GIFT OF PRINCIPLES, PLANS AND PURPOSES of the EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM of the RECRUIT EDUCATIONAL CENTER CAMP UPTON, NEW YORK WOODROW WILSON PRINCIPLES, PLANS AND PURPOSES of the EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM RECRUIT EDUCATIONAL CENTER CAMP UPTON, N. Y. GIFT GENERAL JOHN J. PERSHING /-> -^ Foreword I HE subject matter contained herein was prepared at the Recruit Educational Center, Camp Upton, New York, which has been in operation since May 1, 1919. The normal length of the course at the Recruit Edu- cational Center is four months. The students are all men who have been enlisted as illiterate and non-English speaking. The men are grouped together in an organization consisting of two battalions. The program consists of about three and one-half hours' military drill and three hours' actual school work. The full power of the military control is used to. compel the maximum attendance. Several methods of teaching have been tried out and discarded until gradually the present method has been evolved. The course was originated and developed by Captain Garry C. Myers, Sanitary Corps, Director of Education, who was assisted in the work of developing details by practically the entire corps of instructors of the Recruit Educational Center. Space does not permit mentioning the names of the individuals concerned, but to all of them the Recruit Educational Center acknowledges due credit. The military stories were originated and developed by First Lieutenant Walter H. Wells, Infantry, under the supervision of Major Louis T. Byrne, Infantry, United States Army, commanding the center. This course is being sent out with the belief that it will be found of great assistance in teaching men throughout the service, who (while they have been classified as literate when they entered the service) require a better knowledge of the English language to enable them to perform properly the duties of a soldier. Wall charts, word cards, penmanship strips and writing scale men- tioned herein may be obtained on requisition to the War Department. SCHOOL OFFICE, RECRUIT EDUCATIONAL CENTER. CAMP UPTON, N. Y., JUNE, 1920. 4 /f * o -\ * w 4v PRINCIPLES, PLANS AND PURPOSES OF THE EDUCA- TIONAL PROGRAM OF THE RECRUIT EDUCATIONAL CENTER, CAMP UPTON, N. Y. HE Recruit Educational Center is interpreted as a mis- sionary enterprise in Americanization. The hope of the school is not only to train and educate illiterates for the army, but also to spread through these men as mission- aries the wish among the adults of the home communi- ties to learn to read and write, and to stimulate sentiment in favor of better educational opportunities for coming generations. Attempt has been made in construction of the course of study, to take account of the following: 1. Human appeal around the main project, "a letter home in the man's own hand and composition at the end of three weeks." 2. Of suggestions (a) for the man to do his best; (b) of the nobility of the soldier's job; (c) that the soldier receives much; (d) that in the Army he learns those things that will promote his health and useful- ness; (e) that he owes much; (f) that in appreciation of what he gets he will be happy to serve his country. 3. That all suggestions of proper habits, duties and virtues are most effective when camouflaged and, espe- cially when the learner unwittingly becomes a teacher of those duties and ideals which it is desired he shall get. 4. That the school and Army, of which the school is a part, should be "sold" to the men. 5. That the Army, through its schools, will be the means through which will be de- veloped a broader mastery of English ; a wider familiarity with the ideals and traditions of America; and a more genuine and effectual feeling of devotion and esteem for these ideals. Perhaps the three outstanding features of this curriculum are (a) strong emotional appeal, (b) appeal through the learner's suggestibility, (c) and the concealed device to lead the learner to become a teacher of what it is desired he shall make his own. Incidentally the whole course of study takes into account the morale of the learner. Apropos of this is the course in public speaking, wherein the recruit's motive is to learn to speak so as to go back among the home folk to make recruiting speeches. Cases are found of men who pre- viously were chronic kickers, but who upon making an impromptu imag- inary recruiting speech presented with wonderful enthusiasm the oppor- tunities of the school and the army. Thereafter such men become boosters instead of knockers. Some men not in school long enough to learn to write legibly or to read much, tell in imaginary recruiting speeches of how they once could not write their names or read a letter from home, but how they write letters home now with ease and can read the newspaper. Of course such men soon measure up to their imaginary achievement. For the purposes of administration the course is divided into six grades, with ten lessons to a grade. These grades are arbitrary and are not to be interpreted as grades of the traditional public school. They are merely six grades of this school. For each grade there is a volume of lessons of 24 pages elaborately illustrated with engravings, cartoons and caricatures. The first three grades lead up to writing letters home, and develop for such letters suggestions that are designed to further the best interests of the army, the soldier and his friends at home. The last two books are of biographi- cal nature, and the fourth grade represents a kind of bridge between these and the earlier books, which offer a more definitely suggestive type of lesson. The fifth grade lessons are designed with the special view of appealing to the pride of the non-English speaking man and at the same time to point out to the English speaking man the fact that his non-English speaking comrades represent nationalities among whom there have been heroes relatively as great as the heroes of America. Thereby it is desired to develop a respect for sacrifice and patriotic service, regardless of the country from which a man or his parents have come. The sixth grade obviously puts the emphasis on great American with a view to awakening the pride and esteem of every soldier for our country, and to make him proud that he is a soldier in the American Army. These sixth grade biographies are supplemented by "Modern Americans," by Sanford and Owen. The military stories, a supplementary volume, are illustrative of the general plan to humanize the curriculum by emotional appeals. More- over, they motivate in learning the army drill regulations and other mili- tary literature. These lessons supplement the regular lessons for the fifth and sixth grades. 5 In addition to these lessons, short talks of about five minutes on mat- ters of military courtesies and customs are given twice a week before all classes by a line officer who passes from class to class to do so. Every teacher, moreover, is held responsible for an alert soldierly bearing of the men in the classroom. This the teacher effects not by force but by sug- gestion through his own personality. The very few cases for discipline are referred through the Commanding Officer of the Center to the appro- priate company commander. These facts, together with the attractive program set forth in General Order No. 7, Recruit Educational Center, February 19, 1920, indicate the very close co-ordination of the school program and the strictly military program. By this order there was es- tablished an effectual scheme by which school attendance was doubled and the strictly military organizations were made responsible for checking up attendance. The method of moving men to and from classes is simple. It is more- over contributory to development of responsibility and leadership. Each company is broken up into sections corresponding to the class to which the men belong. The section leader marches his men at attention into the classroom and reports for his section to the teacher. In like manner this section leader marches his men away from school. As a further bit of reorganization there was created a classification station, whereby a means was effected for protecting the men from contagion and the school from the handicaps incident to quarantines. During the period of classification the men are classified, on the basis of their literacy and intelligence ratings, for the school. Best of all these orders provide : (Par. 5) "During the first month of enrollment figured from the day after discharge from the classification station, recruits will not be detailed for any company or other fatigue. Their only duties will be military instruction and the educational course." As a result of this order the recruit is enabled to spend the first month uninterruptedly in school just at the time it is desired to sell the school to him. Every lesson, while primarily a lesson in reading and writing, is at the same time a lesson in history, civics, hygiene and other elementary knowledge essential to making the men useful Americans. There are, however, brief, simple, definite graded lessons in numbers, embracing the rudiments of arithmetic. Even here attempt is made to incorporate num- bers as a part of the basic course by means of simple projects, thereby motivating further mastery of English. The basic number requisites for each grade appear on pages 15-16. Supplementing this basic course of lessons with their cards and charts is a reading course to and by the men, a list of which is hereto appended. Human appeal predominates in these books and pamphlets, especially human struggles, sacrifice, service and victories ; therefore a large number are of biographical nature. Many of the pamphlets, however, are selected because of their imaginative appeal. Several are read from time to time as a part of the regular class program. A very decided advantage in the pamphlet, in addition to its cheap- ness and serviceability, is the definite unit of progress it suggests to the learner. Nothing to the learner is so important as assurance that he is advancing. For this reason the basic course was printed in small volumes, one for each grade. Furthering the routine class program is the reading room in charge of a skilled teacher who can make the men want to visit this room and want to read books. Here she reads to those who cannot read and writes letters for those who cannot write. The evening voluntary reading period is preceded by a "sing" of fifteen minutes. (Adjoining this reading room is the Chaplain's office, where the men are free to go with their troubles and to seek domestic and spiritual advice. For the morale of the Center and the immediate school morale the Chaplain is indispensable to the R. E. C). At certain hours of the day those men making greatest progress in their respective classes are sent, by way of reward, to this reading room. Copies of all books and pamphlets of the classroom are also in this reading room. All other books merely further the general purpose of the classroom. The range of books is purposely limited and there are several copies of most books with a view toward concentration on the things most de- sired and toward a community of interest. In this reading room are also current magazines and daily papers. Duplicates of many of these books are also in the company recreation rooms. The most popular of these books are put on sale at the post exchange. The average camp library does not have the kind of books most needed by the men of the R. E. C. Before the recruit has learned to read he is taken by his teacher to the camp library, where he is shown books which he can handle, with a view to stimulating a wish in him to learn to read such books. The upper grades are led frequently to the library where they are aided in the choice and use of books. In the main hall of the school building at either entrance on the outside of the building there is a large blackboard on which appears daily the world news in a few short sentences. These the men read on their way to and from classes. In the upper grades these same news sentences are read and discussed in class. A more elaborate presentation of news, comprising also matters of local interest, is the R. E. C. Weekly, which is a mimeographed sheet of news put into simple language and distributed among all men above the second grade. Attempt is made to give the teacher wide latitude for individual ex- pression in teaching, and in every way encourage initiation of teaching devices and suggestions for improvement of the school. Obviously the Recruit School, to be really effective, demands teachers of excellent physique, personality, adaptability and academic and pedagogical training. Furthermore there must be training of the teacher for his specific work. In addition to regular teachers' meetings in which routine matters are discussed and general teaching methods are presented there is given a weekly course of one hour by the Director of Education in the Learning Process. This comprises, in addition to the lectures, a selected reading course. Correlative with the lessons of the first two grades there are wall reading charts, and large cards on which are presented in script and print on the same page all the new words of each lesson. The cards are used as follows : During the man's first lesson in school the cards comprising all the words of lesson one are slowly pre- sented and distinctly pronounced. Each soldier receiving the card pro- nounces it after the teacher, then the whole class in concert pronounce it. The recipient of the card is told that he has a new name which he must remember, and that when this new name is called he must answer with his new name. After several cards have been distributed the teacher "calls the roll" enough to put the men on the alert. When all cards are dis- tributed a complete roll is called, each man presenting his word to the view of the class as he answers by that word. Then the men are told to take places at double time to the front of the room and face the class with cards held in front of them. The teacher so calls that the first human sen- tence "I want to learn good English" is formed. Each man in the row repeats his new name in turn. Then several other men of the room, and finally the class, read the sentence in concert. In like manner several other sentences are formed. Later individuals form sentences against the blackboard with the cards, and all sorts of variations are resorted to. Dur- ing the period the men exchange cards and thus adopt new names and more easily learn new words. 8 Beginning with the second lesson the cards are used for teaching spelling. The men are shown that the script words are made up of parts but only those letters are learned which are needed. Of course, the printed word always appears above the script word. Only the script is read and spelled during the first grade lessons. The print words and let- ters come incidentally. In addition to read and write the spelling of the man's first name is studied during the second lesson. This the teacher presents to the man carefully written on a slip of paper. During the sec- ond day the man also has his first writing lesson of 10 minutes, in which he practises on the single letters of his name, and if time permits, to read and write. The writing course is fashioned after the model letters used by the New York City schools, copies of which are on placards on the walls. There is also a graded series of writing models written on cardboard slips, which can be slid progressively down the page for each successive line so that the learner always has this perfect model. This slip can be attached by paper clips to one-half of a Manila folder 10 by 15 inches, so that the writing sheet can be slid through, adjusting the new line in order to have the model always immediately above it. An Army writing scale has beer* developed, which is of great value to the learner as well as to the teacher. The men are first classified on the basis of their literacy as to grade. Within the grade they are assigned to sections in accordance with their intelligence rating on the basis of the army tests. In the first grade, for example, there are four sections, with a very bright section, a very dull section and two other sections proportional. Inasmuch as increments of men vary in respect to their intelli- gence, and since the size and number of classes of the first grade are lim- ited, the range of numerical intelligence ratings from time to time for each of the several sections of the first grade must necessarily shift. In case, for example, a given increment of men practically all fall below the range of ratings for the best section of grade one, and this section is very small with the other sections large, there would necessarily have to be a sliding up of some of the men of the next lower section to the higher section (class) so as to keep the classes approximately of the same size and still ranking on the basis of their relative intelligence ratings. Therefore, in use of intelligence ratings for classifying learners, not the absolute ratings (or norms) can be considered but only relative ratings can be taken intc account. Absolute ratings are necessary only for exceptional cases and for the purpose of elimination of the lowest extremes. This scheme ha? proved very satisfactory, for the men of the best section can advance 9 about three times as fast as the men of the poorest section. Furthermore, knowing the relative intelligence of any section the Director of Education can measure with considerable ease the efficiency of the teacher of that section. To a casual observer this plan seems to ignore the difference between the strictly English speaking and the non-English speaking man. To be sure, for teaching purposes, there are some advantages in segregation as was heretofore tried out ; but such segregation defeated the very purpose for which this institution stands, namely, Americanization, since it exag- gerated the gap between the two groups, as a result of which there grew up a feeling of mutual antagonism. As a result of this new classification only native capacities and efforts are taken into account and the men of whatever language are clearly shown that this is the leading aim of the American Republic. Learning of English is not limited to the classroom. It carries into the theatre, the drill field, the recreation rooms and the reading room. Twice a week the men of the whole organization meet in the theatre to sing popular and patriotic songs under a leader who makes every song a lesson in English, manhood and Americanism. On the drill field they learn to give their own commands as they drill to the "Cadence System of Close Order Drill," written by Lieutenant Colonel Bernard Lentz, G. S. By this method there is brought into play the verbal, motor and auditory appeal, all of which are very essential in the teaching of English. In the recreation room they find the kind of books that have had most appeal in school and read the current magazines and daily papers. Every effort is made to urge the man while in the R. E. C. to con- tinue his study in the vocational school after graduation and assignment to a permanent organization. 10 SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS. ^ 7 , 7 .. To be read by the teacher 1 o be read by the men . ./ , m class or by the men, in the class. outside of school. GRADE ONE. Boyhood of Washington Boyhood of Lincoln Stories from Andersen Patriotic Stories Story of Wool Story of the Mayflower Jack and the Beanstalk GRADE Two. Patriotic Stories Indian Children's Tales Stories from Andersen Story of Washington Story of Columbus Story of Franklin Story of the Pilgrims Stories of the Revolution Poems W r orth Knowing Story of Robinson Crusoe Famous Early Americans Story of the Boston Tea Party Greek Myths Story of Flax Story of Glass GRADE THREE. Boyhood of Washington Story of Lincoln Boyhood of Lincoln Daniel Boone Story of the Mayflower Lexington and Bunker Hill Jack and the Beanstalk Stories of the Backwoods Beacon Second Reader* American Inventors Carroll and Brooks Second Reader* Morse and Edison Lippiricott's Second Reader* Whitney and Fulton Joan of Arc Night before Christmas Hansel and Gretel Story of Coal Story of Wheat Story of Cotton Story of Printing 11 GRADE FOUR. Story of the Pilgrims Story of Franklin Story of Washington Story of Columbus Story of Robinson Crusoe Stories of the Revolution : Ethan Allen Famous Early Americans Poems Worth Knowing Beacon Second and Third Readers* Carroll and Brooks Second and Third Readers* Lippincott's Second and Third Readers* Nathan Hale General Grant Robert E. Lee Life in the Colonial Days Story of the Flag History in Verse King of the Golden River The Golden Touch Story of Alladin and Alibaba GRADE FIVE. Story of Lincoln Daniel Boone Lexington and Bunker Hill Stories of the Backwoods American Inventors Whitney and Fulton Joan of Arc Beacon Third Reader Carroll and Brooks Third Reader Lippincott's Third Reader Story Hour Reader Lewis and Clark Expedition Heroes of the Revolution Story of Lafayette Stories of Courage Stories of Heroism Story of Rip Van Winkle Selections from Holmes Story of Georgia Story of Tennessee Story of Kentucky Story of West Virginia Golden Fleece Gifts of the Forest Ten Selections from Longfellow Thrift Stories Greek Stories Pilgrim's Progress Great European Cities London, Paris, Rome, St. Peters- burg Story of the Aeroplane Story of Leather Story of Iron Story of Wheels 12 GRADE Six. Story of Aladdin and Alibaba Nathan Hale General Grant Robert E. Lee Life in the Colonial Days Story of the Flag History in Verse King of the Golden River The Golden Touch Beacon Third and Fourth Readers* Carroll Brooks' Third and Fourth Readers* Lippincott's Third Reader* Story Hour Reader* Book Three and Book Four* Home and Country Reader* Books One and Two Stories from Grandfather's Chair Oregon Trail Last of the Mohicans Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare Tales of the Wayside Inn Man Without a Country Washington's Farewell Address Bunker Hill Address Speeches of Lincoln The Nurnberg Stove Buffalo Bill and the Indian Trail Carpenter's Geographical Readers* North America, South Ameri- ca, Europe, Asia, Africa, Aus- tralia and the Islands of the Sea How the World is Fed How the World is Clothed How the World is Housed The Beginners' American History, by Montgomery* All the books above are in pamphlet form, except those marked thus (*). They cost from 6 to 10 cents apiece. It should be noted that the books which are read to the men are pur- posely selected so as to be about two grades higher than those the men are to read themselves. Copies of most of these books are also placed at the disposal of the men in the recreation room of each company and copies of all of them, together with several copies of the cloth bound books listed below, are within easy access of all the men in the Reading Room. Baldwin Fifty Famous Stories Burgess Adventures of Reddy Retold Brockham Gulliver's Travels Brook The True Story of Lincoln The True Story of U. S. of America The American Soldier Bruce Daniel Boone and the Wilderness Road Fox Adventures of Johnny Chuck Old Mother West Wind Mother West Wind and her Friends Bird Book Channing First Lessons in U. S. History 13 Cooper Last of the Mohicans. Illus. by Wyeth Cox The Brownies Abroad The Brownies Around the World Cruikshank Fairy Book Dasent Norse Fairy Tales Dodge Hans Brinker and the Sil- ver Skates (New Amsterdam Ed.) Faris Makers of our History Franklin's Autobiography Graves Irish Fairy Book Goss, W. L. Boy's Life of Sheri- dan Hagedorn Boy's Life of Roose- velt Hale Peterkin Papers Harris Nights with Uncle Remus Hawthorne Wonderbook and Tanglewood Tales Herdman Story of United States Holland Lafayette, We Come Johnston Capt. Jno. Smith Jonekhure When I was a Boy in Belgium Kingsley Water Babies. Illus. by Smith Kipling Just So Stories Longfellow Hiawatha. Illus. by Wyeth Lucas Andersen's Fairy Tales Mark Twain Huckleberry Finn Tom Sawyer Travels at Home Travels in History McDonnell Italian Fairy Book Mokrievitch When I was a Boy in Russia Morgan Life of Roosevelt Parkman Heroes of Today Plutarch's Lives Pogamy Hungarian Fairy Book Pyle Wonder Clock Ransome Old Peter Russian Tales Rhead Andersen's Fairy Tales Rhead Swiss Family Robinson Rhys English Fairy Book Roosevelt's letters to his Children San ford and Owen Modern Americans Modern Europeans Schoolcraft Indian Fairy Book Scudder Book of Fables Book of Folk Stories Book of Legends Seton Lives of the Hunted Tarker John Paul Jones Wiggins Arabian Nights Wyeth The Boy's King Arthur 14 MINIMUM NUMBER REQUIREMENTS GRADE ONE. Count and write numbers to 20. Addition and subtraction of one-place numbers. Drill on number combinations. Reading numbers to 3 places. Reading time from a watch. 60 seconds make one minute. 60 minutes make one hour. 24 hours "make one day. 7 days make one week. 365 days make one year. GRADE Two. Count by 2's to 20. Addition, subtraction and multiplication with carrying and borrow- ing; short division by 2's, with two and three place numbers; division only into even numbers. 2 times table to 2 times 10. 12 inches of rope make one foot of rope. 3 feet of rope make one yard of rope. GRADE THREE. Reading numbers to 6 places. Drill on addition and subtraction; multiplication and short division by 3 and 4. 3 times table to 3 times 10. 4 times table to 4 times 10. 2 pints of milk make one quart of milk. 4 quarts of milk make one gallon of milk. 15 GRADE FOUR. Reading numbers to 9 places. Multiplication and short division by 5, 6 and 7. 5 times table to 5 times 10. 6 times table to 6 times 10. 7 times table to 7 times 10. 16 ounces of meat make one pound. 2,000 pounds of coal make one ton. 5,280 feet make one mile. GRADE FIVE. Multiplication and short division by 8 and 9. 8 times table to 8 times 10. 9 times table to 9 times 10. 2 pints of peanuts make one quart of peanuts. 8 quarts of peanuts make one peck of peanuts. 4 pecks of peanuts make one bushel of peanuts. GRADE Six. Fractions (1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/8) developed by projects. Long division by one and two place numbers. Every grade will be developed by projects, with reviews by projects of all previous grades. 16 THE R. E. C. WRITING SCALE as 9 <7 J( 0, 6 C7