JUK 1 3 
 
 I i Economics Circular No. 14. October, 1922. 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
 
 BUREAU OF EDUCATION 
 
 ij 
 
 WASHINGTON. D. C. 
 
 CURRENT PROBLEMS IN HOME ECONOMICS 
 INSTRUCTION AND SUPERVISION. 
 
 By HENRIETTA W. CALVIN, 
 Specialist in Home Economics, Bureau of Education. 
 
 Report of a series of conferences of supervisors and teachers of home eco- 
 nomics, called by the United States Commissioner of Education, and held at 
 
 New York City, N. Y February 16, 17, 18. 
 
 Chicago, 111 - March 3, 4. 
 
 Spokane, Wash '. April 4, 5, 6. 
 
 Portland, Oreg April 7, 8. 
 
 San Francisco, Calif April 12, 13. 
 
 Los Angeles, Calif April 21, 22. 
 
 Logan, Utah April 28. 
 
 Salt Lake City, Utah April 29. 
 
 Denver, Colo May 5, 6. 
 
 Kansas City, Mo May 12, 13. 
 
 Boston, Mass July 6. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 In January, 1922, plans were started for a series of conferences 
 for those interested in public school home economics education. 
 Representatives from 36 States were in attendance at these meetings, 
 and over 1,200 home-economics teachers participated in the discus- 
 sions. All except the first two were open to all home economics 
 women interested in public-school education. The first two were for 
 city supervisors of home economics. 
 
 The programs for these conferences were prepared from answers 
 to questionnaires sent out to the home economics teachers of the sev- 
 eral regions. The topics which were most often requested in any 
 region were placed upon the regional program for that region. The 
 speakers selected for opening the subjects were each limited to 15 or 
 20 minutes. A free discussion followed each address and usually 
 lasted one hour. In many of the conferences special committees con- 
 
 13058 22
 
 2 HUME ECONOMICS INSTRUCTION. 
 
 tinned their consideration of the topics throughout luncheon, dinner, 
 and evening. 
 
 The following is a typical program and the general statement that 
 AVHS sent with it: 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, WASHINGTON, 
 
 BUREAU OF EDUCATION. January 30. 1922. 
 
 MOITAOUCI3 1O UA3SU8 
 
 CONFERENCE OF CITY SUPERVISORS OF HOME 
 ECONOMICS. 
 
 PROGRAM. 
 Fi'hrnary 16. 
 
 6.30 p. in. Dinner, Stockton Tea Room, 300 Wi>st One hundred and ninth 
 
 Street, New York City. 
 
 " Relation of home economics teachers to school health and nutri- 
 tion work " Dr. Mary Swartz Rose, Columbia University. Dis- 
 cussion. Agnes Craig, supervisor of home economics, Springfield, 
 Mass. 
 
 Friday, February 17. 
 
 9.30 a. in. Assembly Hall, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, N. Y. "Home eco- 
 nomics courses of study for junior high schools " Grace Gillett, 
 Albany, N. Y. 
 
 J>.50 a. m. General discussion. 
 11.00 a. in. " Improvement of teachers in service " Grace Schermerhorn, di- 
 
 rector of cooking, New York City. 
 11.20 a. m. General discussion. 
 
 12.00 m. Luncheon, lunch room, Pratt Institute. 
 1.30 p. m. " Home economics in platoon schools " Ethel Mason Coan, super- 
 
 visor of home economics, Buffalo, N. Y. 
 1.50 p. m. Discussion. 
 2.30 p. m. " Home economics departments in new school buildings " Frances 
 
 Zuill, siipervisor of home economics, Baltimore, Md. 
 2.50 p. m. Discussion. 
 3.30 p. m. Visit to newly equipped home economics departments, Public School 
 
 29. 
 Evening. Informal conferences and committee meetings. 
 
 Saturday, February 18. 
 9.30 a. m. Teachers' College, Columbia University. Room to be announced. 
 
 "What elective courses will attract senior high-school girls? "- 
 
 Mary Henleigh Brown, Somerville, Mass. 
 9.50 a. m. Discussion. 
 11.00 a.m. (a) "Use of cooking-class products: (f>) How may home economics 
 
 be made to function in the home life of the children? " General 
 
 discussion. 
 
 Luncheon: Horace Maun Lunch Room. 
 1.30 p. m. "Elementary school home economics courses; (a) Content; (6) 
 
 Preparation of the teacher " Alice L. Currier, Pawtucket, R. I. 
 1.50 p. m. Discussion. 
 2.30 p. m. " Can instruction be so varied as to meet the needs of the indi- 
 
 vidual students? " General discussion. 
 3.00 p. m. Committee conclusions.
 
 HOME ECONOMICS INSTRUCTION. 3 
 
 General information. 
 
 Headquarters. McAlpin Hotel. 
 
 February 16, Dinner, 6.30 p. m. sharp. Stockton Tea Room, 306 West One hundred 
 and ninth Street. Tickets $2. Send money for reservation to Miss Grace Schermerhorn, 
 131 Livingston Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. It is necessary to have approximate number of 
 reservations known by February 12. 
 
 To reach Pratt Institute. Enter Brooklyn Rapid Transit subway at corner of McAlpin 
 Hotel ; take train via bridge to DeKalb Station. On coming to surface, take outbound 
 DeKalb Avenue car. Get off at Ryerson Street, where Pratt Institute is located. 
 Committees to be formed the first morning on the following topics : 
 Junior high-school course of study. 
 Home economics and health work. 
 Improvement of teachers in service. 
 Courses of study for fifth and sixth grades. 
 
 Elective courses for grades 10-12, inclusive. ^ % 
 
 Adequate curricula for home economics teacher preparation. 
 
 It is suggested that each supervisor decide which committee she wishes to join. Com- 
 mittees will choose own chairman and arrange for meetings. It is hoped reports will 
 be ready Saturday afternoon. ;/ij-f 
 
 Please arrange to stay until 4.30 p. m., Saturday, that the last of our meetings may 
 be as profitable as the first. 
 There will be no exhibits. 
 
 All home economics teachers in colleges and normal schools and all State supervisors 
 of home economics are most welcome at all meetings of this conference and are invited 
 to participate in the discussions. 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, WASHINGTON. 
 
 BUREAU OF EDUCATION. 
 
 THE CONFERENCE IN NEW YORK OF CITY SUPERVISORS OF HOME 
 
 ECONOMICS. 
 
 Evening February 16; all of February 17 and 18. 
 
 The city supervisors attending the conference will be from cities varying in 
 population from less than 20,000 to more than 4,000,000. 
 
 The size of the city, the degree of congestion, the nativity of population 
 (whether largely foreign or strongly American), and the types of employment 
 most common, all these affect the problems confronting the home economics 
 supervisor. These differences in problems will cause variations in the view- 
 points of those participating in the conference. 
 
 A few cities have been listed according to population as an aid to the super- 
 visors who wish to group themselves together at luncheons and at other times 
 for special discussions. 
 
 The group of largest cities includes New York City, Philadelphia, Buffalo, 
 Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Boston. 
 
 The 300,000 group includes the following cities : Washington ; Jersey City ; 
 Providence, R. I. ; Newark, N. J. ; and Rochester, N. Y. 
 
 The 100,000 group is the largest. The following are some of the cities in 
 which the problems should be somewhat similar : Paterson, Camden, Trenton, 
 N. J. ; Cambridge, Springfield, Fall River, Lawrence, Lowell, Somerville, New 
 Bedford, Worcester, Mass. ; Scranton, Harrisburg, Johnstown, Erie, Pa. ; Bridge- 
 port, Hartford, New Haven, Waterbury, Conn. ; Richmond, Norfolk, Va. ; Wil- 
 mington, Del. ; Manchester, N. H. ; Pawtucket, R. I. ; Albany, Schenectady, 
 Syracuse, Troy, Yonkers, Utica, N. Y. 
 
 The smaller city group includes the following, and among these there should 
 be many problems in common : Haverhill, Holyoke, Maiden, Mass. ; Bangor, 
 Lewiston, Me. ; Woonsocket, R. I. ; Burlington, Vt. ; Nashua, N. H. ; Meriden, 
 Conn. ; Auburn, Amsterdam, Elmira, Jamestown, Niagara Falls, N. Y.
 
 4 HOME ECONOMICS INSTRUCTION. 
 
 SOME PRESSING QUESTIONS. 
 
 The junior high school is apparently an accepted advance step in school 
 organization. Home-economics people must be ready to adjust their courses 
 to the prevailing ideas in regard to junior high-school organization. 
 
 The platoon plan is growing in popularity. For instance, all Detroit schools 
 have now been reorganized into platoon schools. Have home-economics women 
 definite ideas of what may be done in their subject under this arrangement of 
 work? 
 
 A great interest in child health work has developed. This is manifested by 
 nutrition clinics. What part are home-economics teachers to have in this 
 movement for instruction in right food habits for all children and special feed- 
 ( ing for malnourished? 
 
 Almost all school building programs are five or more years behind the needs 
 of the school population. What shall home-economics women seek in the new 
 buildings to be constructed? 
 
 Economy is essential in all school operations. How can home-economics teach- 
 ing be both efficient and economical? 
 
 What should the supervisor expect from the schools training home-economics 
 teachers? More of what? Less of what? 
 
 How can home economics be " sold " to the young teachers of home 
 economics? 
 
 How can the work of teachers in service be improved? These and other 
 questions will be discussed, and committees will be appointed to codify the 
 opinions arrived at. 
 
 Headquarters will be at the McAlpin Hotel. Rates are as follows : One person in 
 room without bath, $3.50 and up ; two persons in room without bath, $5.50 and up ; 
 one person in room with bath, $4.50 and up ; two persons in room with bath, $6.50 
 and up. 
 
 It would be well in writing .for a reservation to mention the fact that you will be in 
 attendance at the conference of home-economics supervisors and that you wish to be 
 placed on the sixth floor if possible. It is well to state type of room desired. 
 
 Miss Grace Schermerhorn, 131 Livingston Street, Brooklyn, is arranging for the dinner 
 to be held the evening of February 1C. It is desirable that she know as soon as possible 
 the names of those expecting to be present. 
 
 ATTENDANCE. 
 
 In general the conferences began with a dinner and continued 
 through two days. Local arrangements were made by local super- 
 visors and teachers. Without that cooperation the holding of so 
 many conferences would not have been possible. 
 
 The numbers in attendance at the conferences varied from about 
 40 to 220. One hundred proved to be a good working group. Too 
 small a number gave diversified interests without a sufficient number 
 having a common interest in one particular problem. Too large a 
 number had a tendency to suppress free discussion and to resolve 
 itself into an ordinary meeting with a few doing all the talking. 
 THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL. 
 
 Without exception there were requests from every section of the 
 country that consideration be given to the question of the place of 
 home economics in the junior high school, the type of course to 
 be presented, and the amount of time to be allotted to this subject.
 
 HOME ECONOMICS INSTEUCTION. 5 
 
 These conclusions were reached: That any course or method in 
 home economics which is suitable for use in junior high schools is 
 equally valuable for use in the upper two grades of an eight-grade 
 school and the first grade of the regular four-year high school ; that 
 the instruction should be of such a nature as is of most value to a girl 
 of the age, mental development, social and economic environment, 
 and personal interests in these grades without regard to the particu- 
 lar school organization set up in the city or section of the city in 
 which she happens to live ; that home economics should be a required 
 subject in grades 7 to 9, inclusive ; that the minimum time allotted to 
 home economics should be about 220 minutes per week in the seventh 
 and eighth grades; that not less than 220 minutes, and if possible 310 
 minutes, per week should be assigned in the ninth grade to home 
 economics ; that while home-economics women as a rule prefer double 
 periods for laboratory work, it is possible to do excellent work in 
 55 or 60 minute periods; that 45-minute laboratory periods are too 
 short to accomplish satisfactory results; that better results can be 
 obtained with daily periods for part of the year than scattered 
 periods throughout the year i. e., if the school "hour" is of 45 min- 
 utes, then 90 minutes daily for one-half year is more desirable than 
 90 minutes twice a week each week throughout the year; or if the 
 school " hour " is of 60 minutes, then 60 minutes every day for two- 
 thirds of the year is most to be desired ; that home economics should 
 be broadly interpreted and that cooking and sewing are but phases 
 of home economics, which heretofore have been stressed to the exclu- 
 sion of other perhaps more important home economics subject matter. 
 
 In these conferences it was evident that but 1 girl in 12 will 
 enroll for a full four-year home-economics course ; hence, that what- 
 ever may be considered the minimum home-economics training essen- 
 tial for the well-being of all girls should be included as required 
 work in grades below the tenth. 
 
 In the East a strong argument for the above conclusion was that 
 more than 50 per cent of the girls entering the senior high school 
 will elect the commercial curriculum, which curriculum rarely allows 
 a place for elective courses in home economics. 
 
 In the Northwest the conditions are very different. Commercial 
 courses are not so popular, but early marriages are more common, 
 and they frequently terminate high-school attendance. 
 
 In all discussions it was borne in mind that the majority of girls 
 in the public junior high schools come from homes where economy 
 and thrift are necessary and in many of which good standards of 
 sanitation and household management under American conditions are 
 not practiced. It was also recognized that at present three out of 
 every five American girls are gainfully employed between the ages 
 of 16 and 24 years ; hence, what is given to them in home economics 
 must be given as early as possible in their school kfe.
 
 6 HOME ECONOMICS INSTRUCTION. 
 
 Objectives. With these conclusions accepted, the discussions cen- 
 tered about ways most effective for accomplishing the objectives 
 determined upon. These objectives were: (a) To cultivate an ap- 
 preciation of home life; (b) to aid in forming right food habits; 
 (<?) to promote home helpfulness and to teach the use of common 
 household equipment; (d) to stimulate an interest in the reasons for, 
 as well as the methods of, doing certain household tasks; (e) to 
 develop judgment and to cultivate intelligent choice in food, cloth- 
 ing, and shelter; (/) to assist in establishing ideals of ethical con- 
 duct; (g) to awaken a desire for worthy use of leisure 
 
 Orgatvisation of work. The pros and cons were presented in 
 regard to two plans for the organization of home -economics class 
 work, viz, alternating lessons, i. e., parallel courses in foods and cloth- 
 ing, and intensive courses first on one phase of home economics, then 
 upon another. 
 
 There was some question as to the possibility of the latter ar- 
 rangement when teachers were unevenly trained in the different 
 types of home economics, but it was shown that, wherever there 
 were two sections of one class meeting or two classes in home eco- 
 nomics meeting at the same time, it was quite as easy to organize the 
 instruction into alternating cycles of six or nine weeks of intensive 
 work as to alternate the types of work either daily or weekly. This 
 adjustment is an administrative problem not impossible of solu- 
 tion when there is a decision that the intensive type of instruction 
 secures the best results. 
 
 Projects. On the assumption that the intensive unit plan will 
 prove most satisfactory and that the units should center around 
 problems in foods, clothing, and shelter, it became evident that 
 there might be differences of opinion in regard to the projects 
 selected for these units. 
 
 The consensus of opinion favored the meal plan for food teaching. 
 Whether the first meal chosen should be breakfast, luncheon, or sup- 
 per was not agreed. Arguments were presented in favor of supper 
 lessons first. These were that it is most easily used by the child in 
 her own home. While breakfast has often been chosen as the first 
 project, it is quite possible that a child will not arise in time to assist 
 in breakfast preparation, though she can easily help about supper. 
 
 Because the socialized method of teaching is accepted as the better 
 method, it was suggested that the pupils of the seventh grade be per- 
 mitted to choose which meal they wished to study first and that the 
 series of lessons be evolved from the answers to such questions as 
 " What should I eat for breakfast, that I may be strong and well ? " ; 
 " What fruits in the market are reasonably priced ? " " What vege- 
 tables in the markets are grown locally and are in season ? " " What 
 can I do that will really help mother in the kitchen ? "
 
 HOME ECONOMICS INSTRUCTION. 7 
 
 In like manner after the teacher has decided the general type of 
 material she wishes .to use in clothing projects, she should allow her 
 class (either individually or as a group) to select the garments to be 
 made. 
 
 This variety of problems will permit adaptation of instruction to 
 the ability of the pupil and will create within the pupil a more per- 
 sonal interest. No project should be decided upon which entails the 
 purchase of material the type of which is unsuited to the economic 
 and social status of the homes from which the pupils come. 
 
 The special objectives of this instruction should be to teach the 
 use of the sewing machine and commercial pattern and to give a de- 
 gree of dexterity in hand sewing through making timely and suit- 
 able garments and to emphasize the relationship of the child to other 
 members of the family. 
 
 It was suggested that any particular article of temporary interest 
 should be made if the children desired to do so. An illustration of 
 this practice was the making of brightly colored aprons, so much 
 liked by girls at present, and bloomers to be substituted for drawers. 
 
 It was further suggested that more colorful problems be selected, 
 since they are much more interesting to a girl than the all-white 
 work so often insisted upon. 
 
 Instruction in cost, care, and laundering should accompany the 
 work upon every garment. 
 
 At the close of the seventh grade a girl should know how to 
 do simple sewing by hand and machine; how to use a commercial 
 pattern; how to make such garments as plain underclothes and sim- 
 ple gingham outer garments; how to laundry and how to mend cot- 
 ton garments; and how to select suitable materials. She should 
 have developed a greater interest in the household operations within 
 her own home, a willingness to serve other members of the family, 
 and a desire to lessen her mother's labor. She should know what 
 food materials are essential to the maintenance of her own health, 
 how to read and interpret a simple recipe, and how to regulate cook- 
 ing temperature. She should be able satisfactorily to prepare alone 
 a plain meal such as breakfast or supper, to care for raw or cooked 
 food, and do all necessary dish washing and kitchen cleaning. She 
 should be able to care for her own room and to do as much work in 
 the home as she herself makes necessary. 
 
 At the end of the eighth grade her knowledge and skill in house- 
 hold matters should have been further developed. She should be 
 able to use machine attachments, clean and care for a sewing ma- 
 chine, make more complicated wash garments, prepare a more diffi- 
 cult meal, and assume more responsibility in her own home. 
 
 Since general science is frequently introduced in either the seventl 
 or eighth grade, there is opportunity to coordinate home economics 
 teaching with this work.
 
 8 HOME ECONOMICS INSTRUCTION. 
 
 While the development of skill should be stressed in the seventh 
 grade, the knowledge of the reasons for certain processes also 
 should be developed. In the eighth grade much emphasis should be 
 laid upon the scientific basis of information acquired. Too fre- 
 quently the intelligence of the pupil has been underestimated, natural 
 curiosity has been unsatisfied, and the child has been bored with the 
 problems presented. 
 
 The ninth grade should be in the nature of a survey course pre- 
 paring the pupil for intelligent and helpful living in her present 
 home and for making wise choice of food, clothing, and environ- 
 ment when she becomes a wage earner. 
 
 In this grade less stress should be placed upon the development 
 of skill and more upon intelligent judgment. 
 
 It was agreed that a study by each girl of her own condition of 
 nutrition is highly desirable. This could be accomplished by co- 
 operation with the physical-education department. The girl should 
 be weighed, measured, and have her medical examination. She 
 should then keep a record of the kinds and approximate quantities 
 of food consumed, modifications of diet made, and results secured. 
 Following the study of her own condition of nutrition, it was rec- 
 ommended that she assume responsibility for the nutritional con- 
 dition of some younger child. 
 
 Purchase, care, and repair of clothing should constitute an impor- 
 tant part of the ninth-grade course. One problem in making over 
 garments and several problems in cleaning, removing stains, and 
 pressing should be included. The making of costume accessories, 
 such as collars and cuffs, and freshening hat trimmings and hats 
 could well be a part of this grade. 
 
 It was considered advisable that every girl in the ninth grade be 
 required to keep a clothing budget and to receive some instruction 
 in general income budgeting. 
 
 As a considerable percentage of junior college girls do not take 
 further high-school courses in home economics, it was concluded 
 that during the ninth grade there should be instruction on invest- 
 ments and savings and simple banking practices. 
 
 During these discussions favorable comment followed one teacher's 
 discussion, wherein she told how she and the manual-training teacher 
 exchanged pupils for a period. The girls received a series of les- 
 sons in the mechanics of the household and the boys had a special 
 course planned for them which gave them simple facts about food 
 and sanitation, and also a few lessons in sewing on buttons and 
 emergency mending. 
 
 SENIOR HIGH-SCHOOL HOME ECONOMICS. 
 
 It was repeatedly brought out in the conferences that only about 
 12 girls out of each 100 elect a complete high-school home economics 
 curriculum. Commercial courses attract the eastern high-school
 
 HOME ECONOMICS INSTRUCTION. 9 
 
 girl, and marriage interferes with the western girl's high-school 
 career. 
 
 In both the East and the West there are numerous universities and 
 colleges which will not permit more than two entrance credits of 
 high-school work to be taken in home economics. 
 
 The general opinion of those composing these conferences was that 
 semester units of work elective for all girls were more valuable than 
 a fixed sequence of courses open only to those enrolling for the full 
 high-school curriculum. 
 
 It was decided that in most instances these semester courses had 
 best be so offered as to entitle the pupils to one-half college entrance 
 unit credit per semester, but that for commercial-course students it 
 might be well to provide a course of less weight if such a course 
 would better fit into the commercial curriculum. 
 
 It was agreed that each half unit of home economics would best 
 serve if so organized as to complete in itself, i. e., requiring no pre- 
 requisites save completion of the junior high-school home economics 
 courses. 
 
 It was further agreed that the semester courses should require as 
 high a standard of scholarship as any other course of equal weight 
 in the curriculum. 
 
 In addition it was agreed that 60-minute periods given every day 
 with projects having assigned reading and investigation were neces- 
 sary if the work was to be well done. Unfortunately home economics 
 is still, in some places, deemed a purely manual art, and rules exist 
 prohibiting home study requirements. 
 
 Home-economics instruction worthy of senior high-school credit 
 must require real study and definite research. 
 
 Some of the semester courses suggested were these: A semester 
 on food selection, preparation, and service, based on a good textbook 
 and requiring visits to markets, dairies, milk stations, abattoirs, and 
 bakeries. A semester on costume design and dressmaking, stressing 
 art, applied design, and the economics of buying, and entailing visits 
 to stores, clothing factories, and cloth, manufactories. A semester 
 on household designs and house furnishing, necessitating visits to 
 houses under construction, plumbing shops, brickyards, and other 
 building material yards, and to furnished houses and house furnish- 
 ing departments. A semester on household sanitation and household 
 management, with visits to the city water supply system and sewage 
 disposal plant. A semester on laws affecting the status of women and 
 children, on banking customs, and the general principles involved in 
 investing savings. Less intensive courses entitling the student to a 
 fraction of a credit could be arranged for girls in the commercial or 
 academic courses. These might be as follows : 
 
 A semester course of two hours a week on the purchase and care 
 of wearing apparel. In this course no effort would be made to
 
 10 HOMK ECONOMICS INSTRUCTION. 
 
 develop skill, but rather to train in making wise choices of ready-to- 
 wear garments, such as stockings, shoes, hats, under and outside 
 garments, and in giving such garments proper care and repair. 
 
 A course in the purchase of ready cooked foods and in the relation 
 of food to health and working efficiency could easily be arranged, 
 since the employed girl is so often handicapped in her working career 
 by difficulties preventable or curable by proper diet. 
 
 A two-hour course on the management of the income and on laws 
 affecting the employed woman would prove both valuable and inter- 
 esting. 
 
 It was shown that 600 girls in the commercial course in one business 
 high school having 1,000 pupils elected such courses in home eco- 
 nomics. 
 
 These conditions seem essential before elective courses will prove 
 popular in senior high schools. The courses must be such as to inter- 
 est the type of girl attending the school and meet a conscious need. 
 The courses must be well taught by the teachers of understanding 
 minds. The principal of the school must be one who appreciates the 
 value of home-economics education. 
 
 RELATION OF THE HOME ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT TO THE 
 GENERAL HEALTH PROGRAM OF THE SCHOOL. 
 
 These statements were agreed upon: That every home-economics 
 woman should stand ready to lend her aid in insuring to all children 
 a knowledge of what constitutes right health habits; that usually 
 there is no other member of the school-teaching staff so well pre- 
 pared to give information relating to nutrition as is the home- 
 economics teacher ; that her knowledge relating to child health is not 
 complete, but that she can easily acquire the additional knowledge, 
 since usually she has had college courses in chemistry, general biology, 
 physiology, bacteriology, home nursing, and in foods and nutrition ; 
 that the discovery of sickness is the province of the doctor; that 
 the home follow-up work in cases of disease is the province of the 
 nurse, but that questions of diet should fall within the jurisdiction 
 of the home-economics teacher and that she should shoulder her 
 burden even if it for a period amounts to an excessive draft upon 
 her time; that because her classes are largely with girls in certain 
 grades, she should cooperate with other teachers in making her 
 knowledge of foods available to all. 
 
 One city supervisor, without additional help, handled in her de- 
 partment $10,000 worth of bread and milk each month. Because 
 she did this, there came a time when she was given an extra clerk 
 and an extra home-economics teacher to oversee this work in the 
 future. This was only a part of her health service, for she also 
 administered hot lunches supplied in most of the schools of that city. 
 
 A unique experiment in health teaching was carried out in a 
 northwestern coast city. Instruction in right food habits was given
 
 HOME ECONOMICS INSTRUCTION. 11 
 
 by the home-economics staff to groups of children suffering from 
 malnutrition, and a spirit of competition for attaining normal weight 
 was awakened. 
 
 The prize winners were given a trip to the home-economics de- 
 partment at the State university and allowed to inspect rats which 
 were being experimented upon in order to exhibit the effects of nor- 
 mal and adequate diets, and various other diets, each deficient in one 
 or more essential foods. The children were most intensely interested 
 in seeing what happened to rats when they ate the wrong food and 
 readily made comparisons between the rat's physical condition and 
 their own previous condition of malnutrition. 
 
 In another city the subject matter for talks on right food habits 
 was acquired in the home-economics classes. It was prepared in 
 the English department, and the talks were given before all the pupils 
 in certain lower-grade rooms. This made it possible that the teach- 
 ing given to girls is these grades should be carried to both boys 
 and girls in other grades. 
 
 In one of the largest cities in the country all lunch work is under 
 the administration of a business department, but an assistant to the 
 supervisor plans all menus served and provides that the particular 
 racial and religious groups of children shall find suitable food of a 
 type that they will relish and that will also meet their physical needs. 
 
 Wherever foods are served to school children expert direction 
 should be secured by placing the oversight of this service under the 
 home economics department. 
 
 MEETING COMMUNITY NEEDS AND ESTABLISHING COMMUNITY 
 
 CONTACTS. 
 
 Every particular class presents problems of its own, and it remains 
 for the ingenious teacher to devise means of articulating her instruc- 
 tion with the community life. In the conferences various teachers 
 told of their special pieces of work along this line. One teacher has 
 interested her pupils in the local orphans' home. At intervals all the 
 clean stockings of this home are sent to the school and then mended 
 by the girls in the clothing classes. Different girls choose different 
 children and plan a dress or blouse, select the color and design, and 
 make the garment. Three things are accomplished the little orphan 
 children have attractive garments differing one from another; the 
 girls have experience in selection of design and making, and, most 
 valuable of all, an opportunity for the practice of altruism is afforded. 
 The pupils in the junior high schools of a California city have 
 assumed responsibility for the welfare of the children in the day 
 nurseries. The girls in the clothing classes have made many garments. 
 The girls in the foods classes have gone in groups of two and prepared 
 the noon lunches for the little children. These girls at stated times 
 have also had the children over to the home economics department 
 for a luncheon. These arrangements have made it possible to give
 
 12 HOME ECONOMICS INSTRUCTION. 
 
 practical training in preparing food for small children besides afford- 
 ing opportunities for many other lessons in child care. 
 
 In one of the smaller cities (it was generally recognized at these 
 conferences that what is possible in a small city may not be advisable 
 in a larger one) food preparation was with quantities sufficient for 
 a family of six. The pupils always had the privilege of buying, but 
 when it was evident that the supply would be greater than the de- 
 mand the teacher notified various townswomen by telephone. These 
 women were always glad of the opportunity to purchase cooked foods 
 for the cost of the material. 
 
 Carefully directed publicity work in this city presented to school 
 patrons some of the accomplishments of the home economics classes. 
 The number of garments made and difference between the cost price 
 and the sale value placed a cash value upon the accomplishments in 
 these classes. While no educators would feel that these were the most 
 worth-while results, yet they were tangible results which the layman 
 might recognize while he might fail to understand the educational 
 values. 
 
 In many sections of the country there has been a very general de- 
 mand for reduction of taxation. Because the school's line of defense 
 is weakest, the attack for reduction of taxation has frequently been 
 directed against the public schools. In almost every case where 
 reduction of school expenses has been decided upon, music, art, home 
 economics, agriculture, and manual arts have been the first to suffer. 
 
 This may be traceable to a reawakening of the long dormant 
 antagonism between the advocates of the so-called cultural curricu- 
 lum and those who believe that the newer subjects are of equal value. 
 
 It was stated in one conference that 
 
 A part of the weakness in the defense of these subjects has been due to the 
 fact that the public is uncertain as to just what is to be expected to result 
 from this teaching. Moreover, while quite as ignorant of the accomplish- 
 ments in English, history, or geography teaching, many school patrons trust to 
 their ability to judge the efficiency of teaching music, art, home economics, 
 agriculture, or manual training. 
 
 The difficulties encountered by home economics teachers have not 
 been well understood. Home economics frequently has been taught 
 but once a week, the classes have been large, the children have been 
 from homes affording greatly varying conditions, the equipment 
 for teaching home economics has been inadequate, and the rooms 
 have been unsatisfactory and unsuitable. It is not surprising that 
 the progress of the girl has not been marked. Seldom have the 
 conditions of teaching been presented to the mothers in the school 
 community. 
 
 NEW ROOMS AND EQUIPMENT. 
 
 Great diversity of opinion was manifested in regard to what 
 composed satisfactory equipment for home economics departments.
 
 HOME ECONOMICS INSTRUCTION. 13 
 
 Many of the supervisors attending the New York conference vis- 
 ited new foods and housekeeping rooms in a New York City school. 
 As explained by the home economics supervisor, these rooms pro- 
 vided for 12 girls, or one-third of the class, doing individual small 
 quantity cooking at one long table with individual stores along the 
 center ; for 12 girls in three unit kitchens doing family sized recipe 
 work, while the last third of the class worked in a small housekeep- 
 ing suite at general housekeeping. Two teachers were in charge of 
 the class. Twenty-six was the number planned for, but the number 
 was sometimes greater. 
 
 In Chicago newly and differently equipped rooms are being tried 
 out. The supervisor there does not advocate a bathroom as part of 
 the home economics equipment. She holds that the need of any work 
 which is done should be evident to the child and that cleaning an 
 unused tub is an absurdity that the child will recognize as such. 
 The ordinary lavatory basins need cleaning and require the same kind 
 of treatment as does a tub, and therefore the basin suffices and the 
 tub is unnecessary. 
 
 The same is equally true of an unused or but slightly used house- 
 keeping apartment. An apartment to be of value should serve some 
 real purpose it may be the girls' social center, the teachers' rest 
 room and lunch room, or it may be a room used by the school nurse. 
 The point stressed in the meetings was that it must have normal and 
 constant use in order that the care of it may be justified in the minds 
 of the pupil and that unless such a use exists the home economics de- 
 partment should not request its establishment. 
 
 A California supervisor is equipping all new foods classrooms as 
 a series of unit kitchens. These kitchens are about 10 by 9 feet, open 
 across the front, and with partitions about 7 feet high. In her words, 
 "the children love to work in them." As one of the objectives of 
 home-economics teaching is to make the girls love the activities of 
 the household, such equipment is justified if it does so appeal to the child. 
 
 The equipment of these unit kitchens was not more expensive than 
 the old-type hollow square. The tables used were common commer- 
 cial kitchen tables, the stoves were the ordinary cabinet gas stoves 
 most commonly used in the homes of the school patrons, and the 
 kitchen cabinets were of a commercial type. A minimum of plumb- 
 ing was required, because wherever possible the stoves were back to 
 back, as were the sinks. 
 
 As there was a sink for every four pupils, this item was of greater 
 cost than in the older type of equipment, but the cabinet stove, ab- 
 sence of portable ovens, and relatively short runs of plumbing pipes 
 counterbalanced the sink expense. Commercial kitchen tables and 
 cabinets are far less expensive than the hollow square desks and 
 built-in cabinets. 
 
 Whether the tables are placed back to back, with a sink at one end 
 and a stove at the other, or the stoves are placed in groups of four,
 
 14 HOMK ECONOMICS INSTRUCTION. 
 
 with the tables also grouped and sinks located along the walls, or 
 the unit kitchen arrangement is chosen, or some modification of these 
 selected that will meet peculiar local needs and local conditions, 
 it seems certain that the installation of permanently located desks 
 in hollow squares, with an individual stove for each pupil, is des- 
 tined to be abandoned. 
 
 To make the foods room approach as nearly as possible the con- 
 ditions existing in a satisfactory home seems to be the ambition of 
 all home-economics teachers and supervisors. 
 
 All agreed upon certain desirable conditions for home economics : 
 
 1. There should be no basement rooms. 
 
 2. There should always be side lighting. 
 
 3. There should be no uncovered cement floors. 
 
 4. The coloring of walls should be light and attractive. 
 
 5. There should be ample blackboard and bulletin-board space. 
 
 6. Every foods room and every clothing classroom should have a 
 storage closet or closets. 
 
 7. Ample locker space is essential. 
 
 8. An abundant supply of hot water at all times is an essential 
 requisite. 
 
 9. Lavatory basins in each foods and each clothing room are 
 necessary. 
 
 10. A drinking spigot or sanitary bubbler should be at each lava- 
 tory basin. 
 
 11. Provision for the proper service of food is an essential. 
 
 12. Good work can not be done in excessively large classes; hence 
 equipment for 20 pupils is sufficient. 
 
 13. All home-economics rooms should be contiguous and should 
 also be near to art rooms and the school lunch room. 
 
 14. Overelaborate equipment is not desired, and the custom ob- 
 taining in some places of allowing the building architect to design 
 the home-economics equipment is deplored. 
 
 15. The administrative head of home economics should always be 
 consulted, and she should make herself ready to decide intelligently 
 on questions of rooms and equipment. 
 
 RESEARCH IN HOME-ECONOMICS EDUCATION. 
 
 At the Portland meeting there was an interesting description of 
 certain home-economics educational research that was done at the 
 State University of Washington. 
 
 This research centered around the question, What do girls do at 
 home, preparation for which should be taught at school ? The direct 
 personal interview method of securing replies to a rather lengthy 
 questionnaire was decided upon, as there seemed no reason to doubt 
 that the most accurate data are secured in this way. 
 
 The interviewers made certain observations as to type of home, 
 attitude of mother, standards of housekeeping, etc. Other informa-
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 - . HOMB ,_ ^J riimmiii 
 
 A 001 139362 6 
 
 tion was secured by questioning the mother. Whenever possible the 
 presence of the recently graduated eighth-grade girl was secured. 
 
 The replies elicited evidenced that relatively few girls have mana- 
 gerial duties in the home, but that the great majority assist in the 
 household in many ways. If the answers sometimes favored the girls 
 and presented an over-optimistic picture of the household assistance 
 they rendered, it at least presented a view of what the mothers con- 
 ceived as being desirable attainments. 
 
 It was suggested that, if this type of research problem were under- 
 taken in a number of different colleges and universities, from reliable 
 replies to a thousand questionnaires data could be secured which 
 would guide in the development of really valuable courses of study. 
 
 PLATOON TYPE OF SCHOOLS. 
 
 Home economics in the platoon type of school was discussed in 
 many of the conferences. Certain conclusions were reached : First, 
 that the home-economics teacher should be willing to adjust her 
 schedule to the general school plan, but that she should urge upon 
 the school authorities the need of 60-minute periods daily; second, 
 that classes should not exceed 20 pupils ; third, that by the adoption 
 of the platoon plan (otherwise spoken of as the Gary plan) the home- 
 economics pupils should not be exploited by being required to cook 
 for the school lunch. As was said at one meeting : 
 
 It is as unreasonable to expect the girls to cook for the lunch room constantly 
 as it would be to expect the boys daily to fire the furnace or clean the halls, 
 both of these latter jobs necessitate certain skill and knowledge and might be 
 really educational for a few days, but after those few days they would be 
 merely schoolboy exploitation. So it is when little girls must have all of 
 their food work in lunch-room kitchens. 
 
 IMPROVEMENT OF TEACHERS IN SERVICE. 
 
 This topic received especial consideration at the New York and 
 Chicago meetings. The change of personnel of the home economics 
 teaching staff was shown to be frequent. In one city the changes 
 average an entirely new staff every two years. The probability is 
 that this is not greater than is general over the country. 
 
 In consequence, much of the time and attention of the city super- 
 visor of home economics is devoted to securing and developing new 
 teachers. One supervisor gave her method somewhat as follows : 
 
 Among my regular teachers i. e., those who have been with me several 
 years i have some that are wonderfully good. These I never meddle with. 
 I go to them not to improve them but to improve myself. Frequently I incor- 
 porate in brief circular letters the inspiration gained from them. I often send 
 my struggling, new teacher to them that she may learn by observation how U> 
 solve her problems. There are always some teachers who are willing and 
 desirous of doing good work, but lack courage and initiative. These are the 
 ones I prod up with one or two page circular letters. In every school system 
 there are some hopelessly poor teachers. These we must endure and place 
 where they can do the least harm.
 
 16 HOME ECONOMICS INSTRUCTION. 
 
 It is evident that the supervisor in the small city has a much 
 easier job in regard to teacher improvement than have supervisors 
 who at most can see their teachers but once in a year. 
 
 COOKING-CLASS PRODUCTS. 
 
 V 
 
 The suggestion as to the use of cooking-class products varied 
 greatly. It was the general opinion that junior and senior high 
 school girls should use quantities approximately the size demanded 
 for a family of five or six and that as much independent work should 
 be done as possible. 
 
 The plan of marketing class-cooked foods in the school lunch 
 room met with approval when in such an arrangement the pupil 
 and teacher can be protected from exploitation. Since lunches are 
 not served in all schools, nor are all classes conducted in the morn- 
 ing, nor are all lunches when served under the jurisdiction of the 
 school authorities, this method of affording an outlet for cooked 
 foods is not always possible. Lunches for teachers also serve as a 
 legitimate project, but again there are difficulties. The teachers are 
 not always willing to be experimented upon, nor are the classes 
 always scheduled for the late morning hours. 
 
 Marketing the product in the community has proved feasible in 
 places from New York City to Puget Sound, but some school boards 
 do not permit the handling of money by the teachers. " They can trust 
 the minds of the children to the teachers, but dollars, being more 
 precious to them, they do not so intrust." One Puget Sound city 
 will finance the foods work by the sale of the product with no labora- 
 tory expense to the school system. There will be much educational 
 gain by this business arrangement, but there will also be no incon- 
 siderable loss. 
 
 Where foreign people have been accustomed to buy at delicatessen 
 shops, they readily buy the products of the school-class work. 
 
 In some of the smaller cities it has been possible to secure almost 
 all supplies for the foods work from the homes of the pupils and to 
 return the cooked product to that home. 
 
 Not even in all parts of a city can the same practices be followed, 
 but it is certain that the experience gained from using larger quan- 
 tities and the stimulus of the criticism of those who consume the 
 produced article are of undoubted value and should not willingly be 
 
 overlooked. 
 
 BENEFIT OF THE CONFERENCES. 
 
 Not nearly all of the benefit derived from these conferences re- 
 sulted from the discussions from the floor and by the listed speakers. 
 Discussions of topics of special interest before and after the regular 
 sessions in impromptu committees and at the meals were of greatest 
 value, and the acquaintances there established will continue a source 
 of strength throughout the year. 
 
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