at the rate of three cents per name in the thickly populated districts, and five cents per name in the outlying and scattered districts. The expense thus incurred, according to the financial report of the school clerk, amounted to $1,901.38 in 1910-11, and to $2,087.56 in I9H-I2. 1 The census exhibit presented by the school clerk in his annual report is in the following form : CENSUS DATA* The census for 1911 shows as follows: Males between the ages of 4 and 20 years .... 19,712 Females between the ages of 4 and 20 years .... 20,245 Total .................. 39,957 Divided as follows: Ages 4 and 5 ................. 5,098 Ages 4, 7, and 15 to 19 inclusive ......... 16,874 Ages 8 to 14 inclusive Deaf and blind included in above: Deaf children enumerated ........... 26 Blind children enumerated ........... 4 Legal school voters: Total voters enumerated ............ 28,722 1 These amounts are taken from the details of disbursements for the fiscal year ending June 30. 2 Thirty-ninth Annual Report, p. 18. In 1912 the school census had in- creased to 43,121. 380 The Portland Survey RECOMMENDATIONS AS TO THE SCHOOL CENSUS The circumstances under which this section of the report has been prepared have not permitted that careful and de- tailed examination and checking of the methods followed by the census enumerators necessary for making any criti- cism of the effectiveness of the present system for securing a proper census of all children of school age in the school district. It is clearly recognized that the present general plan of taking the school census, as well as its itemized char- acter, is determined by state statute. In consequence, the school officials of the city are not entirely responsible for certain limitations of both plan and method. Nevertheless, so firm are we in our belief in the importance of the school census to the enlarging educational interests of the city that the following recommendations are considered appropriate : i. Need of a permanent and continuous census. Mani- festly the first purpose of the census is to obtain a complete enumeration of the children of legal school age. The rapid growth and expansion of the city, with the resulting large shifting of the population, present a difficult obstacle to such an enumeration. The time of the year at which the census is taken (November) is most favorable from the point of view of the permanence of residence of the city's population. The school authorities have sought to correct and supplement the November census by requiring the par- ent or guardian to fill out for each child entering school a so-called " census form," giving the name and residence of the child, month, year, and place of birth, the date of the last successful vaccination, and one or two other minor items. These census forms serve as a check list in each school for the existing as well as the next school census. The census form represents the first step in the making of a permanent and continuous census. Notwithstanding the evident difficulties and the increased expense, every city should at all times be in possession of a complete card list School Census and Attendance 381 of all the children of school age residing within its limits and subject to the general educational regulation of the state. This list should be in such form as to enable the school officials to know at all times the school whereabouts of every child of legal school age. Whenever a family changes its place of residence within the city, a legal re- quirement of notifying school authorities should be en- forced, if necessary with appropriate penalties. Proper cooperation of police, landlords, charity organizations, school teachers and principals, and the child-labor officials, will make it possible for the city to have an accurate and complete census at all times. This permanent and continu- ous list then may be used to check the legal census now re- quired by the statutes of the state. 2. Enumerators. The employment of school principals for the taking of school census appears to us, in the absence of a properly organized attendance department, to be a good plan. This service guarantees a higher degree of intelli- gence and a readier adaptation to circumstances than would be possible with special, intermittent enumerators. Under the plan of a permanent census suggested in the preceding recommendation, the annual enumeration now required by law would develop into making corrections and additions to the permanent list. These corrections and additions would then best be made by the attendance officers suggested for appointment in the recommendation presented at the conclusion of this chapter. 1 In any event, whether the temporary annual plan of the census is followed, or a per- manent and continuous census established, the enumerators should receive far more detailed and definite instructions than are now given. 3. Cost. In the absence of any reliable and definite re- port of the expense for this item in other cities, it would 1 Page 391. 3 82 The Portland Survey seem that the expense of the census in its present form (about five cents per capita) is a reasonable one. 1 4. Report of census returns. While the chief purpose of the school census has been to discover the number of school children in the city, it is our judgment that there are other and more important ends which should be recognized. In the first place, the annual tabulated summary of the census should be much more detailed than the one now pub- lished. Instead of showing merely three age groups, as called for by the state, the number of boys and girls for each year group, four to nineteen inclusive, should be exhibited. Such an exhibit, when compared with a similar one of school attendance, would reveal a number of highly important facts as to school population and school attendance, as to private and parochial school attendance, 2 withdrawals from school, children of school age employed, needed school ac- commodations, etc. These important items have no place in the account that the school system now keeps with the children of the city. In other words, the school census should be something more than a mere counting of children. It should be one 1 The only investigation of the subject of the school census in cities that has been made (Regulation of City School Children: J. D. Haney, New York, 1910) brings out the lack of our knowledge as to the cost of the school census. In some states a per capita limit is placed. For such states the medium cost is about four cents per child. The United States Bureau of Education, in its annual elaborate exhibit of fiscal statistics of city-school systems, groups the expense for school elections and school census as one item. * For instance, the report of the 191 1 census shows 17,985 children of eight to fourteen years inclusive (the compulsory education limit up to the amendment of 1911). The latest printed record of the age of pupils attending public schools is that found on page 29 of the annual school report in a table "Showing Age of Pupils in Different Classes for Term Ending June 18, 1912." Elementary schools only are included. The reports of the several high schools are silent as to the very important item of the distribution of the ages of pupils. However, this table shows 16,048 pupils of the ages of eight to fourteen inclusive. The unanswered question is, Where are the two thousand children of these ages ap- parently not in school according to this record? School Census and Attendance 383 of the principal instruments of an effective school govern- ment that seeks to know the full extent of its responsibility to the community. ATTENDANCE Legal Provisions concerning Compulsory Education The Compulsory Education Law of the state (Lord's Oregon Statutes, Sees. 4119-4134, as amended by Chap. 243, Laws, 1911) requires the parent or guardian of any child between and including the ages of nine and fif- teen years of age to send such child to the public schools for a term of not less than the number of months of pub- lic school held annually in the district of residence. This law makes the usual exceptions as to children attending private or parochial schools, children who have completed the elementary schools, and children physically unable to attend school. The school board of the district of the first class is required to provide truant officers, either by re- questing the police authorities to detail one or more mem- bers of the police force to perform the duties of truant officers, or by appointing its own truant officer. By the specific provision of the law, truant officers are required to notify parents or guardians of children not attending school, to file court complaints against such parents or guar- dians, if necessary, and to investigate all cases of truancy or non-attendance at school. By the provisions of the Child Labor Law (Chap. 183, Laws, 1911) of the state, attendance at school is compul- sory for children between the ages of nine and fifteen years, during the whole of the school term in the city, town, or village of residence, and also for children between the ages of fifteen and sixteen years who are not legally employed in some useful work. To be legally employed, a child must have a child labor permit. The responsibility for the en- forcement of the child labor law rests upon the Board of Inspectors of Child Labor, the secretary of which issues 384 The Portland Survey the child labor permits. Quite obviously, the bulk of the work of the enforcement of the child labor law is in Port- land. Consequently the office of the secretary of the board is located there. These two laws, the Compulsory Education Law and the Child Labor Law, are complementary efforts to secure to all the children of the community the benefits of a minimum amount of schooling 1 during that period of life when the schooling can be made most effective. The school census is the common ground upon which their enforcement rests, and truant officers are responsible to the provisions of both laws, which are to be classed among the best in the country. Enforcement of School Attendance The Board of School Directors for Portland has complied with the provisions of the Compulsory Education Law to the very moderate extent of appointing one truant officer, to whom an annual salary of $1,370 is paid. Under the rules of the board (page 28) the truant officer is under the supervision of the City Superintendent of Schools during the time schools are in session, performing the duties im- posed upon him by statute ; during other times he is under the supervision of the School Clerk. Besides the enforce- ment of the Compulsory Education Law, the truant officer has all cases of the attendance upon school of vermin-in- fected or uncleanly pupils (par. 100, Chap. 5, Laws, 1911), trespassing on school property, vandalism, improper use of school premises, stealing, immorality, poverty, and tobacco- using among school children. The school census of 1912 showed 43,121 children of school age in the district. The enrollment in the fifty-seven public schools during the spring term of 1913 was 31,265. No data are available as to the enrollment of private and parochial schools, which are approximately twenty-four in number. The amount of work necessary properly to enforce the School Census and Attendance 385 Compulsory Education Law is altogether beyond the ca- pacity of a single officer. The present truant officer reports that on account of the amount of his work, it is impossible for him to handle any but the most pressing cases of tru- ancy and non-attendance. Moreover, he is without ade- quate clerical assistance and is obliged to keep practically all of the truancy records himself. The school law defines irregular attendance as " eight un- excused one-half day absences in any four weeks the school may be in session " (L. O. L., Sec. 4129). It has not been possible during the Survey to determine the extent to which principals and teachers comply with this provision by re- porting cases to the truant officer. The number of cases of irregular attendance for 1912-1913 (49) seems to be very small, in spite of the high per cent, of attendance reported for the city (96.1). The individual record of cases kept by the truant officer is as complete as could be expected in the absence of proper clerical assistance. A better organization and operation of the attendance department would naturally result in the improvement of the records, especially in the matter of following up cases after the initial disposition. TRUANT OFFICER'S RECORD No Name of child Age Date Address Phone Parent's name School Grade Mentality Date of complaint By whom made Nature of complaint Disposition of case 386 The Portland Survey Truant Officer's Records The truant officer submits to the school board each month, giving in itemized detail, a report of his work. At the close of the year a similar report for the entire year is presented. It has not been the practice to include this annual report of the truant officer in the annual school report, although it is unquestionably of greater importance than much of the material included. Consequently the following statement of the classification and disposal of the 1,400 cases handled by the truant officer for the school year 1912-1913 may properly be included here as evidence both of the amount and extent of the work undertaken. Total number of truancy cases reported 342 Disposition of cases: Warned and returned to school 222 Reported to the Juvenile Court as wards 38 Transferred to other schools 4 Reported to the Associated Charities and Child Labor Commis- sion 2 Removed from the city 3 Brought before the Juvenile Court and returned to school . . 7 Brought before the Juvenile Court and sent to the Frazier Home 19 Parents brought before the Justice Court i Brought before the Juvenile Court and committed to the Oregon State Training School 3 Brought before the Juvenile Court and committed to the Boys' and Girls' Aid Society 3 Required to report at my office weekly 16 Disposition deferred 24 Total number of non-attendance cases reported 582 Disposition of cases: Warned and placed in school 345 Reported to the Juvenile Court as wards 32 Reported to the Associated Charities 6 Removed from the city 16 Brought before the Juvenile Court and sent to the Frazier Home 5 Brought before the Juvenile Court and committed to the Oregon State Training School 3 School Census and Attendance 387 Parents brought before the Justice Court 4 Brought before the Juvenile Court and returned to school . . 4 Sickness and poverty found to be the cause of non-attendance . 29 Reported to the Child Labor Commission 18 Labor permits secured 13 Special permits secured from the City Superintendent .... 2 Transferred to parochial schools 8 Reported to the British Aid Society i Disposition deferred 96 Total number of irregular attendance cases reported 49 Disposition of cases: Warned and continued in school 29 Reported to the Juvenile Court as wards 7 Reported to the Child Labor Commission 2 Reported to the Associated Charities i Reported to the Boys' and Girls' Aid Society 2 Removed from the city i Disposition deferred 7 Total number of cases of general misconduct 286 (This includes incorrigibility, immorality, indecency, petty thiev- ery, cigarette smoking, etc.) Disposition of cases: Warned and continued in school 135 Reported to the Juvenile Court as wards . 42 Removed from the city 5 Returned to the Oregon State Training School as wards ... 5 Reported to the Oregon State Training School as wards ... i Brought before the Juvenile Court and sent to the State Training School 8 Brought before the Juvenile Court and sent to the Frazier Home 20 Reported to the Juvenile Court for investigation 4 Reported to the Associated Charities i Brought before the Juvenile Court, and escaped i Brought before the Juvenile Court, and continued in school . . 19 Transferred to other schools i Required to report at the office weekly 18 Taken before the Juvenile Court and remanded to the Circuit Court i Reported to the City Health Department 2 Transferred to parochial schools 5 Reported to the Police Department i Removed from school and labor permit secured i 388 The Portland Survey Taken before the Juvenile Court and committed to the Boys' and Girls' Aid Society i Disposition deferred 15 Total number of cases of trespass reported 42 Disposition of cases: Children warned and parents notified 35 Police Department notified i Disposition deferred 6 Total number of cases of children found on streets 89 Disposition of cases: Placed in school 68 Removed from city 3 Reported to the Child Labor Commission 4 Labor permits secured 5 Transferred to other schools 3 Physician's certificates secured i Disposition deferred 5 Total number of cases of poverty reported o. Disposition of cases: Reported to the Juvenile Court as wards i Reported to the Associated Charities 8 Total number of cases of filth, pediculosis, etc., reported 2 Disposition of cases: Health office notified i Parents notified and warned i Total number of cases reported to the Child Labor Commission .... 34 Total number of cases reported by the Child Labor Commission .... 60 Visits to the Juvenile Court in prosecution of cases 38 Visits to homes for investigation of cases 340 Visits to schools 327 Legal notices, letters of warning, and other communications sent .... 586 Special investigations 15 Visits to the Justice Court 3 Total number of wards reported to the Juvenile Court 117 Total number of children brought before the Juvenile Court and returned to school 29 Total number of children sent to the Frazier Home 44 Total number of children sent to the Oregon State Training School through the Juvenile Court 19 School Census and Attendance 389 (Part of these have been wards of the Oregon State Training School and have been returned to that institution.) Total number children committed to the Boys' and Girls' Aid Society by the Juvenile Court 4 The 1,400 cases reported to this office during the past year directly concern 1,6 1 8 children. During the year investigations of 153 cases have been deferred, owing to lack of time. Of these, 135 have been disposed of. This leaves 18 cases of which no disposition has been made. Certain features of the monthly and annual reports of the truant officer are open to some criticism. No provision seems to be made in this report for carrying forward and reporting upon the " disposition deferred " cases. Again, the details relative to disposition are incomplete and mis- leading. The really significant question to be answered relative to the 342 truancy cases reported during 1912-1913 is how many truants were actually returned to school (was this the case of the child or children of the one parent brought before the Justice Court or of those sixteen chil- dren required to report to the truant officer each week?) and the character of the attendance thereafter. However, these and other important questions could be promptly and completely answered only by an attendance department or- ganized and conducted on a broad educational basis. Critical Comment With the wholly inadequate facilities now provided, it would be unfair to the present officer to criticise his methods of work or to contrast them with those of a properly organ- ized attendance department. It is evident that the Board of School Directors has forgotten that Portland is no longer a small, compact town, the school attendance affairs of which could be cared for by one officer, and has been un- willing to take measures to secure that quality of regular attendance upon the public schools demanded alike by the Compulsory Attendance Law and for the most economical 3QO The Portland Survey use of the educational advantages of the school system. The attendance department, as represented by the single truant officer, has been regarded almost wholly from the narrow point of view of its police function, that is, of caring for the more aggravated cases of non-attendance. The larger and far more important function of such a department is that of disclosing and treating the causes that underlie truancy, irregular attendance, incorrigibility, and early withdrawal from school. The defects of the present " police " position of the attendance department have been again and again indicated to the Board of School Directors in the reports of the truant officer. In particular has he called attention to the necessity of making proper provision for delinquent and incorrigible children. This necessity has been fully supported by the records of his own office as well as the records of the Juvenile Court During 1911-1912, Portland's position among certain cities in the country, for which information is available, concerning the expense of the enforcement of compulsory education and truancy laws, may be exhibited by the fol- lowing figures, showing the expenditures for this purpose per thousand enrollment in elementary schools : Cambridge, Mass $272 Providence, R. I $122 Denver, Colo 207 Minneapolis, Minn 106 Louisville, Ky 200 Omaha, Neb 102 Kansas City, Mo 172 Spokane, Wash 76 Oakland, Cal 141 PORTLAND, ORE. . . 45 Portland needs to increase both the dignity of its school- attendance department and the expenditure for it. RECOMMENDATIONS In view of the recognized importance of the regular at- tendance of children upon school as a large factor for the most economical and effective utilization of the facilities of the public school system of the city, and in view of the School Census and Attendance 391 existing conditions in American cities, which demonstrate the necessity of constant and competent oversight as a con- dition of regularity, we recommend : 1. That there be created in the school department a bureau or division of school attendance, at the head of which shall be an officer known as the Superintendent of School Attendance; that at least five attendance officers be appointed for service under this superintendent, for the oversight and betterment of school attendance in general, for the enforcement of the Compulsory Education Law and those parts of the Child Labor Law for which truant officers are responsible, and for general out-of-school supervision of incorrigible and delinquent children. 2. That the taking of the school census and care of its records be placed under the charge of the Superintendent of Attendance. CHAPTER XVI RECORDS AND REPORTS 1 RECORD OF BOARD PROCEEDINGS THE minutes of the proceedings and the memoranda of the transactions of the Board of School Directors and its committees are recorded by the School Clerk promptly and in complete and satisfactory form. Moreover, the con- duct of the affairs of the board is greatly facilitated by the efficient mechanical preparation of all matters brought be- fore it or its committees for consideration. While the me- chanical procedure for making and caring for the records of board and committee actions is entitled to approval, the question naturally arises in a school system of this size whether or not the minutes of the proceedings of the board and the memoranda of its principal transactions should not be regularly and systematically printed. This would en- able all the members of the board to have ready and con- venient access to the record of past actions, and furthermore would encourage a wider appreciation on the part of citi- zens of the functions and activities of the board. At any rate, the written (typewritten) minutes and mem- oranda should be more fully indexed and cross-referenced than under the present plan. While practically the clerk is 1 The official recorded proceedings of the Board of Education for the past year have been examined in detail. In connection with the presentation of the critical estimate relative to the annual report of the Board of School Directors, the annual reports for the past ten years Thirtieth (1902-1903) to Thirty- ninth (1911-1912) inclusive have been reviewed. For a complete list of the administrative forms and blanks submitted for examination, see pages 400 to 403. Opportunity has not been sufficient during the Survey to make a critical estimate of the forms and blanks belonging to other departments than the educational department. E. C. ELLIOTT. 392 Records and Reports 393 now able, through his constant and intimate participation in the affairs of the board, to serve as a reliable source of information relative to previous actions of the board for their proper usefulness, these records should be in a form independent of any single officer. THE ANNUAL REPORT The Board of School Directors complies with the legal requirement imposed upon school boards in districts of the first class, " to make an annual printed report to the tax- payers of said district " (Lord's Oregon Statutes, Sec. 4102). This annual report is usually issued during the summer, and, though indicated on the title page as being for the year ending with the close of school in June, contains the School Clerk's report, addressed to the legal voters, for the year ending December 15 ; the School Director's report, addressed to the taxpayers, and submitted to an annual meet- ing generally held during the last week of December; and the report of the Superintendent of Schools, addressed to the school board, for the annual school year ending in June. CONTENTS OF THE ANNUAL REPORT The following enumeration of the principal items con- tained in the school report for 1911-1912 is typical of these reports for the past decade: School Clerk's report. (2 pages.) A brief itemized statement of receipts, disbursements, and indebtedness for the past year; and a tabulated summary of the school census. Appended is a formal statement of the special auditing committee. School director's report. (4 pages.) A brief commentary upon matters concerning chiefly finance and the school plant, together with an estimate of expenditures for the coming year. Superintendent of schools. (47 pages.) As a "report of the condition and progress of the public schools" contains: annual and monthly statistical tables of enrollment, attendance, and dis- 394 The Portland Survey cipline; ages of pupils in different classes of elementary schools; nativity of pupils; number of teachers. (10 pages.) Tabulated statement showing name, place of graduation, years of experience, years in Portland schools, certificate held, school, and grade of position of teachers employed during the year. (19 pages.) Name of pupils promoted from the grammar grades to the high school during the year. (10 pages.) High school graduates and commencement programs. (8 pages.) Appendix to superintendent's report. (13^ pages.) Reports of principals of high schools. Confined exclusively to a statement of the enrollment in the several courses and subjects, together with the number of credits attempted and the number earned during the year and the number of graduates. (4 pages.) Schedule of teachers' salaries, (i page.) Corps of teachers for 1912-1913. (7^ pages.) School calendar for 1912-1913 and announcements as to teachers' meetings and teachers' examinations, (i page.) Clerk's supplementary reports. (43 pages.) Boundaries of school district, (i page.) Boundaries of sub-districts. (14 pages.) List of textbooks used in high and elementary schools. (2 pages.) Tabular statement relative to school buildings; date of construction, num- ber of rooms, heating, cleaning, and fire systems. (6 pages.) Location, description and area of property owned by school district. (4 pages.) Estimated cash value of property owned by school district, (i page.) List of school directors and officers since 1851. (2 pages.) School janitors for 1912-1913. (i page.) Schedule of janitors' salaries, (j^ page.) Number of teachers of different grades of position, June 30, 1912. (% page.) Comparative statement of receipts and disbursements, n years, (i page.) Number of teachers employed in each school, classified according to salary paid. (2 pages.) Sundry statistical and financial statements and supplementary memoranda. (7 pages.) Index. (2 pages.) Insert. Showing complete detail of disbursements by items and by schools for year ending June 30, 1912. With the possible exception of the financial statements, 1 this annual report of the public schools has remained sub- stantially the same in form and scope during the past ten 1 See pages 400 to 401. Records and Reports 395 years (195 pages, 1910-1911). During that time (ex- cepting for 1906-1907 and 1911-1912), these reports have also contained the detailed outline of the courses of study in elementary and secondary schools. The several items given in the clerk's supplementary report noted above are to be found only in the last two annual reports. The annual report is not a report within the proper meaning of that word. It has become merely a mechanical record of only certain features of the formal operation of the school system. It gives no evidence that the school authorities have been influenced by the widespread move- ment of recent years for the betterment and increased use- fulness of such reports. FUNCTIONS OF THE ANNUAL REPORT The annual report of the public school system should be in such form and content as to serve for a ready means for community publicity as to the real progress and perform- ances of the schools, and as an effective instrument for stimulating the citizens of the school district to action for meeting the demonstrated needs of the schools. It should be the chief means of communication between the people and their authorized officials as to the conduct of public school affairs. The report should stand not only as perma- nent evidence of the honesty of that conduct, but as a mark of the capacity of the board and its officers to serve as edu- cational leaders in the community. People in this day are not affected in their attitude toward education, except in a merely passive way, by perfunctory testimony as to the honest conduct of public affairs. The people of the modern city need, for the best development of the educational sys- tem, that stimulation that comes from public-spirited, ear- nest, energetic, far-sighted boards and officials, capable of causing them to understand the meaning and possibilities of the public schools. Only thus will there be developed a right quality of confidence and a proper degree of public 396 The Portland Survey cooperation on the part of the people. Upon such confi- dence and cooperation the public schools are ultimately built. Complacency is not confidence. Proper concurrence in official action is not popular cooperation by the people in that action. The present annual report is not an effective report because it is chiefly a collection of cold, conventional facts, loosely arranged and presented in a purely formal manner, and without any indication of their vital relationship to the efficiency or growth of the educational system. If the people of Portland have been slow in their response to the in- creasing and enlarging needs of the school system, this is due in part at least to the failure of the responsible school authorities to emphasize their educational stewardship of children. The educational records must deal, first of all, with children and their education. There is no value in accounting for the expenditure of public money for public schools unless that accounting is accompanied by a demon- stration of results and products. The difficulty is not with the financial accounts, but with the educational accounts. They are inadequate because the blanks for the gathering of data and information have not been designed to record the real educational experience of the schools. This experi- ence must be recorded before it may be reported and inter- preted for the guidance and increased intelligence of the citizens of the community. In other words, Portland's school accounts keep track of dollars, rather than of children. RECORD FORMS AND BLANKS The numerous statistical forms and administrative blanks listed on pages 400 to 403 of this section of the report are easily separable into two general groups : i. Those of a temporary or routine character, devised and employed primarily to expedite the operation of the existing machinery of the school system ; to adjust this ma- Records and Reports 397 chinery to the established practices and customs of the outside business world ; to save time and to check honesty. 2. Those of a more special and permanent character, used primarily for the determination of the educational efficiency and productivity of the school organization, and, therefore, as a possible basis for the betterment of the machinery and the control of the machinery of the school system. By far the larger number of the records and reports now used in both the business and educational departments be- long to the first group. Our general estimate, after an examination of all the forms and blanks, is that there are too many of them; that too much importance is given to trivial and unessential operations. The teachers and principals are required to devote too much time and energy to the making of records and reports which are not and cannot be used for the purpose of checking the results of teaching and promoting the improvement of the educational system of a city. It is obviously beyond the immediate intent and purpose of this survey to make a minute, critical analysis of the several statistical forms and administrative blanks. More useful, perhaps, would be some indication as to what funda- mental records of the operation of the school system should be kept and reported. The particular forms and devices for obtaining the necessary data can then be more effectively determined by the active supervisory and inspecting staff. FUNDAMENTAL EDUCATIONAL RECORDS NEEDED The weakness of the present system may be said to lie in the absence of those statistical records that enable edu- cational officials to determine the extent to which the edu- cational system actually serves the purpose of economically educating all the children of the community. As a con- spicuous instance of this, it may be pointed out that since 1897 Portland has had a distinctive scheme of classification 398 The Portland Survey and promotion of pupils in elementary schools. Each year the Superintendent of Schools has presented a table showing the enrollment and ages of pupils in each of the several groups and divisions. Nowhere is there to be found a record of the promotions and failures of pupils, indicative of the advantages of this scheme. What fundamental items should the educational account- ing or recording plan of the city contain? The following are suggested for consideration. (Those indicated by an asterisk are not now provided for in the existing system of records. ) *i. A complete, accurate, and continuous school census, tabulated and summarized so as to show the number of chil- dren residing in each sub-district by sex, for each year-age group between four and nineteen years inclusive ; the number of boys and girls of each age attending public, private, and parochial schools; and the number between fourteen and sixteen years of age not attending school, in possession of work permits, and the character of employment. *2. An individual, cumulative card, providing for the record of the complete school career of every child ; showing name, place and date of birth, name and occupation of par- ent or guardian, residence, date of admission to school, length of attendance, and date of promotion from each grade or class, condition of health, character of conduct and qual- ity of accomplishment in each grade and class. (This is the most fundamental of all the school records. From it all the collective statistical exhibits are developed.) 3. Enrollment,* promotions,* non-promotions, by grades and schools. 4. Distribution of enrollment by ages and grades, or classes. (Present report gives this for elementary school only, and for but one term of the year.) *5. Distribution of withdrawals by ages and causes. 6. Average daily attendance by schools. Records and Reports 399 *7. Distribution of attendance. *8. Non-promotion by age, grade, and cause. *9. Failures by studies and grades. *io. Beginners, distributed by ages. *n. Graduates, distributed by ages. *I2. Per capita attendance cost for each school properly distributed among the major items of expenditure, accom- panied with proper explanation of increase or decrease from year to year. *I3. An individual, cumulative card, providing for the record of the teaching career of every teacher on the staff, showing name, age, residence, education and training, teaching assignments, and teaching success, as determined by supervisory and inspectorial officers. It is not possible here to describe in detail the method of tabulating and summarizing necessary for a proper inter- pretation of such records. 1 This procedure has become a highly specialized work, and to be properly done should be under the care of a specially trained individual. All of the findings developed from these records would not be printed each year. Some of them would be printed every two years, some every five years. When published, however, they would serve as definite, concrete evidence of the condition and progress of the public school system as a whole and of its several parts. FINANCIAL RECORDS The School Clerk has kept his records of the financial re- ceipts and expenditures in accordance with the classification that has come to be regarded as the best and most approved. 1 For suggested forms of records and other pertinent explanations, reference is made to the Report of the Committee on Uniform Records and Reports of the National Education Association, published by the Bureau of Education, 1912. 400 The Portland Survey Portland, therefore, belongs to that relatively small num- ber of cities able to make their financial report to the United States Bureau of Education according to the form and classification desired. A brief explanation of the proced- ure of the School Clerk's office, as regards financial opera- tions, is conclusive of the mechanical effectiveness which has been established there. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that there be established in connection with the office of Superintendent of Schools a division to be known as the Division of Statistics and Educational In- vestigation, to be under the charge of a director whose chief function will be to gather, in proper form, all the necessary data concerning the operation of the school system that will enable the administrative and supervisory staff both to eval- uate the practices and methods of the schools and to give to the people of the community a reasonable basis for an intelligent appreciation of the true worth of the results being 1 obtained in and through the schools. REPORT AND RECORD FORMS IN USE At our request, the School Clerk and the Superintendent of Schools furnished us with copies of all the various statistical, record, and routine blanks used in the educational and business departments. These are enumerated in the following lists : i. Used by the Superintendent of Schools: 1. Application blank for new teachers. 2. Information for applicants for teachers' positions. 3. Letter of inquiry: Teachers' references. 4. Teachers' certificates. 5. Teachers' life certificates. 6. Teachers' reapplication blank. 7. Teachers' request for change of work. 8. Visit report of teachers. Records and Reports 401 9. Teachers' final certificate of completed service. 10. Form for teachers' names, grades, and addresses. 11. Data for teachers' pay roll. 12. Principals' record of teachers' attendance and tardiness. 13. Census form. 14. Superintendent's transfer for pupils. 15. Principals' transfer for pupils. 16. Principals' suspension notice to parents. 17. Principals' suspension notice to Superintendent. 18. Pupil's reinstatement blank. 19. Book list and price list elementary schools. 20. Book list for high schools. 21. Pupil's report card for primary grades. 22. Pupil's report card for grammar grades. 23. Pupil's report card for high schools. 24. Teacher's monthly report of attendance of pupils. 25. Nativity of pupils. 26. Teacher's semiannual report for promotion of pupils. 27. Result sheet (i. e., report of pupils' monthly standings). 28. Report on number of pupils belonging to various classes. 29. Principal's annual report of enrollment and attendance. 30. Desk seating report. 31. Annual summary of enrollment and attendance. 32. Fire drill report. 33. Requisition blank for principals. 2. Used by the Truant Officer: 1. Truant Officer's record (of individual cases investigated). 2. Special report by principal of pupil to Truant Officer. 3. Extract from Oregon School Laws, 1911 insanitary pupils. 4. Extracts from Oregon Compulsory Education Laws and Child Labor Laws for information of parents. 5. Extract from Child Labor Laws. 6. Legal notice by Truant Officer to parents. 7. Physician's certificate compulsory education. 3. Used by the Manual Training Departments: 1. Time report of instructor. 2. Monthly report of pupil's work. 3. Monthly report to principal of pupil's attendance. 4. Equipment report. 4. Used by the Superintendent of Property: 1. Register of drawings. 2. Daily time report. 3. Drawing receipt. 4O2 The Portland Survey 4. Progress report. 5. Form of agreement with contractors. 6. Cost record plans, specifications, and superintendence. 7. Announcement and instructions to bidders. 8. Standard form of contract. 9. Shop order. 10. Directions for care of blackboards. 5. Used by the Purchasing Agent: 1. Stock card. 2. Receipt for goods from stock room. 3. Receipt for goods from stores. 4. Requisition for purchases. 5. Order for supplies. 6. Order tor repair material. 7. Emergency order. 8. Store room daily report to clerk. 6. Used by the School Clerk: 1. Employees' pay roll, distribution of charges. 2. Employees' pay roll, receipt for salary. 3. Employees' daily report. 4. Janitor's reapplication. 5. Janitor's application (new). 6. Janitor's notice of election. 7. Janitor's letter of inquiry regarding qualifications, etc. 8. Janitor's data for pay roll. 9. Insurance, record of agents. 10. Insurance, record of companies. 11. Special form to be attached to insurance policies. 12. Insurance application. 13. Election: Notice to judges and clerks. 14. Election: Acceptance of judges and clerks. 15. Election: Notice of place. 16. Election: Acceptance of place. 17. Election: Tally sheet. 1 8. Election: Instructions to judges and clerks. 19. Census, instructions. 20. Census, summary. 21. Census form. 22. Teachers: Notice of election (day). 23. Teachers: Notice of election (night). 24. Teacher's acceptance. 25. Teacher's excuse for absence or tardiness. 26. Teacher's notice of receipt of excuse. 37. Supervisor's registration (service) card. Records and Reports 403 28. Record of certification and service teacher's. 29. Notice of retirement fund. 30. Report of teachers' certificates. 31. Permit by parents for use of machinery by pupils in manual training and trade schools. 32. Teachers' monthly pay roll. 33. Superintendent's certification of pay roll. 34. Order for teachers' salaries. 35. School property reports (monthly). 36. Supply returns. 37. Tuition notice. 38. Pay roll claim sheet. 39. Bill head. 40. Letter accompanying voucher. 41. Letter accompanying draft. 42. Voucher. 43. Nature of claim allowed. 44. Nature of board and committee meetings. 45. Program school directors' meeting. 46. Committee report. 47. Clerk's monthly financial statement. 48. Directory Board of School Directors. 49. Daily cash statement. 50. Principals' oral reports. 51. Garbage receipt. 52. Standard form of contractor's bond. 53. Indemnifying bond. 54. Option. 55. Depository bond. 56. Auditing committee's monthly report. Limitations of time have prevented any complete and detailed critical examination of those forms from the busi- ness department. CHAPTER XVII 1 , COST OF THE SYSTEM OF EDUCATION A FUNDAMENTAL ASSUMPTION AS TO PORTLAND'S ATTI- TUDE TOWARD THE COST OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM THE members of the Survey staff have, from the first, assumed that what the taxpayers and citizens of Port- land were most interested in was not, primarily, how they could reduce the present expenses for education, but how they could obtain a better school system for the money they now spend, or for such additional and reasonable sums as it might seem wise to spend. We have not for a moment assumed that a community composed of such an intelligent class of people as is found in Portland would be short- sighted enough to want to stop the development of their schools in order to try to save a little money. The economic loss to the city by the deflection of people of means and intelligence to the cities of Washington and California, which would inevitably follow the adoption of such a plan, would greatly outweigh any possible saving which might be effected. The surest means by which the city may retain its present high standing and its position of supremacy in its territory is for it to spend money liberally to keep its schools abreast of the changing educational needs. This the Survey staff has from the first assumed to be the wish of the people, and such a purpose has also been assumed to have been the actuating motive with the taxpayers of the district, assembled in meeting, when they adopted the reso- lution authorizing and creating the school survey. The members of the Survey staff have kept this belief in mind 1 Chapter XVII was written by the Director of the Survey. EDITOR. 404 Cost of System of Education 405 in all their consideration of the problem and in making the numerous constructive suggestions contained in the differ- ent chapters of this report. In a number of the preceding chapters the question of ad- ditional costs has been considered, and it does not seem necessary further to expand the treatment here. To these preceding chapters, therefore, the reader is referred for a more detailed statement as to needs and reasons. Only summaries will be presented here, and this chapter will be devoted to a consideration of only two questions : ( I ) What is the relative rank of the district now in the matter of school expenditures? (2) Can the district reasonably afford to spend more money on its schools than it now does ? RELATIVE RANK OF THE DISTRICT IN SCHOOL EXPENDITURES AND PER CAPITA COSTS Returning to the reports of the U. S. Census Bureau, for the 1910 census of the United States, used at length in com- piling the tables given in Chapter VI, and taking the same 37 American cities used there (see Table IV, page 93), which in 1910 had between 100,000 and 350,000 inhabit- ants, and compiling the costs for education for each of these, we get the following tables. These show the com- parative costs for the maintenance of schools for the differ- ent cities and Portland's position in the list. Comparative Per Capita Costs The first of these tables shows the rank of the city in the cost for education, measured per capita of the total popula- tion. Portland is here seen to be in a middle position, there being 18 cities which spend more, and 18, of which seven are southern, which spend less. The per capita expenditure in Portland is also seen to be below the average for all cities of 30,000 or over in the United States. 406 The Portland Survey TABLE XXIV EXPENDITURES FOR SCHOOLS PER CAPITA OF THE TOTAL POPULATION 1. Washington, D. C $6.27 2. Newark, N. J 5.79 3. Denver, Colo 5.49 4. Spokane, Wash 5.46 5. Worcester, Mass 5.39 6. Minneapolis, Minn 5.35 7. Seattle, Wash 5.29 8. New Haven, Conn 5.12 9. Cambridge, Mass 5.01 10. Omaha, Neb 4.74 11. Syracuse, N. Y. 4.56 12. Rochester, N. Y 4.51 13. Providence, R. I 4.51 14. Grand Rapids, Mich 4.48 15. Toledo, Ohio 4.46 16. Dayton, Ohio 4.32 17. Kansas City, Mo 4.31 1 8. Indianapolis, Ind 4.30 19. PORTLAND, ORE 4.29 20. Scranton, Penn. 4.27 21. Columbus, Ohio 4.21 22. Jersey City, N. J 4.14 23. Paterson, N. J 4.09 24. St. Paul, Minn. 4.04 25. Oakland, Cal 4.03 26. Albany, N. Y. 3.98 27. Fall River, Mass 3.95 28. Lowell, Mass 3.89 29. Los Angeles, Cal 3.77 30. Louisville, Ky 3.38 31. Bridgeport, Conn. 3.01 32. New Orleans, La 2.89 33. Memphis, Tenn. 2.88 34. Nashville, Tenn 2.62 35. Richmond, Va 2.34 36. Atlanta, Ga 2.32 37. Birmingham, Ala 2.07 Average, all cities 30,000 or over 4.62 Since some cities have many children in the total popula- tion and others few (see Table VIII, page 102), the per- Cost of System of Education 407 TABLE XXV 1 COST FOR SCHOOLS FOR EACH PERSON IN THE TOTAL POPULATION FIFTEEN YEARS OF AGE OR OVER 1. Washington, D. C $8.29 2. Newark, N. J 8.23 3. Denver, Colo 7.52 4. Worcester, Mass 7.39 5. New Haven, Conn 7.15 6. Spokane, Wash 7.11 7. Minneapolis, Minn 6.98 8. Cambridge, Mass 6.94 9. Seattle, Wash 6.60 10. Omaha, Neb 6.39 it. Scranton, Pa 6.29 12. Grand Rapids, Mich 6.14 13. Providence, R. 1 6.11 14. Toledo, Ohio 6.07 15. Syracuse, N. Y 6.02 16. Rochester, N. Y 5.96 17. Jersey City, N. J 5.96 18. Fall River, Mass 5.84 19. Paterson, N. J 5.77 20. Dayton, Ohio 5.72 21. Indianapolis, Ind 5.61 22. Kansas City, Mo 5.47 23. Columbus, Ohio 5.45 24. St. Paul, Minn. 5.38 25. Lowell, Mass 5.31 26. PORTLAND, ORE 5.28 27. Oakland, Cal 5-20 28. Albany, N. Y 5.14 29. Los Angeles, CaL 4.72 30. Louisville, Ky 4.51 31. Bridgeport, Conn 4.14 32. New Orleans, La 4-8 33. Memphis, Tenn 3-75 34. Nashville, Tenn 3-59 35. Atlanta, Ga. . 3-20 36. Richmond, Va 3- 1 ? 37. Birmingham, Ala 2.92 Average, all cities 30,000 or over 6.33 i Calculated from Tables XXIV and VIII. 408 The Portland Survey centage of the total population which is under fifteen years of age varying, for the 37 cities studied, from 18.8 per cent, for Portland to 32.3 per cent, for Fall River, Massachusetts, with an average of 27.3 per cent, for all cities in the United States, the above table is recalculated, in the one which fol- lows, to show the comparative cost of schools for each of the 37 cities for each person in the total population, after excluding all persons under 15 years of age from the count. Due to its small number of children, Portland now drops from nineteenth to twenty-sixth in the list. Of the n cities which spend less, two are rich Western cities, one is a poor Eastern city, and six are Southern cities. The table which follows next makes the same recalcula- tion to determine the cost, measured now only for each adult male (21 years or over) in the total population, for each of the 37 cities. Measured on this basis, Portland, on account of its large excess of adult males (see Table VI, page 98), now drops to thirty-first place in the matter of expenditure for schools, five Southern cities and one poor Eastern city alone spending less per adult male. These three tables show how relatively lightly the expense for education rests on Portland. Good schools, the best schools in fact, could be maintained in Portland with ease. The rank of Portland, in per capita expense, low as it is, is still much higher than it would be if any allowance were made for the much higher salaries paid teachers in the West. If Portland paid as low teachers' salaries as the Eastern cities do, it probably would go to the bottom of the list in comparative expenditures. Cost Per Pupil Educated The low per capita expenditures, shown in Tables XXV and XXVI, are in large measure due to the extremely small number of children of school age in the Portland dis- trict, and not to a low expense per child educated. In fact, Cost of System of Education 409 TABLE XXVI COST FOR SCHOOLS FOR EACH ADULT MALE 1. Newark, N. J $20.75 2. Washington, D. C 20.03 3. Cambridge, Mass *7-34 4. Worcester, Mass 17.28 5. New Haven, Conn 16.89 6. Denver, Colo 16.29 7. Minneapolis, Minn iS-33 8. Scranton, Pa 14.98 9. Fall River, Mass 14-95 10. Grand Rapids, Mich 14.69 11. Providence, R. 1 14.64 12. Toledo, Ohio 14-25 13. Spokane, Wash 14.15 14. Rochester, N. Y 14.14 15. Syracuse, N. Y 14.00 16. Paterson, N. J 13.91 17. Jersey City, N. J. 13.71 18. Omaha, Neb 13.68 19. Lowell, Mass 13-23 20. Dayton, Ohio 13.17 21. Indianapolis, Ind 13.10 22. Columbus, Ohio 12.57 23. Seattle, Wash 12-33 24. Kansas City, Mo 12.25 25. Albany, N. Y 12.17 26. St. Paul, Minn 12.03 27. Oakland, Cal 11.23 28. Louisville, Ky 11.19 29. Los Angeles, Cal 10.47 30. New Orleans, La 10.07 31. PORTLAND, ORE 10.00 32. Nashville, Tenn 9.39 33. Bridgeport, Conn 9.32 34. Memphis, Tenn 8.52 35. Atlanta, Ga 8.07 36. Richmond, Va 8.01 37. Birmingham, Ala 6-74 Average, all cities 30,000 or over .... 14.76 1 Calculated from Tables XXIV and VI. 410 The Portland Survey in this respect, the city averages very well with other West- ern cities, as is shown in Tables XXVII and XXVIII. In attempting to calculate Tables XXVII and XXVIII, one is met with an important difficulty in obtaining data. Up to a very few years ago there were about as many systems of bookkeeping and calculating costs in use as there were city-school systems. Less than three years ago the United States Bureau of the Census and the United States Bureau of Education agreed upon certain standard forms for city- school accounting, and these forms have since been adopted by quite a number of our American cities. Naturally more small than large cities have adopted the new uniform plan, because the small cities have found it easier -to rearrange their bookkeeping. Of the 37 cities so far used for com- parisons, only about one half have adopted these new forms and have rearranged their accounting methods accordingly. TABLE XXVTl 1 COST FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS PER PUPIL m AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE * Pueblo, Colo $34.30 Kansas City, Mo 34.88 Omaha, Neb 35-56 Tacoma, Wash 37.07 Denver, Colo 38.12 San Jos6, Cal 38.16 Salt Lake City, Utah 41.79 PORTLAND, ORE 41.95 Minneapolis, Minn 42.31 Oakland, Cal 42.53 San Francisco, Cal 42.82 San Diego, Cal. 2 42.91 Seattle, Wash 43.92 Spokane, Wash 44-33 Los Angeles, Cal. 1 50.38 Berkeley, Cal. J 51.72 1 Calculated from data given in the 1912 Report U. S. Commissioner of Education, Vol. II. 2 Information obtained direct, and approximately correct Does not use uniform accounting forms. 1 This city maintains a complete system of intermediate schools. Cost of System of Education 411 TABLE XXVIII 1 COST FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS PER PUPIL IN AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE 2 Per Cent, of Total r .. Cost per Pupil Attendance in per Year High Schools Berkeley, Cal $66.11 25 Tacoma, Wash 71.80 15 Omaha, Neb 75-n Ir PORTLAND, ORE 76.42 12 Salt Lake City, Utah 78.89 9 San Jos6, Cal 80.33 2I Oakland, Cal 80.94 13 Kansas City, Mo 82.30 14 Denver, Colo 82.78 13 Minneapolis, Minn 84.83 14 . Pueblo, Colo 86.73 I2 Spokane, Wash 92.56 14 Seattle, Wash 101.14 16 San Diego, Cal 104.06 15 Los Angeles, Cal 120.07 1 S- I S For that reason a comparison of costs between all of the 37 is impossible. Still more, due to the larger salaries paid both teachers and janitors in the West, and the larger cost of both mate- rials and service needed for annual operation and mainte- nance, a comparison of costs per pupil educated be- tween two such cities as Birmingham, Alabama, or Fall River, Massachusetts, with their low teachers' salaries and large school classes, and Portland, Oregon, with its small classes and relatively high salaries for elementary teachers, is not of much value, because two entirely different types of school systems are compared. Most of the Western cities, where maintenance costs are somewhat the same, have adopted the new system of ac- counting and report separate costs, for different items and for different kinds of schools, to the United States Commis- sioner of Education. Portland has adopted this system of 1 Calculated from same source as Table XXVII. Does not include night schools or vacation schools. 2 412 The Portland Survey accounting, so that comparisons of cost between most of the Western cities, for both elementary and secondary schools, are now possible. Such comparisons are made in the two following tables, using Western cities of 25,000 or more inhabitants only, and using figures published last year for all. The costs for elementary education in Portland are thus seen to be about what other Western cities average, while the costs for secondary education are lower. This we should expect from the discussion of teachers' salaries, in Chap- ter V. Size of Classes as Determining Costs These figures do not reveal the whole truth of the matter, however, as the cost per pupil educated in the elementary schools varies much, according to other factors than teach- ers' salaries. The most important of these is the average number of pupils in each classroom. Portland's elementary school classes are smaller than those in all but two or three other cities in the above list. This is a feature of the ad- ministrative organization of the school system which is to be greatly commended, and the size of classes in Portland ought not to be increased. Thirty children make a class about as large as a teacher can teach well, and the pres- ent Portland classes of 35 to 38 are still a little large. The classes in Portland are not too small; they are merely too large elsewhere. The cost per pupil per year, however, is materially in- creased when such small classes are maintained over what would be the case if 45 or 50 children were given to each teacher, as may be seen from the following, calculated on a basis of a cost of $1,500 per year per classroom : Size of Class Cost per pupil per Year 30 pupils $50.00 35 " 42-86 40 37-50 45 33-33 50 " 30.00 Cost of System of Education 413 Reasonable Per Capita Costs As many of the cities given in Table XXVII teach their children in classes of 45 or more, the comparison is not so favorable to Portland as might at first seem. To pro- vide the special classes and schools needed to meet well the educational needs of the city, as pointed out in Chapters XI and XIV, Portland ought to spend, considering the size of classes maintained, close to $50 per pupil in average daily attendance per year. The intermediate schools, recom- mended in Chapters IX and XI, ought to cost about $70 per pupil per year. The high schools, too, are costing too little. The teachers are not paid a high enough maximum to retain the best, and they are also required to teach too many periods a day. To provide the kind of educational conditions best suited to the needs of such a city as Port- land, with the recommended additions to the high schools, a cost of $90 to $100 per pupil in average daily attendance in the high schools is not too much. These estimates would include the additions recommended in the preceding chapters, and would add somewhere from 20 to 25 per cent, to the present annual cost for maintenance and instruction. This would add about one mill to the school tax of the district. Such additions, with the right kind of administrative organization and leadership, would soon give Portland a thoroughly good school system, one which would answer the needs of the city for some years to come. CAN THE DISTRICT REASONABLY AFFORD TO SPEND THIS ADDED SUM ON ITS SCHOOLS To show that the Portland school district can afford such an addition, and afford it with ease, Tables XXIX and XXX are introduced. Table XXIX shows the real wealth, for each of the 37 cities studied, which lies behind each dollar spent for the 414 The Portland Survey TABLE XXIX 1 REAL WEALTH BEHIND EACH DOLLAR SPENT FOR SCHOOL MAINTENANCE 1. Atlanta, Ga $559.00 2. Los Angeles, Cal 538.00 3. Richmond, Va, 536.00 4. Birmingham, Ala 479.00 5. PORTLAND, ORE 456.00 6. Memphis, Tenn 449.00 7. Indianapolis, Ind 408.00 8. St. Paul, Minn 407.00 9. Spokane, Wash 370.00 10. Seattle, Wash 364.00 11. Oakland, Cal 354-oo 12. Omaha, Neb 352.00 13. Nashville, Tenn 350.00 14. Louisville, Ky 326.00 15. New Orleans, La 314.00 1 6. Minneapolis, Minn. 294.00 17. Kansas City, Mo 280.00 18. Bridgeport, Conn 276.00 19. Providence, R. 1 256.00 20. Albany, N. Y 234.00 21. Denver, Colo 231.00 22. Rochester, N. Y 225.00 23. Columbus, Ohio 221.00 24. Jersey City, N. J 218.00 25. Scranton, Pa 216.00 26. Washington, D. C 212.00 27. Dayton, Ohio 208.00 28. Grand Rapids, Mich 207.00 29. Cambridge, Mass 204.00 30. Syracuse, N. Y 202.00 31. Fall River, Mass. 196.00 32. Lowell, Mass 194.00 33. Paterson, N. J 185.00 34. New Haven, Conn 185.00 35. Toledo, Ohio 184.00 36. Worcester, Mass 180.00 37. Newark, N. J 165.00 yearly maintenance of schools by the city, and Table XXX shows the rate of tax in mills required to raise this amount for maintenance, based on real wealth (see Table X, > A combination of Tables XXIV and X. Cost of System of Education 415 TABLE XXX 1 COMPARATIVE RATES OF TAX REQUIRED FOR SCHOOL MAINTENANCE (IN MILLS) BASED ON THE REAL WEALTH OF CITIES 1. Newark, N. J 00606 2. Toledo, Ohio 00543 3. New Haven, Conn 00541 4. Paterson, N. J. '. 00541 5. Lowell, Mass 00515 6. Fall River, Mass 00510 7. Worcester, Mass 00505 8. Syracuse, N. Y 00495 9. Cambridge, Mass 00490 10. Grand Rapids, Mich 00483 11. Washington, D. C 00471 12. Scranton, Pa 00463 13. Jersey City, N. J 00459 14. Columbus, Ohio 00452 15. Rochester, N. Y. . . 00444 16. Denver, Colo. . . . 1 00433 17. Albany, N. Y 00427 18. Dayton, Ohio 00421 19. Providence, R. 1 00391 20. Bridgeport, Conn 00362 21. Kansas City, Mo 00357 22. Minneapolis, Minn 00340 23. New Orleans, La 00315 24. Louisville, Ky 00307 25. Nashville, Tenn 00285 26. Omaha, Neb 00284 27. Oakland, Cal 00283 28. Seattle, Wash 00275 29. Spokane, Wash 00270 30. Indianapolis, Ind 00245 31. St. Paul, Minn 00244 32. Memphis, Tenn 00222 33. PORTLAND, ORE 00219 34. Birmingham, Ala 00209 35. Richmond, Va 00186 36. Los Angeles, Cal 00184 37. Atlanta, Ga 00180 page 107), and assuming no delinquencies in taxes. While taxes are based on assessed wealth and not on actual wealth, 1 A combination of Tables XXIV and X. 4i 6 The Portland Survey the great variations in the rate of assessment make real wealth the only proper basis of comparison between cities. That Portland can afford the estimated needed increases, these tables show, without question. Portland could even double its expenses for yearly school maintenance, and still pay a rate of tax for schools, based on real wealth, which would be less than that paid by almost every Eastern city. These Eastern cities, with their large school populations, large foreign elements, much lower per capita wealth, and high taxes, are paying high rates of school tax to try to do what Portland can do with ease, and on a much lower rate of school tax. These Eastern cities pay lower salaries to their elementary teachers, teach their children in larger classes, are compelled to build their school buildings by bonding, and have to maintain many half -day classes, be- cause they cannot erect buildings enough; while Portland, on less than half the real tax they pay, pays relatively good salaries to its elementary teachers, teaches its children in classes much nearer the proper size, pays for nearly all its school buildings the year they are erected, and has not a half- day class in the entire city. On the contrary, the district has a number of vacant rooms. PORTLAND S EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY Excepting probably only Los Angeles, no other large city in the United States has such an excellent opportunity to make for itself a school system which shall be second to none in the country, and one the excellence of which will make Portland known educationally all over the United States and will attract to it many new residents of a desir- able class. It will require more money, to be sure, and a little higher tax for schools, but not a large amount, while the returns from the investment educational, social, moral, and commercial will be very large. The commer- cial returns might well be mentioned first, instead of last. Los Angeles has utilized the opportunity which her wealth Cost of System of Education 417 and the character of her population have given her, and has developed one of the very best school systems, large or small, to be found anywhere in the United States. There is little question but that the present social and industrial prosperity of the city is in no small measure due to the very broad scope and the very high excellence maintained throughout the school system. Portland, by reason of its very great wealth, the high character of its people, the free- dom (practically so) of the school district from debt, and the good foundation upon which to build, could, in a few years, and with but a small increase in the tax rate for main- tenance if under wise, intelligent, and capable leader- ship easily become the educational rival of Los Angeles, and her schools would acquire a reputation, as those of Los Angeles have done, throughout the whole United States. Practically no other large city in the entire United States has today so great an opportunity for educational leader- ship almost within its grasp. PRESENT NEEDS OF THE PORTLAND SCHOOL SYSTEM This opportunity the school authorities of Portland ought to seize, for educational as well as for commercial reasons. The present school system is much in the condition of a manufacturing establishment which is running on a low grade of efficiency. The waste of material is great and the output is costly in part because the workmen in the establishment are not supplied with enough of the right kind of tools ; in part because the supervision of the establish- ment is inadequate and emphasizes wrong points in manu- facture; but largely because the establishment is not equipped with enough large pieces of specialized machinery, located in special shops or units of the manufacturing plant, to enable it to meet modern manufacturing conditions. The plant needs more money for operative costs, more specializa- tion in production, the utilization of present waste products, and an efficiency manager to study the business neetfs, spe- 418 The Portland Survey cialize it, and speed it up, with a view to saving wastes, in- creasing the rate of output, and greatly increasing the sale value of the manufactured product in the markets the fac- tory is trying to supply. On a proper presentation of the matter to the stockholders of any business corporation, they would agree as to the wisdom of increasing the working capital 20 to 25 per cent, if thereby the rate of production could be materially increased, the present waste in working materials largely obviated, the value of the output probably doubled, and new and profitable markets for present waste products found. The school business of Portland is, in a sense, a manufactory, doing a three-million-dollar business each year in trying to prepare future citizens for usefulness and efficiency in life. The taxpayers are the stockholders, represented in the management of the business by a board of five school directors. They should apply to the manage- ment of their educational business principles of efficiency similar to those which control in other forms of manufac- turing business. Appendices APPENDIX A A SUGGESTED LAW FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF THE PORTLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT THE following is a suggestion for a new law for the Portland school dis- trict, based on the needs presented in this report. For the reasons for the different recommendations made in the following suggested law, the reader is referred to the different chapters of the report itself. AN ACT FOR THE CREATION OF METROPOLITAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS, AND PRESCRIB- ING THEIR FORM OF ORGANIZATION AND POWERS Sec. i. All first-class school districts now existing, which have 20,000 or more children of school age, or which may hereafter come to have such, are hereby declared to be metropolitan school districts, and are to be governed under the provisions of this act, as follows: Sec. 2. For the government of each such metropolitan school district a Board of Education shall be elected by the taxpayers of the district. A tax- payer shall be as defined for school elections, in Sec. 4089 of Lord's Oregon Laws. One member of said Board of Education shall be elected each year, to serve for a five-year term. Boards of School Directors for first-class districts, in office at the time of the enactment of this law, shall constitute the new Boards of Education, and shall continue to serve for the terms for which they were elected or appointed. In case a vacancy shall occur in a Board of Educa- tion, the board shall appoint to fill the vacancy, the person so appointed to serve until the next annual school election, at which time a member shall be elected to fill out the unexpired term of the member. All elections of members of Boards of Education shall be by ballot, on the same day that annual school district meetings are held throughout the state, and the provisions of the general school laws relating to first-class districts shall apply to such elections. Polling places shall be provided by the Board of Education, at a sufficient number of places throughout the school district, and be open from i to 6 P.M. At any such annual school election, Boards of Education may, by vote, submit to the taxpayers any question of educational policy or finance, which to them seems wise, for either direction or advice. Sec. 3. Boards of Education for each metropolitan district shall reorganize each year, at the first regular meeting after the election of new members, by electing one of their number as president of the board, who shall exercise the 421 422 Appendix A usual functions of such an officer, and who shall appoint all standing and special committees of the board. Sec. 4. Boards of Education in such districts shall elect the following ex- ecutive officers: 1. A Superintendent of Schools 2. A Business Manager 3. A Superintendent of Properties 4. A Superintendent of School Attendance and, subject to the provisions of this act, shall assign to them their duties, and shall fix their compensations. Boards shall also have power to create, from time to time, such other executive departments and such subdepartments as the needs of the schools may seem to require. Sec. 5. The Superintendent of Schools shall be first elected for a one-year term, and thereafter for four-year terms. Each new Superintendent elected shall have similar tenure; provided, however, that, for cause, the board may, on thirty days' notice, and by a vote of at least four members, terminate their contract with the Superintendent of Schools to take effect at the close of any school year. His salary shall be as determined by the board. Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of Boards of Education in metropolitan districts to determine all large questions of policy; to adopt an annual budget of expen- ditures for the schools; to fix salaries of all employees; to approve of all en- largements of the work of the schools; to approve all expenses incurred; to purchase new school sites, and to order new buildings erected; to decide upon all enlargements of school sites or buildings; and to approve all contracts entered into. It shall, on the other hand, be the duty of the chief executive officers of the board to execute, under direction, the policies decided upon, and to carry out the improvements, changes, or additions ordered made. It shall be primarily the work of the Boards of Education to legislate, decide, and direct; the work of the executive officers shall be to carry into execution the policies decided upon by the Boards of Education. Sec. 7. The Superintendent of Schools shall be the chief executive officer of the Board of Education, and shall have general coordinating authority and oversight over the work of all executive officers and other employees of the school district. He shall have full responsibility for the course of study, the selection of textbooks and supplemental books, and the selection, promotion, assignment, transfer, or dismissal of assistant superintendents, special super- visors, principals, and teachers, the board acting in all such matters only on his recommendation. In case of a conflict in authority between the Superin- tendent of Schools and any executive officer, the Superintendent of Schools shall decide, unless the Board of Education shall order otherwise, in each case. Sec. 8. The Business Manager shall succeed to the general functions now exercised by the School Clerk. He shall be elected by the board, who shall de- Appendix A 423 tennine his tenure and compensation. He shall have charge of all business affairs of the school department, subject to the supervision of the board or its committees; shall make all purchases, approve all bills, and, when ordered paid by the board, draw vouchers for their payment; shall pay all employees for services performed; and shall act as Secretary of the Board of Education. He shall recommend all employees in his department for appointment or dismissal, and may suspend any such employee, for cause. He shall also be responsible for the successful conduct of the business affairs of the school department; shall give bonds for the faithful performance of his duties, in such reasonable sum as the Board of Education may determine; and the books of his office shall be audited each year, on order of the Board of Education. Sec. 9. The Boards of Education shall also appoint a Superintendent of Properties, and determine his tenure and compensation. The Superintendent of Properties shall have general charge of the erection, repair, and care of all school properties, subject to the direction of the board. The school janitors shall be under his direction and instruction. He shall recommend all employees in his department for appointment or dismissal, and may suspend any employee, for cause. Sec. 10. The Boards of Education shall also appoint a Superintendent of School Attendance, and determine his tenure and compensation. He shall have charge of the enforcement of the compulsory-education law, and those parts of the child-labor law for which attendance officers are responsible; the general out-of-school supervision of incorrigible and delinquent children; and the taking and care of the school-census records of the district. Sec. it. The Boards of Education shall have four regular standing commit- tees, each consisting of two members and the president of the board, as follows: 1. Financial affairs 2. Buildings and sites 3. Educational affairs 4. Legal affairs These committees shall consider such matters of policy, finance, and procedure as may be referred to them. Special committees may be created, for special purposes, from time to time, as necessities of administration seem to require. Sec. 12. Boards of Education in metropolitan districts shall prepare, each year, with the assistance of their executive officers, a budget of expenses for all departments of the school system, for the ensuing year, and approve the same. They shall estimate the amount to be received from the state and county school funds, sales of properties, or any other sources of income, and shall then estimate the balance needed for each of the following funds, viz.: 1. Outlays Fund: To cover the cost of new buildings, grounds, and equipment. 2. Maintenance Fund: To cover the cost for salaries, maintenance, sup- plies, administration, and contingent expenses. 424 Appendix A On approval of the annual budget by the Board of Education, the board shall then certify the total amounts, only, for each of the above funds to the author- ities whose duty it is to levy the school taxes for the district, and said author- ities shall then levy a rate on the assessed valuation of the district which will produce the amount so certified; provided, that the same shall not exceed a rate of four mills for the outlays fund, or five mills for the maintenance fund; pro- vided, further, that, upon a statement of need, the taxpayers voting for school board members at the annual school election may be asked by the Board of Ed- ucation to approve of a tax levy up to six mills for the maintenance fund. If so approved by a majority of those voting, the Board of Education may cer- tify for levy a tax for the maintenance fund up to six mills, and the same shall be levied as directed. Sec. 13. Boards of Education in metropolitan districts shall establish stand- ards for the employment and pay of teachers, principals, and other members of the educational service. All such persons, when first employed, shall serve such a probationary period, not exceeding three years, as may be determined, after which they shall be regarded as on indeterminate contract. All persons employed on indeterminate contract shall be considered as permanently em- ployed, unless the Board of Education shall notify such persons, in writing, not later than May 15, of any year, that the Board of Education desires to ter- minate the contract at the close of the school year, for causes stated in the notice. For the sufficiency of the reasons for so terminating a contract with any em- ployee, Boards of Education shall be the sole judges. Sec. 14. Boards of Education in districts of the metropolitan class, hereby created, may create a board of examiners and examine their own teachers, as now provided for cities of the first class, or they may vote to accept the county and state teachers' certificates instead, and discontinue their boards of exam- iners. Sec. 15. Boards of Education in metropolitan districts shall have power to establish and maintain kindergartens, elementary schools, intermediate schools, high schools of different kinds, manual training schools, vocational schools, schools of trades, neighborhood schools, truant schools, schools for the educa- tion of special classes of any kind, evening schools, vacation schools, playgrounds, lecture courses, and such other types of educational agencies or schools as may to them seem desirable to meet the peculiar needs of such cities; to fix the days of the year and the hours of the day when such schools and other educational agencies may be open or in session; to admit to such schools, in addition to the persons now provided for by law, such other persons as they may deem desirable; and to prescribe the textbooks and courses of study for the use of such schools, and to change the same, all such prescriptions and changes to be on the recom- mendation of the Superintendent of Schools; provided, that any textbook once adopted and in use shall not be changed oftener than once in four years; and provided, further, that the taxpayers of any metropolitan district may, by vote, authorize the Board of Education to provide free textbooks for any or all schools maintained. Appendix A 425 Sec. 16. Boards of Education in metropolitan districts shall provide for the taking of a detailed school census of their districts, by years and sex, and by residence and school attendance, and shall provide for keeping such as accurate as may be, with a view to knowing fully the educational needs of the district and the full enforcement of all laws relating to school attendance, child labor, or juvenile delinquency. i Sec. 17. The Boards of Education for such metropolitan districts shall, in all matters not specifically provided for in this act, be controlled and subject to the general school laws relating to cities of the first class, or the general school laws of the state; provided, however, that all acts or parts of acts in conflict with any of the provisions of this act are hereby repealed, in so far as they relate to metropolitan districts. APPENDIX B i. REPORT OF SURVEY COMMITTEE /"TAHE survey covered by the report given in this volume had its beginning in a resolution introduced by Mr. W. B. Ayer and passed at the regular annual meeting of the voters of School District No. i, Multnomah County, Oregon, held on December 27, 1912, in the following terms: "Whereas, the average daily attendance at the public schools of this district has increased from 10,387 in 1002, to 23,712 in 1912, and the annual disburse- ments have increased during the same period from $420,879.61 to $2,490,477.28 and "Whereas, it is of the utmost importance that the pubh'c schools should be kept at the highest point of efficiency, it is hereby declared to be the sense of this meeting that a full and complete survey be made of the public school sys- tem of this district, comprising: 1. The location, type, character, and condition of existing school houses, and the estimated cost and type of future buildings; 2. Of the organization and methods of administration; 3. Of the form and manner of instruction; 4. The courses of study and the quality of the textbooks; 5. The extent and need of playgrounds and gymnasiums; 6. The development of domestic science, manual training, trade, agricul- tural and horticultural schools; 7. The salaries of teachers and other employees; 8. The method and system of accounting; 9. The form of organization, and the examination of the school laws of the state, as applied to this district; 10. Of the average cost per pupil in comparison with other cities; and, 11. Of the scientific method of raising the required revenue, either by direct taxation or the issuance of bonds, or both; Therefore, be it resolved, that a committee consisting of Mr. Richard W. Montague, Mrs. Millie R. Trumbull, Mr. L. A. Lewis, Mr. J. A. Madsen, Mr. L. J. Goldsmith, is hereby appointed to make a full and complete survey of every phase of the public school system of this district, said committee to serve without pay, but 426 Appendix B 427 they are authorized and empowered to employ such expert investigators as may in their judgment seem necessary; and the directors of this district are hereby authorized and directed to apportion to the expense of said committee a sum not in excess of $7,500.00, which sum shall be paid to the treasurer of said committee on the written order of the chairman and secretary thereof. Said committee shall have power to fill any vacancies that may occur in their membership, and shall report to the directors and taxpayers of this district their recommendations, together with all reports received and expenditures made by them." Some question having arisen as to the power of the voters of the district to appropriate moneys to be expended for a specific purpose, the Board of Direc- tors of the district at its meeting of January 22, 1913, set the question at rest by passing the following resolution: "Resolved, that the Board of School Directors does hereby appoint Richard W. Montague, Mrs. Millie R. Trumbull, L. A. Lewis, J. A. Madsen, and L. J. Goldsmith to make a survey of the public schools of this district, in conformity with a resolution adopted at the annual school meeting held in the Lincoln High School, December 27, 1912, as follows: [Here follows the resolution then adopted] and that the committee present to the board for payment all vouchers of the expense incurred in carrying into effect the terms of the resolution." Under this grant of authority the task was undertaken. The committee was clear from the outset that a survey, to be of any value, must be made by pro- fessional school men, and that the functions of the committee ought to be con- fined to the selection and employment of qualified experts to do the required work as thoroughly as possible within the limits of the appropriation. From all accessible sources the names of the educators in the United States best informed and of the best judgment in the matter of school surveys were sought, and letters were addressed to a large number asking for their views as to the proper scope and method of the proposed survey and for recommendations as to the persons best qualified to do the work. It may be remarked in passing that there was remarkable agreement among all those consulted on the latter point, and the work of the committee was thereby much simplified. At this stage of its inquiries the committee had and profited by personal interviews with George D. Strayer, professor of educational administration at Columbia University, who happened to be in the West on work of this character, and with President Foster and Professor Sisson of Reed College, from all of whom the committee received very valuable advice and suggestions. Not only to these, but to the many who replied to our letters the committee has to express cordial thanks. The disinterested spirit of public service shown by these men in giving freely to the committee of their valuable tune and invaluable knowledge and experi- ence, without thought of recompense, is beyond praise. The letters we re- ceived, taken together, constitute a discussion of the problems of school surveys and the related questions of highest value. Among a considerable number of educators of high qualifications considered, the choice of the committee finally fell upon the authors of the accompanying 428 Appendix B report, whose names and professional occupations are set forth on a preceding page. Their report must speak for itself. The opinion, favorable or otherwise, of a committee of laymen as to its quality would have no weight with the judi- cious, but we cannot refrain from a word of commendation for the capable, fearless, and energetic way in which the work was prosecuted, nor from record- ing the conviction that our choice was singularly fortunate. The report is presented precisely as it came from the authors, the under- standing from the first having been that it would be submitted without editing, adding, or suppressing. The original resolution requires the committee to pre- sent its recommendations, but the same reasons which obtain for the making of the report by experts have equal weight against the offering of detailed recom- mendations by the committee. One recommendation, however, we have to make with all possible earnest- ness, and that is that the report receive the considerate attention of all officers, parents and thoughtful citizens of the district. In view of the prune importance and unquestionable wisdom of many of the suggestions of the report we be- lieve that their execution ought not to be lost sight of, and we take the liberty to recommend further that a committee be appointed by the coming taxpayers' meeting to consider how far the recommendations of the report have been, are being, or can be carried into effect. The effort to bring our schools up to the highest pitch of efficiency, with the means available, should never be allowed to fail or falter. We submit this report in the hope that it may bring home to all of us that the schools are maintained to fit the children for life, and are only successful in so far as that end is kept steadily in view, and that it may bear fruit in increased devotion by all of us to our supreme duty to give our children the means and opportunity of being wiser and better men and women. Respectfully submitted, RICHARD W. MONTAGUE, MILLIE R. TRUMBULL, L. A. LEWIS, J. A. MADSEN, L. J. GOLDSMITH, Survey Committee. 2. DIRECTOR'S LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL Mr. Richard W. Montague, Chairman of the Taxpayers' Committee, Portland, Oregon. Dear Sir: I have the honor to submit herewith to you, for your committee, the final re- port of the Survey of the public school system of School District No. i, Mult- nomah County, Oregon, the same being what is commonly known as the school system of the city of Portland. The final report is the work of my associates and myself, and the proper credit Appendix B 429 for chapters written by my associates is indicated by prefatory notes, or some other designation at the beginning of each chapter. While individual members of the Survey thus took particular charge of cer- tain aspects of the work and drafted certain chapters, I think that I may safely say for the other members, and certainly can for myself, that the report, as submitted, represents the combined judgment of all of those who worked on the Survey. I was in Portland at the time each of my associates arrived, and started him and for a time worked with him on the Survey. Conferences were held daily, and before each group left Portland, final conferences were held at which the main conclusions were agreed upon. In this way the work was under constant discussion, and the results of the daily observations of each man were presented to the other members. Since the chapters were written, those in Parts I and II have been exchanged among those who worked on these two parts, and approved by all. The same is true for all chapters in Part III. The facts and needs of the system were so plain, the system was characterized by such uniformity, and the supervisory conditions and needs were so evident to all, that an agreement on the general criticisms and recommendations to be em- bodied in the report was easily reached. Aside from certain preliminary work which I did during the two days I was in Portland in March, the work of the Survey really began with the coming of Superintendent Spaulding and myself on April 6. Other members of the Sur- vey staff came later Professor Dresslar on May 10, Superintendent Francis on May 17, Professor Terman on May 19, and Professor Elliott on May 25 each remaining long enough to gather the necessary data and to complete his part of the local work. The time spent by each varied from one to three weeks. I was in Portland during the time each of the men was there, and worked with them. The statistical clerk for the Survey, Mr. Tanner, spent a month in Portland, making tests in the schools and tabulating statistical information for the use of the Survey staff. The field work in Portland was completed the first week in June, and the months of June and July were spent in formulating the report. Naturally, in such a short time, not every one of the sixty schools could be visited, and but a relatively small number of the over eight hundred teachers could be seen at work. Professor Dresslar, in his survey of the school buildings, visited all but two or three of the schools of the district; and almost every school principal was seen and questioned by some one of the Survey, as to the organi- zation and administration of the school system. Beyond this, either selected schools, typical of the different educational conditions found, were visited and studied in some detail (Spaulding), or studies of type forms of instruction were made (Francis, Terman). It was the common judgment of the different mem- bers of the Survey, and is so stated by three in their written reports, that the school system was characterized by so great a uniformity that no detailed study of many of the schools was necessary. What was attempted was to make such a survey as would enable us to state the nature of the work done, the actuat- ing motives and spirit of the work, and the present and future needs of the system. 430 Appendix B While of necessity this report must at times be critical, such has not been our main purpose. Had we desired to offer merely a critical report, or to sum- marize the merits and defects and cast up a balance, and stop with such, the task would have been much easier, and the report would have been much shorter. On the contrary, we have tried, instead, to outline a constructive program for the improvement and development of your school system, and have used criticisms only as a basis upon which to build. Such criticisms as are made, too, it is hoped will not be taken as personal by anyone, as they describe a con- dition rather than individuals. In particular we do not wish the report to be taken, in any sense, as a personal criticism of the outgoing Superintendent or of the Board of School Directors, as we feel that the city owes much to the very faithful services of both. Your school system, despite its defects, is still above the average in worth. Your city, though, is not an average city, your people are not average people, in particular your present and future educational needs are not average needs, and your educational possibilities are not average possibilities, and the time is now at hand when your school department ought to be transformed from a somewhat passive organization into an active, energetic institution, working for the improvement of all the conditions surrounding the life and work of your people. Some of the means for accomplishing this we have tried to point out in this report. My associates on the Survey wish me to express for them, and I do also for myself, our appreciation of the courteous and helpful assistance rendered us by the members of the Board of School Directors, the entire office force at the administration offices, the principals and the teachers. Mr. Sabin, Mr. Rigler, Mr. Thomas, and yourself should be singled out for special mention. Mr. L. H. Weir, field secretary of the Playground and Recreation Association of Amer- ica, was also very kind in allowing me to read and to make some extracts for my notes from his unpublished survey of the play and recreation activities and facilities of your city. Respectfully submitted, EliWOOD P. CUBBERLEY, Director of the Survey. STANFORD UNIVERSITY, CALIFORNIA, August 20, 1913. Index INDEX Abnormal children, segregation of, 198, 364-369- Acoustic properties of school buildings, 320. Administrative organization, of Port- land school district, ioff.; coordina- tion of authorities under the present, 10; organization of Board of School Directors, lo-n; business depart- ment organization, 11-14; educa- tional department organization, 14- 16; bad effects of present system, 23- 25; remedy for present conditions, 25-33; ill effects of rigidity and uni- formity of, in Portland elementary and secondary schools, 125-175. Adults, extension education advocated for, 116, 122. Advisory committee on buildings, 338. Age and over age, significance of, 184- 192. Age range within which children may advantageously be instructed to- gether, 185-186. Agricultural high school, demand for an, 121, 247. Agricultural interests of Portland, 104- 105. Agricultural training, importance of, 208, 237-238; in pre-vocational courses, 213. Anaemic children, need of special classes for, 119. Apparatus, lack of educational, in ele- mentary schools, 160-161; recom- mendations as to classroom, 316- 318, 333-334- Architecture, instruction in, in night high schools, 272. Arithmetic, to be viewed as a tool sub- ject rather than as an end in itself, 116-117; too much time devoted to abstract, in Portland elementary schools, 142-143; character of in- struction in, in grammar grades, 153- 154; elementary instruction in, 207. Art schools, establishment of special, 273-274. Assembly halls in school buildings, 297; recommendations concerning, 318-319. Athletic exercises in schools, 362-363. Attendance, enforcement of school, 383-385; records and reports of, 385- 389- Ayres, Leonard P., Open-Air Schools, cited, 358. Backward children, special classes for, 119, 366-368. Banisters, stair, recommendations con- cerning, 318. Baths in school buildings, 297; recom- mendations concerning, 332. Biography, historical, elementary in- struction in, 208. Blackboards in classrooms, 317-318. Blind, special classes for the, 119; special schools for, 365. Board of School Directors, organiza- tion of, 10-16; volume of work un- dertaken by, 1 6-1 8; types of busi- ness dealt with at meetings of, 18- 23; proper functions of, 31-33; bad effect of prominence of, on system of supervision, 38-39; rules and reg- ulations of, 41 ; effect of selection of teachers by, 61-63; financial and educational responsibility for school gardening should be assumed by, 248; records of, 392 ff.; annual re- port of, 393-395- Bonding, paying for school buildings by, 300-303. Bookbinding, instruction in, in pre- vocational courses, 213. 433 434 Index Border-line children, schools for, 366- 368. Bryant, Louise, School Feeding, cited, 360. Building department, position of, under proper organization of school system, 29-31. Building problem in Portland, 283 ff.; complication of, by shifting of pop- ulation, 288-290. Buildings, for intermediate schools, 252-253; type of, best suited to school work, 295-297. Business department of school organi- zation, 11-14; excellence of present organization in Portland, 29. Business interests of Portland, 103- 105. Business practice, should be taught in night high schools, 272. Capacities of pupils, tested in the in- termediate period, 214. Census, the school, 375-383. Certification of teachers, wisdom of reliance upon, 66. Children, sympathetic study of, by teachers, 178. Civics, instruction in, in intermediate period, 211; study of, in pre-voca- tional courses, 214. Classes, size of, 119; commendable size of, in elementary schools, 162-163; relation between size of, and cost of educational system, 412-413. Classification of pupils, by their knowl- edge and ability respecting school subjects, 192-194; according to types of instruction best suited to their respective needs, 200-202. Classroom instruction in elementary schools, 147-154. Classrooms, size of, 313-314; height, 314-315; floors, 3i5~3 l6 ; desks, 316- 317; blackboards, 317-318; heating, 322-325; ventilation, 325-328; use of slates in, 334. Coeducation, conditions affecting ques- tion of, 198-199. College preparatory courses in high schools, 263. College preparatory subjects, instruc- tion in, 120. Commercial high school, need of a, 121. Commercial studies, in pre-vocational courses, 213; criticism of, in high schools, 239-241. Committee on new school buildings recommended, 338. Community work in schools, 274-278. Composition, inadequacy of instruc- tion in, 140-142; poor work in, in grammar grades, 149-151. Compulsory Education Law, 122, 383- 385, 391- Contracting, instruction in, in night high schools, 272. Cookery, lack of instruction in, in ele- mentary schools, 232; taught in neighborhood schools, 276. Corporation management, principles of, applied to educational affairs, 32-33- Cost of system of education, 404-418. Courses of study, criticism of, in ele- mentary schools, 134-143, 205; in secondary schools, 165-167, 216; pre-vocational, 213-214; need of con- stant change in secondary period, 217; vocational studies, 224-249; in intermediate schools, 260-263; en " largement of, in night high schools, 272. Crippled children, special school for, 365- Current events, study of, in intermedi- ate period, 21 1 ; in pre-vocational courses, 214. Curriculum, discussion of the ele- mentary school, 127-163; uniformity of, for all high schools, a barrier to progress, 160-171; lack of unity and definiteness of purpose in pupils' courses, 171. Day nursery, in neighborhood school, 274-275; as a laboratory for teach- ing care of children, 277. Deaf, special classes for the, 119; ex- ample of wrong educational methods applied to, 131-133; special school for, needed, 364-365. Index 435 Defective children, special schools and classes for, 119, 364-369; inadequate provision for, in Portland schools, 163. Dental clinics for schools, 351-353. Department heads in high schools, salaries of, 76; payment according to merit and efficiency, 85. Desks, schoolroom, 316-317. Discipline in elementary schools, 163. District schools, 274-278. Domestic art, instruction in, in high schools, 245. Domestic science, instruction in, 118; provision for, in high schools, 245. Domestic science rooms in school buildings, 297. Drawing, need of provision for instruc- tion in, 118; correlation of nature study with, 208; instruction in, in intermediate period, 211; in pre- vocational courses, 214; in prepara- tory courses in secondary school, 216; criticism of, as taught in ele- mentary schools, 233-234; work in, in high schools, 241-243. Drinking fountains in school buildings, 333- Dust and disease, 306. Dust cloths, use of, 333. Economic position of Portland, 91-111. Economics, instruction in, in high schools, 1 20. Education, of Portland teachers, 54- 56; statistics of system of, in Port- land, iio-in, 404-418; present-day changes in conception of, 113-114. Educational department of school or- ganization, 14-16. Educational materials, dearth of suit- able, in elementary schools, 160-162. Educational program, outline of an, adapted to local educational needs, 176-223. Efficiency system applied to teachers, 81-87. Electrical work, instruction in, in night high schools, 272. Elementary schools, requirements of teachers in, 66; salaries of teachers, 75; payment of teachers according to merit and efficiency, 82-83; ob- jects to be aimed at by, under mod- ern conception of education, 115; courses of instruction which should be given, 116-119; analysis and dis- cussion of present dead curriculum, 127!!.; mechanical form and pre- scriptions of course of study, 134- 143; dearth of suitable educational materials, 160-162; appropriate sub- jects of instruction, 205; vocational studies in, 226-238; needed reorgani- zation and expansion, 250-251. English, instruction in, in intermediate period, 211; study of, in pre-voca- tional courses, 213; preparatpry courses in, in secondary school, 216. Entertainments in connection with night schools, 270-271. Examinations, criticism of system of promotional, in elementary schools, 144-147; cost of system in high schools, 172. Extension education, need for, 116, 122. Feeble-minded, classes for the, 368. Financial records, keeping of, 399-400. Fire drills, excellence of, in Portland schools, 297-298. Fireproof construction, required in school buildings, 288; danger of overdoing matter of, 298; economy of, 298-300. Floors of school buildings, 315-316. Foreign-born element in population of Portland, 95-97. Free textbooks, gradual introduction of system, advised, 161-162. Gardening. See School gardening. Geography, nature of instruction in, 117; abstract and bookish character of work in, in grammar grades, 151- 153; elementary instruction in, 207; correlation of nature study with, 208; instruction in, in intermediate period, 211; study of, in pre-voca- tional courses, 213. Grammar, right and wrong views in Index teaching of, 116-117; excessive at- tention to technical, in Portland schools, largely wasted effort, 138- 142; character of instruction in, in grammar grades, 153-154. Grammar grades, classroom instruc- tion in, 148-154; routine character of work of teachers and pupils, 155- 156. Health of school teachers, attention to, 360-361. Health supervision in schools, 119, 339-37I- Heating of classrooms, 322-325. Hessler, Robert, cited on relation of city dust to disease, 306. High schools, requirements of teachers in, 66; salaries of teachers, 76; pay- ment of teachers according to merit and efficiency, 84-85; educational needs to be met by, 120-121; need of commercial and agricultural, 121; night, 122, 260-272; increase in en- rollment, 163-164; provision for secondary education, 164; character of instruction, 165; courses of study, 165-167; principals and teachers em- ployed in teaching subjects, not in educating youth, 167-168; uniform- ity of curriculum for all, a barrier to progress, 169-171; pupils' courses lack unity and definiteness of pur- pose, 171; cost of examination sys- tem, 172; vocational studies, 238^- 247; shop equipment and its distri- bution, in industrial work in, 243- 244; work of, to be done in interme- diate schools, 260; needed reorgani- zation and expansion of, 263-264; extension of night high school work, 272; sites for future, 294-295. See also Secondary schools. History, nature of instruction in, 117- ii 8; instruction in, in high schools, 120; systematic instruction in United States history not general enough, 143; instruction in, in grammar grades, dry and dull, 153; instruc- tion in, in intermediate stage, an; study of, in pre-vocational courses, 213; preparatory courses in, in sec- ondary school, 216. Holmes, Arthur, The Conservation of the Child, cited, 366. Home-economics building in neighbor- hood school, 276. Home-keeping, should be taught in night high schools, 272. Home-making, courses in, 213. Household arts, instruction in, in in- termediate period, 21 1 ; in prepara- tory courses in secondary school, 216. Housework, instruction of girls in, 118. Hygiene, instruction in, 208, 361-362; instruction in, hi intermediate period, 21 1 ; study of, in pre-vocational courses, 214; educational, 340-351; of instruction, 364. Illiteracy, extension education needed as a remedy for, 116. Incorrigibles, special classes for, 369. Individual, adapting work to needs of the, 2 1 1-2 1 2. Industrial training, not needed in a city of Portland's character, 246. Industrial work hi high schools, 243- 244. Intermediate courses, instruction in, 209-214. Intermediate schools, requirements of teachers in, 66; salaries of teachers, 75; payment of teachers in, accord- ing to merit and efficiency, 83-84; desirability of, 251; character, loca- tion, and buildings, 251-253; cost, 253; special purposes of, 253-256; advantages, 256-257; teachers for, 258; sources of opposition, 258-259; courses of study in, 260-263. Janitor service in schools, 334-336. Janitors, school for, recommended, 278, 335-336. Kindergartens, establishment of, ad- vocated, 115; value of instruction in, 202; number of children in Portland of suitable age for, 202-203; cost of instruction, 203-204; should be pro- vided only after other school provi- Index 437 sions more important and pressing, 204-205; reasons for establishing, 224-225; relation of work in, to that of first grade, 250. Knowledge, present-day view as to purpose of acquiring, 114-115. Language arts, elementary instruc- tion in, 205, 206. Languages, instruction in, in high schools, 120; instruction in, in inter- mediate period, 211; preparatory courses in, in secondary school, 216. Laundering, in neighborhood schools, 276. Law, a new, recommended for reorgan- ization of Portland school district, 7-9, 421-425. Library, room for branch public, in school buildings, 297. Lickley, E. J., report by, cited, 369. Lighting of schools, 307-313. Literary courses for intermediate stage of instruction, 210-211. Los Angeles, primary manual arts in elementary school course of, 228. Lunches, school, 275-276, 359-360. Manual arts, primary, in elementary school course of study, 226-228. Manual training, instruction in, 118; in intermediate period, 211; in pre- paratory courses in secondary school, 216; criticism of, in Portland ele- mentary schools, 228-230. Manufacturing studies, in pre-voca- tional courses, 213. Mathematics, instruction in, in high schools, 120; instruction in, in in- termediate stage, 21 1 ; study of, in pre-vocational courses, 213; pre- paratory courses in, in secondary school, 216. Mechanical studies, in pre-vocational courses, 213; in night high schools, 272. Medical clinics, 353. Medical inspection in schools, 339 ff. Merit system for teachers, 81-85; ad- vantages of, 86-87. Motor instincts of children, recogni- tion of, 225. Music, need of provision for instruc- tion hi, 1 1 8 ; instruction in , in elemen- tary schools, 234-235; a fundamental pedagogic mistake in teaching, 235. Music rooms in school buildings, 297. Natural capacity, influence of, in de- termining appropriate instruction, 195-197. Nature study, inadequacy of courses in, 144; elementary instruction in, 208. Neighborhood schools, 274-277; educa- tional results, and cost, 277-278. Night schools, 122; needed reorgani- zation and expansion, 269-270; en- tertainment feature of, 270-271; ex- tension of high school work in, 272. Non-English-speaking children, treat- ment of, 197-198. Nurses, school, 353~354. Open-air schools, 296; need for, in Portland, 320-321, 355-358. Orientation of school buildings, 307- 308. Over age, discussion of, 184-192. Over-age children, need of special classes for, 119. Penmanship, poor and careless work in, in grammar grades, 151. Permanent^ tenure law foj: teachers, 67- 69. Physical training, instruction in, 208; excellence of exercises, in Portland, 362. Play, value of, in development of the child, 225-226. Playgrounds, needs of Portland in re- gard to, 122, 225-226, 293-294; pro- tection of children on, 336; super- vision and instruction of children on, 362-363. Population, growth of, of Portland, 94; character of, 95-100; age distribu- tion of, 100-103; rapid increase in school population, 283-286; shift- ing of, 288-290. 438 Index Portland, comparison of city and school-district boundaries, 4-6; com- pared with other cities as to salary schedules, 75-76; social and eco- nomic position, as compared with other cities, 91 ff.; size and rate of growth, 92-94; population and its characteristics, 94-103; business in- terests, 103-105; wealth, 106; cost for city maintenance, 106-110; amount spent for education, 110- m; educational needs of such a city as, 112 ff.; general character as a city, 112-113; the special educa- tional opportunity of, 122-123, 416- 417; outline of an educational pro- gram adapted to needs of, 176-223; present needs of school system, 41 7- 418. Preparatory courses in secondary school period, 215-217. Pre-vocational courses, 119; for inter- mediate stage of instruction, 210- 211 ; purpose of, 212-214. Primary grades, classroom instruc- tion in, 148; encouraging character of work of teachers in, 159-160. Primary manual arts in elementary school course of study, 226-228. Principals, subordination of, to Board of School Directors, 38-39; impair- ment of efficiency of, 40; compara- tive salary schedules of, 75-76; pay- ment of, according to merit and efficiency, 85; deadening effect of present mechanical system on, 156- 159; in high schools are employed in teaching subjects, not in educating youth, 167-168; duty of seeing that all pupils who ought to be are en- rolled, and that pupils enrolled are getting the treatment they need, 220; need of placing more responsi- bility on high school, as regards vo- cational studies, 238-239; reasons for opposition of, to intermediate schools, 259. Printing, study of, in pre-vocational courses, 213. Program, outline of an educational, 176-223. Programs, arrangement of school, with view to hygiene of instruction, 364. Promotion, should be determined by what a pupil needs, not by what he has already learned, 217-219. Promotional examinations, system of, 144-147; cost of system, in high schools, 172. Psychologist, the school, 351. Pupils, number of, in classes, 162-163. Reading, to be viewed as a tool sub- ject, 116-117; perfunctory character of exercises in, in grammar grades, 149. Records, of attendance at school, 385; of truant officer, 386-389; of Board of School Directors, 392 ff.; forms and blanks for, 396-397; need for fundamental educational, 397-399; financial, 399-400; forms for reports and, in use, 400-403. Reorganizations of school system needed, 250-279. Rigidity of Portland school system, 125-126. Rules and regulations under system of supervision, 41. Salaries of teachers, schedules of, 75- 77; criticism of those paid in Port- land, 77-78; uniform schedule of, de- sirable, 78-80; application of a merit and efficiency system, 81-87. School buildings, problem of, 283 ff . ; demand for, owing to rapid increase in population, 283-286; recent in- crease in outlays for, 286-288; com- plication of problem by shifting of population, 288-290; probable future needs regarding, 290-291; size of lots for, 291-293; need for larger play- grounds connected with, 293-294; for high schools, 294-295 ; best types of, 295-297; rooms for special pur- poses in, 297; safest kind of, 297- 298; most economical, 298-300; paying for, by tax or by bonding, 300-303; sites for, 305-307; light- ing problem, 307-313; classrooms and furnishings, 313-318; stair ban- Index 439 isters, 318; assembly rooms, 318- 319; acoustic properties, 320; venti- lation, 325-328; toilets and urinals, 329-332; baths, 332; cleaning de- vices, 332-333; drinking fountains, 333; advisory educational committee recommended for new, 338. School Clerk, office of, n; organiza- tion of business department under, 11-14; proper relations of, to school superintendent, 25-26; authority and responsibility of, as compared with Superintendent, 42; financial records kept by, 390-400. School district, Portland, relation to municipality, 3-6; and municipality compared as to boundaries, 4; ad- ministrative organization of the, 10- 33- School feeding, 359-360. School gardening, instruction in, 118; correlation of nature study with, 208; criticism of method followed in elementary schools, 235-238; in neighborhood schools, 277. School lots, size of, 291-293. School nurses, work of, 353-354. School of Trades, 164; work done in the, 245-247. School population, rate of increase in, 283-286. School time, extension of, 272-273. Schools, state origin of the Portland, 3-4; advantages and disadvantages of state control of, 6-7; need of a new city law for the Portland, 7-9; modern conception of true function of, 113-114; rigidity of present sys- tem, 125-126; curricula of second- ary, 163-172; needed reorganiza- tions and expansions, 250 ff.; types of additional, needed, 264-279, 364- 369; extension of time of, 272-273; neighborhood, or district, 274-278; for janitors, 278, 335-336; open-air, 296, 320-331, 355-358; health su- pervision in, 339 ff.; special, 364-369; cost of system, 404-418. Science, need of provision for instruc- tion in, 1 1 8; instruction in elemen- tary , in intermediate period , 211; study of elementary, in pre-voca- tional courses, 214; preparatory courses in, in secondary school, 216. Science rooms in school buildings, 297. Secondary education, needs of, in such a city as Portland, 120-121. Secondary schools, criticism of cur- ricula of, 163-172; character of in- struction determined by length of time pupil will continue in school, 214-215; wide range of preparatory and vocational courses, 215-216; courses of study must constantly change, 217; vocational studies in, 238-247 ; the School of Trades, 245- 247; agricultural high school needed, 247; needed reorganization and ex- pansion, 263-264. Sewing, instruction in, in elementary schools, 230-232; in high schools, 245; taught in neighborhood schools, 276. Sex, influence of, in determining group- ing of pupils, 198-199. Shop equipment and its distribution, in industrial work in high schools, ^ 243-244. Sites for schools in Portland, problem of, 283 ff., 305-307; recent outlays for, 286-288; size of school lots, 291- 293- Slates, use of, in schools, 334. Social position of Portland, 91-111. Spelling, a tool subject, not an end in itself, 116-117. Stammerers, special classes for, 365. State, origin of Portland schools with the, 3-4; advantages and disadvan- tages of control of schools by the, 6-7. Studying to be done by teachers, 67. Stuttering children, special treatment of, 3 6 5- Subnormal children, segregation of, 198. Summer schools, development of, 116, 122, 268. Superintendent of Schools, office of , 1 1 ; organization of educational depart- ment under, 14-16; relation to Board of School Directors, 23-25; re- 440 Index lation of School Clerk to, 25-26; proper position of, in school organi- zation, 26-29; ill effects on system of supervision of subordination of, to Board of Directors, 38-39; com- pared with School Clerk, as to au- thority and liberty of action, 42; desirability of employment of teach- ers by, 59-61. Supervision, system of, in Portland school district, 34 ft.; sources and methods of work of, 34-35; source of weakness of system, 35-36; full efficiency not realized under present conditions, 37-38; results of promi- nence of Board of Directors and sub- ordination of Superintendent, assist- ant superintendents, and principals, 38-39; characteristics of a good or- ganization, 39-40; rules and regu- lations of system, 41; illustration of control by Board of Directors, 42- 46; responsibility for condition, 46- 47; needed changes, 47-53. Supervisory officers, number employed, S3- Supplementary readers, need for, 160. Supplies, lack of, in elementary schools, 160-162. Tax, as a means of paying for school buildings, 300-303. Teachers, control of, by Board of Di- rectors, 42-44; selection of, 53 ff.; recruitment and training, 54-56; training courses for, 56-57; training vs. attracting, 58-59; employment of, by Superintendent, 59-61; effect of selection by Board of School Direc- tors, 61-63; good rules for selection, promotion, and retention of, 63-67; study to be expected of, 67; tenure of, 67 ff.; the permanent-tenure law, 67-69; right principles of action as to tenure, 71-74; salary schedules, 75-77; character of corps of, in Port- land, 80-81; payment of, according to merit and efficiency, 81-87; deadening effect of present educa- tional system on, 154-160; quality of, in high schools, 165; sympathetic study of children by, 178; responsi- bilities of, in carrying out ideal edu- cational program, 219-220; for intermediate schools, 258; reasons for opposition of, to intermediate schools, 259; part of, in health su- pervision, 354-355; health of, 360- 361. Technical education, needs of, in such a city as Portland, 120-121. Technical high school, merging of School of Trades into, advocated, 245-247. Temperature of classrooms, 322-323. Tenure of teachers, 67-74. Textbooks, lack of suitable, in elemen- tary schools, 1 60. Toilets, ventilation of, 327; recom- mendations concerning, 320-332. Tool subjects in education, teaching of, 116-117. Trades, study of, in pre-vocational courses, 213; instruction in, in night high schools, 272. Training courses for teachers, 56-57; common defects of, 57-58. Truancy, treatment of problem of, 266-268; records of truant officer, 386-389. Truant schools, 266-268. Truants, special classes for, 369. Tubercular children, need of special classes for, 119. Tuberculosis among school children, 355-358. See Open-air schools. Ungraded rooms, need for, 264-266. Uniformity, deadening effects of, of curriculum of elementary schools, 127, 130, 134; found in curriculum of all high schools, 169-171; of cur- riculum in high schools a barrier to progress, 169-171; carried to ex- tremes in the high schools, 238. Uniform salary schedule for teachers, 78-80. Unit system of school buildings, 296. Urinals, ventilation of, 327; recom- mendations concerning, 329-332. Usefulness, fitting for, the purpose of all public instruction, 194-195. Index 441 Vacation schools, needed reorganiza- tion and expansion, 268-269. Vacuum cleaners for school buildings, 332-333- Ventilation of school buildings, 325- 328. Vocal music, instruction in, in inter- mediate period, 211. Vocational courses and studies, 116, 120, 215-216; in secondary schools, 238-247. Vocational work, logical development of, by the intermediate school, 256. Weaving of rugs, in the neighborhood schools, 276. Windows of school buildings, recom- mendations concerning, 307-313. 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